How sadly pathetic is the city of Tucson becoming? The four city council members who succeeded in firing City Manager Mike Hein April 7 were seen celebrating their victory the next day with high-fives at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., luncheon speech.
Council members Karin Uhlich, Regina Romero, Steve Leal and Shirley Scott may have managed to stumble and bumble their way into being a majority to get rid of Hein, but what’s a victory that shows no leadership or direction. Not to mention the irresponsibility of such incredibly bad timing just as the city is going into budget deliberations.
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With the loss of population, Tucson is losing representation on a state level relative to Phoenix. After the 2010 census the only question will be whether Tucson loses one or two legislative districts.
Fortunately for this region, there are some positives for the future.
Contrary to what many in the business community might believe, the council members aren’t stupid or inept. It’s their plan. They’re succeeding in making the business community irrelevant.
Up & Comers coming
Now to a positive. The nomination period for this year’s Up & Comers ended April 9 and, although, we hurried things along this year, we received plenty of nominations. We’re gathering them together and, with the help of some previous honorees, Inside Tucson Business will present a special section April 27 honoring nine new Up & Comers who are making a positive difference in our region.
Dialing around
Is it my imagination or are the pitches on radio commercials getting a little more intense — and maybe containing a little less truthiness — with apologies to Steven Colbert — these days.
• There’s the mortgage guy who breathlessly tells us mortgage rates might never be this low again and imploring us that “now’s the time to lock in that mortgage rate” because they’re going to bounce back. Trouble is, he’s been saying that for months. And anyone who took his advice six months ago is probably kicking themselves for believing him then. So why should any of us believe him now?
• With the income tax deadline coming up Wednesday (April 15), there’s the company that wants us to be comforted in knowing our tax payment has been made electronically. And they’ll only charge us a $3.95 “convenience fee.” The good folks at the Internal Revenue Service say that so long as an envelope is postmarked April 15 that’s good enough for them. Other benefits; it costs only 42 cents and lets me keep my money a day or two longer.
E-mail comments for publication to editor@azbiz.com. Contact David Hatfield at dhatfield@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4237.
Comments
Chris wrote on Apr 16, 2009 2:20 PM:
Mark wrote on Apr 13, 2009 6:43 PM:
Robert wrote on Apr 11, 2009 6:43 PM:
Anecdotal references to a fewing families pulling their kids out of TUSD doesn't even support the conclusion that those families are leaving Tucson. The kids could now be going to Sunnyside, Amphitheater, Vail, Catalina Foothills, Flowing Wells, Marana, or Tanque Verde districts, or otherwise to one of the scores of charter or private schools available. School-to-school movement within the city is a highly visible and hard-to-ignore alternative to moving out of the Tucson area entirely. A reduction in TUSD student popluation is not equivalent to a reduction in City of Tucson population. I must also mention that you put your statement out in a dependent clause bereft of an independent clause. Both the grammar and the content suggest the article needs editing.
I don't have year-to-year TUSD population figures available, but every source I look to confirms that the City of Tucson and the Tucson MSA are still gaining population. Your suggestion that every person entering the state is moving outside of Tucson is laughable. If that was not what you meant, please be more accurate and precise in your future articles.
Finally, it should be noted that TUSD layoff notices were in response to the maximum projected budget shortfall for the next fiscal year. The district has already said that it doubts it will need to layoff everyone who received the notice. And one cannot assume that the economy effects all districts equally. TUSD's budget may have been harder hit than more suburban districts because it probably has a higher percentage of businesses that have closed down and because there is a greater deflation of property values closer to the city's core.
I do not typically comment on the lousy opinions expressed in Inside Tucson Business columns, but these comments are directed at basic writing and structure flaws you should at least admit are flaws. "
David Hatfield wrote on Apr 11, 2009 3:29 PM:
TUSD sent layoff notices to more than 14 percent of its staff. On a percentage basis, other districts - Sunnyside, Amphitheater, Marana - are laying off about half that amount.
And, yes, Tucson's relative growth versus state population is why Tucson will lose representation. Thank you, Robert, for spelling that out.
But that still means people moving to Arizona are moving to places other than inside Tucson's city limits. "
Robert wrote on Apr 10, 2009 1:27 PM:
Second, pure population loss wouldn't cause a loss of representation any more than pure population growth would result in additional representation. The key factor is relative growth versus total state population. If Tucson loses a seat or two, it's because the Phoenix area is growing faster than Tucson. "