Cave Creek lost its title
I used to take some measure of hidden pride in the fact that Cave Creek was often, and deservingly, referred to as the (take your choice): most screwed up, goofiest, wackiest, most difficult to govern, town in the County. No more. Both Carefree and Scottsdale have taken our title, left us in the dust, and are seemingly engaged in a mighty struggle to see which of the two can emerge as the clear victor. Cave Creek is not even competitive in this race. In Cave Creek’s defense, I don’t believe that we changed much for the better – we just got thoroughly waxed by superior stupidity. My money is on Carefree right now, but the battle appears to have just begun and things could change rapidly. Stay tuned, and don’t be despondent, Cave Creek – we had a good run.
Bob Williams | Cave Creek
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Friends of Cave Creek files campaign finance reports
November 3rd will mark a very significant election for the Town of Cave Creek. The rapid approach of Election Day indicates the beginning of several important events. First and foremost, make sure you vote if you haven't already done so. I would encourage everyone
to join me and the Friends of Cave Creek by voting "YES" on Prop 400 & 401.
Second, as required by law, the Friends of Cave Creek has filed our campaign finance reports with the town. Some may criticize the committee because of the amount of money spent on this important campaign; critics and opposition will likely notice that Walmart was the biggest campaign contributor.
To both I say "yes" and "yes, thank you." Our campaign has taken these referendums very seriously. We have moved forward with fervent purpose in order to achieve success and uphold the decisions made by the Town Council. The Friends of Cave Creek volunteers have spent the last few months campaigning. For many it meant sacrificing time from our families, jobs, and businesses because this election is critical to the survival of our town. Yes, Walmart did provide essential financial support for our campaign. We understand how important it is for our town to find new and diverse revenue streams in order to support our quality of life without compromising business in our town core.
During my time as a Director at American Stores (Jewel, Osco, ACME, Lucky, and Star Markets), I learned what it takes to win a campaign. Campaigning is not cheap, as you are well aware. The Friends of Cave Creek have spent what we felt was necessary to win and support for Prop 400 & 401. In my opinion, the financial support provided to Friends of Cave Creek by Walmart is further testament of their commitment be a contributing member of this community.
I have been involved in the campaign because I truly believe that it will be a great benefit to our town. I believe Walmart will be a strong financial asset and a great addition to our business community. They will not compete with our existing businesses and have already shown that they are willing to help out in our community. I hope that Prop 400 and 401 are upheld and that residents in our community will have the opportunity to see, firsthand, just what a positive asset they will be to Cave Creek.
Todd Newman, Managing Partner | Cave Creek Coffee & Wine, LLC | Cave Creek
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The character will change
For the past six years I’ve lived in Cave Creek. I’m privileged to own two homes on El Sendero Dr., one I live in; one is where my senior mother lives. I was aware of the commercial property planned when I bought my property (i.e., small shopping plaza). And what I did know there was one acre between me and the commercial property. I felt I could live with that, as long as there were trees, space for wild life, and vegetation to buffer any noise and lights.
That’s not what happened. Lowe’s bought the acre for “overflow” parking; completely re-directed a major wash, built a huge hole with an 18 foot drain at the bottom. In addition, they had no plans to continue a fence to block off access to the adjoining properties (i.e., Dave’s and my property).
I’ve made several reports and phone calls to Lowe’s’ management and the sheriffs department about:
Skateboarders, car racers, dumped furniture, parked cars with boom-box music at all times of the night, loitering motorcyclists, abandoned girl’s purse with beer bottles next to it, and most recently, a broken bent fence with at least 5-10 beer bottles and cans around and just last Sunday two cars at night “practicing” to drive.
There has not been one single space of Lowe’s overflow parking used in the past 2 years. Access to the parking is not blocked off, nor completely fenced and obviously a breeding ground for partying and “watching.”
I speak from firsthand experience … it will change! Wildlife will find new homes, parking lot lights will ruin beautiful nights, and noise will no longer be buffered by trees. Be prepared for your property value to decrease for a reason that will never change: Privacy is gone, people travel at 55 mph in the neighboring 25 mph streets, ingress/ egress issues, and more traffic is guaranteed and the Character will change.
Where were the creekers when Lowe’s was going in? Seems to me like Carefree residents care more about what happens to Cave Creek (when it’s close to them) than Cave Creek does.
Cheryle Carmitchel | Cave Creek
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Where we are going
“Show me your friends and I’ll tell you what you’ll become” is an astute assertion. President Obama’s myriad colleagues and friends are a potpourri of revolutionary activists and admirers of Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and Mao Tse-Tung. They are advising, counseling and fundamentally transforming America in the name of social, redistributive and environmental justice.
Van Jones stated in an interview that his environmental activism was a means to fight for racial and class “justice,” and that he was a “rowdy black nationalist” and a “communist.”
Mark Lloyd said he “found inspiration and guidance in the insurgent revolutionary strategies developed by third world revolutionaries like Mao Tse-Tung.” At a 2008 “media reform” conference he declared “the Marxist revolution in Venezuela under Chavez was incredible and dramatic.”
Anita Dunn, the White House communications director in a speech to students confided that “two of my favorite political philosophers are Mao Tse-Tung and Mother Theresa … the two people I turn to most often.”
Cass Sunstein believes economic crises provide “the most promising conditions for the emergence of socialism in the U.S.” Remember Rahm Emanuel’s exhortation “never let a crisis go to waste?”
Bill Ayers, a neighbor and colleague, characterized his political beliefs “I am a radical leftist, small “c” communist … maybe I’m the last communist who is willing to admit it.” In a New York Times interview on Sept. 11, 2001, he is quoted “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.”
The weekly sermons of Reverend Wright and advice of these “friends” and their effect and influence cannot be dismissed. We are left with a portrait of a president surrounded by persons inspired not by our Founding Fathers or the Constitution, but by tyrants and dictators propagating a tyrannical ideology with a legacy of brutality and crimes against humanity.
There is no doubt about where we are going, what we are becoming and who is leading us there.
Ed Konecnik | Flushing, New York
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Good Samaritans get grief
On Sunday, Oct. 11, we came across two large stray dogs at the intersection of 7th Ave. and Desert Hills Drive, in Desert Hills. Fearing that the dogs might get hit by a car or were lost due to being dumped out in the desert, we took the dogs home. The dogs had collars, but no ID tags nor ID chips. Multiple attempts were made to find the owners to no avail.
Two days later, we came home from work finding that our chicken coop had been torn into. All of our chickens and three turkeys had been massacred. Our beautiful Tom turkey had to be euthanized due to life threatening injuries. Both dogs were in the chicken coop, panting and wagging their tails.
With this sight, Maricopa Animal control was notified. The dogs were scanned for ID chips. Having no identification, the dogs were released to Maricopa Animal Control and taken to Phoenix.
One last attempt was made to find the owners. Through the Internet, a photo placed on Pets911.com was a success for finding the owners.
The response, however, was not what we wanted to hear: “My dogs get out all the time; you should have let them go!”
We are asking pet owners to “Please be more responsible and loving to their pets!” ID your pets. All the pain and grief felt in this incident would have been prevented had a simple ID tag been on the dogs.
Pat and Howard Kamarata | Desert Hills
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And the winner of the gold medal in intellectual somersaults is …
Republicans excel at intellectual somersaults, but Democrats are even better. If intellectual somersaults were an Olympic event, Democrats would win the gold, and Republicans, the silver.
Here’s an example of why Democrats deserve the gold: They want to increase spending on public education and, at the same time, cut spending on medical care.
Phew! It makes me dizzy to watch these mental gymnastics.
Any Democrat smarter than Maxine Waters or a coconut has to know the following two facts about compulsory public education: First, with a 50% dropout rate in inner cities and only a 70% graduation rate nationally, public education has failed miserably to achieve its stated goal of universal education. Second, the productivity of public schools has plummeted by over 70% over the last 40 years, as measured by stagnant test scores and more than a doubling of per-pupil spending in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Now here comes the Democrats’ intellectual somersault. Because government has failed to achieve universal education while increasing education spending dramatically, Democrats not only want more money wasted on public education, but they also want government to take over the healthcare industry in order to reduce medical spending by achieving universal medical care.
What a breathtaking performance!
The performance is even better than the performance of Republican neoconservatives, who removed the Sunni counterbalance to Shiite Iran by overthrowing the Baathist regime in Iraq. Now they are distraught that Iran has become the dominant power in the region and a threat to American and Israeli interests. This neoconservative performance doesn’t deserve a gold, however, because the majority of Democrats agreed with the neocons and supported the Iraq invasion. A team doesn’t deserve a gold if the opposing team helps it to win.
Libertarians will never win an Olympic medal in the intellectual somersault event. Whatever their faults, they at least have the intellectual honesty, logic, and command of the facts to point out intellectual contradictions, especially if the guilty party is a fellow libertarian. I have the scars to prove it.
Such criticism is painful but healthy. It forces the recipient of the feedback to question his thinking and political principles.
Sure, this internecine habit means that libertarians will never have political power. But that’s fine with them, because they don’t want to have political power if it requires intellectual somersaults, for they know that they’ll never be as good at mental gymnastics as Democrats and Republicans.
Craig J Cantoni | Scottsdale
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Dear Mr. Sorchych
I was online today searching for an item and I found Sonoran News. Well, I have lived my entire life in New Jersey and I want to tell your readers that we are not all corrupt. Many of us are hard working, tax paying, church-going individuals.
Mrs. Ruchalski | Via e-mail
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Senator McCain has let us all down
Sen. John McCain lost the Presidential election because he did not acknowledge the implications of Obama taking us down the road to destruction. Now Obama has been allowed to force us all to buy health insurance, when during his campaign against Hilary he was against mandatory health insurance.
Then Obama lied to America when he maintained that position as he ran against John McCain. As a man who swore an oath to this nation in the military and as a U.S. Senator to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution, McCain has failed to mention that mandatory health insurance is unconstitutional and an affront to everything our forefathers meant when they created this once great nation. Surely there is someone in our government who will honor their pledge to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
The irony is that we have brave men and women dying to bring freedom to other countries while we lose our basic freedoms right here in the USA! Where is Barry Goldwater when you need him!
Joseph DuPont | Towanda, Pennsylvania
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What is the reality?
When I was a young man I stood in awe of the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately it has now been stripped of all its nobility. It should be renamed the Warm and Fuzzy, Lovey Dovey, Appeasement Prize. Obama’s foreign policy is not noble; it is dangerous. Our longstanding policy of “peace through strength” has now been replaced by a policy of “peace through apology.” Obama seems not only concerned, but obsessed about our standing in the world. When he looks at the other countries of the world, he apparently sees great virtue and morality everywhere. He sees a multitude of godly, righteous, holy nations – nations that have every right to judge our every action; nations that are morally superior to us; nations that we should emulate; nations that we should bow down and worship.
Obama sees the world as a great fountain of life that the United States refuses to drink from. Obama views the world as a vast reservoir of good will that the United States refuses to frolic in. What is the reality? I have done an in-depth study of most of the nations of the world and for the most part they are a morally sad and sorry lot. A large number of them are noted for little more than corruption, oppression and aggression. Not to mention cold-blooded murder.
In 1964, I sat in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and I heard Senator Barry Goldwater make this statement, “I don’t give a tinker’s damn what the rest of the world thinks about the United States.” My sentiments exactly! Obama is dreaming of a world without nuclear weapons, war or violence. Obama is dreaming of a worldwide love fest. Obama is a dreamer.
Dreams are good, but reality is better.
Gary Marchinke | Pahrump, Nevada
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Ill-conceived cap and trade bill
Everytime I open a paper or read a website, it's healthcare this/healthcare that. But I'm more concerned about the cap and trade bill that has been introduced in the Senate by Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. It is a terrible bill that imposes new taxes on just about everything energy related. Not only that, but it does nothing to encourage alternative sources of energy domestically. It continues our reliance on foreign oil, and we all know what a bad idea that is.
I hope that this climate bill comes to the forefront of the public debate so that everyone can see what an ill-concieved bill this is. It will raise our prices, and do nothing to solve our energy needs.
Jean Varonti | Cave Creek
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