My View
By Don Sorchych | June 11, 2008
• Mercury in retrograde
• Referendum 02008-01
• Promises
The last week of May was a disaster. Not only did U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn O. Silver grant ACLU/MALDEF’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Cave Creek’s ordinance concerning solicitation on public right-of-ways, but Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Swann granted a summary judgment against Scottsdale, essentially killing the already scheduled vote on Scottsdale’s dust control ordinance.
A friend who is an astrology expert explained Mercury is in retrograde and such negative events should be expected. I couldn’t resist further investigation.
Mercury travels in a forward direction most of the time. But three or four times a year, it appears to turn around and go backwards for about three weeks. It's an optical illusion based on the relative speeds and orbits of the Earth and Mercury around the Sun.
In general, Mercury rules thinking and perception, processing and disseminating information and all means of communication, commerce, education and transportation, and people who work in these areas.
It is not wise to make important decisions while Mercury is retrograde, since it is very likely these decisions will be clouded by misinformation, poor communication and careless thinking. Preconceived opinions can damage business transactions and consultations of all kinds, especially with salespeople, lawyers and advisors.
While Mercury retrograde usually is in the minor irritant category, every now and then a colossal screw-up can take place. One astrologer offered the following as proof: The Bush-Gore 2000 American presidential election in Florida was held on the day when Mercury retrograde energy peaked. In the end, after weeks of wrangling and legal battles, George W. Bush was declared the winner. History now records what a mess he made of virtually everything he did, a classic Mercury retrograde presidency. Fascinating. But back to ground zero.
A more down-to-earth explanation in the ACLU/MALDEF court case is yet another Bill Clinton appointee to the federal bench ruling from a liberal perspective.
Linda Bentley researched the background of Judge Silver, which is rich in attendance in way-left colleges, positions in several minority rights organizations and only about three years in private practice.
Now the question looms; will the town appeal the decision?
I am annoyed the town has stiffed the offer from Judicial Watch to weigh in. Is it because Judicial Watch proudly proclaims it is a conservative watch dog organization? After all, both Town Manager Usama Abujbarah and town attorney firm Mariscal Weeks are leftist.
The Arizona Republic presented “Our View” headlined, “Cave Creek should drop day-labor issue.”
Who asked for their opinion? It is totally predictable.
“Whether the day laborers constitute a ‘significant problem’ is a matter of debate. They are simply people seeking work to put food on their tables through an employment situation that offers them no protection. In this nation’s past, such initiative was commended,” they opined.
Get me a violin! What is it about illegal the editorial board dunces don’t understand?
“The problem with the Cave Creek law was it treated people seeking work as villains.
The judge was right to knock it down” they blustered.
They are villains and so are the people who employ them.
The Republic promoted House Bill 2412 sponsored by Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, a much weaker bill than Cave Creek’s ordinance.
“Day Laborers standing along a lightly traveled street would be immune from the law,” [Kavanagh] said, “while those on a busier road would likely trigger it.”
Not only is Kavanagh’s proposed bill weaker, but if it has any value J-NO, Governor Janet Napolitano, sits waiting with her nearly worn out veto pen.
Cave Creek has scheduled an executive session for June 16 to discuss this issue. It is my hope the town will have Judicial Watch attorneys at that session.
You might want to express your view on this matter with Mayor Vincent Francia before that meeting. His email is [email protected] or 480-488-0672.
Referendum REF2008-01
Thanks to volunteers and voting citizens of Cave Creek I was able to turn in 209 signatures to Cave Creek town hall on June 4.
Thanks to Buffalo Chip’s Larry Wendt, Linda Bentley, T.C Thorstensen, Robert Voris, Lawrence Pace, B.J. Wernimont, Gail Dudley and Shari Jo Sorchych for their hard work in collecting signatures.
Now what?
Town Clerk Carrie Dyrek, in conjunction with the Maricopa County Elections Department, is evaluating the signatures to assure at least 70 signatures are valid and that the form of the petition is satisfied.
Assuming those conditions are satisfied council will decide on an election day to vote the issue.
However as I warned previously, the town may take a position that the vote which passed the PM-10 dust control ordinance was administrative rather than legislative and therefore not referable.
Town administration seems to rely on the court judgment in the Scottsdale referendum case on a similar, but not the same ordinance.
In Scottsdale, Amy Ganley only filed to overturn the part of the referendum which dealt with private property. She can’t appeal because she wasn’t represented by an attorney and lacks standing to intervene in the case.
Further, the court findings do not represent precedent because of lack of appeal and confirmation of the court’s ruling.
The town administration relies on the word “required” in the EPA demand that towns and cities write and pass ordinances which conform to their demands.
I have on my desk the MAG 2007 FIVE PERCENT PLAN FOR PM-10 FOR MARICOPA COUNTY NONATTAINMENT AREA. It is two inches deep and weighs about ten pounds. Come see it and think about the dozens of inspectors the county will unleash on our fair town. If you think the building code in Cave Creek is a bureaucratic nightmare it pales in comparison to this waste of paper.
Hold onto your seats but get ready to march on town hall.
Promises made, promises kept
I mentioned in our 13th anniversary editorial to watch for increased circulation. We not only increased circulation by about three thousand newspapers, but now all but the 2,500 placed in racks are mailed. Now covering Scottsdale all the way down to Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard, we are studying migration to the west.
Second, I promised we would improve our web page. This week’s web page will be produced by our graphics staff with greatly improved navigation, and will soon include access to advertisements and new features. It will remain a work in progress for several weeks, so please bear with us.