The ‘Lumenati" of Scottsdale, also known as the Development Review Board, composed of architects, and planners, has spoken! In the words of Emperor Jeremy Jones, "…don’t worry about blending with the historical perspective……."

Oh, and make it "edgy," they said. Ah-h they are good at buzz-words, too.

Here we go with another classic example of the old story, "The King’s New Clothes." This story has a tendency to repeat itself in Scottsdale, since we have no "real" long range plans for redevelopment.

Note to the DRB: Ladies and Gentlemen, it is up to the Boards and Commissions to make sure that the City Council and City Manager follow the General Plan (yeah we know about the absence of the above). In the case of the Downtown Plan which is under review and update, it might be wise to check in with the people putting that plan together to see what current indicators are before you choose to slap the community in the face again.

Note to Hanover Developer: Thanks for taking the community sense of place into consideration and we are really sorry that the DRB has chosen to create a ‘tug of war’, so to speak, between historical perspective and neo-modern without historic perspective.

For those who are not aware, Hanover is a mixed-use development project that would take out the old Ramada Inn in the Fifth Avenue Area, plus the Village Inn restaurant (long time establishment, favorite of senior citizens and families for Sunday breakfast, reasonable prices and good food). It would replace them with luxury apartments and boutique shops and offices. DRB was willing to waive a number of things stressed in planning guidelines. This project first raised it’s ugly head when Council started it's summer vacation.

Note to City Council: As stated before, it is time to do a Charter Review of the Boards and Commission to ascertain if they are following their goals and objectives and should those goals and objectives be revised to meet the needs of a community that has grown to the size of Scottsdale today, as well as meeting the needs for redevelopment of mature areas opposed to development of open space.

Let’s face it, the odds of the DRB and the City Council hearing let alone reading anything the community has to say is next to nil. Look at us, really, look at us! There are guidelines all over the place, but the DRB chooses to put their individual professional opinion above those guidelines. Planning staff tries to be the "policeman" enforcing those stipulations and then along comes the DRB, and even the Planning Commission, and blows staff out of the water. Participants in several of the focus groups that have been part of the Downtown Planning Process since September have commented that City staffers have said that DRB and Planning Commission and higher ups in the City do not listen to staff. No surprise there.

The best rendition of the "Emperors New Clothes" that I have ever heard was done by the late Danny Kaye. In his song he sings, "Isn’t it OH! Isn’t it Ah! Isn’t it absolutely WOW?" "The ‘place’ (instead of King) is altogether, but altogether! It’s absolutely altogether!"

That speaks volumes doesn’t it? Yep, that sounds like our DRB.

Nancy Cantor
Scottsdale

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~ Thanks to ALL Our Readers for the Numbers!!

1. Annual "hits" last year versus this year

2. Monthly hits

3. Number of "hits" for the year directly from the City of Scottsdale internet system:

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Boy, And do they; reportedly 642 of them!!!

The Scottsdale Activist staff has discussed whether we should print a letter submitted to the Mayor and Council by and on behalf of present and former City employees. The letter, for obvious reasons, was not signed.

But after rereading it and taking past information and known history on this subject during the Manross/Dolan years under consideration, we decided that we should make it, as a recorded public document, available to our readers to make their own judgments without any persuasion from us. The letter speaks for itself.

Their letter is the direct, unedited employee answer to Councilman Ecton and others who refuse to acknowledge the heavily rumored and apparently serious problems within the Manross/Dolan Administration during the time during which Jan Dolan has been the city manager.

The first letter was "blown off" because it was unsigned; nobody wanted to dig deep enough into the situation to get any answers for apparently obvious and known reasons. Then the second shoe fell. The letter below was received by the City Council Office on December 31^st, 2007 as evidenced by the city stamp on the copy which was verified by one of our sources.

It is more than obvious to our staff that the employees have done explicitly as asked by Councilman Ecton without signing their names because, due to Jan Dolan’s management style, they would be fired or not advanced for expressing honest facts concerning the secretive inner workings of the Manross/Dolan administration and a few of their loyal soldiers. Employees have told us on numerous occasions that they dare not even talk about any of these subjects to any management person for fear of immediate retribution.

We think that it’s a shame our mayor and council majority are so ignorant and out of touch that they cannot see the writing on the wall enough to want this situation straighten out immediately. In our humble opinions, If the mayor and council majority don’t not act immediately, Mary Manross is guaranteed to lose the ’08 election as will the entire council majority who is up for re-election.

Our very strong feelings are that there should be an immediate full investigation by an independent outside firm not associated with the council, mayor, any charter officers, department directors or managers to determine the validity of the charges in the letter.

As the Fox News Network says, "We report, You decide." So you read the letter and make up your own mind based on what you see in the letter(s) from the employees and what you have heard over the last few years. Also take into consideration the numbers of employees who have left city employ under suspicious circumstances during the same time frame.

The week before Christmas 2006 Rita Saunders-Hawranek and I sat down with Ron McCullagh and Manross and Mary O'Conner and Ed Gawf to discuss that contract with HDR, as Rita and I sat on the working group. We were concerned about the wording in the request for bids to hire a consultant, and the direction given to HDR by Council. In addition, that December Council attempted to modify the scope of HDR and they could not come to any agreement on the language for the amendment and the whole thing died.

We told Councilman McCullagh, Mayor Manross, et al that the Council and the people were not being well served by the Consultant due to the language of the contract. Obviously, they did not understand what we were talking about, or worse, knew it and that was the way they wanted it.

The points highlighted herein the partial contract attached are some of the issues we were concerned about.

The notes in the contract bring to light some very important failures and public liability to the point of possibly continuing to take away private vehicular traffic access to important and vital areas of the city. You should read every note Icon to see what they are REALLY trying to do to the citizens of Scottsdale! To read all of the posted note comments, right click on the post-it note Icon in the contract.

Click here to see the partial copy of the contract and notes

We'd like to thank Sam West for providing the partial contract with the enclosed notes. He did an excellent job of weed-whacking through the maze of legal gobbledygook to get to the real truth of the matter.

Areas of interest pertaining to the requirements of the agreement are highlighted with Comment notes and are read by either clicking or placing your curser over the little note Icon. This is not a complete review of the contract, therefore there are some areas highlighted without comments.

Some conclusions seem to be:

It appears the report needs to be completed in it’s entirety before it is submitted to
the Council for action.

Every citizen who cares about this subject should look at the contents, especially Sam's notes, in the attached portion of the Contract between the city and HDR and decide for yourselves what should and shouldn’t happen with what you learn and understand concerning the contract and the situation it has caused.

If you have been following the saga of the Carriage Hills subdivision up north, these are the answers (?) Mr. Keagy has to the letter written by the citizen, which were asked in the last edition of the Scottsdale Activist. Keagy’s answers are incomprehensibly ridiculous and totally miss all the points!

Who do you believe? A citizen who has stated the same facts over and over again, or a city official who does the Keagy "Two Step" changing positions with the wind direction (or as directly ordered by the city manager or city attorney)??

Below is Mr. Keagy’s reply (?) to the citizens

The following is a summary of the events and actions regarding the Carriage Hills neighborhood:

The city's field services division received an anonymous phone complaint alleging a branch overhanging the public right-of-way in the neighborhood.

The city's field services division forwarded the complaint code enforcement after determining that the issue was the property owner's responsibility.

Code enforcement investigated, spoke with the property owner and compliance was achieved.

While in the neighborhood, the Inspector noted a number of issues related to NAOS and fire prevention.

The Inspector contacted the President of the HOA Board and suggested an
on-site meeting to discuss.

The on-site meeting took place and the Inspector suggested sending a letter or to attend an upcoming HOA meeting to share information with the residents.

That suggestion was not supported by the Board member who stated that a letter would go un-read and that few residents would attend a meeting.

Notice of violations were sent by the city and ultimately revoked.

The city was aware of the desire of the HOA Board to increase the fees, however that information would not and did not influence our actions.

The city was not aware of CC&R’s regarding access to NAOS areas on private property--but we now understand the ramifications of sending out the NOV’s.

Ms. Evans became involved when she accompanied Ms. Bruce to your house. At that time, it was apparent that the city could have and should have managed the process better, hence the comment "this (meaning the process) could have been handled better from the start."

Raun Keagy
Citizen & Neighborhood Resources

=======================================================

Where are the important and pertinent answers to:

This city has become notorious for secrecy and failing to answer specific questions since the Manross/Dolan marriage came into existence.

We’ve never seen so many Shouts & Spouts within a 24 hour period since we’ve been producing the Scottsdale Activist. They’re running about 99.9% against Henry and his recall attempt. They are basically saying that they can possibly support a recall of Ecton but absolutely not of Bob Littlefield.

I’ve known and liked Henry on a personal level for a few years. We’ve had our moments and we’ve had our disagreements but his recall action and its rationale is something I don’t really understand.

Henry is basically a nice, intelligent guy with philanthropic leanings with him trying to help people and causes when and where he thinks they are needed and warrant his personal attention without acknowledgement.

On the other hand, Henry can be a very stubborn but principled person who will hound you into the ground if you do even one thing he thinks in his minds eye is wrong, no matter how many other things you may have done right in his eyes.

Is a recall at this point in time a good thing? No, it disrupts a process in progress and muddies the water for legitimate candidates and issues which are at critical mass for this election.

Does the recall effort have merit based on his contention that both recall targets are over-the-top spendthrifts? I totally disagree with him on that point concerning Littlefield. The overall big spendthrifts are the council majority; Drake, Ecton, McCullagh, and Manross. They are the one’s that should be targeted. Littlefield is THE most conservative and biggest tightwad of all the council members with the addition of Tony Nelssen now that he’s on the council.

Wayne Ecton could probably not care less of whether he’s recalled or not. He’s fully tenured now so he would receive all the benefits he has earned as well as not having to attend city meetings or official functions which could tax his health further.

Did Littlefield vote for the wage increases for the city employees? Yes he along with all but one council member and most of the residents felt a raise was necessary to achieve parity with other cites and also because the employees hadn’t had a raise of any kind for a few years thanks to Jan Dolan who apparently wanted that money to be used somewhere "more important".

Also, it’s very important here to remind everyone that Jan Dolan and Mayor Manross were pushing the raises heavily as a means to quiet the massive complaints of low morale which the raise has never solved, but in reality has helped escalate even more.

Henry and residents of the north including COPP have had an ongoing out-and-out war over the use of his land. Henry applied for a change in zoning and other changes which COPP strongly opposed, but Henry never took his plans to the planning commission or city council for a final "Yea" or "Nay" vote so no one knows what the outcome would or could have been.

Both COPP and Henry have seemingly refused to let go of this situation and why they cannot come to some sort of amicable agreement is beyond me and I won’t venture an answer to that question nor get involved in the disagreement because I consider both entities as friends.

Are Henry’s signs an attractive and positive addition to the community? Absolutely not, they’re abhorrent and Henry is unhappy about the tagging which he claims the police department is not handling properly. Maybe Henry should put up remote infrared cameras to catch the "taggers" who will pay a pretty price should they get caught. In actuality Henry would probably rather have them down but his "principles" keep them up.

Does he have a legal right to have the signs? Yes he does. Freedom of Speech, no matter how ugly the signs are perceived to be by most citizens, north and south, is still free as long as all the rules, regulations and ordinances applicable to the signs are followed to the letter. Becker has won more than once in court costing the city and its resident’s tax money and he will continue to win as far as we can see based strictly on the basis of the law, not the amount of money he can throw at it.

Has the city intervened to try and stop the nonsense by offering to mediate a solution? To some degree they have. In our opinion, there isn’t a single person or persons currently in Scottsdale city government who has the capability to really negotiate a satisfactory solution to this "Old West" stand-off. That’s the reason that the courts will end up settling the issues on this property once and for all.

But, with respect to Henry’s recall petitions, the fact is that voters decided the issue in 2006 by re-electing Ecton and Littlefield to the council plain and simple. We feel that Henry should leave well enough alone and honor the voters’ decision; and spend his money more wisely to promote better, rather than divisive, government.

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As a preface to this letter to Councilman McCullagh and the council, It should be pointed out that the "representative of the developer" for WaterView is none other than Technical Solutions who reportedly also represents many other developments and redevelopments in Scottsdale that are apparently having similar misrepresentation problems. If it isn’t misrepresentation, it surely is consistent confusion which is certainly not the fault of the residents.

To learn more about Technical Solutions, what they do, and who they represent, click on this link

 http://technicalsolutionsaz.com/

========================================================

Sent: Thu 1/3/2008 2:32 PM

To: McCullagh, Ron

Subject: RE: WaterView - nearby home buyout (with attachment)

Ron, 

In regards to the discussions we had, here (attached) is a letter to represent the neighbors of the proposed power station.  All names listed have read the letter and agreed.  Judy Hubbard did agree verbally but has not seen the actual letter yet due to the holidays. 

I spoke with John Wanninger on this too.  We don't wish to point fingers but we certainly will not be misrepresented as being so uncooperative. 

Please forward this information to anyone else you feel may have been subjected to these claims. 

Thank you,

Mike Bergfeldt
Scottsdale

======================================================

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In this past week’s Republic, Laurie Roberts wrote an article that tickled our fancy. The crux of her article focused on the fact that the Council has been in a holding pattern for more than a year now –hence, not accomplishing much, if anything at all with respect to Scottsdale’s critical issues. We at the Activist heartily agree with Ms. Roberts.

Contrary to reality however, is the Mayor Manross take on how the past few years have gone for the Council. Surely someone from the outside should see how Mother Mary has literally, single-handedly, sculpted the city and done more than her fair share of "good deeds" on its behalf. Ms. Roberts is no dummy and even layperson citizens can see that all the gibberish that Manross is doling out is nothing more than a smoke screen and fluff, better known as her campaign rhetoric. Just to make sure we understand how it all goes, let’s recap Manross’ so-called accomplishments during her last few years as Mayor and citizens, you can judge for yourself:

Hualapai: A multi-million dollar mistake by the esteemed team of Manross and Dolan is downplayed for its importance by the Republic. Most surprising to us is the fact that Manross, with her touted sixteen years experience in Scottsdale politics, didn’t know that a contract exceeding ^$20,000 needed to be put in front of the Council for vote before she signed off on it. It begs the question: who’s running our city? Surely it is not our esteemed Mayor. This ^$16M mistake, for which the City of Scottsdale will pay handsomely in the end, flew underneath the radar of our Mayor, most probably piloted by Jan Dolan. Then it was a big CYA effort on the part of the "team" to make sure that Manross wasn’t blasted three ways to Sunday for her blatant wrongdoing. There’s one to be proud of, Mother Mary. Way to keep your finger on the pulse of city happenings.

Barrett-Jackson: Manross sent "most of the city’s employees have left because of my attitude: Dolan" to Craig Jackson’s side to negotiate a deal to keep this high profile multi-million dollar money making event in Scottsdale and of course as expected, Dolan failed miserably. We think it might have helped if Dolan wasn’t her usual, brisk, ornery self, but who are we to judge??? Not surprising, Manross, negotiator of none, failure at all, took the reigns and attempted to score big with Jackson herself. In order to deal with Jackson, Manross needed two very important things: tact and skill – she had neither. And so, chalk this up to one of Manross’ so-called accomplishments – she, too failed miserably and Jackson will take his dog and pony show with all its glory elsewhere. Nice job, Manross. Going for the TPC next?

Sky Song: Block buildings, lack of remarkable tenants, a 200 year psuedo-lease with no actual recoverable monies, over priced, dense, uniformly crude residential structures and lack of notable retail only makes this deal even worse than it was originally planned. Currently losing more than $250,000 a month in lost tax revenue, this is a disaster in the making. But for Manross, aka reportedly a future board member to the ASU Foundation accompanied by a very cushy salary increase, this deal was sweeter than honey pulled directly from the hive. Arm in arm with ASU’s Michael Crow and the ASUF scribes, Manross was definitely looking out for numero uno (and folks, that ain’t Scottsdale) when she struck this deal.

Transportation Plan: Two years, countless wasted hours spent in public forums and workshops, multiple power point presentations of what could "be" for Scottsdale in terms of transportation resolutions, and ^$1.2 million dollars later, HDR consultants and "Choo Choo Charlie" Hales tell us that we, the citizens of Scottsdale, do not have a traffic problem. Additionally, they tell us that light rail or any other rail system for that matter, will not alleviate our congestion issues. Intimately involved in MAG management, Manross and Dolan feel compelled to implode upon Scottsdale the idea of fantastic rail systems at the expense of our character and uniqueness and most of all, city budget.

Their nonsensical need to spend billions of taxpayer’s dollars on a system that will blatantly not resolve our problems yet cater to a few special interests (like MAG, the Area Chamber, etc) is top on their agenda for future accomplishments. Not only have they raised taxes for a third time in three years, but they have no qualms about doing so for years to come. Implementing a plan without proper direction or value to the community, at an exorbitant cost would certainly impact our taxes.

And for what, one might ask? To satisfy personal and special interest agendas – without taking into consideration the destructive nature of this type of construction all along Scottsdale Roads and to subsequent neighborhoods. We still have congested roads. We still have gridlock during rush hour. We still have numerous road construction projects on major arteries simultaneously adding to our difficulty in traversing our city. Way to be a team player Manross. You done right by us…duh!

Pink Taco: Ahh, an appeal to the Christian community by Manross. This was, by far, the most ridiculous, waste of time for Manross during the past few years. What was she thinking? We have numerous important issues sitting on Scottsdale’s to-do list yet she wastes time contemplating the meaning of a restaurant name? Frankly, we never saw need to challenge the name but I’m sure that Harry Morton is thankful for all the publicity she gave him and his restaurant. Another embarrassing faux pas by the Queen of Mass Ignorance herself. Thanks for representing our city’s interests – thank God none of us think like you – maybe the Pope will send a few extra prayers your way for your considerable chastity – you certainly need them.

SOB Ordinance: Another plea for morality on Manross’ part turned bad. First she create the 24/7 immoral world of a Vegas-like environment for our downtown sector, then she tried to keep someone like Jenna Jamison from entering our community? How about her attitude on the Lingerie Bowl? Didn’t she desire the stardom to ride in on white horses down Scottsdale Road? Didn’t she ask for Scottsdale’s popularity and population to grow, for money to follow in groves right to our very doorstep? Well, apparently she should be more careful what she asks for because she might just get it.

With all that fame comes a price tag and apparently, it is more than Scottsdale and "Queen" Mary bargained for. Like Craig Jackson, she has to know how to play the game. Revenue is revenue. The clubs have done nothing wrong, yet she and her questionable Christian morality appeal (is it that or just a show) made a mockery out of our SOB ordinance, demanding change. Then stupidly, she put her overly inflated ego and big mouth on the line, to realize that the people of Scottsdale didn’t actually support her! Shizam! Foiled again!! The clubs stayed, the popularity grew, Mother Mary, was once again made to look like a fool. Take off the chastity belt and rose-colored glasses. Mother Mary, you’re hosting this party and serving up the drinks!

The Preserve: We at the Activist would love to see a logical plan to finish the Preserve. Manross has made year after year of empty promises concerning this issue. The city no more has the resources to finish the Preserve than the Man in the Moon. Scottsdale’s till isn’t as fat as it once was and with Dolan’s grand plan for the willy-nilly street furniture, roundabouts and traffic calming measures sucking up millions of taxpayer’s dollars, we will have even less in reserve for the Preserve. So why can’t Manross say "no more" to Dolan? Because she can’t. Yet she continues to announce the Preserve as one of her accomplishments year after year. How long can our citizens live on empty promises? When it comes time to buy up land designated for the Preserve, mark our words, there won’t be enough in the city account to do so. There’s no Preserve plan. There’s no Preserve money per se. And no, we can’t finish it this year, next year or the year after unless all those high priced condos sell, retail is developed, transportation issues are resolved and everything else that’s wrong with Scottsdale is fixed and the city is righted back on all four wheels solidly back on the ground. Sixteen years in Scottsdale politics and she still can’t see past her right hand. Manross can’t act on promises; she can just continue to elicit them as pipe dreams and hope that a few dumb followers support her.

Motor Mile: Give the dealerships subsidies and they will stay… or not. Two years ago, many of the car dealerships along Scottsdale’s famed Motor Mile signed lease agreements with malls in Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix to relocate. Did Manross know about this? Yes, yes she did, yet she STILL gave away marketing subsidies to the dealerships to help their business. A move, we might add, which was likely suggested to her by the Scottsdale Area Chamber team of Kidder and Korte, who benefit from these stupidious decisions by our Mayor. In another year, Motor Mile as we know it will be no more and what’s the master plan for it now? Korte wants the city to subsidize a hotel on her N/E corner property. Kidder wants condos, condos, and big tall buildings with a connector rail system to Tempe. Will our Mayor look to the needs of our city and the citizens in that area or will she side with the Area Chamber and embrace yet another defunct plan to maintain her special interest votes. You be the judge. We already know where this one is going.

While we at the Activist like to look at the positives as well as the negatives in our city, we find it difficult to use the word "positive" in association with the name Mary Manross.

A city leader, she is not. Someone who has a grasp on critical city related issues – nope, a big "NO" again. Hopeless, hapless, inept and dragged around by her pinky by Dolan? Yep – you got that too, eh?

Change is imminent in ’08. If, for no other reason, than what Ms. Roberts explained in her article. We must, as a community in Scottsdale, have hope that things will change for the better. In order to have hope, we must rid ourselves of the lecherous vermin that corrupt our very being and lurk along our city streets. We must act to make it better.

We must, above all else, get rid of Manross in '08.

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The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) program which helps people prepare to respond to emergency situations in their communities.

The CERT program trains citizens to respond to emergency situations under extreme circumstances. Graduates in most cities can join organized teams and get additional training.

CERT team members can give critical support to first responders in emergencies, provide immediate assistance to victims, organize other volunteers at a disaster site, and collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community.

CERT teams are trained to follow federal standards for Incident Command System in conjunction with the National Incident Management System facilitating their mobilization and utilization. CERT Team Leaders receive additional FEMA standardized intensive training to assist the Arizona Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) during county or state wide emergencies.

The History of CERT - The CERT concept was originally developed and implemented by the Los Angeles Fire Department in 1985, after a series of earthquakes that left many victims without emergency services.

As they have during extreme crises in states such as California, Florida, Illinois and Texas, CERT members may also give critical support to first responders in emergencies, provide immediate assistance to victims, organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site, and collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts.

As of November 2007, there were 2,783 CERT groups in the USA: In Scottsdale, ZERO!!.

The City of Scottsdale sponsored 4 CERT training classes during 2003 and 2004. The Scottsdale Police Department partnered with Rural Metro to hold one class for COS employees and three for citizens.

Although a CERT program is referred to on the City’s website, there is no CERT organization in the City of Scottsdale. No follow up was ever done for students of these CERT classes. The City has no plans for more training or for organized citizen involvement in catastrophic emergencies.

Phoenix has trained hundreds of citizens, has 80 organized volunteers and its CERT program is growing rapidly. Phoenix volunteers assisted evacuees from Hurricane Katrina

Chandler has the most mature CERT program in the valley, with a well organized group of 200 volunteers. Supervised by the Chandler Fire Department, it has trained close to a thousand residents. Chandler volunteers have assisted in out of state hurricane remediation efforts.

Tiny Daisy Mountain has 30 organized volunteers and an active program.

Gilbert has a dedicated group of 144 organized volunteers and has an (IGA) agreement to assist Queen Creek. Queen Creek started a CERT program in 2007.

CERT programs in Mesa, Peoria and Tempe are in various degrees of formation.

Why doesn't Scottsdale have a CERT program? 

Ask Jan Dolan that specific question yourself.

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~ Where is this in Scottsdale??

Can you determine in what street corners in Scottsdale these pictures were taken?

Give up?

We had to take a trip to California and I thought we were back in Scottsdale. These are pictures taken off State College Boulevard in Anaheim CA, look familiar?

Why do our city’s leaders insist upon Scottsdale looking like every other city in terms of construction? This is EXACTLY what has been presented by developers from all different venues to select Scottsdale citizens at workshops, planning meetings, etc. as acceptable housing and retail for the downtown areas.

You see mixed use residential, small restaurants, businesses and such on the bottom and residential on top of 4-6 story buildings. This is what the developers want all of Scottsdale Road to look like only taller and denser. Miles and miles of look alike architecture. Building after building, stacked one right on top of each other. With the exception of color, it will all look the same one block after another. Is this what we want for Scottsdale? Doesn’t this go against the very grain of what Scottsdale stands for in terms of uniqueness and character?

If we continue to allow the outside consultants and developers in addition to the political insiders and special interest people very curiously aligned with our Council majority and Mayor, to provide input for our city plan, this is definitely what we will get. Anytown USA.

Does anyone really think that an entire city full of this type of architecture will withstand the test of uniqueness and time? I’m sure that the out-of-touch Area Chamber and other developers will be shoving this type of stacked housing down our throats along Motor Mile in the very near future also when the dealers leave.

Fly by night generic, every-city-has-‘em architecture is not what we need in Scottsdale, a one time World Class City.

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~Bella Vita Condo Signs

We just received a report that the Condo conversions on the S/E corner of 78^th Street and McDonald have gone creative again on us with their plethora of signage and its placement. (they are only allowed 24 SF total signage)

Take a look at the signs they have strewn all over their property and tell us if they are legal, improperly placed, or are illegal. They even have one that looks "city official" but isn’t.

We have caught them on numerous occasions trying to slip something through but now that Code Enforcement works on the weekend, we have a new, effective weapon, and we plan to use it!! Some of these signs are being removed as we write this article.

If you have issues which come up on the weekends, give me a call 480-326-2475, or email us at editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we’ll see what we can do to get your situation corrected.

 ~Letters to the Editor  

On Tuesday Afternoon (01-04-08) George Knowlton and I met with Paul Porell, Traffic Engineering Director of Scottsdale.  Also attending was Councilman Lane, Councilman Nelssen and our concerned Scottsdale resident and city council candidate, Nan Nesvig.  The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the lack of stripping on 86th Street between McDonald and Chaparral.  Since that section was resurfaced a couple of years ago, there has been no stripping added when it had previously existed for decades prior to this resurfacing effort and Paul Porell.

During the discussion it was impossible to get any solid answers from Mr. Porell.  The main response was "we have to go by the book".  Bear in mind that there is Mohave Middle School located on 86th Street with lots of kids and lots of traffic that is constantly picking up and dropping off kids. Cars that double park on the street and it is impossible to get around them. There is no center yellow lane marking and no crosswalk markings.

When Mr. Porell was asked "why is there stripping on 86th Street South of Chaparral, he reply was "that was done without him knowing about it".  When asked why is there stripping North of McDonald on 86th Street again the reply was "that was done without him knowing about it".  The more we emphasized the "need" for stripping again it was "we need to go by the book".  Mr. Porell told us that cross walk markings could not be implemented because there would have to be cross walk signs and crossing guards.

When I asked him how there could be cross walk markings and signs on Granite Reef on the other side of the school without crossing guards, again he had no answer.  While standing in that parking lot I asked him if he ever came out here and witnessed the mess in the morning or in the afternoon when school leaves out, his answer was "no". 

Great care takers we have in our City Government.

He finally informed us that we would have to go through Mohave School to get any of these things implemented.  Can you imagine, street stripping has to be approved by the school.

Jim Lane and Tony Nelssen finally got him to utter the words, under his breath, that the rules weren’t set in stone. Glory be, maybe we have a sliver of a chance of getting safer streets for our children and residents.

I can't help but wonder how our City Council and various departments can spend millions of dollars on round-a-bouts and street furniture to impede traffic flow but we can't put a yellow stripe down a much traveled street to make sure that the drivers slow down to stay inside the lines, stay on the right side of the street and not down the middle of the street, and especially aid in the protection of our school children.

Also discussed during this meeting was the horrible condition of many of our sidewalks in our neighborhood.  Porell said that wasn’t his department but he would bass the word on to Rod Ramos. Again, where the heck are our employees.

Yes Council and City Departments, you are our employees.

A final note:  Where was "the book", which apparently city departments are meant to follow, when the water plant up North was built or the chlorine problem that now exists?  Or where was "the book" when the height construction of the condos downtown was approved, which is destroying our beloved City?

I offer my overwhelming thanks to Councilman Lane, Councilman Nelssen and Nan Nesvig for taking time out of their busy schedule to help Scottsdale Citizens with these issues.

Lee Tannenbaum
Scottsdale

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The City Council is once again going to make a decision regarding the transportation plan on January 8^th. They have had over a month to think about an action plan and investigate alternatives specific to this plan. After we’ve spent ^$1.2 million dollars on a consultant who apparently does not think like we do.

What’s left for us to do? The answer is simple. We take the bull by the horns, utilize inside resources and transportation experts within our own city, take what the consultants have provided and find a suitable plan for our OWN unique city.

Scottsdale is not like Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas or even Phoenix, Tempe or Mesa. If light rail or any other rail system does not work for us, then why are we even still discussing it? If rail is a connector option along the 101 freeway, then let the state worry about it with minimal adjacent land input from us. The state will ultimately be funding it, not primarily the taxpayers of Scottsdale. Unless there is some "other" reason for focusing on light rail in Scottsdale (like special interests or promises made to insiders), then why are Council and our Mayor wasting time on it?

Our Council and Mayor should spend less time worrying about what others think about them and more time about our own citizens and what they need. After all, the goal in being a city leader is to serve the citizens of that city. I cannot see where many of our leaders have done that task with any efficiency to date.

My suggestion to the Mayor and Council is to take light rail or any other rail system off the table within Scottsdale’s city limits, engage but don’t lead discussions about rail connections along the 101 with park and ride service into Scottsdale, and finally, find a way to alleviate traffic on our own roads, dispelling input from those who do not live within our own city limits.

Mayor and Council: take care of your own city and its citizens, not yourselves.

Tom Visco
Arizona Native and Scottsdale Resident

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Hey Henry, bring some petitions down South so we can sign to recall Ecton.

But, there’s not a snowballs chance in Hell that we will sign to recall Bob Littlefield.

Michael Merrill
Scottsdale

 ~ Bar District Bad for all but 20 Something's

I am a long time Scottsdale resident, having been here since Herb Drinkwater was the honest and distinguished Mayor of this city. I watched as Campana started pushing Scottsdale into a downward spiral and now, almost eight years of Mary Manross’ term have literally destroyed this city. I once felt secure in shopping and walking to my vehicle at Fashion Square and especially in what’s now the "bar district", but with all the reports of rapes, burglaries, petty thefts and assaults in Scottsdale, I do not go far from home without worrying about being alone somewhere. I was once very independent and felt as though this city was somewhat of a treasure. My lady friends and I used to meet for tea and coffee in the downtown area and window shop. Those days are gone.

I am writing to you to express my serious dissatisfaction with what has been happening to Scottsdale over the past few years. Most of the blame should be placed squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Manross and "her people". That woman lies to get votes. I guess she acts like a real politician in a non-partisan city. I thought that she said she was Catholic and that meant she had scruples and morals but I have seen little of either one of those qualities in her since she became Mayor of Scottsdale years ago.  All I see anymore is personal greed.

The older residents want to enjoy this city too, but most of what is happening to Scottsdale is geared not for most generations but specifically for the younger crowd. Are they all just hoping that we die out and leave them to destroy this city? Most of the restaurants, bars and clubs in addition to the shopping areas appeal to the 20-Something crowd. It is so disheartening.

If Scottsdale is going to maintain a reputation as a world-class city, it needs to appeal to many different age groups and offer opportunity for them to take roots here, like I once did, and grow with the city. Right now it is as though the leaders in our city have forgotten about my generation and those just a little younger than me and focused on the ones they believe will mold Scottsdale; the "20 Something's".

This is totally the wrong thing to do to promote the future of the city.

I may be older (I am 67), but I still care about what happens to my home city. I think that we need serious change on the Council and to replace Mayor Manross in 2008. Our new candidates cannot be aligned with the Chamber or anyone else who is closely tied to Manross or Dolan or anyone else like the political people who lobby for the votes on their projects at the city. Can’t people see that this is ruining our city?

Thank you for letting me get this off of my chest.

Ida Pechamey
Long time Scottsdale Resident

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~Starting ‘08 with the truth would be nice!

Well, Ozites I am sure that you have read the hype in the media about the issues the Emerald City faces over the next year, including the fact it is an election year.

I will assume everyone read the Oz Repugnant article by none other than our tourist from Fountain Hills with another humdinger of a 4 part rant about what he perceives as the City’s top issue, Traffic.

Okay, lets face it, every city in the United States has an issue with traffic and every person who drives in any city knows damn well it is not going to get better and neither is congestion going to be resolved.

Cities have tried to fix these problems for many years with little success. We all get to hear how light rail and modern street cars will cure our woes. In any country, or any city, the folly of such expensive and proven failure as light rail, has never cured the problem and will never cure the problem here, either. But the Repugnant claims this as the "top issue" of the coming year.

In the 3 bullets by Mr. Fountain Hills I can sum this problem up quickly for him:

~Let’s sum up the politicians in power and transportation, or at least light rail.

In 1997 the residents of Phoenix and also Oz, defeated a tax increase for transit improvements and it included the cost of studying light rail, but now in 2007 the City and its leadership defy the will of the voters by now using taxpayers dollars to further study light rail.

In 1998 the Council asks the City transportation department to come up with transportation alternatives.

In 1999 the Council travels to research "transit growth alternatives?" Council goes to Colorado and San Diego, and then a trip to none other than "Choo Choo Charlie’s" home base of Portland OR.

In 2000 the City Council did what? They authorized a study of light rail which was really against the voter’s wishes when they voted down the tax increase for further studies in 1997.

In 2002, "a report" (one which we are still waiting Mr. Pat Dodds to provide us a copy of under a request for public information) recommends that we install light rail down Scottsdale Road to Tempe and wreaks of Sky Swindle, but there is no political support for it.

In 2005 the City received federal money for what? Answer is a "transit station" at none other than Sky Puke, while at the same time Valley Metro commissions a study for expanded light rail routes which now includes Oz.

In 2007 the "Three Ring Circus" commits to 50 K a year of taxpayer money to "have a seat at the table" knowing full well that voters have voted that the City not increase their taxes to study this any farther and in reality do not want them spending their tax dollars to research it further. Since the City decided to subvert the voters wishes, none of them are worthy of re-election.

Bottom line Ozites, is that sooner or later the "Three Ring Circus" that is in power now, and please remember the time line and who has been in office that long, will indeed, if re-elected, shove this fiasco down our throats one way or the other.

The number one issue that should have started Mr. Fountain Hills 4 part rant and the one being most important is the issue of how Oz grows in the future and the upcoming election that will decide how we move forward.

Well, here we are and we are not even through the first week of the New Year when who appears, yet again, in the Oz Repugnant with another article that is so full of "umpa lumpa turds" that my e-mailbox is filled with mail from pissed off residents, and now even business owners of the area, asking me to write yet another column to counter her continual drivel.

Business owners have now begun sending me e-mails asking why the City is not rebutting the Haskell baloney and how her drivel is a possible detriment to their business futures.

I have asked some of these businesses why they do not contact the Chamber of Commerce and have Rick Kidder refute Lisa, and their hysterical laughing subsides after a few minutes.

After some conversations with local business owners who are fed up with Haskell and after talking with residents I have decided that we will be opening a web site just like we did on the light rail issue where people can vote on how blighted they believe southern Oz is. The results of the poll will again be presented to the City Council and City staff, and this time we will be giving local media outlets access to the site so they can see the results first hand.

Also, like the light rail poll site, all e-mails will be disguised as anonymous so that every one can be assured, once again, that their e-mails will not end up on any e-mailing list. The site will have a host of questions with a box that can be checked and a space will be provided for any additional comments and we would like for everyone who logs in to provide us with either your name or the cross streets of where you live in the City.

Also as an added protection against Lisa and her merry band of 3 people, we will be providing a security feature that will only allow your e-mail address to be used in the poll once and you will be blocked from being able to send repeated submissions.

While we know that this will not shut Ms. Haskell up, it will prove once and for all that southern Oz residents love where they live, are happy with their community and services they require in their area and we would hope that the media will post the results in an article in their papers to show that what the Haskell 3 are saying is completely off kilter and out of whack with what the residents of the city think.

Did you know? In order to get a perspective of our mission with the upcoming web site we thought real information should be included instead of the baseless and out of whack comments we hear from the Haskell 3. The information below was provided by my friend David Roderique, also referred to as the General of Economic Disaster, and his title is all in good fun as David has done a great job with the City and its "economic vitality" over all the years he has served the residents of this City.

Since there is not one Council member who believes the South is blighted and destitute, and there are thousands and thousands of residents who also believe the same as well as City staffers, we really should not have to endure the Haskell stupidity much longer and we will prove it once the new web site is up in running. (hopefully by the next edition of the Activist we will have the link ready for activity)

Estimated population 2007:               

 South of Chap. 68,587       North of Chap164,150 

Actual population in 2000:                  

South of Chap. 59,471      North of Chap. 135,673 

Projected population in 2012:            

South of Chap. 72,560      North of Chap. 186,412 

Number of Households:                                       

South of Chap. 32,107      North of Chap. 70,409     

Average household income:              

South of Chap. ^$56,972     North of Chap. ^$115,563 

Ethnicity:                                    

White:    S. of Chap 66.0%      N. of Chap. 81.8%                                                 

Hispanic:  S. of Chap. 20.8%    N. of Chap. 10.6%                                                     

Black:      S. of Chap. 2.0%      N. of Chap. 1.4%                                        

Native American:  S. of Chap. 1.5%     N. of Chap. 0.4%                                                         
Asian:   S. of Chap. 2.1%      N. of Chap. 2.9%                                                         

Other:   S. of Chap. 7.6%      N. of Chap. 2.9% 

Median age:     S. of Chap. 38.2     N. of Chap. 41.6

Sex:                       

S. of Chap. 49% m 51% f    N. of Chap. 49% m 51% f     

Marital status (% currently married):         

S. of Chap. 38.3%  N. of Chap.  62.0% 

Educational attainment (of adults):                                       

High school grad:  S. of Chap. 89.6%     N. of Chap. 95.9%               

College grad:  S. of Chap. 33.0%     N. of Chap. 50.7% 

Average household size:  

S. of Chap. 1.9 persons per unit     N. of Chap. 2.3 persons per unit

Total housing units:                                  

S. of Chap. 36,425    N. of Chap.  82,677       

% single family homes:                  

S. of Chap. 38.0%    North of Chap.  62.1%         

% multi-family units:                          

S. of Chap. 62.0%    N. of Chap.  37.9% 

Housing ownership % owned:                                          

S. of Chap. 55.2%     N. of Chap. 74.2%         

% rented:    S. of Chap. 44.8%     N. of Chap. 25.8% 

Median number of yrs in current residence:  

S. of Chap. 3.3     N. of Chap. 2.7  %

Annual turnover in housing:    

S. of Chap. 21.8%    N. of Chap.  23.3% 

% of residents that have lived in same house 5+ years:  

S. of Chap. 31.5%     N. of Chap. 22.4% 

Median age of housing:                          

S. of Chap. 28.9 years     N. of Chap. 11.5 years 

Average travel time to work:               

S. of Chap. 20.1 minutes     N. of Chap. 23.3 minutes 

Average number of vehicles per household:     

S. of Chap. 1.5    N. of Chap.  1.8  

Total number of businesses:                            

S. of Chap. 3,975     N. of Chap. 9,088     

Total number of employees:                           

S. of Chap. 57,746     

N. of Chap. 118,508 

Unemployment rate (January 2007):                 

S. of Chap. 3.4%     N. of Chap. 2.6% 

Occupations:       

% white collar:                                          

S. of Chap. 69.1%     N. of Chap. 85.0             

% blue collar:                                            

S. of Chap. 30.9%     N. of Chap. 15.0 

The reality of these numbers alone should prove that we are not a blighted and destitute area and we also should not be willing to give subsidies to developers for their projects, considering the SkySong fiasco.

Southern Oz is not that far off in numbers from Northern Oz, and all the "umpa lumpa" that Haskell keeps spouting will finally be brought to an end. We intend to discredit the mantra she uses with her handlers not being able to refute the facts from their fiction.

~Buckaroo Betty, our Downtown design expert!

Last week we touched on the issue of how our City sucks at trying to mesh the new with the old. We gave you the example of Buckaroo Betty’s intelligence level as the design person of Downtown and how the new "space ship building" better known as the "4333 building" does not fit with the character of the area, however everyone thought "Betty knows best" as our southern Belle Mr. Ecton the "flatulating butthead" made reference to.

This week we would like to give you the visual. Below is the Old Fish Company building (originally the Red Dog Saloon) that was being refurbished just one building over from the 4333 building; and let’s remember how the city is really intent on destroying Old Town and Downtown.

As a matter of fact I was told today that our own "queen mother" actually did not want the building to look like this. Now we have all seen the design of the "4333 building" and you should remember the fight that merchants put up to defeat the buildings’ designs that will now be the entry point of HISTORIC DOWNTOWN.

So, which do you think would have been better as entry feature to Old Town? So, why do we keep putting up with a group of people who have no intent on doing anything more than destroying old town?

Oh yes, they all claim to be willing to battle any developer who tries to harm our Old Town and we approve quality projects like this that compliment that goal, but they are too stupid to see that a "space ship" design like the "4333 building" has no place in the Downtown and they approve it anyway.

Sorry, Buckaroo Betty, but you need to be run over the coals for your vote on the "4333 building", as well as the rest of the Council and the DRB, who voted for that piece of architectural trash in our downtown.

Welcome to Buckaroo Betty’s and the DRB and Councils new Downtown vision and planning, I say fire all of them and lets get some people who really know what the "big picture" is and how to promote it.

Well, here we go again Ozites and won’t this place be fun for Super Bowl events?

It appears that, again, Club "NEXT", the same club the City refuses to shut down, but denied its conditional use permit, and is still allowing to operate illegally in the Downtown, has had another problem.

It appears that on January 2^nd, a man was arrested on aggravated assault charges after hitting another patron over the head with a beer bottle Tuesday morning after shots were fired inside of the club. One shot was fired into the ceiling and one shot was fired into the floor. Of course the gunman fled and was never caught.

All of this begs the question to be placed before our "illustrious band of misfits who run this City": Why the hell hasn’t this place been shut down? What power does this business hold over the City that they cannot get off their dead asses and realize that this "club" is a detriment to our Downtown with more fights and gun play than even Sugar Daddies has had? Why is it that our illustrious City Manager and City Attorney have not taken the steps necessary to close the doors of this business by revoking their business license and pad locking the doors?

The City Council already voted to not allow him a needed permit to operate in the City limits, but for over a year now the business has been in operation while problems still persist. Again, it is the same reason we need to get rid of this Council and find someone with a back bone to fire the City Manager and the City Attorney for not doing what should have already been done.

Of course here in the Land of Oz and under the rule of a Misfit Mayor, Hack City Manager, and Puppet City Attorney with no clue what the hell they are doing, we will actually wait until someone gets killed in this establishment before somebody finally shuts the doors on this despicable trouble magnet.

Michael Merrill
F8713@aol.com

 ~ Best Christmas Story Ever

Here's a 'today' Yule story that occurred 3 weeks ago ~ AND NOW, in time for the holidays, I bring you the best Christmas story you never heard.

It started last Christmas, when Bennett and Vivian Levin were overwhelmed by sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops. "We have to let them know we care," Vivian told Bennett. So they organized a trip to bring soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philly, on Dec. 3.

The cool part is, they created their own train line to do it. Yes, there are people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin - native Philly guy, self-made millionaire and irascible former L&I commish - is one of them.

 He has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seating and white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at his Juniata Park train yard. One car, the elegant Pennsylvania, carried John F. Kennedy to the Army-Navy game in 1961 and '62. Later, it carried his brother Bobby's body to D. C. for burial.

"That's a lot of history for one car," says Bennett.

 He and Vivian wanted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975, during which trains carried Army-Navy spectators from around the country directly to the stadium where the annual game is played. The Levins could think of no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the wounded men and women recovering at Walter Reed in D. C. and Bethesda, in Maryland . "We wanted to give them a first-class experience," says Bennett. "Gourmet meals on board, private transportation from the train to the stadium, perfect seats - real hero treatment."

Through the Army War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett met with Walter Reed's commanding general, who loved the idea. But Bennett had some ground rules first, all designed to keep the focus on the troops alone: No press on the trip, lest the soldiers' day of pampering devolve into a media circus. No politicians either, because, says Bennett, "I didn't want some idiot making this trip into a campaign photo op."

And no Pentagon suits on board, otherwise the soldiers would be too busy saluting superiors to relax. 

The general agreed to the conditions, and Bennett realized he had a problem on his hands. "I had to actually make this thing happen," he laughs.

Over the next months, he recruited owners of 15 other sumptuous rail cars from around the country - these people tend to know each other - into lending their vehicles for the day. The name of their temporary train? The Liberty Limited.

Amtrak volunteered to transport the cars to D. C. - where they'd be coupled together for the round-trip ride to Philly - then back to their owners later.

Conrail offered to service the Liberty while it was in Philly. And SEPTA drivers would bus the disabled soldiers 200 yards from the train to Lincoln Financial Field, for the game.

 A benefactor from the War College ponied up 100 seats to the game -  on the 50-yard line - and lunch in a hospitality suite. And corporate donors filled, for free and without asking for  publicity, goodie bags for attendees:

From Woolrich, stadium blankets.

From Wal-Mart, digital cameras.

From Nikon, field glasses.

From GEAR, down jackets. 

There was booty not just for the soldiers, but for their guests, too, since each was allowed to bring a friend or family member. The Marines, though, declined the offer.

"They voted not to take guests with them, so they could take more Marines," says Levin, choking up at the memory.

 Bennett's an emotional guy, so he was worried about how he'd react to meeting the 88 troops and guests at D. C.'s Union Station, where the trip originated. Some GIs were missing limbs. Others were wheelchair-bound or accompanied by medical personnel for the day.

"They made it easy to be with them," he says. "They were all smiles on the ride to Philly. Not an ounce of self-pity from any of them.  They're so full of life and determination."

 At the stadium, the troops reveled in the game, recalls Bennett. Not even Army's lopsided loss to Navy could deflate the group's rollicking mood. 

Afterward, it was back to the train and yet another gourmet meal - heroes get hungry, says Levin - before returning to Walter Reed and Bethesda. "The day was spectacular," says Levin. "It was all about these kids. It was awesome to be part of it."

The most poignant moment for the Levins was when 11 Marines hugged them goodbye, then sang them the Marine Hymn on the platform at Union Station.

 "One of the guys was blind, but he said, 'I can't see you, but man, you must be f---ing beautiful!' " says Bennett. "I got a lump so big  in my throat, I couldn't even answer him."

It's been three weeks, but the Levins and their guests are still feeling the day's love. "My Christmas came early," says Levin, who is Jewish and who loves the Christmas season.

"I can't describe the feeling in the air." Maybe it was hope.

As one guest wrote in a thank-you note to Bennett and Vivian, "The fond memories generated last Saturday will sustain us all - whatever  the future may bring."

God bless the Levins. 

And bless the troops, every one.

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~ Information You Can Use

Just click on the logos below to go to these websites.

Send our Brave Troops "Something from Home", Click on  Links below.

Gathering of  Eagles Website was launched 2/9/07. Click on the Logo above for more information on how they are protecting America's Memorials.

~ UPDATE!! A "Must See" for All Americans

Every American should check out all of these websites to learn more about what the American population is about to have to deal with.

This is NOT for Children.

I don't normally allow anything but Scottsdale information in the Scottsdale Activist but after receiving many emails about this and viewing it, I think that it's imperative that every adult at least look at what's offered here if for  nothing more than their own education and to have everyone stop and think about the future of our country. Click on the link below,

 www.obsessionthemovie.com

If you don't have Adobe Flash, install it from the bottom of the page that comes up after you click on the link above. You should be able to view all available links within the main page.

The website below is of great interest as seen from a Lebanese point of view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8fa9yKQeTY

The website below gives some history of Terrorist attacks:

http://patriotfiles.org/civilizationcalls.htm

This website tell you what REALLY happened:

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened

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~ Arizona Tax Revolt

~ Prop 13 Arizona

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~ View Past City Council Meetings

We can now access the city council meetings by clicking on the following link:

If you have any problems, check your firewall and other safety features which could block access to the city site.

~Continuing Light Rail Information

The Scottsdale Citizens Transportation Study Committee invites you to view their website for more questions and answers at  www.norailforscottsdale.com .

================================================================

Simply click on the links below to get all the information you'll ever need concerning Light Rail.

     Goldwater Institute Report

     American Dream Coalition

    The Public Purpose

If you have any questions about light rail, send them to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we'll get the answers to you as soon as we can.

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~ For Continuing Information on Photo Radar,
Click on the Logo below.

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 ~Are Red-Light Cameras Fair to Drivers?

These modern-day robocops make ticketing easier and can be huge moneymakers for local governments. But critics question their accuracy and fret over privacy issues.

Click on the link below , then scroll down to read the article:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/AreRedLightCamerasFairToDrivers.aspx

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The Scottsdale Activist is very pleased to announce an effort on the behalf of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Scottsdale to promote open, honest and accountable city government. The Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) has been created to take legal action to hold the City accountable when its actions are contrary to state law, the City Charter, City ordinances or the public interest.

The most necessary ingredient to make the SLDF work will be confidential contributions from concerned Scottsdale citizens who are willing to help their community.  By contributing, we can change the way City Hall does business and insure that our tax dollars will be spent wisely.

No funds from the SLDF will or can be used for any political purpose.

Contributions shall be kept confidential as permissible by law and can be made in any Washington Mutual Bank to account number 3114165786 for the Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund. Branch locations are listed below. Contributions are not tax deductible.

The SLDF has retained the law firm of Miller LaSota & Peters, PLC, in connection with the patently illegal action taken by the Mayor and Council appointing the most recent Scottsdale City Attorney, while ignoring the residency requirement of the Scottsdale City Charter even though the new City Attorney’s contract (according to Scottsdale Republic reporter Laurie Roberts) requires that she reside in Scottsdale.  The City Council action was based on a legal opinion which was reportedly rendered during a closed door Executive Session of the City Council by a subordinate to the then acting City Attorney, who was subsequently appointed to the City Attorney position by a vote during a public City Council meeting. The opinion has been requested as a public document under state law, but the City has not yet provided it. The SLDF will take other appropriate legal actions based on the conduct of the Mayor and Council.

Washington Mutual Bank Locations at which contributions to the SLDF can be made are:

72^nd & Shea                    7337 E. Shea Blvd #120                480-609-8524
Hayden & Chaparral     7908 E. Chaparral # C-113            480-949-0069
Horizon                            14854 N Frank Lloyd Wright         480-614-6660
Scottsdale Ranch          10155 E. Via Linda Blvd #131       480-767-2060
Kierland Village              6501 E. Greenway Pkwy #133     480-315-2905

There are many other branches throughout the Valley.