Archive for May 12th, 2009

We’ve blogged here before about the Turkin v Gordan case rumbling through the court systems in Arizona. The case is the work of the Goldwater Institute, which is a libertarian/conservative think tank and legal advocacy group out of Phoenix. The court of appeals has ruled in favor of Goldwater reversing the $100m+ subsidy to the City North development. The AZ Supreme Court has until June 1 to decide to take the case or not.

Watch the KAET Phoenix’s interview with Goldwater’s Bolick and Grady Gammage the attorney for City North – HERE

Watch some back ground on the case – HERE

LetOro Valley Excel or the L.O.V.E. Blog has been following the case because it has ramifications to the Oro Valley Market Place development. The Marketplace, which was a voter approved subsidy used to attract a large Walmart development in OV was authorized under the same circumstances as the City North case.  The council in OV has put all payments in an escrow account pending the outcome of the Turkin V Gordon.

It’s popped up on the radar in southern Arizona in reference to the Sahuarita council denying similar subsidies to a Home Depot development.

The big one that grabbed me was a statement in the Star’s May 4 article on funding challenges at Kino:

Earlier this year, Huckelberry recommended the county provide $25 million to UPH next fiscal year. However, in a letter sent to UPH administrators earlier last week, he expressed concern about whether a recent Court of Appeals decision might mean further payment to UPH — beyond the existing lease agreement — would violate the gift clause of the state constitution.

The case involved an agreement between the city of Phoenix and a developer over a parking garage both parties contended would benefit both the public and the developer.

If you haven’t seen this yet it’s worth a look.  HERE Apparently the video is being used as a teaching tool in some American schools. Is it ‘spin’ or a sobering account what our world is moving towards?

The Story Of Stuff is an online video that has been viewed over 5.5 million times. It’s a cartoon depicting the how things are produced, distributed and consumed. The premise is that we are using too many natural resources and too hooked on consumerism.

What do you think?