Tucson Weekly: The Skinny (April 29

Skinny A BRIGHT AND SHINING LIE: The editorial writers at the morning daily are straining like a constipated coyote to put a happy face on the grand opening of what was originally sold to the public as a visionary "solar village." Last Wednesday, April 21, under the laughable headline "Civano: remote but vital" (which is a little like saying, "Clinton: crooked but smart"), a Star scribe concedes right off the bat that:
• "Residents probably will burn more gas commuting 12 or 15 miles to town than they save heating and cooling their 'energy efficient' homes"; and,
• "...financial concerns...led to the removal of most of the development's solar elements."
Nevertheless, he concludes, hostility expressed toward this pathetic project "almost willfully made the perfect enemy of the good."
Huh?
Dead-white-guy phraseology aside, Civano is a fake, pure and simple. The fact that the Star is struggling so hard to tell us otherwise indicates just how cozy this supposedly "balanced and fair" newspaper is with Tucson's cancerous Growth Lobby.
The editorial goes on to say Civano "does plenty to break from business-as-usual."
Oh really? You mean things like "quality insulation" (as opposed to what, "lousy" insulation?), "the use of shade" (now there's an original concept in the burning desert!) and the fact that Civano's street layouts "encourage" bicycling and walking (that doesn't mean we have to, right)?
With no discernible justification, the writer also throws in the feel-good adjectives "sustainable" and "green" when describing this now only marginally different development, before getting to the meat of his argument--namely, that it's the scale of Civano that makes it important.
In other words, size matters. Or, in the Star's meaningless gobbledygook: "Scale is critical in demonstrating 'alternative' building approaches because such building needs to be tested in the Tucson market." Pure coyote shit.
Any idiot can see that shade, insulation and pedestrian-friendly streets are important. The real task involves imposing these requirements on out-of-town mega-developers used to having their own way when it comes to throwing up the cheapest crap imaginable at the lowest possible cost in order to maximize sales and, hence, profits.
It sure as hell doesn't take some over-hyped, stuccorama-in-the-sticks development to show these bottomline-oriented bozos the way. No, it takes firm leadership and a local government willing to enforce beefed-up building codes. But, of course, that's precisely what Tucson has always lacked.
The Star editorialist fittingly concludes his grunting and farting noises with a reference to Arizona Gov. Jane Dee Hull, a Growth Lobby shill who happily fronted the recent Growing Smarter Proposition--a massive, developer-planned con job concocted to fool voters into thinking they were supporting a real environmental measure with teeth.
Shame on a well-meaning but poorly informed electorate for buying Hull's misleading "Growing Smarter" crap, and shame on the Star for continuing to feed its readers from the same stinking pot.
THE GREAT KARNAK PREDICTS: Democrat Carol West is stepping down from the top spot at the Tucson Regional Water Council to seek mayoral candidate Janet Marcus's eastside Ward 2 seat.
That leaves an opening at the top of the TRWC, a water-policy organization which has long supported direct delivery of CAP water to Tucson homes.
Look for the powers behind TRWC to soon name a new director: Jim Ronstadt, who recently stepped down from his longtime post atop Tucson's Park and Rec Department. His son, Councilman Fred Ronstadt, has been leading a push on the Tucson City Council to deliver a blend of CAP and groundwater. Wonder what Jim's position will be?
GREAT SCOTT: The Skinny's been told that certain high-ranking GOP types are putting out the word to forget about finding anyone to oppose incumbent Democratic Ward 4 Councilwoman Shirley Scott because "she's a good vote for business." In other words, as we have long maintained, Shirley is a good little shill for the Growth Lobby and the clowns down at Tucson Water.
This also confirms what a genuine joke the local GOP has become. Never mind where Shirley stands on anything in the GOP platform. That crap is just to hustle cash from the rubes. The real party leaders could give a shit about any so-called "issues" as long as Shirley takes care of them on the important crap, like growth subsidies and CAP water.
We wish that real members of both major parties, if there are any left, will get off their butts and find somebody to run against Scott, who's vulnerable for defeat in both the primary and general.
CLUB NOTES: In heavily Republican Legislative District 12 on Tucson's far northwest side, the deals are already being cut for the legislative races in 2000. Sen. Ann Day, the high priestess of confusion, is leaving her seat to run for the Pima County Board of Supes. Rep. Dan Schottel, who will also be forced to give up his seat thanks to the term-limits law, will seek Day's seat in the upper chamber.
The Country Club GOP faction has other ideas. They plan to run Toni Hellon, a longtime political mover and shaker who's married to former state GOP chair and present National Committeeman Mike Hellon, for the state Senate seat. Current freshman state Rep. Steve Huffman has been told to stay out of Hellon's way, in trade for which he'll be allowed to team up with Pete Hershberger, Jr., son of both former reps Pete Sr. and his wife Freddie. Who says monarchy went out with George III?
The moderate GOP faction has never liked Schottel, partly because they find him too conservative, but mainly because they think an ex-bartender is, well, just too tacky for them. They've also never forgiven him for once challenging that quintessential mush-mouthed "moderate" and archetypal Country Clubber, Jack Jewett, in the District 12 house primary a few years back.
Schottel, whose health isn't that great, is seen as vulnerable for several reasons: He's lousy at raising money, he's a lousy campaigner, and, well, he owned a bar.
And now we know why Hellon, who now works for Pima County Supervisor Mike Boyd, isn't seeking Boyd's District 1 seat when he retires in 2000. Expect the Country Clubbers to back Day for that seat.
WASHINGTON WHISPERS: Good news for U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl: Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano will not be going after him next year. She's told several national news outlets she'll be finishing her first term as AG while studying her "options," the most likely being a race for governor in 2002.
That leaves Kyl--who just raised a bundle with a Tucson appearance by former President George Bush--with no major opponent on the horizon. The only other high-ranking Demo left in the state is Congressman Ed Pastor, who has no plans to move up from the Congressional District 2 seat (or do much of anything else, for that matter).
And expect GOP Congressman Jim Kolbe to run for one more term for his CD5 seat in 2000. Kolbe is hoping for a GOP president to drop a major appointment on him, which is easier to land when you're actually in the seat rather than after having left it.
MIKEY, YOU'D JUST LOVE A CONDO IN SCOTTSDALE: We recently reported there was a possibility that Arizona Corporation Commissioner Tony West might get tossed out by the state Supreme Court, and that if that happened Gov. Jane Dee Hull would consider Pima Supervisor Mikey Boyd for the position. We were wrong, wrong, wrong.
Turns out that Boyd is probably ineligible for the appointment. Arizona law requires that a vacant Corp Commission seat must go to someone not only from the same party, but the same county as the person winning the last election. Which means unless Mikey wants to resign his current seat and move real quick to Phoenix, he's not going to get the job. (Phoenix is lovely this time of year, Mikey. Really.)
In the meantime the failure of the Supreme Court to rule on the West issue in a timely fashion has virtually brought the Corporation Commission to a standstill. Incumbents Carl Kunasek and Jim Irvin disagree on nearly everything. West sides with Kunasek, but basics like hiring staff and making other decisions are in limbo pending the outcome of the challenge to West's legitimacy. That challenge is based on his holding a securities license, something state law prohibits for corporation commissioners.
BUT IS HE MAKING PAYROLL? Former talk-radio exec Tom Hassey was recently spotted doing a gig as a substitute teacher at an eastside middle school. Hassey did have a career in teaching before he got into broadcasting, and it's nice to know he's doing something productive again. One thing's for sure: Considering how over-crowded some classrooms are, he's probably got a bigger audience now than when he was on the air.

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