Guest Editorial: Statement about Maricopa County TikTok Ban

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

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