Economic Development

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

“Over the last decade, we became a country that relied too much on what we bought and consumed.”

- President Obama, Nov. 19, 2011

“Too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns.”

- President Carter, July 15, 1979

There are only two ways to look at the Obama re-election campaign right now: Either the upstart candidate who stunned the world when he defeated the Clinton machine to capture the Democratic nomination three years ago has lost every bit of that massive mojo, or the bruised and battered president, after three years in office, just doesn’t want another spin in the Oval Office.

How else to explain the nonstop missteps, the stammering and stuttering campaign, not to mention the brazen attacks on American voters, who, he has said, have “fallen behind,” lost their “ambition and imagination,” gotten “lazy” and “a bit soft” – this is a guy seeking the support of America?!

For the past 36 months, Americans have hoped for the best. But it hasn’t turned out that way. In fact, some argue that Mr. Obama actually made the economy worse – the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said last week that his 2009 stimulus package may have sustained as few as 700,000 jobs at its peak and that over the long run it will be a net drag on the economy.

But then, this. The president, traveling the country purportedly to look for votes in 2012, decided to lecture the American people on their shortcomings: fat, lazy, stupid. And now, he’s channeling – of all people – Jimmy Carter.

Don’t doubt the premise here. Democrats must spend – spend and spend and spend. It’s in their DNA. Mr. Obama offered a $3.8 trillion budget this year, to be paid for by – $2.1 trillion in revenue (read: your money). He knows that over the next four years, with automatic budget cuts set to take effect and the American people’s rising ire over the profligate spending in Washington, he’s going to have no money to redistribute to the masses.

So, why bother? It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Who needs it? Why preside over a government that, instead of giving everything to everybody free, takes it all away, cuts so deeply that nearly every American will be affected? Especially if you think Americans are lazy, lack ambition – they’ll never rise to the challenge, so why not just bail?

Crazy? Not according to two Democratic strategists. Patrick H. Caddell, who coincidentally worked as a pollster for Mr. Carter, and Douglas Schoen think Mr. Obama should follow LBJ and just pack it in.

“He should abandon his candidacy for re-election in favor of a clear alternative, one capable not only of saving the Democratic Party, but more important, of governing effectively and in a way that preserves the most important of the president’s accomplishments. He should step aside,” they wrote, “for the one candidate who would become, by acclamation, the nominee of the Democratic Party: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”

Of course, Mr. Obama’s hubris will not allow such a move. But consider this, 344 days before Election Day 2012: The president’s greatest advocate, Chris Matthews, who got a chill up his leg every time he heard the candidate speak, has thrown in the towel.

“Once having won the office,” the MSNBC cheerleader said, “he seemed to think that that was the end of it in terms of his connection to the American people. … I think everybody feels an absence of communication from the time he’s been elected. And it’s not about not being left-wing enough or too left. That’s not his problem. It’s connection. And Mrs. Obama, she’s an amazing asset. And what has she done? Obesity? How about connecting with the American people about being Americans? I don’t think she’s happy. I don’t think they like being in the White House. The American people can tell that. They don’t seem thrilled at the fact the American people have selected them as our first family. I don’t sense the gratitude, the happiness level, the thrill of being president.”

Atlanta ranked third in housing affordability, fourth for the most university graduates and fifth for venture capital. But it’s near the bottom in per capita personal income, per capita gross metropolitan product and job growth.

Austin ranked at or near the top in several categories. It has the highest percentage of university graduates, the lowest unemployment rate and the least loss of housing values in the downturn, plus it tied for the second-highest job growth. Its economy grew the fastest, 7 percent, from 2009 to 2010.

Denver has the second-highest percentage of university graduates, second-highest amount of venture capital and second-highest per-capita personal income. The Rocky Mountain city landed in the middle for housing affordability and job growth.

Las Vegas suffered the greatest loss in housing values in the crash, about 65 percent, as well as about 13 percent of its jobs. It ranks at the bottom for university graduates and venture capital and ninth for per-capita personal income. Its housing is the second-most affordable.

Phoenix ranks No. 1 in housing affordability and in August had the second-highest job growth behind Seattle, compared with a year earlier. But it ranks at or near the bottom for venture capital, university graduates and per capita income.

Philadelphia, the nation’s fifth-largest metro area, has the third-highest per capita personal income. Otherwise, this 329-year-old city falls in the middle of the pack in all the numbers. Its $311 billion economy is the largest among the metro areas in the group.

Portland, Ore., has the third-highest per capita gross metropolitan product, about $54,500 a person. It ranks in the middle for job growth and per capita personal income but seventh for venture capital and percentage of university graduates.

Salt Lake City ranks ninth for venture capital, eighth for percentage of university graduates and seventh for per capita personal income. But its unemployment rate in August was second-lowest to Austin, and its job growth is faster than seven other cities.

San Diego drew the most venture capital of all the cities, $594 million through the first quarters of 2011. On the flip side, it’s the least-affordable city for housing. It placed fourth for job growth and per capita personal income.

Seattle is gaining jobs faster than any other region, with job growth 0.4 of a percent faster than Phoenix and Austin. It has the highest per capita gross metropolitan product and personal income. It is third-highest for venture capital and second-least affordable for housing.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2011/11/26/20111126arizona-indicators-cities-stories-data-whats-healthy.html#ixzz1eugGc241

East Valley Tribune
By Mark Scarp, contributing columnist | 4 comments

Snooty? Not Mesa. Well, hardly ever, anyway.

Snooty communities’ residents are often seen insisting that their local governments enforce zoning laws as weapons against People Who Don’t Do As We Do or Say What We Say. And snooty city councils, composed of people who cater to snooty people as an assurance of their re-election, often go along.

And when they complain, they often turn to euphemisms such as “incompatible use” when they really mean “a place I’m afraid of (or disagree with).” Some even point to these places as serious threats to property values, even when no property values could have suffered anywhere near as much from a tattoo shop down the street as from dozens of bad loans to buyers of nearby parcels that should never have been made.

I’m talking about Scottsdale, right? Not today.

In one zoning case, six Mesa City Council members chose the easy path to support snootiness rather than make the tougher choice to uphold the Constitution.

On Wednesday the Arizona Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, found in favor of Angel Tattoo, which sought to open in Dobson Ranch after the Mesa City Council rejected that location in 2009.

It was a slam-dunk decision, as the court found for shop owners Ryan and Laetitia Coleman on all three of their constitutional causes of action: their rights of free speech, of equal protection under law and of due process.

The court’s ruling doesn’t mean to say that cities can’t properly apply what are known as “time, place and manner” restrictions on speech. It’s that courts can’t dismiss complaints from people like the Colemans without facts justifying such restrictions.

According to the decision, the Mesa zoning board had voted 3-2 to recommend the Council deny their application for a use permit as not “appropriate” for the neighborhood.

About a month later, the Council agreed. Members voted 6-1 to deny their application (only Mayor Scott Smith voted in favor) after hearing from opponents, who, according to the ruling, “presented no evidence but articulated concerns that a tattoo parlor in the suggested location might draw crime to the area and reduce property values.”

Of course, the thing about tattoo places is that these complaints are about 20 years too late. For whatever reason, tattoos have gone mainstream, just as backwards baseball caps, once the exclusive province of those who play catcher, today top the heads of millions of young men.

But because enough people don’t get out much and thus have a greater-than-even chance of fearing the unknown, again, as the court pointed out, without evidence, old fears move into the present. And so there will always be sympathetic politicians eager to be Defenders of the Neighborhood.

I don’t have a tattoo, don’t plan on getting one, and think that, depending on their location and design, they can hinder someone’s chances in a job interview far more than they are worth as personal adornment. But my view on tattoos stops at the other person’s epidermis.

And, as the state Court of Appeals — and a federal appellate court last year — affirmed, tattoos are forms of expression protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. And part of that protection means that telling tattoo shops they can’t open is tantamount to telling a publication it can’t publish. Or can hand out copies only in the middle of the unoccupied desert, away from decent people.

Mesa didn’t ban tattoo shops entirely, as Hermosa Beach, Calif., did, only to have the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals strike that ban down in 2010 as an abridgement of the right of free speech. It has approved other tattoo businesses.

In fact, the court also found that the city zoning board staff, “in recommending issuance of the permit, found that the proposed tattoo parlor conformed with Mesa’s general plan and policies, would be compatible with and not detrimental to the neighborhood, and would not damage property values.

“Staff additionally related that the police department had reported no increase in crimes attributable to a similarly situated tattoo parlor.”

As the Tribune’s coverage of the Mesa decision stated, Council members at that 2009 meeting were concerned about an aggregation of uses they questioned, that is, whether there is such a thing as “too many” tattoo shops, or too much of one tattoo shop, one massage business and one payday loan store.

But the Arizona Court of Appeals ruling is a warning to city officials about too much reliance on the aggregation theory. As the court wrote: “(I)f Mesa is able to deny a permit application based solely on negative perceptions about tattoo parlors, or Mesa’s discretion in determining neighborhood compatibility is unguided, the Colemans cannot practically determine where to properly locate within Mesa.”

And if you are given no clue as to where you can legally speak, then you’re not speaking. That isn’t freedom.

• Read Tribune contributing columnist Mark J. Scarp’s (mscarp1@cox.net) opinions here on Sundays. Watch his video commentaries on evtnow.com/scarp

And you wonder where all that money the City of Tucson has to spend goes every year???? In the Oct 24, 2011 issue of the Star you get a small clue.
Businesses to get help on efficiency practices plus garner recognition
City begins green-certification effort
Read more: http://azstarnet.com/business/local/city-begins-green-certification-effort/article_dd6cb98d-3ec7-5b3f-8ca9-34fa2a3617dd.html#ixzz1bkpR8Shf
Going green just got a little bit easier for Tucson businesses.
Tucson’s Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development is encouraging businesses to apply for its Green Business Certification Program.
More than a dozen businesses have applied so far, said director Leslie Ethen.
Among them is BWS Architects, a downtown business that made changes to become more environmentally friendly, said associate Arthur Stables.
BWS Architects, at 261 N. Court Ave., has installed a cistern to capture water, has given up using bottled water, uses low-water-use toilets and recycles paper supplies, plastic and glass.
Prasad Kakarala, owner and founder of Curry Leaf Indian restaurant, 2510 E. Grant Road, has also applied to the program and made some changes to become more sustainable.
He’s had a more efficient A/C unit installed, now recycles paper products and uses energy-saving light bulbs in the restaurant, Kakarala said.
Sustainability is the way of the future, he said. “We all need to protect the environment.”
Businesses must be within Tucson city limits to apply. Then, Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development staff will meet with business representatives, and businesses must complete evaluation forms and an action checklist.
The office can assist with evaluations and provides free audits of water use, energy use and waste. The energy audit, in particular, gives specific actions businesses can take to reduce their energy use, as well as estimated costs of more efficient systems, the anticipated energy savings and how long it will take to pay off the initial costs, Ethen said.
The certification program had pilot projects with Goodmans Interior Structures and United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona in late 2009.
There is a lot of flexibility in what businesses can do to become more environmentally friendly. The program is mainly intended to provide businesses with resources and get them thinking about how to operate in more sustainable ways, Ethen said.
“It’s really up to the businesses to decide what they want to do,” Ethen said. “We’re more about shifting people’s mentality to do anything rather than setting a high bar.”
The effort includes recognition for taking such steps.
As the program evolves, Ethen would like to include a second tier that is more competitive and that evaluates businesses based on the strength of the steps they take to increase their sustainability.
“We would love to see 100-plus businesses in the program in the next couple years,” Ethen said.
TO APPLY
For application materials and additional information: www.tucsonaz.gov/ocsd/GreenBusinessCert_Home.php
DOWNTOWN FOCUS
With construction for the modern streetcar starting up, there will be road closures and disruptions to traffic downtown, said Leslie Ethen, director of Tucson’s Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development.
She wants to use the Green Business Certification Program to provide incentives for Tucsonans to venture downtown despite the construction.
Hope Miller is a University of Arizona student who is an apprentice at the Star. Contact her at starapprentice@azstarnet.com or 573-4663.
Read more: http://azstarnet.com/business/local/city-begins-green-certification-effort/article_dd6cb98d-3ec7-5b3f-8ca9-34fa2a3617dd.html#ixzz1bkpBlE00
Just one simple question. Each time you drive over those potholes, call 911, park downtown, visit those Rio Nuevo attractions and hotels, lose valuable minutes waiting for police/fire are you happy knowing that your city is GREEN???

America’s Emptiest Cities, 2011
By Paul Toscano, CNBC.com
October 12, 2011

HERE

The problem is multi faceted.  Here’s a few culprits:

1. Pima County has been too reliant on growth related industries and hasn’t done a very good job at divesting into different job creating industries.

2.  There seems to be no ryme or reason as to what gets built where in Southern Arizona.  We fight sprawl at the same time block infill projects.

3.  Financing – Here’s a great peice from O’Dell and the AZ Star:

Financing hard to get

Housing prices have crashed to levels not seen in 10 years, and interest rates are at historic lows. But many vacant properties aren’t drawing buyers and aren’t being filled.

Even if they can afford the payments, fewer people can get financing for a home, Strobeck said.

“You need gold-plated financing in order to get yourself a mortgage,” no matter how large, Strobeck said. “There’s so much supply because people can’t qualify.”

Despite a report last week calling Tucson the emptiest city in America because it had the highest home-vacancy rate of large cities for the first two quarters of 2011, Strobeck and University of Arizona economist Marshall Vest said Tucson’s plight isn’t worse than other places.

And some Tucson real estate professionals said vacancies are not a big issue. Greg Hollman, regional vice president of Coldwell Banker, said the market is working through the inventory of vacant homes quickly and some investors are putting multiple cash offers on properties, an idea contradicted by the Star’s analysis.

“It hasn’t been a big problem in my opinion,” Hollman said.

But Elías said the only people benefiting from the current market are cash buyers who can sweep up properties at rock-bottom prices.

He said the only way to clear the number of vacant houses is for financial institutions to loosen up lending standards, which were too loose during the housing boom and became very strict after the bust.

Housing is the key to getting the economy moving, Vest said, and vacant homes need to be filled before the housing market can stop falling.

“We’re going to need to get people in the vacancies to get people building again,” Vest said. “Homebuilding has to come back before we see the kinds of growth rates we’ve grown accustomed to.”

ring of vacant houses

The areas with the most vacant homes run from Sahuarita north and west, skirting the O’odham Reservation and extending to Marana. These boom areas went bust with the housing market.

Star valley

The housing development west of Casino del Sol was an emblem of the housing boom and now is filled with vacant homes after the bust.

Center city rentals

Many of the areas in central Tucson with the most vacant units feature entire apartment complexes that have been boarded up and vacated.

Green Valley

Green Valley had many more vacant houses in 2000 than in 2010, but that’s because of how the census counted vacancies. More seasonal housing was counted as vacant in 2000 than in 2010.

By the numbers

34,387

vacancies in 2000

52,249

vacancies in 2010

52 percent

more vacancies in 2010 versus 2000

Nearly one in eight

units vacant in 2010

How we got the story

The Star analyzed U.S. census tract data from 2000 and 2010.

To determine the increase in vacant rentals, the Star added all census-tract data together for vacant, occupied and total units in Pima County.

To map the data, the Star took the total number of vacant properties for each census tract and stripped out the vacant units that were seasonal rentals, second homes, housing for migrant workers and vacant homes that had just been rented or sold. This left mostly vacant rentals, vacant homes for sale, foreclosures and investor-owned homes.

The Star then projected that data using mapping software and coded the census tracts based on the number of vacant properties.

Report problem vacant properties

If a vacant house is causing problems in your neighborhood, report it. Visit cms3.tucsonaz.gov/hcd/code-enforcement and click on “code enforcement.” Fill out the online form, or print a form to fax, mail or hand-deliver to the city.

Contact reporter Rob O’Dell at 573-4346 or rodell@azstarnet.com

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/our-home-vacancy-problem/article_606bfe27-3646-5d4b-a3d6-53f090583625.html#ixzz1cHfQdHOi

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Why the US was downgraded…

• U.S. Tax revenue:            $2,170,000,000,000
• Fed budget:                          $3,820,000,000,000
• New     debt:                          $1,650,000,000,000
• National     debt:                 $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cut:              $ 38,500,000,000

Let’s remove 8 zeros and pretend     it’s a household budget:

• Annual family income:                                                     $21,700
• Money the family spent:                                                  $38,200
• New debt on the     credit card:                                     $16,500
• Outstanding balance on the credit card:                  $142,710
• Total budget cuts:                                                                      $385

This is 24/7 Wall St.’s list of Nine American Cities Going Broke.

9. Camden, NJ
> Credit rating: Ba2
> 2009 revenues: $181,257,000
> 2009 debt: $103,284,000
> Median household income: $25,418

Camden suffers from high unemployment, high poverty, and a weak tax base. The city’s median household income is less than half that of the national median income and is the lowest of all the municipalities on this list. Moody’s notes that “more than half of Camden’s real estate is tax-exempt, hampering already weak tax collections.” The city has had a speculative grade credit rating since 1998. Three out of the past five Camden mayors have been sent to prison for corruption, the most recent in 2001. (Buying up open space  in Pima County takes that land off the property tax rolls forever.)

8. Strafford County, NH
> Credit rating: Ba2
> 2009 revenues: $36,204,000
> 2009 debt: $23,866,000
> Median household income: $58,363

Strafford County’s low rating is largely due to a money-losing nursing home, on which the county spends two-fifths of its budget. Just under 85% of the patients at the Riverside Rest Home are eligible for Medicaid, yet state reimbursements to the county continue to decrease, according to Moody’s. Between 2004 and 2009, the nursing home lost $36 million. The county does not expect to recover much of the money it used to cover these deficits. (Pima County has spent a couple hundred million on Kino Hospital)

7. Riverdale, IL
> Credit rating: Ba2
> 2009 revenues: $8,358,000
> 2009 debt: $9,350,000
> Median household income: $40,659

Riverdale has run operational deficits for a number of consecutive years, driven primarily by a reduction in the amount the village relies on debt financing. “The village funded itself by borrowing money from its sewer and water funds, and now carries an operating fund balance of -52.1% of revenues.” The city, like many others on this list, is extremely small, with a population of just over 14,000. (Pima County and Tucson residents have seen 40% increases in sewer and water bills over the past five years.)

6. Salem, NJ
> Credit rating: Ba3
> 2009 revenues: $7,059,000
> 2009 debt: $10,098,000
> Median household income: $28,397

Salem guaranteed bonds issued to finance an office building downtown. The city planned to pay for the bonds with revenues earned from leasing office space in the building. However, revenue fell short of what was projected when construction delays caused lease payments delays. “The project’s debt service reserve fund has been drawn down numerous times,” Moody’s reports. “Once the reserve fund has been exhausted, the city is obligated to pay debt service for the life of the bonds.” (Rio Nuevo anyone?)

5. Detroit, MI
> Credit rating: Ba3
> 2009 revenues: $1,280,791,000
> 2009 debt: $2,449,480,000
> Median household income: $29,447

Detroit has suffered worse from the recession than almost any other U.S. city. The effects of the city’s economic situation are reflected in its credit rating. Many of Detroit’s biggest companies, such as General Motors and Chrysler, declared bankruptcy, placing “significant pressure” on the city, according to Moody’s. Detroit relies on the auto industry for its tax base, and the industry’s contraction has hurt the city immensely. The city became a “habitual note borrower,” relying on investors to close budget gaps.

4. Harrison, NJ
> Credit rating: Ba3
> 2009 revenues: $32,763,000
> 2009 debt: $92,613,000
> Median household income: $49,596

Harrison “issued a significant amount of debt to foster redevelopment, and continues to collect substantially less revenue from those developments than projected,” Moody’s explains. One of the largest projects is the $200 million Red Bull Arena, which was opened in March 2010 and cost the city $39 million in debt but has yet failed to have the expected returns. To help solve its debt problem, the city, which has a population of 13,620, plans to fire some police officers and firefighters.  (Rio Nuevo – what if we had built the $200 million hotel?)

3. Jefferson County, AL
> Credit rating: Caa1
> 2009 revenues: $309,440,000
> 2009 debt: $1,337,233,000
> Median household income: $44,718

Jefferson County’s debt, which is the second largest on this list, comes from a $3.2 billion overhaul of the county’s sewer system as well as a series of risky, controversial bond deals meant to help the county pay for the sewer work. A number of city officials have been sent to jail on corruption charges linked to the project. “The county defaulted on almost $3.5 million in 2008 — the biggest default in municipal history,” according to Moody’s. Worse still, this year, the Alabama Supreme Court invalidated the county’s occupational tax, which accounted for one quarter of the county’s total revenues. (Pima County is staring down a billion plus upgrade to it’s sewer system – an expense they’ve known about for over a decade.)

2. Pontiac, MI
> Credit rating: Caa1
> 2009 revenues: $46,183,000
> 2009 debt: $99,115,000
> Median household income: $32,199

The source of Pontiac’s troubles is similar to that of Detroit’s. General Motors, which went bankrupt during the recession, is the city’s largest employer and taxpayer. The city has been in receivership since 2009. Also in 2009, the city sold its Silverdome stadium, which cost over $55 million to build, for $583,000. Such concessions have not been enough to raise the city’s rating. (Again Rio Nuevo – Train Depot, MLK Apartments, Scott Avenue).

1. Central Falls, RI
> Credit rating: Caa1
> 2009 revenues: $17,601,000
> 2009 debt: $18,753,000
> Median household income: $33,520

In August 2011, Central Falls declared bankruptcy largely because of the city’s pension plan, which promised $80 million in retirement benefits. According to the New York Times, the “pension fund will probably run out of money in October, giving Central Falls the distinction of becoming the second municipality in the United States to exhaust its pension fund, after Prichard, Ala.” This $80 million is approximately five times the city’s general fund budget. (Unions squeezing the golden goose may end up with nothing …..Sun Tran anyone?)

On Wednesday, we laid out a vision for a business-friendly Tucson region. It was part of a forum put on by radio station KVOI 1030-AM and the “Tucson Needs Business” campaign spearheaded by the station’s president, Doug Martin.

While some progress has been made, there are plenty of ways to improve the environment for business in Tucson and Pima County.

Here is what we are proposing:

1. Pima County should act like a county. The Pima County Board of Supervisors needs to realize that having healthy vibrant municipalities is good for the economy because it creates competition. Blocking annexations and fighting with other jurisdictions is holding back the entire Tucson region. A strong Marana or Sahuarita or Oro Valley is good for the region. Pima County is providing municipal-type services, such as law enforcment and road pothole repairs, to heavily populated unincorporated areas and that contributes to property tax rates that are almost five times higher than what Maricopa County is charging. It’s estimated that because 36 percent of the population is in unincorporated areas, the Tucson region is losing up to $80 million per year in state shared revenues. Pima County needs to get out of the way. That may require a change in a majority on the Board of Supervisors next year.
2. Remove politics from Tucson Development Services. Between an entrenched bureaucracy and meddling city council members, business owners aren’t just getting squeezed, they’re getting crushed.
3. Support tourism promotion. Marketing of this region’s tourism assets must be fully-funded to one or more organizations. The organization, or organizations, must be accountable, transparent and effective. The Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau has an opportunity when it hires its new chief early next year. Once an effective new strategy is crafted, all hands in the region should get behind it to make it happen.
4. Set governmental priorities. The basics of local government are police, fire and fixing potholes. Those are the priorities that must be in order before trying to win platinum status as a bicycle community.
5. Get back to education. For businesses to have a reliable workforce source, students must first get a solid educational foundation in reading, writing and math skills. As the state’s second largest school district, Tucson Unified School District bascially defines education in this region. The district of nearly 53,000 students has been sidetracked by such things as ethnic studies, a program in which 365 students are enrolled. Nine schools have been closed in the past two years and with 1,500 students per year opting out under open enrollment or to charter schools, it appears that families are doing what they can to take educational matters into their own hands.
6. Activate business leaders. Business leaders need to do their part. Claiming to be a pro-business candidate during a campaign isn’t enough. Once elected, business leaders must hold politicians accountable while in office.

Positive changes have occurred over the last 2½ years. New leadership has invigorated the Tucson Metro Chamber. A backroom political deal for an ill-conceived city-owned downtown hotel was stopped, saving taxpayers a $200 million burden. Voters elected Steve Kozachik to replace Nina Trasoff, allowing a new city councilman to shine a light on some of the backroom deals, and the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau is about to undergo a management change with the retirement of long-time leader Jonathan Walker.

But there’s more to do. In this economy, Tucson can no longer be content to talk about the weather and wait on the sidelines for opportunity to come knocking.

When opportunity does arrive, city officials shouldn’t be rubbing their hands and seeing it as an opportunity to charge $316,000 in permit fees to build a $900,000 Texas Roadhouse restaurant.

Doug Martin’s campaign is spreading the word that a good business climate is the engine that will create a thriving economy and produce jobs.

Tucson Needs Business.

Contact Joe Higgins and Chris DeSimone at wakeuptucson@gmail.com. They host “Wake Up Tucson,” 6-8 a.m. weekdays on The Voice KVOI 1030-AM. Their blog is at www.TucsonChoices.com.