A while back I talked about how the City of Phoenix was having to make some serious cutbacks to a lot of its programs. One person responded asking if the Phoenix Summit Challenge was still on for 2010.
As of right now the Phoenix Summit Challenge for 2010 appears to still be scheduled for Nov 5th to 7th of 2010. Registration opens August 7th 2010. Stay tuned!
Come on people of Arizona with brains and spines still in your body. Its time to get involved and active, or just move the fuck out of the state and give up. Which is it gonna be?
So is it “hopeless??” No. Goddard must work harder than he’s ever worked in his life to overcome the white-right. Hispanic turnout must be mobilized. The real enemies of the working class need to be identified. Arizonans need to understand how the “conservative” elected leaders have repeatedly failed them, how the policies of the right have been tried with disastrous consequences. Good luck finding penetrating, muckraking or balanced coverage from most of the local media, but maybe social networking can get some young people to offset the reliable senior and LDS vote. And start building that bottom-up infrastructure as the right did. Still, I know people such as Kyrsten Sinema and Chad Campbell who have been working at this for years. I’m not telling them anything they don’t know.
The sad reality is that the left has nearly disappeared from America. Barack Obama holds down a center that is far to the right of historic American politics. But further right still are the ever more radical and dangerous cadres of reaction. More states will catch the Arizona syndrome. In November, we’ll see how badly.
Rogue Columnist: Second time around?.
Solution ideas:
- Repeal SB 1070.
- Elect Terry Goddard governor.
- Throw out the Kook majority in the Legislature.
- Raise taxes on the rich and, if the Growth Machine ever revives, enact a real-estate transfer tax and a tax on long commutes.
- Stop all residential development outside existing urban footprints (and the extravagant planning maps of Buckeye, Surprise, Maricopa, et al, are not existing footprints). For one thing, there’s not enough water.
- Establish a real state commerce department employing best practices to attract high-wage jobs.
- Build out the Phoenix Biosciences Campus on a speedy schedule to include a hospital, large med school, pharmacy school and private-sector research facilities. Add a full-court press to lure biomed manufacturing from California.
- Eliminate GPEC. Let the cities go their own ways.
- Fund the public schools and universities to compete at top levels.
- Establish real infill incentives along the light-rail line.
- Put a premium on shade, including enhancing and reclaiming the shady oases in central Phoenix.
- Reform the tax structure so cities aren’t so dependent on sales taxes.
- Create a climate-change emergency plan now and begin acting by, for example, building intercity rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars and an integrated, easy-to-use transit system.
Had a great talk with my buddy Greg Taylor last night about Desert Bloom Phoenix and the Phoenix Music Scene. We ran a little long for YouTube so I had to cut out his shout out to the folks at Gangplank:
The Desert Bloom Phoenix Crew:
Here is some info about the bands and venues he talked about:
Kinch
Dry River Yacht Club
Black Carl
What Laura Says
Sail Inn
Yucca Tap Room
Long Wong’s
Rhythm Room
Trunk Space
Its no secret that Arizona and housing equals suck ass in 2010. Sure sales are up and kudos to the realtors still in the game and making that happen, but its little secret that the majority of this is Short and Bank Owned sales. The AZ Republic just had an article about people deciding to just walk away from their homes. This article is very interesting and gives you a good look into the psyche of those affected, but it misses out on one huge option: Short Selling.
First of all make sure you get someone who knows what they are doing. You should expect them to do just about everything for you and that includes negotiating with the bank.
Second you should not pay them anything. This is important as there are companies out their trying to charge the seller an upfront fee. This is a sign of someone who is incompetent. When the sale goes through they will get their commission, 6%, split if there are two agents involved. Its sales ladies and gentlemen, once the sale is complete you get paid.
GMAC, my mortgage bank, wanted me to bring cash to the table to close the deal. This makes zero sense to me and it was a good think I had followed Rule #1 and my realtor was talking to them for me as I would have had some spicy language indeed. The reason this is dumb to agree to is that you are not making any money on this transaction so why should you pay anything for it? Turns out you will be loosing your home and be unable to purchase another one for 2 years. My stance was simple, either take the fair market value that the buyer is offering or you can have the keys to my home and foreclose on me. GMAC is smart and took the buyers offer with no extra cash from me.
Besides getting a buyer to want to buy the home you are also going to have to get the buyers bank to approve the appraisal of the house. I let my pool go total green and we had to do an acid wash to get it approved. That was an unecessary headache.
Short selling your home is an emotional nuclear explosion. Personally I felt and continue to feel a large sense of failure. The american dream is all about owning the home and here I was selling mine for a loss. You have to have a support group of friends and family to talk with about this or it will eat you alive. I am very fortunate and have great friends and family. Also you will find that many of your friends have short sold their home or homes as well and just haven’t been so public about it…
In the end Short Selling your house is not a great resolution but it is better than foreclosure. There are also no guarantees that your bank will approve the sale since they are the ones who have to write the loss off their books. However with the new homeowners tax refund extension and more pressure from Washington it is something worth considering.
Hate me or love me please leave me a comment. =)
Sorry to interrupt your day with this but its really important and you should understand why. Currently Arizona is facing a huge budget shortfall because of the slow economy. One idea that the legislator has is to close down the state parks to save about $20 million dollars against the $4 Billion deficit that the state currently faces. Thats less that 1/10 of 1% yet the parks generate around $250 Million in local business revenue each year, and guess what? That revenue is taxed and helps out the State… Huh?
The problem with this is not just that we are shutting down everyday peoples access to affordable outdoor recreation but that we are eliminating a significant portion of revenue for local business and in turn State revenue:
“State parks take nothing from the general fund and actually give back to the state budget a big fat $22.7 million in state and local taxes. The state legislature has swept millions from state parks to help balance the budget, leaving them too short to operate the 30 parks in the system.
Three have already closed.
Does this make sense since state parks bring in more than $225 million dollars to the state’s economy through the 2.5 million visitors each year.”
AZ Republic Report on AZ State Park Closures
“Bahl noted that last year parks contributed $25 million to the General Fund, even though parks themselves receive no General Fund dollars. A Northern Arizona University study found that the parks generated $266 million annually in economic activity for rural communities.
“We’re important to the economy,” Bahl said. “We’re important to the people right now. Folks can’t afford to do much these days, and parks are one affordable luxury that we want to keep open.”"
The AZ State Parks foundation points out that if this is allowed to happen we may be looking at a huge land grab of pristine public land handed back over to private owners. Maybe they will put a chairlift on the Superstitions and install a KFC on the Flatiron…
“The cuts will force major reductions in Parks staff and closure of more than half of the State’s 30 parks this fiscal year. The resulting loss of Park revenue is projected to leave the Parks System with no money to start the next fiscal year, July 1, 2010. The next step will be to shut down the entire system and dispose of Parks properties, returning most of them to their original owners.”
According to the AZ State Parks Foundation there are a number of ways you can take action:
#1 – Call Governor Brewer and Email this sample letter (Word Doc):
Phone: 602-542-4331 or 800-253-0883
Email via Governor’s Contact page at:
www.governor.state.az.us/Contact.asp
Mail: The Honorable Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona,
1700 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007
#2 – Attend the AZ State Park Board Meeting on Jan 15th at the Phoenix Zoo and let them know how you feel about this.
#3 – Email this sample letter (Word doc) to your legistators (find yours here: AZ senate – AZ house – Find your District)
#4 – Let the AZ State Parks Board know where you stand.
Take 30 minutes out of your day today and address this issue. Please.
So I finally got off my lazy butt and got involved with the effort to make change happen in the country that I love. Last Saturday I went to Chandler Arizona and met with a bunch of really enthusiastic Obama Supporters and Canvassed Democratic Voters to sign up for Mail In Balloting. It was one of the more rewarding things I have done in many years and I am ready to do it again.
Some neat Statistics that I overheard:
-80% of voters registered for Mail In Ballots actually vote, compared to 40% or worse for regular registered voters
-When there is a record number of voters actually voting Democrats win the elections.
Here are some pictures, it was a lovely beautiful day:
From the Sierra Club:
Please ask the Governor to Veto HB2017!
Thank legislators who supported Clean Cars and Clean Air.
There is still one more vote to be counted relative to HB2017. That is the Governor’s. While she has been extremely supportive of the Clean Car Rule and very engaged in the Western Climate Initiative, I think it is important to let her know that there are lots of people out there who support a veto of HB2017.
Please take the time in the next couple of days to send Governor Napolitano a quick note asking her to please veto HB2017 Now: greenhouse emissions; regulations; fuel economy. This bill sends the message that Arizona does not want to do its part to clean up the air or reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. That is the wrong message to send.
If it becomes law, HB2017 will undercut “Clean Car” and clean air programs and significantly restrict Arizona’s ability to participate in regional efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions as well as other pollutants.
You can contact the Governor at azgov@az.gov or go to http://azgovernor.gov/contact.asp and type in your message. Call 602-542-4331 or outside the Phoenix area 1-800-253-0883. You can also contact the governor via mail at: The Honorable Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona, 1700 West Washington, 9th Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85007 or by fax at 602-542-1381.
Also, please take the time to thank the following legislators, all of whom voted against HB2017 and all of whom recognize the importance of taking actions to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the legislature is acting irresponsibly as a body, these individual legislators stood up and did the right thing. I have included their email addresses for your convenience. Please thank Representatives: Ableser eableser@azleg.gov, Bradley dbradley@azleg.gov, Brown jbrown@azleg.gov, Cajero Bedford ocajerobedford@azleg.gov, Chad Campbell chcampbell@azleg.gov, Chabin tchabin@azleg.gov, Farley sfarley@azleg.gov, Gallardo sgallardo@azleg.gov, Garcia mgarcia@azleg.gov, Hershberger phershberger@azleg.gov, Lopes plopes@azleg.gov, Lopez llopez@azleg.gov, Lujan dlujan@azleg.gov, Miranda bmiranda@azleg.gov, Pancrazi lpancrazi@azleg.gov, Prezelski tprezelski@azleg.gov, Schapira dschapira@azleg.gov, Sinema ksinema@azleg.gov, Thrasher jthrasher@azleg.gov, Tom atom@azleg.gov, Ulmer ulmer@azleg.gov, and Young-Wright nyoungwright@azleg.gov.
Representatives DeSimone and McGuire were absent. Everyone else voted for the bill.
If you would like to contact representatives who supported the bill and express your disappointment or dismay, you can find contact information for all legislators by clicking on HOUSE or paste this website into your browser http://www.azleg.gov/memberRoster.asp?Body=H or you can call (602) 926-4221 or outside the Phoenix area 1-800-352-8404 and just ask to be connected to House members’ offices.
Thank you for taking action on this important issue!
Sandy Bahr
Conservation Outreach Director
Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter
202 E. McDowell Rd, Suite 277
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone (602) 253-8633
Fax (602) 258-6533
sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org
Besides not being able to get to work and setup a Budget for Arizona the State Legislators also want to repeal what little work they have done this year. Most notably is the Clean Car Program and the ability for Governor Napolitano to participate in the Western Climate Initiative. This is really an offense to all intelligent citizens in the State of Arizona. You are doing yourself and injustice by not calling your legislator and complaining about this. Use this site to find your Legislator and call them immediately to stop HB2017.
From the Sierra Club:
May 12, 2008
For Immediate Release: Contact: Sandy Bahr (602)253-8633
Diane E. Brown (602)318-2779 (c)
Arizona Legislature Seeks to Thwart Clean Air and Clean Cars Efforts
Today, the Arizona legislature passed HB2017 intending to put the Clean Cars Program on hold and also make it impossible for the Governor to effectively participate in the Western Climate Initiative. This effort comes less than a week after the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council voted in favor of the Clean Cars Program citing the legal authority for Arizona to proceed once the federal government acknowledges the right of the states on this issue. In passing the Clean Car Standards, Arizona joins 13 other states, over a third of the U.S. market.
The Clean Cars Program known for limiting health-damaging pollution from automobiles and paving the way for the widespread introduction of technologies such as hybrid-electric and fuel-cell vehicles, direct-injection engines, advanced transmissions, improved air conditioning systems, and other technologies with the potential to reduce pollution, previously received a unanimous recommendation from the Governor’s Climate Change Advisory Group (CCAG). The CCAG was comprised of diverse stakeholders including utility, business, public health, environmental, tribal and other leaders.
Aside from the stakeholder process, over 75 small businesses and organizations from across the state have stated their support for the Clean Cars Program in Arizona. In addition, thousands of Arizonans have written letters, signed postcards and sent emails to urge the advancement of the Clean Cars Program.
“There are only two options for a state: either the federal standard or the clean car standard. The clean car standard results in cleaner air and lower total transportation costs,” stated Jeff Schlegel, Arizona representative for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). “The federal standard results in dirtier air and higher total transportation costs due to higher fuel use and gas prices. It is time to stop the delay tactics and move the clean car standard forward in Arizona.”
“Republicans for Environmental Protection does not believe that good policy is made when the sole intention is to thwart action by agencies previously given legislative authority to act,” said Tina Beattie, Arizona coordinator for Republicans for Environmental Protection. “We also are concerned greatly by removing Arizona from the Western Climate Initiative as Arizona’s economic interests need to represented within the region.”
“Through their vote to put the Clean Cars Program on hold, the legislature failed to see the warning signs of global warming in our state and ultimately took a wrong turn,” stated Diane E. Brown, Executive Director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group (Arizona PIRG). Brown pointed to the auto industry as leading the charge against the Clean Cars Program in Arizona and states across the country and added, “The auto industry needs to shift gears from spending money on lawyers and lobbyists trying to halt clean air improvements to putting cleaner vehicles on the roads to reduce the brown cloud, decrease asthma attacks and provide some relief to consumers at the gas pump.”
“If we leave it to the big utilities and the auto manufacturers, who brought this bill to the legislature, Arizona would just sit on its hands relative to cleaning up our air and reducing the emissions that contribute to global warming,” said Sandy Bahr, Conservation Outreach Director for the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “Fortunately, most Arizonans and the governor support a different strategy – our health, our economy, and the future of our children depend on us acting now to address these critical issues.”
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