August 14, 2012

Falling in Love with Phoenix

by: Brenda Eden

Tweet Today’s post is by guest writer Brenda Eden. Brenda studied photography and GIS at Arizona State University. She works at the City of Phoenix creating storm drain maps. She loves downtown Phoenix and is constantly exploring the city with her camera. One summer night two years ago, I came across Taz Looman’s blog. I stayed up late into the night reading it. I kept telling myself to shut down the computer and go to bed, but I found it too interesting. I can imagine I am making Taz blush saying this, but I can also hear her saying “Yay!” And…

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Tweet Today’s post is by Feliciano Vera: I swear that I left my sanity somewhere between the zoo that is JFK and lush curves of Madrid’s Barajas Airport. The building oscillated in my bleary-eyed state, leaving me confused as I walked out into the brisk March morning. I looked like a fat punching bag dressed in a Michelin Man costume. Or maybe I felt like one. I don’t remember the details exactly, except that I was travelling as a third wheel with two newlyweds – my best friend and his new wife. Someone with more sanity would steer clear of…

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Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Will Novak: Men’s 10 Meter Air Rifle, Women’s Table Tennis, Race Walking; yes its safe to say I’ve got Olympic fever.  Thinking about this year’s Summer Games in London got me to thinking, why not Phoenix? At first blush, the idea of bringing the Summer Games to a blazing desert inferno that’s not a world class City seems crazy. Though upon further examination, I believe Phoenix would actually be an excellent host for the Olympics and/or the Pan American Games. Games in the U.S. The 2016 Summer Olympics will be in Rio de…

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Tweet Today’s post is by guest writer Anthony Floyd. Anthony is a licensed architect and Senior Green Building/Energy Code Consultant for the City of Scottsdale. He previously served as building official for the City of Scottsdale from 1988 -1995. Anthony’s responsibilities in Scottsdale include education/outreach, energy performance evaluations and assessment of alternative building systems for building code compliance. He maintains Scottsdale’s regionally based green building program criteria, oversees implementation of the city adopted International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and works with the Public Works division in facilitating Scottsdale’s LEED Gold mandate for newly constructed and renovated city facilities. Anthony teaches…

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Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Kirby Hoyt: Alright Phoenix, it’s time to find out what we’re made of. The call to improve Margaret T. Hance Park into a world-class amenity has sounded. It’s up to the citizens of this community to answer that call and show the rest of the world what this city is all about. And the challenge is substantial. World-class cities spend world-class amounts of money to construct their public spaces. In order to match what other cities have done, Phoenix will have to step up to the plate and prove their determination for this…

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Tweet We all know that after the housing market crash, banks have tightened their fists considerably, making it hard to develop anything at all, much less innovative and equitable transit-oriented projects. The picture looked bleak for new development and redevelopment, where even suburban tract housing developers were dead in the water. But a few years ago, thanks to a very dedicated local team, some funds were secured to bridge the gap of financing for transit oriented development along the Light Rail. This is great news for Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa who have opted into Light Rail and stand to benefit…

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July 25, 2012

6 Cool New Happenings in Downtown Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Recently, I found myself talking to a few friends on separate occasions about how many cool new things are happening in Downtown Phoenix right now. We talked about how all these things are having a collective impact and gathering momentum for our Downtown. My friend Philip Beere today remarked on how Downtown has changed immensely in 10 years, going from almost no restaurants or places to hang out to all the places we see today. I’ve seen drastic changes even in the past five years, with a lot of mom and pop small businesses and community efforts taking hold….

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July 19, 2012

Perks of Being a Regular

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: Supporting “Local” goes beyond Small Business Saturday We’ve all seen the commercials, “this is the power of us”, illustrating how great small business are and how AMEX customers joined into a massive 1 Million people who chose to shop somewhere other than a big-box retailer or Amazon.  Holy cow, imagine what could happen if we only spread the word!! But, I know that on this note I’m preaching to the choir here.  I’m sure each reader already has their own favorite local coffee shop (Lola on Roosevelt used to be mine),…

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July 11, 2012

Planning a Village takes, well, a village

by: Jennifer Gunther

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Jennifer Gunther: After months of negotiation between community members and the developer, the Tempe City Council approved Gracie’s Village, a new, mixed-use building that will combine Gracie’s Thrift Store with affordable housing, on June 14. An extension of Grace Community Church’s ministry, Gracie’s Village will include new retail space for the thrift store and 94 beds for qualifying residents on a two-acre lot that is just west of Apache Boulevard and McClintock Drive. Amenities include a lounge and fitness center for qualifying residents. The density and height of the new building are the…

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July 10, 2012

Who are you calling urban enthusiast, pilgrim?

by: Feliciano Vera

Tweet Carolyn sauntered up to the bar, music in hand, looking like Brigitte Lin in Chungking Express getting ready to plop a few coins into a jukebox. Four of us remained at the table, watching the progress of her negotiations. Walking back, sans disc, we knew she had succeeded. We had been sitting for hours in a dim corner at the Little Woody and were at that point where we had successfully solved a few of the world’s problems. More importantly, we were fearless enough to suggest a new soundtrack for the entire bar. As the Talking Head’s This Must…

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