Thank You, Tony Hillerman

Posted on Aug 28, 2015 | 0 comments

Cowboy Poem Category, 2015 Summer Fun Write Stuff Contest By Barb Owings  It started when I had some time to kill At the library looking for a book that might give me a thrill When I happened upon mysteries written about the West So I checked out a few to give them a test The stories were short and had interesting plots And it turned out I really liked them a lot They contained adventures about places unknown Like vast desert mesas,...

Cave Creek Mystery Solved?

Posted on Aug 28, 2015 | 0 comments

Winner, Seeing and Doing Category, 2015 Summer Fun Write Stuff Contest By Kraig Randal Nelson The Desert Foothills has lost her historical doyenne. Mrs. Frances C. Carlson, author of Cave Creek and Carefree, A History of the Desert Foothills, passed on June 24, 2015. Her important book, published in 1988, was the definitive resource for anyone interested in Cave Creek or Carefree history from the canal-building, prehistoric Hohokam to...

“Cars for Charity” Car Show Set for Oct. 24th

Posted on Aug 25, 2015 | 0 comments

Save the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive: Do you see red?

Posted on Aug 24, 2015 | 0 comments

By Cindy Lee AZ State Land Department (ASLD) has a proposal, Case 19-ZN-2014, to shift 40 acres of commercial rezoning plus 26 acres of resort/tourism rezoning from a Suburban Neighborhood location into state trust land zoned Residential Rural Neighborhood on the east side of N. Scottsdale Road between Happy Valley and Jomax Roads.  This transfer is stated to be consistent with the City of Scottsdale General Plan (GP) 2001 ratified by...

State Proposal Betrays Desert Foothills Scenic Drive Promise and People

Posted on Aug 24, 2015 | 0 comments

By Les Conklin The State Land Department is requesting new commercial and resort/tourism zoning on North Scottsdale Road. If this request is approved, the promise of Scottsdale’s Scenic Drive and more than five decades of community service related to it, will have been betrayed. The Promise The picture below shows a plaque located at Scottsdale’s Scenic Drive exhibit area.  Please, read the text on the plaque. It describes...

Sunday, Aug. 23: 12th Annual Tony Nelssen Summer Fun Photo Contest Entry Deadline

Posted on Aug 8, 2015 | 0 comments

Get Photos Posted, Prizes, and Recognition ABOUT THE CONTEST The summer is flying past. Again this year, our summer’s fun is delivered in the form of the Tony Nelssen Photography contest. The contest is easy to enter, and there is no entry fee. The deadline for entering is August 23, 2015. There are a several ways to win, as prizes are being awarded based on categories. Judges will select one winner for each category and a grand prize...

Sunday, August 23: 12th Annual Summer Fun Write Stuff Deadline

Posted on Aug 8, 2015 | 0 comments

Get Published, Prizes, and Recognition  ABOUT THE  WRITE STUFF CONTEST It’s time to turn up the fun, spur creativity, and accelerate generosity. Again this year, our summer’s fun is delivered in the form of the our Write Stuff contest. The contest is easy to enter, and there is no entry fee. The deadline for entering is Sunday, August 23, 2015. Again this year, there are more...

Students Invited to Participate in Scottsdale Mayor’s Constitution Day Contest

Posted on Aug 4, 2015 | 0 comments

City of Scottsdale NEWS RELEASE Aug. 4, 2015 Contact: Kelli Kuester, Management Assistant to the Mayor, 480-312-7977 Students invited to participate in Mayor’s Constitution Day Contest On Sept. 17, 1787, 39 brave men changed the course of history by signing the United States Constitution. To commemorate this significant event, Scottsdale Mayor W. J. “Jim” Lane is inviting students...

Facts About Character Area Planning

Posted on Jul 30, 2015 | 0 comments

Prologue In 1999, the City of Scottsdale was in the process of establishing “character areas.” Many of us were involved in that process. The April 1999 issue of The Peak, which included the excellent introduction to the City of Scottsdale General Plan, also included the article below, written by Randy Grant, then a City of Scottsdale Senior Community Planner. The areas were established and changes have been made since...

Ted Talk: What explains the rise of humans?

Posted on Jul 30, 2015 | 0 comments

I just finished reading three non-fiction books about the struggles of men adapting to life in Latin American jungle environments: “The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870 -1914,” “The River of Doubt,” and “The Lost City of Z.”  The indigenous plants, animals, insects, environments and indigenous people they encountered challenged the success of their endeavors and...