By Recker McDowell Gilbert — already the East Valley’s ‘cool kid’ — just got a bit cooler with Sam Fox’s Culinary Dropout at The Yard opening in the Heritage District. ‘Downtown Gilbert’ is already a walkable home to other popular restaurants and bars in the middle of suburbia. The new 25,000-square-foot Culinary Dropout location is both a testament and a … Read More
Guest Editorial: See What Scottsdale is Doing Right in the Age of Data
By Recker McDowell Billionaire media mogul and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg doesn’t like soda. But Bloomberg likes Scottsdale. Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable arm of the former mayor, has put Scottsdale on its 2019 list of What Works Cities for its use of data and technology. Data and technology have their privacy drawbacks for the private sector and … Read More
Guest Editorial: Clock ticks on Sean Miller, Decision time for UofA, ABOR
By Recker McDowell The clock is ticking on Sean Miller’s tenure in Tucson as head basketball coach at the University of Arizona and the political and image pressure is on the school and the Arizona Board of Regents. ABOR and the UofA have stuck with Miller throughout a federal investigation into alleged bribes and payments to star recruits involving big … Read More
Guest Editorial: Easter Facebook post keeps on rising for Doug Ducey
By Recker McDowell That religious Easter Facebook post from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey keeps on getting resurrected. And that is to the Republican governor’s political benefit, especially as he eyes a political future beyond his current office. Ducey posted scripture from John 11: 25 on Easter Sunday commemorating the Christian holiday. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and … Read More
Guest Editorial: Making Scottsdale History (Think Harleys, Super Bowl ads and Cher)
By Staff Report What do you get a guy who is a billionaire, owns a Harley-Davidson dealership and has owned what used to be Cher’s mansion in Hawaii? Well in the case of Bob Parsons, the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce is inducting him and his wife, Renee, into the Scottsdale History Hall of Fame. The Chamber will induct a new … Read More
Community Patriots: Political Opponents Unite To Help Scottsdale
By Paula Sturgeon & Mike Norton Last year Scottsdale politics was dominated by the “Desert Discovery Center” debate. We were on opposite sides of that debate, sometimes taking direct swipes at each other on social media. But we are putting those differences aside now, this year, for something all of us should be able to agree on: improving our parks, senior … Read More
Guest Editorial: To Biden or Not to Biden: 2020 questions for Cindy and Meghan McCain
By Staff Report We know Cindy and Meghan McCain are not backing President Donald Trump’s reelection bid. But Cindy McCain said yesterday she’s also not backing Former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential bid. “Joe Biden is a wonderful man and dear friend of the McCain family. However, I have no intention of getting involved in presidential politics,” Cindy McCain … Read More
The Scottsdale Entertainment District As Economic Developer
Last week Arizona Governor Doug Ducey helped announce online real estate giant Zillow’s decision to add many more employees and 25,000 square feet of more office space in the Galleria Corporate Center. Click here to read the full story. One a moribund shopping center the Galleria has re-emerged in recent years as a notable hub of technology workers. It’s been a … Read More
A Political Drought Contingency Plan For Scottsdale
Read the Arizona Republic or Arizona Capitol Times recently and you surely will see comprehensive coverage on the state’s “Drought Contingency Plan” or DCP. Designed to forestall projected shortages with Colorado River water allotments DCP is a desperate answer to a scary situation. As a result, its negotiation and passage has become a new model for bi-partisanship. Just last week … Read More
Well This Would Shake Up Scottsdale’s 2020 City Council Races
For some time the belief in Scottsdale political circles was that if you ever wanted to be on City Council, 2020 was the time to run. That’s because Councilwomen Suzanne Klapp and Virginia Korte would be abandoning their seats to run for Mayor since the term-limited Jim Lane cannot serve again. And that appears to be on track. But … Read More