Barf District Bullets

As in, literally, “bullets”… Only Fox 10 appears to be reporting Saturday night’s shooting at Maya Day and Nightclub in Scottsdale’s downtown Barf District. So much for the “hyper-local journalism” claimed by the Scottsdale Incompetent, or the “community engagement” and “quality journalism” boasting of Mi-Ai Parrish when she took control of the Arizona Republic a […]

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Scottsdale Darts

The latest edition of the “Voice of Scottsdale” (aka, “voice of Virginia Korte”) threw a dart at Scottsdale Arts (formerly known as the Scottsdale Cultural Council) this morning. I’ve reprinted the column below, but I’ll give you a little background first: Scottsdale Arts is a private business that contracts with the city, ostensibly to manage […]

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Cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria!

It’s always interesting when historically opposing forces–or, in this case, public figures that represent those forces–suddenly come into alignment, for no obvious reason. In this case, Scottsdale mayor Jim “Shady” Lane published a letter in the Scottsdale Incompetent, in which he praised new Scottsdale Unified School District superintendent, Denise Birdwell. Lane is probably the most […]

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“Gastropub” by any other name is… a bar

With this headline, “Bitters cocktail bar and restaurant to open at SkySong in Scottsdale,” we see what I believe is the bar district’s camel nose under the tent at the taxpayer-subsidized SkySong office park gulag. And if bar district princess (and city councilwoman) Suzanne Klapp is tweeting about it, you can be sure that Klapp […]

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Bulldozing the Preserve

Is this a preview of the arrogant bulldozing (figuratively and literally) of Scottsdale’s citizens and their McDowell Sonoran Preserve by Sam Campana and her “Desert Edge” (aka “Desert Discovery Center) cronies on the Scottsdale City Council? Click here to read Neil DeMause’s article, “Blues don’t wait on Park Service permission, go ahead and bulldoze park […]

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Diamond Green Backs

In an article I posted last week (Bookshelf Intellectualism) about the utter failure of the Scottsdale Planning Commission to live up to it’s mission of serving the citizens of Scottsdale, I referenced a letter-to-the editor by political entrepreneur, Jim Bruner. You may also remember that Bruner was a driving force in bringing taxpayer-funded professional baseball to […]

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Bookshelf Intellectualism

In a column that ran recently in “the other so-called newspaper” in Scottsdale, the editor regurgitated nonsensical remarks by Jim Bruner, which Bruner had delivered at a reception for city board and commission volunteer appointees. Scottsdale’s boards and commissions are SUPPOSED to vet issues and provide citizen-oriented recommendations to the mayor and City Council when […]

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Public meetings and the First Amendment

At a city council meeting in February, Scottsdale citizen Mark Stuart was arrested for–in essence–exercising his First Amendment rights, and rights proscribed by the Arizona State Constitution and Scottsdale City Charter and policies, during time reserved for such “public comment,” at that meeting. Stuart’s topic was a petition opposing the Desert Discovery Center. Stuart’s removal […]

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What does Scottsdale get for $150K Final Four funding?

[Scottsdale] City officials say the sponsorship will help fill local hotels and restaurants while bringing more national exposure to Scottsdale, a community known for its resorts, golf courses and major events such as the Waste Management Phoenix Open and Barrett-Jackson collector-car auction. Help fill local hotels? Since when does Scottsdale have a problem with empty […]

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Scottsdale activist arrested at council meeting after free-speech showdown

California attorney David Snyder, executive director for the First Amendment Coalition, said a city can dictate the amount of time given to each public speaker but must keep subject-matter restrictions very narrow. “The idea that a citizen is not permitted to talk about election issues at a public forum runs counter to pretty basic First […]

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