The Scottsdale State of the City Address: What Can We Glean From Mayor Ortega?

Any political observer is well accustomed to State of the Union addresses from presidents, and many observers are also aware of State of the State addresses from governors. But we also recently had a State of the City address from Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, and since it is the first such address since the most recent city council elections, this … Read More

The Giving Back Fund Announces J.J. Watt to Co-Host Big Game Big Give Saturday, February 11th, 2023 at Private Paradise Valley Estate

The Renowned, Star-Studded Party Will Honor NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo and Feature Special Performance by Singer-Songwriter Gavin DeGraw, and Additional Announcements Coming in the Next Few Weeks The Giving Back Fund is proud to announce recently retired NFL Star J.J. Watt, the man considered to be one of the greatest defensive linemen of all time and the 2017 … Read More

Chaos at County Reorganization Meetings: What Does That Portend for Next Two Years?

The political election cycle is a standard and predictable one: first there are primaries, then there are generals. Then there is either celebration or disappointment, followed by co-opting of credit or the pointing of fingers. And then…re-organization. Where the parties signal their level of satisfaction or anger with the direction of their party and choose their leadership accordingly. As is … Read More

The Race for Arizona GOP Chair: Who Will Lead the Party Back to a Victorious Path?

Now that the 2020 elections are out of the way, the political world directs its focus to party reorganization battles: where fingers are pointed, successes are co-opted, and political party leadership is set for the next two years. We recently covered the Arizona Democratic race for Chair, where a much cleaner and simpler race between two people in the wake … Read More

Scottsdale City Council Swearing-In Remarks: What We Learned

The Scottsdale City Council held its inauguration and swearing-in event last week, with two members (Kathy Littlefield and Solange Whitehead) being re-elected to a second term and one (Barry Graham) being new to the council dais. Each of the members was given an opportunity to speak, and as such gave an opportunity to peer in and speculate as to how … Read More

Laws Only Matter with Enforcement: STRs are Skirting the Rules in Scottsdale

The fight for reasonable regulation of short-term rentals (STRs) has seemed to ebb and flow. First the state squashed local control, and then after serious backlash they relented some. While cities and towns started to implement regulations, the Arizona League of Cities and Towns seemed to side with the STR industry (you can follow the entire back and forth here). … Read More