Happy Thanksgiving...

This year, not only a semi amusing photo to share with you, but also an important quote.

First the comic...

Can't wait to get our hands on the family turkey (currently in the brine).

Now for the quote...

Secure property rights are the key. When producers know their future products are safe from confiscation, they take risks and invest. But when they fear they will be deprived of the fruits of their labor, they will do as little as possible.

Prepare for more private property rights battles in Mohave County in the year ahead. May God be with you and your family on this important holiday.

And one more and this time a video....

It went down like this...

Last week the Arizona Corporation Committee approved Hualapai Valley Solar’s Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC).

Good news -- bad news sort of thing here. I'll start with the bad, the ACC is requiring HVS to only use a water supply of effluent for its water needs. This probably means the project will be put on hold at this point because there is no effluent resources or means of transport of effluent available in the area. The City of Kingman and HVS have been engaging in talks about allowing HVS to use the effluent resources in Kingman, but another problem... it is likely that there isn't enough effluent being produced because the population is not great enough.

Gee, the good news... well the ACC approved the application.

Just as a reminder, the Arizona Corporation Commission is a '4th' branch of government in the state of Arizona. Most folks out in the outer area, the area of Arizona that doesn't make up Maricopa County, watch the ACC put the brakes on economic development in those outer areas. I'm working on getting some information of solar projects similar to the HVS method of energy production in the Maricopa areas just to see if, once again, the ACC screwed the chances for more economic development opportunities in Mohave County.

For now I'll leave you with the press release from HVS.

Arizona Corporation Commission approves Certificate of Environmental Compatibility for Hualapai Valley Solar

Phoenix – The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted to approve the Hualapai Valley Solar’s Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) on Wednesday, October 20th. The CEC, the final State approval required to begin construction, approves the project's power plant, interconnection, and transmission plans. The ACC expressed that there is a shift towards dry cooling in the Southwest USA and that wet cooled power plants are unlikely to get any more approvals. In its decision, the Commission found that the “Project is in the public interest because it aids the state in meeting the need for an adequate, economical, and reliable supply of electric power.”


From the outset, the solar plant was designed to use an evaporative cooling system supplied with reclaimed wastewater. The CEC also allows the company to use hybrid (water and air) cooling technology if sufficient reclaimed wastewater is not available. Hualapai Valley Solar and the city of Kingman are evaluating all possible sources of reclaimed wastewater for use by the project. Since a binding Memorandum of Understanding was signed in December 2009, the city and HVS have been working on a reclaimed water purchase agreement that would supply more than half of the water needs of the project from the city's upgraded Hilltop Wastewater Treatment Plant. The current plant treats approximately 1.5 million gallons per day of wastewater, an amount that is expected to rise over time as residents switch from septic tanks to the city sewer system. The agreement for the output of the Hilltop facility is expected to go before the City Council as early as November.

The Hualapai Valley Solar Project is a proposed 340MW parabolic trough power plant. The plant’s design incorporates 7 to 8 hours of additional output once the sun is down through the storage of heat in molten salt tanks during the day. It is located approximately 28 miles north of Kingman, Arizona, is sited on private land, and has firm transmission located a few miles from the site.

More links

havasunews.com

water resources on the moon... scientists say

Here is the link to the article and a couple of highlights

Scientists have discovered significant amounts of water on the moon—about twice the quantity seen in the Sahara Desert—a finding that may bolster the case for establishing a manned base on the lunar surface.

In an audacious experiment last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration slammed a spent-fuel rocket into a lunar crater at 5,600 miles an hour, and then used a pair of orbiting satellites to analyze the debris thrown off by the impact. They discovered that the crater contained water in the form of ice, plus a host of other resources, including hydrogen, ammonia, methane, mercury, sodium and silver.

A couple of thoughts...

First, even with the ammonia, methane, mercury, etc. from above... I bet the water tastes better than Las Vegas tap water, maybe not as dangerous either. I kid.

Another... so the US federal goverment has enough money borrowed from the Chinese to fund an experiment to find water on the moon, but didn't kick in enough to finish the more local USGS survey?? Well... hard to blame the federal government really since there is no water resource problem in Mohave County anyway based on the last report I covered last year.

Lastly, if there really was a way to utilize the water on the moon for something, too bad they couldn't use it right now. Think of the local water worry warts for a second here folks. They insist we have a water problem (but actually do not), they don't like business, corporations, or capitalists, actually don't like anyone living near them or their property -- folks the solution would be easy. Just get the water worry warts on the next lunar module to inhibit the moon. If the lunar water resource was available presently there wouldn't be a water resource issue (like there is NOT one in Mohave County) just like there wouldn't be corporations or other nefarious types of free enterprise or for that matter... many neighbors. Perfect!!

Inane comments from the water worry warts (again)

Don't have time to slice and dice all the rather stupid remarks that are being made by the folks that pretend to care about water in the Mohave County area.  But for craps and giggles here is one...

The original content found here at this link...

Posted: Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Article comment by: az mac

I am going to say most people here will not qualify for the jobs they will offer. Many of the jobs will be temporary. Now it comes down to the water they will use. I guess they are going to allow them all the water they want. Get ready for a big hike in water rates on top of what is already coming.
Mary Smith
You just may find your self living like they did in the 1800s. If all the taxes come about like planned then prices will go sky high and most will not be able to afford very much. More jobs will disappear. We all ready have over 60 million without jobs and 41 million on food stamps.

Yes this is about the solar plant deal that uses some water to make the thing work.

It is obvious that 'az mac' has no clue about the jobs that will be offered by the power plant -- either that or s/he thinks all of you in Mohave County, or nearly all of you, are idiots.  Barely any of you good people in the Kingman area could qualify for a job at the plant.  The water worry warts don't think very highly of their neighbors and it shows.  They are the most greedy and ill mannered people in the county.

Now on to the water use and again 'az mac' inserts foot into mouth.  The plant will own property, if the plant is ever allowed to be built.  In other words the plant will be an owner of private property in the state of Arizona and the county of Mohave.  Private property owners that have requested the state and other authorities for use of well water get to use all the water they want.  Let that one sink in folks.  There are NO meters on private wells in this area.  Nobody can tell a private property owner with a well that they are limited with how much water to use.  Yet here is a company that will move to Mohave County and agree to use a limited amount of water... thereby giving away some of their property rights.

I'd love to see the state threaten to put in meters on private wells -- as a staunch private property rights proponent I'd be against such a thing of course -- but I'd love to see some of the reactions when the water worry warts own rights are threatened.  And really folks, if the water levels were as bad as the people with zero data say it is, the state or the county would be installing water meters and limiting amounts of water private property owners use.

So big hikes in water rates are right around the corner because some solar plant will be drawing a limited water supply with authorization by the state and local governments??  Just once I'd love to see any one of these idiots back up their idiotic statements.  Again, if they didn't have scare tactics... they'd have nothing.

As for the rest of the remark made by 'az mac' to Mary Smith is concerned, yeah no one wants their taxes raised at the federal level at a time like this... but no one is going to live like it is the 1800's again (hey another scare tactic, wow).

But what do I know... I wouldn't qualify for a job at the plant.  Hmmm... that almost begs a challenge.  I just might have to get out the old resume and apply for a permanent job at the new plant (whenever it gets built).  I'll make a bet now that I can, in fact, get a job at the plant... and I'm a self described big dummy.

One thing for sure... the wells will run dry of water in this county way before the well of stupid asinine comments (like bats will choke to death on dust) from the water worry warts will.  So at least they got that going for them.

in their own words

A closer look...

For kicks I thought I'd take a look at a new law proposed by an Assemblyman in California, from the Entertainment Page at the LA Times...

A proposed law set to go before California's Legislature this month would make one of Hollywood's cherished utterances — "You're not on the list" — carry grave new consequences. It's a measure aimed at making the act of party crashing a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.

Hmmm... Party crashing...

The author of the legislation, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge), said crashers at high-profile events like the Academy Awards and other awards shows pose a threat to public safety that warrants a law in addition to the 25 sections of trespassing code already on California's books. Portantino acted at the request of the Screen Actors Guild after some crashers breached security at the SAG Awards in January but were released because of legal loopholes.

Hmmm again... Legal loopholes... interesting...

"At some awards shows, folks were there without a ticket or credentials; they were asked to leave, and they didn't," Portantino said. "The question was raised whether current trespassing laws were written in a way that covers that sort of situation. We're trying to bring clarity to the whole issue so law enforcement knows how to and has the discretion to handle it."

Wow, discretion for law enforcement... asked to leave but didn't...

Living not in Southern California it is prolly real easy for me to overlook the real problems like party crashing and all the ill affects for the Hollywood jet set.  I guess I just take my life as a regular guy for granted and wouldn't normally notice those that carry the burdens of the extra cost for security and all that at these shin-digs.

Yet I live in Arizona and the story above sure sounds familiar.  I believe our elected leaders passed a bill that would, in essence, deal with people 'not on the list' so to speak.  In fact I remember several elected leaders speak to the threats to public safety if nothing was done.  Heck they even said that they acted at the request of the voters in Arizona that have been asking for help in dealing with problems regarding the issue.  I even remember media articles raising the questions what happens when the folks trespassing in Arizona are asked to leave, far too often the answers tell us those asked to leave do not.  In my opinion the law written would have helped to bring clarity to the whole issue so law enforcement knows how to and has the discretion to handle it.

And by the way... weren't there some communities in California threatening to boycott Arizona for the law we passed??

The lawmaker folks in California need to look up the word hypocrite before they pass the law that was introduced.  I mean I can't tell who is a party crasher or not just by appearance... sounds awfully close to something called profiling.

Lastly, would this law make party crashing... illegal??  Think about it.

I told you they were batty

Folks you cannot make this stuff up.  Who am I referring to as batty??  Think the water worry warts (WWW).

The Hualapai Valley Solar LLC (HVS) project seeks final approval for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) permit from the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) at an upcoming meeting in Phoenix later this month.  While I haven't been blogging about this subject since I began working in eastern New Mexico late last year, I have been following along as best I possibly can.

I ran into some information that I wanted to share to perhaps bring you up to speed (you might know a heck of a lot more than I do at this point) to what has been happening in the process.  Last I heard the HVS group has been subjected to many public meetings and have met with some opposition from the local water worry warts.

There was a meeting back in June at the Powerhouse in Kingman where HVS asked the ACC to lift the stay on the permit needed to proceed.  The water worry warts, of course, filed a response to HVS's request.  HVS then followed up with a letter... and this is the information I ran into.

Wish I could share all of it with you but it is a 18 page PDF document -- but I'll share my observations on a few points I read.  First, keep in mind that the information comes from the legal representation of HVS. The letter is a response to the information the WWW's offered to the ACC.  I don't have the WWW stuff so I'm only going on what is in the letter from the legal representation of HVS regarding this matter.

Okay a few observations...

The first part of the letter is a reminder of information brought forth by the hydrology studies -- that there is plenty of water for all in Mohave County even with the solar plant up and running.  It gets more detailed as it goes along.

This includes a bit about the hydrologist that was hired to do the study.  The hydrologist is a registered geologist with a graduate degree in hydrology and has 30 years of experience investigating hydrogeologic conditions.

The hydrologist has been conducting groundwater studies in the Hualapai Valley since 2005.

The hydrologist put together a comprehensive groundwater flow model that simulates the effect of groundwater pumping on groundwater levels in the Hualapai groundwater basin.  That information was shared with staff hydrologists that work for the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR).  After a thorough evaluation ADWR approved the model.

The conclusion of the reports were included in a technical memorandum issued in November of 2009.

The conclusion basically said that if HVS was to use 3,000 acre feet of water for thirty years, the project's incremental impact will be less than 1 foot of water level change for wells in the nearest residential areas.

Now according to the letter, neither WWW representative provided any evidence to contradict the hydrologist's analysis and conclusions regarding water levels and impacts on wells in the areas in the Hualapai Valley.  In fact the WWW response was mainly a complaint about Mohave County's water related zoning and planning decisions.

Can you believe it??  I can.  The WWW representatives have been wasting official time at public meetings for many years in Mohave County.


But there is more...

Even without one shred of evidence, the main WWW representative insisted that the HVS project would require 8,000 acre feet of further depletion of the Hualapai Valley aquifer.  Just because she (the WWW representative) says so.  Hardly compelling.

Then the WWW representative testified that all of the most recent solar projects in California and Nevada were of the 'dry cooled' variety.  According to the letter from HVS this is incorrect.  Shocking.  I doubt the WWW folks would know dry cooling if it hit them up side the head.

HVS responded by speaking of the Abengoa Mojave Solar project that is in the planning stage in California.  Staff at the California Energy Commission released an assessment on May 25th of 2010 concluding "the proposed use of groundwater for industrial cooling would not significantly impact existing groundwater levels in the HVGB wells, the basin balance, or the quality of groundwater in the basin".  The full assessment can be found at the California Energy Commission's website (docket number 09-AFC-5).  The full assessment suggests the evidence overwhelmingly supports the Commission's decision to authorize wet cooling for that project.

The letter also goes into why it would be more costly to use dry cooling as well as they are less efficient to do what they are supposed to do (create energy).  Fairly interesting stuff... all of it covered in prior meetings.

Lastly I want to share, from the letter, the 'other' reason as to why the water worry warts are against the HVS project.  You will be able to tell that they really racked their shared brain for this one.  WWW representative number two wants the state to do an environmental impact study and a promise to protect wildlife, including bats.  That is correct folks... the WWW's are batty for bats.

According to WWW number two the HVS project would release particulate matter into the air as the water evaporates and that could be toxic to bats.  The particulate matter in this case??  Dust.

Of course WWW number two did NOT provide any evidence that dust is toxic to bats according to the letter by HVS.  An expert that testified in a previous meeting for HVS stated that he is "not aware of any studies anywhere that suggests that bats are dying from eating dust".

So all along it wasn't about water... how could it be??  The WWW's do not have any evidence that water usage in Mohave County right now is detrimental to the future of the area.  So they come back with 'save the bats'!?!?

WWW representative number two also shares a worry that the roads leading to the proposed solar project would get increased use during construction and wants some government agency to include some sort of condition to further impose the folks behind the project.

The WWW sure looks like they pulled out all the stops... all without any documented evidence to back up their claims.  Fantasy world.  What is IN that well water anyway??

This seems to be looking pretty good for the HVS project in terms of getting the required authorizations from all the different levels of government and bureaucracies.  Within the last couple of days the Hualapai Tribal Council approved/signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HVS that will allow them to pursue renewable energy projects together on Tribal Land that will share interconnection and transmission resources of the HVS project. It was another big milestone for the Project.

As for the WWW's... I'd say point and laugh at the most.

The big one...

So maybe you heard about it... it might be kind of a big deal.  Yep folks there is a killer asteroid on the way to earth right now and the estimated time of arrival is the year 2182.

So how does this affect the great folks here in Mohave County Arizona you might ask... I'll get to that in a minute.  First thing though the important bits from the linked article...

The asteroid, called 1999 RQ36, has a 1-in-1,000 chance of actually hitting the Earth at some point before the year 2200, but is most likely to hit us on 24th September 2182.

It was first discovered in 1999 and is more than 1,800 feet across. If an asteroid of this size hit the Earth it would cause widespread devastation and possible mass extinction.

Oh.  Still long odds I see.  Not as long as the other killer asteroid zooming around in space with a chance to give it to us real good in 2036 (a chance as in a one in 250,000 chance) but still.

Let's imagine that science was actually good enough today to be definitive about tomorrow and 1999 RQ36 is locked and loaded with a delivery date of 9/24/2182.  What would we (you or I or they or anyone) do??  I figure it this way.

1) It is the year 2010 right now a goodly number of folks are going to say that they won't be around for the show some 170 years from now so no big deal.  Fair.

2) Some folks will be very pessimistic and feel that nothing will be able to stop the impending collision.  They'll say this today -- maybe even on the Internet -- even though 170 years ago things like the Internet, computers, and space vehicles were impossible in that time.

3) Others will want to do something about the approaching menace.  These folks will begin a concept called problem solving.  Even though in the year 2010 the problem is not going to be felt by the people of this era, there will be people that will begin work on solutions -- knowing that it will be people in future generations that will actually solve the problem.  But the solutions have to start somewhere and for a impending problem as large as total destruction the sooner the better.

4) Still others will simply want to move.  Sure that may be tough to move off this planet right now, but it is an option.

These are just my opinions as to what people would do faced with an impending dire situation.  Because there is only a 1 in 1,000 chance that 1999 RQ36 is going to hit the planet some 170 years from now, I put myself in the first category above.  However I could see being part of the third or fourth category if there was something more definitive about the future.  There may be plenty more options and I won't argue those.  So why share this on a local blog??

Well, we here in the Kingman area of Mohave County are said to have some impending problem in the future.  That's right some of the very brightest and most 'enlightened' minds in the county have said the aquifers from which this community draws its water only has about 100 or 200 years worth of water left before it runs dry.  Yet these same folks haven't a care to actually do anything about changing the future -- well the future they represent anyway.

Just like in my example above the 'enlightened' want to do zilch about the problem putting them in the second category and to make matters worse, not allow anyone else to do anything about the impending problem either.  Think about it folks, anytime someone brings up the beginnings of any sort of possible solution to some far distant problem they scream that it is impossible.  These folks are simply the most greedy among us.  Sad that they cannot see the damage they are doing to the future.

Oh sure, they'll say they are protecting the future -- but they are the ones saying that the water will be all gone come a couple hundred years or so -- just how are they protecting the community for the kids and grandkids??  The grandkids will know that they may only have 50 to 100 years of water left, which will put them in the fourth category from my earlier asteroid example but they will no doubt have many different places to choose from to move to.  The grandkids might be able to find other solutions but their backs will be closer to the wall than if WE had begun to find solution for the problem... if the problem actually exists in the manner the 'enlightened' among us insist it does.

There is no future for Kingman if there is no water.  No matter how much we save today, tomorrow, and the next day we are still using water and will eventually use it all -- again if the 'enlightened' are as correct as they say they are.

The biggest problem for everyone on both sides of this perhaps impending problem is that as of today it doesn't feel like a problem.  Gonna get in a shower today, brush the teeth, make some lemonade, wash the car, run through the sprinklers, and even do some laundry.  All possible right now because for our community water is abundant TODAY.  We have more than we could use TODAY.

But what about tomorrow??  IF the problem is as big as it is represented by the 'enlightened' where are the folks that fall into the third category from my example above??  Maybe many of them have already exercised the fourth category or simply fall into the first one??

So how bad is the drought here??

Depends on who you talk to.

Where are they coming from, where are they moving??

Think back to the year 2008... looking at the IRS data map at the link below...

http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html?preload=04015

...It appears there was plenty of out bound migration out of Mohave County. 

Rather interesting map that you can click on any county to look at migration in the year 2008.

All this hub-bub about the new AZ law...

First I'll say that this is dangerous territory for me to post about such a touchy subject but I'm going to give it a go anyway.  The new Arizona law SB 1070 is drawing tons of debate, and rightly so.  In my gut I believe that the law was intended to do just that... bring up a very important issue to the forefront of the national debate.  I'm certainly not a legal scholar so I won't weigh in on whether or not the new law is Constitutional or not.  I'll leave that to the folks that are more qualified.

What I want to do, however, is take a quick look back to what the voters of Arizona have done to try to deal with the very real problems happening in the state that are related to illegal immigration.  Before I do that, for old times sake, a disclaimer...

For the record I believe in and support legal immigration and look to welcome all from foreign lands that would love an opportunity to pursue what millions of others have done in this country's history.  Come one, come all.  Doesn't matter to me your race, religion, orientation, or anything else as long as your intention is make sincere attempts at assimilating into this incredible melting pot and enjoying the kind of liberty that is not often found in many other areas on this planet.  Basically follow the laws of the land, just like I have to... and be willing to deal with the ramifications if you choose not to follow the laws of the land, just like I have to.  I have many special people in my life that come from all walks of life and various backgrounds.  I listened well to the great Martin Luther King Jr.'s lesson to treat people based on the content of their character and not on the color of their skin.

Okay then let's get started.  We are heading back into the year 2004 for our first stop.  The voters of Arizona were asked to approve or defeat a ballot proposition dealing with identification and proof of citizenship to vote and to collect state or locally funded public benefits.  It was Prop 200 and it was approved by voters with 56% of the vote.  (see the voting breakdowns here)

The voters passed this proposition even though there was a lineup of heavy's that were publicly against it, including; both AZ US Senators (one is now running for reelection and has conveniently changed his tune), the then governor of the state and now current US Homeland Security Secretary, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the AFL-CIO, the Democrat Party, and yes even the Republican Party.  What strange bedfellows were made.  Still the measure passed by the voters (you know, the ones that really matter).

Of course there were many that played the race card back then.  There's plenty of articles online that cry out that the proposition was racist.  I'm not going to opine on that, but I voted in favor.  Keep in mind that at the time the economy in 2004 was pretty darn good around these parts, but voters knew that if we were to have public safety nets that they should go to Arizonans first, second, and always if at all.

After the election results were posted a restraining order was placed on the proposition. I cannot find who filed for that order but my memory bank inside my head says it was the then governor of the state.  The courts became heavily involved and it is my understanding that the proposition as it was intended is watered down, I guess to the point where nobody seems to remember the voice of the voters from six years ago.  The US Supreme Court had the final say in the requirement to show valid ID to vote which they upheld (again not a legal scholar so I may not being using the correct legaleeze).

From there let us head to the election year 2006 shall we??  There were three ballot propositions dealing with illegal immigration issues that year (a fourth if you want to include one about making English the official language in the state).  Propositions 100 and 102 amended the Arizona Constitution and Prop 300 that called for, once again, the requirement of proof of US citizenship for various publicly subsidized services such as in state tuition and financial assistance.  Prop 100 denied bail to those charged with serious felonies that were in the US illegally, and Prop102 denied the award of punitive damages in civil court cases to persons who are in the US illegally.

The results of the election showed that each proposition passed easily with each issue gathering at least 70% of the vote. (here is a breakdown of the results but it doesn't have all the props included, but you can find some results if you are looking for them in other less official looking places)

I'll stop right here and say that I don't recall the California cities of LA or SF boycotting the state of Arizona after the voters had their say on these issues.  I do remember the race card players came out to play a little but it is just too difficult to do that when 70% (or more) of the voters go a different way.

Back to it now, most of the news article that I run into regarding Prop 300 from 2006 deal with college tuition.  I don't know how the then governor and the Attorney General dealt with the voters wishes to roll back public welfare benefits to illegal immigrants.  I'm guessing the proposition was once again watered down to have practically zero bite.

Before we head to our last stop on how Arizona voters see the illegal immigration issue, the state legislature passed a bill in 2007 called The Legal Arizona Worker's Act -- aka The Employers Sanction Law (see more here).  There was curios reaction to this bill from both sides of the political spectrum.  Once again the race card players were out in force, but this time so was the business community -- aka the evil capitalist pigs (which BTW, I'm totally cool with those folks for the most part, profit is good).  The bill was challenged in court but allowed and went into affect on January 1, 2008.

By the time the elections of 2008 came around a ballot proposition (Prop 202) appeared asking the voters to tone down the requirements of the bill -- on behalf of the business community basically.  I'll let the following explain it...

Proposition 202 changes current Arizona law that prohibits employers from intentionally or knowingly employing an alien who is not authorized under federal law to work in the United States. Under Proposition 202, the definition of "knowingly employ an unauthorized alien" would be changed to require actual knowledge by an owner or officer of the employer.

So you'd think that all us supposedly racist voters (as the race card players call us) here in Arizona would relent and let those evil capitalists off the hook, but you'd be wrong.  Prop 202 was defeated by Arizona voters fairly handily.

I'm just trying to point out the fact that voters in Arizona want solutions to ILLEGAL immigration problems.  The problems range from fairly minor to completely out of control violence.  The state is now broke, the economy sucks, and we simply cannot afford the public assistance programs we are offering to actual Arizonans and other US citizens.  How could we possibly afford to provide welfare for non US citizens at a time like this??  Voters have been speaking out loud and clear even while elected officials remain defiant to our wishes (or simply change their tune when they are up for reelection).

SB 1070 is not the first attempt by the voters of Arizona to deal with the issues.  Not by a long shot.  I feel the other actions of previous elections and legislative acts were a lot less contentious but they ended up being practically thwarted by race card players and politicians in defiance of the people.  SB 1070 may look more aggressive but where can the citizens of Arizona draw the line??  We tried on public benefits, we tried on employers, but now are relying on law enforcement to be involved.  Not really the way I want it to go down as I understand the voices (mostly on the left) that speak to the possibility of racial profiling.  I don't want that, but I also don't want NOTHING done to deal with a very expensive problem we are facing.

In recent days we come to find out that in California's penal code there is language that is pretty darn similar to what is found in SB 1070... but public leaders in CA want to boycott our state anyway.  I've also read about laws in Oklahoma that were singed into law by a governor that was in the democrat party that is also similar to The Legal Arizona Worker's Act we have in Arizona.  Don't remember national outcries of NBA players condemning the state of Oklahoma at all, can you??

I readily admit that I don't have the solution to make all sides happy, but it has become tiresome to be called a racist for having an Arizona residence.  Most of the critics have admitted that they have not read SB 1070, including some that work directly for our current president of this great country (I doubt he has read it either).

America is a beautiful place, I'm blessed to live here and look forward to having more friendly neighbors.  We must find a better way, but we also must have priorities.  Tough decisions come with the territory.  Time for solutions is here. 

When the vacation is over...

... I'll post some photo's on my blog.  Yep, Cabo was great again this year (and no I did not fall for another time share, yay for me!!).

As seen on the local webz...

Read it here...

With great awe I read about city debates and meetings. We read about the bickering, whining, moaning and groaning of elected officials and agencies. These all seem to want growth, but no one wants to be held responsible for the lack thereof.

Is Kingman not a marketable city whereby no elected official or agency wants to take initiative in selling our city to outside businesses? Instead, every week we are reading about another business closure. These businesses are hard to replace and the jobs even harder.

Is our only city revenue-generating business the bed tax? Wal-Mart? But don't touch this money because it is allocated funding for capital improvement projects! Improve what? Where? We have heard from the mayor, City Council, Chamber of Commerce, Airport Authority. None of these agencies of people claim responsibility and do not want the growth initiative in their court. Every month that passes and our city remains unmarketed is a loss of revenue.

The gamut has run full circle and isn't it ironic that the only commission (EDMC) that wants to be where the buck stops has not enough funding to move forward to sell our city.

Not really the owner?? No biggie...

I'll say one thing for the housing market meltdown, it has made for some crazy creativity...

DELTONA -- A Volusia County man was arrested for allegedly filing phony court papers claiming ownership of several foreclosed homes.

Volusia County investigators say Andrew Brown, 29, took down the "for sale" signs at a home on Shadow Ridge Drive, changed the locks, and moved in.

Authorities did not uncover Brown's scam until a real state agent who had been contracted to sell another foreclosed home in Deltona reported that someone was living in the home.

Investigators discovered Brown filed phony liens and default notices on at least four homes.

He was charged with burglary, grand theft and criminal mischief.

Doesn't have to mean that it is always positive creativity.

Well...

So why try, right??

Couple of noteworthy quotes from the latest City Council meeting...

"We all would love to see big things happen in Kingman; but the economy - it's not just here, it's everywhere," Deering said. "I don't know this commission, or any commission right now, is going to change the economic outlook of Kingman, other than time itself."

"This town has always had some plans. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the 17-percent growth during the boom that we had," he said. "It's unfair to say we didn't have a plan. Kingman was developing, it was growing, and things were nice and rosy when the economy was good."

First of all for the most part I like outgoing councilman Deering.  I have nothing personal against the man or the councilman, I just disagree with him at times (like with the two quotes above).

Some months ago I stopped posting economic development activities that other communities are doing during even these trying times (the national economy).  If I searched today for such community efforts, no doubt I'd find plenty to share and it is easy to understand why.  Many local communities clearly understand the need to compete for new business opportunities, i.e. new opportunities for new tax revenues.  But these 'other' communities are not sitting around and waiting out the bad times in the hopes of attracting new opportunities when, or if, things get all rosy on the national economic scene.

I'm currently doing business in another area of the US southwest... a community that banded together a couple of years ago to ensure a better business opportunity within the community.  Has it worked??  Well the results are mixed but to a person that I've talked to in this new area where I'm doing a pretty brisk business, they've all said that without the efforts things would be a total mess right now (in other words, I wouldn't be doing business here).

Really, it is not difficult, just go ahead and search the interwebz for articles on business competition between states right now.  Oh... it's on.  I know of at least three western states that are courting enterprises in California (in comparison Arizona is not really one of those either... for shame).

It is safe to say that if states are competing against each other for new opportunity... local communities are in it to win it as well.

Maybe Mr. Deering made the right call to decide not to run for reelection at this time.  Kingman certainly needs leaders that want to compete for better opportunities for this community.  If Mr. Deering or any other community leader is unwilling to move Kingman forward, hopefully the voters will elect some leaders that are willing to take a shot at increasing employment opportunity, business opportunity, and community improvement.

I've always heard the age old adage that the rising tide will raise all boats... but if the tide doesn't come back for what might be an extended period of time... why not get some folks together and drag the boat out to where the water level is high enough to get on with the sailing??  I want leaders that are willing to do the heavy lifting.

Local comment of the day...

Posted: Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Article comment by: Bert Garcia


I beg to differ with you, Ray Lyons did not lose the election at all. My highly esteemed friend Ray moves on alongside three (3) others to the run-offs in May. Being a military person, I am used to making it a point to familiarize myself with my home election issues, to find out who is running for office, and to cast my ballot through the mail on time. With all due respect in addition to reading it in the Kingman Daily Miner Newspaper you could have attended the different forums where the candidates addressed the issues to the best of their ability. I personally attended two (2) of their presentations at the Elks Lodge and at the Community College where it was televised to be shown at a later time, Dick Anderson took the extra step to send me a post card in the mail to let me know where he stands on the issues, also local TV station aired the Community College Forum in the community 3 or 4 times. Erin Cochran was gracious enough to personally speak me about the clean city issues at length and even made a point to walk with me where unauthorized dump sites are located in a five (5) mile area in my neighborhood. As a volunteer driver during election day, I gladly provided a ride to a voter to and from the polling place. Finally, I must say that where there is a will to exercise your right to vote, there is a way to cast your ballot. So please cast your vote in May for the City Council Elections.

Green jobs job fair...

Received the following from Facebook today...

- RENEWABLE ENERGY INFORMATION FAIR

Are you interested in a career in the renewable energy industry?

Come find out about Training and Green Career Opportunities.

March 17, 2010 11:00 AM until 8:00 PM

Kingman High School - 4182 North Bank Street

Mohave and La Paz Counties anticipate major renewable energy

projects in our region and are preparing for the many jobs associated

with these facilities. This fair will help you prepare to apply and/or

train for jobs in renewable energy construction and operations. The

application process for training will include eligibility determination

and a series of assessments.

Find out more at one of the ninety minute orientation sessions beginning at 11:30 AM, 2:00 PM or 5:30 PM. Capacity is limited to 550 per session.

Complete a CAREER PLACEMENT INVENTORY online at: www.co.mohave.az.us/energycareers, print it out and bring it to the fair. This will help us place you in a career pathway and/or funded training.

Also, here's a link to the press release on this event.

Check it out, check it outers.

Polls are closed...

Now that the polls are closed I'm watching the Mohave County website for the results of today's election in Kingman.  I will post the results when they are available.

As of 7:10pm there are no reported results on the website.

As of 9:21pm... nothing on the Mohave County website.

As of 10:16pm... these are the results for the city council race...

CANDIDATE -- # of votes -- Percentage

ANDERSON, DICK --  797  --  47.36%
COCHRAN, ERIN  --  711  --  42.25%
LYONS, RAY  --  711  --  42.25%
MOSSBERG, ALLEN  --  811  --  48.19%
WATSON, JANET  --  962  --  57.16%
Write-in Votes  --  345  --  20.50%

Another crappy turnout in number of voters.  Out of the 16,189 registered voters, only 1,683 bothered voting in the primary. 

As it looks and as I understand it, the results tonight indicate that Janet Watson has retained her seat on the council... and the remaining two seats will be decided in the general election later on in May of this year (Anderson, Cochran, Lyons, and Mossberg will be in the final run-off). 

View all results here

I would have liked to have been surprised tonight, but instead am a bit disappointed.  

Polls are open!!

Folks, if you live in Kingman don't forget that today is election day.  Six fellow neighbors are on the ticket for city council seats and the community needs to hear from you (one candidate for mayor).

This time around I wish we could vote for five of the candidates for council, but we can only choose three.  The only candidate that I wouldn't vote for is the one that stated in a city council meeting that she wouldn't want her neighbor to have a windmill in their own backyard.  Now that isn't the only reason, but I've watched that particular candidate for some years now botch property rights issues here in Kingman.

I'm rather impressed with a couple of particular candidates, and hope that they've done all the work needed to get the vote out -- cause they will need it.

And still, I find no particular weaknesses to the other three candidates for council.  A very interesting choice as to who to vote for awaits Kingman voters today.

Good luck to all the candidates on this day.

As seen on the webz...

From this link, this comment...

Congress opened their windows and threw out 50 tons of bread crumbs, encouraging (in every way they could) people who couldn’t afford real estate to to buy real estate. They succeeded in attracting lots and lots of pigeons, but when you artificially attract pigeons, you artificially attract the hawks that eat the pigeons too. I don’t really blame the pigeons, or the hawks. I blame the morons in Congress who fiddled with the mortgage market in the first place, and did it for purely political reasons.

RBMN on March 4, 2010 at 9:48 PM

Local quote of the day...

From the comments at this link...

Posted: Friday, February 26, 2010
Article comment by: Allodial Title

This county is out of control. I moved here 2 years ago. Back east when I needed a permit to have more than allotted animals on my property, I went to the City office, paid my 25 dollars and was given a permit. But here in Mohave County, not so simple. You need a use permit, 300 plus dollars if you just want to own more than 4 dogs. 500 plus if you plan on breeding and selling, because now your commercial. They also then inform you that you must send a letter to your neighbors, and if they have a problem with it, you will be turned down. Now what the county doesn't tell you is that if they turn down your request, you will never see the money you put out just to ask permission. But they will tell you that you can try again in a year. They must think of the residents of this county as stupid. Why would I give them another 500 dollars, when they turned me down the first time? Our rights have so eroded that an unelected bureaucrat in the county government believes that he has the authority, the right and power to tell me if I can stick a shovel in my ground. Mohave County residents, it's time to take our land, and our constitutional right to own land back from this county.

Tyrrany In Mohave County, AZ

The following video was done yesterday during the arrest of one of our local residents at the Mohave County Administration building prior to the Board of Supervisors meeting.

Seemingly less answers while more questions raised as our County Manager Ron Walker tells an attendee after the arrest that not only are weapons not allowed in the building but the American Flag is not allowed to be brought into the building either since it is a "banner or a plaque". Tyranny in Mohave County, or a man blinded by his own arrogance? Is it me or does he sound like he is making it up as he goes along?

Judge for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M63k9GEBis

How banks are making big bucks on foreclosures

I was alerted to the video link below a few days ago and if you are interested in a bit of short sale and foreclosure scenarios that will make your blood boil... you may want to click on the link and give it a view.

Video Marketing and Mortgage News Designed for Mortgage and Real Estate Sales

Basically we are talking about big banks making big bucks off of foreclosed and distressed property... with tax payer dollars.  Yep, the government is giving big bucks to banks while our property values suffer.  Just watch the video.

it's a hot and bitter cup we are sipping....

Most of you have heard or read something about the county's latest fiasco, brewing like cowboy coffee on an open fire pit. The issue specific is whether or not the county's assumed oral policy prohibiting the disbursement of brochures and pamphlets by the general public on county property is in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It is an oral policy, not written and no one knows who or when they accepted it, since never written it was never officially adopted and is left up to the county officials to act upon based upon their individual interpretations of AZ Statute 11 Art 410 which states:



11-410. Use of county resources or employees to influence elections; prohibition
A. A county shall not use its personnel, equipment, materials, buildings or other resources for the purpose of influencing the outcomes of elections. Notwithstanding this section, a county may distribute informational reports on a proposed bond election as provided in section 35-454. Nothing in this section precludes a county from reporting on official actions of the county board of supervisors.
B. Employees of a county shall not use the authority of their positions to influence the vote or political activities of any subordinate employee.
C. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as denying the civil and political liberties of any employee as guaranteed by the United States and Arizona Constitutions.



The salt added to the grounds of this brew is that a local resident, citizen and taxpayer was prohibited from dispersing his materials made that reflected the voting record of Senator John McCain prior and during the McCain Town Hall held in Kingman, Arizona, November 13, 2009, in the public owned county administration building. Luca Zanna was predominately ignored during the McCain Town Hall as he politely kept his hand raised for over 45 minutes in request to speak. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gOxD39_--g But Luca Zanna is not one to be ignored. He persisted until John McCain himself handed Mr. Zanna his microphone to address him with. Luca Zanna is very dynamic to be sure and can appear to be quite exuberant, but he is also one of the most respectful and sincere people I have known since living here. Impassioned sure, terrorist------NOT. As he and Buster Johnson have related to me, once he was asked to stop passing out his materials and told that he was in violation of the county rules, he politely and respectfully stopped. (Do you hear the striking of the match.)



As most of you know Buster Johnson is the county Board of Supervisor for District 3. What some of you may not know is that Buster Johnson is the Chairman of the Republican Central Committee. It was through his party affiliations and work as Chair that he was able to convince Senator John McCain and his staff that Mohave County should be the site of a scheduled Town Hall event and in doing so brought the event here as a public service opportunity we have been long denied. And it was as the Chair he was approached by one of Senator McCain's security guards paid for by our tax dollars, to tell Mr. Zanna and others to stop passing out their materials, "for security reasons" on the publicly owned property. And yes, he is the same security guard taking pictures of Luca Zanna during the McCain Town Hall in the video. (Just the back log for the campfire.)



In his quest for answers from the county as to just what is this policy, where is it posted, who does it apply to, are you sure it even exists......Mr. Zanna approached several county officials by phone call, email and in person. Yet his emails and questions were unanswered. Even when the county attorney revealed that they had just always fallen back on AZ 11art 410 and everyone had agreed that this is how they would do it, no one could explain or show Mr. Zanna where the county residents had ever participated in this decision. If it isn't written down, then how could they have approved it? If it isn't written down then how does anyone know when someone or party is in compliance or non-compliance? How do you know it is even in compliance with the State Statute itself? Since the county could not or would not answer his probes, he addressed the Board of Supervisors in an open meeting, yet still the same results. (Ignite the kindling now.)



What followed next was a production on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVhy0hlfdfM reflecting how Mr. Zanna was starting to feel about being ignored. And he submitted a couple of letters to the local media. BOS Tom Sockwell felt he was being personally attacked and responded with an article in the Daily Miner of his own, http://kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=35736&SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&S=1 Mr. Zanna started getting attention, the issue was being brought out, still no answers though to some very relevant questions. (We got smoke!)



The economy is slow, news is slow. We don't have much going on in Mayberry these days. People are out of work, out of money and don't have much to do but read the paper and the Internet, watch TV and youtube and they have the time to get involved in local affairs. The Daily Miner and other media venues have picked up on Mr. Zanna's plight. Support for his stance is growing. And the fact that the government is responsible for people being out of work and out of money and out of answers and out of patience is making us all irritable. Now there is a recall petition for Mr. Sockwell and a possible complaint to the State Attorney General. (We got flames!)



Ron Walker decided it was time for him to join the name calling, http://kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&subsectionID=73&articleID=36024, which like Supervisor Sockwell's retort, just added more heat to the pot just starting to boil. Oh yeah right we were making coffee. The county still needs a written definition of how AZ Stat. 11 Art. 410 will be followed and the written guidelines there of printed out for the public. But who wants to work that out while we all are too busy fueling the fire? (Uh, Ron Walker is the County Manager who is in charge of directing staff to put such definitions and guidelines down on paper to be reviewed and adopted by public approval via the representation there of, our Board of Supervisors.)



Maybe if our county representatives and officials had taken the time they have had writing articles to openly degrade private citizens to sit down with Mr. Zanna and discuss his genuine concerns reasonably over a cup of coffee something would have been resolved by now. Instead we have a media frenzy that makes Mohave County politics shine like the Dukes of Hazzard on steroids. And we are still out of work and out of money and wondering why the developments that could change things for us locally are continuing to locate their projects to the southern counties of the State. What we need is a fresh pot of coffee!

Poll added for City Council...

Look over to the right there on the sidebar and cast your 'choice' for only one of the candidates currently running for Kingman's City Council.

If you want, please comment below for reasons you are supporting the one candidate in this poll.

I know that come election time voters will be allowed to choose three candidates on the official ballot, what MOCO readers want to know is why you think one particular choice is the best for the future of Kingman.

just an update...

It seems that the program that managed the comments here at MOCO is no longer, and this has caused me to changed providers (actually back to the Blogger platform).  And as a result... all of the comments that the many nice folks have left here at MOCO are gone.

So what are you waiting for??  Leave some comments.

January Listings Report (2010)

You bet, it sure has been awhile since I posted a listings report... or any report for that matter. Have to say that I've been a bit busy to faithfully produce such reports, but at least I have continued to track the data. I've also decided to slim down the listing reports to some degree (basically won't be offering the previous months data in order to save me some time).

So what have you missed over the last couple of months?? In a nutshell... prices continue to slide (yet sellers still haven't totally figured that out) and sales activity has picked up the pace. Yep... pretty much like it was all of last calendar year.

I owe you a couple of other reports... I will be doing the January sales report later this month and in the next few days I'll probably get the annual report out.

So without further ado... the disclaimer...

Disclaimer... all data compiled for this report comes from the WARDEX Data Exchange and does not include any sales activity from outside that resource. All research is done only on single family homes and there is no inclusion of modular homes, commercial properties, or vacant land. The geographical area researched includes; all areas within the boundaries of the city of Kingman, north Kingman, the Hualapai Mountain area, and the Valle Vista subdivisions. Click here to see maps of the included area's.

Data tables for all new listings tracked in the month of January 2010

As of February 1 Total Listings on Market

Item	Total Units
Total Listings On Market	373
Total Listings Listed as Foreclosed	76

New Listing Data

Item	Month of January
New Listings Total	92
New Listings Listed as Foreclosed	46
Average Asking Price Per Unit	$119,212
Median Asking Price	$99,900
Average Asking Price Per Square Foot	$78
Units Re-Listed	10
Units Already Under Contract	22

New Listing House Data

Item	Month of January
Living Area Square Footage	1,536
Bedrooms	3.04
Bathrooms	1.98
Garage	1.65
Year Built	1992

Price Range of New Listings in January

Item	Lowest	Highest
Listings	$23,900	$375,000

See you weren't really missing out on anything here... the only stat that jumps out at me is the fact that half of the new listings were of the foreclosed on variety. The largest such invasion by the banks by percentage since I've been keeping track. Human sellers, I guess, have tired.

And even though the inventory of active listings is down as compared to years past, it hasn't meant the end of the issues surrounding excess inventory... at least not yet.

Data tables for all new Units under contract tracked in the month of January 2010

As of February 1 Total Units Under Contract

Item	Total Units
Total Units Under Contract	114
Total Contracts Listed as Foreclosed	57

Units Under Contract Data

Item	Month of January
New Contracts Total	67
New Contracts Listed as Foreclosed	42
Average Marketing Price Per Unit	$99,588
Median Marketing Price	$74,450
Average Marketing Price Per Square Foot	$65
Days on Market to Acquire a Contract	134
Average Marketing Price Reduction	$14,597

New Units Under Contract House Data

Item	Month of January
Living Area Square Footage	1,539
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2.07
Garage	1.7
Year Built	1992

Price Range of New Pending Contracts in January

Item	Lowest	Highest
Listings	$19,900	$424,900

And here it is just a slaughter by the banks. Banks control the clear majority of the action in this local real estate market. Basically... nothing to see here, move along now... move along.

Year over year data listings/pending contracts

Listings

Item	UP/DOWN	unit/dollar amount	Percentage
Total Listings	DOWN	125	(25%)
New Listings January	UP	2	2%
Average Price per New Listing	DOWN	$55,928	(32%)
Median List Price	DOWN	$35,000	(26%)

Pending Contracts

Item	UP/DOWN	unit/dollar amount	Percentage
Total Pending Contracts	UP	26	30%
New Contracts for January	UP	12	22%
Average Marketing Price per Unit	DOWN	$31,860	(24%)
Median Marketing Price	DOWN	$27,500	(26%)

The average price of a newly listed unit for sale was way down in January of 2010... lower than it has ever been according to the records I have kept and we should expect it to continue to be the case as long as banks are putting up half the new listings every month (banks really get the idea of competition and are definitely motivated to sell). It's just down to the question of how low can they go in regards to prices.

No promises, but I hope to get back on the horse (so to speak) and get these reports out on a once again consistent basis. Stay tuned.

'The Big Dummy' speaks... (no not me)...

No doubt that I read the KDMiner.com pages for the latest -- almost -- daily information about things happening in the Kingman area. It is the only such media outlet that is -- almost -- daily that puts their articles, opinions, etc. online for all to see. The content that is produced by the employees at the Miner is what it is... and since it has no competition, again online, it is the best available. However, to me the 'gold' I find at the KDMiner.com site comes from the content that the readers leave on either articles or opinion pieces.

I found a couple of comments that I wanted to further spotlight here on MOCO and they will appear below. Click here for the link to the letter to editor from Wednesday's edition. Go ahead and read the original letter for complete context where the following two posts are addressing. The title of the letter is 'Smart' people back at it again.

The two responses come from the same person who uses the moniker 'The Big Dummy', and here is the first one... with some of my thoughts along the way...

Posted: Thursday, January 28, 2010
Article comment by: The Big Dummy

Mr.Stultz and other naysayers,

You clearly don’t know much of anything but rumors about the Griffith power plant, power plants in general, electric distribution, or electric markets. Before you try to compare Griffith to any other power project you should know something about which you speak first.

For yours and other’s edification I’ll lay out some accurate information for you.

I love it so far... and it gets so much better.

About 25 people work at the Griffith plant and last time I talked with an acquaintance there all but one called Mohave County home. That’s about the number they said would work there when the project was proposed. Don’t believe it? Check the Miner archives. Unlike a solar plant, every one of Griffith’s workers need to be a skilled power plant technician. A lot of jobs at photovoltaic and concentrating solar plants are window washers that don’t need to know a lot nor do they get paid that well. I expect the core number of skilled plant operators at one of these new solar plants will be about the same as Griffith. In any case, Griffith never promised large numbers of permanent workers so why are you complaining?

So much good stuff here... I love the 'check the Miner archives' thing there -- which of course most folks against new development simply won't do. The part about have skilled technicians... yeppers... important in this kind of investment and endeavor. Having newly relocated higher skilled level employees will not be a bad thing for this community or it's tax base.

If you are still not happy that at least 24 of our own got great paying jobs at Griffith, something you do need to think about is how many local businesses are still in business, benefit, or have increased their staff because of Griffith? It is likely local repair shops like RAM Enterprises, Laron Engineering, Sky Hi crane, United Rental, and others are happy to have places like Griffith around. If more power plants get built in our area these businesses are likely to expand and new businesses start up. Power plants need skilled workers to support them during times of major unscheduled and scheduled repair and upgrades. The point, Mr. Stultz, is that large industries often create even more decent jobs indirectly.

Sounds exactly like economic development to me.

County water records show that since Griffith began operation in 2001 it has averaged under 1000 gpm; or under 1613 acre ft per year. That is well below what they could use. The plant has always paid all the County expenses in maintaining and operating the wells. The plant also checks the aquifer level every month and sends the data to the County and guess what, it’s all at the County Water Department for you to see and believe it or not the Sacramento Aquifer is not being sucked dry by Griffith. I can’t remember if the USGS survey identified localized water level depression in the Griffith well field but if they did, so you and other know, that phenomenon is common and normal around an active well. There are limits to those depressions to protect aquifers against subsidence; and yes Griffith also has to do aquifer subsidence surveys annually in accordance with ADEQ. Maybe Mohave Engineering is another company happy to have Griffith around? In light of this, I have no idea where you get the information to make such a claim about the aquifer.

The water worry warts make 'claims' all the time... yet they never have any proof to back up their claims of dire emergencies lying in wait because some new projects want to move into the area.

The first water contract was that the plant paid for the water they used plus an expensive hi demand charge under certain usage conditions. However, the plant had a large amount of the water system capacity locked up in that contract. Power plants have to secure enough water to run full capacity at any time so they have to lock up that capacity. Due to the plant’s low usage it looked like there was a lot of water available and the county wanted to sell it elsewhere, which Griffith, or any other power plant, wouldn’t allow. The water contract renegotiation was a sweet deal for the County. Whether Griffith runs or not the County gets paid for the full amount of water the plant needs available. The result, the County is making a lot more money off Griffith’s water contract without supplying any more than the usual amount they use. Instead of complaining that Mr. Walker made a bad first contract, why don’t you be glad he acted in the best interest of the County, at least in this case, in realizing the deal needed to be renegotiated?

A simple estimation of the County property taxes on Griffith show that the 10 million dollar investment the County made in infrastructure for the I-40 Industrial Corridor has been, or very nearly, paid for. If I recall, I think the tax assessment on Griffith alone is right around a million dollars per year, so those taxes alone have almost paid for the entire investment. In addition, we now have the prison, Unisouce’s peaker plant, and a block making plant operating out there now. Also, property tax assessments don’t change if a facility isn’t in production for a time. For such a smart guy I can’t believe you’d make such a stupid comment.

Again... economic development.

Unless you have some inside information you can’t honestly say the plant only runs when California needs the power. But even if they did, what do you care? Is it the tired old complaint that they use our water and sell the power to another state? If so, then you’d better start complaining about Mineral Park that’s been using 3000 gpm of your water for decades and selling your copper and other minerals to companies in other states for a profit. And by the way, their mine expansion is set to raise that water consumption to 6000 gpm. What do you feel about Arizona coal that went to Nevada to make power for them? Was that a problem for you? A smart guy like you surely knows that’s how industry works. Natural resources in one area are mined, cut, fished, or whatever and shipped somewhere else for processing, or manufacture, and sometimes to another place for distribution. Are you upset that rock quarries in our area shipping boulders and gravel to Las Vegas? They have to use some of our water for dust abatement so is that okay with you if the product ends up out of state? What about those poor people in Wyoming whose natural gas gets piped down here to Arizona to keep or homes warm? Would it be okay with you if they got upset that their un-renewable natural resources go out of State and they wanted to cut us off? So we take from others but are not willing to give? Is that how it is? How is using a little of our water for local projects that also benefit other States a problem?

And I'm just willing to bet that the original letter writer or any of the many water worry wart types that comment at the KDMiner.com site won't even try to attempt to answer any of the above questions... too bad too... would love to see the spin.

Let me ask you a more pertinent question. First let’s first assume that the Hualapai solar project will run at full capacity, 24/7, for 30 years and we assume the smallest estimated quantity of water in the Hualapai aquifer of 4 million acre feet and we assume no recharge for those 30 years. In this unrealistically high estimate only 3% of the aquifer would be used. You are all so very smart, I assume you’ve already done the calculations. My question is this, knowing how small a portion of the aquifer could be used what is the basis for opposing these plants based on water use?

Simply an incredibly smart and effective way to ask a similar question that I've been asking of the water worry warts... my question simply is 'when??'. Since they won't answer my easy question they won't attempt to answer this one either. The water worry warts HAVE NO DATA TO BACK UP THEIR ASSERTIONS.

Another fact about Griffith is that it is a merchant plant. There are merchant plants all over the United States and this time of year they, like Griffith, are sitting idle because it’s not real hot, not real cold, and manufacturing facilities are not running at full capacity. Merchant plants will, however, sometimes run even under these conditions when base load plants go off line for routine or emergency repairs. So even though a merchant plant may not be on line it serves as an important backup to increase the overall reliability of the US electric grid. The location of Griffith and the grid upgrades that they provided to our tristate area have also greatly enhanced the reliability of our local power distribution system – so Mr. Stultz’s power is less likely to go out from a single transmission line failure.

Judging from the unsubstantiated claims and unreasonable comparisons you made, Donald, it looks like you might want to reconsider who the big dummy really is.

All right, maybe 'The Big Dummy' didn't have to go there... but I'm not holding it against him/her. The water worry warts have said much worse about the pro development, pro property rights, and pro free enterprise folks in the Mohave County area.

So 'there appeared a second post in response to three attempts to take 'The Big Dummy' to task... the lame responses fail to impress and the follow up comment from 'The Big Dummy' shows why.

Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Article comment by: The Big Dummy

Thank you for the support Mr. Stokes and Guess Who.

WES, maybe in all your rage you didn’t notice you are arguing with me? How funny. I’m glad you are exercising your rights and are politically involved. It’s more than most do. However, I don’t think you’ll be able to sway too many people to see things your way when your comments are laced with so much hate and anger. Your passion is powerful; make sure it’s always based in truth and not anger. Good luck with your effort!

Everyone else,

Ron Walker is not behind the moniker of the Big Dummy. I’m a Mohave County citizen that because of my educational background, where, and who I work with; I have experience in and access to much of this information first hand. All sources for what I say about taxes and Griffith water use is public record. I’d be a fool to lie when the numbers are available for anyone to see. I tried very hard to present nothing as biased or intentionally un-factual. If you are a lover or a hater of using water then the facts are going to seem biased, but it’s your personal bias. The facts, by definition, cannot be biased.

Whoever 'The Big Dummy' is... I want him or her to know that they are welcome to comment on this blog site anytime... I'd honor the wish to remain anonymous as well. This is great scissor use.

I’ve not read any HVS hydrology report or been to the public meetings. I used numbers published in the Miner and some common sense conservative assumptions and ran my own simple calculations that almost any of you could do as well. According to one of the No Names I guess they match pretty close to what HVS’s people came up with. I think that’s pretty cool! That means those HVS hydrology people aren’t fudging the numbers!

I've done the math as well... it was easy and it is very difficult to argue with.

If it weren’t for my associations and concern for repercussions I’d have used my real name, and I wish I could because I believe it would actually lend credence to my comments. I do hope my thorough commentary helps cut through the misinformed rants so my fellow citizens can make an informed decision about supporting or opposing these projects.

For years I've been trying to get more people to bring forth information that can be used in public... but for whatever reason the folks with a plethora of knowledge in this area just don't nearly as often as needed. I guess they have their reasons... but we are all missing out. Again, I'd let this person posting under the moniker of 'The Big Dummy' to post here at this site.

To Ron Walker; Clearly, some citizens hate your policies very much. I personally think you and the Board could do a better job in getting information to the citizenry, it would help clear up all that distrust so many people have. Think of the positive though, now you know how these folks really feel! I am offering you an apology for un-intentionally causing people to think The Big Dummy post was from you and for bringing such vitriol out against you. I am sorry about that.

Heh.

And finally...

To the Kingman Daily Miner,

Thank you for posting my comments. Could you PLEASE do us all a favor and publish the Griffith tax assessment, summary of the terms of their water contract with the County, and the record of their water usage? Since Griffith was built there has been so much misinformation about that place; some of it your fault. For the sanity of our County, please publish the records! It’s really too much for someone to put in as a letter to the editor. If you can’t pick on just them then how about a nice spreadsheet that shows ten year averages of tax payments, water use and cost, and # of employees of the top 25 property tax paying businesses in the County for the last 10 years? You have my thanks in advance.

Yeah... how 'bout it Miner??

Like I said before, you can find gold in the comments at the KDMiner.com. The above was such an example. Would love to see more folks like this get involved in the discussion.

AZ Supreme Court renders decision on CityNorth

I'm copying a bit from the Goldwater Institute's press release below (and linked here).

Goldwater Institute Press Release
January 25, 2010

Phoenix--Today in a unanimous decision the Arizona Supreme Court declared that government subsidies to encourage development violate the Gift Clause of the Arizona Constitution unless the developer offers tangible benefits of equal value in return. The ruling clarifies previous decisions the court believed were confusing and applied the rule prospectively. The Court declined to invalidate the CityNorth subsidy and sent the case back to the Arizona Court of Appeals to consider other legal challenges.

The ruling in Turken v. Gordon is a victory for the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of six small-business owners in 2007 in an effort to stop giveaways of taxpayer money. "The Court's decision vindicates a core protection of taxpayer rights in our state constitution," said Goldwater Institute litigation director Clint Bolick. "The days of rampant corporate welfare in Arizona are coming to an end."

Read the whole thing of course.

If you remember this case in Phoenix put further negotiations between the City of Kingman and the landowners/developers of the Kingman Crossing area on hold. I don't know how this all shakes out based on this decision, if anything, I'd be happy just to see some news on the potential project again.