What I didn't write at the Arizona Republic

People kept telling me they couldn’t believe I got away with what I wrote as a columnist for the Arizona Republic. I identified and questioned the vast power of the Real Estate Industrial Complex. While most of the local media were mindless boosters, I discussed the serious challenges to the state’s economy (which are coming true) and indeed to its future as a quality place to live (ditto). How, hundreds of readers asked, did I keep my job?

In the end I didn’t, of course. But for nearly seven years, I offered one of the few alternatives to local cheerleading and media growthgasms. And I was the only one to keep a sustained focus on economic, social and environmental issues -- and how they were all tied together.

And yet, dear readers, I pulled my punches nearly every time I wrote.

I’d been around long enough to realize that I couldn’t make enemies everywhere at once and remain viable to even drop breadcrumbs of truth before sun-narcoticized Arizonans. The pressure to be "positive" was real, and there were ongoing efforts to silence me by powerful interests. I also needed to celebrate the heroes who were trying to make things better, and "mix things up" so readers wouldn't suffer crisis fatigue.  Now that I’m safely in Seattle, let me revisit a few issues: some things I didn’t write, and others I have reconsidered.

1. Janet Napolitano. The governor is sensible and popular, especially in the Sewing Circle  (their name, not mine) of her influential female friends. Yet history will remember her as largely inconsequential in addressing the state’s most pressing problems. She’s a politician and couldn’t have been elected if she had taken on, say, unsustainable land use. And the governor is weak under the constitution. But…woulda, coulda, shoulda…her failure to use the bully pulpit, especially in her second term, is one of many Arizona tragedies.

2. Light rail and transit. I was a big supporter of the first light-rail line and, with reservations, of the extensions under Prop. 400. I still hope for the best, but Phoenix is so unlike other large American cities, I wonder. I wonder if a better use of the money would have been a light-rail line between Tempe, Sky Harbor and the ASU campus in downtown Phoenix, plus commuter rail to the ‘burbs, backed by better bus service from commuter rail stations to employment centers, such as they are.

I was surprised by how central Phoenix largely failed to regenerate itself in the late 1990s and 2000s, unlike so many American cities. Indeed, the footprint of poor immigrants expanded in the central city. With so little private investment creating good jobs there, despite abundant land and freeway access as easy as the ‘burbs, the light-rail investment may prove less effective as an economic development tool compared with competing cities.

Make no mistake: American cities must provide options to replace dependence on the private car, which will become much more difficult to use (and no magic, affordable replacement is coming anytime soon). Transit is the answer, and buses alone are impractical. But a variety of political concerns, including, ironically, the extreme opposition from the anti-transit nuts, kept Phoenix from a more effective rail solution. (In addition, light-rail developers need to get their costs down; such transit is no big deal in Europe, while here it is often prohibitively expensive).

3. Local media. Show me a sick metropolitan area and I’ll show you cowardly, stupid, crappy local media. Nowhere was this axiom better proven than in Phoenix. The lack of consistent investigative reporting is one problem. But almost as serious is a lack of follow-through. Corporate newspapers don’t crusade anymore, either. So one story might show a terrible scandal or serious problem, but it quickly goes away. No wonder there’s so little accountability, or a Legislature largely made up of cranks and mediocrities, or government by a right-wing minority, or officials who can blow off shameful statistics on schools, crime, etc.

Meanwhile, much of the media are besieged by the hate-peddling right-wing echo chamber, exemplified by the “Goldwater” Institute. Stories become a he-said, she-said dog’s breakfast: boring, inconclusive and ultimately misleading. One of the most shameful examples is on global warming and its effects on the state.

4. Palo Verde. I’m not necessarily opposed to nuclear power. We’re going to need lots of alternatives in the future, particularly to fight carbon emissions. But am I the only one creeped out by this water-guzzling behemoth upwind of the nation’s fifth largest city, with continued safety issues (from the Bush NRC, no less), and all in a state with poor regulation, a snoozing "citizenry" and a media that doesn’t aggressively follow serious news??

5. Urban form is destiny:
--Combine sprawl built on the cheap with an economy built on cheap, disposable workers, including a million immigrants, and you get the linear slums that are rapidly expanding in the Valley.
--Even the more exclusive ‘burbs are ugly, soulless and dysfunctional. Fixing this should be a major project. Instead, they are building more of the same.
--A lifestyle based on long freeway commutes in an automobile is an artifact of the last half of the 20th century that is over, baby. Yet metro Phoenix has no alternatives and keeps expanding outward.
--Sprawl in the desert, especially as global warming hits renewable water supplies, is setting Phoenix up for a monumental tragedy. Meanwhile, more concrete and less grass and shade trees only makes the problem worse. Get this straight: water is a clear and present danger. There may be 4 million idiots who will put up with anything for hot weather. But the desert will not put up with them. Ask the Hohokam.

6. Demographics are destiny. Consider the major groups of people in Arizona and the Salt River Valley:
--Poor, low-skilled, non-English-speaking immigrants cut off from the mainstream.
--Poor, low-skilled American citizens cut off from the opportunities of their parents and grandparents.
--Retirees who largely want to be left alone and who believe they did their part and paid their taxes in the places they came from.
--Mormons, who, for their many laudable qualities, are tribal, uncomfortable with transparency and diversity, and have been co-opted by the most extreme elements of the Republican party.
--The real-estate crowd, from the fast-buck big boys to the macho contractor culture, none of which is known anywhere for their civic engagement.
--Bottom-feeder businessmen who moved to Arizona precisely for “low taxes,” an easy regulatory environment and workers they can pay low and push around.
--The super-wealthy of North Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, who want to use the place like a Third World plantation and otherwise, like the retirees, shun any obligations or responsibilities that come with their means.

This is not the polity that can or will build a great civilization or a competitive economy in the 21st century. Tragically, it can’t even keep the good things about the state from slipping away, day by day, year by year. It doesn't help that efforts to discuss the region's real challenges are dismissed as "negative" and "exaggerated naysaying" by the Everything's Fine! crowd.

The result: Arizona and Phoenix have very little chance of righting themselves. Phoenix may well become a future Hurricane Katrina urban disaster.

The best one can hope for is that centers of excellence – ASU, TGen, Science Foundation, the lifestyle of the Phoenix historic districts – can be maintained and expanded. They might provide an alternative as the ills of the state finally get people’s attention.

Or not.

Comments

[Jack August]

Talton is sorely missed in AZ.

[Jay]

Very good to hear from you Mr. Talton.
Too bad you are not around to gloat.
Everything you said would happen in Phoenix is happening.
Our economy built on building new houses is in deep trouble.
And we are in deep denial.

[Debbie Joy]

Jon is definitely missed in Phoenix - now the AZ Republic is just a mouthpiece for all the incompetent politicians and so-called business leaders. The economy is in a downward spiral and no one in a leadership position knows how to come up with any ideas to stop the spiral because they only know how to approve ridiculous real estate projects and promote jobs in the retail and service industries.

[AZ Guy]

Good riddance to lousy columnists. I'm sure you didn't mind clearing half a million in profit when you sold your house.

[kb]

Mr Talton:

I sincerely hope you are chortling at the mess Arizona has become; you warned 'em!

Schadenfreude is nothing to be ashamed of ;)

[kb]

Mr Talton:

I sincerely hope you are chortling at the mess Arizona has become; you warned 'em!

Schadenfreude is nothing to be ashamed of ;)

[Mesa Republican George]

Talton, you have done what many people do when they find themselvs losing an argument (or a job in this case) - you call the other side names. My quick scan of your post noted 10 different deragatory names directed at groups that disagree with you. As I tell my seven-year-old, name calling does nothing to support your cause. In addition, you paint opposing arguments in their worst possible light rather than painting them in their best possible light and responding to them as would a person truly concerned about finding the best solution.

Regardless of the merits of your arguments, you will always be more convincing if you stick to issues. Conversly, you will never convince the reasoned, thoughtful reader by name-calling.

I'm sure those who already subscribe to your opinions will cheer at your diatribe, but those of us who are willing to consider both sides of an issue and make a rational decision based on the facts will tune you out.

[E L Wilson]

Sigh. We're screwed, aren't we Jon? It's not rocket science that a desert environment simply cannot sustain out-of-control growth (John Wesley Powell was on to this over a hundred years ago). Congratulations on your escape to Seattle. I'm thinking Bend, OR looks pretty good. (And I'm curious as to why the Mesa Republican George who is "tuning you out" is reading your blog?)

[jerry]

I am relatively new here, so didn't realize what we had until you were gone. Regarding Palo Verde, no you're not the only one. Biggest nuke plant in the nation with one of the worst safety records, and guess what, the largest escape routes from Phoenix (I-8 and I-10) head right past it. And I-17 North is not big enough, meaning we're all heading out down I-10 to Tucson....

A few years ago, I wanted to take a bus from Sky Harbor to my apartment. My apartment is within 400' of the PV Mall "Transit Center". According to the bus company at the time, there was no express bus from "Transit Center" to the Airport, and no bus at all unless I was willing to take two hours and two transfers (three buses) to do it.

It's shameful that in the hottest city in the US, the bus stops were not covered UNTIL we got rail. The reason for this is obvious of course, the bus system is not meant for "real people" but for our maids. It's the rail that's meant for our lawyer, journalist, business elite.

Best wishes in Seattle. Wish I could join you, but the "Marriage of Burgess" has me out here.

[Zelph]

Hah! The editors at the Repulsive would have never let you write this, but the stuff you wrote was pretty good considering.

[shrimplate]

Light rail that avoids Sky Harbor... brilliant.

And to Mesa George, you call Talton a "name-caller." That's just silly, no?

[Mary Armacost]

Mr. Talton
I have missed your articles. Even though you are far away, please keep in touch!

[Craig]

Miss seeing you Sun mornings at the Good Egg and of course, your columns.

It's too bad that the waste of a newspaper that you used to work for lacks the fire and imagination to actually give it purpose because it's so lacking.

It's not just you pulling punches...it's everyone pulling punches which is why we get Real Estate lackeys like Mayor Phil, the consistently worst state legislature imaginable and everyone's least favorite clown, Sheriff Joe.

[robin s mccool]

Thank you for the kind words on John F. Long. Your detailed account of his contributions to Phoenis is wonderful. Hopefully the local press will pick up on this opportunity and write a feature on Mr. Long's life. It is a shame the newer residents of the Valley don't even know Mr. Long. A friend of mine is writing a book on the history of Maryvale Golf Course, and attempted to interview Mr. Long earlier this year. A spokesman for Mr. Long indicated he was not feeling up to it. So, his passing was not a surprise, but non the less a big loss.

[Crashproofed]

To Mesa Republican George,

I have a nick-name for you..."Jawboner". I sense your new to the respected Talton's work. It's types like you that Jawbone and judge the delivery of communication, quite possibly to get your way, or for deflection of the real issues. I know Talton's work for years in AZ. And I repeat..You're a Jawboner. Advice to you - Stick to the issue, stay on task.

CP

[Anti-McCain]

Jon,
I'm 32, an Arizona native who attended college in the state, and now a resident of Denver. I moved away several years ago when I found it impossible to land a decent-paying job that didn't involve taking orders and bringing snobs their foie gras.
I now live in Denver -- far enough away from Arizona to appreciate where I've come, but close enough to observe the trainwreck that Phoenix is about to become.
You were so right in your criticisms of Arizona. Too bad others couldn't pause for just a moment and consider what you had to say.

[Italiana]

While there are some minor points of disagreement here (the reality of politics, some of the snarkiness), by and large, I agree with you Jon. Some comments --

As a early Napolitano supporter, I am still dazed and unforgiving about her choice to ditch the state to position herself nationally. For those of us from certain vantage points, this became blatant near the end of the first term and even more so during the second. If the economy had been in better shape, I'd have wished her godspeed; it's not, and now the state is in the hands of poorly educated leaders at a time of unprecedented crisis.

Phil Gordon is emerging as a tougher leader than in previous years. He has chosen to take on Joe Arpaio -- publically. No matter how you feel about his real estate ties, I've seen some real spine from Phil (at great political risk) during the past year. This should be acknowledged and endorsed.

As regards what we're facing down here, there is always good that comes from bad. When people begin to experience loss of services in their daily lives (What? No trash pickup this week? The library's not open? My kid can't have healthcare even though I worked for years before the lay-off?), they get active.

Obama is right about America needing to get real. Perhaps the reality will sink in for those Arizona idealogues as they face the coming wrath of heretofore unengaged citizens.

[Phoenix Lover]

Every place has problems. You like Seattle -- I say Phoenix is way better. I bought my home 10 years ago and wasn't concerned when the price fell in 2008 from triple to double what we paid for it. The average home price in Phoenix is now $136,000, compared to Seattle's $393,000. More than twice as much money to buy a decent home, and I'll bet they don't throw in free rainjackets. Phoenix rules and whiners drool!

[Jacob Hughes]

Your rundown of the state's demographic archetypes is depressing in its accuracy.