The March 3, 2007 Scottsdale Activist will be up and online sometime in the afternoon or early evening Saturday again due to work schedules, late breaking news, and staff illnesses..
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Surprise 2008 Mayoral Possibility
If would appear from the "Winds of Change" that have been winding their way in and around and continuing to build numbers in our Shouts and Spouts section of the Scottsdale Activist over the last few months that a well known but humble, well educated, well liked and respected 22+ year Scottsdale citizen could be the target of a draft for the mayor’s race in 2008. In a Profile published by The Arizona Republic several years ago about the relationship of economic development and environmental protection, he was quoted as stating: "You can have economic development and environmental protection. They are not opposites." I finally asked permission of this gentleman to relate to you what has been happening.
Research finds that after receiving his law degree, he served in the fourth poorest state in Brazil in the Peace Corp. His group was trained in "community development," he worked in a state agency providing services to local governments and he supervised several Volunteer-engineers developing rural electrification projects. His experience includes having worked with the likes of Dick Cheney while in college and being a guest lecturer at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Most recently, he served as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the Centers for Disease Control. Through all this, he says he learned his own formula for success: "I learned the two P’s: Patience and Persistence." During his years with the Peace Corps and because of his legal and political experience, he has honed his skills to the point that he can and does work well with anyone he meets. His insistence on honesty, openness and continuing dialog are the keys to his enviable success.
In his position as an accomplished private attorney, he has worked with the City of Scottsdale legal department as well as other city departments so he knows the city inside out, forwards and backwards. He also knows very well what’s right, what’s ethical, what’s wrong, and most importantly, why.
This gentleman has been likened by many to Herb Drinkwater in his insistence upon an open door policy, the need for total honesty and unscripted discussions with all parties to any situation with everything involved on the table for discussion as well as his quick smile, universal likeability, and his easy going personality. There is zero secrecy allowed when you work with this gentleman; he wants it all on the table. If you don’t have a solution to a problem, he will suggest you find one and present it to him so he has a basis from where to start the process of correcting the problem. He is not a "YES" man; he’s a "tell me why" and a "hands on" person who would unselfishly look out for the taxpaying citizens and their city first and foremost.
He was instrumental in developing the new Scottsdale Ethics Code that calls for a "mentality of openness." If you don’t know who he is by now, his name is Jim Derouin. When asked about the many suggestions that he could be drafted to run for mayor, that familiar, infectious smile spreads across his face and he plainly stated: "I’m very flattered and surprised that anyone would think of me in those terms. Right now, however, I think it is premature to be thinking about the 2008 elections although I do believe that 2008 offers the opportunity for real change in Scottsdale." Derouin commented that, in his opinion, the City badly needs what he called the "consensus politics" of Herb Drinkwater in order to deal with the major problems facing the City, stating that: "Herb was never satisfied with just getting four votes on the Council; I think we need to get back to his way of doing the business of the City."
Nan Nesvig
In addition, we now have it on very good authority that Nan Nesvig will run for a city council position which will be is great news for those scores of citizens who have been waiting for her to let everyone know her intentions. Everything will be solidified when she files the papers necessary within the city’s timetable. She is a native Arizonan who has long time and deep family roots in Scottsdale. She shares Derouin’s belief that we can develop this City without destroying its environmental character or it’s neighborhoods as they exist today.
Her genuine interest in strengthening the citizen’s voice and decision-making power at the governmental level is exciting and necessary. Like Derouin, she possesses an extensive legal and business background, bringing to the table expertise in many areas, like policy and procedure, arbitration and negotiation, including employee morale problems, which are necessary to aid the council in making concrete, well-thought out decisions and bring the city out of its funk. Nan can easily dissect complicated matters specific to the City’s legal department or Staff related projects, and foster their expedient completion through City channels. Her "can-do" attitude is inspiring. She is an avid supporter of a transparent governmental system, which serves the needs of the taxpaying citizens first.
Nesvig's impetus will be in fixing the infrastructure within the City before spending any more money on unnecessary new projects. They both feel strongly that there have been decisions made which were not in the best interest of the city financially or plan-wise because of the lack of legal knowledge, minimalistic information provided to council to make good decisions, slanted staff opinions, and the persistence of certain top people within the city management organization and the council to move forward at all costs, no matter the cost to the citizens.
Councilwoman Betty Drake
We’re also getting some good reports on Betty Drake who citizens now say she seems to be starting to listen to those in COGS and other citizen groups city-wide whose voices had seemed to have been muted in the past by the predetermined outcomes of many council decisions. Her full support of the "Villages Concept" is both innovative and an exciting plan which would mean much more citizen involvement for the improvements within their own "villages". Citizens feel that if she continues on her current path of open communication with the citizens, she will be a great asset and a welcome addition to the reawakening of Scottsdale.
Councilman Jim Lane
The other message we’re getting loud and clear is that Councilman Jim Lane has done a reasonably good but not exceptional job as a councilman but should run again for his current council seat. His lack of political experience can present a problem as is his misunderstanding of one's property rights in relationship to their neighbors same rights. The majority of those Shouting and Spouting say he needs more experience because he seems to be easily swayed from time to time by the powers that be including Manross. His vote on the Earll Street Condo Project this week is a perfect example of a misinformed vote for the developers and powers that be instead of the residents of the city and their property rights including the impetus to "just get something going". That single vote could well set the stage for the total devastation for property rights and controlled development in the city of Scottsdale as we know them today unless he asks for that vote to be reconsidered by the council immediately.
With that said, having Lane teamed with Derouin, Nesvig, and Drake along with Littlefield and Nelssen from whom he can learn even more to become more balanced, he will mature into a great council person, a great asset to the city, and possible mayoral candidate in the future.
A Super Team
Is it too early? Let’s face it. We have a chance to put together a super team to lead Scottsdale out of the omnidirectional malaise and secrecy of the Manross years and that will take time and planning to accomplish. With those mentioned above, we have;
Jim Derouin, a world class leader, who has been around the world legally and physically and believes from personal experience that quality of life will make Scottsdale a World Class city, that you need a community consensus on issues such as density, high rises and light rail or else quality of life will suffer,
Nan Nesvig who feels strongly that we need to concentrate on getting the infrastructure and other present city amenities, as well as employee morale, back into tip top condition before any more money is spent and then only without subsidies,
Councilwoman Betty Drake who knows "green" planning forwards and backwards and has been in that field for decades with many top line projects to her credit, as well as her expertise and commitment to the "Villages Concept", and finally
Councilman Jim Lane who has been very successful as who we kindly refer to as a "Bean Counter" for decades and who can easily decipher every aspect of the city budget as well as the cash flow sheets to determine where changes should be made as well as when and why. His expertise in his chosen field as well as his value to the citizens of Scottsdale is well represented in his "Scottsdale Voice" Column in the Friday Scottsdale Tribune.
The combination of these four with some other council members who also compliment the goals of the above four could very well begin the total reawakening of Scottsdale as THE World Class Destination whether you wish to vacation, golf, live and work, or retire in Scottsdale!
Our Readers
What do YOU think about what we have been hearing and what appears to be a strong possibility to happen? Please let us know by clicking on this link: letters@scottsdaleactivist.com
As many prepare to participate in and enjoy our City’s heritage celebration, kicked off with the Parada del Sol parade, We find ourselves troubled by Scottsdale’s future direction. Here we flaunt our city’s pride in its heritage, showing the world what "the West’s most Western Town" is like – but providing a false sense of security for its citizens. What of that pride?
Scottsdale is a city in a state of flux. Not only do we not know what direction we’re going, we’re on a speeding train to get there. And in the name of progress, development and all things new, we have lost sight of what’s most important: pride in the character of our great city. While not all development is bad, planned development is better than what we have right now. True, we have a General Plan, which accounts for some directional purpose, but that plan is outdated and being badly manipulated by the mayor and her cronies.
The most recent article by restaurant critic for the Republic, Howard Seftel, hit home with me. He explained his disappointment with one of our Mayor’s signature projects, the Scottsdale Waterfront. Mr. Seftel complained that the Waterfront missed an opportunity to become something special (which it was originally supposed to be) and is, instead, a standard-issue group of national chain food providers. The Scottsdale downtown is on the fast track to looking and feeling like any recent, generic development where you could walk outside and not know if you were in Scottsdale, Tempe or any redeveloped downtown across the country. You couldn’t figure it out by looking at the skyline. The height and density heavily pushed by the developers and freely given by the Mayor blocks out any views of Camelback or the McDowells. Our once unique downtown has truly become McAnyDowntown, Anywhere, USA.
Forget about sculptures of cowboys, cacti and other "western" motifs in our town. The best we can hope for is a kind of recreated western theme like we might experience at Disneyland. As we walk in the shadows of the high rises around downtown, we can only be saddened by the loss of character which was so readily given away. Greed and apathy motivated change.
If we had been led in this direction by a Mayor and City Council who had a plan which reflected the will of the residents, we could enjoy our nostalgic remembrances and look forward to the future. Unfortunately, we are being dragged down this road by a Mayor with absolutely no vision of the future. We have added density to downtown without making a plan for how to get the additional thousands of residents in or out of downtown. The only plan or vision for the City has been presented by the small group of zoning attorneys, developers and political insiders which support the Mayor and her cohorts on the Council.
Under our Mayor’s reign, the lack of leadership skills, vision, and direction have proved destructive for Scottsdale. The majority of our City Council acts like a band of drunken sailors, aimlessly wandering through City Hall, bouncing in one direction then another, with little purpose or guidance. The sobering effects of their actions can be seen on every street corner of our City. Apparently, we need silly road art and "street furniture" instead of a realistic transportation plan. When the City hired a consultant to prepare options for transportation, the Mayor instructed the consultant to consider only three options and only on Scottsdale Road. The consultant is not even allowed to consider an alignment along the 101. Narrow-minded self-absorbed thinking is what got us into this mess.
It is unfortunate that we must succumb to such displeasure in this beautiful city. With the recent passage of rezoning for the Earl Street condo project, the line, once drawn in the sand and rarely crossed, is gone. Developers are lined up, along with their rezoning attorneys, lying in wait for the kill. Council has set precedent and it isn’t a good one. Developers have been given the green light to run rampant, rezoning at will, erecting cement monstrosities on miniscule footprints of land, all in the name of progress.
It is up to the citizens to take control of their government and re-establish it, based upon their vision for Scottsdale’s future. Apparently our city’s leadership is unable to do so. Our city’s heritage is in danger of extinction. If left to the current decision makers, our City’s future vision will include light rail trains or Modern Street cars instead of horses pulling the carriage and buggies in the annual Parada del Sol parade. We will no longer shout "Saddle up!" but instead, "All aboard": but to where?????
The "Scottsdale Voice" column in the Saturday Scottsdale Tribune by Councilman Ron McCullagh exposes his total ignorance and failure to recognize the wants and needs of the citizens of Scottsdale concerning the problem of mass transit (light rail) in the true Manross manner.
It totally perplexes the citizens to know that this is the same guy who claimed he would stand tall for the conservative views and fiscal needs of the citizens of Scottsdale during his election campaign. There is absolutely no reason why the scope of discussion on mass transit for Scottsdale cannot be expanded beyond the narrow scope demanded by Manross and Dolan on this issue.
McCullagh needs to poke his head out of his six sided, closed box and look around a little. He just might be amazed to find that the citizens have been thinking outside the box that had been built around them for years now and have some excellent ideas of how to solve the problem in a simple, direct, and frugal manner.
What's wrong with light rail following the freeways as well as the canals that thread their way through the valley? What's wrong with small, maneuverable shuttle busses such as the DASH program in downtown Phoenix delivering their fares to their desired locations in a timely and safe manner? Why should any form of transportation be allowed to tear up city streets and put long time businesses out of business because of an out of touch and ridiculously expensive project that will be outdated before it is ever built?
Thank God we have elections in 2008 is all the we can say about this subject and this council person.
~Lane's Earll Drive Condo Boondoggle
It is totally exasperating when someone with whom we have given our trust and have felt that they knew the full and unabridged extent of property rights to then have them use a condensed version as the flawed basis for allowing an ill-conceived zoning, height, and density change which goes directly against the other property owners in the area as well as the residents and property owners of the city.
I have been a fan of Councilman Jim Lane for quite a while. He kind of grows on you and usually does his homework rather well. But his vote on the Earll Dr. Condo project took me by total surprise and with great disappointment. Councilwoman Drake felt it was a bad idea and expressed herself very well with her concerns which should have been a huge red flag for Lane to refuse these changes. He should have paid a lot more attention.
Let's talk about property rights. As a property owner, you generally have Fee Simple title (ownership) which represents absolute ownership of real property BUT it is limited by the four basic government powers of taxation, eminent domain, police power, and escheat and could also be limited by certain encumbrances or conditions in the deed (CC&R's or deed restrictions). How ownership is limited by these government powers often involves the shift from allodial title to fee simple such as when uniting (assemblage) with other property owners acceding to property restrictions or municipal regulation. This was not the case with the Earll Drive property.
What the above paragraph says it that you have the right to do as you wish with you property subject to local zoning and other municipal codes, laws, and deed restrictions as they exist at purchase of the property.
Using Councilman Lane's apparent rationale for his decision, let's say his next door neighbor decides to add 3,000 square feet to his current single story residence of a mere 2,000 square feet in a subdivision of similar single story homes. Included in adding more square footage, he wants to raise the height of the residence to 36 feet and use all available space allowable on his 7,500 square foot lot. For this example, let's also say that there are no existing CC&R's or deed restrictions which would disallow such a building but there are currently in place city zoning laws, codes, and regulations which would preclude such changes. Now, this applicant decides he wants to change the current city zoning laws and regulations to enhance his property and allow the changes. So, this owner takes his plan to the council and the council, using Councilman Lane's apparent rationale, approves the changes in zoning, density, and height to accommodate the owners request.
What are the consequences for the adjoining neighbors? The neighborhood? The value of the current Laws and codes as far as having validity and the legal ability to maintain some semblance of order? In actuality, the laws and the intent of the laws, in our opinion, have been breeched and the other adjacent land owners are at the mercy of others who, in self defense, will now decide to do the same as the offending property owner who was allowed to change the rules to his benefit. When this happens, there will no longer be any commercial property available in the downtown sector.
Worse yet would be what happened on the project on the East side of the canal north of Camelback where a developer started quietly assembling adjoining properties, allowing them to become run down to lower the prices on still more adjoining properties in the assemblage area which they bought at reduced prices. Now, because they own the majority of properties in the area, with the help of attorney John Berry, they want to change the height, density and zoning to accommodate a 75 foot tall hotel as well as 60 foot tall condos leaving the single family, single level homes in their shadow. What would be your guess as to the thoughts of the property owners 50 feet across the street from these monstrosities? You got it! Sell out, take your losses, and move on: another quiet residential neighborhood down the drain only to be replaced by more density, more height, and more zoning changes, and still more congestion and pollution brought on by reduced property values and still more assemblage. This is how pristine, quiet, highly desirable neighborhoods are destroyed.
Welcome to Manross to-hell-with-the-residents Government 101.
What this kind of vote does is tell every developer that as long as they use the short version of the definition of property rights, they can bulldoze or BS the city council into submission thereby lining the greedy developer and zoning attorney's pockets and purses with even more illicit profits while decimating once pristine and enviable neighborhoods into project by project monstrosities (Dolan's plan) which then become the slums of tomorrow.
What needs to happen is for Councilman Lane to immediately is reacquaint himself with his conscience, the full extent of actual private property rights, and the residents who will suffer under his vote, then ask for the issue to come back in front of the council for reconsideration. If the most knowledgeable Councilwoman Betty Drake immediately saw through the sham perpetrated on the council by the applicant and his attorney, Councilman Lane should have been well advised to follow her educated lead.
Could this be the "Poster Picture" for Code Enforcements ability to take care of business as required by city rules and regulations?
There are some very excellent employees working in this department (not management) who, in our opinion, are not being treated fairly, have extremely low morale and are still trying their best to do their job as required.
This picture was taken this week in an area which should be on the "Hot" list for inspections because of it's close proximity to the home of a well known and well qualified city activist. The test here gained the department an "F" as it should which as well a giving Judy Register an "F" for equitable and reasonable management of the department.
It's time for Teri Traaen and Jan Dolan to get their acts together and either resign and leave town while they still can with their heads held high (?) or be involved in some nasty disclosures of past performances from past employees from their previous employers which are now rolling in to the Scottsdale Activist as their pasts are now becoming known.
Here is the ad for the "Affordable Housing" which was touted as
the housing for those who couldn't afford to pay the northern prices.
Look at the prices, look at the ad, and look at the profit that will be made by the developer for earlier touted "Affordable Housing".
The prices they are charging could buy a very comfortable, well built 2,200 square foot, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath triplex home on a 7,900 square foot lot in the enviable Park Scottsdale subdivisions north of Camelback Road east of Hayden Road.
Also take note that nowhere is there any mention of South Scottsdale, the adjoining and rejuvenating Bellview neighborhood or the lack of services and eateries required by homeowners.
This is also the area where, as the Scottsdale Activist reported and predicted last year, that there would be an exodus of car dealers from the area in spite of their annual freely taking of taxpayer monies to supposedly pay for their advertising.
Do any of you still believe that the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce or the quirky Manross Administration are looking out for the best interest of the residents of Scottsdale? Sure they are... if you are a developer and pay the "fee", whatever that might be.
~ The City Budget, a Primer
~ Introduction to the Scottsdale Budget Process
by Councilman LittlefieldPart 2
As I promised at the end of last week's column in the Scottsdale Activist in this column I will talk about how the city could better inform the public about the important details of the budget and how we could harness the efforts of concerned citizens to help make the
budgeting process more open and effective.
One of the most frustrating things about the city's budgeting process is how few citizens turn out to attend our budget hearings and give the Council input on our budget priorities. Citizens certainly should care about the city budget -- by the time we get done with the sales tax, property tax, state shared revenue, federal grants, and all of the other monies we control Scottsdale will spend over one billion taxpayer dollars next year!
I believe that there are two reasons for this lack of public participation. The first is that for the first fifty years of our existence Scottsdale's rapid growth produced a steadily increasing stream of revenue to fund our community needs and amenities. Since city government could fund almost everything that various groups wanted citizens perceived little need to fight over the city budget.
Unfortunately that gravy train is about to come to a screeching halt.
For the last few years expenditures have been growing at a faster rate out than revenues, inflation and population growth, a trend which cannot continue for much longer. Even our city staff admits that next year we will see a flattening out of city revenues. That means that prioritizing how we spend what monies we do have will become more important than ever -- all the more reason for citizens to get involved in the city's budget process to insure that we prioritize spending in a way that meets the needs of Scottsdale's residents.
The other thing that depresses citizen interest in the city's budget process is that we make the budget so difficult to understand. If I were cynical I might even suspect that this is done by design in order to discourage those pesky citizens from interfering in how the Council spends that billion dollars in taxpayer money!
Citizens do not need to know every detail of our complex budget to get a handle on how we spend their money and thus judge whether or not we are doing a good job of managing taxpayer funds. What they do need is a clear, complete and understandable summary of what we have spent, what we plan to spend, and how that fits with the overall economy. That is why I am proposing an idea suggested to me by local activist Craig Cantoni that every year the city be required to publish a one-page "Truth In City Budgeting" summary that would contain:
- Total budget, including amortized capital and bond expenses
- Total budget per household
- Total budget as a % of average household income
- Year-to-year comparisons for the last five years.
Per the suggestion of Graham Kettle (another local activist and budget watchdog) I propose that the summary also include growth in revenues and expenditures compared with inflation and population growth over the last five years.
This could all be done on one page if we did it right. We need to distill this information to its essence. Otherwise, the page will grow to pages, and the important info will again be obscured.
In next week's Scottsdale Activist I will get into the details of how the city has been spending your money over the last few years and what this means for the future of Scottsdale.
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~Letters to the Editor ~ letters@scottsdaleactivist.com
Tonight (2-13-07) the Scottsdale City Council approved the rezoning for a condominium complex on Earll Drive that will grant the developer additional height to the building and double the number of condos that are allowable for a 2.56 acre parcel. Additionally, the project is not required to have the 50 foot setbacks that other developments, residential and hotel, are required to have along Earll Dr. between Scottsdale Road and Miller Road. The Scottsdale Coalition Steering Committee opposed the approval of this project for all of those reasons, and because this is a project that while within the Downtown Redevelopment Plan Area (20 years old and undergoing re-writing currently)..........this project is on the very southern fringe of the area. Perhaps Council does not think those of us who have lived in the area understand that our community is going to see change. OH, THAT'S RIGHT! It was the Scottsdale Coalition that foresaw changes like these as far back as 1998. We started looking at these issues knowing that infill redevelopment needed guidelines for increased density, increased building height and increased stress on infrastructure systems like traffic and transportation, sewers, utility connections, emergency service needs and useable open space. And it was the Scottsdale Coalition that went to the podium asking, for over three years, for Council to address the fact that we have run out of developable open space for residential and commercial growth and we would be depending upon infill projects to provide growth. So far, Scottsdale Council, Mayor and City Manager have turned a deaf ear to your pleas. Tonight presented a whole new threat to existing neighborhoods, moderate income families, small business owners and others outside of the circle of influence of the Chamber of Commerce and developers. What is going to be built on Earll Dr. is, as said by Council members McCullagh, Lane, Ecton and Mayor Manross, going to provide housing for people who work at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn and surrounding medical offices. No, they are not, unless you are a doctor or upper level management at the hospital. This is not affordable, workforce housing. In fact, there is no housing in the Downtown Redevelopment Planning Area that is affordable, workforce housing. It was good to hear Councilwoman Drake, bring the issue up and remind her colleagues that "we have been talking about this for a while but that is about all we do". More than one Councilman remarked that this was not an outstanding project be it design or site placement. Even those voting for it, except for the Mayor, admitted that it was not outstanding, but those four were eager to "do something". So, fellow south Scottsdalians, since the City Manager, Ms. Dolan has seen to it that our Planning Department has not put together the necessary Neighborhood Plans as required by the General Plan, and of special importance to the mature neighborhoods of the southern part of Scottsdale, all of us had better keep our eyes and ears open for any more development nearby. If you live near Scottsdale Road, one or two blocks east or west, you could have a high rise project going up not too far away and your neighborhood will have no protections and your Council doesn’t seem to care. They are willing to set the precedent even if it is negative. Nancy Cantor ~Councilman Lane Does Not Get It.............. The last 2 major development issues in South Scottsdale in which Councilman Jim Lane has voted for is now to be thought of as his weakest point for him as a council member. I am not here to pick on Lane because the truth of the matter is he has absolutely no sense when it comes to issues of development planning, community planning, or even the game being played by developers in this city. Wait, there could be a chance that he actually does know what is going on and is helping it, but that does not seem like Jim's style. Lane's first discussion with me regarding density issues, community objection, and bad planning came about during the Sky Diaper (Sky Song to those who still believe in it) housing issue where he again failed to understand allowing the housing would diminish trust in him by residents who know that the changing of the lease to allow something that was worked on, to keep out, and even stipulated to in the lease, voted to say Okie Dokie. Lane based his vote on what could happen if they did not allow the housing, and the money the city has invested in the site already. Since this is a hard truth I let it slide, as a council member I am sure it was tuff for him to vote against it based on how much the city has invested in the project and what could happen if it went belly up because they did not get to add all that housing. His problem there is how many more times will he vote to "amend" the lease at the claim of ruin? Therefore Lane skipped the issues of the increased density, the increased traffic, the lack of parking, the distrust of them being rentals, and the list could go on as to why it was a bad move. Lane's new problem comes from the issue that the city has no money invested in this issue of the Earl Condos and since he has no planning sense so to say, he also does not see the bigger picture of yet again a loss in trust by the community when it comes to issues of Density, Height, increased traffic and other infrastructure costs as well as redevelopment, needed plans before approval of such things, and a character area study. It is noted that Lou Jekel who brought this plan forward made this comment to a Council Member who we shall not name, "You should have heard Mr. Jekel in my meeting with him before the hearing ...talking about how this is the best that "those people down there" can expect ...that nobody in their right mind would build a Safari Drive or Optima quality project in this area. Oh I heard Councilman Lane’s comments about how and why he is voting for this and if that is his basis for allowing the zoning change than Heaven help the residents of South Scottsdale. Mr. Lane seems to not understand we have been fighting for quality projects, not the hand me downs from developers who know damn well they could never get away with this project up North. Mr. Lane knows we have been trying to get some type of plan for communities and redevelopment going for the South which has specific guidelines of where height can happen and where density increases may be allowed. Mr. Lane, along with city planners have been increasing density and height in Downtown residentially to allow thousands, again THOUSANDS, of new residents to Downtown which is great to some degree as density issues are now out of control; but what is going to happen after they rezone all of the commercial property along Scottsdale Road and these THOUSANDS of residents begin to not like the fact that they have no amenities close by like a grocery store for example? The city will have rezoned all of the commercial sections to the point of where assemblage of property is acceptable as long as it remains on the tax rolls. Commercial will no longer be there, and commercial development will now have created a whole new standard of stagnation. I would argue with Lane about these points and the list of others when it comes to redevelopment and how it is done sensibly but I doubt at this point it would sink into his head, so instead I guess we will rename the Earl Condos the Earl Sardine Can. The next project to watch as it makes it's way to the council and how Lane will screw that one up also is 16-ZN-2006 - HEWSON PROPERTIES REZONING where the applicant is requesting to be re-zoned to allow over 40 condos to be built on a whopping .75 acre (three quarters of an acre) of property, again please note the dot (.) before the 75. Our friend John Berry is running this show but I would be hard pressed to see it pass the council and I doubt they will fall for the 27% open space feature on this one, then again, with Lane in his chair making the architecture fancy for Drake, it will win her vote, and based on Lane's track record with these issues Lane can easily obtain his 4 votes with Mary Manross and Wayne Ecton. Again though, this property has been in the same condition for as long as I can remember and there has never been anything built on it, but Lane will think that we have to act on it before it becomes another Los Arcos situation. Bottom line is that when it comes to fiscal issues in this city, Lane is there, but when it comes to community planning and protections, Lane is one of our problems. While Lane may be a friend of the taxpayers, he is not a friend to communities and has again lost trust with residents. Well, I guess we are damned if we do and damned if we don't as we in the South have been committed to, by this council and Mr. Lane, to either suffer their perceptions of financial ruin without what they are doing, or destruction of the communities to save the city. Get your butts out and VOTE in 2008 Respectfully, ~ More John Berry Smoke and Mirrors Thursday (2-22-07), the DRB will approve a change in the perimeter wall surrounding the Paradise Valley Arsenic Removal Facility on Cattletrack. As six of you will remember, John Berry stood before you in January of 2005 and promised a unique design befitting the special enclave known as Cattletrack. This appearance of this facility was to be specifically-designed by a "Taliesin-trained" architect. The single most unique aspect was to be a "rammed-earth wall" around the perimeter of the facility. Apparently, this rammed-earth wall was so unique that it was impossible to build while maximizing the profits of Arizona American Water Company. If any of you have driven by this project recently, you will no doubt notice that the only unique characteristic of the facility is the enormous, industrial look of the site. Now, it will be surrounded by a simple, slump block wall. Thank you, Mayor. You should all be commended for what you have done to this neighborhood. By completely ignoring the voices of the residents in favor of a highly paid zoning attorney, you sold out a neighborhood in order to boost the bottom line of a multi-billion dollar, international conglomerate. Now a generation of neighbors and the many residents who recreate on the canal will be able to appreciate this monument to the Mary Manross/John Berry/Susan Bitter Smith model of City development. Since Susan and John are "proud" to be residents of Scottsdale as well as Scottsdale High School Alums, perhaps we can rename the PVARF in their honor. A few suggestions: Berry's Beaver Town, SBS Tank City, or maybe the Manross Towers. Think about it! I'm sure AAWC would sell you the naming rights for a small fee. Thank you to Mr. McCullagh for being the only councilman willing to even listen to the neighbors on this project. And, thank you to the voters for placing Mr. Nelssen on the council. The fact that the Council is no longer approving zoning decisions like this with a 7-0 vote gives us all hope for the future. Sincerely, Eric Nesvig |
~Disagreeing with My Wonderful Bosses on the Editorial Board
By Craig J. Cantoni
The editorial board of the Scottsdale Republic has wisely recommended that the Scottsdale city council set spending priorities. But it has unwisely recommended three priorities without recommending specific cuts in other places:
1) building a WestWorld exhibition hall,
2) building the Desert Discovery Center, and
3) renovating the performing arts center.
The problem with government spending is that it is usually additive and rarely subtractive. That’s because politicians are besieged by individuals, editorial boards and special interests with an infinite number of ideas to spend other people’s money. Politicians usually don’t get reelected or get favorable coverage by saying no. The problem is compounded by Americans discarding the nation’s founding principle of limited government.
The net result is that the City of Scottsdale, the State of Arizona and the federal government spend about $4,600, $3,700 and $22,000, respectively, per year, per household. If the double counting of intergovernmental transfer payments is subtracted from these numbers, and if school taxes are added, total government spending is about 45 percent of the average annual household income in Scottsdale of approximately $66,000. In addition, the net present value of the projected unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare is a staggering $600,000 or so per household.
Have we lost our minds?
A new exhibition hall shouldn’t be a priority without cuts elsewhere. Besides, studies have shown that municipal convention/exhibit halls don’t pay for themselves. Moreover, if there is such high demand for a Desert Discovery Center and a performing arts center, they should be built, maintained and run by private contractors, with funding coming from admission fees.
The counterargument is that such facilities generate tax revenue and increase household income in indirect ways, primarily by attracting visitors who spend their money in the city. But if that’s true, then why does the city have such a high sales tax, why are city officials worried about flattening sales tax revenue, why is hotel occupancy about 75 percent, and why is Scottsdale’s average household income about the same as Chandler’s and lower than Gilbert’s? It would seem that if the city gains so much from subsidizing the Giants, the FBR Open, the Barrett-Jackson auction, and other venues, then it could get by with lower taxes and let residents spend or invest the savings.
The facts suggest that setting priorities without limiting government is an exercise in bankruptcy.
An author and consultant, Mr. Cantoni can be reached at ccan2@aol.com.
~ Messy Alleys? Blame Trash Truck Drivers
Yes, the alleys ARE messy in South and Central Scottsdale. Did you ever watch one of the collection trucks as the arm lifts the container up and shakes the bin to empty it? Notice the falling papers and other trash that gets sprinkled all over the ground? Ever see a worker get out and clean up what they spill? NO!!
When the container is lifted up, I get an assortment of my neighbors throwaway’s blowing over the back fence as the truck shakes the container.
Perhaps a Code Enforcement person should follow the garbage truck and site the drivers for the mess they leave behind. If the City doesn't care, then why should the residents?
We are instructed as to how to bag trash and even what to recycle. I received a notice taped to my recycle bin. Quote "Do not put plastic bags in the recycle container." The bag I put in contained shredded paper so I guess they just want the shredded paper dumped into the bin, "More mess". Both garbage and recycle collection trucks leave a trail behind them.
Take a look in the mirror City people, before you find fault with the residents and perhaps you'll see who really leaves the alleys in a mess.
Anonymous by request
A central Scottsdale resident
~ Planning Commissioner Steinberg Speaks
As Chairman of the City of Scottsdale Planning Commission, I intently look at all the facts surrounding each and every application that comes our way: our commission is made up of real estate developers, architects, realtors and business people, all of whom have a keen sense and understanding of the issues facing Scottsdale today and tomorrow.
As a planner and architect with over 25 years of diversified experience in planning and developing quality and award winning projects, I too have a special expertise that allows me to make IMPARTIAL decisions about issues facing Scottsdale. I am no more out of touch than you, E. Slocum, we just disagree. But more important, I do something about my strong desire to make Scottsdale a wonderful legacy for generations to come: I serve on committees and commissions, spending an inordinate amount of time away from my family reflecting on and acting on cases before each group I work with. Why don't you and your activists volunteer for committees and commissions so your unique stance, training and expertise could be used for the good of our fair City? .
Stop thinking that all height is bad: stop and look at other examples of quality city planning and realize that what we both have in common is our love for Scottsdale. I just do something about it, in a public forum, with foresight and knowledge, not hysteria.
Since I have been re-elected as Chairman of the Planning Commission by my peers for the second time, and was re-appointed by the City Council also for a second term, with a unanimous vote, I am not phased by your threats and admonitions. This planning commission is the best we've had in years. If you think you and your fellow activists could do a better job, apply for a position, mine is up in July 2008.
Steve Steinberg
Scottsdale Planning Commission Chairman
Scottsdale
Editors Note:
We truly appreciate Chairman Steve Steinberg taking time out of his busy week to reply to a letter from a reader. We are also happy that he reads the Scottsdale Activist.
We would like to point out something in Steinberg’s letter which really stands out: "real estate developers, architects, realtors and business people" are the persons who serve on the Planning Commission. Also the part about being re-elected Chair by his "peers". Maybe no one else on the panel wanted the thankless job and let him keep it!
Where are the regular everyday citizen panel members? How about some representation for whom the decisions are supposed to be made? Doesn’t the Planning Commission need to answer to the citizens instead of the City Council or the City Manager? How can a body made up of strictly professionals see the needs, wants and desires of the everyday citizens? Is Chairman Steinberg saying that his and the panels personal opinions outweigh those of the citizens? He always seems to be talking down to and berating everyday citizens claiming that he spends family time volunteering for city work which the "Activists" don’t. Isn’t that what any activist, including Mr. Steinberg does?
There are many times when activists such as Mike Merrill, Darlene Petersen, George Knowlton, Patti Badenoch, John Washington, and scores of other "Activists" have spend 40 to 80 hours per week working to improve this city only to come up against a group who consider themselves "volunteers" instead of "activists" who feel their decisions are superior to the "activists" or the "masses" and couldn’t care less about the facts, wants, needs, desires, and concerns of the everyday citizens.
It’s also interesting to note that the DRB and Planning Commission decisions have been over ridden and overturned of late due to subjective input into a project from "volunteer" citizens (or activists as Steinberg calls them) .
We sincerely thank all who volunteer to serve on the city boards, commissions, and committees, but we pray that you will all understand that you work for the masses, not yourselves, not the council, not the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, not the developers, and not the city manager or other city staff members, no matter the extent of your expertise.
As far as E. Slocomb is concerned, this person is quite elderly, has multiple ailments, almost a shut-in, and still takes the time to "volunteer" to be active to the amount that they can be under the circumstances by writing out their frustrations with a city and system which in scores of minds is broken and desperately needs immediate repair.
Editor
~ City Council Wears Blinders? DUH!!!
If someone would just put forth a little effort and inquire as to why Detroit ripped out hundreds of miles of streetcar tracks, one of which ran 60 miles North to the City of Flint, and then repaved all the roads. (Flint was home to GM auto assembly plants)
I bet you'll find traffic interference and accidents were at the top of the list.
It was a mess as there were two way streetcar traffic on each road.
Light rail is the last thing Scottsdale needs. The streets were never designed to accommodate rail let alone the over populated number of automobiles that the apartment and condo units squeeze in to our once famous "West's Most Western Town".
Thanks for your time to read this. It appears the Mayor and Council Members all wear blinders and can't see the trees for the forest.
Richard Graham
Scottsdale
~Phoenix Offering Commercial Flights Without Security Screening
By John Hoeppner
There is a certain irony in that today Phoenix Sky Harbor airport is implementing America’s first "virtual strip-search" with the Backscatter' X-Ray Machine, yet tomorrow a traveler can board a commercial flight at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport without any security screening.
Westwind Aviation Airlines (previously known as Western Express Air) recently introduced commercial service at Phoenix’s Deer Valley Airport. This quasi-commercial service with routes to California and Nevada is using a loophole in FAA regulations that flies under the radar of Homeland Security in terms passenger scrutiny and boarding protocol. By limiting the size of aircraft and frequency of flights the airline gets a pass on commonly accepted passenger security.
Arizona leads the nation in identity thief and the production of counterfeit identification. It is unconscionable to think that with today’s security concerns getting on a commercial flight at an airport operated by the City of Phoenix without any screening for weapons or explosives is so easy. Just go on line at www.westernexpressair.com or call 1-866-887-5969, book a $99 one-way ticket, show up 15 minutes prior to boarding, get on the plane and hope for the best.
Westwind Airlines offers a explanation of their security procedures at the Phoenix Deer Valley Airport on their website - www.westernexpressair.com/faq.htm.
Q. How much time should I allow prior to my flight?
A. Arriving 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure should allow sufficient time to board the flight.
Q. What safety measures are in place?
A. Westwind Aviation pilots have the authority to deny boarding privileges to any passenger deemed unfit to fly.
The City of Phoenix has announced major expansion plans for both Sky Harbor International and for Deer Valley Airport. On Tuesday, February 27th the City of Phoenix is hosting a Deer Valley Airport Master Plan information meeting at 6:00 PM at the Country Inns & Suites at 20221 N. 29th Ave. This multimillion dollar expansion plan will increase the probability of a significant increase in commercial flights. Some believe Deer Valley Airport is moving towards the model of the John Wayne Airport in Orange County California.
Deer Valley Airport (www.phoenix.gov/deervalleyairport) is the City’s alternate airport for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The airport is home to more than 1,277 aircraft with more than 406,000 takeoffs and landings in 2006. Phoenix’s Deer Valley is the nation’s 17th busiest airport.
John Hoeppner is a 24- year Cave Creek resident (www.namequest.com) and the founder of the Quiet Skies organization that represented 15,000 NE Valley residents, the Towns of Cave Creek, Carefree and the Cave Creek Unified School District in a 2002 lawsuit against the FAA for the NW 2000 rerouting of Sky Harbor flights.
"What do you suppose was the perspective of the Muslim murderer who went on that shooting spree in Utah? Does he favor concealed carry permits like the one that helped someone kill him? And how about the people who died or had to rely on someone else to defend them from that gun-wielding member of the religion of peace and love, which is otherwise known as Islam? Do they favor concealed carry permits?"
—Mike Adams
"There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
—James Madison
~ Food
for Thought, Take it or Leave it
BY PETE DU PONT
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
When Eric the Red led the Norwegian Vikings to Greenland in the late 900s, it was an ice-free farm country--grass for sheep and cattle, open water for fishing, a livable climate--so good a colony that by 1100 there were 3,000 people living there. Then came the Ice Age. By 1400, average temperatures had declined by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, the glaciers had crushed southward across the farmlands and harbors, and the Vikings did not survive.
Such global temperature fluctuations are not surprising, for looking back in history we see a regular pattern of warming and cooling. From 200 B.C. to A.D. 600 saw the Roman Warming period; from 600 to 900, the cold period of the Dark Ages; from 900 to 1300 was the Medieval warming period; and 1300 to 1850, the Little Ice Age.
During the 20th century the earth did indeed warm--by 1 degree Fahrenheit. But a look at the data shows that within the century temperatures varied with time: from 1900 to 1910 the world cooled; from 1910 to 1940 it warmed; from 1940 to the late 1970s it cooled again, and since then it has been warming. Today our climate is 1/20th of a degree Fahrenheit warmer than it was in 2001.
Many things are contributing to such global temperature changes. Solar radiation is one. Sunspot activity has reached a thousand-year high, according to European astronomy institutions. Solar radiation is reducing Mars's southern icecap, which has been shrinking for three summers despite the absence of SUVS and coal-fired electrical plants anywhere on the Red Planet. Back on Earth, a NASA study reports that solar radiation has increased in each of the past two decades, and environmental scholar Bjorn Lomborg, citing a 1997 atmosphere-ocean general circulation model, observes that "the increase in direct solar irradiation over the past 30 years is responsible for about 40 percent of the observed global warming."
Statistics suggest that while there has indeed been a slight warming in the past century, much of it was neither human-induced nor geographically uniform. Half of the past century's warming occurred before 1940, when the human population and its industrial base were far smaller than now. And while global temperatures are now slightly up, in some areas they are dramatically down. According to "Climate Change and Its Impacts," a study published last spring by the National Center for Policy Analysis, the ice mass in Greenland has grown, and "average summer temperatures at the summit of the Greenland ice sheet have decreased 4 degrees Fahrenheit per decade since the late 1980s." British environmental analyst Lord Christopher Monckton says that from 1993 through 2003 the Greenland ice sheet "grew an average extra thickness of 2 inches a year," and that in the past 30 years the mass of the Antarctic ice sheet has grown as well.
Earlier this month the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a summary of its fourth five-year report. Although the full report won't be out until May, the summary has reinvigorated the global warming discussion.
While global warming alarmism has become a daily American press feature, the IPCC, in its new report, is backtracking on its warming predictions. While Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" warns of up to 20 feet of sea-level increase, the IPCC has halved its estimate of the rise in sea level by the end of this century, to 17 inches from 36. It has reduced its estimate of the impact of global greenhouse-gas emissions on global climate by more than one-third, because, it says, pollutant particles reflect sunlight back into space and this has a cooling effect.
The IPCC confirms its 2001 conclusion that global warming will have little effect on the number of typhoons or hurricanes the world will experience, but it does not note that there has been a steady decrease in the number of global hurricane days since 1970--from 600 to 400 days, according to Georgia Tech atmospheric scientist Peter Webster.
The IPCC does not explain why from 1940 to 1975, while carbon dioxide emissions were rising, global temperatures were falling, nor does it admit that its 2001 "hockey stick" graph showing a dramatic temperature increase beginning in 1970s had omitted the Little Ice Age and Medieval Warming temperature changes, apparently in order to make the new global warming increases appear more dramatic.
Sometimes the consequences of bad science can be serious. In a 2000 issue of Nature Medicine magazine, four international scientists observed that "in less than two decades, spraying of houses with DDT reduced Sri Lanka's malaria burden from 2.8 million cases and 7,000 deaths [in 1948] to 17 cases and no deaths" in 1963. Then came Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring," invigorating environmentalism and leading to outright bans of DDT in some countries. When Sri Lanka ended the use of DDT in 1968, instead of 17 malaria cases it had 480,000.
Yet the Sierra Club in 1971 demanded "a ban, not just a curb," on the use of DDT "even in the tropical countries where DDT has kept malaria under control." International environmental controls were more important than the lives of human beings. For more than three decades this view prevailed, until the restrictions were finally lifted last September.
As we have seen since the beginning of time, and from the Vikings' experience in Greenland, our world experiences cyclical climate changes. America needs to understand clearly what is happening and why before we sign onto U.N. environmental agreements, shut down our industries and power plants, and limit our economic growth.
Mr. du Pont, a former governor of Delaware, is chairman of the Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis.
~Nobel Laureate Wrong about Universal Health Care
By Craig J. Cantoni
Feb. 17, 2007
Daniel L. McFadden is a 2000 Nobel laureate in economics and professor of economics and director of the Econometrics Laboratory at Berkeley. He was woefully wrong about the economics of health care in his op-ed in the Feb. 16, 2007 edition of The Wall Street Journal, where he advocated universal health care, aka socialized medicine.
He said, "Most Americans are aware that our health-care system is in deep trouble, a dog's breakfast of private providers and insurers that has weak and inconsistent incentives for quality control and cost containment." What he didn't say is that the government killed a consumer market in health care and health insurance 65 years, and then nationalized half of the corpse with Medicare.
As the laureate should know, and as economic history has proved, markets provide the best incentives for quality control and cost containment in industry after industry. For that reason, not even American left-liberals like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Arnold Schwarzenegger are advocating the nationalization of the food, housing, clothing and transportation industries. There is not a dog's breakfast in those industries, because there is a mostly-free market in those industries. Moreover, the problems of the poor are addressed in food, housing, clothing and transportation without nationalizing the industries.
McFadden continues with another mistake. He compares health care spending in the United States to health care spending in countries with socialized medicine, showing that spending is lower under socialism.
Although scholarly studies have debunked the comparative numbers, let's assume for discussion purposes that they are correct. By McFadden's admission, he is comparing a dog's breakfast to socialism. A more enlightening comparison would be between a fully-functioning consumer market and socialism. Ah, but there's the rub: We don't have a consumer market in health care. But we do have comparisons between consumer markets and socialism in other industries. Does McFadden think that the former Soviet Union fed its people better than the United States? Heck, American dogs were fed better breakfasts than Soviet people.
McFadden also ignores the indirect costs of socialized medicine and other forms of social welfare. For example, with a national psyche of dependency and statism resulting from decades of social welfare, several Western nations are facing a death spiral of unsustainable social-welfare spending and an ageing population.
But McFadden's biggest mistake was ignoring the economic concept of utility. The free market maximizes social utility, because it allows individuals to maximize their utility. They can decide, through voluntary exchanges in a free market, the marginal utility of spending another dollar on one good or service versus another. Under socialism, such decisions are made for them.
Utility can only be determined by the individual. Person A may value medical privacy more than Person B, who is okay with Hillary, Barack and Arnold looking under his hospital gown. Person C may value short waiting times for medical treatment more than Person D, whose time isn’t very valuable. Person E may value first-dollar medical insurance more than Person F, who prefers a $20,000 deductible. What universal health care really means is that the government will use force to deny personal choice and utility.
Thank goodness the government allows us to decide the utility of economic advice. For me, the marginal utility of McFadden's advice is negative.
An author, columnist and consultant, Mr. Cantoni has been active in health care reform for 15 years. He can be reached at ccan2@aol.com
shoutandspout@scottsdaleactivist.com
~What the (heck) is wrong with Councilman Jim Lane? Does he really want to be thought of as another Manross Puppet? I thought he had an independent brain and some cajoñes but sadly, he seems deliberately programmed these days. It looked like he was reading from a scrip. I so hate those Manross scripted Council meetings – they are so lame and one-sided!
~ I'm SOOOOO excited!! Photo Radar is up and running on the 101 so I no longer have to worry about getting caught running drugs, speeding with my plate cover, or driving drunk between north and south Scottsdale 'cause none of the PD's will work the route while the cameras are up and running! Yahoo!!
~Those Condos that have been approved on Earll will make it so that those people in the nursing home will not see the sunshine all winter after they are built. Thank you Councilman Lane for being so totally blind; They may be infirm, but they are not blind and can watch you on cable TV. We expected far more from you and we lost what we have fought for over many years due to your lack of understanding.
~ If anyone in this city approves those stupid flowers art work for the subdivision in southern Scottsdale, Henry Becker will be laughing his (butt) off and will have been vindicated of the trumped up charge of "littering".
~ If Littlefield had been involved in a wreck as the mayor was, It would have been plastered all over the front page of local papers ....and you thought that the mayor didn't have any pull with the media.
~McCullough isn’t even in the game any more. He and Ecton, aka "The Boob" must be sharing their lunches at work these days. How appalling.
~I am really worried about the safety of our neighborhoods. I won’t even let my kids go out and play on our street any more because of abductions, predators and radical driving through residential areas! I think that our kids are missing out on wonderful opportunities to just be kids. What is our city doing to improve these situations? A day doesn’t go by where I don’t hear about some terrible crime involving young people in our city! Where are the parents? Where are the policeman?
~PEOPLE, PEOPLE......COME ON NOW!!!!! This is the Dolan School of Urban Planning...Project by project, according to what time of day, what day of the week, which month of the year and whichever year of whatever calendar she is going by at the moment, or when something (?) comes across her desk.
~OMG!!! Another major screw-up for the pathetic Scottsdale City Council with the Earll Street condo vote! They are just setting us up for failure and future slum areas. I thought the goal of Council was to serve the residents, not the political insiders, developers and shyster attorneys who line their back pockets with campaign donations. Something’s gotta give, and soon!
~Kudos to Littlefield for standing up to the TRUE witch Manross at the City Council meeting on Tuesday night. Manross’ outburst cost her numerous future votes – I thought that woman was going to haul off and hit him big time! That would have been the best City Council meeting ever! Maybe next time we should give them all a set of boxing gloves and let them go at it. We could all watch Manross scream and run off like a scared "whittle girrrrrl".
~ Don’t tell me that money isn’t the hidden but driving force behind freeway Photo Radar on the freeways in Scottsdale. Manross and Dolan are total liars and are even using taxpayer dollars to lobby the Legislature to vote against the bill that would put the issue to a public vote statewide.
~I think that the "Lingerie Bowl" would be a hoot in Scottsdale – no need to close streets – have it at the Stadium with Manross and Dolan being the first models. I heard that some select Councilpersons objected to it on the grounds that it involved less than ethical types of behaviors… (Heck), we condone that kind of questionable ethical stuff everyday at the City level and during Council meetings!! – take a look at the actions of Dolan, Manross, Robberson, Ecton, O’Connor, Traeen, Register, McCullagh, etc, etc, etc… need I say more?
~ I heard that Lisa Haskell’s pseudo-organization of what, two members, crashed and burned. No one wanted to adopt her "ways" and carry her torch. Even head-in-the-sand Manross realized the glaring lunacy when she saw it.
~ Word has it that HR Manager Teri Traeen has a rather bad record with previous employers. Is there any way that record can be exposed? Editors Note: Under federal laws, that kind of information cannot be released by previous employers, but it sometimes finds it's way public anyway.
~I don’t understand why the Mayor won’t allow Salty Senorita to have a bouncer posted at the door to card underage patrons a few days a week. The (darned) place IS a bar and they will be found in violation of state laws if they don’t do it – don’t you think it’s better to keep underage drinking out of Scottsdale? It’s like Manross CONDONES underage drinking by not allowing the controls to be put in place. Who’s her deal with or has she just totally "lost it" altogether?
~ I really like Lisa Haskell. I wonder why she's so negative so much of the time. If she would just turn all that negative energy into something positive, she'd have a gold mine. Over the years, I've learned that sometimes you have to take the good with the bad and just understand the difference.
~Any study done by the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce on transportation is going to be severely slanted against the residents. If they are going to look at transportation remedies, they should talk to our Scottsdale residents, not people who don’t even live here or commute to our city – they don’t pay our property taxes or buy their groceries here. Get a clue, Chamber guys & gals… we know you are all Manross supporters and want light rail to ruin our city so you’ll all profit! Selfish (people without mothers).
~Can the City of Scottsdale work out a deal with the Salt River Pima Indians to clean up their stretches of land that border our city? That land off of SR- 101 at 90th Street northbound exit is awful – it looks like a landfill! Drive down almost any street in their tribal areas and you’ll see similar conditions. I thought the land was their "Mother" and should be treated with respect and dignity? Apparently not so with the younger generation of Native Americans; what a disaster for them and us!
~City Attorney Debbie Robberson needs to take a look at what she said at the last Council meeting regarding the DRB. According to DRB guidelines, they CAN NOT change height or density of any structure – they can merely comment on paint, design, etc. Any changes relating to height or density specific to zoning as approved by Council need to go to vote by Council. DRB told the AAWC tank people that they could not lower the 24-foot height or 300-foot width of those monstrosities, but, according to Miss Debbie, DRB is now able to increase height or density of the Earll Street condos? I don’t think so Deb, your incompetence is shining brightly…best look back at your comments and make your apologies now!
~Do you think that as a city, we pay more than a premium for the incompetency in our staff and city leadership? I demand a refund!
~ Arizona State Law clearly states that anyone speeding more than 4 miles per hour over the posted limit (federal mandated speed variance) is supposed to be cited for excessive speed. What do you suppose would happen if some law enforcement agency other than a Scottsdale cop decided to follow the letter of the Arizona law and cite everyone in the Scottsdale Camera Corridor for driving over 69 miles per hour?
~Have you seen the newest project request for city rezoning by John Berry? 40 condos on .75 acre at 5 stories!!! – YES, less than an acre – off of Indian Plaza Rd and 73rd Street. Berry is moving in now for the final kill - he has secured that coveted Jan Dolan back pocket position - with Earll Street condos approved, all of Scottsdale is his party profit pool.
~ Information You Can Use
~ 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,
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
~ 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=3If 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.
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.
~
For Continuing Information
on Photo Radar,
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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
~ Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund
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:
72nd & 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.
Hello All,
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Be a good neighbor and pass this along.
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The Scottsdale Activist is published, and edited in Scottsdale AZ ~ 480-326-2475