New Year's Resolutions
"Jana's View"
Phoenix Magazine
January
2006
It's that time again. Time for
Jana to assume the role of "Queen of Arizona"
and share her thoughts on how the state could be a little better.
I only get to play
"Queen of Arizona" once a year - in this annual January column -
and, believe me, I relish it. All year long I save clippings and
make notes to myself - often in my car or on the run, so sometimes I
can't even read my own writing. Trust me, though, I take this role
very seriously.
For a while, I tried to proclaim how I'd fix the state's major
problems, but the state always has so many major problems. It was a
real bummer of a column. Besides, haven't we elected and hired a
whole lot of people to take care of those problems?
What's more, if you aren't blinded by just the problems, you can see
there are plenty of people doing some pretty remarkable things, and
I thought that if I were queen, I'd certainly want to acknowledge
them.
So, every January I present a kind of hybrid column that lauds the
laudable and slams the slipshod. This year, I've amassed 24 items
that, if I were queen, I'd proclaim to make the state of Arizona a
better place in which to live.
- I'd decree that everyone in Arizona's public schools learn
English. And Spanish. This state has the incredible potential to
be fully bilingual, and it would help if we all could speak the
two dominant languages of the Grand Canyon State. I wish this
were an original idea, but it's not. I'm borrowing it from my
old friend Tony Sommer, who retired from the Phoenix Gazette,
but still writes a column every now and then. He wants this
dual-language education to start in Kindergarten, and I couldn't
agree more.
- As former Governor Rose Mofford has advocated, I'd give an
estate tax break to people who donate organs. I think we should
do something special for the people who help give others a new
chance at life.
- I'd never have given Donald Trump the zoning to build a
multi-story high-rise adjacent to a residential area at 26th
Street and Camelback. I'd have insisted that if he wants a tall
building, he should construct it where tall buildings belong -
Downtown. The City Council is going to regret that decision,
which some tried to sell by saying it was a blow against
"sprawl." Gag me. If you look at the split vote, you see that
all the outlying Council members from the sprawling districts
voted for Trump, while all the urban Council members voted
against him.
- I wouldn't have let America West Airlines throw away its
name when it merged with US Airways. Although America West was
buying the other airline, it erased its name altogether, so the
new combined airline is US Airways. Didn't anybody ever consider
that it could have been renamed "American Airways," which would
have married the two names? You guys should have called me.
- I'd never, ever allow the Arizona Legislature to try and
raid the Heritage Fund, which voters approved in 1990 to pay for
parks and wildlife programs. Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed a
bill last year that would have swiped that money - the 33rd time
lawmakers have tried to dip their pinkies into that fund. Hands
off, folks. I mean it.
- I'd be more generous with arts programs in Arizona. We only
spend 63 cents per person in this state on the arts, and I think
that's way too skimpy. And while we're at it, let's tip our hats
to the wonderful Shelley Cohn, who retired last year as director
of the Arizona Com-
mission on the Arts. What that woman could do with almost no
money… it was awesome, and so is she. Thanks, Shelley.
- I'd decree that more neighborhoods create their own version
of Soup Night on West Lawrence Road. Every Thursday, one of the
12 houses on the street makes a big pot of soup and all the
neighbors come by. What a lovely way to get to know your
neighbors!
- I'd make sure that everyone visits one of Downtown's most
prized possessions - a bookstore! Oh, how that area has suffered
without its own place to buy books (al-
though it is blessed with the Burton Barr Public Library, which
loans them out). But when the Poisoned Pen moved into the
Bentley Projects on Grant Street, life got sweeter for the heart
of the city. It was particularly significant that the Downtown
store was the second venture of the very successful Poisoned Pen
in Scottsdale. Thank you, Barbara Peters, for spreading your
bookstores around.
- I'd send Jesus Daniel Mendoza on tour around Arizona to show
students that continual obstacles can't stop you if you really
want to learn. Jesus spent most of his childhood moving with his
migrant farm family. Despite being constantly uprooted, however,
he listened when Mama and Papa stressed the value of education.
The Alhambra graduate snared a full-ride, four-year scholarship
to ASU, where he's studying electrical engineering. What a role
model he could be for so many kids - especially in a state that
has the worst dropout rate in the country.
- I'd encourage more Arizona communities to follow Phoenix's
lead and "adopt a village" in need of help. Phoenix is
partnering with the nonprofit Food for the Hungry to adopt the
Indonesian village of Meulaboh, which was devastated by the
tsunami. One-third of its 120,000 residents were killed. Mayor
Phil Gordon says he thinks the long-term pledge to help them get
back on their feet is the first of its kind by a city.
- If I were queen, I'd have everyone in Arizona visit Release
the Fear, a sculpture in a pocket park at Central and Roosevelt.
This 24-foot-tall sculpture is made from four tons of melted
weapons. It's a monument to peace and understanding that was
created over the last decade by Phoenix artist Robert Miley.
- I'd encourage more law firms in Arizona to get involved in
volunteering their talents to community projects. Obviously,
Snell & Wilmer believes in the idea, because last March it
hosted a fair for professionals interested in learning about
volunteer opportunities. Great idea.
- I'd seek out more remarkable women like Mary Peterson, who
founded "Maggie's Place," which aids pregnant women and girls in
crisis. Five years ago, at age 28, this altruistic woman quit
her job, moved in with four friends, slept on the floor, and
rebuilt a dilapidated home in Central Phoenix that she called
Magdalene House. Last year she opened a second house in Tempe,
called Elizabeth House. She hopes to expand her compassion
nationwide. I predict that some-
day the whole country will know how special she is.
- I'd make sure everyone knows how much good the Los Bomberos
Program has done. In 1990, when Mary Rose Wilcox was still a
member of the City Council, she approached the city's
firefighters, asking if they could help combat the arson
problems in some South Phoenix neighborhoods. About 40 of the 50
Hispanic firefighters at the time formed Los Bomberos and
started going through neighborhoods, often communicating in "Spanglish"
to help the community weed out the problem. The arson rate
dropped, but by then, nobody wanted to leave, so they stayed and
they've continued being a positive force in the community -
teaching CPR and water safety, passing out smoke detectors, and
teaching people fire drills. They've also been a good nudge for
the fire department, as they've become mentors to help new
firefighters, especially minorities and women.
- I'd convince the Collier Co. to donate the land it owns at
the northeast corner of Indian School and Central to Phoenix so
we could expand Steele Indian School Park, which was created
around the old Indian school. The land is vacant, but it is
slated for a high-rise someday. Instead, I hope it becomes a
part of our new urban park.
- I'd never allow anyone to auction off a live animal at a
charity dinner.
- I'd stop all tagging and give these gifted but misdirected
artists someplace to show their stuff without defacing our
cities with graffiti.
- I'd reopen Union Station for nationwide travel on Amtrak,
and I'd create a network of commuter trains for local travel -
Wickenburg to Phoenix; the East Valley to Phoenix; Phoenix to
Tucson. I'm overjoyed that some people are now exploring this
idea, because I've lamented for a long time the fact that we're
the only major city in America without any passenger railroads.
- If I were queen, I'd buy everyone in Arizona a ticket to a
Cookie Co. production this year, as the troupe celebrates its
25th year. This wonderful children's theater is an Arizona
treasure, and its imaginative plays have long been big hits with
the youngsters.
- I'd immediately resume construction of the new building for
the Arizona State Archives, which is to be named in honor of the
late Polly Rosenbaum. A couple of lawmakers - Russell Pearce and
Jim Weiers - want to scuttle the project, and they're just plain
wrong. They want to move the site of the new building so it can
cozy up to the Capitol buildings and provide space for
lawmakers' staffs and a parking structure. Hello! The new
library doesn't need any roommates. It's being built because we
don't have enough space to care for the state's historical
documents. Leave the plans alone, boys.
- I'd sponsor a competition to find some creative way to
decorate the Valley's fire hydrants and water pipes. They're
necessary, of course, but they're everywhere, and they don't
have to be ugly.
- I'd make sure everyone in Arizona understands that
secondhand smoke kills.
- I'd clone retirees like Buzz and Barbara Bradley of Sun
Lakes. This couple is not spending their retirement on the golf
course. Nope. Instead, they've created a nonprofit organization
whose volunteers assist homebound adults. They call it About
Care Inc., and it offers services to the elderly and chronically
ill, as well as the physically challenged. Wow. Thank you Mr.
and Mrs. Bradley.
- I'd bring all of our troops home from Iraq.
Have a great New Year!
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