Michele Miles Gardiner blogs regularly about her love for the Valley at Aprilbaby's California Life. She says there that she's a first cousin (once removed) of historian Kevin Starr, which makes her kind of a kindred spirit of The Valley Observed since Starr is a big fan of The San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb: "Just a superb book...this is history the way I like it," the former California State Librarian raved during a talk at Cal State Northridge when the book first came out.

Gardiner now cracks the op-ed page of the Daily News with a piece defending her hometown:

Eventually, I left San Francisco and planned to live as close to the beach as possible. Which is how, on a blistering August day in 1985, I moved into an apartment in Reseda. It was as close to the beach as I could afford.

With Frank and Moon Zappa's Valley Girl lyrics stuck in my head, whenever anyone asked where I lived, I'd barely mumble — not wanting to be pegged as a Val.

The Valley wasn't the beach. It was hot. But my apartment did have a pool. A plus. And I spent every free hour at the ocean anyway.

Soon, I came to expect the blast of heat which welcomed me as I neared the top of Topanga Canyon toward home after a day at the beach. I'd drive down palm tree-lined Ventura Boulevard — passing neon-lit liquor stores, coffee shops and carwashes — all swooping angles and optimism, radiating the California vibe.

Once married, my husband and I made our Valley status official. We bought a ranch-style home. Our brains hadn't shrunk from the heat. The housing prices were relatively affordable. And — all right, I'll admit it — we liked the Valley and planned to raise our child here ... on purpose.

We re not alone. Even as mortgages rise, the middle and working classes, as in the past, still come to the Valley to raise families. But today the area is more ethnically blended than ever. According to a report from Pepperdine University's Davenport Institute, The Valley is not only as diverse as the rest of Los Angeles, but in some ways more so.

See! You'd never know that by the way Hollywood portrays us.

While the Valley has changed over the decades, the stereotypes haven't. And, unfortunately, there are critiques much worse than Vacuous Vals being slung around. For instance, when the Valley tried to secede from Los Angeles, opponents claimed our drive for independence was class- and race-based. Since I live here, and know otherwise, I'd sooner believe Encino Man won an Oscar than we re racists. But it's easier to perpetuate tired rants than it is to look further, isn't it?

I expect people will continue to blather that we have no culture or diversity. But we know what we ve got. Green pockets of rural life. Horse communities with trails and stables. Pierce College's cow- and sheep-dotted rolling hills and vegetable farms. Local parks — Malibu Creek Park, Stoney Point and Balboa — for hiking, rock climbing, biking or exploring. Many farmers markets, theaters and festivals. An arts district and an antique row.

Her praise continues in the piece.