FEBRUARY 2, 2011
Your View
How 'bout that global warming, Mr. Gore? Any comment you wish to make, or is your thundering silence indication of repentance?
Senator McCain, you have been on the Democrat-Socialist side of the aisle for so long that why the hell don't you STAY THERE, and make this the first honest act of your political life?
A recent study explains why bedbugs won't die; they are quickly evolving to withstand the pesticides used to combat them. Can anyone explain how the Carefree GOB political mob continues to survive? Is it simply because so many residents don't bother to vote? I get itchy just thinking about the GOB crowd.
I bet six top Carefree town politicians met at the water company to discuss their favorite chili recipes and are planning a chili cook-off contest.
I applaud Sheriff Dupnick for having the courage to stand up for his beliefs. For those that disagree with him, I say "SUCK IT UP." It doesn’t matter whether you agree or not. That is his First Amendment right, respect it.
Someone commented about how civil the Cave Creek Council is, which is true. It's so ironic how things are going really well ever since Grace and her gang retired.
It appears that there will now be six candidates for six Carefree town council seats. Four are endorsed by the GOB crowd. If Mayor Schwan is reelected he is sure to have five votes, enough to get a property tax passed even if Prop. 422 is enacted.
Voters in Cave Creek will be asked to approve a property tax in the May general election to pay for a town-wide fire protection contract. The measure is likely to pass because all those who already subscribe to Rural/Metro will surely vote for the tax because their annual fee will drop and their neighbors will be forced to pay. Pure socialism in action!
I will be surprised if language in the proposed Cave Creek property tax says proceeds will "only" or "exclusively" be used for fire protection. If the amount collected exceeds the cost of the Rural/Metro contract, the excess will likely be used for anything. Further the tax collected will be nudged upward in future years and citizens told the increase is small, necessary, and for the good of the town.
The classic slapstick comedy AIRPLANE! is showing on area movie screens. A cheaper and more convenient alternative is Carefree Town Council! Wait breathlessly to learn if Councilwoman Vanik attends! Watch the mayor chastise audience members! See Councilman Coady not speak into his microphone! Hear loud arguments on every agenda item! Find out which equipment will malfunction! Drink room temperature water! Remember it is all free!
The fire protection tax in Cave Creek is just the beginning of ever-expanding property taxes there. The approximately $0.5 million in expected Wal-Mart annual sales tax revenue is just a drop in the bucket compared to what the town needs to pay for its Scottsdale-like infrastructure. New house and commercial construction for the foreseeable future will be negligible. Only property taxes can pay for the town manager's vision of the future.
I just received Carefree Mayor David Charles Schwan's town-paid first-class mail reelection promotion piece, thinly disguised as a "State of Our Town" message. Citizens should know the mayor is hard-working ("I'm in Town Hall by 8 a.m."), town finances are swell ("a solid and very favorable financial condition"), everyone's nose is to the grindstone ("dedication and hard work of staff"), and wants everyone to enjoy paying the highest sales tax rate in Maricopa County ("buy local and support Carefree merchants"). Why didn't he save the town cash and stuff his self-serving political puffery in with a water bill? Didn't he want to associate himself with the town's astronomical water rates?
Good editorial this week about Tucson and whiners Montini and Benson. I don’t mind editorial cartoonists and there are some damn good ones, but Benson is mean spirited, incorrect, and unfair with his work. I wish class guys like Bill Mauldin were still around.
In his "State of Our Town" letter the mayor of Carefree omitted some key information: businesses continuing to flee the town center; enormous vacancy rate in commercial rental property; a bloated and overpaid town staff; declining sales tax revenues; one goofy council-approved project after another; very high water rates and town sales tax rate; and members of council refusing to run for reelection after they find out they are mere puppets and what a mess the town is in.
