Actually, my attendance at Rancho Cucamonga council meetings is sporadic at best, but sometimes I surprise them by showing up. (Obviously not last night, since I’m still in New Orleans.)

The city attorney always gives me this shocked look, like “why are you bothering to come here?” Sometimes I sense a mild alarm that, if I’m there, something on the agenda must be ripe for mocking. And occasionally something is, although usually I’m only there because I have time to kill, or space to fill, or feel I need some Rancho material.

I’m rather fond of the Rancho Cucamonga council. There’s often some banter among council members that works out well for a humor columnist. Also, the chambers are enormous and comfortable. In Pomona we’re packed in like sardines.

What works against the Rancho council is that their meetings are always the same week (first and third of the month) as Pomona’s (on Mondays) and Ontario’s (on Tuesdays). By Wednesday, when Rancho meets, I’m burned out on council meetings.

Also, going to a third meeting in a week tends to tilt my columns too much toward government news. For those who like that sort of thing, good. For those who don’t, it’s annoying.

So, to strike a balance, I usually skip Rancho’s meetings. Sorry, Rancho.

If you’re curious about why I go to council meetings at all, or why I pick Ontario and Pomona to focus on, I’ll post about that sometime next week.