Seriously, are any accomplishments ever enough or would acknowledging them erode your critical bias of AZ?
So asked one of my sources who is close to the powers-that-be. First of all, this misunderstands several of the missions of this blog, which include holding the powerful accountable, putting the news in context, benchmarking Arizona and Phoenix competitiveness, and providing or seeking context. The state is filled with boosters and cheerleaders, as it was when I was a columnist for the Arizona Republic. But that's not my mission, then or now.
Thus, three solar plants have been announced for the Gila Bend area. What's unclear: How many jobs these will create; whether and how much water they will require to cool the cells; how many fossil fuel "inputs" are required to make the solar plants and whether or at what point their "outputs" offset these inputs, and other environmental damage and trade-offs involved in using the divine gift that is the Sonoran Desert as a dump for a very intrusive technology. Most importantly, what is Arizona doing to regain the leadership in high-paid solar R&D jobs, a sector that it virtually invented in the 1950s but allowed to slip away to Germany and now China? So, yaaay! Acknowledgement has been made. But questions must be asked.
The same serious skepticism must be applied to Gov. Jan Brewer's $538 million package of corporate tax cuts. The governor and her supporters say this will help lure business and create jobs. Unfortunately, Arizona faces one of the worst structural fiscal crises in the nation, partly because of the recession hitting both sales tax revenues and also the state's main industry: house building. But the roots of the shortfall are years of tax cuts and an ongoing imbalance between revenues and expenses, even with state buildings sold off, university funding slashed, libraries cut back, state employees laid off and now hundreds of thousands of the working poor to be booted from Medicaid. These tax cuts have not produced a vibrant economy. They are based more on ideology than economic pragmatism.
Will things turn out differently this time? I hope so. Yaaay! But remember, this was a "come as you are" Great Recession. States with strong, diverse economies were hurt, but retain most of the assets with which they entered the downturn, even as they, too, face fiscal challenges. The others will face a long slog out: The American economy faces many roadblocks to real growth, much less the kind that would create jobs on a level seen in the late 1990s, which would be necessary to recouping the losses of the recession; or growth that would help ease growing income inequality or trickle down to the Nevadas and Arizonas of the nation.
Low taxes alone won't cause companies to relocate or add new facilities in a place. It's true that the low-tax, right-to-work, light-regulation environment of the South has produced some successes. One is the Hyundai operation in Alabama. These are good-paying, blue-collar jobs. Unfortunately, they tend to be one-off affairs that require very extensive state subsidies and a range of economic-development efforts that Arizona lacks. Boeing is opening a 787 assembly in South Carolina. The less-told story: Those jobs are drops in a shattered bucket in a state that has lost hundreds of thousands in the textile and apparel sectors because of China and other competitors. And even with this Southern Strategy, these states continue to see lower-than-average incomes, high poverty and poor educational outcomes. North Carolina has done better, but that's because of luck and aggressive state policy to encourage banking and invest for decades in universities and Research Triangle Park before it became the world-class entity it is today. Arizona's doing nothing like this. Meanwhile, "high tax" states hang onto most of their economic assets because they provide better quality of life, strong universities and good infrastructure, all essential to gaining and retaining the most talented workers and top-quality capital investment. All these states are decades ahead of Arizona in playing the economic-development game.
While the jury is still out (beat me, cliche police) on the new Arizona Commerce Authority, there's little evidence that most state leaders take competition or economic development seriously. Infrastructure is decades behind catching up with the costly population growth and sprawl that enriched developers yet embedded huge public costs. Thus: No passenger rail service between Phoenix and Tucson, no commuter rail, no freight rail infrastructure that would allow Phoenix to build a multi-modal freight center to relieve pressures in Southern California or capitalize on Mexican trade, a rural Interstate connecting Phoenix and Tucson, etc. etc. The universities are bleeding from decades of cuts, never restored in the good times. The promise of the "meds and eds" biosciences strategy has been squandered. This is not a bias, just reality. And Brewer's tax cuts will only make it more difficult to right this situation, especially in a "new normal" where the old growth machine isn't coming back. (And if it does, it will be fleeting, a huge waste of resources to sustain the unsustainable, to be followed by an even more devastating crash).
Here's another: Intel announced last week that it would spend $5 billion to build a new semiconductor plant in Chandler. What could possibly be wrong with that? Nothing. Hooray! But… First, Intel is in the habit of making these partly symbolic announcements when the president is leaning on the tech sector for job creation. That's good for Intel, but doesn't address the deeper national problem of years of allowing its technology jobs base to erode — a mishap eloquently laid out by retired Intel CEO Andy Grove. Second, metro Phoenix should get down on its knees and thank former Intel boss Craig Barrett, who committed himself to trying to better the region and keeping Intel there. That said, Intel's decision had nothing to do with Arizona's business climate, much less its political leadership. It's about the company's already deep footprint there, one established years ago. Which brings me to the third point: Semiconductors are a legacy industry in metro Phoenix, one that has largely slipped away to Asia, and which was never leveraged into higher-end technology sectors. Arizona just coasted, as usual. In any event, these remaining "fabs" would be fab if Phoenix had 300,000 people; as it is, they and the other remaining tech sectors are tiny given the metro's size and carrying costs.
So, cheers all around for these events. But the reality is that Arizona remains oblivious to the Rule of Holes: When in a hole, stop digging. Some good starts out:
- Build a world-class economic development agency with the toolbox and incentives to recruit companies and jobs, while also focusing on retaining and expanding existing, non-construction-based sectors.
- Address the costly economic donut hole that is the City of Phoenix, particularly central Phoenix.
- Be more outward looking, particularly in building economic relationships with Asia and seeking foreign direct investment. But this also includes an obsessive, fact-based benchmarking against competitors and policies to address short-comings.
- Implement the "meds and eds" strategy, especially using the Texas Medical Center model of hospitals, med schools, research, etc., densely packed together to encourage collaboration and innovation, at the downtown Phoenix Biosciences Campus.
- Increase funding for the universities and turn some of the community colleges into four-year institutions.
- Increase funding for K-12 education, especially for the children of the working poor. Arizona doesn't have to leapfrog from 49th to 1st; even getting into the 30s would be good.
- Invest in infrastructure, particularly rail and logistics.
- Invest in research and development for solar power, both with incentives for more solar companies to bring headquarters to Arizona, but also university research.
- Stop the extremist politics. World-class companies tend not to make major capital investments in such environments, Intel notwithstanding.
- Get the congressional delegation off Fox News and onto the job of bringing quality federal investment to the state. Do you think Texas conservatives sat by a-la-Flake? No way — they bring home the bacon.
I've written other solution-based posts before, particularly this one, pace those dear readers who say, "You never offer any solutions."
So "are any accomplishments ever enough"? No. Not in the rough world ahead. And this assumes Arizona was seriously addressing its issues rather than just hoping to be hit by stardust.
Addendum: Speaking of benchmarking, the Brookings Institution on Thursday released its latest report on the competitiveness of states and metro areas. Let's compare Arizona with Washington, the other similar-population-size state in the West. Gross metro product in 2009: $241.2 billion for Arizona vs. $310.5 billion for Washington. Civilians employed in science and engineering: 123,000 in Arizona vs. 181,000 in Washington. Those between 25 and 64 years old with college degrees: 1.1 million vs. 1.4 million in Washington. Value of exports: $22.6 billion in Arizona vs. $35.9 billion in Washington. So it's not as if Arizona is impossibly out of the game — Mississippi only has 233,000 with a post-secondary degree — it's that it keeps digging a deeper hole. And Brookings focuses on metros because that's where the by-far largest share of economic power lies, which makes the Legislature's anti-metro, anti-urban biases all the more destructive.
Jon, Your pen from hell didn’t quite heat up enough for me on huge Holes in Arizona.The cult has got the governor on her knees but her ego is so inflated she can’t see the economy for the smoke that surrounds this budget bull shit. I consider myself a fiscal conservative and I have a grasp of economics and I think the state plan stinks. I am also a retired organized crime investigator and the smoke is from a hot fire burning in the criminally insane belly of old white guys. The goal here is to privatize and the boys running the show will be selling you tickets to see the Grand Canyon. They want, No taxes and No rules except those dictated by their god. The no Mexicans Scorched Earth policy about to get passed at the legislature is an attempt to control the voting for the next 7 years. The current plans at the Arizona state house is what these boys have wanted for years. They see this as it’s about time, sweet revenge for the suffering they have endured paying taxes to support people they think should not exist and all those regulations they hate, like I’ll dig and dump where I please. And it’s their bitter revenge against all those successful moderate Republicans that once populated this state, keeping this cult at bay from making Arizona a white supremacy theocratic religious state.
Cal Lash Hanging out in Hell.
I have a spare IBM puter that I can loan out.
But didn’t you hear Jon…PayPal announced plans to built a technical center in Chandler near Intel. They plan on hiring 2,000.
Yay to us, only 228,000 more to go and Arizona will lead the country out of the recession. And to hear our ditzy gov’ner pat herself on the back for this “accomplishment” is infuriating. She makes George W. Bush seem like an articulate and eloquent speaker. But yay, jobs.
I am more concerned with the developments occuring at the BioMed campus downtown. Why aren’t more Arizonans and “leaders” talking about this and trying to build off its expansion? This must be touted seriously and supported by public and private investment.
Cal, you ain’t kiding about the cult thing. While the Mormons own the AZ legislature, due to all the rural Mormon communities, they still would be unable to get the evil one’s (Pearce)agenda done if it were not for the completely racist white folks who came here in large numbers from the midwest. Not only are they racist, but they are cheap. It rips holes in their souls to think that they have to pay for anything for someone else’s benefit. After all, they already paid their share “back home”.
Arizona’s racism used to be insidious when it was kept just below the surface and out of sight. Now that it is out in the light of day in full force, it is indeed a scary thing to see.
And just think, this LDS crowd is doing it with roughly 6% of the state population. Does that mean that the other 94% are sleep walking or maybe have their heads up that there “hole” where the sun don’t shine?
I’m afraid Jon’s 10 point “to do” list is dead on arrival with this current crowd of lunatics.
I don’t think this is an LDS inquisition. Look at Utah’s take on the issues and it becomes clear that the racist element here isn’t backed by any one religion. But what’s strange in Arizona is thaet many Latinos are in support of Arizona’s new laws (repeal of 14th amendment)8.. This situation seems less racists and more classist; Russell Pearce is a whole other story.
My LDS sources claim they control 30 percent of the, sure to, voting Arizona population. I grew up working the Arizona fields and most my running mates and girlfriends were Hispanic and now at lunch about 6 times a year I get to hear the screaming from some of the most redneck Hispanic guys U can find. But we kiss and make up and leave the illegal alien waitress a big tip. I can’t argue that there are a whole bunch of imported white folks helping this agenda along but the controlling group aint the Presbyterian folks in Sun City. As for Utah they keep their minorties in check quite well. And would you please explain to me why Janet Napolitano saw fit to fly to Salt Lake within a few days of her election and visit with the head elder? Maybe the deal was to insure Brewer would be the next governor when Janet fled the state. But then I always thought: Like the Clintons, she wasn’t really a Democrat. She is a very conservative Italian politician with ties to Joe Arpaio and Dennis Diconcini who were Joe Bonanno’s boys from the get-go. For example, the current US attorney appointed by Janet via Obama is Dennis Burke and he has not taken on Arpaio any more than Janet did when she had a good shot at Joe.
We havent had a liberal LDS politician since the Udalls died and fled to Colorado. The closet you get is Jeff Flake.
Did they die or flee..sorry maybe I am slow on the uptake but I am a brown skinned Hispanic/Latino and fail to see how some white politicians are keeping me and those like me “in check.” As if they aren’t doing this to white dems and liberals in some fashion as well. I am actually open to being “schooled” on this.
And Janet, although a much better Governor than Jan, is a yes man. Her political ties and story lines remind me of the Borgias and she did what was necessary for survival and cash.
Example: When she was governor the borders were wide open and porous; going so far as to send the Feds a “bill” for expenses Arizona incurred doing their job. Now that she is in Washington; the border is more “secure than it has been in recent history.”
Vigorous debates are usually a good thing, a sign that a community is wrestling with difficult issues and engaged with the real world. But debates in Arizona tend to be irrelevant victory marches. We get wound up about immigration long after the worst of it has passed. We fetishize guns, Constitutional originalism, and abortion restriction because the Culture War cannot be won, only waged. And we tend to think various abstractions (fiscal responsibility, e.g.) count as goals rather than means. The free-market fairy is devoutly worshiped precisely because it’s a thought-free abstraction. The reality – chronic disinvestment in future wealth creation – shows how magical thinking has submerged critical choosing.
Ideology is not a plan so much as a substitute for thinking seriously (i.e., pragmatically). And so it is that Arizona wastes its time with surreal litmus tests about what constitutes “true conservatism”. And if you don’t believe in the one true faith, you’re either a heathen or something worse. Say, a free-thinker.
It goes without saying (in this blog, at least) that real debates require real opposition. But Arizona is a one-party state now. It celebrates a kind of political reductionism that has liberated the state from the distressing but only real debate that matters: how to marshal our limited resources most effectively with an eye to the future.
Talton is the most consistent thorn in the side of the denialists. As such, he’s both ignored and obsessed over. Why he is so negative? Why doesn’t he give credit for this wonderful thing or that great new restaurant downtown? The tone is begrieved and sorrowful. He won’t listen! And this is why Arizona keeps digging deeper and deeper. Once the free-market paradigm became its religion, there was no creative tension left in the state. There are the True Believers, of course, but most citizens are not engaged even on the cheerleading level anymore. They’re waiting patiently for something, or anything, to redeem this wreckage.
AZ The Good News (or maybe not so good)
1. Brewer calls special legislative session, passes business incentive bill (most of the law is a tax reduction act for business). Not much for truly attracting new businesses and jobs.
2. Brewer looks great because of Intel announcement.
3. Brewer looks great again because of solar plant announcement (yet as you note, we don’t know the job impact or the water impact).
4. Legislature pushes bill for quick signature by Brewer that reduces Medicaid coverage for 280,000 low income people. Medical profession announces potential loss of 38,000 medical jobs.
When I do the math, it sums up in a big negative employment number. I haven’t heard any comments about this.
they are waiting for a sign from god.
And “the dogs sat around the campfire and debated the possible existence of man.”
Simak 1946
How about we all meet at the Portland and form a new “Phoenix Forty?” We can invite Rosie Gutierrez. It would be appropriate since they named a meal after him. We can buy Jon and Susan a ticket to come and hang out over Martini’s.
To Phxsunfan, My old time Hispanic buddies I worked the fields with back in the Days of Cesar call me Gringo Pata Salada, old time slang interpretation, white wetback.
Now as to your question. The last time citizens of Mexico had freedom was prior to the Spanish invasion. If you are happy with your current state of life, I am happy for you. But how about you troop on down to the legislature and work on environmental and health issues and now and then checks on how empowered you really are. Until the moderate Arizona Republicans turn on the current power structure and the Democrats turn radical not much is going to change down at the legislature and in Counties like Maricopa, Pinal and Cochise. Actually Cochise County probably has a better chance than the other two. I talked to Gabrielle Giffords at a South Western Writers gathering on a ranch near Benson after she was re-elected and she said she was able to pull 15 percent of the Republic vote but you can bet those were not minutemen or Mormon votes. A footnote; I considered John McCain a moderate Republican until he had brain surgery and flew into the Cuckoo Nest.
As for “Secure” borders, No such animal. I don’t care how many Berlin walls you build it don’t solve what is an obvious economic problem. (Read Moving Millions by Jeffery Kayes). Like the eighty year drug war it’s wasting billions of taxpayer’s dollars. For the drug wars, I like Charles Bowden’s take on the problem. I was a Narc for Phoenix PD in the early 70’s and worked the federal task force with Phil Jordon (Read Down by the River by Bowden, where the Cartels take revenge on Jordon and assassinated his 16 year old brother in El Paso.)And since 73 I have been for legalizing all substances, disbanding DEA and putting the control under FDA.
As Sean Connery said in the Untouchables, “Now Start’eth the lessons, son.”
“We can buy Jon and Susan a ticket to come and hang out over Martini’s.”
Only at Durant’s, Cal.
Jon’s priorities are clearly stated. My question is about which entities are likely to understand and move forward on them?? Particularly in this leadership vacuum, I can’t even think of a likely spokesperson unless it might be Grant Woods!
Minor critique based on a pet peeve: you used the phrase “right-to-work” without noting its irony.
There’s a woman who tools around central Phoenix in an early 70s Mercury, the sides of which are emblazoned with the words: JACK DURANT MOB MOLE. Turns out she wrote a book with that title: https://www.booksbyleo.com/jack_durant.html
I mentioned this to Cal the other day and I soon found out this was old news. Before, I thought the most interesting thing about him was the legatee to his fortune, his bulldog. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1989-01-25/news/jack-durant-s-humble-will-and-testament/
MoreCleanAir, I think the man on the white horse would have to be a right-wing Republican if only because the state’s center of gravity has moved so far in that direction. Grant Woods may as well be a Democrat given his reputation. Clearly, there’s not going to be a positive turn in this war until Hispanics begin voting and the Fox-watching elderly finally die off. I hate to be brutal about this but demography is destiny.
Crisindenver, I haven’t go to Durant’s since 75 when 3 cops and a policeman’s ball promoter offered me a cut of the action. A month later I closed them all down and there hasn’t been a policeman’s ball since.
Soleri, brutal is what it’s going to take and I think my girlfriend’s serious idea is a good start, As a Hispanic she thinks there should be a Mexican Blue Flu. Hey it was a movie, A day without A Mexican.
You have a dog.
You have a recumbent.
And now you got a girlfriend!!!!
Cal, you better slow down. You’re gonna pull a muscle!!
Cal, interesting take. However, I see things slightly differently especially when it comes to divvying up fault for our current situation. I was actually apart of many voting drives to register not only Latinos, but liberals (gay community).
I know I sound like a broken record with this sentiment, but because certain segments of the population don’t vote; we keep ourselves in check much more than a few white, kooky people ever can.
It was encouraging during the registration drives when every month closer to November, tens of thousands of new and legitimate voters promised to show up at the polls or return their mail-in ballots. I give a generous number here, but only about 10% of those that pledged to vote and registered actually made themselves count.
By what number did Brewer win the election? 179,364…a number not at all insurmountable IF those who registered, and the many more who didn’t but are eligible, show(ed) up.
Morecleanair, U note how Grant and all those other “moderate” Republicans for Brewer have disappeared from her photo ops, since she got elected and the only guy that’s not old and pasty white in the photos is Colangelo. But since he bought the Toyota Aquifer he has to figure out how to build homes for the 4 million folks he wants to see inhabit them out there Between Buckeye and Las Angeles. So much for Phoenix Urbanization.
Colangelo and the Bidwills wanted to build Arizona’s tallest building near the UofP Stadium in Glendale. When the nearby residents and the city council/mayor took heed, the plan was dead.
Soon after, the Bidwills finalized plans for purchase and takeover of a famous downtown restaurant…maybe I’m a little crazy here, but perhaps they realized high-rises belong in downtown Phoenix and are “testing the waters”?
I am a fan of one story edifices and a lot of Sahuaro’s.
Phxsunfan, I have no problem with that logic but I think the Democrats need to ramp it up more. A good start might be to look at the Obama run against Clinton and McCain as laid out in the book “Game Change” by Heilemann and Halperin.
AZRebel, you really live in the White Mountains. If so where’s the line drawn between them Catholics and the LDS guys. Careful now as I know the correct answer as I was once married to a Catholic Indian from the White Mountains. Actually I have been married to two American Natives and I have pulled a lot of muscles in 70 years.
Folks, what escapes my understanding is the selective “attention span” of the typical Arizonan and for that matter American.
We have state and federal deficit/spending/lack of money problems for months if not years on end. Does Joe Schmo American notice? Nope. Too busy with reality TV and NASCAR.
Repubs/FOX news announce “we can fix it”. Joe says “Duh, OK”.
Repubs get in, immediately give out huge tax cuts for corporaions creating BIGGER deficits. Joe doesn’t notice cause DWTS is on.
Repubs/FOX scream “Man, it’s worse than we thought. We gotta cut programs for kids, women, elderly, schools, sick, dying. Joe, during a commercial break from Idol, says “wow, isn’t that kind of harsh?”
Repubs/FOX screams “all the above leads to ABORTIONS AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND LOSING YOUR GUNS.” Joe says, “oh wow, crush those commie bastards. God bless America”
Repubs/FOX smugly say among themselves “boy that Joe Schmo America dude is sure one dumb schmuck”.
Repubs/FOX have mastered the ability to catch the attention of the spaced out Joe Americans at the right time. They use drop dead beautiful playboy playmate blond news anchors, screaming head “big lie” TV columnists, and they don’t require their viewers to do any thinking of their own. Fast food opinions for the fast food generation.
It’s a deadly plan and it’s working all across this country.
Here on this blog, we’re still preparing our meals at home. The rest of the country is in the drive-thru to hell.
And the kicker is: The Dems besides being corporately as corrupt are still trying to figure out the social impact of the telegraph on our society.
( : – (
My girlfriend lets me watch her black and white 19″ tv twice a week when Frontline and Independent Lens is on.
Hey AZRebel have you read “God is Red” by Vine Deloria and the Zuni Enigma by Nancy Yaw Davis
Heading to the mountains Cal, will check out the book when I get back.
Your piece asks good questions, but here are a few more against the 10-point list.
1 – Don’t you think the AZ Commerce Authority will do this? There’s so much redudancy here among initiatives and organizations; I can’t imagine that we’d really need another economic agency.
5 – Why should community colleges offer 4-year degrees? The CCs are already partnering with U’s to guarantee credit transfer and pathways into 4-year programs. And you can take university courses now at 110 satellite locations around the state because they are sharing resources (facilities) with CCs. So why do we want under-funded 2-year schools to double up and do what under-funded universities are doing? Seems like another way to strech the dollar too thin.
10 – Our country is broke and since 1990, federal, state, and local spending on health care has exceeded annual spending on education. If we got rid of Medicare and Medicaid, the US actually would have made a 4% profit over the past 15 years. So how could you think that more federal dollars would be a solution for AZ? Those handouts (which the fed can’t afford to do now) tend to be one-time perks that launch expensive projects, yet lack the captial to sustain them year over year.
All said – great post. I’m a new reader and will be coming back!
Here is something you might find worthwhile: https://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_10/b4218000828880.htm
Interesting Addendum. I’ve been polling my family about their voting habits and have been discouraged by their responses.
I’m thinking I need to start a voting drive with my own! And many of my mostly Hispanic family that I contact through email, text, social networking, etc has some type of post high school education…what will wake up this silent and potential voting bloc?
The Arizona legislature is anti-urban/metro, but the urban and metro populations are largely at fault for allowing this environment to fester.
How is this for Brutal?
Pima county becomes the 51st state,
Alright. I packing my recumbent and me and Spot are hitting the road to
Baja Arizona!
I would fear for Tucson economically, more so than now. But it was an interesting, although silly, message to the state legislature. They aren’t listening however. Some more reasons why “Baja Arizona” might be worse off than Arizona:
https://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/2011/02/24/is-baja-arizona-really-much-better-a-look-at-the-numbers/
Hi cal,
I think Pima county would become the 52nd state …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_(Pacific_state)
Thanks rate crimes.Math never was my strong suit.
I just got a quip from Charles Bowden about the folks at the AZ legislature.
“Those white folks have always been there trying to sell out for cab fare to La Jolla.”
I’m not sure if Baja Arizona was ever more than a tongue-in-cheek proposal, but if it was serious, the 70s were probably the last decade it made sense. Afterwards, Tucson’s identity began to seriously blur as as the state and nation homogenized to its current character-free condition. That’s why PhxSUNSfan is correct here: the few liberal pockets in this state relate less to geography than the few urban/academic islands stranded like blue pearls in a red sea.
I’d go with Alta Sonora. Why stick with a damaged brand, “Arizona”? Joke or no, it underscores the severe tensions in the country now, ones the political process can’t mediate. And it exposes the hypocrisy of the “states’ rights” “local control” GOP. Based on their rhetoric, they should embrace secession by Pima County — but, of course, that only works for them, not for the opposition. They want highly centralized control.
Most Western states are huge because they lacked the population necessary to create smaller states, as well as the territories being laid out fairly arbitrarily in the 19th century. At one time, Arizona was part of New Mexico. In the Civil War, the Confederacy envisioned a post-war settlement that would give it southern Arizona/New Mexico, hence this “Arizona Territory” had a delegate to the CSA Congress.
One place where a single state shouldn’t have been created was Oklahoma. The old Indian Territory, the eastern half of the current state that was governed by the Five Civilized Tribes, lobbied for a separate state, to be called Sequoyah. This area had nothing in common with western Oklahoma Territory. But nothing came of it.
“Alta Sonora”? Great label . . except for one thing. Most all things Mexican have been stigmatized by the White Right. Is Pima county that much more enlightened?
And for all those Zonies who don’t get out much:
https://travel.nytimes.com/2004/11/12/travel/escapes/12HOUR.html
It about the amazing success LA has had in reviving its downtown. Walkable. Dense. Cool.
LOL Jon when is the last time you got out of Seattle? Have you visited L.A. recently? Downtown is still a dirty shithole with 2,500 residents in their downtown boundaries. About the size of the population of Evans-Churchill in downtown Phoenix.
I enjoyed the faux disclaimer at the end of the “downtown adventure” tour. Transit “can be rare” and beware the “transient traffic after dark.” This one’s the topper: “Fruom the airport to downtown is a thirty minute drive in light traffic.” Did these New Yorkers even do this trip
personally? Highly doubtful.
Another thing about the L.A. piece, it seems hypocritical to label that city’s downtown as an “amazing success” given the reality of the situation. Parking lots in downtown L.A. are probably the liveliest places away from the Staples Center catastrophe. If downtown L.A.’s “revival” is sufficient enough to be successful, then downtown Phoenix must be thriving.
Oh, c’mon SUNSfan. We both love Phoenix. But I get tired of people trashing LA. I’ve spent a lot of time in downtown LA. And the comeback is quite remarkable. Not least is Union Station as a hub for commuter, intercity, light and subway rail. Sure, Pershing Square is an abortion, etc. But LA does have a downtown, several actually. PHX can learn some best practices.
I am more comfortable learning best practices from Seattle. The buildings in Seattle are blah but at least people live there.
Who are you and what have you done with phxSUNSfan? 😉
Seattle has preserved a fair number of old buildings to go along with the blah. The rehab of King Street Station is going well. Pioneer Square, as you know, has one of the best collections of 1880s-early-1900s buildings in the US. One problem: It’s expensive bringing them up to the earthquake code.
I don’t write much on Seattle because of my day job, but it’s a very unique place, in good and bad ways. Defeated a wonderful plan in 1912 that would have created a truly amazing city, defeated rail transit more than once before getting on board, voted down a central park in South Lake Union (but got the Paul Allen redevelopment w. Amazon HQ and biotech center)… Lots of debate and deliberation, Scandinavian-style passive-aggressive. The viaduct is a perfect example.
So, not perfect. Not Portland. But blessed with stewards w. money, close-in neighborhoods, lots of transit, a downtown that still works, a “me” culture, density and tons of young talent.
Blame the Mormons, blame Middle West retirees, but Arizona has been at the far right of the spectrum since Goldwater and the 1960’s. Jon’s proposals are excellent but going nowhere in Arizona.
The anti-immigrant xenophobia will kill looking outward and inviting health care providers. The love of handguns, love of the death penalty, handguns, and all thing police related will keep most creatives away.
Arizona is great for tourism.It has tremendous talent in that industry. Golf courses and sun.
The ideology of the right which owns Arizona will not accept the taxes necessary to make long term positive change.
Thank you Jon. your insight regarding Arizona is spot on but sadly wasted.
JMAV maybe you should read the Brookings Institute study. Arizona has a wealth of talent and lots of creative types. Problem is they don’t vote…
Jon, agree about Seattle I just have qualms about it because it could have been so much better. But L.A. is a mess! Downtown Phoenix has so much more going for it. Especially accessibility with transit and actual residents. It is also clean and has green parks throughout. The dirt lots are a drag, but better than L.A., yes. It’s more real as well.
While U all were flogging I was watching “8 Murders a Day” at the old Valley Art movie house. Excellent documentary but I worry for Charles Bowden as I think his life is in Jeopardy from the Mexican and US governments.
Let me be clear about my position on Blame and the state of Arizona.
The blame can be placed squarely on my shoulders and the rest of the population that has sat by and let this current state of affairs progress to this point. It’s not about blaming a particular religious group. As most organized religious organizations through out history have involved themselves in the politics of the day in order to strengthen and grow their cause. Recently someone stated on this blog that all cults eventually explode. Here I would point out that even though the bombs have been wrecking havoc in the Catholic Church, they are still out there playing pivotal roles in the worlds politics.
Cal Lash a militant agnostic.
I may be tooting my own horn here, but send Mr. Bowden to my residence. There is little privacy here; lots of peering eyes. My father for one, had an interesting career in the military and knows some charming characters.
Nonetheless Cal, the Catholic influence has been waning in the Western Hemisphere by leaps and bounds. Case in point; Mexico now has more places in which gays can legally marry than the U.S. And have you been to South America? Catholics are not a cult and if compared to Mormons, are not nearly as definable.
On an entirely different tangent, I am still bothered by Jon’s admiration of Los Angeles. To counter this, I am off again to one of Phoenix’ oldest and most lively clubs: Amsterdam. It is a gay club in the heart of downtown Phoenix and operating as such for many years. If such a place exists in downtown L.A., please let me know…
On another side note: Good weekend to all!
The last time I was in LA, I was stunned to see so many people ‘living’ in a U-Haul storage center with no water or electricity: That’s affordable living, LA style.
Last week, in the soul-crushing downtown of Miami, I spoke with a transplant from LA who was happy to be living in a small place on a Florida beach and paying as much as he would to live in an unheated storage locker in LA.
Personally, I would pay the price to enjoy the diversity and funkiness of LA and its surrounds.
I watched the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop last night. It concerns street art and takes place, mostly, in Los Angeles. New York and Paris also figure prominently.
Imagine Phoenix figuring prominently with New York and Paris.
Los Angeles is amazing. Yes, it can be extraordinarily frustrating and exhausting, too. Call it dysfunctional and dystopian, it’s still a big city with a big-city creative class.
Downtown LA and Phoenix are relics of their former selves. That said, only one is architecturally exciting, visually imposing, historically rich, culturally rooted, and a tourist magnet. Only one has world-class bones and potential.
LA’s.
Leadership?
http://www.azpbs.org/horizon/detailvid.php?id=2756
None of these gentlemen (Colangelo, Crowe, Shultz) speak to vision, truth (in its uncapitalized meanings), or even inspiration as aspects of leadership. ‘Bringing along’ is not inspiration. Using such phrases is not even inspiring.
Mr. Colangelo, despite his talk about the future, appears to be a nostalgist at heart. Dr. Crowe comes across as a marketing department bureaucrat who has spent far too many of the hours of his life in dull meetings with a dull herd: Note the endless stream of exhausted, meaningless, boardroom metaphors that he spins out. One must struggle to attend to his words.
The real subtext here seems to be the message targeted to Arizona’s obstructionists. Are these gentlemen simply talking down to their intended audience? If so, how uninspiring!
Note that neither of the two guests appears to be upbeat, let alone happy.
http://www.azpbs.org/horizon/detailvid.php?id=2756
(@8:10) Mr. Colangelo states, “‘Where will we be ten or twenty years from now?’, that’s the real question.”
That could be interpreted as a fearful question. I think one must first ask, “Where do we want to be?” That is where hope lies. That is where vision leads.
Arizona appears to be broadly divided by two groups who each want the future to be their particular and different pasts.
Those like Jerry Colangelo (who muse about where we want to be 20 years from now)would do well to revisit the subject of simplified strategic planning. We need to ask and answer 3 questions:
1) Where are we now? (rudder-less)
2) Where do we want to be? (bigger/smarter/more sustainable?)
3) How are we going to get there? (God only knows who’ll lead/facilitate)
I’ve enjoyed martinis several times at Amsterdam. It’s a few doors away from where my great aunt had a designer dress shop in the 1940s. Smart shops lined Central north of the Westward Ho, when it was the top hotel in town, even into the 1960s. Then, the abandonment and tear-downs started. Amsterdam is an example of how, as Richard Florida points out, creatives, including gays, are essential to reclaiming urban neighborhoods, how important tolerance is. (I would add that Phoenix had a below-the-radar gay and lesbian club scene even in the 1970s).
I would like to apologize for dragging Jon’s great urbanization spiel off into diverse directions. So as a last response to a couple of hanging issues for clarification I would like to finish off and move on.
For clarification when I talk about Organized Religion (OR) I am talking about its heads not its flock. I consider organizes religion administrators as virtually synonymous with organized crime bosses. I consider its followers, victims. Maybe the word cult is my short cut for tossing all of OR into a pile. Probably very inconsiderate however at 65 years of age I became intolerant of the mental, physical and financial discrimination I had endured from religion. I consider the Catholic Church hierarchy a cult of insidious dangerous old men and I believe history backs this up. The Church has been a political power broker since its inception. The one thing it does keep a distance away from is theocratic rule as opposed to the two M&M’s out there that I consider the future’s most dangerous religions.
Regarding Central and South America I am well aware of the changes since the Spanish Inquisition and my companion in life is of Spanish decent just two generations ago and has traveled Spain. I have met with a number of religious thinkers including Catholic priests that I consider eminent philosophers and great humanitarians. I love Mexico and its people in general and eagerly read of the people and their cultures. I recommend Sam Quinones LA Times reporter for his books on the real people of Mexico. Included in my list are Malcolm Bieth, for The Last Narco, Richard Grant for The Middle Finger of God and the ever present Charles Bowden for a vast library on the “Drug War.” I sign off with if you are going to the Arizona State legislature to advocate for a particular cause I would recommend checking in with the Capital Police to make sure you’re not on the list of people the elected officials don’t want to see in their rooms.
Hasta Luego Cabrone Cal Y Spot
To help me get over my headache, I sipped some coffee and ate menudo and watched Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Something about it seemed fake, forced, scripted, corporate, self-centered…very L.A.
This will be my last L.A. post, but I’ve always felt uncomfortable in L.A. Mostly due to its true nature as a massively segregated city. Even now. If your are not white, you learn quickly where in “L.A.” you are expected to live.
Cal, thank you for recommending some great reads. But slow down man! I usually only like to read one book at a time…
Thanks for the info as well…
I want to post this photo thread of downtown LA. Clearly, this downtown is a fitful work in progress. That said, it is unquestionably superior to Phoenix’s in just about every category that matters.
https://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=189084
DT Phoenix has one advantage: close-in historic neighborhoods (some of which were severely damaged by freeways). This actually points out our current problem, however. If Phoenix had become a major city prior to WWII, these neighborhoods would have largely disappeared – or never have developed at all, like the northern half of Willo. LA’s Bunker Hill area was razed of its classic Viotorians after WWII, which is a pity but not a tragedy. It allowed much of DTLA’s post-war growth to locate here without damaging the existing urban fabric. Think how wonderful DT Phoenix would be with a comparable stock of buildings.
PhxSUNSfan, not to get argumentative about this, but if you’re an urban hipster, Boyle Heights, Echo Park, Silverlake, Los Feliz, West Adams, central Wilshire are great neighborhoods. They’re reasonably integrated, open, and lively. About the only neigbhorhood in Phoenix remotely comparable is Coronado. It’s true Phoenix is largely open and well-integrated, but there are far fewer creative-class advantages here. You get what you pay for, and Phoenix is cheap.
You may be the only person in the world to think a documentary about street art was “corporate”. I thought it was odd and confusing in some ways but what it said about LA’s vitality is what really interested me. Phoenix, btw, had some of this energy 20 to 30 years ago. It’s mostly gone now but at at one time there were some terrific artists working here. Steve Yazzie is still around but most of his posse fled the territory.
I think the film pointed out an interesting fact about street artists today; many have turned to galleries. Phoenix is no different. Lots of galleries in Garfield, Grand Ave, Evans-Churchill, and like you mentioned Coronado. A few more artists working in Phoenix:
https://www.fatcap.com/city/phoenix-1.html
When I was at a fellowship at USC, I saw a presentation on research done about segregation in LA. It was fairly path-breaking at the time because it looked at attitudes people of different ethnic groups and classes held about parts of the city. Indeed, LA is a very divided place, especially by class. But I’d be hard-pressed to see Phoenix differently: This is the home of the greatest concentration gated properties (“communities”) in the nation and the LDS apartheid.
LA does have historic barrios, many intact, which Phoenix now mostly sadly lacks (Thanks, Sky Harbor). And it’s the home of the Chicano political movement, which goes back to before the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. This laid the foundation for the election of Antonio Villaraigosa and a vigorous opposition to the Anglo establishment and the black power base. Phoenix had a start on this, but it was mostly lost in the 1980s.
Both cities have been destabilized by illegal immigration. But LA is a true world city, one of only three in America. It capitalizes on immigration in a positive way that Phoenix lacks. Anyway, I can see a need for an LA post, at the risk of phxSUNSfan’s blood pressure. Envy you the menudo, brother. Can’t get good menudo in Seattle.
Here’s Los Angeles Union Station, home of Amtrak, the subway, light rail, commuter rail:
https://www.you-are-here.com/sunset/union_station.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Union-Station-LA-Waiting-Ro.jpg
I first came here in 1966, on the Sunset Limited from Phoenix. My wonder at the place has never ceased.
A couple more points (and tell me if I am butting in too much):
1. Colangelo, whom I consider a friend, has cast his lot with the “winners,” and is now a West Side sprawl developer, including with Douglas Ranch, which if ever executed would be a devastating blow to sustainability and further destroy the desert. So, he’s now part of the problem. Same with friend Marty: Good, smart man, who’s tried to help the city, but has been a prisoner of APS’ reliance on sprawl. Michael Crow, who is still smoldering at me for ripping ASU over the Obama honorary doctorate fiasco, is playing a weak hand in a state that hates higher education. So, the video showed same-old, same-old.
And Hermano Cal: I’m a Christian, and I’m not a nut. I am tolerant, give money to anyone who asks and fight for social justice not because I am an “enlightened liberal,” but because my Lord and savior commands me to do this, to be an agent of God’s grace in the world. I know my position is not widely held among folks on this blog. But there is a religious left, too. The crimes and follies committed in the name of religion don’t de-legitimize faith. But it’s a gift and can’t be forced.
I say corporate, Sol, because I’m not aware of many real street artists who jet-set as much as those in the film. I also don’t know many who could afford houses that could be refinanced in order to afford such huge productions. It is highly questionable.
Jon, not butting in too much at all. I think Union Station is a great building. Reminds me of a few in Phoenix actually: Brophy Prep for one. The interior is gorgeous. Does make you wish that Union Station in Phoenix could be moved to Central Station doesn’t it?
If Union Station is ever used again in Phoenix, I think we’d need to fire Arpaio in order to knock down those awful jails that ruin the view of the building. We could use the money we’ve been paying his lawsuits with to rebuild the jails on the vast campus on 35th Ave…
PhxSUNSfan, there’s another documentary I recommend, The Cool School, which is about LA’s art scene in the 50s and 60s. All these artists were bohemians but a few became very successful (Ed Ruscha, e.g.). Success of this sort doesn’t disqualify the art.
I tend to think of someone like Ed Mell as “corporate” since he creates antiseptic visions of western landscape. His studio is in Coronado. Downtown had the John Douglas Cline gallery for many years (in the Ellington building) that essentially created safe abstract art for corporate clients.
LA’s art scene is authentic, gritty, and intensely interwoven with the applied arts of entertainment and computers. It may be the world’s most fertile crescent in that regard. I’ve been to other cities (Berlin, Milan, Paris) where you don’t see nearly the same level of interest or ferment.
In Phoenix, there’s a sad but telling note: the Paulina Miller gallery on 1st St has closed. This is really another nail in Roosevelt Row’s coffin. As much as we like to think Phoenix artists are doing wonderfully creative things, their infrastructure is contracting. I agree with you about the County’s aggression in the old Jackson St arts district. This should have been the heart of creative Phoenix and instead we built soul-killing warehouses for the prison-industrial complex. Why? Because that’s what a bad city does. Elsewhere, Grand Avenue is still sleepy and forlorn despite Beatrice Moore’s heroic efforts.
Art is, in my opinion, one of the key salients in assessing a city’s vibrancy and success. Not every good city has good art. But there’s no such thing as a great city without great art. It’s why Vancouver, “the world’s most livable city” once again, cannot be considered great. https://www.dailyfinance.com/story/real-estate/vancouver-worlds-most-liveable-city-economist-ranking/19853981/
Phoenix cannot will itself out of its own bad history. It’s a complicated and nerve-wracking saga that we recount compulsively but fruitlessly. 20 years ago, Phoenix had interest, youth, ferment, and hope. Today, it has a reputation for crankiness, dullness, and meanness. No wonder the Tea Party came here to celebrate.
There are more reasons beyond success that the film seemed corporate. However, I will check out the other recommendation. Funny thing you mention the Tea Party Convention. I’m somewhat happy they chose to hold it in downtown Phoenix. I’ve overheard some feed back from the conventioneers and talked to a couple on the train.
Not to seem to overstate the effect, but many Tea Partyers have expressed their “concern” with the “liberalness” of Central Phoenix. LOL, to my pleasure you might assume. One “conversation” I held with a Tea Bagger went like this:
“Excess me, can you two gentlemen not kiss in front of us.”
Reply: “Sir, why don’t you pack it up and take this thing to Mesa.”
Needless to say, I had the backing of the rest of the riders near enough to overhear the interaction.
Back to the art, I agree, and Grand Ave has the environment with its gritty setting to be what Roosevelt Row cannot. Although I think the Row will remain in tact to a lesser degree in the future, it will still remain vital to the Phoenix art scene when high density housing development takes hold of the area.
Note: no we were not overdoing the PDA, I’m not exactly comfortable doing so. 🙂 It was just one of those moments.
I say: PDA proliferation during tea-bagger convention. M/M, F/F and, gasp, single liberal straights who don’t have children!
Before I head out again, I decided to read the paper late today. Another interesting topic we’ve discussed here recently made the news. Cal mentioned that officials can have people banned from the Capitol; well it seems Russell Pearce has been building his list of banned citizens.
He’s added Salvador Reza to the list. Granted he was a little rowdy, refusing to leave after voicing his disgust, but banning him because of his passion seems to reek of paranoia. Protests and “scandalous” behavior by the good anti-kook folk seems to be on the rise at the Capitol:
https://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/26/20110226protest-arizona-wisconsin-capitolbrk.html
https://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/02/26/20110226arizona-immigration-law-hearings-arrests.html
Jon, I’ll try to break out of my shell some more and kiss in public. Especially if I see one of those stupid tea bagger shirts again:
Taxed
Enough
Already
Jon’s post about his Christian principles really hits home with me because helping the least and the lost is what has guided me thru most of my adult life. And I’m coming to realize that many other faiths have the same spiritual center.
Seeing Arizona drift into the land of the hard hearted loonies, I wonder where their moral compass lies . . certainly not in any faith with which I am familiar.
This Rules of Holes ll has been a good run. Lots of good menudo for thought. My Coronado companion and I just got in from a cafe latte at Lola’s. And while out and about I picked up a Bansky, Existentialism book. He’s kind of my art hero of late. From the 50’s on there was always a vibrant gay community I was aware of primarily located east of Central and South of Indian School. One of the most famous police informants was a gay person of brilliance and a financial adviser to rich doctors. I had the privilege of working with him on a number of occasions as most cops in the narcotics division were more than homophobic. Some rich stories there. Good nite and mas tarde. Cabrone Cal
A note on Grand Avenue. my friend Anna from Spain folded up her cafe on Grand but U can find her cooking at the Pomegranate in Ahwatukee.
I remember Marty Shultz when he was just a whipper snapper working for Mayor Margaret Hance (1975) and I was president of the police Union. He and Geoffrey Gonsher moved on to bigger and better things. Last time I saw Marty was about 1997 when my private security company was guarding (ADL) Abraham Foxman and his wife.
The last year Hance was mayor, chief Larry Wetzel assigned me to become Margret’s driver to get her home safely from downtown.
Now they got a whole squad of cops taking care of the mayor.
And Marty and Jerry can’t save the Cadillac Desert.
Cal, I’m sorry to hear about the Sapna Cafe. It had an excellent building on – for Phoenix – a great street. But it couldn’t solve the riddle of its own neighborhood. I can’t say I’m surprised here but I am disappointed. BTW, I thought Anna was French.
Jon, I enjoy your blog, and I enjoy your regular commenters as well. It cheers me to read comments from others who value urban life and, more generally, the ideal of an enlightened commonwealth. To hear the national discussion at this time, all the cynicism about not only government but any notion of people coming together to build a decent society, it’s very discouraging. I canceled my cable because I’ve found Fox “News” coupled with the celebrity obsession of the other channels (All Snooki, all the time) to be unworthy of my money, and bad for my mental health. So kudos to you and your regulars fighting the good fight for and on behalf of Phoenix.
It’s also very valuable to read an outsiders take on Seattle. I agree with everything you’ve written in this post. Seattle’s not nearly as progressive as it’s portrayed, especially when it comes to transit or bold urban design. Being here in the mid to late 90’s, when the visionary Seattle Commons plan was voted down twice, the Sound Move light rail plan only passed after a second vote, was very disappointing. I’m happy with Paul Allen’s investment in South Lake Union, and with the new park, but the Commons was a once a century opportunity that the voters foolishly turned down.
The tragedy of the Commons votes were that they took place at the tail end of an anti-urban, neighborhoods vs. downtown era to our politics. I think you arrived here when Nickels was mayor. He was an unabashed supporter of the Vancouver model of dense development and transit, but prior to this term, Seattle mayors had to be much more circumspect when pushing density. The baby boomers who moved to Seattle from the East Coast or upper Midwest loved their single family neighborhoods and didn’t want to create the sort of skyscraper density they fled from. In 1989, the voters approved the CAP initiative in response to the construction of the 76 story Columbia Tower and a spate of other office towers. Between that vote and the early 00’s, this coalition held sway.
But since that time, I think the ground has shifted to a realization that density is our future. Nickels spearheaded the overturning of CAP in the mid-00’s. Light rail is finally in operation and being expanded the Seattle’s densest areas. Nickels lost, I think, because he too often directly challenged the navel-gazing process of Seattle politics and got things done, but Seattle still has a mayor now who openly advocates for more density and bike lanes (though his opposition to the waterfront tunnel is a mistake). What would happen if the Seattle Commons came to vote in this new environment? Impossible to know, but I’m wistful over the possibility that you would likely pass now.
I call shotgun on last comment.
( : – )
We are being lectured by Bernie Madoff about our country being a big Ponzie scheme?????
I relinquish my “last comment” title to good ole Bernie.
I throw up my hands as we enter this new dimension of absurdity in this country, state, county and city.
P.S. Sad part, the Bernardster is correct.
I don’t have time to add more than a brief note here. Much has been made of Arizona’s statistical prominence (4th from the top) in job creation in recent quarters.
I’m not yet convinced that this is significant, simply because the state lost more jobs than any other as a percentage of its workforce: so, any new job additions, starting from such a low base, would tend to be large as a percentage of the (newly reduced) workforce.
This is just math: Arizona isn’t adding more jobs than, say, California: it’s adding more jobs as a percentage of its own workforce than most other states, but that workforce has been decimated, so an ordinary amount of job growth looks better than it is because it’s a larger percentage of the newly pared-down workforce.
Emil, I am not sure I am following your argument. It makes sense that California would add more workers numerically compared to Arizona given the differences of the populations of both (and in terms of the workforce participation rate). Arizona with nearly 7 million residents and California with over 37 million, the numerical addition of workers will almost always be greater in CA. An increase in workforce, percentage wise, would therefore be the most accurate measure of growth.