Posts Tagged ‘blooming rock’

January 24, 2011

Car Free Stories: The Virtue of the Bell and the Hazards of Intersections

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet This is the second installment in my Car Free Stories series.  Check out the first here.  Recently I got a bell for my bike and what a transformative experience it’s been!  Before, when people were in front of me on a sidewalk, I yelled (respectfully), “excuse me! excuse me!”.  Nine times out of ten this wouldn’t work and I’d just have to slow down and wait for an opportunity to pass the seemingly deaf pedestrian.  Now that I have a bell, I’ll ring it once and the astute ones will hear it and get out of the way.  I…

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January 10, 2011

Maricopa County’s Sustainability Manager Talks about the Green Government Program

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Did you know that Maricopa County has a Sustainability Manager and has adopted a Green Government Program?  I didn’t either.  Once I met the Sustainability Manager, Jonce Walker, and he told me about their Green Government Program, I was very impressed with what the County has been able to accomplish in a few short years in regards to sustainability.  I interviewed Jonce and asked him about the program he’s been instrumental in creating and implementing.  Below is part I of our interview, touching on Jonce’s role in the County, the general characteristics of the Green Government Program, its triple…

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January 05, 2011

The Musical Instrument Museum – A Great Cultural Treasure in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) has been in the news a lot lately.  In fact, it was featured on NPR today.  Last week I had the pleasure of personally visiting the Musical Instrument Museum with my out of town family and I absolutely loved it.  The building and the surrounding landscaping are fantastic, but that’s not why I love this museum.  I love this museum because it celebrates, respects and cherishes every culture in the world in a  state that can easily be considered a little xenophobic after the passage of SB 1070.  Having a varied cultural background myself,…

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December 29, 2010

Reverse Lanes Place Cars Above Community

by: Yuri Artibise

Tweet Today’s post is by the avid urbanist, community activist and my friend, Yuri Artibise. Yuri Artibise—aka the Incurable Urbanist—has spent the past four years creating community in the urban desert that is better known as Phoenix. Through his Yurbanism brand, Yuri explores the ‘Y’ of urbanism by sharing ways to make our cities more livable, community-oriented places one block at a time.  Find out more at yuriartibise.com. On December 14th Phoenix City Council voted 5-1 (with 2 absences) to accept the report of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Reverse Lanes. (A summary of the report is found at…

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December 28, 2010

Car Free Stories: An Old Bird and a New Bird on the Canal

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet This is the first post in a new series called Car Free Stories which will document my various experiences riding my bike, taking transit and walking in Central Phoenix. Today I’d like to share two stories about my daily bike commute on the Grand Canal.  One is about an old bird named Bob and another about a new bird on the scene. An Old Bird Named Bob There is an old gentleman dressed in a track suit that walks for exercise on the canal.  I see him almost every day.  Once we realized we were regulars on the canal,…

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December 27, 2010

6 Things Phoenix Could Learn from Bisbee

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet You may think Bisbee, AZ is just a podunk town in the middle of nowhere and what the heck could a big city like Phoenix learn from a no-place like that?  Well, to some people’s surprise, they get a whole lotta things right in Bisbee and we could take a few pointers from the tiny town here in our mega metropolis. 1. Go Local There’s a big emphasis on local in Bisbee. I know Bisbee is often seen as a tourist trap, but it’s not.  In fact, Bisbee has a very strong and loyal local population that makes sure…

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December 21, 2010

Good News for Energy in 2011 from the New Tax Bill

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Many of the federal tax benefits for clean energy and energy efficiency were due to come to an end on December 31.  This was bad news for the green economy because these benefits are often what grease the wheels of clean energy and energy efficiency companies.  When these benefits expire, green energy companies suffer, contract or go out of business, taking countless green jobs with them.  Below is a list of 4 items that are seeing a benefit extension for another year which bodes well for the green economy (at least for another year): The Treasury Grant Program, a…

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December 17, 2010

The Ranch Mine Transforms Old Houses into Custom Homes for Generation Y

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Recently I’ve met a few really talented architecture graduates that haven’t been able to find a job at a firm due to the depressed economy.  This may sound like an unfortunate thing, but it turns out that these brilliant graduates are making a much bigger difference right out of school then they ever could have if they just found a job at an architecture firm. An example of a very talented architecture graduate I’ve gotten to know this year is Cavin Costello.  He is a Master of Architecture graduate from Northeastern University in Boston and he came out to…

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December 14, 2010

What Would Paolo Soleri Do?

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet “The mechanisms channeling life positively may consist of the replacement of comfort and security by joy.” – Paolo Soleri in his book Arcology: The City in the Image of Man This weekend was the public dedication of the bridge designed by Paolo Soleri in Scottsdale on the Waterfront.  I attended a special VIP reception before the public dedication and snapped a photo of the man himself.  The next day, I attended a lecture on Organic Architecture by Alan Hess and a panel discussion on Soleri’s Principles in Action that included Will Bruder, John Munier, Jeffrey Stein and Peter Zweig,…

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