This crazy ‘public art’ installation was recently… ahem, erected, at Indian School Road and Marshall Way. “In the end, they [the artist and the public art division of Scottsdale Arts] went directly to the city council, which has the power to overrule the [city] design board. In February, all but one city council member voted […]
The Great Spring Training Hoax
Neil deMause (http://www.FieldOfSchemes.com) comments this morning: A study by Arizona State University found that spring-training baseball was worth $373 million to the Arizona economy in 2018. I can’t find the actual report itself, but it looks like they came up with this number by interviewing a sample of out-of-town visitors at spring training games about […]
The Bird is not Well
Because it’s been widely broadcast by the mainstream media, you may have already heard that Scottsdale Unified School District superintendent Denise Birdwell was placed on administrative leave last night by the SUSD governing board. This action comes after a tumultuous two-year tenure, which has seen almost complete turnover in senior-level district staff, wholesale replacement of […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Robbins: political gifts carefully weighed by Scottsdale’s electeds
In a recent interview that appeared in the Scottsdale “Independent,” questions were asked of former city council member Dennis Robbins about gifts he received and reported while in office a couple of years ago. The article says, in part that, The report shows members of Scottsdale City Council accepted $32,572 in gifts that primarily were […]
Smart vs Brilliant
Smart is when you believe only half of what you hear. Brilliant is when you know which half to believe. Robert Orben, (born March 4, 1927) is best known as an American professional observational comedy writer, though he also worked as a speechwriter for Gerald R. Ford and as a magician. Thanks to Calvin Peel […]
Arizona Drought
NOAA’s weekly drought monitor map shows most of Arizona still suffering under drought conditions. Fortunately, our plight is less severe than that of south-central California or the Atlanta area in northern Georgia. Thanks to Jen Wahl at 12 News for retweeting this for all to see.