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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Dec 14

21

Christmas is for you

Posted by Joyce Clark on December 21, 2014
Posted in City of Glendale  | Tagged With: | 2 Comments

 

Christmas card 2First let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. It’s the weekend before Christmas day. All preparations are completed except for the cooking of our Christmas day feast. Jews and Christians alike carve out time during this weekend to worship and many will attend service or Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas day.

This year, this season, I have been more reflective than ever before.  Perhaps that is what happens when you reach the 70’s, although I don’t feel that old.  I still feel as if I were in my 50’s. Thankfully mentally I remain as sharp as ever. Yet my legs, from time to time, remind me that I continue down the path of old age.

This year as I joined in the rituals of the season, baking, wrapping presents and listening to my favorite music, Mannheim Steamroller, I found myself reflecting on the stages of our lives.

The materialism of Christmas is truly for children. Remember when you were a child and the excitement of Christmas consumed you? You could barely stand to wait for Christmas morning and the anticipation of opening your presents with complete abandon. I was an ornery child and the bane of my Mother’s existence, to be sure. I would silently and surreptitiously search for my presents. I would always find the mother lode and would carefully open and reseal the Christmas wrapping to see if my wishes were fulfilled. Usually they were. One year my Mother got the best of me and hid our presents in a chest-style freezer that I never would have explored. That Christmas morning I noted her sly smile of satisfaction and I realized that She Who Knows Everything, knew that in years past I had found my presents but had failed to do so this one time.

As you moved into young adulthood it became a time of celebration, spending time with friends, boyfriends, girlfriends and not so much with family. You were spreading your wings, the world was yours and you were busy crafting your own unique identity. It’s the season of feel good and look good. The only material things you craved were cash, lots of it or something trendy and hip.

Your middle years became about family…your children and your spouse. It was a time to visit friends and family, take the kids to traditional Christmas events, shop til you drop, bake goodies with the kids, assemble the bikes and doll houses and wrap that pile of presents for the children. You are busy building traditions that your children will remember forever. You are busy, busy, busy and the true meaning of the season has slipped into the further recesses of your mind. Materialism leaves no room for spiritualism.

Suddenly a new kind of Christmas arrives. Perhaps you are retired. Your children have made lives for themselves and now there are grandchildren to spoil. Materially there is nothing you really need or want. You are at a stage in life where when you need something you simply go buy it. There is more satisfaction in giving to others. This becomes the time of your life that brings an appreciation for the real meaning of Christmas. You have earned the luxury of reflection and the realization that Christmas is really about God’s plan for an imperfect human-kind. What greater gift than to give His only Son to redeem us and to mend our souls.

You may not accept or even believe in God. Your beliefs are respected. But the joy of Christmas for many is in knowing that God gave his only Son for us. So, you see, Christmas really is for you and the greatest gift of this season that you will receive is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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.

Dec 14

19

Councilmember Sherwood recall petitions filed today

Posted by Joyce Clark on December 19, 2014
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , | 4 Comments

It seems that Glendale’s City Clerk, Pam Hanna, is stressed this holiday season. Today, December 19, 2014 was the day of submission of recall petitions for Glendale Councilmember Gary Sherwood by the Recall Councilman Gary Sherwood Committee.

In her usual fashion Ms. Hanna made yet another election mistake. She formally notified everyone that the requisite number of petition signatures required was 3,851. Oops…wrong. The actual number of signatures required is 2,752. Apparently basic math is not her strong suit. Ms. Hanna made the rounds of visiting every councilmember in person with her mea culpa. She also sent out an SOS to all city departments asking for help to process the signatures. Here is her plea for help: GLendaleCityClerk&AlvarezOMCLetters-2pages_Page_1 How many signatures were turned in? The recall committee prior to their submittal counted 404 petition sheets. At 15 signatures per sheet the maximum total could be as high as 6,030 signatures. The City Clerk’s office counted 398 sheets x 15 signatures per sheet for a possible high total of 5,970. There’s that pesky math again. No matter. Whether it’s a possible 6,030 or 5,970 signatures turned in that is far more than the 2,752 signatures required.

In Sherwood’s run for council in 2012 he captured 1,615 votes. The total number of votes for all Sahuaro city council candidates totaled 4,005.  No matter what the final signature tally is it is clear that twice the number of registered voters signed the recall petition than voted for Sherwood in 2012 and they will be valid signatures. There is no doubt that the City of Glendale will be scheduling a recall election in 2015.

This recall effort is only one of the problems Sherwood faces. He ended his campaign with a balance of $1,330.51 on hand. In terms of running a recall campaign that amount will hardly do. It should also be noted of the $19,000 from his last campaign he loaned his campaign $8600 or nearly half of the money he raised. He may find it very difficult to obtain campaign funding this time around. It should also be noted that on 8/29/2014 his campaign paid $380 as a fine for his not signing the campaign finance report he submitted on 6/302014.

He still remains under investigation by the Arizona Attorney General’s office for alleged allegations of Open Meeting Law violations. His track record of following through on his campaign pledges has alienated him from his constituents.  He ran in opposition to the proposed casino and then was the swing vote to support it. He opposed making the temporary sales tax permanent and then supported it as a councilmember. Perhaps the issue that angered his constituency the most was his ardent advocacy of the Becker billboard proposal. He attempted to push it through not once but twice.

It is time for Mr. Sherwood to cut his losses and resign while his reputation is still fairly intact.

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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.

Dec 14

19

Alvarez’ last salvo

Posted by Joyce Clark on December 19, 2014
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Former councilmember Norma Alvarez is certainly not leaving Glendale City Hall with a whimper. On November 20, 2014 she sent a letter off to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office with yet another allegation of an Open Meeting Law violation. I have heard that this complaint has legs.

In it she alleges that someone on Glendale city council after having received in executive session the infamous legal analysis of Glendale employee financial mismanagement then leaked the information to Paul Giblin of the Arizona Republic. Giblin and the Arizona Republic would not divulge the name of the leaker on city council. That is not surprising as the media routinely and rightly will not name their sources.

She goes on to contend that the City Manager, City Attorney and/or other Glendale city employees know the name of the leaker and to date they have failed to disclose the name in an effort to protect all who may have been involved. She makes the specific request of the AG’s office to investigate and to secure the name of the leaker because she has been accused of this violation. She does not name any of the councilmembers as the leaker. Ask yourselves which of the current crop has the reputation of being a media hound? Ask yourselves which of the councilmembers is already under investigation for other alleged Open Meeting Law violations?  Ask yourselves which of the councilmembers has Alvarez locked horns with on nearly every issue? Here is her letter: GLendaleCityClerk&AlvarezOMCLetters-2pages_Page_2 Ever since the new councilmembers, Sherwood, Chavira and Hugh were elected in November of 2012 there have been a string of allegations regarding alleged violations of the Open Meeting Law with one side or the other making complaints to the AG’s office.  These allegations have arisen because they are probably true. Remember the old adage, where there’s smoke there’s fire. But they have also arisen as a sign of the deep divisiveness on the council for the past two years. Council divisions erupted over major issues such as the casino, the sales tax increase becoming permanent and the Coyotes deal. The prevalent ethic among them seems to be if you can’t win the issue then there should be pay back. It has not been a comfortable place in which to work and the council made no bones about airing their dirty laundry publicly.

Will anything come of these AG investigations? Who knows? Many people hope so and think that this council attitude of take no prisoner has to stop. Will this new council of Weiers, Hugh, Sherwood, Chavira, Tolmachoff, Turner and Aldama rise above the current pettiness? Many think not and point to the lining up of two new camps with Sherwood, Chavira and Aldama on one side; and Hugh, Tolmachoff and Turner on the other; and the Mayor as the deciding vote on many issues.

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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.

Dec 14

18

Recipe for Glendale…a little of this and a little of that

Posted by Joyce Clark on December 18, 2014
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

A little of this…

Randy Miller, a former Barrel district Glendale City Council candidate, made complaints to the city regarding a political action committee (PAC) called Revitalize Arizona. Revitalize Arizona is the pipefitters union creation made for one only express purpose…to participate in the Glendale City Council district elections on behalf of specific candidates, one of whom was Bart Turner, the newly elected representative of the Barrel district.

Former candidate Miller viewed the City Clerk’s site to check Revitalize Arizona’s registration as a political action committee (PAC). There was nothing. In addition he discovered Revitalize Arizona did not identify itself on the signs with the acknowledgement “Paid for by…” In accordance with the rules of the electoral process and so he filed complaints with the City Clerk’s office.

To this day Revitalize Arizona has still not filed its expenditures with the city. What were Mr. Miller’s complaints worth to the city? His complaints produced $300 in fines.  It’s a mere slap on the wrist and certainly not a deterrent to future bad acts.

What Revitalize Arizona actions did Michael Bailey, Glendale’s City Attorney, opine to be worth only a $300 fine? He said in a letter to the Torres law firm representing Revitalize Arizona, “Reasonable cause exists that Revitalize Arizona was not a registered political committee in Glendale as required by A.R.S. §16-902.01(E) and A.R.S. §16-912(A) when it had posted campaign signs in the City of Glendale” and “Reasonable cause exists that Revitalize Arizona failed to include requisite statutory disclaimer information on the campaign signs in violation of A. R. S. §16-912(B) and A.R.S §16-912(D).” Bailey went on to conclude, “A.R.S. §16-912(E) provides that ‘(a)person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of up to three times the cost of producing and distributing the literature or advertisement’.” Bailey fined them $300. The penalty was supposed to be a triple cost fine for the signs but Bailey valued the signs at $100. What a joke.

Having been a candidate I can tell you campaign signs are not cheap and those signs easily cost in excess of $1700. The fine should have been $5,000. A fine of that magnitude might have made the bad actors in Revitalize Arizona sit up and take notice and cause them to clean up their act in the future.

The Revitalize Arizona attorneys couldn’t respond quickly enough. Whoa…pay a $300 fine and get the heck out of Dodge. They dodged a bullet, high fiving all the way.

Just as in real life, in the City of Glendale, it’s a matter of who you are and who you know.

A little of that…

Have you seen the recently released photo of the new Glendale City Council? I’d be asking for a retake. The City Council is always told to wear dark or black clothing. This time the  instruction produced a group of undertakers. See if you can match the queries below with the right elected official: new council 2015

  • Which one looks like a member of the mafia?
  • Which one needs a new suit that fits?
  • Which one looks like a prissy preacher?
  • Which one looks like Icabod Crane?
  • Which one didn’t follow instructions and wear a dark color?
  • Which one didn’t follow instructions and fold hands in front?
  • Which one is smiling as if there’s a secret to be known?

Glendale certainly got a little of this and a little of that. Let’s see what the recipe produces.

I stand corrected…

I received a phone call from a “Mr. Sims” claiming to be a fire fighter in another jurisdiction. It was obvious he was calling on behalf of City Manager Brenda Fischer. He made the point that Brenda Fischer was not the City Manager when now Assistant City Manager Julie Frisoni sent her emails regarding the pending Coyotes deal to selected councilmembers. He was correct. Dick Bowers was Acting City Manager and Brenda Fischer was hired right after Frisoni sent those emails.

Those emails have since been submitted to the Attorney General’s Office and are part of an investigation into allegations of Open Meeting Law violations by current councilmembers Sherwood and Chavira and former councilmembers Knaack and Martinez.

Ms. Fischer may not have been aware of the emails when she first assumed her position but she most certainly is aware of them now. The question raised remains valid, what will she do to root out “off the reservation” actions by her staff, especially those of Frisoni?

       

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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.

Dec 14

3

All councilmembers not equal

Posted by Joyce Clark on December 3, 2014
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

During my 16 years of service to Glendale as a councilmember I would often ask questions of staff members. I suspect that I became infamous among staff for my “curious questions.”

No matter how consequential or inconsequential my question(s), it and the answers were routinely copied to the mayor and all councilmembers. I was told repeatedly that all councilmembers should have the same information and that staff was obligated to treat and inform all councilmembers equally. This was habit and practice for years before I became a councilmember and up until January of 2013.

I was quite surprised to recently receive some emails “over the transom” that violated this long standing policy. These emails make it evident that with the advent of City Manager Brenda Fischer and her handpicked crew this policy is no longer being followed.  The emails I received predated the council approval of the IceArizona arena lease agreement. It is clear from the senders and recipients that the policy of distribution to the mayor and all councilmembers was deliberately ignored in an effort to provide information to supporters of the deal and to deny the very same information to those councilmembers recognized as opposed to the deal.

One email from Julie Frisoni dated Wednesday, June 26, 2013 9:09 AM was sent to Councilmembers Martinez, Knaack and Sherwood. In it Ms. Frisoni forwarded a response from Tom Hocking on an arena operating cost question. It was not sent to Mayor Weiers or Councilmembers Hugh, Alvarez or Chavira. Apparently it was information Ms. Frisoni felt would assist those in support of the deal and was withheld from those in opposition.Frisoni 1

Yet another email from Frisoni dated Sunday, June 30, 2013 10:34 PM was sent to Councilmembers Sherwood, Chavira, Knaack and Martinez. In it Ms. Frisoni forwarded talking points on the benefits of an anchor tenant at the arena prepared by Jeff Teetsel, Credit Suisse’s Manager of Westgate. Once again the information would assist only those in favor of the deal. It was not sent to Mayor Weiers or Councilmembers Hugh or Alvarez.Frisoni 2

Ms. Frisoni is not the only current or former staff member to violate this policy. Craig Tindall, IceArizona’s Counsel and Glendale’s former City Attorney, sent an email to Councilmembers Sherwood, Knaack and Martinez dated Friday, June 28, 2013 8:04 AM which explained why the deal would no longer be a management agreement but would be a lease agreement. You would think that the city’s former Attorney would know better.Tindall 1

You can be sure there are far more emails floating through city hall that offer information to selected councilmembers in support of an issue and denied to others perceived as being in opposition. These emails are illustrative of an attitude prevalent beginning with City Manager Fischer and working down through the entire organization. It is a cancer causing distrust and divisiveness not only among elected officials but throughout the organization.  It creates  classes of “haves” and “have nots.” If there is a pattern of violating this ethic, it leads one to ask what other situational ethical tenets are being ignored?

Tenet #5 of the International City Managers Association (ICMA) states, “Submit policy proposals to elected officials; provide them with facts and advice on matters of policy as a basis for making decisions and setting community goals; and uphold and implement local government policies adopted by elected officials.” It does not say to submit policy proposals to selected elected members. It does not say that all councilmembers are not equal and some deserve more information than others. There is an atmosphere of corrosiveness eating away at Glendale City Hall that City Manager Fischer has a responsibility to eradicate for she is ultimately responsible as the top manager of Glendale’s government.

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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.

Dec 14

2

A crack in the ice

Posted by Joyce Clark on December 2, 2014
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City of Glendale • Gila River Arena  | Tagged With: , , , | 5 Comments

Several days ago a blog follower suggested I go to Jo Jo Fraser’s FB page. Jo Jo is a good guy. He has been and continues to be a staunch supporter of the Coyotes. His recent FB posting demonstrates the, up until now, silent sentiment of many Coyotes supporters. What is so surprising is his openness in questioning the direction of the team’s ownership and plans for the team. It is the first crack in the ice of support for a team performing poorly. His post evoked replies both pro and con. Here is what he posted and a sampling of replies:

Jo Jo Fraser

November 29, 2014

“Driving home from the game tonight I couldn’t stop asking myself if I had fun tonight. I love NHL hockey as much as anything in this world but going to the arena is not fun right now. After riding the roller coaster since the great playoff run all I can see is the bleeding off of true NHL players that have not been replaced ( starting with Raffi and going through Verby ) . I have to ask myself who is to blame for this. Up till now I was unwilling to question the new ownership group because I was just so glad to have my team here but that started to change over the summer with no movement to get some quality talent to fill the holes that were vacated. I was told the idea was to put a winning product on the ice RIGHT away to start to build the fan base back. That has turned out to be all talk and no walk.  We are now heading towards our third year out off the playoffs and the team seems to be in complete disarray with no clear direction.  We are not a big team and we are not a fast team so what are we? What is the direction we are heading? GMDM says he thought we were going to be a playoff team. I am not sure what he is seeing because I see a team that is just a touch better than the oilers. I am finding myself expecting this team to lose. This is not a recipe to grow the game. If a die hard fan like myself is having a hard time getting up to go to a game how in the heck are we suppose to get new fans to come seem this team. We have the best captain in sports in the twilight of his career and he deserves better from ownership and management for his loyalty when the team was at its lowest. Oh and can someone tell me what all the great improvement to the arena over the summer were. All I see is they tore out the tile in the team shop and said it is newly remodeled. I hope something changes soon.”We are now heading towards our third year out off the playoffs and the team seems to be in complete disarray with no clear direction. We are not a big team and we are not a fast team so what are we? What is the direction we are heading? GMDM says he thought we were going to be a playoff team. I am not sure what he is seeing because I see a team that is just a touch better than the oilers. I am finding myself expecting this team to lose. This is not a recipe to grow the game. If a die hard fan like myself is having a hard time getting up to go to a game how in the heck are we suppose to get new fans to pay money to come seem this team. We have the best captain in sports in the twilight of his career and he deserves better from ownership and management for his loyalty when the team was at its lowest. Oh and can some one tell me what all the great improvement to the arena over the summer were. All I see is they tore out the tile in the team shop and said it is newly remodeled. I hope something changes soon.

Mike Doyle Well said Jo Jo. It is really sad. I’m starting to think we were sold a bill of goods by ownership to fail so they can move in 5 years.

Jon Pletcher Do you see the ownership walking around anymore? You saw that all the time last year. And they were always vocal as well. I see nor hear that no more. And honestly that really makes me nervous.

Paul Gheduzzi I’m getting really concerned, but not giving up, Jo Jo. Right now, I have a feeling that the ownership issue is getting sorted out with Andrew Barroway and afterwards we could see changes that can help improve the team on the ice. Same with their visibility. The Coyotes unfortunately are playing poorly in a number of areas while the young guys go through the growing pains. The veterans the team has are just not enough to compete in a tougher Western Conference. All I know is, the team cannot stay status quo. It can’t. And I’m not going to target either Don Maloney or Dave Tippett because this is on the players, not them. Agreed it is unfair to Shane Doan he isn’t getting to play for a winning team right now before retirement comes.

Mike Doyle They promised Doan a winner and that is why he signed a home town discount contract. Many teams offered him lots more money but being the great person Doan is he believed them just like we did.

Jeanne Ruairí I understand you’re frustrated, but the things this ownership group inherited to fix cannot be done overnight. The improvements to the arena was food, repairs, cleaning, extermination, etc that was ignored for 4yrs. As for GMDM, he’s done what he’s can with what he was given. We all want a winning team, but unfortunately it has to be rebuilt. I do still see the owners walk around, granted not as much as I think they’re probably try to figure out how to fix this funk. We’re not set up to fail, but any business bought out of 4yrs of bankruptcy doesn’t get fixed overnight.

Mike Doyle Losing 50 million to make twice that in the following 2 or 3 years is not out of the question. Tom you and I are normally on the same page but this time we differ in a huge way. I am always up beat about our team but I’m having second thoughts now. Many conversations you and I have had about internal situations are not a good sign either. I am very skeptical right now.

Paul Gheduzzi Understood, Tom. Again, I’m just concerned. But I already knew that the turnaround wouldn’t happen overnight. Just very tough because we saw some momentum after the 2012 playoff run and the securing of new ownership, keeping fans and growing the fan base is sensitive at this very stage to how the team plays. I have faith in everything working out, but it’s a concern if we don’t start seeing changes for the better in the near future.

Mike Doyle Everyone knew from the get go to get the fan base back we had to put a good product on the ice. That was a no brainer about sports teams in the valley.

Jo Jo Fraser Tom Kennedy makes some good points but I think maybe the priorities are screwed up. Nothing changes overnight but a direction for the team could be set. GMDM said we are a playoff team. That doesn’t add up. If they came out and said we are two or three years away I could get behind that. I don’t buy for a second that there are plans to move the team in four years I just want to see a direction for the team or hope for the future. I don’t like what I have seen so far. I am wrong a lot and I’m sure if I was privilege to information the big wigs have I would feel better but I don’t. I’m just a very disappointed and frustrated die hard fan. Going to a game and expecting the Coyotes to loose is not a fun place to be but it is a current reality.

There are many fans who are concerned. The unknown factor is Andrew Barroway. The general assumption is the NHL Board of Governors will approve the sale this month making him the majority owner. Little is publicly known about his plans for the team. We are sure to learn more when he is officially approved. A major take-away is Anthony LeBlanc, George Gosbee and all of the other current owners will be in the minority and can no longer determine the team’s eventual fate. It is to be expected that their visibility and cheerleading would wane given the circumstances. The bloom is off the rose as they realize they can no longer call the shots.

Jo Jo Fraser’s comments are illustrative of the growing fan base frustration and discontent. It is an issue the current owners must address quickly or their failure to grow the fan base will cause  further cracks in Coyote ice.

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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.

Nov 14

26

The truth shall set you free

Posted by Joyce Clark on November 26, 2014
Posted in National issues  | Tagged With: , , | 5 Comments

But not in Ferguson, Missouri. Facts and the truth of those facts was obliterated by emotional rhetoric – the rhetoric of President Obama and Attorney General Holder. Their understandable but imprudent empathy impelled them to sympathize. They forgot or chose to ignore that their national positions and the words they used would have a tremendous impact. Sensation seeking black leaders such as Al Sharpton deliberately inserted themselves and used these situations to further their ambitions. The national media mouthed an unending mantra depicting an unarmed, innocent, young black man shot to death by a racist, hate-filled, white police officer designed to further inflame.

Yet a grand jury composed of 7 men and 5 women, 9 of whom are white and 3 of whom are black made a reasoned decision, based on facts not immediately available to the general public, and did not indict the officer. Grand juries may vary from state to state but generally they have broader powers than that of a jury one would see in a trial. Generally they can directly ask further questions of testifying witnesses and can make requests for evidence that may not have been directly introduced. They have the power to review any and all material presented to them. They can recall witnesses for further questioning.

The Ferguson grand jury met 25 times on the case of the Officer Darren Wilson charges. Think about it. In terms of a 5 day work week they met for the equivalent of 5 weeks. That action, in itself, is extraordinary. They made their decision despite their concerns that their action could further infuriate the black community.

The residents of Ferguson, Missouri are now victims as well. They are in the epicenter of a whirlwind not of their making. No parent should ever have to bury a child and our hearts go out to the parents of Michael Brown. Yet in their fog of loss they inflamed the assembled mob to riot. The step father repeatedly told the crowd to “burn the bitch down.” The mob obeyed.

Two dozen small businesses were destroyed, cars were set on fire and gunfire erupted. One black resident likened it to Beruit.  Businesses earn about 70% of their annual revenue during the holiday season. Small business owners watched helplessly as their livelihoods evaporated in an instant of gleeful mob rampage. All who worked at these businesses no longer have jobs…and Thanksgiving is a few days away. What will they give thanks for? What will their Christmas be this year?

There is yet more blame and shame. Where was the Missouri national guard on the night of the grand jury verdict? Why didn’t Missouri Governor Nixon call them up immediately?  He had three months to prepare for such an eventuality.

There is a silent, subtle war occurring in America but it is not what you think. Here are some sobering facts. In a 2007 special report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 8,000 blacks are murdered annually. Sadly, that is more than the 6,500 troops killed in Afghanistan this year. 93% of these black murders are committed by other blacks. Black on black violence and murder is a national disgrace. Where is national black leadership to lead the fight on America’s unspoken war?

© Joyce Clark, 2014

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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 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 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 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.

Nov 14

23

Bye Bye Norma

Posted by Joyce Clark on November 23, 2014
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Final official election tallies for the Glendale Ocotillo district seat show Jamie Aldama winning by 18 votes. This district proves the old adage that every vote counts. It seems fitting as Alvarez won her seat four years ago by a similar slim margin.

Ocotillo district has a majority Hispanic population and the two final candidates were Hispanic. The split in support among Hispanics for the two candidates should send a strong signal to Aldama that he will have to work hard to retain his seat four years from now. Make no mistake, in many ways Aldama is merely a slicker, more polished version of Alvarez. The striking difference is that Aldama blows with the wind. His performance on the Planning Commission showed that he will wait until the last minute to see which side of an issue seems to be prevailing and then vote in that direction. He is not a man of strong convictions.

There remains concern among some Ocotillo voters about his manipulation of his residency requirements. The house he owns is in the Yucca district and is apparently being rented although it appears he has not registered the house as a rental with the City of Glendale. He is currently renting the house in which he now living in the Ocotillo district. The perception is that his action smacks of political expediency. It may be perfectly legal but it creates a sense of impropriety.

Norma, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Even as a loser Alvarez possesses no sense of grace or dignity. Darrel Jackson’s story in the November 20, 2014 edition of the Glendale Star ably describes Alvarez’ reaction to the loss of her council seat. Her whining never ceases to amaze. She never got it. Alvarez seemed to believe that she was the only advocate in the city for truth, justice and the American way. She pointed fingers at everyone and everything on her way out. Her negativism and lack of positive contributions to the city and her district tipped the balance in favor of Aldama. Alvarez indiscriminately hurled accusations of City Hall corruption but her favorite theme during her four years was her perception of disrespect by anybody and everybody. She forgot that when she was first elected both former Councilmember Phil Lieberman and I befriended her. In fact, there were instances when I delivered her council book to her, went to her home to bring her up to speed on issues and even chauffeured her to and from council sessions. When she and I disagreed on what was a minor issue, she declared I was no longer a “friend.” Frankly her pronouncement was a relief. I moved forward and never regretted her action.

Her actions did not contribute to her public persona as a councilmember. She never once stood up for the pledge of allegiance at city council meetings. She could have. She wasn’t so disabled that she was unable to stand for the pledge. Her deliberate decisions to refuse to attend city events based upon personal feelings was noted and caused ill will among many. Alvarez might have been a stronger voice had she done her homework and used more fact and less emotional rhetoric.

In three weeks new councilmembers will be seated. We wish them well. Make no mistake. They will be under a microscope and their views and votes will be the subject of much blog discussion.

There are coalitions forming that will become more evident as the Glendale mayor’s race shapes up in two years, 2016. Watch out for Councilmember Ian Hugh. While he has been very close to Mayor Jerry Weiers he has also been working quietly to form his own coalition. During this last council race rumor has it that he met with Lauren Tolmachoff and Bart Turner, quietly supporting their council races. Look for a majority voting coalition of Hugh, Tolmachoff, Turner and Aldama. All share the same positions on issues such as the casino and the arena management agreement. Hugh, as Glendale’s downtown homeboy, shares aspirations to become the next mayor as does Councilmember Gary Sherwood. Sherwood has major obstacles to overcome. He is still facing the results of an investigation by the Attorney Generals’ office for alleged violations of the state Open Meeting Law as well as a recall election that should materialize next year. Vice Mayor Knaack is about to retire as councilmember and a year away from that job may be just the ticket to persuade her to run for mayor. We may find that Yvonne Knaack, Jerry Weiers, Ian Hugh and Gary Sherwood all make a run for Glendale’s mayorship in 2016.

Lastly, as Councilmembers Yvonne Knaack and Manny Martinez retire, they deserve our thanks and gratitude for what is often a thankless job. While you may not have agreed with all of their decisions and their votes it is right that you acknowledge that they demonstrated their love of Glendale and made their decisions in what they believed was in the best interest of Glendale. Their dedication to Glendale has been evident in countless ways and it has been recognized by many. So, to Yvonne and Manny…thank you.

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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.

Nov 14

12

The voter isn’t stupid, Mr. Gruber…but you are

Posted by Joyce Clark on November 12, 2014
Posted in National issues  | Tagged With: , , | 2 Comments

Jonathan Gruber is an MIT economist and is acknowledged as having designed Obamacare. Videos of Gruber’s remarks made at a conference in October of 2013 have exploded all over the national media. The video shows Gruber saying Obamacare passed in part because “the American people are too stupid to understand the difference.” He went on to say, “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. Call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically, that was really, really critical for the thing to pass.”

He didn’t stop there. He said, “In terms of risk-rated subsidies, if you had a law which said that healthy people are going to pay in—you made explicit that healthy people pay in and sick people get money it would not have passed…”

Gruber explained how he designed the bill to get past the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) by saying that Obamacare’s individual mandate—the provision that requires most Americans to buy government-approved insurance, or pay a fine—was described in the law as a “penalty” instead of as a “tax” in order to hide the mandate’s effects. “I mean, this bill was written in a tortured way to make sure CBO did not score the [individual] mandate as taxes,” said Gruber. “If CBO scored the mandate as taxes, the bill dies. Okay, so [the law is] written to do that.”

He’s stupid. Apparently his egoism and arrogance prevented him from realizing that one’s public remarks are exactly that…public. What we say publicly can come back to bite us.

His remarks are sure to fuel the fire among those who would like to repeal Obamacare. His comments on subsidies are equally certain to affect a new case before the Supreme Court on that very issue. You remember, “If you like your health plan, you get to keep your health plan. If you like your doctor, you get to keep your doctor.” American families would save an average of $2400 a year in health insurance costs.  We were lied to but that doesn’t make us stupid. The very act of lying about the consequences of Obamacare is testament to the fact that we are not stupid for if we had been told the truth we would have rejected it. The American voter isn’t stupid, Mr. Gruber…but you, most certainly, are.

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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.

Nov 14

11

Irony

Posted by Joyce Clark on November 11, 2014
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , | 1 Comment

Today, November 11, 2014 I checked the Maricopa County elections website to see if there were final results for the Glendale Ocotillo district race for councilmember.

The results are Jamie Aldama received 929 votes and current Councilmember Norma Alvarez received 924 votes. If this isn’t proof that every vote counts I don’t know what is. Aldama prevailed by a margin of 5 votes.

It’s ironic and poetic justice. In  her run for the Ocotillo council seat in 2010 Alvarez won by 9 votes. Will there be a recount? Probably. So it may not be over yet. Stay tuned.

© Joyce Clark, 2014

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The 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 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 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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