Electronic Music Duo Joins Alaskan Franks and Walter Productions for a Full Day of Music, Polo and Entertainment Nov. 7 at WestWorld

The 15th annual Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships has found the soundtrack for a milestone anniversary, with electronic music duo Phantoms set to bring its mix of house and indie-dance to WestWorld of Scottsdale this November.

Phantoms, featuring Kyle Kaplan and Vinnie Pergola, will headline the DJ lineup at the nation’s most-attended polo event Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at 16601 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale, bringing even more energy to a day already packed with international polo, fashion, luxury cars, live entertainment and over-the-top experiences. Local duo Alaskan Franks, which includes Ladell Ransom and Frank Terry, will join Phantoms on the DJ lineup, giving Arizona talent time in the spotlight alongside the nationally touring headliner.

The music continues after the last polo match when Walter Productions rolls out Kalliope, its massive mobile sound stage, for the Sunset After-Party. Known for creating immersive experiences on a grand scale, Walter Productions has established a strong presence in Arizona’s entertainment scene with its music venues, production and fabrication work, and unmistakable fleet of oversized art cars. Since 2009, the Walter Productions team has taken its larger-than-life creations beyond the Valley to festivals and events across the country. The full entertainment lineup gives Scottsdale Polo Party guests plenty to listen to between matches — and another reason to stick around until, and after, dark.

“Walter Productions is proud to be part of the 15th annual Polo Championships,” said Walter Productions’ Kirk Strawn. “As always, the event brings some of the most eclectic and innovative cultural contributions to our Valley.”

Kaplan and Pergola launched Phantoms in 2016 and have spent the decade since building a sound that combines house, indie-dance and alternative electronica.

“Just a Feeling” featuring Vérité, from Phantoms’ self-titled debut album, spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on U.S. Dance Radio and set a record on SiriusXM BPM’s Top 20 countdown. Phantoms followed its successful debut with the 2019 Disconnect EP featuring dance-chart hit “Say It,” and earned support from some of electronic music’s biggest names, including Pete Tong, Diplo, Duke Dumont, Martin Garrix and Jai Wolf.

This year’s event will pit England’s Select against Dark Horse Dallas in a first-ever Scottsdale matchup. The championships will also feature The Arizona Polo Club and New Orleans Polo Club squaring off in the opening match, along with Army vs. Navy in the Semper Fi Heating and Cooling Military Matchup just days before Veterans Day.

Past attendees will also find plenty of new elements at this year’s festivities, including Best of the West: The Inaugural Arizona State Acoustic Guitar Championships, and the event’s first-ever rugby match between the nationally ranked Scottsdale Blues Rugby Team and San Diego Old Aztecs.

Guests can also check out an Arizona wine tasting experience, a new on-site sports bar and cigar lounge with Million Dollar Mingle and the Scottsdale Polo Party’s first Western Pleasure Competition with the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show.

Fashion will also again hit the field with Phoenix Fashion Week’s “The World’s Longest Catwalk,” Lugari Pet Salon’s Canine Couture dog fashion show and a new Cowgirl Couture show from Franklin, Tennessee-based Moo Country. Million Dollar Mingle will return as its own “event within the event,” while Riot House DayClub and the Barrett-Jackson Champagne & Jazz Lounge will give guests even more places to kick back and take in all the action.

Then, as the sun sets over WestWorld, the Sunset After-Party gets underway.

“The music has become a huge part of the Scottsdale Polo Party,” said Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships General Manager Mary Turner. “Phantoms bring exactly the kind of energy we want for our 15th anniversary, and pairing them with Alaskan Franks and Walter Productions gives people yet another reason to come out for polo and stay all day.”

Festivities will begin Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5 and 6, with welcome parties and VIP receptions for sponsors, players and ticketholders taking place before the main event hits WestWorld Saturday.

Tickets start at $45 and are on sale now at ThePoloParty.com, along with additional information about tables and sponsorship opportunities. Premium experiences include Prime, a Luxury Tent Experience by Bentley Scottsdale, Neiman Marcus, Barrett-Jackson and Maple & Ash; The Scottsdale Maserati Drivers & Players VIP Lounge; the Barrett-Jackson Champagne & Jazz Lounge; All Access passes; and Sideline Parking packages.

The Arabian Horse Association (“AHA”) today announced the appointment of Taryl O’Shea as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective May 11, 2026. O’Shea succeeds lifelong Arabian horse trainer and breeder Stan Morey, who announced his retirement earlier this year after serving the organization with distinction for six years as Executive Director and previously as Commissioner since 2009. O’Shea will lead AHA’s strategic direction, operations, and long-term growth initiatives.

“Taryl brings the leadership, vision, and operational experience—both within and outside the Arabian horse industry—required to guide AHA through its next chapter,” said Lisa Blackstone, President of the AHA Board of Directors. “During our search process, we sought a leader capable of balancing our vision for the future with the change management required to make that vision a reality. Taryl’s passion for and experience with the Arabian horse, combined with her deep executive management background, make her uniquely suited for this role.”

“I am honored and thrilled to join AHA at such an important moment,” said O’Shea. “The mandate coming out of the Convention last year was clear—we need to unite our breed and execute a growth plan. This organization has such an important mission to fulfill. I look forward to working with the Board and our dedicated staff to position AHA for success in a 21st-century world. We must become relevant to a broader audience while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the association.”

O’Shea brings more than 25 years of experience in the Arabian horse industry. She previously served as Executive Director of the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona for more than two decades, where she successfully managed and led the internationally recognized Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show. She has also served as Director of the Global Champions Arabians Tour – Americas, in addition to holding leadership roles in the automotive industry. O’Shea has been a member of AHA for nearly three decades.

Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in business marketing, and executive education programs from Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania.

As CEO, O’Shea will focus on several strategic priorities, including:

• Unite – Unifying the broad and diverse community of Arabian horse owners, breeders, and enthusiasts
• Revamp – Refreshing how the Arabian horse is perceived by highlighting its beauty, athleticism, emotional intelligence, and rich history
• Market – Providing industry leadership in the promotion and marketing of the Arabian horse
• Grow – Expanding participation and significantly growing the Arabian horse community
• Innovate – Transforming Arabian horse shows into dynamic experiences that are fun, rewarding, entertaining, educational, and competitive for exhibitors and spectators alike

The Board also extends its appreciation to Stan Morey for his leadership and contributions to AHA during his tenure and for his commitment to ensuring a smooth leadership transition.

“Elevated Fast Casual” Restaurant Pairs Mediterranean Flair and Globally Inspired Fare With a High-Profile Location Steps From ASU Gammage and ASU Art Museum

From one of the most beautiful towns in America to one of Tempe’s most prominent locations, two Phoenix-area natives with deep Arizona roots and more than a decade in Colorado’s restaurant scene have come home with a fresh take on fast casual, opening Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen on Mill Avenue.

Stanya and James Gorraiz, the husband-and-wife team behind G6 Culinary Concepts, opened the new “elevated fast casual” restaurant Monday, Aug. 10 at the corner of Mill Avenue and 10th Street. Sitting across from the Arizona State University campus and ASU Art Museum and catty-corner from ASU Gammage, Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen puts fresh salads, gyros, grain bowls and other globally inspired food within easy reach of students, faculty, neighborhood residents, theatergoers and others passing through one of Tempe’s busiest districts.

The opening also represents a homecoming of sorts for the Gorraizes, both of whom grew up in the Phoenix area. Stanya attended Xavier College Preparatory, while James attended St. Mary’s High School before later earning his degree from Arizona State University. Today, the parents of four children split their time between Telluride and Tempe.

“We’ve been watching this place evolve for years and years,” Stanya said, of Tempe and the Mill Avenue corridor. “We’ve seen how much it’s changed and how much the city has done to revitalize the area. To now be smack-dab in the middle of it all is amazing.”

The Gorraizes see plenty of parallels between their two home bases. Both Telluride and Tempe have layouts, parks and amenities that encourage people to get out, walk and explore, and while Tempe’s grown more rapidly, it maintains the same small-town feel that they’ve come to appreciate – and associate with – both communities.

The Tempe restaurant is the second location of Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen, with the first opening in Montrose, Colorado, in November 2024. No strangers to the restaurant industry, the Gorraizes also opened Steamie’s Burger Bar, a two-time winner of “Colorado’s Best Burger,” and Shake N’ Dog, both in Telluride.

Restaurants were not always the couple’s bread and butter, but the seeds of what Stanya and James are doing today took root long before they moved to Colorado. In north-central Phoenix, the Gorraizes owned a large landscape design, installation and maintenance firm as well as a public nursery. They’d long envisioned turning the nursery property into more of a neighborhood gathering place complete with a restaurant, bar and other places for people to spend time together.

The couple sold the property before moving to Telluride, but the idea they had in mind for it ultimately took shape. Today, the site at 12th Street just north of Glendale Avenue is home to The Orchard Phoenix and Luci’s at the Orchard, a neighborhood destination centered around food, drinks and gathering. For the Gorraizes, it offered an early glimpse of what culinary neighborhood development could look like. After moving to Telluride, they finally had the opportunity to pursue that vision themselves, turning their longtime interest in food and community into a growing restaurant business.

When the pair decided to open the first Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen in Montrose, they wanted to fill a gap in an area known for traditional fast food and steakhouses. They created Urban Hip-E to be quick and approachable enough for a casual lunch or dinner, but with more attention to ingredients, preparation and flavor than diners have come to expect from a typical counter-service restaurant.

“Fresh Is Hip” became both the restaurant’s tagline and the philosophy behind the concept.

Urban Hip-E’s menu centers on what the Gorraizes call “Mediterranean flair,” drawing inspiration from the cuisines and flavors of Morocco, Spain, France and other parts of the world. Salads, pastas, flatbreads, ramen and dumpling soups and fresh smoothies are just some of what’s on the expansive menu, offering plenty of choices for diners looking for fresh, filling food without a lengthy sit-down meal.

Ingredient transparency is also a key part of the concept. Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen eliminates all seed oils and high-fructose corn syrup from its offerings, and makes all of its dressings, sauces and drizzles in-house, rather than relying on premade versions.

For Stanya, who describes herself as a “culinarian,” those details matter as much as the finished dishes. Some of her personal favorites include the Urban Gyros, which include traditional and unique flavor and ingredient combinations, the Hot Honey Flatbread topped with peach, prosciutto and other goodies, and the Ruby Scarlet Salad made with beets, pomegranate molasses chicken, pumpkin seeds, feta and other mix-ins.

She’s also a big fan of the Salmon & Shrimp Cold Protein Bowl, which features both proteins served over a bed of jasmine rice with fresh veggies and a pineapple sweet chili drizzle. The menu’s global influences also extend to dessert, with sweets from Portugal, France, Italy and Spain adding more international flavor to the mix.

The restaurant also accommodates dietary preferences and restrictions, including gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options. Offering a full liquor license, it serves cocktails, including Aperol spritzes, with prices it intentionally keeps approachable. Its counter-service format makes it equally suited to a quick meal between classes, dinner before a performance at ASU Gammage or a casual night out on Mill Avenue.

Urban Hip-E Fresh Kitchen also offers another amenity that’s often elusive around downtown Tempe: easy parking.

About 15 employees currently staff the Tempe eatery, which is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For the Gorraizes, the new Tempe location is more than just a second outpost – it also ties their restaurant business back to the community where they grew up and attended school. The pair also hopes to franchise future locations of Urban Hip-E and open the elevated fast-casual model in additional markets.

For now, though, they’re focusing on their new corner of Tempe, bringing together the food they love and the standards they’ve developed over more than a decade in the restaurant business in a city that once again feels like home.

For more about Urban Hip-E Kitchen or to check out the full menu, visit UrbanHip-E.com.

More than 400 Works Will Cross the Block During Scottsdale Gallery’s Largest Art Auction to Date

From a three-dimensional work by Venezuelan master Jesús Rafael Soto to paintings by Françoise Gilot and Emily Mason, the Larsen Fall Art Auction will return to Scottsdale Saturday, Oct. 17, with works by acclaimed women artists and some of the most celebrated names in Latin American art.

Oswaldo Vigas, “Grupo Azul,” 1976

Among the 440 lots set for sale during Arizona’s largest contemporary art auction at Larsen Gallery in Scottsdale are works by three major figures in Latin American art: Jesús Rafael Soto, Chilean artist Roberto Matta and Venezuelan artist Oswaldo Vigas. The auction will also feature works by acclaimed women artists, including Françoise Gilot, Emily Mason and contemporary sculptor Beth Cavener.

Together, these works have a combined estimated value of between $580,000 and $930,000.

“This is one of those auctions where the strength really becomes apparent when you start looking closely at the individual works,” said Larsen Gallery’s Mary Holford. “We have major figures in Latin American art represented alongside women whose work has earned serious attention from collectors, and the works themselves are all very different from one another. That range is part of what makes this fall auction so interesting and the works so appealing.”

Françoise Gilot, “Springtime in the Hills,” 1992

Jesús Rafael Soto, “Variantes Vertical,” 1998

Among the Latin American selections is Oswaldo Vigas’s 1976 oil on canvas “Grupo Azul,” which is estimated to fetch between $130,000 and $180,000. The large-scale work measures 56.5 inches x 45 inches. Oswaldo Vigas’s 1985 oil on canvas, “Duende Azul,” measuring 72.5 inches x 51 inches, is also being offered.

Oswaldo Vigas’s career spanned more than six decades. Initially trained as a doctor, Vigas soon turned to art, with pre-Columbian imagery and European modernism influencing his paintings, prints and ceramics.

Jesús Rafael Soto’s “Variantes Vertical,” created in 1998, carries an estimate of $100,000 to $200,000. Made from painted wood with metal mounting hardware, the three-dimensional work measures 40.5 inches x 40.25 inches x 6.75 inches deep. The Venezuelan artist moved to Paris in 1950, where he became part of the city’s avant-garde art scene and explored movement, space and perception in his work.

Also being offered is Roberto Matta’s 1995 oil on canvas, “Untitled,” measuring 53.5 inches x 79 inches. The Larsen Gallery estimates the work will sell for between $70,000 and $100,000. A Chilean painter and sculptor, Matta worked in both Europe and the United States, with his often dreamlike work drawing from Surrealism and his interest in the subconscious mind.

The auction will also spotlight works by women artists whose careers span different generations and mediums. Among them is Françoise Gilot’s 1992 oil on canvas measuring 28.75 inches x 36.25 inches titled “Springtime in the Hills.” Gilot’s career spanned more than 70 years, with the French painter continuing to create well into her 90s while developing her own distinctive approach to color, composition and figurative work.

Emily Mason, “Starboard,” 2008

Emily Mason’s 2008 oil on canvas, “Starboard,” highlights the American painter and printmaker’s unique approach to abstract painting.

Beth Cavener, “Untitled (Barrel with Kid),” 2002

Sculptor Beth Cavener’s striking large-scale work, “Untitled (Barrel with Kid),” is also being offered. It stands more than 10 feet high and combines stoneware with acrylic, cloth, rope, iron, metal and wood. Cavener often uses life-sized animal forms and expressive poses to explore human emotions, including fear, desire and vulnerability.

These works represent just a small portion of the artwork being offered during the 21st installment of the biannual Larsen Art Auction. The sale will include contemporary, modern, Southwestern, Native American and Latin American paintings as well as limited-edition prints and sculptures, with values ranging from several hundred dollars well into six figures.

The auction comes as Larsen continues to attract collectors and consignors well beyond Arizona. The 35-year-old Larsen Gallery has generated more than $25 million in lifetime auction sales, with its most recent sale, held in April 2026, drawing buyers from more than 40 states and 20 countries.

The event has also attracted several notable consignors over the years, including rock legend Alice Cooper, who previously consigned an Andy Warhol work through Larsen Gallery.

Auction day at Larsen is also livelier than the traditional fine-art auction experience. Award-winning auctioneer Jason Brooks keeps the crowd engaged with humor and plenty of audience interaction.

Collectors can view available lots a full month ahead of the sale, and Larsen will also host a preview party Wednesday, Oct. 14. Live, telephone, absentee and online bidding will be available throughout the auction Saturday, Oct. 17.

For more about the Larsen Art Auction, visit LarsenArtAuction.com or follow developments on Facebook, X or Instagram.

32 Model Homes, Eight Leading Builders, New Residential Phases and Future Great Hearts Academy Reinforce Community’s Momentum as One of Arizona’s Best-Selling Master-Planned Communities

Homebuyers can soon step inside 32 model homes and experience one of the East Valley’s emerging destinations when Blossom Rock hosts its Escape & Explore Home Tour later this month. The community was recently ranked by RCLCO among the nation’s top-selling master-planned communities, further underscoring the momentum behind Blossom Rock’s continued growth.

The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 29 and 30, 2026, giving East Valley homebuyers an opportunity to explore floor plans and home designs from eight leading builders. Available homes range in price from the mid-$300,000s to $1.1 million.

Visitors will also get a glimpse of the parks, trails, gathering spaces and resort-style amenities that have helped establish Blossom Rock as one of the East Valley’s most sought-after new communities since its opening in April 2024.

RCLCO Real Estate Consulting ranked Blossom Rock at midyear as the third-best-selling master-planned community in Arizona and the 28th-best-selling master-planned community in the nation. Blossom Rock has already recorded 304 home sales this year, outpacing the 296 homes sold during all of 2025.

“Blossom Rock’s growth reflects what today’s homebuyers are looking for: exceptional views, a connected lifestyle, award-winning amenities, diverse home options and a strong sense of place,” said Blossom Rock’s SVP of Development Eric Tune. “As we introduce new phases and prepare for the future opening of Great Hearts Academy, Blossom Rock continues to establish itself as one of the East Valley’s most compelling new destinations.”

Located in Superstition Vistas against a backdrop of the Superstition Mountains, Blossom Rock is more than just a new place to call home. The community pairs a broad range of housing options with a thoughtful design that keeps parks, trails and outdoor recreation all within close reach. The Escape & Explore Home Tour gives visitors a chance to experience that lifestyle firsthand while comparing a wide variety of home designs, floor plans, architectural styles and price points within a single community.

Featuring one of the region’s most extensive builder lineups, participating builders include:

• Brookfield Residential
• David Weekley Homes
• Lennar
• Meritage Homes
• Pulte Homes
• Richmond American Homes
• Shea Homes
• Tri Pointe Homes

The collection includes options for buyers at various stages of life, from first-time homebuyers and young families to empty nesters and retirees. Blossom Rock also introduced two new phases earlier this year, expanding residential options even further.

Beyond its homes, Blossom Rock continues to expand its network of parks, trails and recreational amenities. The community’s newest phases added Fremont, Sombrero Butte, Reavis Run, Galena and Treasure parks, contributing to the more than 20 planned neighborhood parks throughout the community.

Residents enjoy access to the award-winning Dutch Clubhouse and Pool Pavilion as well as Painted Sky Park, a 16-acre public park with its own catch-and-release fishing lake. Additional park amenities include Ruff Ranch dog park, sports and game courts, and the Miner’s Run Adventure Playground.

The upcoming Great Hearts Blossom Rock Academy, a tuition-free K-5 charter school, will add another meaningful community amenity for families. The five-acre campus is under construction and expected to start welcoming students in fall 2027 and eventually serve students through eighth grade.

Blossom Rock’s ongoing expansion comes as the Williams Gateway/Apache Junction area continues to gain attention for its attainable housing options and broad lifestyle appeal driving growth in one of the East Valley’s strongest markets.

Learn more about Blossom Rock at BlossomRock.com. For more about Brookfield Residential Land, visit BrookfieldResidentialLand.com.

At our first Council meeting following the primary election, City Hall was filled to standing room only with residents from across Scottsdale and every political affiliation celebrating my outright re-election. The Mayor’s recognition of my victory and the residents’ applause were an incredibly uplifting way to begin the evening. Thank you to everyone who came to City Hall!

Unfortunately, the Council majority quickly turned the meeting negative.

Twice that night, with residents in the audience asking to speak, the Council’s bloc of four (Graham, Dubauskas, Kwasman and Littlefield) voted to deny Scottsdale residents a voice at the beginning of the meeting, where it had agendized for years. That should concern everyone, regardless of political affiliation. Public participation is not a partisan issue. It is a Scottsdale tradition and the foundation of representative government.

Then, my proposal to improve on Scottsdale’s political sign mess became another example of what has gone wrong at City Hall. Rather than working collaboratively to solve a legitimate problem, one Councilmember used the dais to attack perceived political opponents—namely, me and Raoul Zubia.

Par for the course, this Council majority would rather take down fellow Councilmembers than work together to win for Scottsdale. If this Council were a football team, the Super Bowl wouldn’t be in the cards—with four on the team tackling the other teammates.

Scottsdale deserves better.

That’s why I am enthusiastically endorsing and urging voters to elect Raoul Zubia to the City Council in November. Raoul is a well-respected civic leader and lifelong Scottsdale resident who will work collaboratively with his fellow Councilmembers to restore common sense and put community priorities first at City Hall.

Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky joined fellow Arizona mayors Monday, Aug. 31, for a meeting with Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Ming-Hsin Kung as part of an Arizona Commerce Authority delegation traveling in partnership with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

Mayor Borowsky, a member of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council Board of Directors, participated in the meeting alongside Scottsdale Senior Director of Economic Development Kevin Burke, Pima County Vice Chairman Matt Heinz, Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn and Mesa Mayor Mark Freeman.

The meeting provided an opportunity for direct dialogue with Minister Kung on the Arizona-Taiwan economic relationship, including investment, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and continued economic collaboration between Taiwan and Arizona communities.

“Arizona and Taiwan share a strong and growing economic partnership that is creating opportunities for innovation, investment and job creation,” Mayor Borowsky said following the trade meetings. “I appreciate the opportunity to meet directly with Minister Kung and his team to discuss how communities like Scottsdale can continue supporting the industries and partnerships that are driving economic growth in both regions.”

Taiwan has become one of Arizona’s most significant international economic partners, with collaboration spanning advanced technology, semiconductor manufacturing, supply chain development and workforce initiatives.

“As Arizona continues to attract global investment in advanced manufacturing and semiconductor production, international relationships like those with Taiwan are more important than ever,” Mayor Borowsky said. “These conversations strengthen the connections that help position Scottsdale and the broader region for long-term economic success.”

The Arizona delegation is meeting with business, government and industry leaders throughout Taiwan while attending the 2026 SEMICON Taiwan conference to strengthen trade relationships, promote investment opportunities and advance economic development partnerships between Scottsdale and Taiwan.

By Bedouin Bourdain

La Paz, Mexico sits on the wrong side of the map for most gringos chasing Baja’s tequila-and-timeshare version of a good time. That’s precisely the point. This is the Baja that predates the influencers, the one Cousteau actually meant when he called this water the world’s aquarium. Here’s what a few days wandering its edges looks like, one frame at a time.

Bells, Stars and Stone

Somewhere between La Paz and the border, a colonial mission church lights up at night like it’s been waiting a few centuries for someone to notice. Twin bell towers, a star strung between them, a clock that has clearly seen more sunsets than any of us ever will. Baja’s missions were built by men chasing souls and pearls in roughly equal measure, and the towns that grew up around them still carry that same restless, devotional energy. Step inside past the tourists posing on the steps and it’s just quiet stone and candle wax. Step back outside and it’s a postcard nobody had to stage.

The Malecón, On Fire

La Paz’s waterfront boardwalk doesn’t perform for anyone. Locals walk it at dusk the same way they did fifty years ago, past a marina stacked with sailboats waiting for wind. Then the sky does something no filter can fake, a full bleed of orange and bruised purple over the water, and every boat becomes a silhouette worth stopping for. This is the moment the Sea of Cortez reminds you it’s not just an aquarium below the surface. It’s putting on a show above it too.

Tacos as a Tasting Menu

Order the sampler and let the table decide. Marlin, shredded and bright with lime. Something briny and unidentifiable that turns out to be the best bite on the plate. A pile of grilled chicken gone sticky and dark with onions. Three hot sauces standing guard like they’re daring you to pick a side. Wash it down with a cold Bohemia and resist the urge to ask what’s actually in each taco. Some questions are better left to the kitchen.

Balandra’s Quiet Trick

Twenty minutes outside town, Balandra Beach does its famous sleight of hand: water so turquoise it looks Photoshopped, a lone mushroom-shaped rock keeping watch offshore, and cactus-covered hills standing guard behind you like they wandered in from a different climate entirely. It’s the kind of cove that makes the case for La Paz all by itself, no whale sharks required. Though they’re out there too, just past the frame.

La Paz doesn’t need to convince anyone of anything. It just sits there, two hours north of Cabo and a world away from it, being real. Go before that stops being true.

A Prominent And Prescient Democrat Warns Of Cliffs And Consequences

“Nobody likes federal deficits or debt. Poll after poll after poll finds voters want to reduce both.

Earlier this month, however, our nation’s debt hit $40 trillion. And interest on the debt will exceed spending on Medicaid ($700 billion) and defense ($1 trillion). In 20 years on the current path, interest payments will squeeze out the investments needed for families to thrive, including housing and education as well as healthcare.”

Read the full article here.

Last week marked eight years since Senator John McCain died at his Cornville ranch after a long fight with brain cancer, and if anything, the tributes have only gotten more consistent with time. Whatever else has shifted in Arizona politics since 2018, the state’s habit of pausing every August to remember him hasn’t.

Arizona Keeps the Torch Lit

Governor Katie Hobbs marked the occasion by proclaiming August 24-30 the third annual John McCain Democracy Week, a tradition her office has kept alive since 2024. The week bridges the anniversary of his death on August 25 with what would have been his 90th birthday on August 29, and it’s built around the values McCain talked about more than almost anything else near the end of his life: service, civility, and country over party. The McCain Institute at ASU carries that mission forward year-round, not just this week.

The Bipartisan Part Isn’t an Act

What still stands out is who shows up to honor him. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego had these kind words to say about him:



Arizona’s senators, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, have both used the anniversary in past years to describe a version of public service that’s gotten rarer, not more common. Coming from Democrats and referring to a Republican senator, that’s not a talking point as much as the whole reason the tradition still means something.

Why We’re Still Writing About Him

McCain was never a comfortable figure for either party, which is exactly why both parties keep showing up for him. Eight years on, Arizona still measures its politicians against a standard he set and plenty of them still fall short. That’s worth marking every August, not just this one.

Editor’s Note: this was in response to our earlier piece on the failed Dubauskas recall and we thought his observations deserved to be elevated above the comments section. Original article can be found here.

Scottsdale City Council voted unanimously last week to strengthen the city’s ability to address complaints and emergencies related to vacation and short-term rentals through Ordinance No. 4720.

The measure, which passed 7-0, updates the city code to require designated emergency contacts for short-term rental properties to be reachable around the clock for both complaints and emergencies. The action comes as Arizona cities continue pursuing additional tools to address neighborhood impacts associated with disruptive short-term rental operations.

Earlier this year, Scottsdale worked with communities across the state through the League of Arizona Cities and Towns on a legislative proposal for the next legislative session that would prohibit multifamily housing properties, including condominiums, apartments, and mobile home communities, from being classified and operated as short-term rentals. During the League’s annual conference earlier this month, Sedona Mayor Holli Ploog accepted a friendly amendment from Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky to specifically include condominiums in the resolution, which has now been approved by League members for consideration during the 2027 Arizona legislative session.

These new efforts come on the heels of the adoption of Scottsdale Ordinance No. 4720, which also defines an “event center,” gives the city stronger local enforcement tools by amending Section 18-172 of the Scottsdale Revised Code to expand on existing requirements that previously focused only on emergency situations.

Under the new ordinance, designated emergency contacts must be reachable 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone or email for the purpose of responding to complaints and emergencies related to vacation and short-term rental properties. The ordinance also retains the existing requirement that emergency contacts respond in person within one hour when requested by public safety personnel during an emergency. It does not require that emergency contacts respond in person to complaints, only emergencies.

State law requires vacation rental owners to identify a person responsible for responding to complaints and emergencies in a timely manner any time of day. The new ordinance aligns Scottsdale’s code with the state requirement and provides clear accountability when designated contacts are unreachable. It gives the city an additional enforcement tool to address recurring problems while remaining consistent with Arizona law.

Of Note: Nothing in the ordinance requires a short-term vacation operator to be able to instantly resolve complaints, only that the designated emergency contact be reachable.

“This ordinance gives Scottsdale another tool to protect neighborhoods and improve accountability when problems arise at short-term rental properties,” Mayor Borowsky said. “Residents deserve confidence that complaints won’t go unanswered and that someone can be reached quickly when issues impact the quality of life in their neighborhood.”

By Vanessa Rogers

Conservatives of Greater Scottsdale announced this week that it is “suspending” its recall campaign against Councilwoman Jan Dubauskas, citing a lack of signature-gathering manpower ahead of the September 2 deadline. Translation: they didn’t have the votes, they didn’t have the case, and as we said back in the spring, they never really had a reason.

A Grudge Dressed Up as a Cause

We called this one early. In A Recall in Search of a Reason, I argued this effort was less an accountability measure than a personal grudge wearing a civic costume, courtesy of Dan Ishac, a man voters already rejected once. Nothing since has changed that assessment. A parking garage vote and a criminal complaint Dubauskas felt compelled to file are policy disputes, not recall-worthy conduct. Five months and reportedly six figures in promised funding later, that’s still all the group has.

Dan Ishac. Photo Credit: scottsdale.org

The Money Trail Raises Its Own Questions

Campaign finance filings show the group raised just $2,502 in cash last quarter against $3,257 in in-kind contributions, the largest of which came from Lamar Whitmer and Susan Wood, both employed by Mayor Lisa Borowsky. Both Borowsky and Ishac insist she has nothing to do with the recall. Fine. But it’s a coincidence worth noting, especially since the release itself hinted at “political pressure” scaring off signature-gathering firms.

Suspended, Not Sorry

The group insists this is a pause, not a surrender, promising to come back after the November election “if circumstances warrant.” That’s a tell. Nothing about Dubauskas’s conduct has changed since May. What’s changed is that Ishac ran out of runway before the deadline.

Voters Already Answered This

Jan Dubauskas. Photo Credit: Coalition for Greater Scottsdale

Dubauskas said it best: the recall’s failure “speaks to the fact that I have delivered on my promises.” Ishac finished at the bottom of the field in his own 2022 council bid. A recall was never going to be the venue where he got a different answer.

Hopefully this was the lesson Ishac needed to exit the public sphere for good and pursue more productive and less personally corrosive hobbies, but unfortunately I doubt it. Such unquenchably aimless egos rarely get that memo.

Readers, it’s no secret that we enjoy being relative insiders to the world of Arizona (and specifically Scottsdale) politics, and this year has been an interesting one. We’ve been fortunate in our ability to carve a successful niche of sharing a wide variety of viewpoints and stances of one of the best areas and states in the world, and we’re thankful that you’ve followed us this far. But we don’t have to remind you or the stories we’ve broke, that we’ve pontificated on, or our general attempts at balance as we share missives from both sides of the ideological spectrum. We can just show you our data.

So far this year (as of the time of writing) we’ve had over 82,500 individual readers of our small but mighty and spicy publication this year.

That is a 58 PERCENT INCREASE in website visitors year over year. Mind you, this is at a time where website traffic is down across the board as AI has materially reduced clicks over to sites when AI-generated summaries have often done the job that the end user wanted.

This year is looking like it will be a record year of readership for the Arizona Progress & Gazette, as we’re on pace to clear 125K readers, and that is thanks to you. You have recognized the public forum we’ve built and appreciated it, and we’re thankful for that.

Thank you to our local politicians for considering us as a vehicle for public debate and trusting us to share their words without alteration. It’s something we don’t take lightly.

As always, if you have some tips, feel free to send them in. And share this content with your friends. Thank you!

The Arizona Republic confirmed this week what’s rising on the old Big Surf Waterpark site in Tempe: a 694,000-square-foot industrial park, three buildings ranging from 190,000 to 259,000 square feet, with no tenants named yet. Layton Construction broke ground back in February 2025. The 36-acre site sat vacant for years after Big Surf was demolished in 2021.

America’s First Wave Pool Deserved a Better Ending

Big Surf wasn’t just another Valley attraction. It opened in 1969 as the first wave pool in the country, drew families for 40 years, and earned a spot as a historic mechanical engineering landmark for pioneering inland surfing in North America. Generations of kids grew up jumping those waves. That’s the kind of place that becomes part of a city’s identity, not just a line item on a property tax roll.

Property Rights Aren’t the Same as Good Judgment

The new owners have every legal right to build what they’re building. Nobody disputes that. Zoning allows it, the market wants warehouse space near the freeway, and that’s their call to make. But having the right to do something and it being the right thing to do for a community are two different questions. Trading an iconic, fun place families actually used for an unnamed industrial park isn’t a progress story. It’s a land-use story with a nostalgia problem attached.

What “Progress” Should Actually Mean

Call it inevitable, call it the market at work, but don’t call it progress. Progress means a community ends up with something better than what it had. Three speculative industrial buildings with no announced tenants and no opening date isn’t obviously better than a place where families spent their summers for four decades. It might turn out fine for Tempe’s tax base. It’s still a downgrade for anyone who actually loved Big Surf.

This is the same tension playing out across the Valley right now, warehouses and apartment complexes replacing the places that gave neighborhoods their character. Big Surf is just the latest, and most visible, example of what gets lost when property rights and public sentiment point in opposite directions.

By Ronald Sampson

Katie Hobbs stood in front of reporters on August 20 and told them she’s worried about the citizen initiative process getting eroded, while in the same breath standing by her override of the Axon vote. Voters gathering signatures to put a question on the ballot, she said, that’s sacred stuff. She opposed messing with it back when she was a state lawmaker. Good for her.

Then, minutes earlier at that same press conference, she defended a bill she signed last year that did exactly what she claims to be worried about. Somebody ought to tell the governor her sincerity and her signature don’t match up.

Axon: When a Vote Was Inconvenient, She Signed It Away

Here’s the part that should bother every Arizonan, not just the ones in Scottsdale. In 2025, Hobbs signed a bill greenlighting Axon’s $1.3 billion headquarters, apartments, and hotel complex, a bill written specifically to nullify a voter-driven measure that was already headed for the ballot. Scottsdale residents wanted a say on that project. The Legislature and the governor decided they’d rather not find out what voters thought. That law is now tangled up in court and the development is stalled, which tells you the voters’ instincts on this one weren’t exactly crazy.

Axon Rendering

That’s not a governor protecting the initiative process. That’s a governor stepping on it the moment it got in the way of a project she wanted.

The Data Center Veto Doesn’t Buy Her Consistency

Hobbs wants credit for vetoing a bill in June that would have made it harder for opponents of a Marana data center project to get their opposition on the ballot. Fine, that’s a point in her favor on paper. But she vetoed it on narrow procedural grounds, saying it would introduce “uncertainty and confusion” into an ongoing legal challenge, not because she suddenly discovered a principled commitment to letting voters decide things. One veto for procedural reasons doesn’t erase a signature that killed a vote outright. It just means her position on direct democracy depends entirely on which project and which donors are involved.

Add in the Arizona Supreme Court pulling a school voucher reform measure off the November ballot days before her press conference, and you’ve got a pattern. Every time direct democracy gets close to something powerful people don’t want voted on, it finds a way to not happen.

A Bribery Scandal That Smells Exactly Like What It Looks Like

Then there’s Sunshine Residential Homes. This is the company that donated more than $400,000 to Hobbs’ campaign and legal defense fund, and then watched its state foster care reimbursement rate jump nearly 60 percent. Attorney General Kris Mayes spent two years and looked at more than 100,000 documents and came back saying there’s no proof of a quid pro quo, so no charges. Maybe that’s the legally correct call. Proving intent in a case like this is genuinely hard, and campaign donations get First Amendment protection whether we like it or not.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes

But “we couldn’t prove it in court” and “nothing happened here” are not the same sentence, and Arizonans are allowed to notice the difference. A 60 percent rate hike landing on a company that just wrote six-figure checks to the governor doesn’t have to be a provable crime to be a legitimate reason for voters to ask questions in November.

Ducking the Debate Isn’t Confidence, It’s Strategy

And now Hobbs won’t debate Andy Biggs at all. She’s opted to tour the state instead, which is a nice way of saying she’d rather control the room than answer questions in one she doesn’t control. When you’re this far behind on transparency, about a stadium-sized development, a data center fight, a bribery investigation, the smart move is to avoid the one format where somebody gets to press you on all three at once.

She’ll Probably Win Anyway, and That Tells You Something About Andy Biggs

Here’s the frustrating part for those of us who’d like to see this governor actually held accountable: she’ll probably get reelected anyway. Not because her record earns it, but because Andy Biggs is about as hard-right as it gets in a state that has voted purple for a reason. Arizona isn’t looking for a bomb-thrower to replace a governor who plays fast and loose with the initiative process. It’s looking for someone who’ll actually respect the voters on both counts, and right now neither candidate at the top of the ticket is making that case very well.

Photo Credit: AZCentral.com

Katie Hobbs hasn’t earned another term. She’ll likely get one anyway, and the only person to thank for that will be her opponent.

Big congratulations are in order for Mark Winkleman, founder and president of MGS Realty Partners, who was just named to lead the $500 million renovation of Chase Field for the Maricopa County Stadium District. It’s exactly the kind of high-stakes, high-visibility assignment that calls for someone who has already proven he can manage complicated public responsibility, and Winkleman has done that more than once.

A Track Record That Speaks for Itself

Before MGS Realty, Winkleman spent six years as Arizona State Land Commissioner under Governors Napolitano and Brewer, managing 9.3 million acres held in trust for public education and overseeing more than $1.8 billion in revenue, a record for the department at the time. After that he ran the liquidation of Mortgages Ltd. as COO of ML Manager, directing roughly $250 million in property sales through one of the more complicated real estate wind-downs in recent Arizona history. Phoenix Business Journal named him one of the Valley’s 25 most admired CEOs, and it’s easy to see why.

He’s also spent years giving back to the causes that make Scottsdale what it is, chairing the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy and previously leading ULI Arizona and Valley Partnership. That’s a guy who shows up for the preserve, the industry, and the region, not just the paycheck.

Good News for the Diamondbacks

Chase Field needed someone who could handle a nine-figure construction budget, a board that includes the mayor of Phoenix and a sitting state senator, and a lease negotiation that keeps a Major League team in downtown Phoenix for the next 30 years. That’s not a job for just anybody. It’s a job for somebody who has already managed billions in public assets and walked a company through one of the messiest liquidations in state history without losing his reputation.

Mark Winkleman

The Diamondbacks have pledged up to $300 million of their own money toward this renovation, so they have real skin in the game on whether it gets done right. With Winkleman in charge, they’ve got someone who understands both the construction side and the public trust side of a deal this size.

Scottsdale should be proud to claim him. Congratulations, Mark. The Valley is rooting for you on this one.

By Ronald Sampson

We ran a guest editorial from Scottsdale Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield this week, “Steady Water Management, Not Campaign Rhetoric.” It’s exactly what it sounds like: a policy argument about how the city should handle its water future, written by someone with a vote on the council. Worth reading, worth debating.

Instead, the comment section produced this, aimed at Littlefield’s husband, Bob: “It must be eating Bob up inside that he can’t hog the mic for 3 more months. Bye Bye Bob, take your one faded red dress shirt with you.” It came from a regular commentator and someone we know, a person who has long been a commentator on the city.

Jason Alexander Knows Better Than This

That name should carry weight in this conversation, not because of a dress shirt joke, but because Jason Alexander was one of the leading voices opposing the Desert Discovery Center back when that fight over the McDowell Sonoran Preserve was one of the more consequential land-use battles in Scottsdale’s history. He showed up, made a substantive case in public, and helped shape a real outcome. Agree with him or not on that fight, he’s an accomplished, engaging guy who has earned a seat at the table in this city’s politics.

Which is exactly why a line about somebody’s shirt is beneath him. It doesn’t engage a single argument in Kathy Littlefield’s editorial. It doesn’t even try. A guy capable of making the Desert Discovery Center case deserves better material than a wardrobe jab, and so does Scottsdale.

Aim for the Bowl, Not the Floor

There’s an old bit of bathroom wisdom that applies here: aim for the bowl, not the floor. Criticism belongs on the argument, not on someone’s shirt or how long they’ve been in the room. Missing the target doesn’t make the point sharper. It just makes the whole conversation dirtier for everyone who has to clean up after it.

Scottsdale has real debates to have this cycle, water chief among them. Mr. Alexander has shown he can make a real argument. So can the Littlefields, whether you’re a fan of theirs or not. The city is better served when people who are capable of the real fight actually have it, instead of taking the easy shot because it’s sitting right there.

Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky is responding to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s release of new Colorado River operating guidelines for 2027 and 2028.

“While Scottsdale has legitimate concerns about the long-term health of the Colorado River system, our city remains well-positioned to meet the needs of our residents and businesses,” Mayor Borowsky said. “Scottsdale has invested for decades in water conservation, infrastructure improvements, aquifer recharge, and a diverse water portfolio that enhances our resilience during times of drought and uncertainty.”

The Department of the Interior’s operating plan calls for annual Lower Basin reductions totaling 1.25 million acre-feet, with Arizona expected to account for approximately 760,000 acre-feet of those reductions under the proposed sharing framework.

The plan includes annual reductions in Colorado River water deliveries to Arizona, California and Nevada as the federal government and basin stakeholders respond to ongoing drought conditions and critically low reservoir levels.

Approximately 70% of Scottsdale’s water supply comes from Colorado River water delivered through the Central Arizona Project (CAP), while additional supplies come from Salt River Project water, groundwater resources and reclaimed water programs.

“Water is Arizona’s lifeline, and today’s announcement reinforces the benefits realized through responsible planning and conservation efforts Scottsdale has prioritized for decades,” Mayor Borowsky said.

Mayor Borowsky notes that the federal framework establishes the operational approach for the next two years but does not yet specify how Arizona’s reduction obligations will be distributed among individual water users.

“Many important implementation questions remain unanswered, including how reductions will ultimately be allocated among states, water providers, tribes, agriculture and other stakeholders,” Mayor Borowsky said. “Scottsdale will continue working closely with federal, regional and state partners to insist that Arizona’s interests are protected, solutions are equitable, sustainable and based on collaboration.”

While not ideal, the federal guidelines were developed following extensive negotiations among the seven Colorado River Basin states, tribal nations and other stakeholders.

“Championed by Scottsdale, Arizona has become a recognized leader in conservation and innovation,” Mayor Borowsky said. “The path forward requires continued cooperation across the Basin, thoughtful stewardship, and a commitment to solutions that recognize both the realities of drought and the needs of growing communities.”

By Alexander Lomax

Everyone caught the ticket story. Almost nobody caught the line buried inside it.

The line itself

Explaining why the whole speeding-camera saga felt so foreign to her, Mayor Borowsky told Mike Broomhead that she “rarely travels through that part of town”. The intersection in question is Scottsdale Road and Thomas, the heart of south Scottsdale. It was a throwaway aside, offered as an excuse for why a ticket from that stretch of road could sit unnoticed for months. Nobody pushed back on it. Nobody had to. She said it herself, plainly, on the record, with no prompting.

Why that’s the whole problem

South Scottsdale isn’t a side street. It’s roughly a third of the city, geographically and by population. It’s also the third that residents have spent years saying gets treated like an afterthought: older infrastructure, slower capital investment, a sense that when the city talks about “Scottsdale,” it means the part north of the 101. Nearly all of the city councilmembers and mayors in the last few decades have NOT come from the south end; it has sorely lacked representation for ages.

What’s been missing is an admission from the top that it’s true.

Now there’s one. Not from a critic, not from a rival on the council, but from the mayor herself, in her own words, on a friendly radio show where she had every incentive to sound like she has her arms around the whole city. Instead, she told the audience the part of Scottsdale in question is one she rarely visits. That’s not a gotcha pulled from an old vote or a leaked memo. It’s a sitting mayor confirming the exact perception south Scottsdale residents have been trying to get someone in power to acknowledge for years, and she did it without anyone asking.

The question this raises

A mayor’s job is the whole city, not the two-thirds of it that’s easiest to get to from home. If Borowsky is telling the truth, and there’s no reason to think she isn’t, then the honest question is simple: how do you call yourself the mayor for all of Scottsdale when a third of it is a place you rarely go? That’s not a rhetorical jab. It’s the actual standard the job requires, and it’s one she just told us, unprompted, that she doesn’t meet.

The ticket defense was polished. This wasn’t. It slipped out sideways, in the middle of a sentence about something else entirely, which is usually when the truest things get said. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’s just an offhand comment from someone who was focused on defending herself against a different story. Or maybe it’s its own issue, one that doesn’t need a blogger or a process server to surface it, because the mayor already put it on the record herself.

By Betty Janik

Now We know

The wait is over.  The Interior Department announced Arizona will receive a CAP water cut of about 31% over the next 2 years. This was expected. We have reserves to tap into as needed.  Now we must look to the future.

Steps are available to secure our water future.  Conservation is the easiest. It’s a good time to dust off the Sustainability Plan and reinstate the voluntary water conservation measures that were rejected by Council members Graham, Dubaskas, Littlefield and Kwasman.

The City is negotiating the purchase of Harquahala Water credits, enough to supply 45% of Scottsdale families for 1 year (one and done). Delivery expected in 3-4 years.

Bartlett Dam is being studied for expansion. Cost sharing is 50/50 with the government and member cities. Estimated shared costs of $1-2 Billion with storage capacity for 1 million households. Funding removed by current Council majority in 2026/27 CIP.

The most enduring project that provides water decades into the future is Advanced Purified Recycled Water (APRW). In 2019, Scottsdale, in conjunction with the state, “established guidelines for monitoring and regulation of advanced water purification.” We were the pioneers receiving the first permit – a remarkable success.  The ability to have Scottsdale water recycled again and again. This lifeline for a continuous supply was stripped from the 2026/27 CIP by current council.  Estimated costs of $151M or $192M for 11,000 or 22,000-acre-ft/yr respectively represents projected buildout costs with a life span of decades. We are waiting final state approval for the current processes.

Meanwhile, neighboring cities are plowing ahead with APRW projects using technology we developed. Time for Scottsdale to get back on track! Time to support Councilwoman Solange Whitehead and Council Candidate Raoul Zubia, both of whom understand how critical this is to Scottsdale’s future!

Former Councilwoman Betty Janik

Sonoran Sage

Lake Powell. Photo Credit: NBC4 Utah

Lake Powell and Lake Mead both hit record lows this month, and the numbers are hard to shrug off. These dynamics are the biggest threat to Scottsdale in its history. Powell has dropped more than 20 feet since the start of the year and is now just 30 feet from the point where its hydroelectric turbines stop working altogether. Mead hit its own record low the week before. Three decades of drought, persistent overuse of the Colorado River system, and climate change are all doing their part.

Nobody’s Turning Off the Tap Tomorrow, But Don’t Get Comfortable

To be clear, water policy experts quoted in the piece aren’t saying Arizona is about to run dry. Cities across the region have been planning around this decline for years. But “not running out of water” and “nothing changes” are two very different statements. Expect water rates to keep climbing, and expect the strain on the Colorado River system to keep showing up in ways beyond the tap, including the power grid, since Lake Powell’s hydropower has long been a source of relatively cheap, reliable electricity for the West.

This Isn’t a New Conversation for Scottsdale

We’ve been writing about this for a while now, because Scottsdale’s relationship with its water supply has been anything but settled. We called it a dry canary in the coalmine for a reason. We’ve covered the Tier 1 shortage and what it actually means for residents, and the city’s own numbers on what it will take to protect the supply long term.

Lake Powell change. Photo Credit: NASA

Every one of those stories pointed back to the same source: the Colorado River, and reservoirs that keep setting records for the wrong reasons. Lake Powell and Lake Mead aren’t abstractions for Scottsdale. They’re the reason city council debates over growth, development, and water management aren’t just political theater. This month’s numbers are one more reminder that the margin for error here is thinner than a lot of people would like to admit.

There is a great schism on the city council about how to handle this crisis.  But water should be above these petty politics.  After all that’s how great statesmen from both parties years ago helped forged our amazing state.  If they don’t the city’s future may be more toilet than tap.

Ethan Knowlden ran for Scottsdale City Council this year and came up just short. A few weeks later he posted a sweaty selfie from a morning run in DC Ranch, captioned “Running in the 6’s (hours) right now means running in the 80’s (degrees). Which is healthier than any other form of running I’ve done lately.”

That’s it. No bitterness, no score-settling, no subtweet about the campaign. Just a guy laughing at himself and getting on with his life.

He Had Every Reason to Be Bitter

Here’s what makes it more impressive. Bob Littlefield qualified for the November runoff out of the primary, then withdrew afterward to fight the Axon apartment development from outside elected office instead. Because that withdrawal came after the results were already certified, his seat wasn’t backfilled. The runoff simply moved forward with three candidates for two seats.

Had Littlefield made that same decision even a little earlier, before certification, Knowlden was next in line and likely would have taken that runoff spot himself. Timing, not votes, is what kept him off the November ballot. That’s the kind of near-miss that turns most people sour. Instead, Scottsdale got a guy posting about sunrise runs in the August heat.

Losing With Grace and Dignity Matters

There’s an old saying that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it. Campaigns are a pretty pure test of that math, and this was about as tough a test as it gets. Knowlden had a real, specific reason to be frustrated with how the race shook out, and he didn’t take it.

Scottsdale politics can get plenty sharp, and not every candidate handles a loss like this one. Some spend months after picking fights online or nursing grudges. Knowlden went for a run instead. That says something real about how he’ll show up in this community going forward, whether he runs again or not.

By Alexander Lomax

Give Lisa Borowsky this much: when she finally addressed the speeding ticket story on Thursday’s Mike Broomhead Show, she didn’t duck it. She explained it, clearly and calmly, and with a detail that’s hard to argue with. You can’t pay a bill nobody sent you.

What actually happened

Here’s the timeline she’s working with. A speed camera caught her doing 58 in a 40 near Scottsdale and Thomas back on October 14. Nothing happened with it publicly until process servers started showing up at her house between December 30 and January 21, three visits, three misses, no one home. By February, with the case unserved, it was dismissed and purged from the system. An anonymous blogger surfaced it on social media, and only then did Borowsky say she learned the citation existed at all.

The argument she’s making

Her answer to “why didn’t you just pay it” is the strongest part of her case: she says she asked. When she found out about the ticket, she called the city and asked if she could pay it after the fact. The response, as she tells it, was blunt: “Absolutely not, it’s not an option.” She asked for a copy of the citation so she could settle it anyway. Denied again, because by then the case had already been wiped from the system. Her line on the show cuts right to it: “How could I ever have paid anything that I didn’t even know existed?”

Picture from the Mike Broomhead show

That’s a genuinely hard point to rebut. If the city’s own process dismissed the case before she knew it existed, and then told her there was no mechanism to pay a dismissed, purged citation, the “she skipped a ticket” framing starts to look thinner than the “the system never gave her the chance” framing. She also floated the idea that the timing, six months of silence followed by a sudden blog post, felt engineered, tossing in an “I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but it kind of feels like a setup.” We’ll leave that thread alone. It’s the kind of line that plays well with a sympathetic radio host and invites eye rolls everywhere else, and it doesn’t actually strengthen the core argument, which stands fine without it.

A clean, deliberate appearance

What this was, unmistakably, was a controlled appearance. A friendly show, a sympathetic host, a clean narrative, delivered on her terms before anyone else could deliver it on theirs. That’s smart. That’s exactly what you do when you’re managing a story instead of letting it manage you. And on the narrow question of the ticket itself, it may well work: the facts, as she’s laid them out, are more forgiving than the initial “mayor blows off traffic ticket” headlines suggested.

The part that isn’t settled

The question worth sitting with is whether the ticket is actually the story, or just the first chapter of one. Borowsky’s office has spent the last year in one skirmish after another with a council majority that’s stripped her of agenda setting authority, blocked her staffing picks, and, as of last month, placed her chief of staff on paid suspension pending an investigation she’s publicly calling a pretext. She’s framed each of those, individually, as a coordinated effort to undercut her office. Maybe she’s right. Maybe the traffic ticket is just an unlucky, badly timed footnote to a mayor who’s already fighting a two-front war at City Hall.

Or maybe it isn’t a footnote. Because this is all reasonably explained away, UNLESS…there are other shoes to drop? Rumblings are there could be.  For the mayor and Scottsdale’s sake we hope not.  But the famous lyrics from Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” seem appropriate here and now?  “Whoa, the movie never ends.  It goes on and on and on and on . . . “

By Bedouin Bourdain

A still Friday morning, the Gateway Arch doubled perfectly in a reflecting pool that didn’t move for anyone. Some monuments you photograph. This one photographs itself. That was the calm opening act for a city that spent the next two days refusing to be just one thing.

Two Miles of Wall That Outdoes the Museums

Wedged between a Mississippi River flood wall and a working rail yard sits one of the best surprises in American travel: two miles of floodwall canvas running wild with color, a legal graffiti gallery that holds its own against half the museums in this country. Walk it slow. Somewhere along that wall a black and white portrait of Percy Green stops you cold, “Why We Must Raise Hell” painted beside him in letters too big to argue with. This is the man who climbed the Arch itself in 1964 to demand Black St. Louisans get a fair shot at building it. Sixty years later, the city is still painting his sentence on its walls, and it still lands.

A Mural That Paints Through the Grief

A few panels down, a mural dated May 16, 2025 does something different. A tornado spins a house into the sky over the St. Louis skyline, a woman in blue gingham clutches a small dog, the words “We’re Not in Kansas Anymore” across the top. It’s a joke that isn’t really a joke. That tornado tore through the city’s north side for real, and the artists here didn’t paint around it. They painted through it. Grit as a coping mechanism, audacity as memorial.

And Then There’s Pappy’s

A cinderblock building, a pig on the sign, a line out the door that tells you everything before you’ve read the menu. Purportedly the best barbecue in America, and after a plate of it, I’m not in a mood to argue with that claim either.

The Takeaway

Great neighborhoods, a river that means business, and artists willing to paint grief and defiance on the same wall two blocks apart. That’s St. Louis. Audacious to the bone.

By HighGround Public Affairs

The latest statewide survey from HighGround Public Affairs reveals that the Democratic nominees for statewide down ballot offices have taken the lead with six weeks remaining until early voting starts.

In the same survey that showed Governor Katie Hobbs with a fifteen-point advantage in the Governor’s race, the top of the Democratic ticket is also faring well with Adrian Fontes and Kris Mayes both holding nearly 8-point leads for Secretary of State (43.0% Fontes/35.3% Kolodin) and Attorney General (48.3% Mayes/40.3% Petersen) respectively.

Further down the ballot, races also show a slight benefit for the Democratic nominees with Nick Mansour leading for State Treasurer by nearly 3 points (41.8% Mansour/39.0% Norton) and Teresa Leyba Ruiz leading the Superintendent of Public Instruction race by 1 point (42.3% Leyba Ruiz/41.2% Yee).  In both cases, the race is within the margin of error.

Across the board, Republican candidates are seeing a less solidified GOP base where they are earning between 70% and 76% support – leaking support to crossover voters and undecideds.  However, the larger problem Republican candidates are facing is among PND voters (unaffiliated and independents) who are opting for the Democratic nominees by margins that span 10 to 30 points.

Secretary of State

In the race for Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes has an early lead over Alexander Kolodin by 7.7 points with significant advantages among independent voters, female voters, and younger voters.  Kolodin holds an advantage among male respondents and a narrow lead among voters 65 and older.

Chuck Coughlin, President & CEO of HighGround Inc. said, “MAGA Republicans are on the wrong side of denying election results, eliminating vote by mail, and making it more difficult to vote.  The Democratic advantage among unaffiliated voters is more than 20-points and it’s not likely to change any time soon when it comes to election issues.”

Attorney General

For Attorney General, Kris Mayes is leading Senate President Warren Petersen by 8 points with sizable support from the Democratic base as well as a 28-point advantage among unaffiliated voters.  Petersen has a nearly five-point advantage among seniors and is performing best among Republicans gathering 76.2% of the GOP vote.  He is, however, also losing more than 12-points of Republican support to Mayes.

“Midterms traditionally favor Republicans in the State of Arizona.  However, the GOP candidates at the top of the ticket are seeing 10% or more of their own party voting for their Democratic opponents,” said Paul Bentz, Senior Vice President – Research and Strategy at HighGround Inc., “The softness among Republicans narrows their traditional advantage and makes unaffiliated voters that much more important.”

State Treasurer

The gap between the Republican and Democratic candidates begins to narrow as we move further down the ballot.  Traditionally, Arizona has seen Republicans regain their built-in registration and participation advantages as crossover votes dwindle and candidate awareness decreases.

Democratic candidate Nick Mansour holds a 2.8-point advantage over Republican Elijah Norton (41.8% Mansour/39.0% Norton) in the race for Arizona State Treasurer.  Mansour has a 10-point lead among unaffiliated voters, but the advantage is somewhat mitigated by Norton’s nearly 7-point advantage among seniors.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

The race for Superintendent of Public Instruction is the closest among the races tested in HighGround’s survey with Teresa Leyba Ruiz holding a 1-point advantage over current State Treasurer Kimberly Yee (42.3% Leyba Ruiz/41.2% Yee).  The single-point advantage makes this race a statistical dead heat.

“With the exception of the uncontested race for State Mine inspector, Yee was the highest vote-getting Republican four years ago.  Her bid for SPI is bolstered with higher Republican support and advantages in both the 50-64 and 65 and older age groups where she likely has better name ID,” concluded Bentz, “At this point, she is the best bet for Republicans to avoid a shutout in the statewide down ballot offices.”

About the Survey

The N=400 live interview survey was conducted 8/15 through 8/18.  The target population is likely Arizona 2026 General Election voters who have a history of voting in Arizona elections.  Respondents were randomly selected from the voter file maintained by HighGround.  Election Data was collected from the Arizona Secretary of State and Arizona’s fifteen County Recorders.

Individuals were randomly selected to reflect quotas for likely midterm General Election Voters in Arizona.  The poll was weighted to model the likely turnout of voters across party, age, region, and gender.  The partisan advantage was set at +8% GOP based on previous midterm election trends.

The sample frame includes voters with a valid landline and cell phone number.  Voters without a valid home phone or cell phone were not contacted.

The statewide survey was sponsored by HighGround Public Affairs on a variety of election and policy issues facing the state.  The survey was conducted in English.

The questions quoted in the release are listed verbatim.  The survey questions not released are not reasonably expected to influence the response to the question included in this release.  The margin of error is ±4.9% with a 95% confidence interval and does not take into consideration design effect.

For more information regarding the study, contact Paul Bentz at 602-528-3684.

The HighGround team has built a reputation as the “go-to” pollster for reliable and accurate polling in the State of Arizona.  HighGround and its team are seven-time winners of “Best Pollster/Best Polling Firm” by the Arizona Capitol Times, including 2026.

By Raoul Zubia

With last week’s announcement on Colorado River cuts, Scottsdale must now deal with the cut to Arizona’s share and, in turn, a cut to Scottsdale’s CAP share of about 20%—for now—according to the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association. This is not fearmongering; it is fact.

Advanced Water Purification in Scottsdale is the fastest way to fill that 20% and any future losses with clean, affordable water. The next City Council must restore full funding for that program. Yes, there will be significant upfront costs, but in the long run this will guarantee our supply, making it a sound investment in Scottsdale’s future.

I’ve often talked and written about my alarm at Councilmember Barry Graham’s vote against water recycling and his efforts to remove it from the city budget. It begs the question: who wins when we vote against common-sense policies like securing our water future?

Scottsdale just approved $8.25 million to Vidler Water Company for 15,000 acre-feet of long-term storage credits in the Harquahala Valley. Meanwhile, there is already an established Arizona market where investment firms acquire land, groundwater rights, and storage credits—knowing those water assets will become more valuable as scarcity increases. Let that sink in for a minute.

Big investment firms ultimately win. You ultimately lose. And so do future generations.

But it doesn’t need to be this way. Our city already knows how to recycle water in a cost-effective, safe way. Our advanced treatment facility can handle over 20 million gallons a day. It’s actually reloaded over 70 billion gallons into regional aquifers for nearly 40 years. So why send Scottsdale taxpayer dollars to the coffers of private water sellers when we can invest those dollars in creating a drought-resistant water supply right here at home for substantially less? Phoenix is now building their own APW facility because they understand what’s at stake.

We should look at it this way: Every gallon of water we can recycle today is a gallon we do not have to buy from some outside water broker at tomorrow’s scarcity price.

But if we keep delaying and playing games with water recycling to score cheap political points, Scottsdale families will end up paying more while the people who own and trade scarce water get richer.

That may be what Barry Graham wants. But is that what you want?

By Alexander Lomax

Raoul Zubia is running one of the more thoughtful campaigns in the Scottsdale City Council runoff. His pitch to reject extremism “from the right or the left” and govern for the whole city instead of the loudest factions is exactly the kind of message Scottsdale voters have been asking for after a few too many years of City Hall drama. But his recent Facebook post lumping Turning Point USA in with the DSA as a fringe extremist outfit is a real stumble, and it’s worth calling out precisely because Zubia is otherwise running a smart race.

TPUSA Isn’t a Fringe Group

Whatever you think of Turning Point USA’s tactics or tone, it is not a fringe organization. It’s headquartered right here in the Valley, it draws sitting members of Congress and statewide elected officials to its events, and it has become one of the dominant institutions of the modern conservative movement. Equating an endorsement from TPUSA with backing from election deniers is a category error. Voters can see the difference between a mainstream conservative advocacy group and a genuinely extremist one, even when they disagree with TPUSA on specific issues.

Alienating the Voters He Needs in November

Zubia is trying to build a coalition broad enough to win a runoff, which almost certainly means picking up conservative voters who backed other candidates in the primary. Painting TPUSA as extremist reads, to a lot of those voters, as a candidate who doesn’t understand or respect the conservative world he’s asking for votes from. That’s a costly signal to send four months before a general election decided by turnout.

An Easy Fix

None of this means Zubia has to soften his actual critique of his opponents’ records or associations. He can make that case without branding an entire mainstream institution as extremist. It’s a small edit with a real payoff: the same anti-extremism message, minus the unforced error that hands his opponents an easy talking point about who’s really out of touch with Scottsdale.

Scottsdale City Council candidate Raoul Zubia recently touted the support of several luminaries from Scottsdale’s history, whom he names “Preserve Pioneers”. From a recent campaign email:

 

I am grateful for the support of these incredible Scottsdale leaders and public servants. These women have helped lead the effort to create our magnificent McDowell Sonoran Preserve and were rightly recognized by the City as “Preserve Pioneers”. When we attract visitors, business, and investment to our city it keeps our taxes low and helps our economy thrive. That’s good for ALL of us. I am so proud to have the backing of these Pioneers.