Best Local Blog by a Non-Local
"Jon Talton is actually based in Seattle, but the fourth-generation Arizonan is a former columnist for the Arizona Republic, and his writing in his Rogue Columnist blog reflects a thorough, insightful knowledge of the players and dynamics of this city and state.
He still gets the occasional scoop, and he writes lovely, elegiac remembrances of the Phoenix that used to be, catching the finer human points of how the Valley has morphed and expanded over the years. He pulls no punches — only "fools" go hiking in a Phoenix summer, he writes in disgust — and the scope of Rogue Columnist is expansive.
This "pen warmed up in hell" tackles climate change, heat, train stations, the newspaper industry, and many other subjects, but it never lectures or grows too bitter. Instead, his blog posts are often a fusion of personal recollections and critical reflections on the small- and large-scale changes that will continue to mold Phoenix in the years to come."
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Five Ways to Be an Effective Activist
By Viri Hernandez
- Be aware of your own privilege. Think about identities you carry and those you don’t. Then reflect on how they make you privileged — or not.
- Be in places that fill your heart. Right now, things are really shitty, and you have to be able to go to a place that replenishes your heart and your soul, wherever that may be.
- Trust people who have been doing the work. Let the leaders lead, despite your biases about how they’re doing it.
- Be ready to do the work, even if the work is uncomfortable and you’re being confronted while you’re doing it. Deal with your discomfort and get the work done anyway.
- Do something. You don’t have to be at the forefront of a movement, getting arrested or anything. But we’re at a critical point in history when people are being hunted down and abused. Everyone needs to be doing something, anything, against that.
PERSONAL NOTE FROM MESAZONA BLOGGER
Jon Talton has shown me, in his own way, to be fearless. He's lucky to have three different public personas + a career as a writer of 'mystery fiction' in a parallel universe.
19 February 2019
Going-to-Bat With Seattle Times Columnist Jon Talton Again!
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| Jon Talton |
No doubt about it: when your MesaZona blogger likes a professional colleague he really unabashedly likes someone named Jon Talton. Talton has the advantage of living in both progressive Seattle and conservative Phoenix. How he manages to straddle both ends of the political spectrum at the same time is enough reason to respect his published points-of-view.
His latest - published today - on SOCIALISM deserves public attention, especially when The Donald hit on it last night . . . A bad word? NO.
His latest - published today - on SOCIALISM deserves public attention, especially when The Donald hit on it last night . . . A bad word? NO.
23 December 2018
A Take-Off From Jon Talton in Seattle: Hyper-Localizing + Aligning Opportunity Industries & Opportunity Zones Here In Mesa
One thing we do have in common is Boeing - and that might give you a cue . . .
Two days ago Talton penned a piece on rotten jobs, based on a study by The Brookings Institution that examined Opportunity Industries.
There are some differences evident right away between Seattle Metro and Phoenix/Mesa Metro:
Mesa has a higher unemployment rate than the rest of the state of Arizona
Mesa is a "Right-to-Work" state
Behind the low unemployment rate, too many Americans are stuck in rotten jobs
Relatively few jobs provide the pay and benefits that once were taken for granted. The biggest losers are people without college degrees.
