Dear Editor:

I have been very interested to read reports about the back office dealings by the Scottsdale City Council. My neighborhood has been living through a nightmare for nearly two years which is just another example of what happens when decisions are made for the benefit of the Mayor’s friends and political insiders rather than for the benefits of the residents of our City.

I guess it should be no surprise that nearly two years after the City Council approved the request, a $35 million industrial eyesore - Arizona American Water Company’s Arsenic Removal Facility at Cattletrack - is still under construction. This is simply one more example of the small clique of insiders at city hall making decisions which benefit themselves with no concern for the good of the City’s residents.

Years ago, the Town of Paradise Valley had asked Arizona American Water Company ("AAWC"), a subsidiary of a multibillion dollar international conglomerate, to increase the amount of water pressure to a few parts of its Town. AAWC had not responded because they did not think they could get a rate increase to cover the costs from the Arizona Corporation Commission. Along came new Federal requirements to reduce the amount of arsenic in drinking water. Even though the water being delivered by AAWC only sometimes exceeded the new lower limits, they developed a plan to spend $35 million upgrading its facilities. Under the cover of a "public safety" issue, AAWC planned to upgrade its facilities to cover every potential increase in demand for the next 25 years, as well as increase its spending in order to request a higher rate structure from the Corporation Commission. The only problem was that their plan included building two, massive above ground industrial water tanks in the historic Cattletrack area.

The conventional wisdom was that building an industrial eyesore in a historical preserve area in the City of Scottsdale would be impossible. After all, the Town of Paradise Valley had already told AAWC that they could not build the tanks above ground in Paradise Valley. So how did the project get approval?

In the fall of 2004, the project was moving too slowly through the City. AAWC decided to bring in the Kiva's  "A" Team of John Berry (local zoning attorney and development icon) and Susan Bitter Smith (former City Councilwoman and self appointed political guru). Immediately, the project shifted into high gear. Internal emails between members of the City staff indicated that they were under pressure to meet Mr. Berry’s time schedule. Ms. Smith’s company was assigned to inform the neighborhood about the project, but no one was told about the above ground tanks. The fear of arsenic in the water was used as a scare tactic to take shortcuts at the City.

When Mr. Berry went before the City Council in January, 2005, he said that AAWC had worked closely with all of the neighbors. Yet, he could only produce two neighbors – each of whom benefited financially from the final plans – who were in favor of the plan. In fact, almost none of the neighbors had been consulted about the project. The few neighbors who had seen drawings of the site were shown pictures with the tanks lowered into the ground. Once the neighbors did get wind of the sham, the neighbors demanded that the City Council revisit the approval.

At a second January, 2005 City Council meeting, Mr. Berry stated that it was extremely important for the safety of the residents serviced by AAWC, especially babies and the elderly, that this project not be delayed even by a couple of weeks. He said that AAWC must meet a January, 2006 deadline or AAWC would be forced to bring bottled water to every resident. Further, AAWC would have to install a reverse osmosis in every home. So, the City Council dutifully sided with Mr. Berry.

Did AAWC meet the January, 2006 deadline? Not even close. The facility is still not even remotely close to be finished. Did AAWC have to bring in bottled water or install reverse osmosis systems? Nope. In fact, AAWC knew that they would not even begin testing the water pumped from the facility until the end of 2006. And then, they would still have ample flexibility to postpone the deadline as long as they were making progress on the plant. Are the residents in any danger? No. The levels of arsenic are so low already that they could stay that way for years with no health impact. All of the players knew this as they pulled the proverbial wool over Council’s eyes.

So why was it presented as an emergency to the City Council? Mr. Berry and AAWC knew that if the plan was given a full public hearing that it would never pass. AAWC had plenty of other places and ways they could build their facility which would not have a negative impact on the neighbors. There were actually 16 other locations considered for this project aside from Cattletrack, but the majority of them were in Paradise Valley. Most of the cost for this project benefits only Paradise Valley by improving water flow. None of AAWC’s Scottsdale customers have any water pressure issues. Yet Scottsdale residents are responsible for the same rate increases as our Paradise Valley neighbors serviced by AAWC. And we got stuck with an industrial plant in a historical arts community, and which negatively impacts the surrounding Scottsdale property values.

AAWC chose this plan simply because it was the best way to maximize their profits. AAWC added a few extra dollars to the bottom line of a multibillion dollar German-based conglomerate at the expense of local residents and a beautiful historically registered site. After all, what do they care – they made a profit – in fact, so did Berry and Bitter-Smith.

Why is this important to residents outside of the Cattletrack area? John Berry and Susan Bitter Smith have been part of gaining approval for virtually every big development project that has gone before the City Council for years. The track record for this "A" team is astounding. You have to look pretty hard to find anything brought by Berry and Bitter Smith which wasn’t approved. I have nothing against Mr. Berry. As a zoning attorney, he has proven to be exceptionally adept at advocating developments for his wealthy corporate clients.

As a resident of Scottsdale, however, I wonder whether these projects are approved simply because Mr. Berry and Ms. Smith were representing them. Mr. Berry and Ms. Bitter Smith have numerous, well documented ties with members of the Council and the City staff. Even after these facts were presented to members of the City Council, our neighborhood group was told by a council member not to be too harsh towards Mr. Berry or Ms. Bitter Smith in any City Council meetings for fear of offending certain members of the Council. After all, every then member of the Council had been to Ms. Bitter Smith’s home for fund raisers and holiday parties.

Yes, this is political chicanery at its best. How do you, as a citizen, get around this? Well, for starters, you put better, more competent people on the Council, people who make ethical decisions with the intent of benefiting City residents and not the Kiva insiders. In a City filled with intelligent, educated residents, we should have a Mayor and a City Manager who listen to the actual desires of our residents instead of imposing their own will upon us. We should have leaders with vision instead of ones who march in lock step with the zoning attorneys. Political back pockets shouldn’t be fat with favors owed which can be fulfilled at the drop of a hat.

Most importantly, keep an eye on what goes on in the infamous Kiva. We will not know the true impact of the decisions made there for many years. It’s about time the City Council starts working for the residents again.

Sincerely,

Eric Nesvig

Two of the enclosed photos as seen from our backyard, 150 feet away from the industrial eyesore. The other shows the proximity of the tanks to a private residence.  Can you see Camelback Mountain? We used to be able to until the ugly brown tanks were built.

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  ~ Where Did They Go??

Question:

Check out the City's web site under the link for Boards and Commissions, then click on "current applicants".  In the past, qualifications of those wishing to be appointed were listed in the space that is now blank.  So, people are being appointed to Boards and Commissions and we have no way of knowing their background or if they have ANY qualifications to sit on a Board or Commission.  Is this another covert operation by the City?  Transparency in Scottsdale government has apparently gone underground.

Answer:

George, This is a follow-up email to our phone conversation this morning, as you requested.

In Jan. 2005, the City Council enhanced the board and commission process by nominating and interviewing/appointing members at separate, televised meetings. 

Citizens and the City Council now have the opportunity to listen to nominees explain how their background, education and experience qualify them for the position, why they would like to serve on the board/commission and what they feel is the most important issue facing the board/commission at a public meeting before being appointed. 

Prior to this time, applicants were nominated and appointed in a one-step process without an interview.  Now there is a one to two week break between the nomination and interview process.

In the past, a Council secretary summarized information contained on each application into one paragraph. This was provided to the Council along with the applications and was also included on the applicant listing posted online.

These summaries took a lot of time to prepare and required judgment calls about what information to include and not to include. 

Over the summer,  following the implementation of a new application form, the summaries were no longer provided to the Council. Since the summaries were no longer being prepared, this information wasn't available for the applicant listing posted on the Internet. 

Please keep in mind that the only requirement in City Code to serve on most boards/commissions is Scottsdale residency. For those boards where specific background/experience is required, that information, as reported by the applicant, is still provided in the Notes section of the applicant listing.

Individual applications as well as the complete board/commission packet are always available for review upon request in the City Clerk's office. 

Feel free to direct others to me directly by phone or email if they have any questions about this process or need more information.

Thanks,

Brent Stockwell
Assistant to the Mayor/Council
City of Scottsdale
Direct: (480) 312-7288
Fax: (480) 312-7885

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Yes, the Photo Radar cameras are off, and Yes, the speed sensors are still on.

What most city officials doggedly refuse to accept is that the speeders have never gone away, they just speed between camera locations and brake when they come to a camera location. As soon as the camera zone is exited, they put the pedal to the metal again. I know that for a fact; I drive the 101 between the camera locations 3 to 4 times daily in both directions from the busy time to the late evening hours.

The other issue the city and majority of the council doggedly refuse to accept is that the state highways and freeways are under the jurisdiction of the state, not the cities.

• Why did the City Council violate the Scottsdale City Ordinances by allowing an "experiment" to exceed 90 days as strictly stipulated by the city ordinance?

• Why should the city of Scottsdale taxpayers pay for the expenses when the state gets an automatic 47% of every fine collected?

• Why should the city pay for an operation which took pictures of almost 200,000 violators and actually collect on less than 21% of those caught speeding?

• Why was the city allowed to break state law by using a system which the Arizona Supreme Court says is illegal?

• Is everyone aware that lease vehicles, rental vehicles, out of state vehicles, vehicles operated by those other than the registered owner are never charged, therefore DO NOT PAY FINES?

• Did you know that 90% of all freeway accidents happen at speeds between 35 and 50 mile per hour but are still listed as "speed related" because the driver was going faster than was "prudent and reasonable" and wasn't "being attentive" to current traffic conditions?

• How many drunk drivers, drugged drivers, reckless drivers, or those drivers with suspended licenses drive blindly through the camera zones without being ticketed for any offense other than speeding?

•  How many stolen vehicles are being photographed but not stopped because there is no police officer there to make the arrest?

• How many illegal aliens are driving through to other areas possibly in other states and will not be ticketed because there isn't a police officer on the scene?

• How many drivers "test" the system by speeding and either putting something over their face or have the plastic cover over their license plates or worse yet, remove the license plate "just for kicks"?

• If over 100 DUI cases in Tempe are going to be dismissed because the arresting officer was tragically killed in an unfortunate accident and CANNOT TESTIFY IN PERSON TO THE VIOLATION, why should it be any different for a photo radar violation where there was not one living police officers present at the time the picture and speed recordation of the violation was taken?

• Why do most police vehicles have video cameras and audio recording devices if it's not to verify the actions and conversations of the violator thereby substantiating the charges by the charging officer? Do photo radar units have those amenities?

Another point of information for those of you who use radar detectors:

• Most law enforcement officers do not leave their radar units on. They only trigger them when the speed of an approaching vehicle seems to be over the limit. Most officers with whom I'm familiar can judge a vehicles speed to within 1 to 3 miles per hour and only when that speed exceeds the posted, or reasonable and prudent speed for the particular highway or highway conditions will the officer trigger his radar unit.

• In addition, the new radar units can figure your exact speed when you are advancing up to a police vehicle from the rear or head on, even when they are moving toward or away from you in any lane, even a divided highway like SR-87 or I-17, as long as the beam can see the vehicle.

• Before you see the patrol car, they have usually already seen you: That, my friends is why their job is called Public Safety.

Simple Solution: Add more sworn DPS officers on all state controlled freeways and highways.

• There is no substitute for the good old fashioned manned and marked or unmarked police vehicles parked on the side of the roadway or patrolling from the right (slow) lane with their dual direction radar units which work very well and are extremely accurate.

• The radar units, front and rear, are checked for exact calibration every time an officer enters his vehicle to start his shift, and again should he/she decide to stake out a specific location known for dangerous speeding, or after the vehicle has been turned off for any length of time.

• Speed control zones on freeways like the 101 are also very effective when one or two patrol vehicles trigger their radar units as necessary and send the motorcycle officer after the offender from behind a pillar, bush or other convenient place where they wait for the offenders.

• Even a radar unit such as the one pictured to the right, even though taken as a humorous picture as a stunt at some time in the past in Texas, is better than photo radar because a "live" officer can radio to a motorized unit to intercept the violator.

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I’ve been asked by many citizens how Performance Reviews for the City Manager and other Charter positions are handled and how often they are reviewed.

My understanding is that the City Council does the Performance Reviews themselves for all Charter Officers including the City Attorney, who by her own final public admission, is a charter officer. These reviews are performed supposedly on an annual basis and apparently without any input from citizens, staff or others who may have regular contact with the persons being reviewed.

One of the big objections that has been floated around apparently by those being reviewed is that the process could well be tainted because it is being conducted by a political body rather than by their peers which means that the outcome could well be political rather than objective.

I would agree to some degree. But then let’s remember that the appointments were political as an end result anyway so when you live by the sword, you may also die by the sword figuratively speaking. At the same time, all appointees need to remember that ultimately, you will be judged by the citizens by the way they vote during elections and the way you are respected and judged on a daily basis.

A much more fair review process for appointed city personnel might be three (3) members from the council; a council member from the majority, one from the minority, and one from the middle based on their voting record, along with two (2) charter officers who deal with the person being reviewed on a regular basis. The final review would be decided by the full City Council taking into account the positives and negatives from the preliminary five (5) person panel. This would help alleviate the charge of the process being too political.

As citizens and voters, we all need to pay CRITICAL attention to not only what the council members do, say, and how well they listen, but we need to watch and listen to the advice that is being given to the council by these same appointed charter officers who do actually attempt to push the council in one direction or the other.

Most importantly, we need to pay attention to whether City Council members AND appointed Charter Officers do what they say they’re going to do, and then if they keep the promises they have made.

It's always very important for elected and appointed personnel to remember that the taxpayers and the citizens are the actual "owners" of the city and therefore your actions are subject to the scrutiny of the "owners" of said city.

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 ~ Republic's Leger Out of Sync Like Manross?

What happened to the great guy we read about from Springfield Missouri who was coming to Scottsdale bringing his world class, excellent and common sense reporting style which we so desperately needed in Scottsdale?

I don't know how he does it or where he gets it but Robert Leger showed up in far left field after the game was over, so to speak, with his apparent lies, misquotes, and off base editorial on Wednesday.

As he has since Tony Nelssen was elected, Leger has still and again misquoted Tony on more than one occasion in the Scottsdale Republic editorial including Tuesday's Council Work Study Session on the proposed Transportation Plan.

Besides misquoting Nelssen on numerous occasions since he came to town, he puts words in Tony's mouth which were never spoken, then apparently attributes someone else's comments to Tony. He also appears to paraphrase Nelssen's comments with quotes which is not the legitimate thing to do. It also seems that Mr. Leger likes to quote things that are spoken "off the record" which is also very unprofessional.

Mr. Leger needs to either clean up his act by using a tape recorder to get his facts straight and present the exact facts including quotes properly, or pack up his notebook and grab the first stage out of town heading back to the Ozarks.  I understand the stagecoaches leave daily out of gate 3.

This town already has more than enough liars, story tellers, and fact fabricators in the local print media and city hall.

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~ Glaring Omission in Transportation Plan?

Chaparral Road widening which is an absolute must is seemingly missing from the new Transportation Plan. Why? It's very obvious to even a 10 year old that with the thousands of new condos in the eleven locations within the downtown Scottsdale area that we need every traffic lane available to service these new residents and feed Fashion Square and other downtown venues. This widening project should be right in there with the new Indian Bend project as well as the McDonald Road improvement, but we don't see it anywhere. Why?

Is anyone in this city so naive to think that any of these high end residents are going to stand outside in 110^o temperatures 5 to 6 months of the year waiting for any kind of mass transit to come along?  They are going to get into their air conditioned Beemers, Hummers, Rollers, Bentley's, Lincoln Zephyr, Mark LT, MKX's or Caddy LXR, SRX, CTX, STS's, or Escalades, or their Jag's which are parked in their cool and secure underground parking area and drive in luxurious comfort to where ever they desire to go. Let's get real here folks and disregard the extravagant and ill-conceived pipedreams of people who have spent too much time in the Arizona sun without a hat.

We have empty busses and trolley's running like ghost vehicles up and down and across the downtown area now. Why does anyone with even a somewhat logical mind think that a new shiny but slower anything would improve ridership or the use of mass transit to the ridiculous cost of billion's of taxpayer dollars?

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The growing and weed season is over but you can't tell it by looking at the condition of many neighborhoods today.

We don't know where the Code Enforcement agents are but they certainly don't seem to be working the neighborhoods as they were a year ago. There is tall grass, dead trees, trash, illegally parked  and abandoned, non operational vehicles, as well as weeds knee high in many areas of the city and they are not on the violation map at all.

How many agents are writing down and reporting addresses of properties with hand written rental signs posted? How many drive the alleys to check for violations? How many times a month do they "sweep" their areas to catch up on violations? This department is suppose to be proactive. We've watched a dead tree 20 feet from the street in clear view stand for over six (6) months without it being on the violation list until it was finally called in or shown on the infamous "Picture Show" that gets presented to the City Council from time to time when things get so bad they neighborhoods feel like there is no other option.

It's rumored that some in this department have secondary jobs and others just don't get out of their cars or pickups anymore than they have to for whatever reason.

Do we have a morale problem in this city department? Are the agents overworked? Are the supervisors on the road working or simply "driving a phone and a desk" behind closed doors in the office? Do the management people spend a full workday on the job, or do they come in late and leave early?

This department seems to have more complaints from employees from their own and as well as from other departments than any other department in the city. It seems that something must be wrong within this department management from everything we're hearing and seeing and it needs to be corrected. We've gone from 4 agents a couple of years ago to 15 agents now. The great improvements we first saw seem to be gone and we're back to the same old "Ho Hum".

I would say this needs to be corrected ASAP.

That's not to say that there aren't great employees within the department because there certainly are and we certainly appreciate them, but should they have to do the work and carry the load of those whom aren't holding up their end of their responsibility? We don't think so.

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It's seems rare that anyone personally and publicly thanks our city employees for doing an excellent job taking care of the thousands of different tasks required of them over the course of a year.  We have been so fortunate to work with many very attentive and helpful city employees over the years that I wanted to take the time to thank each and every one of them for all of their hard work, superior customer service, and their aim to please. To them I say Thank You Very Much for taking your precious time to provide the best service possible under what sometimes seems like an impossible and unpleasant situation!

I would also like to sincerely thank the scores of anonymous city employees from many different departments who have sent us letters and anonymous emails along with phone calls with serious concerns about employees who are skating on their job responsibilities, holding second jobs which they work on during city time, those who spend more time on their personal cell phones than on their jobs, those including management who come to work late and leave early on a regular basis, those who make "a little detour" to do some shopping or personal errands without permission from their superiors, and those who seem not to give a damn about the city or the department they are suppose to be working for as long as they get their paycheck. We would also like to thank those that have told us of the good things happening in a number of departments, this is just as, or even more important in many ways as knowing of those not doing their jobs properly.

As I have pledged to all of you from day one, your identity is non existent in my files and I don't keep them even if you ever slipped and sent them to me at some time or another. You are to be congratulated for feeling a deep concern for the health and safety of the city you have chosen to work for and for having the intestinal fortitude to step forward, even if it's in anonymity, to try desperately to help the city you all love and are trying to protect.

We are well aware of your intense fear of retribution from superiors and or fellow workers and as before, we pledge to make sure your identity is totally unknown.

On behalf of the citizens of this fine city, I would like to sincerely thank each of you for all of your time and effort. It's really too bad these thing have to go on within the ranks of city employment.

We want to make sure and say that those offenders of the city policies are a very small minority of the employees but it only takes one bad apple to spotlight a department and spoil the entire barrel.

We would also like to congratulate the following departments for whom we have not received one single complaint to date which includes: 

• Water, Waste & Recycling (except for the ugly water plant at Hayden and McDonald)

• Police, Fire, and Public Safety,

• Social Services, Health and Education

• City Clerks office

• Business Services & Taxes

• Environmental & Preservation

• Finance, Demographics & Economics

• City Audit Department

We also need to acknowledge that some complaints have been handled very successfully by either explaining certain simple city policies, the Ethics Code, city laws and ordinances, or as a last chance stop, contacting the department director or manager involved and found those complaints were simply misunderstandings and were quickly solved leaving everyone happy and satisfied. We still have a couple of outstanding issues which we believe are currently being handled by city management.

The saddest part of this entire article is that scores of employees don't feel they can go to their supervisors because their supervisors apparently consider such questions or complaints as incompetence, meddling, as an unnecessary intrusion, or as an attack on the supervisor themselves. Sometimes, it seems like the supervisor is afraid to take the problem any higher for the same reasons as the employee fears. That folks is a lose-lose and sad situation. We need to work on win-win situations with all problems.

If we have any members of city management who show by their actions or say that "it's my way or the highway", they need to be replaced immediately by a much more compassionate and understanding person who is willing to work with these employees to make things better as a whole. Isn't that what "Management" is all about?

Thank each and every one of you for your contributions and devoted dedication to your jobs and to the citizens of Scottsdale, and for your successful attempts at improving our fine city, sometimes in the face of many unnecessary obstacles and nay-sayers.

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 ~ Laurie Roberts Hit's the Nail on the Head !!

Check out Laurie's column in the Scottsdale Republic by clicking on the link below:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/1026sr-roberts1026.html

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 ~Light Rail Information (repeated by request)

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

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~ Home of the Week

 ~ Questions?

Many readers have asked why we don't expose those nasty, ugly rundown trashy properties we wish City Code Enforcement would cite and force to cleanup. We feel that it is much better to show the examples of homes that show pride of ownership rather than those trash piles and filth holes we all know about. If you have one of those "nasty" homes in your neighbor hood, email  rkeagy@scottsdalaz.gov  giving him all of the pertinent information including address, and you don't need to leave your name, unless you want to be contacted.

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

 ~Another Beauty!

Pride of Ownership in what's now considered Southern Scottsdale is spreading like wildfire. These homes are all well built solid brick homes and continue to age very gracefully, renovate extremely well, and easily maintain and "grow" their resale value.

This is another home still thought of as a 'Top of the Line" just as it was when it was built over 45 years ago. It's been meticulously maintained while maintaining the shade, shrubs, and grass which make this home the envy of the neighborhood. This jewel is hidden deep in a south Scottsdale area containing many lovely homes.

There are many wonderful and beautiful neighborhoods within the city of Scottsdale. Do yourself a favor and take the long way home sometime and see what other home owners are doing to improve their neighborhoods. How does your home compare?

If you know of an outstanding home which you feel should to be honored by having the picture displayed in the Scottsdale Activist, send the address to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com .

We have been asked why we don't include homes in HOA controlled subdivisions. We are looking for exceptional homes in areas where the homeowner has to be the driving force behind the beautiful home, not the HOA rules and regulations. We would definitely look at any home in a HOA controlled area that is exceptional and owner maintained rather than by a lawn or landscape service, but so far, we haven't been advised of any that meet that criteria.

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Jan & Mary:

One conclusion is clear from Tuesday's Work Study session -- several of us on the Council believe that the scope of the current Transportation Master Plan update study is too narrow.  Therefore, please agendize at the earliest possible opportunity a Council Action Item to broaden the scope of the current Transportation Master Plan update study.

The specific items I want the Council to consider adding to the study are listed below.  I am sure that those of my Council colleagues who share this concern will be happy to add their suggestions to the list for consideration.

1. Revisit the designation of Scottsdale Road as a high capacity transit corridor to consider other alternatives routes such as Loop 101.
    

2. Expand the mass transit technology options being considered beyond just bus rapid transit, light rail transit, and modern streetcar.
    

3. How about really thinking outside the box to consider non-transportation options such as Telecommuting to reduce traffic congestion?   For a fraction of the cost of light rail we could wire the city for gigabit Ethernet as another utility like water and sewer, which would promote travel-reducing activities such as teleconferencing.  We could partner with the Indian community to pre-wire their growing employment centers to pre-empt some of the traffic congestion that they might otherwise create. 

I have to credit Norwood Sisson for suggesting this to me.

Thank you,

Councilman Bob Littlefield

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Rick Kidder, (President and CEO of the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce) (Tribune, 10-24) doesn't want Scottsdale residents to "rush to judgment" when considering a wide range of transit options for our community.  Fair enough.  But is it truly a "rush to judgment" to eliminate an oft-mentioned option so obviously flawed as to be a virtual non-starter from any realistic economic or political standpoint?

Specifically, how many people really believe that ripping up Scottsdale Road to plop down an untested and hugely expensive light rail system has any merit whatsoever as a potential solution to our transportation problems?  I suspect, very few. 

It's one thing to debate the astronomical cost, the near-catastrophic congestion, and the questionable ridership levels of light rail in Scottsdale.  Clearly, the notion itself is problematic and a source of ongoing and vigorous skepticism in the community.  But to add to this already contentious debate the destruction of our signature thoroughfare renders an already questionable concept essentially null and void.

Let’s have a good debate on the future of transit in Scottsdale -- including light rail.  But let's keep it real by rushing to the realistic judgment that Scottsdale Road as a potential site for light rail is "off the table" as a viable option.

Charles Peters
Scottsdale, AZ 85258

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 ~ Greedy Still Own Scottsdale

Is it any wonder why the residents don't trust the City leaders?

When has the Mayor and council majority told the truth about light rail?

How many months, years will Scottsdale Road be detoured during the construction?

How is this no-brainer idea going to ease the road traffic by squeezing in street cars?

No! We residents never get a true story of what the situation will be. It's almost as good as the tear up of Scottsdale Road when the other no-brainer idea was to tear up the business section and put an entrance to underground parking in the center of the road. How much of our tax money went down the City Hall sewer on that nightmare?

We need to see some progress on Los Arcos or has the powers forgotten how many years we have looked at an empty lot at Scottsdale Road and McDowell.

The meek may inherit the Earth but the greedy will still own Scottsdale, once the West's Most Western Town tourist attraction (is) known as Orangedale.

Richard Graham
Scottsdale

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 ~ Photo Radar Still Costly and Illegal

If I am not mistaken, when I spoke about the waste of taxpayers money and the extension of the right of way permit which by the contract that 2 of you discussed with me and you were not bound by as the city manager put it, you said you could not count on the anecdotal evidence.

Well, 50 K later of wasted taxpayer money and in less than 24 hours it appears I was as correct as I said I was and people have gone back to the same way they are going to drive, period.

I also told you that 4 of you had the audacity to think that you could change driver behavior at the cost of millions to the taxpayers because I think the city speaks with forked tongue about the money they say they have collected.

I believe our city manager claimed 1000 tickets per day were needed to return the funds to the taxpayers, yet you were only able to collect on 18,000 tickets when you clicked off 185,000.

Nice job folks, you are really working in a world class cloud of cluelessness and if you want some public input that could save us the money you will waste on another "survey" then check out the online story of the loop 101 in Republic today and see what they are calling you.

Yep, you are really winning points with the public in two categories, wasting our money, and screwing up the freeway.

Thanks,

Mike Merrill
Scottsdale

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Why is it that the city could demolish 20 wonderful nice sized, well kept  family homes on McDonald a few years ago to "improve traffic flow and reduce congestion and air pollution" from the 101  freeway but hasn't seen fit to put the widening of the Chaparral Road bottleneck into the Transportation Plan?

It would seem that the Director of Scottsdale Transportation, Mary O'Connor, would rather build roundabouts/traffic circles and other road-blocking and narrowing devices rather than attack the REAL traffic problems in this city.

What's with those sheets of iron sticking out of the ground on Hayden north of Cactus? Wouldn't it have made more sense and been better to re-engineer the Hayden roadway to 3 lanes each direction with a reasonable and navigable intersection at FLW and Hayden instead of the "iron art" populating the spacious roadside open space?

It's very clear to me that both the city manager Jan Dolan and Trans Director Mary O'Connor are trying to congest traffic rather than decongest it which is what desperately needs to be done.

Maybe they need to "decongest" their offices by resigning.

A. Arnold
Scottsdale

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~ View Past City Council Meetings

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

http://scottsdale.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3

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

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~ Just for Giggles 
 

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On Ads In Bills:

Have you ever noticed that they put advertisements in with your bills now? Like bills aren't distasteful enough, they have to stuff junk mail in there with them. I get back at them. I put garbage in with my check when I mail it in. Coffee grinds, banana peels...I write, "Could you throw this away for me? Thank You."

On Fabric Softener:

My wife uses fabric softener. I never knew what that stuff was for. Then I noticed women coming up to me (sniff) 'Married' (walk off). That's how they mark their territory. You can take off the ring, but it's hard to get that April fresh scent out of your clothes.

My wife's from the Midwest. Very nice people there. Very wholesome. They use words like 'Cripes'. 'For Cripe's sake.' Who would that be, Jesus Cripe's? The son of 'Gosh' of the church of 'Holy Moly'? I'm not making fun of it. You think I wanna burn in 'Heck'?

On Pregnancy:

It's weird when pregnant women feel the baby kicking. They say, 'Oh my God. He's kicking. Do you wanna feel it?' I always feel awkward reaching over there. Come on! It's weird to ask someone to feel your stomach.

On Grandma:

My grandmother has a bumper sticker on her car that says, 'Sexy Senior Citizen.' You don't want to think of your grandmother that way, do you? Out entering wet shawl contests. Makes you wonder where she got that dollar she gave you for your birthday.

Did you know that it costs forty-thousand dollars a year to house each prisoner? Jeez, for forty-thousand bucks a piece I'll take a few prisoners into my house. I live in Los Angeles. I already have bars on the windows. I don't think we should give free room and board to criminals. I think they should have to run twelve hours a day on a treadmill and generate electricity. And if they don't want to run, they can rest in the chair that's hooked up to the generator.

On Award Shows:

Can you believe how many award shows they have now? They have awards for commercials. The Cleo Awards, a whole show full of commercials. I taped it and then I fast-forwarded through the whole thing.

On Phone-In-Polls:

You know those shows where people call in and vote on different issues? Did you ever notice there's always like 18% that say "I don't know." it costs 90 cents to call up and vote... They're voting "I don't know." "Honey, I feel very strongly about this. Give me the phone. (Into Phone) I DON'T KNOW!" ( Hangs up looking proud.) "Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe you're not sure about."

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~ Here & There

 ~ Bread Dated by the Color Band

This is a long list, interesting, informative and possibly money saving too

1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair
2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish
3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes
4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair
5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea
7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water--milk works too but is more costly
8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste
9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!
10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too
11 Bee stings - meat tenderizer
12. Chigger bite - Preparation H
13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H
14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)
15. Stinky feet - Jello
16. Athletes feet - cornstarch
17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails -Vicks vapor rub
18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it w! ill also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)
19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also. Use Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it
20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's. Wipe off with a coffee filter paper
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray
22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands. Keep a can in your garage for your hubby
23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls
24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on
25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar
26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice
27. Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak
28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia, soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years
29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's
30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.
32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel
33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter
34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets, soak overnight
35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it
36. Dirty grout - Listerine
37. Stains on clothes - Colgate
38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup
39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola, it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries
40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- Sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox, or 2 Bayer Aspirin, or just use 7-up instead of water.
42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week?

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.

They are:

• Monday = Blue,
• Tuesday = Green,
• Thursday = Red,
• Friday = White,
• Saturday = Yellow.

So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday!

Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

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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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~TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS IN SCOTTSDALE

Oct. 26, 2006

The following is a partial list of road construction projects and traffic restrictions taking place in Scottsdale Oct. 27 through Nov. 5. For more information, contact mphillips@ScottsdaleAz.gov

STREET REPAVING PROJECTS:
These road restrictions will be in place to permit street repaving:
** 115th Street from Happy Valley to Jomax roads will be restricted to one-way traffic only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. starting Monday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 31. 115th Street will be open for use by southbound traffic on Monday and by northbound traffic on Tuesday.
** Shea Boulevard from Via Linda to Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard will be restricted to one open eastbound lane between the hours of 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 4 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 6.  Westbound Shea will not be restricted.
** Pinnacle Peak Road from Miller to Pima roads will be restricted to one open lane in each direction between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 4-5.

McKELLIPS ROAD, FROM MILLER TO SCOTTSDALE ROADS
Westbound lane closures will take place on McKellips Road, between Miller and Scottsdale roads, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Tuesday, Oct. 31, to permit work on utility lines.

McDONALD DRIVE AT MILLER AND SCOTTSDALE ROAD INTERSECTIONS
McDonald Drive will experience single lane closures in both directions at times at its intersection with Miller and Scottsdale roads from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Friday, Oct. 27, to permit work on potholes. During those same dates and hours, a single southbound lane on Scottsdale Road will be closed at times to permit the repair work.

THOMPSON PEAK PKWY, McDOWELL MOUNTAIN RANCH TO BELL
Southbound lane closures will take place at times on Thompson Peak Parkway from McDowell Mountain Ranch Road to Bell Road from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through Nov. 7 to permit work in manholes. During those same dates and times, lane closures in both directions on Bell Road from the Loop 101 to Thompson Peak Parkway will take place.

DRINKWATER BOULEVARD AT RANCHO VISTA DRIVE
The southbound curb lane on Drinkwater Boulevard at Rancho Vista Drive will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 3 to permit utility line work.

MILLER ROAD, BELLEVIEW TO MORELAND STREETS
Bike lanes will be closed in both directions on Miller Road from Belleview to Moreland streets from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through mid November to permit water line installation. During those same dates and hours, northbound traffic on Miller Road will be shifted to the center lane.

SHOEMAN LANE, BROWN AVENUE TO BUCKBOARD TRAIL
Shoeman Lane will be completely closed from Brown Avenue to Buckboard Trail from 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, through 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 30, to permit concrete work.

124TH SREET, IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF SHEA BOULEVARD
The median lanes in both directions of 124th Street will be closed immediately north of Shea Boulevard starting Monday, Oct. 30, through Nov. 6 to permit construction of a turn lane in the center median.

74TH STREET RESTRICTIONS
** 74th Street will be completely closed south of McDowell Road to north of Belleview Street through midnight on Oct. 27 to permit sewer line work. The suggested detour route is Miller Road. Access will be provided for traffic entering bank and commercial center on 74th Street and McDowell.
** Lane closures in both directions will take place at times on 74th Street at Shea Boulevard from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 17 to permit utility line work.

PRINCESS DRIVE AT SCOTTSDALE ROAD
The westbound curb lane on Princess Drive at Scottsdale Road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Friday, Oct. 27, to permit road work.

90TH STREET AT HELM DRIVE
Lane closures in both directions will take place at times on 90th Street at Helm Drive from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 16 to permit utility line work.

60TH STREET, NORTH OF WESTLAND DRIVE
The southbound curb lane on 60th Street, north of Westland Drive will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Sunday, Oct. 29, to permit asphalt work.

SHEA BOULEVARD, 85TH PLACE TO SCOTTSDALE ROAD
The westbound curb lane on Shea Boulevard from 85th Place to Scottsdale Road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily through Friday, Oct. 27, to permit utility work in manholes.

OTHER SCOTTSDALE ROAD RESTRICTIONS
** The southbound curb lane on Scottsdale Road will be closed, from Rancho Vista Drive to Highland Avenue from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 3 for road work.
** The northbound right-turn only lane on Scottsdale Road at Princess Drive will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Tuesday, Oct. 31, for road work. During those same dates and times, the eastbound curb lane on Princess will be closed at Scottsdale Road.
** The intersection of Scottsdale and McDowell roads will be reduced to one lane in each direction from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly starting Sunday, Oct. 29, through Nov. 7 to permit work on water lines.

PINNACLE PEAK ROAD, BETWEEN 81ST AND 83RD STREETS
Traffic restrictions, including lane closures, will take place at times on Pinnacle Peak Road between 81st to 83rd streets through October to permit work on a sewer line project.

PIMA ROAD RESTRICTIONS
** Southbound Pima Road is reduced to one open lane, from Via de Ventura to Inner Circle Drive, through October to permit road work.
**Northbound Pima from Thompson Peak Parkway to north of Haulapai Drive will be reduced to one lane from 5:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through October to permit road widening. As part of this project, there will be no access permitted between Downing Olson and Pima Road through early December. 94th Street is the recommended alternative.
For more information on the project visit:
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/capitalprojects/proj_report.asp?proj=S2104&status=S2104

CACTUS ROAD RESTRICTIONS
** Cactus Road will be restricted to one lane in each direction from 102nd to 106th streets from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through Saturday, Oct. 28, to permit work on utility lines.
** The westbound curb lane on Cactus Road at 100th Street will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 14 to permit utility line work.
** Lane restrictions in both directions of Cactus Road at 90th Street will take place from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly through Nov. 4 to permit work on a gas line.
** The westbound curb lane and the eastbound center lane on Cactus Road at 102nd Street will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 6 for work on utility lines.

HAYDEN/CACTUS ROADS INTERSECTION
The Hayden Road/Cactus Road intersection is reduced to one lane in all directions through November to permit road improvement work. As part of this project, Redfield Road from 79th Street to Hayden Road is restricted to one lane in each direction through November.
For more information on the Cactus Road widening project, visit:
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/capitalprojects/proj_report.asp?proj=S2103&status=S2103

HAYDEN ROAD, ROOSEVELT STREET TO PALM LANE
Lane restrictions in both directions will take place at times on sections of Hayden Road from Roosevelt Street to Palm Lane from 11 p.m. to 6 am. nightly through Friday, Oct. 27, to permit work on utility lines.

CAMELBACK ROAD, 64TH TO 68TH STREETS
Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on Camelback Road from 64th to 68th streets through Nov. 11 to permit street improvements.
More information on this project is available at:
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/capitalprojects/proj_report.asp?proj=S0301&status=S0301

DOWNING OLSEN DRIVE, EAST OF PIMA ROAD TO 89TH PLACE
Downing Olsen Drive will be completely closed to traffic from east of Pima to west of 89th Place through early December for work on water lines. The recommended alternative route is 94th Street south to Bell Road.
More information on this project is available at:
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/capitalprojects/proj_report.asp?proj=S2104&status=S2104

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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.

Proposition 100; Bail for undocumented immigrants

– Would give Judges the authority to deny bail to illegal aliens when there is convincing evidence that they've committed a serious felony, class 4 or higher or Aggravated DUI.  Recognizing they pose a great flight risk and are already in violation of federal law of entering and remaining in the U.S. Illegally. We have thousands of illegal aliens that have committed serious crimes and fled to Mexico and the Mexican Government has refused to extradite them back to the U.S. (25 people killed each day by illegal aliens; 13 by DUI and 12 by stabbings and shootings). 

Proposition 101; 2006 Taxpayer Protection Act

- Would amend the Arizona Constitution to require, beginning in 2007, that counties, cities, towns and community college districts determine their primary levy limit based on the actual tax levy in 2005. This proposition would be a step forward towards controlling liberal governments by limiting the ability of a municipality to tax its citizens by basing the municipal tax increases on the previous year’s collections.  Even further, some municipalities have a maximum allowable tax levy growth of 21.6%, which is outrageously high.  This proposition would limit that growth to 8.3%. 

Proposition 102; Standing in Civil Actions

- Would amend the Arizona Constitution to prohibit an illegal alien from being awarded punitive damages in the courts of Arizona. This is a proposition that I worked on as part of my larger immigration reforms.  It was my intention to protect the rights of legal U.S. Citizens by not allowing frivolous law suits brought by illegal aliens to result in punitive damage awards.  We have to ensure that our judicial system is not allowing those who break the law profit at the expense of U.S. Citizens. 

Proposition 103; English as the Official Language

- English must be designated the official language of the state of Arizona. Like President Theodore Roosevelt once said, "We have one language here, and that is the English language, and we intend to see that the [assimilation] crucible turns our people out as Americans. Former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm wisely observed that "a nation needs a common language just as it needs a common currency." A common language promotes unity and understanding among the citizens of a nation. By making English the official state language we provide an even greater incentive for all immigrants to learn English, apply for citizenship, and become empowered and productive Americans, (this referendum is Official English not English Only makes appropriate exceptions for trade, tourism, communication purposes, emergencies, etc.) By making English the official language, we also eliminate the wasteful spending used to translate millions of state documents into hundreds of languages.  

Proposition 104; Municipal Debt

- Would amend the Arizona Constitution to allow incorporated cities and towns to exceed their debt limit by up to 20% for: public safety, law enforcement, fire and emergency service facilities, streets and transportation facilities. This proposition plain and simple opens the door for municipalities to potentially increase taxes.  It would allow cities to incur additional debt to pay for certain services.  This debt will have to be passed on and paid for by its citizens through increased tax rates.  

Proposition 105; State Trust Land Reform

- Would amend the Arizona Constitution to allow urban state trust land to be conveyed to a county, city or town for permanent conservation, and up to 400,000 acres of rural state trust land to be conveyed for permanent conservation to the county in which the land is located. All provisions are dependant on Arizona voter approval in November 2006 and the US Congress must amend the Arizona-New Mexico Enabling Act by 12-31-08. This proposition streamlines the process for selling and leasing State Trust Land, without creating any unneeded bureaucracy.  The money created from these transactions exist for the sole purpose of benefiting Arizona’s schools. 

Proposition 106; Conserving Arizona’s Future

- Would amend the Arizona Constitution to permanently conserve and protect 690,000 acres of land and provide a classroom funding stream though improved planning and management of trust land. All provisions are dependant on Arizona voter approval in November 2006 AND the US Congress must amend the Arizona-New Mexico Enabling Act by 12-31-08.  This is a proposition that might as well have been written by the Sierra Club.  The measure creates a new bureaucracy designed to grant environmentalist an enormous amount of trust land as low cost.  The more land that is granted to the environmentalist will directly correlate with a decrease in funds for the education community. 

Proposition 107; Protect Marriage Arizona

- Would amend the Arizona Constitution to define marriage as only consisting of the union of one man and one woman, and would prohibit the state and its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing any legal status for unmarried persons that is similar to that of marriage. This proposition protects the sanctity and tradition of marriage the enactment of this proposition would also ensure that independent cities or towns could not infringe on the moral will of the voters by enacting an immoral definition of marriage. 

Proposition 200; Arizona Voter Reward Act

- Would amend state laws to establish a voter reward random drawing every two years with a first prize of $1M or more. Voters who cast ballots in the primary or general elections will be eligible to win and the money will come from the Arizona Lottery and private donations.  This is an absurd measure that equates the civic duty of voting with the media ploys used on television games shows like "Who wants to be a Millionaire."  Voting is a privilege and right granted to each citizen of this country.  We should not patronize nor trivialize our civic duty. 

Proposition 201; Smoke-Free Arizona Act

- Would amend state laws to prohibit smoking in all enclosed public places and places of employment.  Prohibiting smoking in all public and private businesses establishment tramples the private property rights of the business owners.  The founding fathers viewed the right to own private property as one of the most important issues protected by the Constitution.  A government should not have the right to take the legal act of smoking and make it illegal to do on ones private property.  

Proposition 202; AZ Minimum Wage Act

- It would impose a state minimum wage of $6.75, and would create a new politically appointed "Commission" to oversee minimum wage and employment practices in AZ, which would have no term limits and wouldn’t be accountable to the legislative branch or the voting public.  The Commission would have full access to all records of any employer.  It would grant any labor union or special interest group the power to access employment records.  

Proposition 203; First Things First for Arizona’s Children

- Would amend state laws to use an increased sales price (an additional $.80) on tobacco to provide funds for early childhood education for children ages 0-5. This proposition is a further expansion of all day Kindergarten, an issue championed by Governor Napolitano.  This proposition would create a new source of revenue for state subsidized daycare.  The new source of revenue would be in the form of tax increases amounting to more than $188 million per year. 

Proposition 204; Humane Treatment of Farm Animals Act

- Would amend state laws to provide six years for the state to adopt more human practices regarding pigs during pregnancy and calves raised for veal.  This forces the agricultural community to adopt nonsensical standards regarding the way that they raise there privately owned life stock. This is an initiative pushed by out-of-state animal-rights activists, which would ban common practices used by livestock producers to house breeding pigs and veal calves (even though there is no veal production in Arizona), and subject farmers to as much as $20,000 in fines and six months in jail. 

Proposition 205; Your Right to Vote

- Would amend state laws to provide that all registered voters automatically receive a mailed ballot from the election official before every election and that a limited number of county-wide polling places shall remain open on election days for on site voting. This proposition is an attempt to circumvent the voter enacted and protected standards established by Proposition 200.  This is achieved by eliminating almost all polling places thereby negating the need for legal citizens to present identification when voting.  Mail in ballots are currently readily available to any registered voter who requests that they be sent this paper work.  Why would we want to make it more difficult for the already small percentage of people who do vote to do so? 

Proposition 206; AZ Non-Smoker Protection Act

- This smoking ban proposition is less costly for business owners and tobacco consumers than Prop. 201, because it would allow smoking in bars and does not include a tax increase.  It recognizes private property rights.  Signs must notify patrons and employees where smoking is permitted.  Still prohibits minors in smoking areas.  

Proposition 207; Private Property Rights Protection Act

- Would amend state laws to define public use and declare that the public benefits of economic development, including increased tax revenues and employment, shall not constitute a public use. This proposition is an effort to protect Arizona citizens from infringement and regulatory taking of private property like recently happened in Connecticut.  In that case the state government stole private property from its citizens for the purpose of increasing its tax base.  This proposition on the most basic of levels protects the rights of private property owners from the unlawful takings of land by dominating governments and additionally protects these owners from government facilitated attempts to diminish the value of private property.  

Proposition 300; Public Program Eligibility

- Would amend state laws to require recipients of certain state-funded services to be legal residents in the United States and would direct the entities that provide these services to report on the number of people who applied to participate and the number who were not eligible for those programs due to their non-legal status.  After the back door veto of 2004’s Proposition 200, by Governor Napolitano and Attorney General Terry Goddard, this proposition would once again allow the voters to demonstrate there willingness to protect social services by ensuring that only legal U.S. citizens have access to tax payer funded services. By offering these services to illegal aliens, it increases the burden on our state programs and robs our own citizens of services they’ve paid for with their taxes.  Above all, free state services for all takes away the incentive for illegal aliens to become citizens and legitimate members of American society. It is vital that we spend our tax dollars on helping Arizonans and not aid and abet illegal aliens. 

Proposition 301; Probation for Methamphetamine Offenses

- Would amend state laws to prevent a person convicted of drug charges involving methamphetamine from being eligible for probation under the Drug Medicalization, Prevention, and Control Act of 1996.  This proposition recognizes the methamphetamine epidemic that has swept the nation and closes loopholes currently available for those individuals convicted of methamphetamine related drug offences.  

Proposition 302; State Legislators’ Salaries

- Would authorize the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board to adopt a capital outlay budget which exceeds the District’s capital outlay revenue limit by not more than ^$11,800,000 per year for seven (7) years.

shoutandspout@scottsdaleactivist.com