Camp Verde—well north of Phoenix, closer to Flagstaff—would like to make some money. So good news: according to the Camp Verde Journal, "Town Manager Russ Martin said he thinks he’s found a way that could help improve the town’s return on its investments." Whoo hoo!
Right now, they do a thing called the Local Government Investment Pool; there's a ton of these, state to state, and they do cautious, over-night, low-return investing for counties and towns. But really these GIPs are actually kind of hectic sometimes! Florida's GIP had a weird March: It opened the month with $7.3 billion, it had deposits of $690 million, withdrawals of $1.3 billion… [...]
"Lieutenant Burgett recalled another drop house where a 12-year-old boy was taking a piano lesson in the living room, while immigrants were held for ransom in a bedroom." -You know that whole untruth that politicians like John McCain and John Kyl were pushing, about violent crime exploding in Phoenix, due to border immigration? (Not true! Crime down!) Well it's also instructive to look at what the violent crime menace in Arizona includes-like the mass kidnapping and torture and ransoming of Mexicans, perpetrated by American citizens.
"I would also ask you, as overseas operations in Iraq and Afghanistan permit, to consider wider deployment of UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] along our nation's southern border. I am aware of how effective these assets have become in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, and it seems UAVs operations would be ideal for border security and counter-drug missions." -Arizona Governor Jan Brewer wants to open a third front in our ongoing wars.
"However intended, the result of passing the law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question, and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them." -Phoenix Suns owner and Tucson native Robert Sarver discusses his team's decision to wear jerseys proclaiming themselves "Los Suns" in last night's home playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns beat the Spurs 110-102 to go up 2-0 in the series.
I have a friend I'll call Patrick who lives in Tucson, the small southern Arizona town where I spent 14 years of my childhood. A six-four wall of a man, softened in parts by pints and whiskey, Patrick and I have been close since high school, when his family–a big, pasty, Irish affair–moved to town from Phoenix. Once, on a trip to a low-budget Mexican beach community named Rocky Point, Patrick and I conspired to eat our vegan friend's entire supply of peanut butter and jelly while he was in the shower, leaving only his toothbrush in an empty jar of Skippy. While he screamed, "Do you know how hard [...]
