So typical of SPD administration, particularly Chief Rodbell, who never saw a statistic he couldn’t misuse. Many of these cases undoubtedly trace back to Scottsdale’s bar district, from where property owners and bar operators donate massively to the political campaigns of Mayor Jim Lane, and council members Suzanne Klapp, Virginia Korte, and Linda Milhaven. High […]
The Value of Education
It’s bizarre to me that we in the US and especially in AZ are so twisted up in knots over adequately funding our public schools and adequately paying our educators and school employees. Do the citizens and voters really not recognize the value of public education? Sure, who cares if the other kid doesn’t have […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
Nutts of Arizona
From a recent post by Jennifer McDowell: So, just so we’re clear. Rep Becky Nutt will be voting “Yes” to ban photo radar because she was just nabbed speeding. “She said she was driving in a strange location in the north valley, listening to directions from her GPS on a dark street where she couldn’t […]
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 […]
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 […]
Scottsdale Citizen-Advocate Silenced and Arrested at City Council Meeting
It was reported to me last night that at the direction of Scottsdale mayor Jim Lane, fellow resident advocate Mark Stuart was cut off during remarks to the city council about the proposed multi-million dollar “Desert Discovery Center,” during the “public comment” period of last night’s council meeting. The live broadcast of the city council […]
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, […]