First I was waiting for the Web guys to contrive a way for me to re-establish the blogroll, which fell by the wayside when we switched to this "improved" system. Then I was busy with various projects related to KUAT and otherwise. Now I'm about ready to resume blogging, but not quite yet. I expect that tomorrow the stream of brilliant apercus will resume, complete with standing links to the outside world. Stand by.
If you've been following the recent flap over the $820,00 video to promote Tucson's history, let's take a look back in time...about a half-century ago.
Thanks to a listener, I've discovered another video promoting Tucson a LONG time ago. I have no idea how much this old promo video (or should I say "film?") cost to make back then, but it makes me harken back to the days in grade school watching those old movie projectors, complete with the scratchy film and jumpy audio. As the Tucson 12 website states in the intro to the video:
This classic film from Tucson 12's archive is a nostalgic look back to a time when everyone knew their neighbor...and the biggest crime was jaywalking.
I guess that's enough setup for the video, which you can watch here. Come back and leave a comment after you've seen it.
If you read this morning's Arizona Daily Star, perhaps you noticed the front page story detailing how the City of Tucson spent more than $800,000 for a Washington-D.C.-based company to produce a 12-15 minute video about the history of Tucson's West Side cultural birthplace. However, things have changed since the video was produced.
The video was meant to be shown at two proposed Rio Nuevo sites that have been put on hold and may never happen, after the city spent millions of dollars on design plans.
Rather than go into all the juicy details here, you can read the article here and see a portion of the video here (Courtesy of Arizona Daily Star).
What do you think?
This week is shaping up to be even more interesting when it comes to state budget matters and wildfires. Okay, the two aren't really related, but that's what's in the news this week.
First of all, the budget stalemate at the Arizona State Capitol may be headed to court, as Republicans (at this writing) have refused to turn over their budget to fellow GOP Governor Jan Brewer, over fears she'd veto it. She already has said that is likely.
The Arizona Supreme Court likely will decide what's next in the process. If a signed budget isn't in place by the end of this month, state government could shut down July 1st and that could could create all kinds of problems.
Christopher Conover talks to Senate President Bob Burns about the controversy, in the latest online edition of Political Conversations.
On the topic of wildfires...The one in Southern Arizona's Baboquivari Peak Wilderness Area has grown to more than 14, 500 acres, or 22 square miles. The Elk Horn Fire is 18 percent contained.
I'm sure we'll be talking about both those topics and more for the rest of the week. Stay tuned!
The proposals have been talked about for quite some time, but the City of Tucson Tuesday gave final approval to a new $1.3 billion spending plan that takes effect July 1st.
In a nutshell, the budget means you will pay more for utilities, garbage pickup and to ride a SunTran bus. The hikes will cost the cash-strapped Tucson Unified School District an extra $655,000 a year, according to TUSD projections (as reported in the Arizona Daily Star).
Also in the plan is a new tax on gym memberships and tanning salons. I'll defer an opinion on the tanning tax, but gyms are supposed to make people healthy. Why does the city want to discourage that? Unhealthy people drain the healthcare system and have other problems, so why hurt people trying to stay healthy. Gym memberships are expensive enough to begin with.
How about a fast-food tax in the city? Admittedly, the lobby against that would be so big that it wouldn't stand a chance, but the city should target unhealthy things if it sees the need to find new "revenue enhancements," as governments now like to call tax hikes.
Now that the city has settled on how much more to extract from its residents, the state is next and that won't be pretty. Hold on to your wallet, it's going to get much lighter come July. That will make your weight load in your vehicle lighter and make your car go faster, so watch your speed, or the photo radar cameras will get you and force you to pay even more.
What do you think about the new city budget? Comment below.
"Mr. Ed" was cool, but that was only because of special effects. However, there is a car-riding, hamburger-eating, TV-watching, beer-getting, bed-sleeping horse...for real. His name is Patches.
Check it out!
