Resignation Press Release Submitted
Tucson, Arizona. Well, what I thought would happen tomorrow has happened today. We have officially sent the press release to the local papers that your humble blogger has indeed tendered his resignation effective at the end of this fiscal year, June 30, 2007.I was a participant in the Regional Town Hall, and I think The Star's opinion piece is quite good. Those familiar with this blog know that something is going on, or rather, something else.
posted by x4mr at 2:53 PM
14 Comments:
x4mr,
The comments attached to the Star's opinion piece aren't very positive.
You know, whenever I hear politicians and business leaders talk about the need to plan for the future of Tucson and decide what it's going to be, I'm kind of amused. Isn't that a lot like locking the barn door when the cows are gone? Tucson is already a big, sprawling city with hundreds of thousands of people. Tucson, to a large degree, already is what it's going to be, and the opportunities to change direction are limited.
Tucson has hurt itself probably beyond repair by allowing the transportation infrastructure to evolve into what it is. How can you go back and correct this problem, now that most of the land is developed? If it were even possible, how many years would it take and wouldn't the cost be prohibitive?
The real opportunities may be in workforce development (your area), but that, of course, must coincide with job opportunies.
Well, I'm looking forward to reading the report. I hope that something comes of it other than an increase in water rates.
x4mr,
I meant to tell you that I have just been blown away by your revelation that two gallons of water are leaked out for every gallon of water delivered. Is this a common problem? Is anyone planning to address the problems with the aging infrastructure or do they just fix the major problems when the main breaks occur, etc...?
Liza,
I think the biggest take away point that I got from the conversation is that the problems are harder and more complex than the folks in the coffee shops like to think.
It is easy to sit on the sidelines and bitch, but as you start to actually talk about what to do, it gets hard. I'm not making excuses for anyone.
Is there past incompetence? Absolutely. Without naming names, there was a politically influential group that successfully resisted allocating resources to infrastructure across almost every area, an "anti-growth" in the face of growth. I moved here in 1983, and I remember saying that Kolb should become a freeway shooting up and curving as Grant as a freeway to hit I-10 with another offshoot curving higher as a freeway hitting I-10 around Ina or so.
Overall, it was a positive and very educational experience. These people that bitch in the press comment sections. I can't say for sure, but I would bet a fair sum that if any of them got to spew in the group I was in, the people that truly understand these issues would dance circles around them.
The bad news is that the answers are not easy. The good news is that lots of people want to do something about them. The bad news is that self-serving interests pollute the process. The good news is that well meaning and intelligent people are trying to make in difference in spite of this.
As above, so below.
Sirocco picked a bad time to get married and go away.
I did technical training in a past life too--engineering software, specifically. SAIAT sounds like an organization I'd like to be involved with, if not for 1) its location and 2) Very Bad Things going on there.
I never would've figured you out, but I'm not nearly as "in the know" as other commenters here.
Jeff,
Not sure what you mean about very bad things. The place runs like a Rolls Royce. Other drivers became interested. They are no longer with us. You stand at the mouth of a rabbit hole. Stay tuned.
Sorry about that Matt. I was making assumptions based on a story I haven't read yet.
Hey, you're the one who has us on tinterhooks here! ;-)
x4mr,
The picture that I saw of you is not what I expected. I think it's because you often mention drinking and cigars that I associated a different image. Funny, huh?
Jeff,
Not to worry.
Liza,
That is a horrible photo. I am curious what image you associate with drinking and cigars.
I would get a buzz cut, but the daughter won't let me.
x4mr,
If you have a better photo then you may as well post it now that you're not anonymous anymore.
Liza,
Revisit Sweet, Succulent, Stanford.
Regardless of your level of attraction, I know you're married and don't do infidelity.
I have a thing about betrayal.
Yes, x4mr, I revisited and I can definitely see you as a guy who is fanatical about eradicating buffel grass from the Sonoran desert while completing his Ph.D program at the U of A. I think it works for you, at least based on appearances.
Does this mean I'm not as cute as the Laphroaig drinking Spellbound smoker?
I promise I look better in my Buffenator uniform with my customized left-handed BuffelMatic.
Yeah, those Laphroaig guys are much closer to the image I associate with drinking and smoking.
BTW, your daughter who is at Stanford is very cute. You get high marks for parenting.
I recall those (scuttled) 1980 plans to run some transportation routes around the north and central parts of the city too. I vaguely recall notions of an actual expressway along the Ina-Skyline-Sunrise-Sabino Canyon-Kolb (or Pantano) route that would hook up with I-10, and another corridor running along River Road.
Nothing ever came of it and, as Liza notes, getting around the Old Pueblo is a freaking nightmare these days. I wonder how many people are still around who voted against the plans back then, and regret their votes now -- I know my folks count as two.
Yeah, I did pick a bad time to leave, and yeah, your real name was completely new to me. Glad to "meet" you, though. :) Back now, had a great trip to China, and I'll resume posting tomorrow (after I catch up some).
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