WHAT WILL THE NEXT CENTURY'S FIVE CS BE?

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Michael Chihak

Every Arizona school kid ought to be able to name the state's Five Cs, the hallmarks of economics and culture that shaped Arizona's first century as a state.

Copper, cattle, cotton, climate and citrus.

Now come preparations for the centennial celebration, culminating in the Feb. 14, 2012 recounting of President William Taft signing the law making Arizona the 48th state.

Festivities galore are in the planning stages, and we will hear about some of them on Friday's Arizona Week. At the same time, the state's Centennial Commission director sees the celebration as an opportunity to look forward.

"Who do we want to be in the future, not just from a culture and a people, but how do we want to take care of our land and what industries are really going to be the Five Cs, if you will, of the next 100 years?" Centennial Commission Director Karen Churchard asks in an interview.

Watch Friday at 8:30 p.m. MST and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. MST, PBS-HD-6, or on this Website for more discussion of the state's legacy and its future.

TUCSON COUNCIL: HOW TO USE LEFTOVER MONEY?

posted to Political Buzz by Andrea Kelly

The question of what to do with leftover city council office money is causing yet another rift in the Tucson City Council.

Councilman Steve Kozachik wanted to use the $85,000 left over in his council office budget to fill potholes in the ward he represents, midtown Ward 6. It was on the consent agenda for this week's council meeting, but it was pulled and the council voted 5-2 to pool all their extra money and decide later how to use it.

Each office gets the same amount at the beginning of the budget year, July 1. In the past, the leftover money has been used in whatever way the councilmember from that ward chooses. If it's not used, it gets swept into the general fund for the next budget year.

Kozachik calls the move to pool the funds the "poster child of hyperpartisanship." He said pooling the money means less will be spent on what people his ward want.

Should the funds be used in the same ward as the savings? Or should all the wards/citizens benefit from any year-end savings? It's a debate we expect to hear more about.

UA AUTHOR UPDATES ARIZONA HISTORY

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Michael Chihak

History looks backward with the notion of preparing us to look forward. In the case of University of Arizona anthropologist Thomas E. Sheridan, that backward look in Arizona: A History includes some potentially frightening scenarios for the future.

Sheridan's history was published in 1995, and now with the statehood centennial approaching, he has updated the book, adding chapters on the state's most recent history -- its population boom and desert land consumption and economic development.

The forward look that he gives should cause the reader to pause and reflect on where our state is headed. Sheridan will discuss the state's prehistory, history and his view of its future on Arizona Week Friday at 8:30 p.m. on PBS-HD-6.

The new edition of Arizona: A History will be published by University of Arizona Press in time for Arizona's statehood centennial next February.

MULTICHANNEL MENDELSSOHN

posted to Cue Sheet by James Reel

A review I wrote for Fanfare:

MENDELSSOHN Symphonies: No. 1; No. 4, “Italian.” Ruy Blas Overture • Andrew Litton, cond; Bergen PO • BIS 1584 (SACD: 67:07)

With so many fine recordings of Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony already in the catalog, there’s little justification for a new one unless it’s part of a Mendelssohn symphony cycle, of which there have been surprisingly few. Here is the middle panel in Andrew Litton’s triptych of Mendelssohn symphony SACDs for BIS, and it’s very fine indeed.

I’ll cover the “Italian” Symphony only briefly, because the main interest of this disc frankly lies in the rarer items. Litton’s performance holds up very well against most of the competition; it’s a lyrical approach, but always up to tempo—about as spirited as George Szell’s classic account, which Sony reissued about a decade ago on an SACD that is not compatible with standard players, but Litton is also a bit less brittle than Szell.

This is a smartly programmed disc. It begins with the overture Mendelssohn provided for Victor Hugo’s play Ruy Blas—a work the composer detested, yet he managed to write a stirring curtain-raiser for it that’s not nearly as popular as it was several decades ago. This leads to the First Symphony, which begins in a manner similar to Ruy Blas, but with even greater urgency. (If you like the early symphonies of Schubert, particularly the “Tragic,” you should enjoy Mendelssohn’s First.) In both the overture and the symphony, the Bergen Philharmonic’s performance under Litton is dynamic but not manic. Litton does not call attentionn to himself (which Mendelssohn would appreciate, since he was notoriously averse to “interpretation”); at the same time, Litton manages to achieve just the right spirit. He can stand back a bit without seeming uninvolved. Now, his tempo in the Scherzo and the final movement may be a little to fast for some listeners, but even so, Litton doesn’t take it to extremes; he knows how to ease off in the contrasting passages. (Besides which, orchestral music and opera were apparently played faster in the 19th century than they have been in our lifetime; just look at the early, fleet timings from Bayreuth for evidence.)

BIS provides typically detailed, natural, beautiful recorded sound in surround format, and very good liner notes by Horst A. Scholz. Whether as a whole Litton’s Mendelssohn cycle will fully measure up to the outstanding Abbado and Dohnanyi versions remains to be seen, but I would not hesitate to recommend this individual disc to anyone, whether they prefer two channels or five. James Reel

FIESTA BOWL WANTS MONEY FROM LOCAL POLITICIANS

posted to Political Buzz by Andrea Kelly

The Fiesta Bowl scandal and subsequent news just won't go away. The latest update: the Bowl is asking politicians to repay it for past trips, tickets and contributions.

This comes after a spring full of revelations that the Bowl was misspending money, including making illegal campaign contributions and extravagant spending. Several lawmakers rushed to revise their financial reports after the scandal broke, hoping to report gifts of tickets and trips from the bowl, even though they hadn't previously reported them.

Three local officials are on the list of those from whom the Fiesta Bowl seeks repayment, according to a list the Arizona Republic published, showing how much the Fiesta Bowl spent, and what officials have already repaid.

The bowl wants $16,846 State Sen. Linda Lopez, $3,755 from former State Rep. David Bradley, and $30 from State Sen. Paula Aboud. About is the lowest dollar amount on the list. Senate President Russell Pearce is at the top of the list, with a bill for $37,930.

U.S. SENATE WORKING ON A HOLIDAY? EGADS!

posted to Political Buzz by Michael Chihak

Last December's lame duck session of Congress was hailed as the most productive period in many a year for our elected officials. It came despite much sniveling and whining, largely by Republicans, that the session was cutting into their holiday break.

Now comes word that it might happen again, this time for the sake of keeping the U.S. government afloat and avoiding a global fiscal meltdown.

The AP reported today that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to talk to members of the Democratic rank and file about possibly canceling a scheduled July 4 break so work can continue on negotiations for raising the debt ceiling and cutting federal spending.

Get ready for more sniveling and whining.