OK, first thought that comes to your mind: Where's a good place for a prison?
If you said Not in My Backyard (NIMBY), count yourself among the majority. A prison, along with a shooting range, a religious cult compound, a sewer plant, and a freeway, are some of the facilities that people probably don't want near their homes. I'm not saying that nothing would be appropriate in my neighborhood. If they want to drop a pocket park behind my house, then I'm OK with that. A few more neighbors, a school, a museum, a camp, all good. But some things belong a long way from populated communities. Especially far from communities that have grown exponentially in 20 years.
Somehow, desperate for continued wild growth, Prescott Valley's economic "minds" (using the term rather loosely) decided that they haven't had any "what's coming to Prescott Valley" stories in the paper in the last month. Considering the years of one announcement after another, that was bound to happen. Look at the headlines and go figure. Prescott Valley is still incredibly economically viable, so why not wait out the current downturn and the economic engine will fire again. Instead, these folks grabbed onto the first train that passed...CCA. Let's build a prison in Prescott Valley.
A wise council would say publicly "Hmm. Let's consider this very carefully." In private, the discussion should have gone something like this: "Are you out of your recession-twisted mind? A couple of years ago, they bit our heads off for suggesting a prison in Prescott Valley. You can't find a solar panel manufacturer, a technology-based company, another distribution center, or some other employer that wants a medium-size, pleasant community with good weather and good transportation routes? I'm not going to back a prison and get killed by the voters. We pay you enough -- get out there and earn your economic development money."
CCA wouldn't have wasted a day more in Prescott Valley. Instead, last night's 3-4 straw poll isn't enough to put the nails in this coffin. Watch your backs, PV residents. Stay watchful. Sometimes being a NIMBY isn't such a bad thing.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Doesn't everyone need a bailout?
On the eve of this Thanksgiving Day, I want to wipe out the ungratefulness from my mind. I'll blog it instead. During this week of Thanksgiving and Black Friday and Cyber Monday, maybe Tuesday could be Universal Bailout Tuesday.
If investment and banking CEOs deserve a bailout, what about me? Shouldn't it count that among the three members of my family, there are four jobs, three rescued pets, two college enrollments (and a partridge in a pear tree, but I digress).
I'd be glad to support the car industry, the banking industry and the stock market, but right now, my cash on hand is a little strapped. But with a small fraction of the checks the government is considering, I'd be glad to purchase a new vehicle. Hybrid, if that would help our global warming situation, too. I'd save some, and invest some. We can discuss percentages. I don't need all $700 billion. I'd share the wealth. $70 billion would be just fine. $70 million even. Heck, some days just $70 would help. Thank goodness, that's now two tanks of gas for my little pickup instead of one.
Speaking of gas, before the election I saw this video with an Obama supporter telling the reporter that she was voting for him because he was going to put food on her table and gas in her tank. I'd be glad to have Barack fix my Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. If he arrives tonight, he could help me clean house. Or tomorrow he could wash the dishes. I never really liked washing dishes anyway.
Does anyone believe in self bailout? How about working hard and earning more? Adapting to difficult economic times with innovation? Finding newer and better ways to exist? It used to be that people were ashamed of bailouts. People bragged about pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. They "weathered the storm," put their "nose to the grindstone," "burned the midnight oil." Now bailout is the term of the year for 2008. Bailout used to be something pilots did as a last resort before the plane crashed, not something people did before they had to cancel their three-week Caribbean vacation.
Unemployment hasn't reached double-digit figures And my last peek at the job service board showed lots of jobs. OK, no CEO of national financial institution jobs, but good, solid work. People who want to work can find positions. Believe not the media, who search for examples of people to fit their story premises. Yes, some people have been looking for work for months. But some people have been laid off and found a job that same week. They never even applied for unemployment. The country's situation is not hopeless -- not until its citizens give up hope.
If investment and banking CEOs deserve a bailout, what about me? Shouldn't it count that among the three members of my family, there are four jobs, three rescued pets, two college enrollments (and a partridge in a pear tree, but I digress).
I'd be glad to support the car industry, the banking industry and the stock market, but right now, my cash on hand is a little strapped. But with a small fraction of the checks the government is considering, I'd be glad to purchase a new vehicle. Hybrid, if that would help our global warming situation, too. I'd save some, and invest some. We can discuss percentages. I don't need all $700 billion. I'd share the wealth. $70 billion would be just fine. $70 million even. Heck, some days just $70 would help. Thank goodness, that's now two tanks of gas for my little pickup instead of one.
Speaking of gas, before the election I saw this video with an Obama supporter telling the reporter that she was voting for him because he was going to put food on her table and gas in her tank. I'd be glad to have Barack fix my Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. If he arrives tonight, he could help me clean house. Or tomorrow he could wash the dishes. I never really liked washing dishes anyway.
Does anyone believe in self bailout? How about working hard and earning more? Adapting to difficult economic times with innovation? Finding newer and better ways to exist? It used to be that people were ashamed of bailouts. People bragged about pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. They "weathered the storm," put their "nose to the grindstone," "burned the midnight oil." Now bailout is the term of the year for 2008. Bailout used to be something pilots did as a last resort before the plane crashed, not something people did before they had to cancel their three-week Caribbean vacation.
Unemployment hasn't reached double-digit figures And my last peek at the job service board showed lots of jobs. OK, no CEO of national financial institution jobs, but good, solid work. People who want to work can find positions. Believe not the media, who search for examples of people to fit their story premises. Yes, some people have been looking for work for months. But some people have been laid off and found a job that same week. They never even applied for unemployment. The country's situation is not hopeless -- not until its citizens give up hope.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Politics for Dummies -- in Yavapai County
The two-party system is a joke -- if you live in Yavapai County, Arizona. Almost all of today's local races on the ballot are uncontested races. Republicans dominate the ballot. Does that mean all the good politicians are Republicans, or that Democrats are too intelligent to get mixed up in crazy, smallville politics?
Consider the District 1 Senate and House races. One-horse races until the Dems threw two political nobodies on the ballot with barely enough write-in votes. As seen from the ballot, equal-shot races. But in reality, experienced Republicans and Democrats who have no business sharing the billing.
The Democrats need to take a lesson from sports today -- in order to have a political future in this county. Build a minor league program, a feeder system, so to speak. It's political suicide to say "I'll jump into a House or Senate race with no name, no record, no experience." And it makes the Dems look impotent. However, there are places to gain experience. Coat the local commissions, advisory councils, governing boards and councils with intelligent party members. Of course, none of these races are partisan races, so some intelligent Dems would have fairly equal chances to win or gain appointment.
However, 2, 4, 6 years from now, when these folks have had years of name recognition in the media, and learned about how to build consensus, they will be ripe for moving up into the county and state seats. And another group of minor leaguers moves in. Another 4-6 years, those county and state candidates are ready for Congress, and the farm team players take their spot. A dozen years, and the Dems would be the powerhouse of Yavapai County.
Now is the Yavapai County Democratic leadership smart enough to work for a cause that's not going to be rewarded tomorrow? Or are they content to continue to be rated "L" for Losers, literally?
Consider the District 1 Senate and House races. One-horse races until the Dems threw two political nobodies on the ballot with barely enough write-in votes. As seen from the ballot, equal-shot races. But in reality, experienced Republicans and Democrats who have no business sharing the billing.
The Democrats need to take a lesson from sports today -- in order to have a political future in this county. Build a minor league program, a feeder system, so to speak. It's political suicide to say "I'll jump into a House or Senate race with no name, no record, no experience." And it makes the Dems look impotent. However, there are places to gain experience. Coat the local commissions, advisory councils, governing boards and councils with intelligent party members. Of course, none of these races are partisan races, so some intelligent Dems would have fairly equal chances to win or gain appointment.
However, 2, 4, 6 years from now, when these folks have had years of name recognition in the media, and learned about how to build consensus, they will be ripe for moving up into the county and state seats. And another group of minor leaguers moves in. Another 4-6 years, those county and state candidates are ready for Congress, and the farm team players take their spot. A dozen years, and the Dems would be the powerhouse of Yavapai County.
Now is the Yavapai County Democratic leadership smart enough to work for a cause that's not going to be rewarded tomorrow? Or are they content to continue to be rated "L" for Losers, literally?
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