By Councilwoman Solange Whitehead This week, a Council majority is staging a photo opportunity at Scottsdale’s Water Campus to reassure residents that Scottsdale’s water future is secure. It isn’t. The backdrop may be our award-winning Water Campus, but the reality is different. The experts who built Scottsdale’s nationally recognized water utility are gone. Funding for critical water projects has been … Read More
Former Scottsdale City Manager Jim Thompson Returns Home to Join SEG Leadership Team
After Decades in Local Government, Thompson Brings Public-Sector Perspective to Growing Phoenix Firm Former Scottsdale City Manager Jim Thompson is heading home to Arizona for a new chapter in the private sector. Following 40 years in city government, Thompson will join the Sustainability Engineering Group as president and chief growth officer starting July 1, 2026, bringing decades of experience in … Read More
A Bar Fights City Hall Over Parking Spots, and Wins. What Does It Say About Doing Business in Scottsdale?
A Long Fight Over a Simple Expansion Old Town Tavern just won something that should not have taken months to get: permission to expand into the empty space next door. The Scottsdale City Council approved the permits this week, clearing owner Paul Mitchell to grow his bar and restaurant. Mitchell called himself “ecstatic.” He had reason to be relieved as … Read More
Mayor Borowsky leads effort to review data center development standards in Scottsdale
Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved a request from Mayor Lisa Borowsky last week to begin examining how the city’s zoning ordinances apply to data centers and whether more specific requirements are needed as the industry continues to expand nationwide. Scottsdale City Council directed the city manager and city attorney to agendize a work study session focused on current data center … Read More
Better Together’s Blank Check: Who’s Really Funding the PAC Attacking Barry Graham?
By Alexander Lomax A New PAC, a Familiar Playbook A political action committee called Better Together has spent more than $250,000 attacking three Scottsdale City Council candidates, and Scottsdale voters still don’t know who is paying for it. The committee filed with the state on June 5. Its first campaign finance report isn’t due until July 15, well after most … Read More
Scottsdale City Council advances Mayor Borowsky’s large water user ordinance initiative
From the Office of Mayor Lisa Borowsky Scottsdale is taking a significant step toward strengthening long-term water stewardship as the Scottsdale City Council unanimously directed the city manager and city attorney to agendize a work study session on the potential creation of a large water user ordinance. The proposed ordinance initiative, championed by Mayor Lisa Borowsky, is being developed in … Read More
Second Ethics Complaint Against Kathy Littlefield Dismissed. The Bigger Question Is Who Keeps Filing Them
By Ronald Sampson A Complaint That Never Had Legs An independent hearing officer has dismissed the second ethics complaint filed against Scottsdale Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield over her votes on Axon’s headquarters campus. Local activist Dan Ishac argued Littlefield should have recused herself because her husband, Bob Littlefield, chairs TAAAZE, the group fighting Axon’s apartment plans. Hearing Officer Robert Donfeld ruled … Read More
Guest Editorial: Kick Out the Clowns: Elect Raoul Zubia.
By John Ainlay Scottsdale City Council is a clown show. That’s why I commend Raoul Zubia’s campaign signs that read “Kick out the clowns.” This slogan will resonate with anyone who has attended a council meeting in the last year and a half and it expresses exactly what voters need to do this July when we have an opportunity to … Read More
Tourism promotion delivers strong return, strengthens Scottsdale’s reputation
From Experience Scottsdale A recent study confirms that strategic tourism promotion is not only driving visitation to Scottsdale but also strengthening the city’s reputation and generating significant economic benefits for residents. The City of Scottsdale and Experience Scottsdale commissioned leading tourism research firm Longwoods International to evaluate the effectiveness of Experience Scottsdale’s marketing efforts. The study found that for every … Read More
Scottsdale at 75: A Diamond Forged in Desert Light
Seventy-five years ago this June, a patch of sun-baked Arizona scrubland with 2,032 souls and barely a half-square mile to its name became an official municipality. Nobody could have predicted what it would become. That is the Scottsdale story: humble origins giving way to something genuinely extraordinary. The area’s bedrock dates back 1.8 billion years, and Indigenous peoples called it … Read More