By Alexander Lomax A lame duck session in politics is the period after the election but before the inauguration of new members. It’s when leaders who either did not run for re-election or lost their re-election raves are unencumbered by future expectations and criticisms, where they can defy the expectations of their constituency with few repercussions. It’s also a time … Read More
Scottsdale’s Least Favorite Bully Returns
By Ronald Sampson Just when I had hoped that it would be the end of it, that the city of Scottsdale would get a reprieve from the constant harassment, it persists. Like a woman at a club who keeps getting hit on by a guy that won’t take no for an answer, regardless of her friends and her beefy boyfriend … Read More
ASM versus Optima: Where Economic Growth Battles Quality of Life
We all want economic growth, and Arizona (and Scottsdale, more specifically) has been on fire in that regard recently. This has been optimized by the massive recent announcement by semiconductor-adjacent giant ASM, which recently announced an absolutely mammoth expansion in Scottsdale (you can learn more about it here). But as with anything mammoth, there will be winners and there will … Read More
BREAKING NEWS: They’re Back…
A movie phrase made famous by Poltergeist apparently is the long rumored reality as Axon is purportedly readying to return its immensely unpopular apartment plan to Scottsdale decision-making dais. And in the “you can’t make this up” category, they are apparently targeting Planning Commission and City Council hearings immediately after the election on November 13th and November 19th. Too cute by half, but more … Read More
Lessons to Learn from Jan Dubauskas and the City Council Elections: The Merits of Opposing Egregious Overdevelopment
The Scottsdale City Council election results were an illuminating one; while Jan Dubauskas was expected to perform well, given strong fundraising compared to most of the rest of the pack and previous experience as a candidate (nearly upsetting John Kavanagh in a 2022 GOP primary for the state senate), she was an early front-runner to at least go on to … Read More
Axon President the Highest Paid Executive Officer in Arizona (While They Continue to be a Thorn in the Side of Scottsdale)
What a wonderful year it has been for Axon. Every quarterly earnings report seems to come with it blockbuster financials, with massive revenue, huge profits, and a skyrocketing stock price. Everything seems to be going wonderfully for the company, even as it threatens and bullies the city of Scottsdale to get everything it wants (read the whole story here). How … Read More
Axon has Enough Money to Acquire Drone Company, Still Strong-Arming City of Scottsdale
Axon is in the news yet again. We have been covering their absurd plans to plop nearly 2,000 apartments into an area of Scottsdale that doesn’t want them, and the bullying that they’ve been doing to try to ram their plans through against the wishes of essentially all local stakeholders (get up to date here). This time, it’s good news … Read More
Does Justin Laos Really Want to Be on the Scottsdale City Council?
This year’s Scottsdale city council race so far is a race of haves and have nots when it comes to money (read our coverage here). When candidates are overmatched from a financial perspective, it’s imperative that they stand out in other ways. Some candidates make goofy videos or take outlandish stances. In the case of candidate Justin Laos, apparently it’s … Read More
Axon Wants Density Subsidies as Its Stock Soars to New Heights
Frequent readers and those in tune to the happenings of Scottsdale already know about the Axon saga: the makers of Taser, once reasonably good partners with the city and stakeholders, have napalmed any and all good faith that they had previously built. The story is bad enough of a look as it is, but it only gets worse when considering … Read More
Axon Wants You to Subsidize It? Seriously?
Our readers know the deal about Axon by now; it is threatening to take their ball (in this case, their headquarters) and go to a new home if it doesn’t get what it wants, in this case nearly 2,000 apartments plopped right into North Scottsdale. Perhaps you read our piece related to its more recent threats during its quarterly financial … Read More