I received an entertaining, late-night email from Otis Norton in my inbox this morning, in which he threatened me for mentioning one of his friends in a social media post. I’ve been around and involved long enough to have been threatened by a few folks. So, while I always take threats seriously, this one mostly […]
And Then Came the High-Rises
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 […]
“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 […]
Developer Dishonesty? Say it isn’t so!
Vicki Falen and her husband Dana live in the Montana Ranch community south of Shea Boulevard at roughly 117th Street. Late last year an adjoining parcel which was similarly-designated as rural residential, was rezoned via “major general plan amendment,” by mayor Jim Lane and the Scottsdale city council to commercial use, for a developer who […]
Scottsdale Journalism, Jumbo Shrimp
“Scottsdale Journalism?” Is that even still a thing? I’m reminded of the George Carlin shtick about “jumbo shrimp,” “military intelligence,” and “business ethics.” More on that last phrase momentarily. Did you know that Carlin was a US Air Force veteran? He was also court-martialed three times. The USAF apparently doesn’t have a sense of humor. […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
San Marino, California – Wikipedia
The Huntington Library in San Marino, California The San Marino City Council page states: “San Marino was formed to protect your personal rights and to control the growth and activities of the City in such a way that each individual resident will be guaranteed a pleasant place in which to live with a minimum of […]