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<br />JAN 0 8 2001
<br />THE TRIBUNE
<br />NEWSPAPERS
<br />Mesa,AZ
<br />Cir: 106,228 Dly
<br />Forum offers new voice in P.V. politics ·
<br />. Citizens group ·
<br />· to attend council. .
<br />. meetings, give input ·
<br />BY ZARANA SANGHANI
<br />TRIBUNE
<br />A newly formed civic group·
<br />in Paradise Valley promises to
<br />· fill the communication gap
<br />' between residents · and the
<br />Town Council, bolstering pub-
<br />. lie inputfor policy decisions .. · .
<br />"Everybody just got ticked ·
<br />off about the way things were
<br />being· run," said Larry West-
<br />house, a Civil ·engineer.
<br />'There were a lot ·of people
<br />who were just individually
<br />saying,' 'We're not being __
<br />heard.'"
<br />W esthouse and other resi-
<br />dents formed t\'le . Citize~s
<br />Forum. The group plans .to
<br />-attend every council and Plan-
<br />ning and Zoning Commission
<br />meeting, along with council
<br />work study sessions .
<br />The Citizens Forum wants'
<br />to send residents newsletters
<br />on meetings and issues, · said
<br />. Marcie Am9ry, who helped
<br />form the group. The group
<br />will stay nonpartisan, Amory
<br />said. ·
<br />. The first official meeting of
<br />the Citizens Forum is today.
<br />. foruni board metribers · and
<br />officers will be elected, and
<br />·candidates for the Town
<br />Council in the March primary
<br />elections ·will introduce them-
<br />selves and answer questions.
<br />The organization can help
<br />. residents give the council con-
<br />structive criticism, said Ron·
<br />Clarke, a councilman running
<br />for re-election in March. ·
<br />"I think it's' a great idea,"
<br />Clarke · said. "If this group
<br />truly sits. in on the meeting
<br />and really knows what's going
<br />on first-hand, people won't be .
<br />running around misinformed."
<br />Citizens Forum expects to.
<br />replace the Paradise Valley
<br />IF YOU GO
<br />·What: Paradise Valley Citizens .
<br />Forum meeting and Town
<br />Council candidate introd.uctions
<br />When: 7 p.m. to9ay
<br />Where: Palo Cristi Presbyterian
<br />Church, 3535 E. Lincoln Drive .
<br />Homeowners As~ociation, .
<br />which last met in 1996, Amory
<br />said.-·
<br />Some ··Citizens Forum
<br />members also belonged to
<br />Paradise Valley __ Concerne~
<br />Citizens, which loosely:
<br />formed in September b~t
<br />ended quickly ..
<br />Concerned Citizens was ·
<br />involved in issues that ranged
<br />from the Doubletree Ranch
<br />Road flood. control project to ·
<br />the realignment of the Tatum
<br />Boulevard and McDonald
<br />Drive intersection. The · Citi-
<br />zens Forum will discuss those
<br />issues along with other con-
<br />cerns, Westhouse {>aid. _ ·
<br />Tuesday, January 8, 2002
<br />Phoenix, Arizona
<br />THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
<br />Page: B8
<br />. -
<br />Paradise Valley won't print candidate info
<br />-Town hopes to avoid
<br />election-bias complaints
<br />By Diana· Balazs
<br />The Arizona Republic
<br />Paradise Valley will not publicize in-
<br />formation about candidates in the up-
<br />coming town election partly out of con-
<br />cern that any voting information could
<br />be considered biased.
<br />Town officials learned in a Decem-
<br />ber work-study session about election ·
<br />law and procedures that a campaign
<br />newsletter or publibity pamphlet must
<br />be pre-approved by the U.S. Depart-
<br />ment of Justice and be printed in Eng-
<br />lish and Spanish.
<br />Since 1978, the town has run voting
<br />information and candidate profiles in
<br />the Town Reporter, which is mail~d
<br />free to all town residents. The profiles
<br />include a photograph and a written 1
<br />statement supplied by each candidate.
<br />"The town attorney recommends
<br />that the town because of unforeseen is-
<br />sues of bias being raised not publish
<br />candidate statements," Lenore Lan-
<br />caster, management services director,
<br />said in a: memo to the council. -
<br />Also, the information has been
<br />printed only in English. The Justice
<br />Department has interpreted the Vot-
<br />ing Rights Act of 1965 to mean that all
<br />eleCtion materials should be printed in
<br />English and Spanish.
<br />Town officials said there isn't time
<br />to meet those requirements before the
<br />March 12 council election.
<br />"I just find it very unfortunate that
<br />the town is not allowed to disseminate
<br />information to our residents," Vice
<br />Mayor Dan Schweiker said.
<br />Last year, nine Paradise Valley resi-
<br />dents filed an election law complaint
<br />against the town, alleging that the town
<br />used a public resource, the Town Re-
<br />porter, to influence the outcome of two
<br />elections in 2000. Attorney Bill Farrell,
<br />who investigated the complaint for the
<br />town, said use of the Town Reporter did
<br />not violate state election law.
<br />JAN 0 8 2001
<br />THE TRIBUNE
<br />NEWSPAPERS
<br />Mesa,AZ
<br />Cir: 106,228 Dly
<br />P.V. flood project not needed, not wanted
<br />An editorial taking an
<br />interest in Paradise Valley
<br />(Monday) -nice. But horrors
<br />-the Tribune has some wrong
<br />ideas about the people opposed
<br />to the town of Paradise
<br />Valley-Maricopa County Flood
<br />Control project
<br />We are not opposed to flood
<br />control; we just oppose the
<br />huge urban project and the
<br />monster culverts ·
<br />_suggested by the Maricopa
<br />County Flood Control District
<br />engineerS. The original concern
<br />about flooding in the area was
<br />not suggested by the county' at
<br />all; it was first suggested in 1993
<br />to Paradise Valley by a principal
<br />at Cherokee Elementary
<br />School. School buses and
<br />private cars were delayed one
<br />day in 1993 because Cherokee
<br />Wash was backed up on 56th
<br />Street after a rainstorm and the
<br />wash's "raging torrent" flowed
<br />into the street There was rio
<br />water in the school or in homes
<br />in the area
<br />Maricopa County was asked
<br />by the town in 1994 to develop a
<br />flood control project in the area.
<br />In subsequent years the town
<br />realized that the county was
<br />developing a huge urban
<br />project costing millions of ·
<br />dollars so we requested that the
<br />county's design l:!e cut back. (I
<br />was on the Town Council then.)
<br />Finally, when the plan went to
<br />the county Flood Control
<br />Advisory Board in 2000 it was
<br />rejected, once and for all, as
<br />unneeded.
<br />· We all felt relieved and
<br />• PLANS
<br />thought the town would riow
<br />repair the street and work on 'a
<br />new flood. control plan which ··
<br />used washes, not culverts.
<br />Members of the town staff were
<br />instructed to map all the
<br />washes in town, Things began
<br />to look hopeful. .
<br />· But in 2001 the Town
<br />Council hired a lobbying finn
<br />headed by politician Matt
<br />Salmon to fight the advisory
<br />board's 2000 rejection. They
<br />took the issue straigh~ to the
<br />county supervisors last week
<br />and got a new decision.
<br />Why, if the residents didn't
<br />wantthis project, has so much
<br />Town Council effort been spent ·
<br />to advance it? That has been a '
<br />· continuing question. '
<br />Everyone in town wants
<br />Doubletree Ranch Road
<br />repaired. Everyone wants
<br />effective flood control, which
<br />can be accomplished by using
<br />the existing roadside washes
<br />and by new planted areas. But ·
<br />Paradise Valle~ is a small town
<br />with a small town staff. Large
<br />underground culverts, as
<br />suggested by the county·
<br />··engineers, would need major
<br />maintenance by town staff.
<br />1hese urban improvements are
<br />not needed and not wanted by
<br />the majority of the residents.
<br />Instead, we would like for the
<br />town to repair Doubletree
<br />Ranch Road, lower it a bit,
<br />restripe it, and perhaps design.
<br />a curve or two to deter
<br />cut-through traffic.
<br />Jane Cole
<br />Paradise Valley
<br />events of Sept. II."
<br />I
<br />~~ 0 6 2~~l
<br />THE TRIBUNE
<br />NEWSPAPERS
<br />Mesa,AZ
<br />Cir: 106,228 Dly
<br />. PARADISE VALLEY
<br />• The Paradise Valley
<br />Town Council is scheduled to
<br />meet 7 p.m. Thursday at Town
<br />Hall, 6401 E. lincoln Drive. The
<br />· agenda includes possible action
<br />· by the council on the final
<br />agreement with Maricopa
<br />County for a flood-control
<br />project on Doubletree Ranch ·
<br />Road. For more information,
<br />call (480) 948-7411.
<br />• Candidates for the
<br />Paradise Valley Town Council
<br />are scheduled to give
<br />presentations at the first
<br />meeting of .citizens Forum, a
<br />neighborhood group, 7 p.m.
<br />Wednesday at Palo Cristi
<br />Presbyterian Church, 3535 E.
<br />Lincoln Drive. For more
<br />information, call (480) 945-1928.
<br />JAN -2 2002
<br />TOWN OF
<br />PARADISE VL Y
<br />INDEPENDENT
<br />Paradise, Vly, AZ
<br />Cir: 6,000 weekly
<br />'
<br />Plans on
<br />·hold for Mt.
<br />Shadows
<br />8),' Amy Washburn
<br />Independent Newspapers
<br />Plans to revitalize Marriott's
<br />Mountain Shadow Resort in the
<br />_·Town of Paradise Valley are at a
<br />standstill.
<br />In early September, the
<br />Independent reported . that
<br />employees at the long-standing
<br />Town resort had stated a facelift
<br />may be in the works.
<br />. However, no new decisions
<br />have been made on what· to do
<br />with the resort.
<br />. See • PLANS, Page 6
<br />·From Page 1
<br />· "This type of thing takes
<br />time," said Mountain Shadows
<br />Resort General Manager Jim
<br />Rose, "There is nothing new to
<br />t!port as of now."
<br />· Although the events of Sept.
<br />II took their toll on the resort ·
<br />and recreation industry; Mr.
<br />Rose said the plans for revital-
<br />. ization were not affected. ·
<br />"We are still on the same
<br />track we were on prior to the
<br />Marriott is considering re-
<br />developing Mountain Shadows
<br />into a top-of-the-line resort
<br />called a J.W. Resort. ,
<br />transforming· Mountain Shad-
<br />ows into a Marriott Vacation
<br />Club International, which offers
<br />. · vacations for visitors who pay in
<br />a?~ance for seasonal or weekly
<br />VISitS. Marriott is also considering
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