In the past, I’ve been critical of former Republic columnist John Talton’s loose cannon, anti-automobile ranting. I haven’t seen much from him lately, but his older piece, Phoenix 101: What killed downtown, Part II, recently came to my attention, and contains a nugget worth noting. Hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in […]
Before you vote to raise your taxes…
Until the last election, Scottsdale had a 100% “Republican” city council and mayor. I put “Republican” in quotes, because I always thought the party platform’s primary plank was fiscal responsibility. During the last decade, our elected officials (including Mayor Jim Lane, Virginia Korte, Suzanne Klapp, and even some who are supposedly populist politicians who are […]
The most important government
SRP’s Trish Moeck posted a well-written article (which I’ve copied below) yesterday on the Scottsdale Leadership website, and I’d like to use as a jumping-off point for an expanded look at some of the topics Trish discussed. As you may know, Scottsdale Leadership is at its core a training program run by the Scottsdale Area […]
Scottsdale Parking Solution? Quit Causing Parking Problems!
According to Daniel Davis, who wrote a letter-to-the-editor on the subject of parking that was recently published: Overlying our parking woes is something called “parking minimums.” Parking minimums are laws requiring developers to build specified amounts of free parking spots. These parking minimums are often totally arbitrary and inflate the costs of building housing and […]
Valley Metro to add off-duty police officers to light rail security – CBS 5 – KPHO-
The [Valley metro light rail] system is also a reflection of the neighboring community. So, in other words, if it sucks, it sucks because of the people it serves. Wow. I’m sure it won’t surprise any ScottsdaleCitizen readers how I feel about light rail, but this is icing on the cake. Here’s some of my […]
Competing Tweets: Yes to higher insurance, no to mandatory helmets
Howard Fisher of Capital Media Services just posted a couple of back-to-back tweets alerting us to his stories about paradoxical actions by our geniuses at the Arizona State Legislature. From the first story: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday unanimously rejected a proposal by [Arizona State] Rep. [and trauma surgeon] Randall Friese, D-Tucson, […]
Extra lane on Loop 101 in Scottsdale won’t end traffic congestion
Scottsdale Transportation Director Paul Basha said…“We spent $100 million for 10 miles of freeway to stay congested. It (Loop 101) was an ‘F’ before, and it’s still going to be an ‘F’,” Basha said. “We spent $100 million for 10 miles of freeway to stay congested.” He does go on to say: Simply adding more […]
Campaign finance law-violating Realtors are at it again
A few days ago, the Scottsdale city clerk notified 2016 candidates that the National Association of Realtors out of Chicago had donated a staggering $72,000 to their favorites in our city election: An Independent Expenditure Notification form has been filed with this office by the National Association of Realtors Fund. The notification reports independent expenditures […]
Schweiker Sellout
Scottsdale City Council candidate Dan Schweiker If there was ever any doubt in your mind (there wasn’t in mine) about the motivations of Paradise Valley carpet bagger Dan Schweiker–the Captain Kangaroo of China Mist Tea–his campaign finance filing with the Scottsdale city clerk today should erase that doubt. This generous $2500 contribution (minus fees) was […]
More Lane Lies
Hold the Presses! The Scottsdale Independent prints yet another campaign PR puff piece for Scottsdale’s incumbent mayor Jim Lane, with no editorial challenge whatsoever to Lane’s lies. Shocking! Here’s the first paragraph: Recently I sent an e-mail highlighting why I think Scottsdale is the best city in which to live. Our economy is strong. Our […]