Photo Credit: azcentral.com Water is the most critical issue in our area, as nearly everyone knows (you can get up to speed on our perspectives about it here). To that end, we had some good news recently, but it also comes with concern and potentially even dread at what is to come. We found out recently that the city of … Read More
Both State Parties Chooses Their Leadership. What Differences Will We See?
Photo Credit: AZCentral.com This past weekend was the culmination of the post-election festivities in Arizona: the state party reorganization meetings. They serve as a referendum on the performance of the party and provide insight into where the parties might go for the next few years. We outlined the candidates for party leadership in a recent article that you can read … Read More
Guest Editorial: Personal Responsibility and Nature vs. Man – Why Do We Always Blame Nature?
By Tim Peeler Anyone who has lived in the Valley long enough has probably seen our beloved NHL team’s namesake prowling around streets, parks, or even in their own neighborhoods. Coyotes are one of the most adaptable mammals on the planet, evidenced by their large-scale residency in many major North American metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and many … Read More
Rio Verde FootHills Water Update: They’re Suing the City, and It Could Have Been Avoided
Regular readers are well aware of the water crisis that’s been unfolding in the Rio Verde Foothills on the outskirts of Scottsdale; if you have not kept up you can get up-to-date here. Now that the water cut-off deadline has come and gone the situation has gotten ever more tense in the unincorporated municipality, with the desperation of the citizenry … Read More
The Scottsdale State of the City Address: What Can We Glean From Mayor Ortega?
Any political observer is well accustomed to State of the Union addresses from presidents, and many observers are also aware of State of the State addresses from governors. But we also recently had a State of the City address from Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, and since it is the first such address since the most recent city council elections, this … Read More
Chaos at County Reorganization Meetings: What Does That Portend for Next Two Years?
The political election cycle is a standard and predictable one: first there are primaries, then there are generals. Then there is either celebration or disappointment, followed by co-opting of credit or the pointing of fingers. And then…re-organization. Where the parties signal their level of satisfaction or anger with the direction of their party and choose their leadership accordingly. As is … Read More
Guest Editorial: City Council 2023 Kicks Off
By Councilwoman Solange Whitehead
The Race for Arizona GOP Chair: Who Will Lead the Party Back to a Victorious Path?
Now that the 2020 elections are out of the way, the political world directs its focus to party reorganization battles: where fingers are pointed, successes are co-opted, and political party leadership is set for the next two years. We recently covered the Arizona Democratic race for Chair, where a much cleaner and simpler race between two people in the wake … Read More
Scottsdale City Council Swearing-In Remarks: What We Learned
The Scottsdale City Council held its inauguration and swearing-in event last week, with two members (Kathy Littlefield and Solange Whitehead) being re-elected to a second term and one (Barry Graham) being new to the council dais. Each of the members was given an opportunity to speak, and as such gave an opportunity to peer in and speculate as to how … Read More
Laws Only Matter with Enforcement: STRs are Skirting the Rules in Scottsdale
The fight for reasonable regulation of short-term rentals (STRs) has seemed to ebb and flow. First the state squashed local control, and then after serious backlash they relented some. While cities and towns started to implement regulations, the Arizona League of Cities and Towns seemed to side with the STR industry (you can follow the entire back and forth here). … Read More