This stuff would be funny...any place else.

But since this is all here, it's more scary than funny...

You know, in this down economy (an outright depression in AZ), I am grateful to have a job.

Because of my work schedule though, it's sometimes difficult to write during the second half of the week.

This was one week when I *really* wished I had a schedule that allowed for some serious blogging time after Tuesday.

Let's see. This week saw...

...AZ Senator John McCain facing an ethics complaint over his use of campaign funds to protect the interests of his Big Insurance clients conduct Senate business when he created a series of robo-calls urging recipients to call their own Senators in support of McCain's effort to gut the Senate health care reform measure...

- Brett Mecum, Executive Director of the AZGOP, in trouble for using voter registration records to stalk a woman (thanks to Blog for Arizona for the heads-up on this)...

- Senate President Bob Burns (R-AZ9) purging fellow Republicans Ron Gould, Pam Gorman, and Jay Tibshraeny from leadership positions by stripping them of their committee chairmanships (in Gould's case, he dissolved the entire committee.) Gould's and Gorman's ousters weren't surprising - they've made a spectacle of their "more conservative than thou" jihads against anything resembling good governance...or, as is the case in what has come out of this legislature and governor, anything resembling governmance that is only moderately horrific.

They've embarassed Burns, and payback is as much a part of politics as elections.

I'm not sure what is going on with Tibshraeny. He's had his differences with Burns, but has been civil and professional about it (two terms that are not necessarily applicable to the words and actions of the other two). He's as conservative as they come in the Senate, but will occasionally oppose some of the more draconian measures that come before the Senate. He's a former mayor (Chandler), so maybe he understands that the wingers' games have real world impacts that stretch far beyond the ideological cat box on West Washington.

Or maybe he just has a conscience.

Either way, the fact that he is on Burns' bad side doesn't bode well for Arizona - all expectations are that the coming session's budget battles will be even uglier than last session's.

- However, none of that begins to hold a candle to the fireworks taking place between the various politicos at Maricopa County.

Just this past week, we saw...

...a federal lawsuit alleging a vast conspiracy among judges, attorneys, and county officials to interfere with investigations...

...indictments of Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox. two county supervisors; indictments that probably won't hold up under scrutiny, but they get plenty of press coverage for Arpaio and Thomas...

...an Appeals Court quashing, at least temporarily, any MCSO search warrants of a judge's home and/or computer.

...A judge facing charges from County Attorney Andrew Thomas. It probably isn't a coincidence that the judge is the one who ordered an MCSO officer jailed for contempt for stealing papers from an attorney's briefcase in open court ...or that Thomas and Arpaio released the judge's home address...

...a fishing expedition raid at a public advocacy agency...one that just happens to be focused on the needs of Arpaio's pet "boogeymen" - Mexicans...


I don't know if Arpaio, Thomas, et. al. have violated any federal laws, but given their total control of Maricopa County's law enforcement apparatus and their pre-empting of a state investigation by their own investigations of the state Attorney General, Terry Goddard (there's no substance to those, but an investigation by the AG might be seen as "retaliatory" and a conflict of interest), sooner or later, federal intervention will be necessary in order to clean up Maricopa County government.

In case anyone from the U.S. Attorney's office is reading this:

Sooner would be better than later.

Later...

Out of a comfort zone and lessons learned

Let me start off by saying that I have a newfound respect for anyone who steps in front of a crowd of (mostly) strangers to speak to them.

A few weeks ago, I wrote of an incident at a meeting of the Scottsdale City Council where a speaker criticized some members of the Council (which while poorly done in this instance, is part of a public official's lot) and the wife of a Council member (family members = off limits under most circumstances).

As this wasn't the first time such things have happened with the Scottsdale City Council and the fact that the Mayor issued a very tepid response (perhaps not-so-coincidentally, the targets of the speaker's ire were the Mayor's adversaries on the Council), I felt it was necessary to step up and say something, to let folks know that this behavior was not representative of Scottsdale's residents as a whole.

So, at Tuesday's Council meeting I did so.


And have never been so scared in my life.


I've spoken in front of small groups of people that I've known (friends, coworkers, etc.) but never in front of strangers, much less a group where I knew going in that most of them were not going to be receptive to what I had to say.

This was definitely out of my comfort zone.

So, as it was a rookie outing for me, it could best be described as "inartful."

Still, it could have been worse - at least I didn't drool on my notes or break into Pig Latin when I got nervous. :)

Among the lessons learned - the three minutes alloted to each speaker that can seem interminable for listeners just flies by for speakers. Even though I tried to keep my remarks brief and on point, the Mayor still cut me off before I finished. To be fair to the Mayor, I got my three minutes, so I am not criticizing him...for this. There will be other occasions for that.

Plenty of them.


In other news: the Council appointed current Deputy City Attorney Bruce Washburn to the vacant City Attorney's job. The initial over/under on his job tenure will be set at 16 months (April 2011) unless Lane's faction remains in the majority after next year's elections.

In other, other news: the Council failed to reappoint an associate city judge (or at least was well on their way to not reappointing - I had to leave for the D17 holiday party) because they didn't feel they didn't have enough info to make the reappointment..but not before they gave the floor to one of Mayor Lane's allies to engage in an off-topic diatribe against photo radar.

Which I thought was rather ironic because on Tuesday evening, one of the City's photo radar vans was situated on Civic Center Boulevard near Scottsdale Stadium, perhaps 1000 feet from City Hall.

Later...

Ya know what I love about campaign season? Campaign ads.

Particularly satirical ones.

It's amazing what a Google search turns up - fourth on the list of items found with search terms: "Eric Wnuck" and posted on the internet in the last week -



FYI - there's a difference between "shameless copying," which is what the Wnuck campaign did when they posted their own spot last week, one that copied a spot from the Bean campaign in Illinois, and legitimate parody, which this is and something that Eric Wnuck opened himself up for.

FYI2 - I don't know who created the above parody, but given the nature of some of the lines used and the fact that it is, ya know, actually funny, I'm guessing that it is a Democrat.

Seven million dollars would keep a lot of teachers and court workers employed

Not that Arizona's version of Joltin' Joe (aka Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio) would care about that - that wouldn't earn him as much media coverage as his never-ending feuds with other County officials.

From AZCentral.com -

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is asking the Board of Supervisors for $7 million to cover the costs of legal fees.

Chief Deputy David Hendershott wants the board to transfer the $7 million from the county's general fund to the Sheriff's Office general fund early next year, according to an agenda item obtained by The Republic.

The money would help pay for legal fees the Sheriff's Office incurred from three law firms: Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart; Sanders and Parks; and Wilenchik and Bartness.

Most of the legal fees that Arpaio wants the county supes to pay were incurred during Arpaio's fights with the supes themselves. In short, he wants the supes to fund his harassment of the supes.

Welcome to Maricopa County folks.

Enough with the Tiger Woods stuff already

Time for a rant...

Enough already.

I don't care that Tiger Woods was in a car accident and ran over a fire hydrant, other than to be happy that no one was seriously hurt.

I don't care that he has cheated on his wife - that's an issue to be sorted out between him and his wife, and perhaps their marriage counselors/divorce attorneys (whichever direction they choose to move in).

I don't care how many different women he has cheated with - any number above zero is bad news for the relationship.

I don't care that his wife has apparently moved out of their home - she hasn't moved in with me (not that I would have a problem with that - she's seriously hot).

What I *do* care about is that media coverage of this is overwhelming coverage of matters that actually have an impact on most of the country.

I can understand if the tabloid magazines/websites/TV shows that exist for the sole purpose of disseminating celebrity gossip cover this because this crap *is* their reason for existence. If you don't care for celebrity gossip (and I don't), you can avoid these media outlets (and I do).

I can understand if the sports networks/websites/mags cover this because Woods *is* a sports figure. This isn't their normal fare, but since this could reasonably be expected to impact Woods' play in his chosen field of endeavor, it's fair game.

What I can't understand is why the "mainstream" media outlets such as MSNBC and CNN have devoted so much effort and time to covering this. I watch those outlets for hard news, not the latest reports of "celebrities behaving badly."

Enough already.

End rant...

Yup, there were lots of "I's" in this one, but it was a rant, just something that has really been bugging me for a week and that I needed to get off my chest.

Thanks for your patience. Back to politics...

Let the screaming in north Scottsdale begin...

From AZCentral.com -

Senate eyes cosmetic surgery, Botox tax

Last week, the Senate began debate on an $848 billion health care reform bill that includes a 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic surgery, beginning Jan. 1, 2010. The provision would raise an estimated $5.8 billion in the next decade.

To those readers who think that I am being inappropriately snarky toward my oh-so trendily-dressed and impeccably-coiffed neighbors to the north, know this -

The website of the Arizona Medical Board lists 21 medical doctors with a specialty in cosmetic surgery.

7, or 33%, list a Scottsdale address on their licenses. An eighth lists an address in Paradise Valley, but that addy is physically on Scottsdale Road. The doctor in question literally just has to cross the street to be in Scottsdale. That's 38% in or right next to Scottsdale.

According to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Arizona has more than 6,300,000 people in it.

According to the same source, Scottsdale has 235,000 people, or roughly 3.7% of the state's population, living in it.

3.7% of the general population, but more than 38% of the plastic surgeons.

Hmmm...

:)



Note: These numbers don't include the 7 licensees who list out of state addresses. I believe that most of them practice in Scottsdale when they are in-state, but belief is not proof. Also, the numbers do not include the doctors who have a cosmetic surgery component to their practices, but do not claim it as a specialty with the Medical Board. So far as I know, there is no requirement that they do so.

But it does make running numbers on this topic a little more difficult. :)

An open letter to Scottsdale's Mayor and City Council

This letter was submitted to them via the City's website contact form -

Mayor Lane and members of the Scottsdale City Council,

On Tuesday you will be considering a consultant’s report on the possible acquisition of Arizona American Water Company’s (AAWC’s) operations in Scottsdale.

I am writing to you to urge you to consider the report with an open mind, and during your discussions keep an eye toward protecting the long term interests of the residents of Scottsdale.

You are certain to hear from a number of interested parties on this matter, including many representatives of an organization calling itself The ORANGE Coalition. They will flatly oppose even the mere possibility of the City of Scottsdale acquiring the troubled local operation and assets of Arizona American Water. While they profess to be an Arizona-based organization dedicated to protecting the private property rights of “farmers and ranchers and other land owners,” that description of their purpose may not be a complete one.

According to records from the Arizona Corporation Commission, The ORANGE Coalition was incorporated on November 12, 2008 and listed the addresses of its directors as “1025 Laurel Oak Rd., Voorhees, NJ 08043.”

That is the address of corporate headquarters of American Water Works, the parent company of AAWC.

The inference is clear here – The ORANGE Coalition is an “astroturf” group formed specifically to further the interests of its industry backers, and nothing more.

While all of the residents of Scottsdale (your constituents), even those who work directly (or indirectly) for AAWC, have the right to have their opinions heard, the fact that certain individuals represent AAWC shouldn’t give you reason to confer greater weight to their opinions.

To conclude, let me reiterate the beginning of this note – please consider the report with an open mind and let your decisions in the matter be based on what best serves the needs of the residents of Scottsdale.

Thank you for your time.

Regards,

[cpmaz]

NOTE –

The ACC page for The ORANGE Coalition is here: http://starpas.azcc.gov/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsbroker1/names-detail.p?name-id=14878680&type=CORPORATION

SEC info on American Water’s address from its initial registration is here: http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1993/dig052193.pdf

American Water’s contact page from its website, with corporate HQ address, is here: http://www.amwater.com/about-us/contact-us.html

Later...

The coming week....

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies (except where noted) and subject to change without notice.

...This should be the last "busy" week of the year as most political bodies try to get a month's work into the first two weeks of that month.


...In the U.S. House, the agenda includes the as-yet-unnumbered Tax Extenders of 2009 act some info here; it looks to be a bill to extend some tax relief for charitable contributions, alternative fuels development and more. Also on the agenda is H.R. 4173, The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009. CBO summary here. House Rules hearing on Tuesday.

This will pass the House but the Republicans will absolutely hate it, and enough Senate Dems (Baucus, Schumer, Lincoln, etc.) could cross over on this one and block it from passing the Senate or at least balk enough to remove any teeth from this bill.

...The Senate will continue to consider health care reform. They have hundreds of obstructions amendments proposed by the Rs to slog through. Other than that, the Senate's committee schedule is here. Perhaps of greatest interest to Arizonans is Wednesday's hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. There, they will consider a number of executive branch nominations, including that of Phoenix's P. David Lopez as general counsel (chief lawyer) for the EEOC. Lopez' statement from a November hearing is here. Lopez is an ASU alum and has worked for the EEOC since 1994, primarily as a trial attorney.

...Back here in Arizona, the Legislature's makework schedule is abating somewhat.

- On Monday, Sen. Sylvia "6000 years" Allen's Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR1.

- Also on Monday, the Ad Hoc Committee on Agriculture Regulations will meet at 1 p.m. in HHR1.

Look for these to be industry lobby-fests, and nothing more.

- Still on Monday, the Senate's Committee on Natural Resources, Infrastucture, and Public Debt will meet at 2:30 p.m. in SHR109 to discuss the state of the state's finances with JLBC and State Treasurer Dean Martin.

Look for this to be a combination bashfest (blaming Democrats for everything) and stump speech/posturing by unofficial candidate for governor Martin.

- In other lege news, House Democrats is inviting the public to legislative issue and advocacy forums in Tucson (Monday), Yuma (Tuesday), and Sierra Vista (Wednesday.) There will be more opportunities to meet with legislators about the state's budget issues and learn how to make their voices heard on West Washington.

...The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to hold a special open meeting on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday concerning resource planning/rulemaking and APS' permanent rates. ACC's complete hearing schedule is here.

...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has special meetings scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

Monday's agenda is devoted hearing a presentation on the issues facing the County in the next five years and strategic planning.

Tuesday's agenda isn't posted yet, but an executive session regarding the latest litigation spawned by Joe Arpaio and Andy Thomas is well within the realm of possibility.


,,,The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System will hold a special meeting Monday afternoon. The agenda includes both executive and open session components regarding assignment of contracts from MedPro to the newly-formed District Medical Group.


...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will meet on Tuesday. The agenda includes an executive session at 5:30 p.m. and a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. The current agenda looks to be pretty mundane, though there will be special meetings on Wednesday (5:00 p.m.) and next Tuesday (6:30 p.m.) and officer elections in January, all of which promise to be interesting.


...The Tempe City Council will meet on Thursday. The Council's Calendar is here.


...The Scottsdale City Council will meet on Tuesday. The regular meeting agenda includes the appointment of a new City Attorney while the agenda for the executive session (planned for 2 p.m.) includes items regarding discussion of and legal advice pertaining to the acquisition of real property, including assets of Arizona American Water within Scottsdale. More on that last in a later post.

Scottsdale's Community Meeting Notice is here.


...Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Arizona Board of Regents, the Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project.

Hypocrisy, Double Standards, and Guilt By Association: Jim Lane's Scottsdale

By now, most folks who care know that at Tuesday's meeting of the Scottsdale City Council, the Council voted 4-3 to withdraw from the Partner Council of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce. The vote was taken allegedly in response to a ruling that the C of C violated campaign finance laws during last year's elections and would have to pay some fines.

This particular dust-up has been going on since last year's election cycle when the C of C sent out some mailers that looked to endorse the former mayor, Mary Manross, and three candidates for Council, Ron McCullagh, Betty Drake, and Suzanne Klapp. The mailers purported only to discuss the "pro-business" and "pro-Scottsdale" qualifications of the candidates. The C of C claimed that the mailers (and some related TV spots) weren't "political" because they didn't ask anyone to vote for the candidates.

Complaints were filed by some of the non-endorsed candidates, including eventual mayoral victor Jim Lane. Various legal opinions followed that disagreed with the C of C's position, including one in late November from a state administrative law judge.

During the process and since the latest ruling. there have both been calls for the City to withdraw any support it provides to the Chamber as well as sustained withering criticism of then-candidates Klapp and McCullagh for not resigning their positions in the C of C.

None of this should be much of a surprise, because as Greg at Espresso Pundit notes, when the C of C tried to influence the election, they should have made sure that their candidate won.

In politics, retribution is far more frequent than is forgiveness. Lane's vengeance for the Chamber's lack of support for him was fully expected.

Still, the payback theme of the meetings of this year's Council has overwhelmed almost everything else, including common sense, fairness, and ethical consistency.

During the meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Lane pontificated that the City should withdraw from the Chamber because he didn't think that the City should be associated with any organization that breaks the law, in this case, violations of campaign finance laws.

The money quote; the fact that the City and some members of the Council are involved with the C of C "implies that the City itself participated in this."

Hmmm...where could I find "hypocrisy" and "double standards" there, and perhaps an opportunity to apply a little "guilt by association" here?

The sarcastic cynic in me (which I *never* give free rein to...OK, almost never :) ) thinks that this is all merely retribution from Lane because the C of C didn't support him in last year's election and that his moral outrage is of the "faux and one-sided" variety.

However, it is possible that Lane truly respects organizations that follow the law and simply doesn't want the City, the Council, or any of its members associated with an organization that ever breaks laws.

As Mayor, he has to be concerned for the image of the Council and the City, and doesn't want even the appearance of impropriety to sully that image.

The months-long witch hunt against former City Manager John Little notwithstanding.

Which I could accept, except for the fact that the Mayor and at least five of the six members of the Council are Republicans (Lane freely admits that he is one, Borowsky is a member of the Arizona Federation of Republican Women, Klapp, Littlefield, and McCullagh are members of the AZGOP's State Committee representing LD8, and Tony Nelssen is considered to be a Republican's Republican. I'm not sure about Wayne Ecton's registration - based on the few conversationsI think he is an R, but I cannot find independent verification of that right at this moment.)

So, in light of the fact that during the same election cycle, the AZGOP accepted illegal contributions that were earmarked to fund some of the sleaziest ads in recent memory, for the sake of consistency, they've all resigned their positions within the Arizona Republican Party and barred any organs of the AZGOP from using City facilities, so as not to associate the City with illegal activities...in this case, violations of campaign finance laws.

Right?

OK, so I don't expect them to really resign from the GOP, nor do I think that they should, and unless they were directly involved with campaign contribution laundering scheme with Arpaio, Fox, Pullen, and the rest, it shouldn't even be a matter for discussion. As sleazy as the ads and those campaign violations were, they are the responsibility of the people involved, not all Republicans.

By the same token, unless Lane, his followers on the Council (Borowsky, Littlefield, and Nelssen), and his friends/advisers masquerading as outraged "independent" residents of Scottsdale (Whitmer, Fernandez, et. al.) can show that McCullagh and Klapp were directly involved in the C of C's ad campaign, they should give it a rest, lest the same tactics are applied to them.

I don't expect them to learn that lesson, and neither should any readers -

So far, the scheming, back-biting, and hypocrisy have worked for Lane et. al., and they have no reason to stop until their tactics cease to work.

Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic has a pro-Council, anti-C of C view here.

Later...

Tempe recognized by EPA

From the EPA -

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson today recognized Tempe and three other diverse communities that are models of how to grow in ways that protect our nation’s air, land, and water; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; provide safe and affordable housing; and strengthen local economies.

{snip}

For Smart Growth and Green Building, the City of Tempe is being honored for the Tempe Transportation Center. The Tempe Transportation Center is a model for sustainable design, a vibrant, mixed-use regional transportation hub that incorporates innovative and green building elements tailored to the Southwest desert environment. The Tempe Transportation Center is a true multi-modal facility that integrates a light rail stop, the main city bus station, and paths for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The city of Tempe designed the Tempe Transportation Center as a multi-use green
facility that is not only a transportation hub, but also a gathering spot for the community. The center, which replaced a 2.7-acre surface parking lot, provides much-needed public amenities, including a community room and a shaded public plaza. Additional uses include a transit store, a café, shops, and offices, including the city of Tempe’s Transportation Division. Also notable, the center does not provide any automobile parking beyond spaces reserved for persons with disabilities.

From Congressman Harry Mitchell -

"As both a lifelong resident and former Mayor of Tempe, I am proud that Tempe has been recognized for its commitment to being a green and environmentally sustainable community," said Mitchell. "I want to congratulate Tempe city staff and the City Council for their vision and leadership in earning this award, and I hope that my hometown will continue to serve as an example of the possibilities of sustainable design.

Ground was broken on the Transportation Center in 2001 when Congressman Mitchell was the State Senator representing Tempe in the lege and Neil Giuliano was the Mayor of Tempe.

More on Tempe's Green Programs can be found here.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but plagiarism is just lazy and contemptible

Eric Wnuck, one of the Republicans contending/pretending in their primary race to go up against Democratic Congressman Harry Mitchell next year, has released a new web ad, available at Republican blog Gila Courier here.

GC calls the spot "interesting," notes a couple of possible gaffes (no "paid for by" boilerplate, for example), and pushes folks toward Wnuck's campaign website.

What GC didn't talk about, however, was the spot's dearth of originality.

From the Facebook page of Seth Scott, friend, law student, and former staffer for Congressman Mitchell (hence his knowledge of a particularly relevent fact) (emphasis his) -

Arizona newcomer Eric Wnuck is running in the AZ-05 Republican primary, and earlier today released an I’m-an-everyman-themed Web ad. It features lots of folks saying, “I’m Eric Wnuck,” and attempts to leave viewers with the impression that he’ll a strong voice for all of us in Washington.

It’s a brilliant idea for an ad. But I liked it much better when I saw it three years ago, when it was aired by Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Ill.

Wnuck plagiarized his new spot, but not from a random party. Nope. This bright bulb lifted material directly from Mitchell’s own advisers.

Adelstein Liston, the firm that has produced all of Mitchell’s television spots, also produced the “I’m Melissa Bean” ad that Wnuck loved so much.

Wnuck's spot can be found here; the original spot from Melissa Bean can be found here. It should be noted that the Bean campaign was professional enough to include the required "paid for by" line.

Further update - NIBW

Yeah, it's just a "copy and paste" post, but the info is important to the residents of South Scottsdale.

From an email from Rachel Loftin, a Project Manager with the EPA -

Dear NIBW Community Involvement Group -

I am sending this additional information as an update to last Friday's e-mail about a release of untreated water which occurred on Monday, November 23rd, from a drain pipe which is connected to the groundwater extraction and treatment system of the Central Groundwater Treatment Facility (CGTF).

Here's the additional information EPA has learned from the City of Scottsdale:

Again, and most importantly, we want to emphasize that this release did not impact the drinking water supplied by the Central Groundwater Treatment Facility (CGTF).

On Monday, November 23rd, a release of untreated water occurred when Well 75 was turned back on after being off for a couple of weeks while construction work was being conducted. The release was observed by operations staff within 10 minutes of turning Well 75 back on. There was not an alarm or electronic system notification, however CGTF personnel are always onsite during the start-up of the facility to handle any problems or emergency events. The well and CGTF were shut down within 10 minutes of the release.

The release originated at a drain pipe resulting in an overflow of between 500-900 gallons of water onto a grassy area in front of the south gate of the CGTF. The City cordoned off the spill area and collected a soil and groundwater sample. The soil results indicate non-detectable concentrations of TCE and PCE, and the groundwater results from the spill area are 9 micrograms per liter (ug/l) of TCE and 1 ug/l of PCE. These concentrations are quite low.

The data indicate that the public was not impacted by the release because of the short duration of the spill, low volume of water released, and the low detections of TCE and PCE in the spill area. The City returned the CGTF to service last Wednesday, November 25th, after repairs were made and the soil sample results were received.

The City found that 3 automatic valves which were supposed to be closed, were improperly wired and left in the open position. The staff then tried to close the drain pipe using the manual valves, but the manual valves would not shut properly. The personnel on-site shut down the well and the CGTF to stop the spill. As of last Monday (Nov. 23), the City fixed the automatic valve wiring and is in the process of replacing the manual valves.

The City responded promptly to:

- Shut off the well and CGTF to stop the spill;
- Cordon off the spill area in the park;
- Collect a water and soil sample at the spill location;
- Obtain expedited sampling results,
- Wire the automatic valves properly, and
- Replace the 2 manual valves that would not shut/seal properly. This work is in progress.

What Happens Next?

The City is compiling an incident report with photo documentation and recommendations for next steps which will be submitted to EPA by the end of this week. I will share this report with all of you when I receive it.

Vicki, ADEQ, and I will be contacting you in early January to being planning for the annual community meeting to be held early next year.

Please contact me at 415/972-3253 or by e-mail if you have any questions regarding this information. Enjoy the holiday season! I look forward to meeting you all in person early next year.

Best,

Rachel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rachel Loftin
Remedial Project Manager
U.S. EPA, Region 9
Superfund Division, SFD-6-2
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
E-mail: Loftin.Rachel@epa.gov
Phone: 415/972-3253
Fax: 415/947-3528

As more info becomes available, including the time and location of the next meeting of the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site Community Involvement Group, I'll post it here.

Later...

PSA time - a side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate health care reform proposals

The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare has put together a side-by-side comparison of the health care reform, available here.

It shows that while there are some significant differences between the two, there are also some strong similarities.

...Thanks to correspondent Gary B. for the heads-up on the comparison...

Later...

Decisions, investigations, and lawsuits

It's early in the week, but it has already been an eventful week for legal issues in the Valley of the Sun. And not surprisingly, most of the issues involve Joe Arpaio.

- The same Arizona administrative law judge who found that State Rep. Doug Quelland should forfeit his office for Clean Elections violations found that the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce violated campaign laws with a series of ads during last year's municipal election season.

Certain members of the Scottsdale community (like the member who sits in the Mayor's seat during City Council meetings) will tout this as a victory against the influence of third-party money in local elections.

Any such claims are a lie. The decision is a victory only against third-party money that doesn't go in the mayor's direction. There are still plenty of "independent" committees working to buy Scottsdale's elections.

Most of them are dedicated to supporting Jim Lane and his coterie of followers or opposing Lane's adversaries.

- Maricopa County's resident would-be jerkwater despots, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas were slapped down in a judge's (Encanto JP C. Steven McMurry) ruling that they (actually, the County's taxpayers) have to pay the legal fees of people arrested at a meeting of the County Supervisors last December. The people were there to speak against Arpaio and his anti-immigrant policies.

Snippets from the judge's decision -

In the audio recording of Ms. Theilen immediately after she was arrested, one can hear her, between her sobs, describing, and the actions of the arresting officer, Deputy Acritelli, as those of a “fascist”.

This Court was so startled to read in its post-trial memorandum the County Attorney’s written description of the proceedings before the Board of Supervisors that it went back and reviewed anew all the recordings submitted in this action in their entirety. The Court now sadly concludes that Ms. Theilen’s description of the events is more balanced and objectively accurate than that of the County Attorney.
{snip}

...Deputy Acritelli disrupted the meeting by moving through the audience, pointing at people who were sitting down with their hands in their laps, and insisting that they were being disorderly and had to leave. In virtually the same moment the arrests started. It is simply false to say that these arrests came after "repeated" warnings; they are surprising and disturbing arrests. The ironic moment then came when the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors called Kristy Theilen to the podium. One can hear Deputy Acritelli saying to Ms. Theilen "You're not speaking, you're leaving." Defendant Monica Sandschaeffer suffered the same fate when the Chairman called upon her...

{snip}

...Moreover, it is important to note the message constantly being telegraphed by Deputy Acritelli by his words and manner at both the Supervisor's meeting and his courtroom appearance. Deputy Acritelli communicates that he believes that it is his role to make uncomfortable anyone who express views that disagree with the Sheriff. Were he to be candid, he would probably acknowledge being somewhat proud of it. (1)

[(1) =] On the stand Deputy Acritelli characterized the ruling of another judge who had dismissed similar charges a mistake, and insisted he would make the same arrests again if given the opportunity.

{snip}

...The best basis for an award of the Defendants’ attorney’s fees, however, is probably the “private attorney general” doctrine recognized in Arnold v. Arizona Department of Health Services, 160 Ariz. 593, 609, 775 P.2d 521 (1989). This is such an extreme case, with Sheriff’s Deputies trampling on the First Amendment and being aided and abetted by the County Attorney. It has to stop.

That language, while dry and wordy, is pretty blunt for judge-speak. While Arpaio, Thomas, and most of the Republican blogosphere will denounce Judge McMurry as an "activist judge" or worse, McMurry (as well as most of the county's judges be they Dems or Reps) is a stickler for the law who wants nothing more than to maintain a low profile and do his job.

Today, his job has called for finding fault with the actions of Joe Arpaio, Andrew Thomas, and some of their subordinates.

...In the "OK, the timing of this probably isn't a coincidence" Department: Arpaio and Thomas have filed a federal lawsuit against a laundry list of county officials, judges, and attorneys accusing them of conspiring to hinder the Nativist Twins' investigations into various county officials, judges, and attorneys.

...One of Arpaio's subordinates, Adam Stoddard, has refused a judge's order to apologize for rifling through an attorney's briefcase and removing documents from it without permission.

Arpaio states that Stoddard will serve time in jail per the judge's contempt of court ruling, but refuses to state which Valley resort hotelcounty jail facility Stoddard will be held in.

Guess we'll have to wait for a full audit of MCSO's books to find out. Which should happen during the next millenium or so...


...Just an average couple of days in the three-ring circus known as "Maricopa County Politics."

The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award

Last year, this award was created as the Sunday Morning Crappie Award to recognize that week's most egregious example of political flip-floppery. Shortly after creating it, I noticed that Arizona's senior U.S. Senator was winning the Award or was one of the leading contenders every single week.

In the interests of giving every (usually) Republican elected hypocrite their moment in the glare of the spotlight, at that time I named the Award after Senator McCain and deemed him ineligible for future Awards.

However, from time to time Sen. McCain does or says something so outrageously hypocritical that he merits receipt of this eponymous award.

Today is one such time.

Yesterday, McCain introduced an amendment to the health care reform bill in the Senate that would remove any cuts to Medicare funding (the current proposal calls for $500 million in cuts - remember that number)

Sounds like he cares about seniors, or at least that he figures GOP seniors are more frightened of any changes to Medicare than they are of immigrants (giving him a leg up in next year's primary battle versus JD Hayworth), right?

Not so much.

During last year's campaign, McCain proffered his own plan for health care "reform".

At that point in time, he was so concerned with protecting Medicare, his proposal called for $1.3 trillion in cuts.

For this reverse inward twisting 2 1/2 somersault of an expedient political flip flop, the John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award goes to...

John Sydney McCain.


Note: It wouldn't surprise me a bit to see more flip flops and position triangulations from McCain in the coming months - he's got fewer fundraisers since they started getting busted for racketeering and fraud. Whether the biggest threat to his job security comes from within the GOP in the rather loud and blustery form of Hayworth or from the Democrats in the rather tall form of Tucson City Councilman Rodney Glassman, McCain is going to have to work hard, on the issues and on the ground, to gain re-election this time around.

Note2: According to the FEC, the Florida attorney cited in the linked "racketeering" article raised or donated over $100K for McCain's presidential run last year.

Coverage from...

...The New Republic here.

...Tedski at R-Cubed here.

...Washington Monthly here.

...TPMMuckraker here.

Later...