This For North Scottsdale?

What is this? You’re not alone if confused.  It’s a proposed design for a new Chinese restaurant in north Scottsdale.  The photo has not been manipulated.  It is not a joke.  On November 21st the Scottsdale Design Review Board will decide whether this type of exotic, foreign design is appropriate for the area, or as it has at previous meetings … Read More

Good News: A Lyon For The Mountain Shadows Jungle

Upton Sinclair once wrote a captivating American novel called The Jungle.  Far more recently others have written about the municipal jungle known in Paradise Valley as Mountain Shadows. It seemed to be to this community’s Los Arcos, a property always top of mind but without solution.  But just as Scottsdale eventually lanced its boil, Paradise Valley may have more elegantly … Read More

Quick Thoughts On The Scottsdale Bond Failures: Unlucky ‘13

Political malpractice.  That’s a kind term to describe the decision to place both a City of Scottsdale bond package on the ballot as the same time as more money for the school district.  At a time when the stock market is high but the economy is not. Dueling taxing propositions was an effort needing to defy the gods.  Rare are … Read More

Hiking Paradise Valley’s Mummy Mountain?

As the joint Phoenix-Paradise Valley improvements impressively conclude soon at Camelback Mountain’s Echo Canyon it sparks a new idea:  hiking access to Paradise Valley’s Mummy Mountain. Scottsdale is opening trailheads in its spectacular McDowell Sonoran Preserve daily, it seems.  Demand for hikes in and around Paradise Valley at Piestewa Peak, Cholla Trail and Echo Canyon aren’t subsiding any time soon. … Read More

Is it Possible to be a Conservative at the Local Level?

Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio certainly contradicts the notion in this headline.  And he has been an exceptionally important voice railing against many excesses in Phoenix city government.  But ultimately is a city best off with five, seven or nine Sal’s? Pardon the detour. It would seem a consistent conservative message would go something like this.  The federal government is … Read More

It Ain’t Mountain Shadows or The Ritz: Paradise Valley Should Defoliate Cottonwoods Proposal

A beautiful evening on the patio at Camelback Back Inn’s restaurant called Rita’s. The views at Sanctuary. The charm of The Hermosa Inn. The social conscience of the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. The increasing charm of Montelucia. When one thinks of and experiences Paradise Valley’s grand resorts The Cottonwoods’ hotel property along Scottsdale Road doesn’t come to mind. Most don’t even … Read More

Back To The Future

The Arizona Republic recently announced it was abandoning local editorials and opinion pages. What a shame. In years past the Republic, Phoenix Gazette and Scottsdale Progress joined the likes of the Glendale Star, West Valley View and many others to provide robust commentary on matters of local import. The Arizona Progress & Gazette has been launched with names from the … Read More

Scottsdale City Council Endorsements One Year Out

In 2014 three seats on the Scottsdale City Council will be up for grabs, those of incumbents Dennis Robbins and Linda Milhaven and that of the loquacious voice of yesteryear, Bob Littlefield. Littlefield is term-limited, and considering a run for the Arizona State Legislature. We can dispense with the need for interviews and candidate debates when it comes to endorsements … Read More