Rogue Columnist > Fearless Commentary About Phoenix, Arizona, and The Nation

Definitely not "sexy journalism" or spoon-fed canned stories and press releases usually reported by some subservient reporters to the corporate newspapers here in central Arizona like The East Valley Tribune or Arizona Republic or Mesa Independent.
Rogue Columnist, whom your MesaZona recently stumbled on by chance - he doesn't have all the answers.
It's a column, not a news story.
Make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position, and your seat belt is correctly fastened — this is not the kind of commentary that is welcomed by the Phoenix powers-that-be, or even many average people.


Rogue: The user's guide
"In 2008, Rogue Columnist began as John Tilton's pro-bono work for the readers he left behind at the Arizona Republic. Nobody was offering his brand of analysis and commentary on Phoenix and Arizona's most critical issues or much on their rich history. Since then, it has developed a national and international readership. . .

Arizona's Continuing Crisis [ see the extensive posting here ]
Reality-based news and analysis about Arizona: Here are the most important stories from across the Web. Note that the Arizona Republic and Arizona Daily Star have a paywall in place, with a limited number of articles that can be viewed unless you subscribe (and you should). For original Rogue columns on Phoenix and Arizona, click here.
Want to comment? Pick the most recent Rogue post and comment there; tell readers which story or issue you are referring to . .
Here's just a few articles from a list of hundreds:
Phoenix ranks No. 3 with worst heat increase over the past 50 years | Climate Central
Scandal stalking UA health sciences — or is it just politics? | Arizona Republic
County to Dbacks: If you're going to be that way, we'll sell your damned stadium | Field of Schemes
Explosive meeting at Corporation Commission as it votes to kill outside probe into political influence | Arizona Republic
Despite new boosterism, Arizona is one of the toughest places to find a fulltime job | Arizona Republic
Accreditors block UA effort to put veterinary school in the middle of nowhere — with $8 million in taxpayer money already spent | Arizona Daily Star
Too many restaurants, not enough downtown economy: The Corner closes at CityScape | Phoenix Business Journal
Arizona lags in high-paying advanced industry jobs | Arizona Republic
Ducey aide brushes off latest report showing Arizona schools ranks near the bottom nationally | KJZZ
Honeywell Aerospace to cut jobs | Arizona Republic
U.S. cities are getting dangerously hot — and Phoenix leads the list by a wide margin | Scientific American
Arizona spent 300 percent more on prisons than on education over past three decades | Phoenix Business Journal

Where to find Rogue Columnist He is @jontalton on Twitter; here on Facebook; on Tumblr at jontalton.tumblr.com; on Pinterest (which he doesn't really understand); Google+, and assorted bars in Seattle and Phoenix. He promises a Twitter feed worth your time.
Beyond Rogue, you can find Jon Tilton's Seattle Times columns here.
Novels, you say? Here's the author site.
If you have the journalism jones, here are the articles he writes for the Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at ASU. He is on KUOW, Seattle's NPR station, every other Monday in the 1 p.m. hour.
You can subscribe to Rogue in a reader or receive updates via email.
Rogue Columnist is writing opinion and analysis, backed by the facts.
He has his say. Then, in the comments section, you get yours.

Endorsements [and an old scandal] for Jerry Lewis Mesa City Council District 3

Source: http://www.icarizona.com/2011_10_01_archive.html
By Rachel Alexander October 25, 2011

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

More Proof Leftists Conspiring to Elect Jerry “The Judas Goat” Lewis

cross-posted from Sonoran Alliance
This following image is of a post card that was recently sent to voters in Legislative District 18 that falsely pretends to be from Helen Purcell as an official communication from the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.

Presently, the Secretary of State, Ken Bennett,  is investigating it as an illegal mailer. Even though it was sent by Citizens United for Progress (a leftist organization) and they are NOT directly connected with the Lewis campaign, it will probably be found illegal resulting in the group being fined. But it reinforces the claim that the left is backing Lewis at any cost including violating campaign finance laws as Lewis turns a blind eye and refuses to condemn illegal behavior.

The Costs of Suburban Sprawl and Commuting | Jobs-Close-to-Home or Homes Close-to-Jobs?

We all know that driving to and from work every day is costly, but exactly how much of a toll does each mile of commuting take on your finances?
This True Cost of Commuting graphic breaks it down.
Taking stats and calculations previously mentioned by Mr. Money Mustache, the infographic illustrates just how expensive commuting is.

If you don't want to calculate in the time-is-money factor, each mile (one way) of commuting will cost you $170 a year. It's a compelling reason to move as close to work if you can (or bike to work or telecommute).
The numbers are even scarier if you look at dual-commuting households, use the IRS 51 cents per mile estimate, and multiply over 10 years. Take a look (click to expand):

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5855550/the-true-cost-of-commuting-you-could-buy-a-house-priced-15900-more-for-each-mile-you-move-closer-to-work

 

 



Gaggle | Christine Jones for Congress

You go, girl!
Former GoDaddy mover-and-shaker Ms. Jones breaks outta the pack of the "Good Ole' Boys" hoping to succeed Matt Salmon

Published on Aug 15, 2016

Views: 3,970

Christine Jones is a proven business leader, not a career politician. She is running for Arizona's 5th Congressional District.

Article from http://sonoranalliance.com/
Gilbert, AZ – Today, the Jones for Congress campaign released its latest commercial, “Gaggle,” in the Republican Primary race for CD-5.
The ad features a gaggle of career politicians competing for attention contrasted against successful conservative business leader, Christine Jones. In the ad, Jones asks the gaggle if they have created any jobs or balanced any budgets. They haven’t. She also discloses she hasn’t taken any special interest money. The career politicians clamor that they have. The ad is an accurate portrayal of the CD-5 race.
Jordan Ray, manager for the campaign remarked, “This ad hits the nail on the head when comparing Christine Jones to the current gaggle of career politicians in this race.” Ray continued, “Christine is a true-life success story. She’s helped create thousands of jobs, balanced budgets and helped grow a major technology company. She’s exactly who our congressional district needs.”

What Works Arizona: Strategies for Economic Development or RightWing Ideology?

"Whether it’s called the gig economy, sharing economy or platform economy, Governor Ducey has been a staunch ally and proponent of letting the industry grow and thrive."

American Legislative Exchange Council
Source: http://azgovernor.gov/

What is ALEC? ALEC is a corporate bill mill
Why is the official website for AZ Gov Doug Ducey prominently featuring an endorsement from this controversial conservative rightwing lobbying organization?
Though thousands of ALEC-approved model bills have been publicly introduced across the country, ALEC’s role facilitating the language in the bills and the corporate vote for them is not well known.

According to this source  "ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through the secretive meetings of the American Legislative Exchange Council, corporate lobbyists and state legislators vote as equals on ‘model bills’ to change our rights that often benefit the corporations’ bottom line at public expense. ALEC is a pay-to-play operation where corporations buy a seat and a vote on ‘task forces’ to advance their legislative wish lists ...
Who funds ALEC?
More than 98% of ALEC's revenues come from sources other than legislative dues, such as corporations, corporate trade groups, and corporate foundations. Each corporate member pays an annual fee of between $7,000 and $25,000 a year, and if a corporation participates in any of the nine task forces, additional fees apply, from $2,500 to $10,000 each year. ALEC also receives direct grants from corporations, such as $1.4 million from ExxonMobil from 1998-2009. It has also received grants from some of the biggest foundations funded by corporate CEOs in the country, such as: the Koch family Charles G. Koch Foundation ...

Is it nonpartisan as claimed?
ALEC describes itself as a non-partisan, non-profit organization. The facts show that it currently has one Democrat out of 104 legislators in leadership positions. ALEC members, speakers, alumni, and award winners are a “who’s who” of the extreme right.  

Is it legal?
ALEC’s operating model raises many ethical and legal concerns. Each state has a different set of ethics laws or rules.
Arizona Legislators with ALEC Ties
This is a partial list of Arizona politicians that are known to be involved in, or previously involved in, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

House of Representatives

• Rep. Eddie Farnsworth (R-22); Civil Justice Task Force^[1]
• Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-9, Majority Whip)^[4], ALEC State Chairman^[5][6] and International Relations Task Force member^[7][1] ALEC Legislator of the Year, 2016.^[8]
• Rep. Justin D. Olson (R-19); Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force^[1] (moving to R-25 in 2013)
• Rep. Andy M. Tobin (R-1, Speaker of the House); Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force^[1]

Senate

• Majority Leader Andy Biggs (R-22, Majority Leader), membership exp. 12-31-2010; Civil Justice Task Force^[13]
• Sen. Rich Crandall (R-19), ALEC Education Task Force^[1] and Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force member^[14]
• Sen. Albert Anthony Melvin (R-26), membership exp. 12-31-2010; Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force^[1]
• Sen. Steve Pierce (R-1, Majority Whip), membership exp. 12-31-2010; Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force^[1]
• Sen. Michele Reagan (R-8)^[1]
• Sen. Kelli Ward (R-5)^[9]
• Former Sen. Russell Pearce (R-18, Senate President)

"Sexy Journalism" is "Shit"

Have another look

Published on Jan 17, 2016

Views: 24.037

Pie gets angry at shit journalism whilst doing some very shit journalism

After Months of Interviews A Guy Named Bopp Gets Welcomed to Be Deputy Director, Strategic Services

Late yesterday here's a press release from the City of Mesa Newsroom Mesa Now Mr. Bopp is seen in the image to the left taken from his page on Twitter just now. He has 36 followers and joined in March 2014 listing his employment with the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance. No dates are given in the press release below on his hire with the City of Phoenix. He and his wife and three children live in Gilbert in a home they purchased in January 2015 for $308,000. There are no details either in the city's press release for what salary and/or benefits were agreed to nor the length of his employment contract. City of Mesa Economic Development welcomes new deputy director 08-18-2016 at 3:27:43 PM City of Mesa Office of Economic Development is pleased to announce the recent hire of Aric H. Bopp, CEcD, who joined the team as the Deputy Director, Strategic Initiatives. He will focus on development priorities related to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, southeast Mesa, and other economic development projects of strategic importance to the City. Prior to joining Mesa, Bopp worked for the City of Phoenix as the Program Manager for Business Retention and Expansion in the Community and Economic Development Department. Previous to joining the City of Phoenix, Bopp served as the Executive Director of the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance, a regional economic development organization based in Blacksburg, Virginia. During his 12-year tenure, he helped bring national and international companies to the region creating thousands of jobs and more than $1 billion in investment. "Aric's depth of experience will be a tremendous asset for our office and the City of Mesa," Bill Jabjiniak, City of Mesa Economic Development Director said. "Aric will play a key role in moving forward important initiatives critical to creating quality jobs in our community." Bopp is actively involved with economic development organizations throughout Arizona including the Arizona Technology Council, Arizona Commerce Authority, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Black Chamber of Arizona, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Arizona Association of Economic Development, and many others. Bopp received a bachelor's degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University, attended graduate school at the University of Virginia, and received his economic development certification (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Office of Economic Development Contact: Kim Lofgreen Tel. 480-644-3962 kim.lofgreen@mesaaz.gov