By Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin Government agencies possess a lot of sensitive data—some of it private in nature—and one of our core jobs is making sure that data is secure and cannot be compromised. Unfortunately, we live in a time where privacy is more difficult to achieve than ever, whether you’re an individual or a large organization. We know … Read More
Guest Editorial: Grasping for Clear Air
By Councilmember Betty Janik Recently, I received emails asking me to “reject” the Maricopa Association of Governors (MAG) recommendations on techniques to reduce ozone levels in Maricopa County. First, what is MAG? It is a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). By state statue MPO is the policy board created and designated to carry out the metropolitan transportation planning process including plans … Read More
Guest Editorial: The AI Revolution
By Walter Isaacson Every week during my Tulane class on the digital revolution I send the class a note. Fwiw, here is the final note I sent this semester commenting on the historic nature of what has just occurred in the field of artificial intelligence: Dear class, I don’t teach poetry. In fact, I sometimes find poetry harder to understand … Read More
Is the Light at the End of the Tunnel with Arizona’s Drought?
Not just around the country, but around the world people often have a singular first thought that pops into their mind when they are asked about Arizona: it’s a desert, it’s dry, it’s hot, or something of the sort. Water has always been a significant question mark, but that has intensified in recent years as water levels at our biggest … Read More
Good News in Scottsdale: Basic Economics is Impacting the STR Market
Short-term rentals (STRs) have long been a contentious subject in Scottsdale; its status as a vacation destination has meant that plenty of people renting out their homes with extremely little oversight or regulation to tourists who are unconcerned about the surrounding neighbors. The resulting issues have been a common source of grievance for many residents and is a subject we … Read More
Guest Editorial: Your Bond Projects Should Be Prioritized
By Councilmember Barry Graham
Infighting Amongst the Arizona Dems: Fractures Show Between Gov. Hobbs and Her Caucus
Arizona Democrats have had to relearn what power means considering how long they had been relegated to an afterthought in Arizona politics. Since they are in a one vote minority in both the state House of Representatives and state Senate, the most powerful tool in Hobbs’s arsenal has been her veto pen, as we have covered here. One would assume … Read More
Further Fracturing Impacting Rio Verde Foothills Water Solution
The ongoing water crisis at the Rio Verde Foothills has seen a lot of chaos and a lot of bitter struggles (get up to date here). There has been finger pointing, battle lines drawn between Scottsdale Mayor Dave Ortega and the county Board of Supervisors, protests, state representatives taking shots and nearly everyone having an opinion. And that doesn’t appear … Read More
Scottsdale in a Financial Crunch: What Should They Do?
For all of its fantastic features and generally strong governance, the city of Scottsdale is in a bit of a financial pickle. We outlined it previously here, and you can read about it in full here. In essence, a large spending package that Scottsdale voters approved in 2019 is now running far behind as costs have spiraled far past initial … Read More
CHAOS with the LD3 Republicans: the Scottsdale/Fountain Hills GOP is Melting Down
As a rule of thumb, the higher up the politics go, the more professional they are, but when the stakes are the lowest (at the more local level), the more messy it can get. We have covered significant political messiness in both local parties here, but what is unfolding in the LD3 Republican Party (covering Scottsdale and Fountain Hills) might … Read More