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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

This past week I had the opportunity to visit the site for a status update. The end is near. In mid-December we will turn the water on and fill the lake. Shortly thereafter, Arizona Game and Fish will stock the lake. During the winter months expect trout to be introduced and during the summer months perch and catfish will be added.

We could have the Grand Opening after Christmas but with people being out of town and the rush of holiday activities we decided to hold off until after New Year’s Day. Expect a public announcement inviting the public to the Grand Opening slated for the first week in January of 2022. It’s a nice Christmas present and start to the New Year for Glendale residents. My Council Assistant, Shannon, and I are already working on a fishing event for next year.

I thought I would share construction progress to date. These photos show fish habitats provided by Arizona Game and Fish. Fish need places to hide and these habitats will grow algae and other “gunk” on them turning them into secluded oases for the fish.

Fish habitat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also note that in selected spots you can see black material running down the slope of the lake. Some are already being covered by rocks. These are more fish sanctuaries where they will be able to rest and to hide.

Fish habitat on lake slope

The sidewalk surrounding the lake is complete and for those who wish to walk or jog, one lap around the lake is ¾ of a mile.

Pump house under construction

The pump house that will contain the heart of the water system and filtration is now under construction.

Along the rim of the lake, just below the water line, a ‘shot crete’ coating is now being applied. This surface will also receive additional rock on top of it.

The irrigation for the landscaping is now being installed to be followed by plants, trees and shrubs. There will be two fishing piers, one of the east side and one on the west side of the lake. The only element that will not be installed by the time of the Grand Opening are the ramadas. Due to supply chain issues, the steel delivery needed for their frames has not arrived.

Site of one of the ramadas

I cannot begin to tell you how excited and pleased I am to see this element of the park becoming a reality. After 23 years, the park is now beginning to take shape and to develop its own identity.

The next park element that I am working on are the sports fields that will be located in the northeast quadrant of the park. Having these sports fields will finally offer children a place to run, throw and kick a ball. I am working on having the design of the fields in our next fiscal year’s budget followed by their construction shortly thereafter.

The major element still to be installed is the Recreation and Aquatics Center. I believe the time has come to address this issue. After redistricting of the city council district boundaries is approved by the council, the Yucca district will be the largest district geographically, the district with the greatest population within the next few years, and the district containing about 80% of all of the economic growth within Glendale. The Crystal Island Resort Lagoon of Glendale development alone will earn the city almost $10 million a year in sales tax. The construction of a Recreation and Aquatics Center will serve all south and west Glendale residents, nearly 100,000 people. The explosion of economic and population growth within the Yucca district necessitates this facility. It is long overdue.

© Joyce Clark, 2021       

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner

Our country in crisis

Posted by Joyce Clark on November 14, 2021
Posted in City of GlendaleNational issues  | Tagged With: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Perhaps you don’t believe our country is in crisis. Perhaps you don’t regret having voted for Biden as our President. The signs of crises are all around us. Let’s begin with those issues that tangibly affect us every day.

Have you bought gas for your vehicle recently? I did the other day. I used to spend about $30 to fill up my car. I just paid $55 to fill her up. This is a crisis that affects all of us, especially those, like seniors, on a fixed income and the poor. Paying extra for gasoline means that you have fewer dollars to spend on other essentials, like food.

Have you been to the grocery store lately? I went to my local store yesterday and the cold cut section was virtually empty. Most of the shelves in this area were empty. Some of the products that I use are simply not there anymore. Not only that but I tend to buy the same items weekly. I used to pay about $200 a week or less. Now, for the very same items the cost is closer to $300. Take milk. Last year it was $1.29 a gallon. Now it is $2.29 a gallon. What about your Thanksgiving dinner? Each and every item for your dinner will cost more. Christmas? Forget it. We are told to buy now if it is a Christmas item or present. We are told to ‘settle’ or ‘accommodate’ to this new normal.

Our supply chain is broken. I’ve heard all the excuses… trucker shortage, onerous regulations…it goes on an on but the basic premise of manufacturing products in our country has been destroyed. With its destruction comes the destruction of our economy. Construction supplies are difficult to obtain. Customers must wait for delivery that might occur seven months from now and those supplies cost a great deal more. It’s not just new car prices climbing higher and higher. It has caused used car prices to climb as well. Do you need a new refrigerator or washing machine? Be prepared to wait and not only that but pay more for it.

Inflation continues to skyrocket. The official inflation rate is pegged at about 5% nationally but we are living the lesson that the rate is higher than the official number. Our dollars are worth less and therefore we need more of them to buy the same things we bought a year ago.

Our national debt is dangerous to all of us. The country needs more money to pay for the recently passed infrastructure bill. No problem. The Treasury will print more. The more it prints the less each dollar is worth.

I guess we can thank our lucky stars that we don’t live in cold country because the cost of heating has increased by over 50%. Why? Because of Biden’s energy policy. He immediately shut down the Keystone pipeline and is now considering closing the pipeline in Minnesota. All in the name of a ‘climate crisis’. Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, said this action is designed to drive us all to accept renewable energy. Unfortunately, wind and solar energy is not reliable nor abundant. Has it occurred to anyone that fossil fuel and gasoline derivative products are needed to make wind and solar components and infrastructure?

We are experiencing labor shortages. Why work when the government provides more money not to work? The labor shortage will abate with greater numbers of green card holders as well as the inundation of illegals willing to take your job.

Our relationship with other countries is disturbing and frightening. Russia is a provocateur in Eastern Europe and China is threatening Taiwan as it drives to become the dominant world power. The Afghanistan withdrawal was botched leading to the deaths of 13 service members, leaving behind billions of dollars’ worth of equipment and the abandonment of Americans and Afghanistan nationals who worked for us. Some remain trapped in that country to this day. North Korea is saber rattling once again. The Biden administration has abandoned its support of the only true democracy in the Middle East, Israel, and the consequence of such action is now the Middle East is on the verge of a new series of hot wars.

Please tell me why it’s good to have a wall around President Biden’s home or Nancy Pelosi’s. It’s obvious. Walls keep the bad guys out and protect property. But a wall along our southern border is bad? It’s illogical. More than a million illegals have entered our country with many of them being dumped in cities in the dark of night. There is no background vetting, no shots, and no check for Covid. These illegals are no longer exclusively Mexican or Central American. They are from all over the world including the Middle East. It’s just a matter of time before this foolishness results in another 911 event. Along with this mass illegal migration into our country is increased human smuggling and opioid smuggling. Human trafficking and opioid deaths have increased dramatically. The very idea of paying illegal families $450,000 to a million each for separation of members during the commission of illegal entry into this country is obscene. It’s 4 times the amount paid to a gold star family because of the death of a family member.

The mishandling of Covid is causing people to distrust the government as more and more people refuse to take a booster shot followed by another and another…ad nauseum. If masks and distancing really worked, we would have seen a decline in this illness followed by its eventual eradication. Instead, now the government is imposing more draconian mandates. We ‘rubes’ are beginning to wake up with police, nurses, airline pilots, fire fighters and all kinds of essential workers willing to be fired instead of taking the jab. I took the first two shots, so I am not an “anti-vaxxer.” I do, however, believe in the American right of freedom and individual choice. No one should be forced to take a shot or punished or ostracized for not doing so.

We now have a two-tiered justice system when you see January 6th participants in solitary confinement in jail and yet those who participated in the Summer of 2020 riots that resulted in deaths are not even arrested. We see examples of blatant shop lifting every day with no consequences. We see violent criminals being released and repeating the very same offences against us. What has happened to our bedrock principle of ‘equal justice for all’?

Critical Race Theory is being taught to children in elementary schools. How can a philosophy that teaches white children to hate themselves for their whiteness while teaching children of color that they are oppressed and can never rise above it, be healthy for our county? Instead of embracing the eradication of racial division this philosophy encourages it. Thankfully, parents are fighting back and succeeding at the local level. CRT has no place in an open and healthy society.

There, I’ve gotten my concerns off my chest. Some of you will read this and discount these crises with what you believe are rational explanations for each and every one. That’s fine. That’s your right in a free society but at some point, when conditions become even worse, you will be forced to remove your blinders. I just hope it doesn’t come too late.

I still believe in these words. Do you? Read it carefully and thoughtfully: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Joyce Clark, 2021       

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

After the Federal Census was performed in the Spring of 2020 a mandate to redraw political district lines applies. In Arizona that is for congressional districts, state legislative districts and local districts.

Glendale began this process this summer after the hiring of a consultant to assist with the technical aspects of the process. Glendale’s new map with council districts must be submitted to the state no later than December 15, 2021.

The city council has had a series of workshops on the issue and there has been a period of public comment. Below is the public comment that has been received to date and presented to city council at its most recent workshop on November 9, 2020.

Please note that one citizen comment was made requesting that the Copperwood community not be divided. This citizen request was accommodated by the consultant and the city council. Three citizens asked that the Independence Heights community remain within the Yucca district. Neither the consultant nor the city council accommodated these citizens’ request as can be seen by the preferred city council map, Draft A, presented by the consultants. See Map A here:

The traditional redistricting guidelines for consideration in drawing districts includes three items of particular importance. One is to preserve communities of interest another is to accommodate planned future growth and the third is to have a “nearly equal number of inhabitants” (Arizona Statute 9—473.B). Here are the guidelines, federal, state and traditional:

In my opinion, some of these guidelines have been not been satisfied. Lets take a look at future growth within the districts. Please refer to this map:

You will see numbers for each district. Upon receiving clarification from the consultant, these numbers refer to the number of residential units already approved or in the pipeline and anticipated to be approved. The nationally recognized multiplier of occupants per residential unit is 2.3.

  • Cholla 533 units       X 2.3       increased population expected of 1,225.9
  • Sahuaro 944 units    X 2.3       increased population expected of 2,171.2
  • Barrel 859 units       X 2.3       increased population expected of 1,975.7
  • Cactus 342 units      X 2.3       increased population expected of 786.6
  • Ocotillo 410 units     X 2.3       increased population expected of 943
  • Yucca 7848 units      X 2.3       increased population expected of 18,050.4

Also consider this:

                                 Current population Map A          Future planned population by district

  • Cholla      39,793             +1,225.9                                     40,018.9
  • Sahuaro   42,051             +2,171.2                                     44,222.2
  • Barrel      41,210             +1,975.7                                     43,185.7
  • Cactus     43,132               +786.6                                      43,918.6
  • Ocotillo    42,409               + 943                                        43,352.0
  • Yucca       39,820           +18.050.4                                     57,870.04

The startling fact that should be immediately apparent is that the Yucca district is expected to see an increase in population of nearly 20,000 new residents in the next few years. It will have a population of 13,000 more residents than Sahuaro district projected to have a population of 44,222.2.

Legal guidelines do permit accommodation for future growth. However, there is one caveat to that guideline. The Supreme Court has granted safe harbor for population plan deviations up to 10%. Map A offers a deviation of total population of 8.06%. However, that deviation is occurring in Sahuaro, Cactus and Ocotillo districts. I’m not convinced that adding another percentage point in total population deviation would make any substantial difference.

However, while accommodating the Copperwood community, Map A offers no accommodation for the Independence Heights neighborhood’s request to remain in the Yucca district. This is a distinct community of interest between Ocotillo Road and Maryland Avenue, 71st Avenue to 75th Avenue. I am convinced that the consultants could have accommodated their request with minimal disruption to other council district boundaries.

I found it astonishing that Councilmember Aldama, representing the Ocotillo district, into which Independence Heights would go, paraphrasing made the following comment, If I am losing the Sands neighborhood, it should be compensated for by including Independence Heights in the Ocotillo district.  His comment virtually makes Independence Heights a pawn or consolation prize for losing the Sands neighborhood. I didn’t know that’s the way districts were to be drawn.

I am surprised that the only Councilmember that recognized the issues and supported keeping the Independence Heights neighborhood in the Yucca district was Councilmember Turner and for that, I thank him. To support their interests and their boundaries the rest of the council was willing to sacrifice the interests of the Yucca district.

Here’s two maps that I created. Obviously, they are not perfect. They were not vetted by the consultants and even though the population deviations are lower than the consultant’s Map A, they recognize that at some point council district boundaries are going to have to change dramatically to accommodate the growth occurring in the Yucca district. That is what occurs in my proposed draft maps. The Ocotillo boundary has to shift west at some point and that will create a domino effect in all of the other districts with their common boundaries moving further south. In fact, it should happen this time but it won’t.

 

A powerhouse in Glendale has not only been created but perpetuated for the next ten years until the 2030 census. The Yucca district is the largest geographically. The Yucca district will be the most populated of all 6 districts. The Yucca district is the epicenter of not only residential development but economic development as well.

If anything makes the case for the completion of Heroes Park, after 23 years of waiting for sports fields, a recreation and aquatics center, expansion of the smallest library in the city system and a dog park, this is it.

© Joyce Clark, 2021       

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.