Friends was one of the best and most successful television comedies of all time.  No one can say it didn’t have a great run.  From Phoebe Buffay to Chandler Bing the characters became a staple of American life. Chandler, Arizona has also had a great run.  It is among Arizona’s most successful cities.  From Jay Tibshraeny to Jack Sellers it … Read More

The Arizona Republic recently featured an impressive “land bridge” near Oro Valley, Arizona to facilitate highway crossings for wildlife and reduce car accidents with them.  Here is a link. It prompted an idea.  Why not pursue something similar in Scottsdale for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve which is bisected by Dynamite Boulevard? It would be far less costly than the proposed … Read More

After losing the Republican nomination for the Arizona House of Representatives in 2014 Bob Littlefield found himself without a political title for the first time since 2002. He couldn’t stand it.  So he’s running for Scottsdale Mayor against a former friend and ally. He’s running despite his wife also serving on the Scottsdale City Council at the same time. And … Read More

Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane will be seeking a third and final term this August.  The finality has to do with the city’s term limits restriction. Three terms is all one gets to serve consecutively on the City Council or as Mayor. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton will not be seeking a third term, even though he would win easily.  That’s because … Read More

The proposed Desert Discovery Center is one of those ideas that’s been around a long time.  Like wine, some think this is cause to savor the idea further.  Once envisioned as something like an environmental Disneyland it has morphed into something more akin to a duplicative Desert Botanical Garden. Some on the Scottsdale City Council like Linda Milhaven, Virginia Korte … Read More

What a week for Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane.  If there was ever a time he proved his mettle and wisdom on key issues, and why voters should keep him at the helm of Arizona’s best city, this was it. *He voted for new, for-sale housing on McDowell Road, continuing the momentum for the corridor and next “it” area in the … Read More

Over the weekend Arizona Republic readers might have noticed a letter to the editor from David Ortega.  He waxed ineloquent, as history most often records his commentaries, about the inadequacies of Proposition 123.  There are good arguments on both sides of that issue, though many more in support.  This is not meant to be judgment on them.   Only on Ortega. … Read More

Just a couple of months back Scottsdale almost had a lot more than proverbial egg on its face.  It almost had a whole carton making its mug unrecognizable. That’s when some on the Scottsdale City Council were actually considering not allowing the BASIS charter school to relocate and expand its presence on Shea Boulevard.  Fortunately, Mayor Lane, Suzanne Klapp and … Read More

It’s always good to invoke Star Trek, especially when it comes to Bob Littlefield.  Because his campaign for Scottsdale Mayor seems to be from outer space.  And his campaign, in the unlikely event it is successful, would boldly take he and wife where no man has gone before:  a husband and wife team on the Scottsdale City Council. We’re sure, … Read More

Transforming the 32-acre Margaret Hance Park in central Phoenix to something more akin to Central Park is the best planning idea in the Valley today.  Read about it here.  We hope the “Hance Park Conservancy” is one day regarded like the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy in Scottsdale.  There, volunteers and fundraisers alike act as stewards for one of the great preserves … Read More