New Year's Resolutions
"Jana's View"
Phoenix Magazine
January
2005
It's that time of year again.
Time for Jana Bommersbach to assume the role of
"Queen of Arizona" and share her thoughts on how the state could be
better.
The "Queen" is back, for yet
another round of the world according to Jana! Every January, this
fine magazine lets me rant and rave about how I'd make the world
right if I were "Queen of Arizona." And all year long, I keep a file
on my desk, which fills up month after month with clippings and
notes on things that strike me as important.
A nice discovery this year when I opened the file is that I found
several outstanding examples of ordinary people doing remarkable
things. Queens shouldn't just dictate, but should honor such
accomplishments, too. Of course, as always, there are some things
that are in particular need of a positive nudge forward. So, here's
this year's list of resolutions:
- I'd demand that every Monday morning, Democratic Governor
Janet Napolitano and Senate Minority Leader Linda Aguirre have
breakfast with the Republican leaders of the Legislature - Senate
President Ken Bennett and House Speaker Jim Weiers. Breaking bread
together is a fine way to develop friendships and understanding.
OK, so I'm not naive enough to think that a weekly breakfast will
solve all of Arizona's political differences, but it couldn't
hurt. These are four fine, decent people who, I believe, really do
care about this state. I think if they sit down together - at
breakfast or wherever - they'll find similarities on which they
can build a healthy and prosperous state.
- I'd never let Arizona build another monstrosity like the
glass-encased Federal Courthouse in Downtown Phoenix, which boils
in the summer and freezes in the winter. Hadn't the New York
architect ever visited this desert state to understand the power
of the sun? And then to name it for our dear Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor... please, name something decent for this fine
lady.
- I'd answer the plea of the fifth-grade students at Island
Elementary School in Gilbert, who wrote an impassioned "letter to
the editor" last March to The Arizona Republic pleading for a stop
in cuts to school libraries. "We believe that America is the land
of freedom and learning, and without learning there will be no
freedom," the students wrote. "So we ask our leaders to please
support funding of school libraries." Amen.
- I'd make sure everyone knew of the special effort by the
United Phoenix Fire Fighters, who for three years have organized
Valley firefighters in a free fence program. Last year, they gave
away more than 60 pool fences to families who couldn't afford
them, with the simple reality that pool fences help save lives.
These guys always go the extra mile, and that's why we love them
so.
- I'd have everyone in Arizona buy a ticket to a Phoenix Mercury
game so they'd see how fun and exciting professional women's
sports can be. Last year, Arizona became the first professional
team to be partly owned by women - Anne Mariucci and Kathy Munro.
Men have long recognized the value of sports in creating healthy
young men, and it works for young women, too.
- I'd reign in those ridiculous "homeowner's associations" that
have shown themselves, at times, to be ridiculous. Consider the
case of Higley homeowners Dan and Barbara Stroia, who fell behind
in their dues by $66 - after a rate hike they didn't know about -
and ended up being fined through the roof until they owed their
homeowner's association $8,000. The Legislature has tried to
stifle these power-hungry groups, and I hope they finally succeed.
They say a little power is a dangerous thing, and, unfortunately,
too many HOAs have shown they can't handle any power at all.
- I'd honor Carol Kamin for her tireless and ferocious voice for
Arizona children. As director of the Children's Action Alliance,
Kamin can cite chapter and verse on what Arizona is doing and
isn't doing for the health and welfare of our children. She
doesn't back down when told to go away; she doesn't shrink when
faced with huge obstacles; she doesn't flinch when someone tries
to slide children's issues to a back burner. No, she's in there
fighting every day, and we're so lucky to have her pluck.
- I'd give a special Eagle Scout badge to Ethan Jackson of Mesa,
who had volunteered at the Mesa Southwest Museum for three years
and saw an obvious need: Braille signs to help blind children
enjoy the museum. Last year was his senior year at Mountain View
High School, and like most seniors, he was busy with school
activities. But he still found time to raise $1,000 through a yard
sale and appeals to civic groups to fund his Braille project.
Ethan got the Foundation for Blind Children in Phoenix to print a
Braille manual and labels, and museum officials praised the young
man for fulfilling a real need. I can't wait to see what other
great things this young man does with his life.
- I'd give a very big Arizona hug to Eddie Basha, The Arizona
Republic and 12 News, who remember that people get hungry all year
long. Last June, the three sponsored a month long food drive to
help needy residents statewide. Together, they raised thousands of
dollars and pounds of food that were distributed through St.
Vincent de Paul and members of the Association of Arizona Food
Banks.
- I'd grease the skids for Phoenix and Arizona State University
to fulfill their dream of a "Downtown campus," which will
rejuvenate our Capital City. This is a win-win-win proposition - a
win for Phoenix, a win for ASU, and a win for all of Arizona as we
move this university into the ranks of one of America's best. I
think I'll take the visionaries of this plan - Phoenix Mayor Phil
Gordon and ASU President Michael Crow - out for dinner in "The
Hood." It's the least I can do.
- I'd expand programs like the Second Chance Prison Canine
Program, which has inmates training service dogs. Listen to what
convicted murderer Alphonzo Hampton said as he "graduated" from
this program by training a dog named Buddy: "I had an opportunity
to show I could be something better than who I was when I came to
jail. I'm happy to say I'm proud of what I've done. I haven't been
able to say that before." These kinds of self-improvement programs
can only help inmates seek a different life when they leave
prison. I'm all for them, and I'm pleased that Arizona's new
corrections director, Dora Schriro, is too.
- I'd give each Arizona teacher $500 a year to pay for needed
supplies in her or his classroom. That money is already being
spent, but it's usually coming out of the teachers' own pockets -
they're paying from their below-national-average salaries to buy
the supplies their kids need to learn. When are we going to wake
up to the fact that, contrary to the rhetoric you hear from some
circles, we aren't paying teachers enough or providing enough
resources for them to do their jobs? While you're at it, give a
special thanks to Pat Saganey-Wayne, who teaches language arts at
Kayenta Middle School on the Navajo Reservation, and Sheryl
Castro, a Spanish teacher at Catalina Foothills High School in
Tucson. Both did Arizona proud in being named to an elite group of
100 teachers across America who won the annual National Educator
Award last year.
- I'd post billboards around Arizona with the pretty face and
story of youngsters like Rachel Vogel, a third-grader at Desert
Valley Elementary School in Glendale, who donated her honey-brown
hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit group that provides hairpieces
to children with cancer. Her mom found out about the program, and
Rachel was impressed that "you can use your hair instead of just
throwing it away." Makes you feel good to know there are parents
out there teaching such selfless values to their youngsters.
- I'd convince Congress to pass The Dream Act, which would give
legal status to undocumented immigrants who crossed the border as
children and have grown up to attend college or join the U.S.
military. What possible sense would it make to deport these
people, who have already been contributing?
- I'd convince more Arizonans to volunteer for the Arizona
Braille and Talking Book Library. This marvelous program has 275
volunteers recording books and magazines on tape for those who are
visually impaired or disabled. More than 10,000 patrons annually
use these materials to enrich their lives. If you've ever wondered
if it's worth it, just ask Paradise Valley resident Dee Elder or
Tempe resident Ann Fogarty - these two women have been
volunteering for this program for nearly 30 years. Check it out.
- I'd install the Elmer Young family in a permanent Arizona Hall
of Fame. This family has farmed near Dewey since its patriarch
returned from Naval service during World War II. Faced with the
development pressures of Yavapai County and ever-mounting land
prices, Elmer Young thought of selling until his family agreed to
do something unprecedented in Arizona: The Youngs sold their
development rights so they can continue farming. They joined in a
conservation easement agreement with the Trust for Public Land and
the Central Arizona Land Trust, which means they still own the
farm, but the land can only be used to farm. Even if they sold it
someday, the land couldn't be developed, but will remain a farm
forever. I'm stopping by the farm to buy something from their
store the next time I'm in that neighborhood. I want to let them
know how much Arizona appreciates their decision.
- I'd like every Arizonan to understand the generosity and
caring of the late Virginia G. Piper, whose $500 million
charitable trust gives out millions every year to benefit
everything from children to the elderly to arts and culture to
health, education and religion. Not only is this Arizona's largest
trust, but it's also one of the nation's most generous trusts. We
indeed are grateful that it's headquartered here, and that the
name of this lovely lady will live forever in Arizona.
- I'd have everyone going to the 49th Annual VNSA Used Book
Sale, which takes place on February 12-13 at the Exhibit Hall of
the State Fairgrounds (1826 W. McDowell Road). This fabulous sale
not only provides thousands of great used books, but raises
hundreds of thousands of dollars for good causes. The 2004
proceeds amounted to $340,000 for local charities. This year's
charities include Arizona Friends of Foster Children, Literacy
Volunteers of Maricopa County and Toby House, the state's first
psychiatric halfway house for mentally ill adults.
- I'd stifle my own sharp tongue and open my ears to the words
of 12-year-old Alene Gallagher, who spent three weeks before last
fall's national election traveling across the country as a "Kid
for Kerry." This Chandler seventh-grader got an
up-close-and-personal look at American politics, and came home
older and wiser. I'm happy to report she didn't come home
discouraged or jaded that her candidate lost. But she came home
with a political wisdom that all of us - you and I - need to hear.
"I learned to respect people's differences and principles," she
told a local newspaper. "There's two sides to every story, so
listen to both." From the mouths of babes.
Happy New Year.
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