By Recker McDowell — An interesting video is circulating on Facebook and YouTube on the races for Scottsdale City Council and Scottsdale Mayor. The video examines financial support from Sunbrella Properties to two mayoral candidates (David Ortega and Bob Littlefield) and three City Council candidates (Guy Phillips, Tom Durham and Betty Janik). Scottsdale’s primary election for Mayor and Council is … Read More
Required Reading
By Recker McDowell — The New York Times and Atlanta Journal-Constitution today published an essay penned by U.S. Rep. John Lewis shortly before the civil rights icon died earlier this month. Lewis’ farewell essay focuses on the current state of race, class, and democracy in America in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter … Read More
Guest Editorial: Building Better Mouse Traps
By Recker McDowell — We all know planning is not easy during this time of COVID-19. School districts, universities, workplaces, and small businesses are all navigating the moving targets of COVID cases and how to protect public health. It can be a day-to-day exercise — just ask the Miami Marlins or local school districts across the country. Still, we need … Read More
Mercedes-Benz of Scottsdale Helps Arizona’s Children Association Help Those Impacted By Pandemic
(SCOTTSDALE) — Mercedes-Benz of Scottsdale is proud to announce it has selected the Arizona’s Children Association as its second Arizona charity to receive a $5,000 donation this month as part of its D.R.I.V.E Initiative. Last month the Scottsdale dealership re-introduced D.R.I.V.E, which stands for Donations for Recovery & Investment that are Very Essential, as a way to help Valley charities recover … Read More
Community Impact: Hoping For Strong Return of Tempe Reading Program, National Model
By Recker McDowell — COVID-19 has upturned so many aspects of daily life. Public health, jobs, and activities we have taken for granted such as travel, going to the movies or a sporting event or church have all been changed. We are still figuring out when many things will return to some resemblance of normal. Volunteering and community work have … Read More
Breaking News: Campaign Finance Reports For Scottsdale Mayor and City Council Races
Staff Report — Candidates for Mayor and City Council in Scottsdale are filing fresh campaign finance reports as they head toward the August 4th primary. Suzanne Klapp and Virginia Korte lead the money race in the contest to succeed Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane who is term limited. There are three City Council seats up for grabs with John Little, Tammy … Read More
Dumb & Dumber Comes To Scottsdale
Dumb & Dumber was a slapstick comedy back in 1994. It’s an apt description of landlord lobbyist David Ortega’s campaign for Scottsdale Mayor in 2020. Stung by documented, fair critiques of his Scottsdale record, the lowlight being his vociferous opposition to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve during his first, failed run for Mayor in 2004, Ortega has resorted to attacking the … Read More
Tammy Caputi: Restarting Schools and Our Economy
By Tammy Caputi — School is scheduled to “start” in a few weeks online. As a parent with 3 children in our local public schools. I’m worried about what this is going to look like for our family- how we will stay safe, make sure our kids manage to keep up with their educations, and figure out a way to … Read More
Community Hero: Making A Difference and Helping Save Wildlife
By Recker McDowell — Diane Vaszily has been volunteering at the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale for the past 9 years. Southwest Wildlife is home to orphaned, injured and rescued wild animals including wolves, bears, coyotes, foxes, deer, bobcats, skunks, and mountain lions. SWCC celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. Vaszily is a retired environmental educator so the wild animal … Read More
New Children’s Book By Grandmother, Granddaughter Tells The Story of Camelback Mountain
By Scottsdale Pinetop — In 1965, U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater led a citizen initiative to save Camelback Mountain. Over 55 years later, the fight continues in Paradise Valley. And one Paradise Valley family has found a new, creative way to help preserve the beloved mountains. The Story of Camelback Mountain is a new children’s book that tells the untold story … Read More