Mike Norton just can’t help himself. Setting aside the Scottsdale Unified School District budget override for a later discussion, Norton could have just silently savored the Scottsdale city bond election ‘victory,’ and parlayed his big success into the relevance he desperately craves. Instead, he continues to lie, to inflate his own role, and to celebrate […]
Balanced coverage?
Just like with the Scottsdale Independent a few years ago, I had high hopes for the renewed Scottsdale Progress newspaper. The original Scottsdale Progress, under editor and publisher Jonathan Marshall, did great things for our community. In fact, Marshall and his crew had significant impact on state law affecting, among other things, government open meeting […]
Sedona residents challenge Rep. Bob Thorpe over vacation rentals
The 2016 law only curbs cities and towns from regulating short-term rentals, but says nothing about HOAs Guess where most of the legislators who supported this live. — Read on www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2019/07/25/sedona-residents-challenge-rep-bob-thorpe-over-vacation-rentals/1811064001/
“A city government exists only for the purpose of…”
During a refreshing, unplanned visit to the Phoenix North Mountain Visitor Center, I saw on display this letter to the residents of the Sunnyslope area, sent to them upon annexation of the area into the City of Phoenix. It says, in part, A city government exists only for the purpose of performing necessary municipal services for […]
I “DESERVE” Affordable Housing: How Minneapolis Freed Itself From the Stranglehold of Single-Family Homes
“Neighbors for More Neighbors.” Hmm. Yet another housing cost-related article popped up in my browsing of the news. This one is a little scary, with the premise that single-family housing is actually the PROBLEM when it comes to housing cost. And this is how city leaders in Minneapolis started down the path to “fixing” that […]
Not subject to ethics
Scottsdale and its city treasurer sued for discrimination by former employee City attorney Bruce Washburn ultimately dismissed the complaint, saying that Nichols was not subject to the complaint process under the city’s current ethics code. Because, of course, since both are charter officers, that would mean the ethics code would apply to Washburn, as well!
“I deserve affordable housing in Scottsdale”
I recently had an–interesting–social media conversation with a couple of keyboard warriors who are essentially demanding cheaper (“affordable”) housing in Scottsdale. It’s clear from the comments they made that, while cloaked in proletariat self-righteousness, their motivation is really more about self-interest and entitlement than the “working class.” The conversation started with an opinion piece posted […]
The completely obvious problem with no-bid contracting
Later, it was revealed in a draft audit that the company had overcharged the government for fuel purchases by $61 million. Whistleblower exposes $7 billion no-bid Defense Department contract
Bond Grifters
In a recent comment appended to an article in the Scottsdale Trough Feeders newsletter (aka the Scottsdale Independent), village idiot (and muni bond huckster) Mike Norton claimed (among other things) that the assertion that Scottsdale has the “Most Debt Per Capita” is a lie. I’m the only guy who’s been saying that, so I guess […]
Phony Poll-ony
Jason Rose, who basically lies for a living, has put out a press release in which he claims, “Substantial and Deep Voter Support for November Bond Measures.” That presser bounces through many more hyperbolic adjectives and adverbs like, “strong” (several times), “sweeping,” “substantial” (again), and “diverse.” Hey, the more, the merrier, right? Reminds me of […]