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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Jun 18

4

Another gorilla in Glendale?

Posted by Joyce Clark on June 4, 2018
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Glendale's Fire Union  | 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.

A little over a week ago a ribbon cutting occurred for the newly renovated downtown alley connecting Glendale Avenue and Glenn Drive between 57th Drive and 57th Avenue. It is always welcome when the city completes projects like these to continue to improve downtown Glendale.

Downtown Glendale continues to have a difficult time getting its ‘mojo’. I can remember 20 years ago when I participated in the “Miracle Mile” citizens’ committee to envision what downtown Glendale could be. Since then there have been many iterations of the same visioning process with the latest being Centerline, courtesy of consulting professionals from ASU. Yet progress remains static. There is no one factor that inhibits the renaissance of downtown Glendale. There are multiple factors.

One factor is the inability, to date, of the downtown merchants to form a cohesive group determining their own destiny and putting skin ($$) in the game. One faction believes that it is the city’s sole and exclusive responsibility to revitalize the downtown. Another has accepted that their destiny lies in their active participation. Another faction is composed of mom ‘n’ pop owners who set their own — often casual and inconsistent – hours of operation. Another faction, more professional, not only keeps consistent hours of operation but tries to stay open a few evenings a week. Until these factions coalesce downtown is destined to remain basically the same — struggling to survive.

Another factor is the city’s lack of funding to use to remove vacant buildings on city parcels or simply to renovate a city owned vacant building. There are just so many needs competing for the limited city funding available. Witness the residents who are pushing the city council to save the city owned Glen Lakes Golf Course for a little under a half million dollars a year…or west Glendale’s residents’ urging to finish Heroes Park, now languishing for nearly 30 years.

In steps the Glendale Chamber of Commerce does what it can to inject new life into the downtown. There is no doubt that under CEO Robert Heidt’s leadership the Chamber has become a highly successful gorilla. With over 1,200 members it has developed a political power base that surpasses that of Glendale’s fire union. While the fire union is viewed with distrust by many in the community who disagree with its political motives, the Chamber enjoys a more benign relationship. However, as with any entity that wields tremendous power comes an equal responsibility to be use it judiously and wisely. The Chamber would be wise to be mindful of the admonition.

Perhaps that is why I received commentary from some residents after they read an article in the Your Valley edition of May 25, 2018. Here is the link: https://yourvalley.net/yourvalley/news/renovated-alleyway-step-toward-livelier-nightlife-downtown-glendale/ . Their concern seemed to center around the tone of the article creating the inference that the alley renovation project was funded by the Chamber. That is not the case. It was a city funded project and in attendance to celebrate its completion were Mayor Weiers and Councilmembers Hugh, Turner and Aldama. Perhaps their concern centered around the fact that nearly every quote was attributed to either Chamber CEO Heidt or Downtown Director (city employee) Katy Engels, whose work is directed by the Chamber under a city paid contract. In passing there was one statement attributed to Councilmember Aldama and two attributed to Mr. Higgins of the city’s Economic Development department. However the bulk of the article was all CEO Heidt.

Make no mistake, the Chamber is not just a business organization but is a political one as well.  Among other things it interviews and endorses local candidates for city council and mayor. To date, their long standing policy has been to automatically endorse the incumbent. That action does a disservice to its members and to the residents of Glendale. Endorsements should be given on the merits of a candidate’s policies in continuing to grow a Glendale that is business and job creation friendly — for that is the Chamber’s base of membership.

Make no mistake, a healthy Chamber signifies a healthy Glendale. The Chamber’s efforts in the areas of downtown development and vet outreach are most welcome but it would be wise not to over reach. For years the Glendale fire union was a political gorilla. Glendale cannot afford to replace one gorilla with another.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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.

May 18

31

IKEA gone from Glendale

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 31, 2018
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale zoning issues • Westgate • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , | 3 Comments

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.

A week or two ago we were advised by IKEA management that they were not going to pursue building a new store in Glendale. The location would have been on the southwest corner of Bethany Home Road and 95th Avenue.

Why, why, oh why, have they gone away? I, personally, am so disappointed. I was so looking forward to our very own IKEA just 5 minutes away. That sure beats over an hour drive to get to the one in the southeast part of the Valley. The current distance to its only location was a shopping killer for me. I visit the current location once a year, if that.

There was so much pent up demand and excitement in the West Valley. I can’t tell you the number of people who have personally shared their excitement about its coming to Glendale. Everyone was disappointed with their recent announcement. Apparently IKEA had planned to build 10 new stores in the United States. All have been scrapped. Why?

Well, IKEA has decided it wants to migrate to an E-Commerce business allowing consumers to purchase their merchandise online. They are going to completely revamp their business model. It wasn’t that Glendale had been obstructionist or done something to chase them away. To the contrary, they praised Glendale for its effectiveness and ability to work with them in an expeditious manner. They liked Glendale and were happy to do business with us.

As many may know, Glendale committed to building 95th Avenue between Bethany Home Road and Camelback to provide easy access to IKEA. Construction will be complete by the time football season begins this August. 95th Avenue is still important to the city despite IKEA’s departure. It opens up another very valuable access to the University of Phoenix Stadium and all of Westgate. It should alleviate the tremendous traffic loading on 91st Avenue and make many local residents happy. Now people can park at the new lot on the south side of Bethany and use a new pedestrian bridge or tunnel to cross Bethany into the Westgate area.

It also makes the acreage that IKEA would have used very, very valuable and allows the city to pick and choose which project a developer brings to the table as being the best fit for the area and the city. There is already interest in the IKEA site and the possibilities are exciting and will add value to the city and to the area.

Yes, we are all disappointed that IKEA will not be coming and wish that the company’s senior leadership would revisit their decision but we are confident that the land will be developed with something equally meaningful to all stakeholders.

Bye IKEA. We will miss you and wish you well. Yet we are excited about the new opportunities their decision has created and look forward to the next chapter for such a prime parcel.

Part of the 95th Avenue project includes a bridge spanning the Grand Canal and the Linear Park as well as a tunnel below Bethany Home Road. There has been lots of progress on the pedestrian bridge. As you can see in the first picture the bridge across the canal is about as simple as it can get. The second picture shows the bridge that spans the Linear Park way to the stadium. The third picture is not very clear but they already have the tunnel built under Bethany home Road and you can see the top of the structure. The roadway in that area is elevated approximately 3 to 4 feet.

By the way here are a few photos of the progress on Top Golf’s construction:

As you can see, with or without IKEA, Glendale and most particularly the Westgate area continues its unparalleled  growth in activity.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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

May 18

30

Tindall makes the news…again

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 30, 2018
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City of Glendale • Gila River Arena  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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.

It’s always interesting to follow former high profile Glendale employees. This time it is former Glendale City Attorney Craig Tindall who made the news in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In 2015 the Murfreesboro City Council hired Mr. Tindall as their City Attorney. This was after a several years’ stint as the City Attorney for Glendale as well as one of the Arizona Coyotes’ attorneys.

The problem this time seems to be a possible violation of the state’s Open Meeting law with regard to notice (not given to the public) on the topics to be discussed during 4 city council executive sessions during  which their then City Attorney, Mr. Tindall, was present and offered his opinion regarding, among other things, City Manager Rob Lyons prior to his ultimate resignation.

A little back history is in order. I was not on city council during the course of events. I was not on council from December of 2012 until December of 2016, at which time I resumed my council position.  I am relying on contemporary media reports.  During the summer of 2013 the city council asked Tindall to resign and he did so in return for which he was granted a six-month severance package. During that six month time period he continued to serve on the city pay roll since it was felt that he had expertise with regard to many ongoing issues including the negotiations about the Coyotes’ contract and the new ownership of Anthony LeBlanc, et. al.  However, after his resignation while still on the city pay roll, he also accepted a job as one of the Arizona Coyotes’ attorneys. Why he felt he could work for both while the Coyotes contract was still under negotiation is something Tindall has never adequately explained publicly.

An ethics complaint was filed in November of 2013 by a former city councilmember (not me). In that complaint it was alleged that Tindall had a conflict of interest as he remained on the city’s pay roll as a consultant while also working for the Coyotes.

The city hired a private attorney who filed a lawsuit contending that Tindall had a significant and perhaps detrimental involvement to the city in negotiating and writing the arena management contract considered by many observers to be more favorable to the Coyotes than it should have been. Tindall’s codefendant in the law suit was Julie Frisoni, who had been appointed an assistant city manager by the now infamous former City Manager, Brenda Fischer. In 2015 the city terminated the Coyotes arena management agreement that Tindall, in part, had negotiated. Apparently it was believed that both Tindall and Frisoni had tipped the scales in favor of the Coyotes.

A complaint was also filed with the Arizona Bar Association but was eventually dismissed. That should come as no surprise as the odds of being sanctioned by the state bar are slim to none unless one is an axe murderer.

Tindall characterized the entire episode by labeling the former councilmember who had filed the ethics complaint as “perpetually dissenting.” Well, that’s what one does when one wants to denigrate the accuser. Simply label the complainant as a kook or nut or whatever.

Enough history. It appears from a recent Murfreesboro newspaper article  that there is some question as to the circumstances of Tindall’s hiring as their new city manager (here is the link: https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2018/05/24/murfreesboro-city-attorney-craig-tindall-ethics-complaint-dismissed-glendale-arizona-coyotes-hockey/637205002/ ). The Murfreesboro city council was no longer satisfied with their current City Manager, Rob Lyons and so he resigned on December 15, 2018. Before the city council began its search for a new city manager, it met “four times in private with Tindall without giving what two experts say is required adequate public notice to discuss Lyons’ future before Lyons agreed to resign.”

“In January, the council spent $28,000 to hire a consulting firm to conduct a nationwide search that drew 35 applicants, but Tindall wasn’t one of them. The elected officials cut the list down to 11 on May 1. During its May 17 meeting, the City Council voted to offer the city manager’s job to Tindall.” 

So the guy the city council hired as their city manager despite a search for the position while not being on the list of the final 11 applicants, appears to have been the guy who gave the council advice about the entire situation. Hmmm…anything fishy about that? Nah.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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.

May 18

11

Friday tidbits of May 11, 2018

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 11, 2018
Posted in Barrel district election 2018 • Cholla district election • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2018 • Glendale's Fire Union • Ocotillo district election 2018  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

I haven’t done one of these types of blogs in quite awhile but there is so much occurring politically it’s a good time to throw one out there.

Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff filed her nomination paper and petition signatures with the City Clerk’s office on Thursday, May 10, 2018. She is now an official candidate for the position of councilmember representing the Cholla district. It appears as of this date she will have no opposition thereby assuring her of another term.

Also on Thursday Ray Strahl of the Barrel district obtained a candidate packet and filed a statement of organization. Should he turn in enough petition signatures by May 30th he will become an official candidate for the position of councilmember representing the Barrel district. It appears likely that the current councilmember, Bart Turner, will have an opponent in the August primary election.

On April 30, 2018 Councilmember Jamie Aldama of the Ocotillo district filed his nomination paper and petition signatures with the City Clerk’s office. His likely opponent, Emmanuel Allen, has until the end of May to turn in his paperwork to become an official candidate.

Aldama’s campaign manager is Chuck Foy. It’s appears that Jamie likes to keep his distance from nasty stuff and that is apparently part of Mr. Foy’s usefulness. On March 13, 2018 Mr. Foy filed a first Freedom of Information Request seeking any and all information with regard to the city and Emmanuel Allen, a possible opponent of Aldama’s for the Ocotillo city council seat. I guess the city’s first response was either disappointing or Foy and Aldama haven’t found any dirt to throw at Allen yet. Foy made another request for more information on Thursday, May 10th. They seem to be trying to find something nefarious about Allen’s ROOTS organization, the successful bidder for providing after-school programming at two city locations.  Allen’s organization bested the current operator, Breakthu Barrio, who appears to have had a long and fruitful relationship with Aldama.

Yet another fascinating Freedom of Information request was filed with the City Clerk on Thursday, May 10th by Bryan Willingham. Mr. Willingham is a Glendale resident but also just happens to be a Phoenix Fire Captain and Executive VP of the United Phoenix Firefighters Association, Local 493. What was the nature of his request? He requested information on the recall process for all councilmembers as well the procedures and requirements for filing a citizen’s initiative proposition. His action seems to be for the purpose of firing a warning shot at the mayor and all councilmembers.

I will flesh out the reasoning behind Mr. Willingham’s query on behalf of the fire union in an upcoming blog but suffice it to point out initially that Glendale fire fighters are among the best paid fire fighters in the Valley. Did you know they work 502 hours less per year than nearly every fire fighter in the Valley? Yet it seems the Glendale fire union is very unhappy over this year’s negotiations with the city on pay and benefits. How and why is something every citizen in Glendale deserves to know and will in the near future.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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.

May 18

9

Strike 2 for Aldama

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 9, 2018
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2018 • Glendale's Fire Union • Ocotillo district election 2018  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

Councilmember Jamie Aldama, currently running for reelection as the Ocotillo district representative in Glendale seems to have problems with ‘process’.  Just a few weeks ago, if you will recall, he opposed the city’s decision to place SROs in all nine of Glendale’s high schools. His stated reason was his disagreement with the process. In reality, many suspect he was receiving his marching orders from the fire union (whom it is assumed will support him in his bid for reelection) which vehemently opposed the action because it removed one city paid fire union representative. Politically it was ill advised and a mailer was sent by American Free Enterprise Club, a Political Action Committee (PAC), to all Ocotillo voters. See here:

Two weeks ago, Aldama, at the regular voting meeting of the city council once again opposed an action due to ‘process’. This time it was the city’s award of a Request for Proposal (RFP) to R.O.O.T.S. to run after-school programs at two city locations, O’Neil Recreation Center and the Glendale Youth Center. Once again, Aldama voiced his opposition due to ‘process’ just as with his previous action.  As before it is important to understand the situational sub context and his assumed political motivation to do so.

R.O.O.T.S. is run by Emmanuel and Belinda Allen. So what? may be your answer. Here’s the dilemma for Aldama. Emmanuel Allen is running against Aldama for the Ocotillo city council position. That, in and of itself, provides Aldama with the presumed motivation to use a velvet hammer to neuter his political opponent.  In yet another twist Breakthru Barrio would be losing their contract for running the Glendale Youth Center programming. This is the same Breakthru group responsible for damage to Glendale City Hall during one of their events and a group to which Aldama, in the past, has contributed tax payer dollars to help sponsor their events. Make no mistake; Aldama appeared to have been subtly working to support Breakthru’s retention of the Glendale Youth Center after school programming contract.

The problem with his opposition to ‘process’ this time was his apparently deliberate misconstruing of the R.O.O.T.S. application and the city’s process for award of the RFP. When Belinda Allen spoke before city council that night she clarified Aldama’s misrepresentations.

 It should be noted that this RFP process was far more rigorous than any previously used. The publicly available background material regarding the issuance of the RFP stated, “In June 2017, the City engaged Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Performance Lab (GPL) for the study of results driven contracting. GPL, in partnership with What Works Cities, focused on improving the RFP process for the applicant, outcomes of after-school programming Glendale. Responses from the RFI indicated the model was sustainable.”

“In December 2017, the City advertised a Request for Proposals (RFP #18-32) to engage one or more community partners to provide after-school services at four city owned recreation/community centers. The objectives of the RFP were to engage a partner/partners who could: 1) Increase participant access and sustain free after-school programming; 2) Improve academic achievement and decrease at risk behaviors; 3) Sustain programming through stakeholder commitment (families, neighborhood schools, funders, and community-based organization); and 4) Advance the City’s mission of improving lives by providing services that align with our values.”

“In January 2018, department staff assembled and evaluation team of professionals that included representation from Arizona State University, the City of Phoenix, and the City of Glendale’s Police, Community Services, and the Public Facilities, Recreation and Special Events departments to objectively evaluate each proposal to determine which provider(s) would best fit the need of the community.”

The process worked but Aldama apparently could not accept the results because it would result in the loss of the contract belonging to yet another political ally. What should concern Ocotillo voters is Aldama’s apparent motivations for rejecting two decisions that are in the best interest of Glendale and its residents seem to be purely political.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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.

May 18

5

Stroke

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 5, 2018
Posted in City of Glendale • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , | 4 Comments

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.

I have never related personal information on my blog but my inactivity in posting new blogs calls for an explanation. On Easter weekend an immediate male family member had a stroke. Even though my immediate family members are all seniors, we have been an extremely healthy bunch. No hospital visits or major catastrophes until now.

That Easter Saturday I took him to the ER after I suspected he had had a stroke. Like most typical males he had actually had warning signs the day before but never mentioned it to anyone. The ER confirmed our stroke suspicion and he was immediately transferred to St. Joe’s Barrows Neurological Institute. I would become intimately familiar with the hospital due to daily visits during the month of April.

Here are some startling statistics about a stroke: 

  • Stroke kills about 140,000 Americans each year—that’s 1 out of every 20 deaths.
  • Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds. Every 4 minutes, someone dies of stroke.
  • Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes.
  • About 185,00 strokes—nearly 1 of 4—are in people who have had a previous stroke.
  • About 87% of all strokes are ischemic strokes, in which blood flow to the brain is blocked.
  • Stroke costs the United States an estimated $34 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medicines to treat stroke, and missed days of work.
  • Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability. Stroke reduces mobility in more than half of stroke survivors age 65 and over.

A sudden severe headache with no known cause is a stroke sign in men and women.

During a stroke, every minute counts! Fast treatment can lessen the brain damage that stroke can cause.

By knowing the signs and symptoms of stroke, you can take quick action and perhaps save a life—maybe even your own. Here are some of the basic signs of a stroke:

  • Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
  • Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination
  • Sudden severe headache with no known cause

Call 9-1-1 right away if you or someone else has any of these symptoms. Acting quickly is the key for stroke survival. When someone is having a stroke, every minute counts. Just as putting out a fire quickly can stop it from spreading, treating a stroke quickly can reduce damage to the brain. If you learn how to recognize the telltale signs of a stroke, you can act quickly and save a life—maybe even your own.

Acting fast can help stroke patients get the treatments they desperately need. The stroke treatments that work best are available only if the stroke is recognized and diagnosed within 3 hours of the first symptoms. Stroke patients may not be eligible for these if they don’t arrive at the hospital in time.

Obviously we did everything wrong. He did not divulge his symptoms the day before we made a frantic trip to the ER. What prompted the ER trip was the fact that he could not hold a dinner knife in his right hand. That was the only visible clue we had.

His was a blood clot on the left side of his brain causing weakness on his right side. I learned a great deal about a stroke and its devastating aftermath. Since the brain is damaged it affects short term memory. Daily hospital visit after daily visit, you find that you are saying the same things repeatedly because short term memory is gone. Our family member was, at first, belligerent and uncooperative. Apparently that is the after effect in many patients. Ours kept trying to break out of “jail” and actually fell out of his wheelchair three times. We were lucky that there was no serious injury from this failed attempts. The nurses kicked it up a notch and installed a wheelchair alarm and a bed alarm. Eventually he ended up with a “sitter,” an aide that sat in his room 24/7.

Staff taught us techniques and tips for dealing with a stoke patient upon release. After a month of hospital care and rehabilitation — physical therapy (they deal with the body below the waist); occupational therapy (they deal with the body above the waist); speech therapy and cognition (most people don’t realize that a stoke affects one’s swallowing mechanism) and the work of a neuropsychologist our family member was released to come home.

He has been home 4 days and all of us are tired, often frustrated and sometimes angry – that includes the caregivers and the stroke victim. Our lives are completely rearranged. Our family member is strong and was always physically active. In his mind, he can do all of the activities he once did…wrong.

The most startling fact is that 72% of stroke victims will fall within the first three months. Unfortunately that fall often causes another hospital trip, surgery and complications that can result in death. It’s a scary situation. It is complicated because of the patient’s loss of short term memory it is a constant battle to remind him that he cannot perform activities without someone to assist and to prevent a fall. Chapter 1 is complete. Visiting daily for a month after a work day was difficult but Chapter 2 providing care for 24/7 is already proving to be more difficult. We’ll get through it as we must. The Holy Grail is continual improvement.

I can’t end this blog without expressing my thanks and gratitude to all of the staff, doctors, nurses and therapists at St. Joe’s Barrow Neurological Institute for their outstanding care, expertise and compassion. They are the real heroes.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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.

Mar 18

30

Medical Marijuana dispensary wins but the US Constitution loses

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 30, 2018
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale zoning issues  | Tagged With: , , , | 2 Comments

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.

On Tuesday, March 28, 2018 the Glendale City Council in a vote of 4 to 3 approved the expansion of building size and hours for Arizona Organix, a medical marijuana dispensary located in Glendale. Mayor Weiers and Councilmembers Hugh, Turner and Aldama voted in favor. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff and Councilmember Malnar and I voted against.

Another history lesson on the background of legalized medical marijuana in Arizona is in order. On November 2, 2010 voters in Arizona legalized the use of medical marijuana. The state created Community Health Analysis Areas (CHAAs) allowing one dispensary in each CHAA. There are over 100 CHAAs in the state. Glendale has at least (and probably more) 8 CHAAs within its boundaries.  Here is the current CHAA map:

Glendale passed a Zoning Ordinance, effective March 25, 2011 to deal with dispensaries within its city limits:

  • Allowed in zoning classifications of General Office (G-O); General Commercial (C-2); and Heavy Commercial (C-3)
  • Dispensaries must be one mile apart
  • Dispensaries must be 1,320 feet away from elementary, middle and high schools
  • Dispensaries must be 500 feet away from residential properties
  • Maximum building size of 2,000 SF
  • Allowable hours of operation are 8 AM to 8 PM (12 hours)

Arizona Organix filed for a zoning text amendment to Glendale’s current zoning requirements asking for a 6,000 SF allowable maximum building size and for an expansion of operating hours from 8 AM to 10 PM (total hours open – 14).

I voted against their request for 2 reasons. One is that the action is precedent setting and the newly approved standards will apply to all dispensaries in Glendale. While Glendale currently has 3 dispensaries, more are on the way and they will be able to operate under the newly approved text amendment requirements as to building size and hours of operation. This time a majority of city council approved an increase in building size and hours but what’s next now that the door has been opened to change Glendale’s specific regulations?

However, for me there was an even more compelling reason to vote against their request. As an elected official I took an oath of office. In that oath I swore I would “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of Arizona…”   Note which is cited first — the Constitution of the United States and which is cited in the secondary position – the Constitution of Arizona.    

Interestingly, Mayor Weiers and Councilmember Turner dismissed my argument. I think they might have some ‘learnin’ to do. Article VI of the United States Constitution contains the “supremacy clause.” The supremacy clause contains what is known as the doctrine of pre-emption. This doctrine states that any federal law, even if it is only a regulation from a federal agency, supersedes any conflicting state law, even if that law is part of the state’s constitution. In other words the federal government wins every time when there is conflicting legislation between the feds and the states.

The federal government has laws prohibiting the use of marijuana for any use. At least 29 states have legalized marijuana, medically or recreationally. But that does not make what they are doing legal. In the eyes of the federal government it is still a crime. To date the federal government has been reluctant to take on the states over this issue but its inaction should not be confused with tacit approval for marijuana use. One should not assume that federal inaction will continue indefinitely.

Here’s a different version of the same state action to refuse to recognize the doctrine of pre-emption. California recently passed legislation making it a sanctuary state in order to protect illegal aliens. In this case, the federal government has filed suit against the state on the basis of pre-emption. Interestingly, Orange County, California has joined the federal suit. I suspect the Supreme Court will recognize and uphold this doctrine.

 California’s action is no different than the action of the states that have passed legislation to allow the use of marijuana for they, as well, have chosen to ignore the doctrine of pre-emption. The only difference at this point in time is that the federal government has not filed suit against them. Should the federal government win its action against California I suspect in the future it will file suit on the same grounds against those states that have legalized marijuana.

I have no public opinion for or against the use of marijuana.  If I had approved the Arizona Organix zoning text amendment I would have been enhancing and abetting the state’s refusal to recognize the constitutional doctrine of pre-emption. I am a constitutionalist and I do believe that the federal constitution and the laws derived wherefrom are supreme, including the areas of tobacco, firearms and drugs. If states legislate opposing federal law what else in the Constitution will they choose to ignore? Then what do we become? A collection of states with no common authority?

In my small way, I chose to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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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.

Mar 18

26

Glendale Councilmember Aldama says “No” to SROs

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 26, 2018
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2018 • Glendale finances • National issues  | Tagged With: , , , | 2 Comments

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.

On Friday, March 23, 2018 the City of Glendale called a press conference to announce that it would insure that there would be School Resource Officers at every high school in Glendale. This action was in response to the Parkland tragedy and in the wake of a Maryland SRO’s actions that stopped another school shooting after two students had been wounded. One subsequently died.

It was an action the City Manager and the City Council discussed for several weeks. All councilmembers, including Councilmember Aldama, had many opportunities to discuss the idea, ask questions, offer suggestions and voice their approval or disapproval of the idea. Councilmember Aldama asked one or two questions during the entire process and never voiced his lack of support to us, his peers, during these sessions.

At the City’s Friday’s press conference, the Glendale Police Chief made remarks as did the City Manager and the Mayor. Attending in support of the decision to place more SROs in high schools was State Superintendent of Education Diane Douglas as well as Superintendents of the school districts located in Glendale. The entire Glendale City Council was there except for one…Councilmember Aldama. He was AWOL.

Now we know why. Councilmember Aldama has said “No” to the City initiative to place SROs in every Glendale high school. I have placed his release to the media sent out today below.  The photo is small so I have also placed the link as a pdf file, more easily read:  Aldama letter Mar 26 2018

His language within his press release exhibits his bias, when he calls our unified council action “an impactful edict (bold mine)” He implies that this is a decree decided by one person in authority. Not so.  This was a unanimous and carefully considered council decision with one silent voice…Aldama… who never expressed his disapproval to us during our deliberations.

Note this sentence because it is important. He says, “Other critical stakeholders, including Police and Fire Associations (read the unions) were TOLD of the adverse impact on their memberships, but not consulted with.”  This is the real message. All the rest of his statement is a smoke screen. It is important to note that Aldama is up for reelection this year and he desperately needs the support in terms of money and manpower the unions provide to candidates. They are the ‘big dogs’ in Glendale. In plain English Aldama seems to have taken this stance in order to curry the favor and support of these two unions. They will reward him handsomely by pouring monetary donations into his campaign and walking neighborhoods for him. How politically transparent and crass can a person get?

 He goes on to say, “Clearly this was an insensitive headline-grabbing political response to a larger problem than just having an officer in each high school…” I would contend that this city council exhibited extreme sensitivity to an immediate national issue and took appropriate action within our authority. The issues of mental illness and gun regulation are state and national issues and not ones dealt with on a local, municipal level.

It should also be noted that typically government moves at a snail’s pace. Sometimes it is years before an idea becomes reality. This initiative was acted upon with weeks and it required the coordination of and approval of all 4 Superintendents in whose schools the SROs would be placed.

Aldama questions why the city is not placing SROs in elementary schools and charter schools. I believe the current count of schools within the city is somewhere around 80. It is simply not financially feasible to do so and Aldama knows it.

The City does have an Officer Liaison program that has specified officers visiting as many middle and elementary schools as possible on a weekly basis. Since the majority of school shootings occur on high school campuses, the council felt that it was do-able and affordable. How could we not at least make sure all of our high schools were safer?

He then goes on to say, “I am not clear on what these officer’s duties will be.” Glendale has had SROs for years, probably close to 20 years. If he doesn’t know what their duties are then he hasn’t been doing his job for all he had to do was ask at any time.

He then chides us for our “lack of transparency” and for our lack of “open public dialogue and communication.” This is double-speak that in this instance simply does not fit the circumstance. This action is not a new tax on our citizens. It is a reallocation of existent city funds.  It is a situation that is better served by immediate action.  The call for dialogue is a tactic often used to slow down or kill a decision.

Councilmember Aldama, if you had shared your opinion with council instead of staying mute, you would have earned a modicum of respect.  If your decision was perceived as having been done for some solid reasons, you might have earned more respect. Instead, despite all of your hyperbole, the perception of those familiar with this decision making process, your action appears to be no more than a very transparent attempt to win favor with Glendale’s unions. This wasn’t the best time to, as Nancy Reagan used to say, “Just say no.”

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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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.

Mar 18

23

Glendale adds school resource officers

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 23, 2018
Posted in City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , | 4 Comments

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.

In the aftermath of the wave of recent school shootings the Glendale City Council and City Manager made the decision to insure that every high school in Glendale will be manned by a school resource officer. Today, Friday, March 23, 2018 the city held a press conference to announce the decision. Here is a video released by the city today:

https://vimeo.com/user69856880/review/261561505/fe30ffc0af

The latest school shooting occurred on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at Great Mills High School in Maryland. That school has a resource officer, Blaine Gaskill, who did what a resource officer is supposed to do. Gaskill, upon hearing the gunfire, ran toward the sound and came upon the shooter, Austin Rollins. Rollins and Gaskill fired simultaneously and it is unclear which fired the fatal shot as of this post.

This is in sharp contrast to school resource officer Scot Peterson in Parkland, Florida, who never entered the building after the initial shots were fired.

The Maryland event demonstrates how important school resource officers have become in protecting our children. Glendale’s leaders have made the first commitment in the state to make sure school resource officers are in every high school starting Monday morning, March 26th, as Spring Break ends and students return to their classes.

Currently, of the 9 high schools in Glendale, 4 have SROs. In those cases, the school district pays 25% and the city picks up the balance of 75%. The 5 remaining schools that have not been able to afford even the 25% tab are now covered by the city this fiscal year. All high schools in Glendale will have a school resource officer demonstrating this city’s commitment to keep our children safe.

Funding will come from a variety of existing resources within the city budget. We still have some further adjusting to do to meet the cost.

School Resource Officers are valuable and Glendale is proud to be the very first city in the state to make this important commitment to our children.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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.

Mar 18

21

Why is one thing not like another…wrap up

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 21, 2018
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2018  | Tagged With: , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

I have received information from the city that Breakthu Ministries does pay rent for the use of the Glendale Youth Center for its Sunday services. According to the city Breakthru Ministries pays the city’s standard room rental for an hour of time each Sunday which is $72.00 per hour.

I also was informed, according to city records, for the Breakthru Ministries event on Sunday, February 25, 2018 held at the Glendale Youth Center the organization paid the city’s standard room rental for just one hour of time at the rate of $72.00 per hour. This one puzzles me. On the poster it clearly states that the event starts at 11 AM and has no end time posted. The flyer offers a free concert, free food & drinks and a low rider display. Since Breakthru only paid for one hour, it must have been the fastest event ever presented. They had to set up, break down, serve all the refreshments, offer a concert and a low rider display…all in the one hour rental for which they paid. I call that amazing.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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.

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