Inside Tucson Business 03/23/12 by Territorial Newspapers

POSITIVE OUTLOOKS Politico Dick Morris set the stage for Tucson Chamber forum PAGE 6

Your Weekly Business Journal for the Tucson Metro Area WWW.INSIDETUCSONBUSINESS.COM • MARCH 23, 2012 • VOL. 21, NO. 43 • $1

Flaws on Broadway Tucson councilman wants to amend RTA’s road plans Page 5

PCC students learn to navigate careers in aviation maintenance Page 3

Local firms, contractors ‘court’ new work Phase I construction of new courts complex underway downtown Page 19

Very taxing legislation Lawmakers look at voter-approved taxes Page 24

New pharmacy center to hire 400 at Tech Park Inside Tucson Business Health insurance giant United Health Group will open a service center at the University of Arizona’s Tech Park for its OptumRx pharmacy benefit subsidiary and hire at least 400 people to staff it. Officials were to make the announcement Thursday at an 80,000 square-foot facility under construction at the Tech Park, 9040 S. Rita Road. Those scheduled to be in attendance included United Health Group CEO Stephen J. Hemsley, OptumRx CEO Dirk McMahon and

Gov. Jan Brewer. OptumRx is currently the fourthlargest pharmacy benefits manager in the U.S., serving 13 million member fulfilling 370 million prescriptions per year. Plans are for the facility to be ready this summer and to have it fully staffed in about 18 months. The average minimum salary for the new jobs is estimated at $37,000 annually. OptumRx will lease the facility from the Tech Park. Company officials said Tucson was selected because of its diverse workforce and favorable regulatory

climate as well as its proximity to the University of Arizona pharmacy school. The company also will receive a $200,000 state grant as part of the Arizona Commerce Authority’s “deal closing” fund. Company officials plan to leave the money in escrow account for five years to demonstrate its commitment to remaining in the area. To receive the money, grant requirements stipulate that companies pay average minimum salaries and make a fiveyear commitment to the region. United Health Group has been

on a hiring spree nationwide. During the past five years, the company has created 40,000 jobs, according Matt Stearns, a spokesman for the company. It currently employs 100,000, with more than 2,800 in Arizona. On March 16, the Department of Defense awarded the Tricare Managed Care Support contract for members of the military United Health Military & Veterans Services, another United Health Group subsidiary. The five-year contract service 2.9 million members is valued at $20.5 billion.

2 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

For 160 years we’ve helped customers reach their goals, and we’ll continue to be by your side for the next 160 To celebrate our anniversary, we are supporting these charities: ĕǍ ( -$ )Ǎ ) -Ǎ * $ /4 ĕǍ ..* $ /$*)Ǎ*!Ǎ -$5*) Ǎ ** Ǎ )&. ĕǍ $"Ǎ -*/# -.Ǎ $"Ǎ $./ -. As we reach our 160-year anniversary, we are proud to celebrate the progress we’ve made together and look forward to serving the community for many more years to come. Because giving back to our community has always been an important part of who we are, Wells Fargo will be giving a total of $2.5 million to charities nationwide plus building and renovating 160 homes in 160 days. We’ve seen a lot of change over the years but the one constant throughout is our dedication to serving the needs of our communities. For more information, go to wellsfargo.com/anniversary

InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

NEWS

PCC aviation technology program turns out employment-ready workers

Asarco officials celebrate Mission Mine’s 50 years

J.D. Fitzgerald photo

Copper miner Asarco celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Mission Mine near Sahuarita with a special ceremony March 16 in which company officials talked of their commitment to the future. “We’ll continue to invest to expand Mission production with a focus on our employees, safety, community, and the environment,” said Manuel Ramos, president and chief operating office. The celebration event took place at the mine’s Discovery Center, which contains an award-winning exhibit center, video theater, cactus garden and gift shop showing off the mining industry in Arizona. Organized in 1899 and acquired by Grupo Mexico in 1999, Asarco is a major domestic integrated copper producer, producing over 400 million pounds of copper annually and employing over 2,600 employees. The Mission Mine employs over 600 Arizonans.

Students learn about jet engines in the hangar at Tucson International Airport.

By Alan M. Petrillo Inside Tucson Business It may be one of the best kept secrets among many in the Tucson region, but aviation-related employers know and rely on the Pima Community College Aviation Technology Program to graduate employment-ready individuals who can step into

Phone: (520) 295-4201 Fax: (520) 295-4071 3280 E. Hemisphere Loop, #180 Tucson, AZ 85706-5027 insidetucsonbusiness.com

their businesses and immediately begin hands-on tasks. Tom Hinman, aviation technology program manager at PCC, said the vast majority of the students who graduate from the program end up working in the aviation field. “We view ourselves as an economic engine for the community,” Hinman said. “Our program supports the existing aviation

businesses here by providing them with entry and mid-level skilled employees who are ready to work.” The PCC program offers four major program fields of study — structural repair, airframe and power plant, avionics and ground school for professional flight training.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

PUBLISHER THOMAS P. LEE tlee@azbiz.com

STAFF WRITER PATRICK MCNAMARA pmcnamara@azbiz.com

LIST COORDINATOR JEANNE BENNETT list@azbiz.com

INSIDE SALES MANAGER MONICA AKYOL makyol@azbiz.com

EDITORIAL DESIGNER DUANE HOLLIS dhollis@azbiz.com

EDITOR DAVID HATFIELD dhatfield@azbiz.com

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ART DIRECTOR ANDREW ARTHUR aarthur@azbiz.com

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Inside Tucson Business (ISSN: 1069-5184) is published weekly, 53 times a year, every Monday, for $1 per copy, $50 one year, $85 two years in Pima County; $6 per copy, $52.50 one year, $87.50 two years outside Pima County, by Territorial Newspapers, located at 3280 E. Hemisphere Loop, Suite 180, Tucson, Arizona 85706-5027. (Mailing address: P.O. Box 27087, Tucson, Arizona 85726-7087, telephone: (520) 294-1200.) ©2009 Territorial Newspapers Reproduction or use, without written permission of publisher or editor, for editorial or graphic content prohibited. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Inside Tucson Business, P.O. Box 27087, Tucson, AZ 85726-7087.

On the trail to Asarco’s Mission Mine tour

EDITION INDEX Public Notices Lists Inside Media Entertainment Arts and Culture Briefs Calendar People in Action

6 7-9 12 13 13 15 16 17

Finance Real Estate & Construction Meals and Biz Buzz Editorial Classifieds

18 19 20 20 23

4 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

NEWS Three buildings have been named by the Downtown Tucson Partnership as finalists in the façade improvement program, which provides financial assistance to downtown building owners and tenants who improve the appearance of streetscapes. In this case, two or all three of the finalists will receive up to $100,000 to help restore their building. The finalists are: • Pioneer Building, 100 N. Stone Ave. • Chicago Store, 130 E. Congress St. • Shoe City Building, 37 E. Pennington St. More than a dozen applications were received. Each of these finalists will receive $5,000 for architectural designs, engineering costs, exploring building conditions and final budget planning. The finalists will work with an architect with expertise in historic preservation to develop and present a renovation concept to the committee for final review. The committee will then announce the winners on April 30. In previous years, the façade improvement program has been used on the Screening Room, the Rialto Theatre Block and the Scott Building, 64 E. Broadway.

Trap & Skeet Club hosts Olympic qualifying event The Tucson Trap & Skeet Club, 7800 Old Ajo Highway, will host more than 250 elite shooters from 43 countries, Saturday through March 31, who are seeking to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London. The public is invited to watch accomplished marksmen and markswomen, including four-time Olympic medal winner Kim Rhode of California. Rhode is attempting to become the first U.S. woman to win five individual medals in five Olympic Games. Gold medalists Vincent Hancock of Georgia and Glen Eller of Texas as well as bronze medalist Corey Cogdell of Alaska will be part of the USA Shooting Team represented at the event. Admission and parking is free for spectators. Although the 400-acre Tucson Trap & Skeet Club holds several nationally and internationally attended shoots each year, this is the first time the club is hosting one of the four World Cup Shotgun Olympic qualification competitions.

Tucson gas prices inch upward for 12th week Gas prices continued their upward climb for a 12th consecutive week, reaching an average $3.72 per gallon for regular in Tucson, according to AAA Arizona. Last week, the average was $3.69 per gallon. The price is inching closer to the recordhigh $3.85 recorded on June 20, 2008. The Tucson average remains the lowest in the state with some areas about to top the $4 per gallon mark for the first time this year. Scottsdale this week had the state’s highest average, at $3.99½ per gallon.

J.D. Fitzgerald photo

Three finalists named for façade improvements

Student Brian Wilderson, left, and instructor Derek Bakehouse fire up the engine of the plane to check the proper installation of the magnetos in the engine.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 It offers both certificates and associate degree training in each area of study. “All of our programs can lead to an associate’s degree, but most of the students come to us for certification in specialized training,” said Pete Stogsdill, aviation technology program chair. “Many of them continue their studies beyond a specialized field so they get the certification for the ability to sign off on and return an aircraft to service.” Hinman said the PCC program has dual customers — both the students who enroll in its courses and the industry locally that hire the students upon completion of their training. “We actually go out and work with the business community to determine what they need in terms of employees and skills, and then tailor our programs to meet their needs,” Hinman said. “It is those needs analyses that create our degree program.” The aviation training program gives its students real-life working experience while they are learning, Hinman added. “Students become imbedded in a worklike environment that mimics the work place,” he said. “Students work on airplanes like those used by businesses, using tooling exactly like theirs and paperwork just like that of business customers.” Hinman said the PCC program is the only one he’s aware of in the country that uses aircraft for instruction ranging from small through mid-size to large commercial

jets. The aviation technology program has two Boeing 727 jets, a DeHaviland Dash8 mid-range commuter aircraft, an Aztec twin engine general aviation aircraft that can carry eight people and Cessna 150 and 152 aircraft that students work and learn on. The program will add a Cessna 170 shortly. “Most of the airframe and power plant programs in the country will have only one or two airplanes in the Cessna category to train their students,” he said. “What makes us different is that we start with those smaller airplanes, move on to the mid-sized aircraft and then to the capstone of commercial aircraft.” That work environment means that PCC aviation technology students are heavily recruited by companies both inside and outside of the Tucson region because their education so closely meets the business’s requirements, Hinman said. Hinman said the PCC program it different than traditional post-secondary modularized institutions where classes are offered in day, evening and weekend settings and where 12 credits are considered full time. “Our hangar environment mimics in great detail the work environment of the local aviation industry,” Hinman said. “Students come here between 7 a.m. and 7:15 a.m., depending on the class, punch a time clock, which instills a skill set that every employer wants — an employee who shows up on time — and stay for nearly eight hours.” Typically, students spend four hours on class work daily, for instance on subjects

such as hydraulics or structural repair, then work the remainder of the time on an aircraft in the hangar. Classes are five days a week, year-round in an 11,000-square foot hanger and classroom complex at Tucson International Airport on South Park Avenue off Old Nogales Highway. “A typical student here will get 24 credits in the same time frame as a 12-credit student elsewhere,” Hinman said. “Each student works hard because we have a high standard of performance here. For example, our Airframe and Power Plant program has 43 different subject areas in it, including avionics and structural repair, which are highly-sought-after specializations in the industry.” Most of the students in the PCC program take up the avionics and the airframe certifications, Hinman noted. “By far, the majority of our students are in some program that involves licensure, either the airframe and power plant generalist or specialists in other areas,” he said. Aviation technology enrollment for the current year is 116, up from 110 last year, 97 in 2009-2010 and 89 in 2008-2009. Graduates not only form a steady source of employees for local aviation businesses, they also are a boon to the Tucson regional economy, Hinman added. “They give those aviation companies reason to expand here in Tucson because there is a ready workforce available to them,” Hinman said. “Also our trained workforce serves to help attract other aviation companies to locate here.”

Correction After federal funding ends for Pima County’s Smart Choices for Healthy Dining, the plan is to continue the program through the cooperation of Cox Media and the Canyon Ranch Center for Prevention and Health Promotion at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. An article in the Health Care special section in the March 16 issue left the impression the program would continue at Canyon Ranch Resort.

InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

NEWS

Kozachik sees flaws in RTA’s Broadway widening, wants chance to amend plan By Patrick McNamara Inside Tucson Business Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik is raising questions about some projects including in the 20-year $2.1 billion regional transportation plan voters approved in May 2006. Among his specific concerns is the proposed widening of Broadway from Euclid Avenue to Country Club Road, which is supposed to enter the planning stages late this year. “We know we don’t need it based on the traffic analysis,” Kozachik said. Flawed projections and aged analysis make the Broadway widening a bad idea — at least the way it’s currently conceived, Kozachik said. The original studies for widening Broadway were done in 1987 and predicted traffic volumes would increase by 40 percent in 20 years. Kozachik said a study done by the city in 2009 showed traffic flows had increased by just 10 percent. “The voters approved projects based on flawed analysis and cost projections,” Kozachik said. The city Department of Transportation is gearing up for a new traffic analysis for the stretch of Broadway. Kozachik said he wants voters to have a chance to rethink some of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) projects based on facts that have changed. Essentially, what he favors would allow for voterapproved amendments to the transportation improvement plan. “I think my approach is more pragmatic — letting voters have a second look at it,” Kozachik said. Another change he would like to see would let voters approve a reallocation of some existing RTA funds to go toward road repair. “We need to fix existing roads, not increase capacity,” Kozachik said. But RTA officials aren’t so sure. “We don’t agree with that,” said RTA Director Gary Hayes. He said bringing specific projects back to the voters for changes would be unreasonable and potentially costly, estimating it would cost as much as $1 million to hold another county-wide election. “The RTA board would have to request the Pima County Board of Supervisors put it on a ballot,” Hayes said. “You can’t go back and revisit it all the time.” Further, Hayes said, the purpose of the RTA is to increase capacity and not to repair existing roadways. “There is not maintenance in the RTA

plan,” he said, adding that the legislation that created the plan doesn’t allow road repair. Hayes suggested the city could seek voter approval for a bond package to include roadway repairs. The proposal to widen Broadway includes adding a third lane in each direction between Euclid and Country Club and building two additional lanes dedicated to buses, light rail or other public transit systems. Planning for the multi-year project is scheduled to begin this year and run through 2014. Following that, design work will last another two years. Utility relocations are scheduled for 2015 and full construction

KOZACHIK SAID HE WANTS VOTERS TO HAVE A CHANCE TO RETHINK SOME OF THE

REGIONAL

TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (RTA) PROJECTS BASED ON FACTS THAT HAVE CHANGED. ESSENTIALLY, WHAT HE FAVORS WOULD ALLOW FOR VOTER-APPROVED AMENDMENTS TO THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

work should begin in 2016. The total budget estimate for the project tops $71 million. The RTA will contribute $42 million coming for the half-cent sales tax that was part of the voter-approval of the plan, Pima County bond money will contribute another $25 million and the city will pay the remaining $3 million. Kozachik also raises concerns about the project’s funding, saying the commitment from Pima County hinges on future passage of a not-yet proposed bond package. “It was supposed to be county transportation bond money, but we are now being told that until at least 2015, the dollars won’t be available, and even then there is a question as to whether the county debt limits will allow for voters to even answer the question as to taking on more debt to fund this project,” Kozachik wrote in his March 14 newsletter to constituents. Pima County officials, however, con-

firmed to Inside Tucson Business the commitment of funds for Broadway remains intact. The county intends to use $25 million in remaining 1997 Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF) money for the Broadway project. Voters in 1997 approved $350 million in HURF revenue bonds, of which more than $100 million remain. Funding issues aside, Kozachik also has problems with the city’s efforts to purchase properties along the Broadway corridor. “Why are we doing all of this acquisition of property when the alignment hasn’t been set? It makes a complete farce out of the citizens task force.” The city plans to assemble a 13-member task force to hash out the alignment of the project and other issues during planning stages. Since the late 1980s, the city has been slowly buying up properties along Broadway in anticipation of the widening project. To date, the city has bought at least 41 parcels, primarily on the north side of Broadway. Since the establishment of the RTA in 2006, the city has spent $3.8 million for seven Broadway parcels using money from the RTA, 1997 Pima County Bonds and HURF funds. Not only does the taking of the property result in the loss of historic properties it reduces the tax base that goes to fund city and county governments and the RTA, Kozachik said. “You’re taking away a significant property tax assessment by making it a chunk of asphalt,” he said. Hayes said the tax base would suffer, at least in the short run, but that it was an unavoidable consequence of growth. “Anytime you have arterial road widening you have the taking of property,” he said. He also said Kozachik’s critiques of the project seem premature since the city has not even selected members to serve on the citizens task force committee. He also noted that at the time, the city council gave its unanimous approval to include the Broadway widening in RTA plan. “Every city project was requested to be in the plan,” Hayes said. Kozachik said it shouldn’t matter if voters approved the projects if flaws are found in the justifications. “There are off ramps built into the (RTA) legislation,” he said. “Can we not break this bureaucratic mindset?”

Contact reporter Patrick McNamara at pmcnamara@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4259.

This Week’s

Good News Finally, some job growth While last week’s jobs report showed only minimal growth in Arizona’s employment situation, one sector in the Tucson region received a major boost. According to the Arizona Department of Administration, construction trade employment in the Tucson region grew by 14 percent in January this compared with January 2011. The specialty trades sector in Tucson, which includes foundation, exterior and equipment contractors, grew by 22 percent in the same timeframe. The leisure and hospitality trades in Tucson also had strong growth, with 7 percent since January 2011. Tucson’s overall job growth was 0.9 percent. Statewide employment for all sectors increased 1.6 percent in 2011.

No. 1 for entrepreneurs The latest Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity shows that while the rate of new business creation dipped nationwide in 2011, Arizona is the nation’s leading state when it comes to having the highest entrepreneurial activity rate. In each month during the year, 520 per 100,000 adults in the state created startup businesses as entrepreneurs. That topped Texas and California, both of which had rates of 440 per 100,000 adults. At the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia had the lowest rate of entrepreneurial activity at 150 per 100,000 adults. Pennsylvania was slightly better at 160 per 100,000 and Hawaii at 180 per 100,000. The Kauffman study says entrepreneurial startups are at some of their highest levels in 16 years.

The Tucson

INSIDER Insights and trends on developing and ongoing Tucson regional business news

Can’t do RTA? Now that the Regional Transportation Authority is showing itself to be an agency that gets things done, that seems to be upsetting some government officials, environmentalists and the usual squeaky wheels. This week we have City Councilman Steve Kozachik questioning the research that went into the plan calling for widening Broadway. Others have chimed in objecting to the extension of Kolb Road across the Pantano Wash. For the RTA this is a test as to whether it truly is capable of keeping its promise. Voters approved theses measures in May 2006 and to stop just one — for any reason — is seen as a return to the old “can’t do” ways of local government.

6 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

NEWS Public notices of business bankruptcies, foreclosures and liens filed in Tucson or Pima County and selected filings in Phoenix. Addresses are Tucson unless otherwise noted.

BANKRUPTCIES Chapter 7 - Liquidation Fr. Kino’s Corner LLC, 2716 S. Kolb Road. Principal: Charles or Donna Corders, members. Assets: $51,971.01. Liabilities: $136,271.39. Largest creditor: American Family Housing, Midway City, Calif., $46,414.41. Case No. 12-04902 ﬁled March 13. Law ﬁrm: Davis Miles McGuire Gardner, Tempe

FORECLOSURE NOTICES T & L Edwards LLC 4238-4244 E. Speedway 85712 Tax parcel: 126-05-071B, 126-05-0720 and 126-05-0730 Original Principal: $284,000.00 Beneﬁciary: VFC Partners 14 LLC, Waco, Texas Auction time and date: 10 a.m., June 5, 2012 Trustee: Michael S. Catlett, Quarles & Brady, 2 N. Central Ave., Phoenix Coulter Childcare Corporation 6203 E. Beverly Drive 85711 Tax parcel: 128-08-069A3 Original Principal: $473,000.00 Beneﬁciary: CIT Small Business Lending Corporation, Livingston, N.J. Auction time and date: 11:30 a.m., June 7, 2012 Trustee: Carol M. Baron, 4808 N. 22nd St., Suite 200, Phoenix

LIENS State liens (Liens of $1,000 or more ﬁled by the Arizona Department of Revenue or Arizona Department of Economic Security.) RJF Tango Bar LLC, 140 S. Kolb Road. Amount owed: $8,799.09. North Sonoran Enterprises LLC, 2405 N. Tomahawk Trail. Amount owed: $43,845.05. S&J Foods Inc., 2041 S. Craycroft Road. Amount owed: $20,336.02. ML Brothers LLC, PO Box 10392, Phoenix 85064. Amount owed: $109,697.83.

Mechanic’s liens (Security interest liens of $1,000 or more ﬁled by those who have supplied labor or materials for property improvements.)

Ascent Aviation Services Corp. against North Shore Aircraft LLC and Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA. Amount owed: $7,449.19. Ascent Aviation Services Corp. against North Shore Aircraft LLC and Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA. Amount owed: $319,689.09. Ascent Aviation Services Corp. against North Shore Aircraft LLC and Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA. Amount owed: $21,985.09. Ascent Aviation Services Corp. against North Shore Aircraft LLC and Wells Fargo Bank Northwest NA. Amount owed: $80,305.49. Benson Security Systems against Valencia I-19 Investments, et al. Amount owed: $751,000.00. Sunstate Equipment Co. LLC against Dillon Real Estate Co. Amount owed: $4,308.41.

Release of federal liens On A Roll LLC and Teresa A. Moreno, 63 E. Congress St. Blue Agave Landscape Design LLC and Dean A. Knote, 336 E. Fort Lowell Road, Suite 102 Massengale Design Group Inc., 9245 E. Wrightstown Road Mariscos Chihuahua 8 and Gava Group LLC, 435 W. Irvington Road KCG Development LLC, 2850 E. Skyline Drive, Suite 200 Cappsco International Corp., 805 S. Park Ave. L. Case Real Estate LLC and Amanda Leticia Case, 12175 N. Seasons Loop, Oro Valley JCP Properties LLC and James C. Parrott, 210 N. Pantano Road Brown & White Inc., PO Box 27283, 85726 Angulo’s Affordable Rooﬁng LLC and Socorro Angulo, 2787 W. Calle Arandas DCM International Aero Structures Inc., 6440 E. Placita Zacatecas Arizona Eye Consultants and Sean McCafferty MC PC, 6422 E. Speedway, Suite 100

Metro Chamber’s ‘Outlooks’ focuses on making positive changes By Patrick McNamara Inside Tucson Business Myths about illegal immigration permeate the political debate. Phoenicians can’t remember anything and Tucsonans can’t forget anything. When it comes to education, teachers need to find passion and quit dumbing down their approach. And Republicans will reclaim the White House in this November’s elections. Those were messages from nationally known experts on immigration, economic development, education and politics who were the featured speakers at the Tucson Metro Chamber’s “Outlooks, Taking Charge of Change” event March 15 at Casino Del Sol. Dick Morris, Washington insider and Fox News Channel regular, was the marquee speaker and explained why he sees the GOP candidate winning the presidency this year. “We are paying for the fruits of Obama’s profligate spending of money, which did nothing for the economy,” Morris said of President Obama. According to Morris, the national debt has swollen to $15 trillion, up from $10 trillion when Obama took office in 2008. He told the approximately 500 attendees that the president’s approval ratings were nearly equally split and, according to some measures, unfavorable among undecided voters. “These are not numbers that permit you to win re-election,” Morris said. Earlier in the event, immigration expert Todd Landfried dispelled claims made about the impact of illegal immigration. “Nine times out of 10, if a politician is making a statement about illegal immigration, it’s false,” Landfried said, citing the fact-checking efforts of the website Politifact. In particular, he said popular claims that illegal immigrants are responsible for as many as 9,000 murders per year were “preposterous.” “That’s 60 percent of all murders,” he said. Other myths, Landfried said, include claims that illegal immigrants make up one-third of prison occupants. The real number, which Landfried said is verified by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, shows the real figure lies at roughly 13 percent of the prison population. Landfried disputed claims that Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration law, SB 1070, had widespread popularity, noting that 30 states have modeled legislation on the law

J.D. Fitzgerald photo

PUBLIC NOTICES

Immigration expert Todd Landfried at the Tucson Metro Chamber’s ‘Outlooks’ event.

but only five have passed those measures. Worse, he said, when immigrants illegal and legal leave Arizona they take their purchasing power with them. “There is not a non-federal immigration law that has worked anywhere,” Landfried said. Morrison Institute scholar and lawyer Grady Gammage Jr. spoke of the growing “Sun Corridor megaregion” stretching from Prescott through Phoenix and Tucson to Sierra Vista and how the existing cultural differences among the population in the

area will shape the future. “Phoenix can’t remember anything,” Gammage said, noting the dearth of historic buildings. “Tucson seems to have the opposite problem, you don’t forget anything. Tucson is constantly arguing and blaming each other for things that happened 20 years ago, it’s like the Balkans.” Overall, he said, the two regions need to learn to live with each other and work together to not lose out to places like Texas and Colorado. He said a way to do that is to help foster an environment that recognizes government and business both have roles to play. “Today, we’re at the cutting edge of the view that government is worthless,” Gammage said. “We can’t go on that way forever, we have to realize that there are certain things government can do.” He talked of the role of government agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration and the Central Arizona Project in creating modern Arizona cities and the need to dispel the myth of the rugged individual. Without doubt, educator Ron Clark, the first speaker of the day won the largest applause, getting a standing ovation after his talk about the need to build support for schools in communities. “We have got to support good teachers,” Clark said. “If they’re coming to you to ask for something, they’re one of the good ones.” His school in Atlanta and books he’s authored have won praise among educators and celebrities. “The way I try to pull the community in is by connecting them with the kids,” Clark said. His school and teaching methods have been successful because they teach children to respect and love knowledge and teach all children to the level of the brightest students in the class, he said. “With teaching, I realized that if you want to make a difference, you’ve got to fire it up, you’ve got to make it different,” Clark said. “In this country, we slow it down, we dumb it down, we’re doing a disservice to kids.” Clark made his presentation different too, by dancing, jumping and standing on tables in the Casino Del Sol ballroom. Making it different goes for the teacher too, he said. “Where’s the passion?” he asked. “I tell teachers to teach the kids, not the lesson.”

Contact reporter Patrick McNamara at pmcnamara@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4259.

InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

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INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

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INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

TRAVEL

Tucson airport takes a new look at airline, development opportunities By David Hatfield Inside Tucson Business After almost a decade as Tucson International Airport’s first director of air service research and development, Alex Kovach this month decided it’s time for a change and has left the Tucson Airport Authority, the agency that operates the airport. He says he wants to look for new and different challenges and most likely will leave Tucson at some point but in the meantime he’ll stay active as an adjunt professor with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He spent time growing up in North Carolina and a recent return visit there has piqued his curiousity about opportunities, he says. In the meantime, for the airport authority it’s time to regroup. Mary Davis, who in April 2011 was named senior director of business development and marketing, said the short-term plan is to hire a consulting firm to take on the challenge of making the case for improved airline service at Tucson International especially going into an important annual conference coming up in June in Sacramento, Calif. The conference includes an event called Jumpstart, which is essentially a speed dating-type of event in which airlines and airport executives meet in brief sessions in curtained booths. In these economic times and rising fuel prices, it’s a challenge trying to persuade airlines to grow service when many of them are cutting capacity in an effort to try to boost fares to cover their higher costs. Davis calls it the “new normal” in the industry. She says the airport authority is still determining how to replace Kovach, who came to Tucson from the airport in Corpus

Christi, Texas. “We need to evaluate where we are today with the new normal and what skill sets the airport needs for our long-term development of air service, marketing and business development,” Davis said. “We need to determine realistically our new opportunities.” During his time at the airport, Kovach was instrumental in persuading airlines to boost service during the expansion years of 2005 through 2007 when there were nonstop flights to 29 destinations including New York, Newark, Washington, Kansas City, Austin, Oakland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Reno, Spokane, Omaha, El Paso and Charlotte, N.C. While service to those destinations has since been discontinued, the airport still has nonstop flights to 16 destinations. Indeed, it was some of Kovach’s legwork that came into play when Southwest Airlines quickly decided in December to put on seasonal nonstop flights to Baltimore. After losing out on getting landing slots at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, Southwest found it had some airliners with no particular place to go. Kovach’s research showed strong passenger demand for flights into the Washington area and flights to Baltimore just might be successful. Indeed the response has been positive, though there are no commitments for continuing the seasonal flights beyond the originally set end date of April 9.

Service notes On the heels of Frontier Airlines dropping its flights from Tucson International Airport after May 17 comes a scheduling change from United pulling down — but not eliminating — service to

Denver this summer. United will go down to four round-trips a day on the route in June to three flights a day in July and then back up to four flights in August.

TUS numbers up Looking back on it there were lots of things to bring visitors to Tucson in February — MLS soccer, the Accenture Match Play Championship, the rodeo — but if you go by the numbers from the airlines that 29th day in the month had the most to do with turning passenger counts around at Tucson International Airport. All totaled for the month, 308,275 passengers went through the airport, up from 299,304 in February 2011 for a 3 percent increase. But as an average, the daily passenger numbers were down 0.6 percent continuing a general trend that happened nine out of the 12 months of 2011. But tourism officials will take February’s increase — the largest year-over-year increase since November 2010 — which puts the first two months of 2012 on an upward trajectory of 1 percent growth in

passenger traffic.

PHX numbers down Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport started out 2012 with its January passenger counts down 1.5 percent from a year ago to just over 3.2 million. That is a reversal from 2011 when the passenger totals were up 5.3 percent to 40.6 million for the entire year.

Sky Harbor get away As of this month, there is direct freeway access from the east exits of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on to the Hohokam Expressway (State Route 143) south to Interstate 10 and east to Tucson. Previously drivers had to exit Sky Harbor on to surface streets. Contact David Hatfield at dhatfield@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4237. Inside Business Travel appears the fourth week of each month in Inside Tucson Business.

TUCSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FEBRUARY 2012 PASSENGER STATISTICS Passenger traffic going through Tucson International Airport in February grew by 3 percent over February 2011. This chart shows each airlines’ passenger totals and market share for February 2012 compared with February 2011 and the totals for the first two months of both years.

Airline

February 2012 February 2011 Change Passengers Market Passengers Market Passengers % Share

Nonstop destinations

Southwest

102,363

33.2%

104,303 34.9%

-1,940

-1.9%

Albuquerque, Baltimore (seasonal service ends April 9), Chicago Midway, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego

American

74,562

24.2%

59,514 19.9%

+15,144

+25.5%

38,075 12.7%

-2,181

-5.7%

Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles

US Airways

35,894

11.6%

28,965

9.4%

27,689

9.3%

+1,276

+4.6%

8.5%

35,372 11.8%

-9,065

-25.6%

Phoenix

Delta

Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Salt Lake City

United

26,307

Denver, Houston Intercontinental, Los Angeles, San Francisco

Continental

13,864

4.5%

12,637

4.2%

+1,227

+9.7%

13,300

4.3%

12,913

4.3%

+387

+3.0%

13,020

4.2%

8,897

3.0%

+4,123

+46.3%

+8,971

+3.0%

Houston Intercontinental

Frontier Denver

Alaska Seattle

Monthly Total

308,275

299,304

Year-to-date 600,004

593,453

+6,551 +1.1%

Source: Tucson Airport Authority Airline totals include passengers on branded flights operated by contracted carriers: American (American Eagle), Continental Express (ExpressJet), Delta Connection (SkyWest), United Express (SkyWest) and US Airways Express (Mesa and SkyWest).

InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

GOOD BUSINESS WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Planning the key to work family dinner into busy life Can you identify with this scenario: It has been a long day and you arrive home from work late. When you get home, there’s another long list of things to do. You’re exhausted and the last thing you want to do is muster up the energy to make dinner. On top of that, your son needs to be at practice in 30 minutes and your daughter needs help with her math homework. When you go to the refrigerator, you wonder if you can make anything reasonably nourishing with mayonnaise, pickles and half a stick of butter. Now let’s create a different scenario. Imagine time to just chill, to put your brain on pause, to stop the world so you can catch your breath. Imagine time to recharge your body physically, mentally and emotionally. Time to share, laugh and listen so you’re reminded why you work hard everyday. Imagine uninterrupted, face-to-face communication with the ones you love. Connecting, laughing and talking more deeply than ever before. That sounds like something out of a 1950s movie doesn’t it? So what’s the answer? How is it possible to go from seeing dinner as something you have to get out of the way to seeing it as a tool you can use to have quality family time? The answer lies in planning. At work you plan projects and you have goals with deadlines. You know what needs to be done, who needs to do it and when it needs to be completed in order to deliver to your client. Dinner, on the other hand, you leave up to a whim and the immediacy of the moment. Without a plan, you order a pizza or go to a drive-thru. The problem, however, is the guilt you feel immediately after you have eaten fast food. Restaurants and fast food solves the problem of what’s for dinner, but that food is taking a toll on your health and pocketbook. In addition, without setting the intention to be together to talk, conversation won’t magically happen. For face-to-face conversation to occur all electronic devices have to be put away. Checking email or putting on the TV to catch up on the local news won’t create the space for conversation either. You’ll never find the time to “do dinner.” The solution lies in making time by planning your dinner routine just as you plan your work projects or a birthday lunch for a friend. Have you ever taken a friend out for lunch for his birthday? Do you remember how that occurred? You sent your friend an email that said, “Let’s do lunch.” He said yes and then it was a series of emails or phone calls to get the day, time

and location into your schedules. And, barring any emergencies, you met and had a great time. When you aren’t tired, stressed or hungry think about your week. GIGI CENTARO There are days when you can get home a bit earlier. There are evenings when your entire family is in for the night. The key is to set an appointment in your datebook to eat together. Make that appointment as important as not allowing your children to miss a ball practice. Put it on the family calendar because it is a family event. Make a commitment to yourself and your family that two evenings a week you’ll do dinner together and everyone can count on being together to eat, talk and share. Instead of dreading dinner, use it as a tool to enrich your life. Dinnertime is an investment in your family’s emotional, spiritual, physical and mental well-being. You invest in your retirement account so you’ll have something to withdraw from when you need it. When you invest in your family, you’re giving them lessons, history and memories to draw from when they need it. Family dinnertime is also an investment in yourself. After a long day, you need a place to relax, unwind and share the trials and tribulations of your day. At the table, you’ll get suggestions and advice from the only people or person who really care if you’re successful. Your family will put your challenges into perspective and they’ll acknowledge you and your work. Sharing dinner with your family, just two nights a week, can change your family interactions for the better — forever. Even though you’re crazy busy you can do dinner. The secret is in the planning.

Connecting your business around the world. Seattle Tacoma

Minneapolis St. Paul Salt Lake City

San Francisco Las Vegas Los Angeles San Diego Phoenix

Chicago O’Hare Chicago Midway

Denver

Baltimore

Albuquerque

Atlanta Dallas Ft. Worth

Houston

Contact Gigi Centato, America’s Dinnertime Cheerleader, at gigi@gigispeaks. com or (520) 825-6833. Her office is at 12995 N. Oracle Road, Suite 141-261, and the website is www.GigiSpeaks.com . Centario is a member of the Greater Tucson chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), whose members contribute this monthly column. Non-stop destinations. Connections around the world. Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, United, US Airways

12 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

MEDIA

Radio buzz: Format changes that are given the best odds of success By David Hatfield Inside Tucson Business I’ve spent too many hours talking with people in the industry and other readers about media. I’m sure a time management expert would see it as time wasted. Lately, those in the radio industry in Tucson have been talking about the recent spate of format changes. A few even congratulated me on correctly predicting most of them. They must have forgotten, they told me about them in the first place. One competitor not only correctly predicted Cumulus Broadcasting’s format change but the i97-5 branding three months before it happened. I didn’t use it at the time because I couldn’t get anyone else to confirm it, but he was right. • Here’s the feedback: Now that the format changes have occurred, the buzz is over whether they’ll work. With that in mind, here’s what media people in the market are saying. I’m throwing out any comments being made by someone working in the same group

to try to cut down on the spin. Let’s start with the change that is getting the most favorable comments from competitors. • i-97-5, KSZR 97.5-FM: Going to hit music. First of all, hit music is popular right now. Beyond that, Cumulus, which officially merged with Citadel Broadcasting in September, is a successful operator of hit music stations in lots of markets. In markets where it doesn’t operate the dominant hit music station, Cumulus often goes after the top dog if it has a station that otherwise hasn’t been doing so well. That’s the scenario here. Clear Channel’s KRQ 93.7-FM is the dominant hit music station and Bob FM had not registered a significant rating in three years. After playing 10,000 songs in a row commercial free for the month of February, i97-5 this month has added commercials but music is still the focus. Cumulus may not be setting the expectations bar all that high. It’s two primary goals are: steal some audience from KRQ and have some of that audience choose it as their favorite hit music station. At the very least it’s an interesting

battle; KRQ hasn’t faced a serious direct challenger in 30 years. • The Groove KTGV 106.3-FM: Plenty in local media looked looked at this change by the Journal Broadcast Group as merely putting a fresh coat of paint on the old Mega format of “old school and R & B.” But astute listeners note the station is continuing to evolve with a broader array of music. “It actually sounds pretty good,” one broadcaster told me. The challenge going forward is how much more, if any, the music will continue to evolve and what could be a defining moment if it ever adds air personalities. • KNST-FM 97.1-FM: There is irony in the fact that conservative talk radio is credited with helping to save AM radio stations a couple of decades ago but now, in order to save conservative talk radio, more stations are moving to FM. (In KNST’s case it’s also still broadcasting on 790-AM.) One of the issues facing conservative talk radio is that its audience tends to be largely white, male and is getting older. It remains to be seen whether a younger listener will press the “seek” button on a car radio — if indeed anyone still does that — land on Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity and

WE ALWAYS

DELIVER!

stay there just because their radio is tuned to FM. • La Preciosa KTZR 1450-AM: This is the one change that wasn’t predicted but at the same time not surprising. With all the other changes, Clear Channel had to maintain a large enough presence in Spanish radio to justify has a sales team, even if other Spanish stations get higher ratings. Clear Channel’s second attempt at Spanish hit music as Mia 97.1-FM didn’t get much traction in 2½ years so the company salvaged the one successful element on the station, the syndicated Alex “El Genio” Lucas show in the mornings, and returned the rest of the station to a format of Mexican oldies on AM. To make way, the 10-month experiment of all-comedy as “Funny 1450” was sacrificed before it could be determined whether it was successful. • My 92.9, KMIY 92.9-FM: This is billed as a revitalized adult contemporary music station. Like the i97-5 versus KRQ battle, Clear Channel in this case is taking aim at Journal Broadcast Group’s Mix-FM KMXZ 94.9-FM. But there are plenty of people who are wondering if the attempt will miss the mark. My 92.9 clearly targets a younger audience than Mix-FM, but it may be too young and, if it’s successful, could hurt KRQ’s popularity. The degrees of separation among Clear Channel’s three FM stations — My 92.9, KRQ and Hot KOHT 98.3-FM — are so close they could wind up cannibalizing each others’ audiences.

Contact David Hatfield at dhatfield@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4237. Inside Tucson Media appears weekly.

Tucson & Phoenix Same Day Delivery 2Q 'HPDQG &RXULHU 6HUYLFH /LYH 'LVSDWFKHU 2QOLQH 2UGHULQJ 7UDFNLQJ :DUHKRXVLQJ 'LVWULEXWLRQ /RFDOO\ 2ZQHG 2SHUDWHG Over 200,000 copies per year 620,000 Web page views per year Over 1,700 Facebook likes Over 2,900 Twitter followers Over 8,000 Facebook views per year

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InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT MEALS & ENTERTAINMENT

ARTS & CULTURE

Classic Agustin Brasserie opens today in Mercado

Symphony, cirque combine on stage this weekend

After months of delay, Agustin Brasserie opens its doors this evening. Located in the Mercado San Agustin Public Market off Congress Street west of Interstate 10, the restaurant will serve classic bistro food for both lunch and dinner. Dinner service begins tonight and lunch service starts Tuesday (March 27). The plan is to start serving Sunday brunch in April. Owner and culinary director Glen Stosius has overseen the development of the menus which feature classic brasserie-inspired dishes such as housemade country pate, nicoise salad and duck confit. For those who like seafood, there will be options including whole grilled fish, sea bass carpaccio, soup de poisson, soft shell crab BLT as well as a daily selection of raw bar items. In an effort to keep the menu local and minimize the restaurant’s carbon footprint, many of Agustin’s ingredients will be purchased at the weekly Mercado Farmers Market held in the courtyard. The restaurant’s cocktail list features classic libations such as Pimm’s Cup and Sidecar, as well as New Orleans’ drinks like the French 75 and Big Easy. Agustin also features outdoor dining in the courtyard as well as a roof-top lounge with an up-close view of Sentinel Peak, a.k.a. “A” Mountain. Uncommon in Tucson, you can bet the rooftop lounge will be a popular spot to enjoy a spring evening coupled with one of Tucson’s spectacular sunsets. • Agustin Brasserie, 100 S. Avenida del Convento in Mercado San Agustin — www. agustinbrsserie.com — (520) 398-5382

Cocktails & classics The Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance (SAACA) has partnered with Tucson Mall for a Cocktails & MICHAEL LURIA Classics charity event Saturday (March 24). The event will take place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Tucson Mall, 4500 N. Oracle Road, in the outdoor pavilion between Brio Tuscan Grill, California Pizza Kitchen and the Cheesecake Factory. Tickets are $40 each and the evening will feature live entertainment with a big band performance from Retro Swing 7, a red-carpet runway show by Macy’s and classic cars from the 1940s and 50s. Featured libations include classic cosmopolitans and wine. Mall restaurants, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, Brio, Mimi’s Café and Sir Veza’s will each provide samples from their respective menus. The hope is to make Cocktails & Classics and annual event. • Cocktails & Classics to benefit the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance — www.saaca.org/Classics___Cocktails.html

Contact Michael Luria at mjluria@gmail. com. Meals & Entertainment appears weekly in Inside Tucson Business.

This weekend the Tucson Symphony Orchestra is brinGing back Cirque De La Symphonie combining classical music with circus-like acts such as an aerialist, contortionist and juggler. The aerialist is Alexander Streltsov, who not only is a veteran of Broadway and the only aerialist ever to perform with the Bolshi Ballet, he has also performed for three different Russian presidents. This unique blending of live music and cutting edge performance played to enthusiastic audiences last season. Part of the TSO’s Pops! series, the performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Music Hall at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.

Music UApresents has a couple of musical concerts this weekend. At 8 p.m. Saturday the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band with guest Terence Blanchard will present an evening of Afro-Cuban standards from their 11-piece band paying tribute to the original “Congo King” Chano Ponzo and collaborator Dizzy Gillespie. Then at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Israel’s leading international recording and concert artist Noa and guest Mira Awad, a Palestinian actress and songwriter, will present an evening of music and passion promoting peace and understanding.

Art Etherton Gallery, 135 S. Sixth Ave., opens a new exhibit Saturday featuring the work of three artists, painters Nancy Tokar Miller and Joe HERB STRATFORD Forkan and photographer Lisa Robinson. The show, titled, “This Land, This Sea,” focuses on landscapes and seascapes and promises to transport viewers to far away places. The show will be up through May 26.

Film With the big screen adaptation of “The Hunger Games” opening on thousands of movie screens nationwide this weekend, it’s worth a look at indie films for a change of pace. At the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway, some of the year’s best films are showing including “We Need to talk about Kevin,” with a stunning performance from Tilda Swinton. Also playing are the 2012 Academy Award-winner for best film “A Separation,” and the Carl Jung/Sigmund Freud bio-pic “A Dangerous Method.”

Contact Herb Stratford at herb@ ArtsandCultureGuy.com. Stratford teaches Arts Management at the University of Arizona. He appears weekly in Inside Tucson Business.

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14 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

SOCIAL MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE WORKPLACE

Overly broad policy could give an employee protected status with the employee’s own work, the work of The National Labor Relations Board other employees or the employer’s operations, (NLRB) has provided more guidance to and the interference (rather than the rule) was employers about the effect of overly broad the reason for the discipline. workplace conduct — including Here is an illustration of the social media — policies. Among Continental Rule’s application: other things, the National Labor An employee was discharged Relations Act covers most but not for violating the employer’s all union and non-union confidentiality rule by complainemployees who engage in ing to a client about an individual “protected concerted activity” compensation issue. The employwhich is collective action er’s confidentiality rule prohibited regarding the terms and condiemployees from disclosing terms tions of employment. of employment, including According to the NLRB, SHERRY DOWNER compensation, to “other parties.” discipline imposed pursuant to an The NLRB found this policy overly broad workplace conduct unlawfully broad. rule can violate the the National Labor Although the conduct relates to the terms Relations Act even if the conduct was not and conditions of employment, it is not protected concerted activity. This rule has concerted. There was not a group of employbecome known as the Continental Rule, ees complaining nor was the employee named after a case involving the Continental complaining as a spokesperson for other Group Inc. employees. The NLRB will find sweeping workplace Thus, it is not protected concerted activity. conduct policies overly broad if the policy However, the NLRB said the activity implicates prohibits or “would reasonably tend to chill” Section 7 concerns (wages) and the employee employees from engaging in protected was terminated pursuant to an overly broad concerted activity. Under the Continental policy. Thus, the NLRB invalidated the Rule, if the policy is overly broad, the NLRB discharge pursuant to the Continental Rule. can invalidate the discipline imposed even if Here, the Continental Rule changed the the employee was not actually engaged in outcome, the discharge would have been protected concerted activity. upheld but for the employer’s overly broad Thus, the NLRB may protect employee policy. conduct that implicates the terms and In light of the NLRB’s focus on employer conditions of employment but is not concerted if the employee was disciplined pursuant to workplace conduct policies and the NLRB’s expanded employee protection under the an overly broad policy. Continental Rule, employers are well advised Such a rule is unsettling given the NLRB’s to review their social media policies. propensity to find employer policies overly broad. The NLRB offers employers an exception. It Contact Sherry Downer, an attorney with will uphold discipline imposed pursuant to an Fennemore Craig practicing in the areas of overly broad rule if the employer can establish employment and labor law and commercial and the employee’s conduct actually interfered business litigation, at sdowner@fclaw.com.

InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

BRIEFS GET ON THE LIST

Next up: Landscape architects, Swimming pool builders Inside Tucson Business is in the process of getting data for the 2013 edition of the Book of Lists. Categories that will be published in upcoming weekly issues of Inside Tucson Business are: • March 30: 501(c)(3) organizations, United Way allocations, Charitable trusts • April 6: Landscape architects, Swimming pool builders • April 13: Banks, Credit unions • April 20: Largest employers in Southern Arizona • April 27: Architectural firms, Interior design firms, Engineering firms If your business fits one of these categories, now is the time to update your profile. Go to www.InsideTucsonBusiness.com and click the Book of Lists tab at the top of the page. New and unlisted businesses can create a profile by following the directions. The Book of Lists is a year-round reference for thousands of businesses and individuals. To advertise your business, call (520) 294-1200.

NEW IN TOWN

Cartridge World opens 5th store at Spectrum Cartride World Tucson has opened its fifth location at the Spectrum, Interstate 19 and Irvington Road. The stores, owned Kathy and Chuck Sawyer, remanufacture and refill cartridges for inkjet and laser printers, photocopy and fax machines The company promotes that refilling cartridges not only is less expensive than buying new, it prevents an estimated 9 million cartridges a year from going into landfills in the U.S. Cartride World Tucson has been in operation for six years.

Phoenix-based Pain Center opens first Tucson clinic The Pain Center of Arizona this week opened an office in Tucson, at 1704 W. Anklam Road, Suite 108. Dr. Eric Cornidez is the physician in the Tucson clinic. The office is initially open on Mondays and Fridays but is planning to expand those hours. The website is www.PainCenterTucson.com. Founded by Dr. Steven Siwek, the Pain Center of Arizona is a collective group of pain management physicians that has been in operation in the Phoenix area for nine years. It is a multidisciplinary pain clinic that offers care utilizing a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic methods.

TECHNOLOGY

Major players in gaming world invest in local firm Tucson-basedKihonGameshasannounced

a partnership with game industry leader and co-founder of Playdom, Rick Thompson. Thompson’s investment, reported to be worth $1.5 million, will support Kihon’s second game release, “Dojo Danger,” scheduled for launch later this year. Dan Fiden of the venture capital firm Signia Ventures, which worked with Thompson on the investment, will serve on Kihon’s board. Kihon launched in 2011 with the mobile app game “Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig).” The game was based on a popular YouTube video and accompanying song by Parry Gripp. Former Sony Online Entertainment developers Mark Grossnickle, Dan Kopycienski, Chris Hill, Bryan Rypkowski and John Peterson founded Kihon. Thompson is credited with co-founding Playdom (acquired by The Walt Disney Company), Adify (acquired by Cox) and Flycast (acquired by CMGI).

LOGISTICS/DISTRIBUTION

Golden Eagle honored for converting fleet to CNG Golden Eagle Distributors will receive the 2012 Fleet of the Year Award in April from Beverage World Magazine, a national beverage trade magazine. Last year, the distributorship for AnheuserBusch and other craft beers and imports, converted its entire Tucson heavy-duty delivery fleet of 23 vehicles to compressed natural gas, which the company says will greatly reduce its carbon footprint but save money over time. Beverage World selected Golden Eagle for its innovation and willingness to share knowledge with others in the industry. The award will be given April 7 at the BevOps Fleet Summit in Las Vegas. “We are proud to be leaders in new transportation technology in our industry and in our community,” said Golden Eagle CEO Christopher Clements.

State Bar of Arizona. A three-member hearing panel led by the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Arizona Supreme Court ordered that Cargill be suspended from the practice of law for six months and one day effective today (March 23). During the State Bar’s investigation, it was found that Cargill failed to appear on time for three sessions of an administrative hearing and failed to appear for the fourth. The State Bar requested an explanation from Cargill regarding his absence and his response was found to be untruthful. Relating to his discipline hearings, the State Bar said he failed to abide by court orders and deadlines. Following multiple warnings from the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, the threemember hearing panel concluded he violated various rules of professional conduct, which led to his suspension. Cargill was also ordered to pay $77 in restitution to Raynbo Court Reporting Limited, $4,322.31 to the State Bar of Arizona for costs and expenses incurred during its investigation, and $127.26 to the Arizona Supreme Court for costs and expenses incurred during the disciplinary proceedings. Cargill will be required to undergo formal reinstatement proceedings if he should seek reinstatement to the practice of law.

GOVERNMENT

City names two to executive positions The City of Tucson has named two people to executive positions: Debra L. Chandler is economic development manager and Mark Timpf is interim director of the Tucson Convention Center. Chandler is currently executive director of Microbusiness Advancement Center where she has worked since 2006. She has served on the city’s Small Business Commission since 2009. She will start work for the city on May 1.

HOSPITALITY & LEISURE

LEGAL

Tucson attorney suspended from practicing law Tucson attorney Gary B. Cargill has been suspended from practicing law for violating the rules of professional conduct, according to the

Councilwoman Scott, mayor to hold town hall Monday Tucson City Councilwoman Shirley Scott will hold a town hall meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday (March 26) in the multipurpose room at Clements Recreation Center, 8155 E. Poinciana Drive. Scott and Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will discuss the progress of the new mayor’s 180day plan, which will be followed by questionand-answer session.

NONPROFITS

2012 community resource directory now available The 2012 Directory of Community Resources for Pima County is now available from Information & Referral, a program of Our Family since 2008. The newest edition contains updated information on nonprofit, government, faith-based and grassroots organizations serving children, youth, seniors and families throughout the county. The directories cost $35 each and are available at Our Family, 3830 E. Bellevue St., or online at www.ourfamilyservices.org. For more information about the directory, call (520) 3231708 ext. 260.

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Local barkeep featured at national conference Casino Del Sol Resort, Spa and Conference Center mixologist Aaron DeFeo participated last week in the national “Shake It Up! Creative Cocktail Challenge” at the annual Nightclub and Bar Convention and Trade show in Las Vegas. DeFeo blended, mixed and stirred it up with 30 of the trade’s best. Aspiring mixologists can learn from DeFeo himself at one of the many mixology classes he leads at the resort. Information is online at www.casinodelsolresort.com.

Timpf will oversee administrative and operations side of the convention center. He is a captain with the Tucson Police Department with 20 years experience in operations and management. TCC Deputy Director Tommy Obermaier will focus on event management and promotions.

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16 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

CALENDAR SPECIAL EVENTS

lamb@azcapitoltimes.com

2012 Arizona News Service Capitol Roadshow Friday (March 30) 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Arizona Daily Star building 4850 S. Park Avenue Panel discussions include: How a bill becomes a law and how you can get involved; Budgeting, redistricting and the upcoming elections - What it all means and why it matters to you; and a media panel discussing what’s happening at the Capitol, what to expect. Registration at http:// capitolroadshowtucson. eventbrite.com For more information call (602) 889-7129 or email ginger.

Women Impacting Tucson The Empathy Factor Monday (April 2) 11:20 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Manning House 450 W. Paseo Redondo RSVP: wit@manninghouse. com or (520) 770-0714 Cost: $25 (with RSVP by Mar. 29 - $20) The James E. Dalen Distinguished Lecture for Health Policy Wednesday (April 4) 6 to 8 p.m. DuVal Auditorium in the U of A Medical Center 1501 N. Campbell Avenue Contact: Donna Knight

dknight@email.arizona. edu (520) 626-6459 Free Andrew Weil M.D. to discuss “Medical Debacles of the Recent Past.”

other options, on site or shortly following the workshop. Free www.wfhmevents.com/ leadingthewayhome REGULAR MEETINGS

Wells Fargo Home Preservation Workshop Wednesday (April 4) 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tucson Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A 260 S. Church Avenue Wells Fargo to hold a free workshop for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, and Wells Fargo Home Equity customers facing ﬁnancial hardships. Many borrowers will receive a decision on a workout, loan modiﬁcation, or

Cienega Rotary Club Every Tuesday 5 to 6:15 p.m. Del Lago Golf Club 14155 E. via Rancho Del Lago Information: http:// cienegarotary.org Connections Monthly contacts luncheon First and third Wednesdays 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. McMahon’s Prime Steakhouse 2659 N. Swan Road RSVP: Cindy Morgan

at (520) 403-8798 or morgansautoshop@aol.com Cost: $16 includes lunch Conquistador Toastmasters Every Wednesday 7 to 8:30 p.m. ASBA conference center 4811 E. Grant Road, Suite 261 Contact: Saul Silven at (520) 885-3497 RSVP: requested for guests Cost: guests free Desert Stars Toastmasters Every Tuesday, noon U of A Science & Tech Park Building 9040, Room 2216 Contact: Jim Eng (520) 6639118 or jim_eng@juno.com Information: www.Desertstars. freetoasthost.com

Eastside Cheers, where everybody knows your business First and third Wednesdays 4 p.m. Radisson Hotel 6555 E. Speedway Information: (520) 9065037 or (520) 907-0326 Cost: $8 guests Entrepreneurial Mothers Association Monthly luncheon First Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Old Pueblo Grill 60 N. Alvernon Way Information: Sherry Goncharsky, sherry@ tucsoncomputerskills.com

Keynote Speaker

Master of Ceremonies

A Celebration of Marketplace Excellence

Tom McNamara

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InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

NEWS

RTA’s MainStreet program eases construction disruption By Garry Duffy for Inside Tucson Business When business owners first learn about roadway construction happening outside their storefront, it’s no surprise they are less than excited about potential effects on their bottom line. Knowing this is a common concern for businesses, business representation on the Regional Transportation Authority’s original citizens’ committee helped ensure that funds were set aside as part of the $2.1 billion transportation plan to assist businesses before and during RTA construction projects. The RTA’s MainStreet Business Assistance Program has helped businesses for the past five years on over 50 regional projects. To-date, MainStreet has provided services and confidential business consulting to over 4,500 businesses. One of the many projects on which MainStreet consultants are available is the Tucson streetcar project with rail construction along the 3.9-mile project beginning in April and expected to continue through June 2013. In fact, MainStreet has already been in-

volved with 700-plus businesses along the the project and, second, help businesses directly plan for and act on elements that may streetcar route providing various services. “They have been a great help,” said Don- negatively impact them.” “The Main Street program consultants na DiFiore, owner of Delectables, 533 N. have been ‘very helph Fourth Ave. fful’ not only with adMainStreet’s free BIZ FACTS vvice on dealing with consulting services intthe coming construcclude an informational For updates and details on the modern streetcar construction: ttion, but with general liaison, a construction www.tucsonstreetcar.com business ideas overall,” b ombudsman and genssaid Kate Randall, coeral business consultowner of Antigone o ing. MainStreet has already provided nearly 500 customized Books, 411 N. Fourth Ave. One deliverable not only available to deliverables within most business disciplines as part of their confidential consult- MainStreet clients is the 30-page Regional Small Business Resources Directory preing. “We have had business consulting from pared by MainStreet that any business can the RTA MainStreet that has been really access. The directory, which is updated annually great,” said Jennifer Radler, who with two sisand includes hundreds of small business reters co-owns Pop Cycles, 422 N. Fourth Ave. “We know businesses can be successful sources, and is available at www.mainstreetduring transportation construction projects info.org The streetcar project will be built in two by following two proven steps that have been validated by national studies and years major phases with “rolling construction,” of direct experience,” said Britton Dorn- meaning that as one portion of a section is quast, MainStreet program manager. “First, completed, the crew will move to the next effectively and consistently communicate section and the portion behind them will to the businesses both before and during open up as they go.

“The City of Tucson had developed a 475day construction schedule and is working with businesses as much as possible to work around major events, in the business districts and on the University of Arizona campus, to help minimize impacts” Dornquast said. The streetcar project, which is funded through RTA and federal funds, is co-managed by the RTA and City of Tucson. Although the streetcar is one of largest RTA projects in its 20-year plan and has different issues than typical roadway projects, Dornquast said, “Preparing businesses for the challenges that construction presents is inherent in the ongoing scope of our consultants. We are there for the businesses along the streetcar route as well as the many RTA roadway projects currently under way and in the years ahead.” On the other side of construction, particularly along the streetcar route, economic benefits typically present themselves. Nearly $200 million in investments have been made in the downtown area within the past four years due to the success of previous investments and the imminent arrival of the streetcar, according to the Downtown Tucson Partnership.

PEOPLE IN ACTION NEW HIRES Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort & Spa has hired David Yamada as general manager. Yamada will oversee day-to-day operations at the 241-room hotel and resort. Yamada DAVID YAMADA TIM OVERTON BRIAN SHIRK DEB BAGOY-SKINNER BRENDA WHINERY LISA BUNKER comes to Tucson from Kingston, Jamaica, where he managed the Wyndham field for more than 20 years. AWARDS 20 years of commercial Kingston Hotel, a 303banking experience. He room city-center hotel. The Pima County Brenda Whinery of earned his bachelor’s Now your business can tell Inside Tucson Business Economic Development Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, degree in economics about new hires, promotions and special awards Tim Overton has and Tourism Department P.C. has been inducted as from the University of online. Go to www.insidetucsonbusiness.com joined Mutual of Omaha has hired Brian Shirk as a Fellow of the American California, Riverside. and click the “People in Action” button. From Bank as a senior commercial its operations program College of Bankruptcy based there you can submit your announcement and relationship manager at manager. Shirk’s primary on a record of achievement SunLife Home Health we’ll publish it online and in print. the bank’s location at 2120 responsibilities will reflecting the highest has hired Olivia CortinasW. Ina Road. Overton will include managing the standards of professionalism Romero as its human Bagoy-Skinner as a sales experience in the broadband work with Tucson area administration of Pima in the law industry. Whinery resource director. Cortinasrepresentative. Bagoycable telecommunications businesses, offering a full County’s leased property is the only nominee from Romero will be responsible Skinner has extensive industry. He holds a bachelor suite of business banking contracts, maintenance and Arizona among 36 nominees for developing a quality base marketing and sales of arts in government services, including deposit government regulations. across the U.S. Whinery is of clinicians and caregivers experience in the financial and sociology from the accounts, treasury services, He has worked for Pima a shareholder and member to ensure sustainable services industry and is a University of Arizona. merchant services, business County since. In addition to of the bankruptcy section at growth for the company. member of Women’s Council Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, loans and commercial his most recent experience Cortinas-Romero has of Realtors in Tucson. Remedy Intelligent real estate financing. in budget analysis, he brings P.C. She has practiced law worked in the home health Staffing has hired Deb Overton brings nearly over two decades of work for 25 years and specializes

{TELL US ONLINE}

library, with thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook fans. She received her master’s degree in information resources and library science from the University of Arizona in 2001. Bunker is the only librarian in Arizona to be selected this year. MICHAEL J. BLAKER

PROMOTIONS in commercial bankruptcy. Pima County Public Library social media librarian Lisa Bunker has been named one of 53 outstanding library professionals in the nation in 2012 by Library Journal. Bunker is one of nine “tech leaders” among Library Journal’s 2012 Movers & Shakers. She has worked for seven years for the 27-branch Pima County system, the last two as social media librarian, where she developed an influential social media brand for the

Wells Fargo Business Banking has promoted Michael J. Blaker to assistant vice president and commercial development officer. Blaker will be responsible for commercial lending and business banking relationships for companies with $2 million to $25 million in annual revenues in Southern Arizona region.

18 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

FINANCE YOUR MONEY

TUCSON STOCK EXCHANGE

Are you prepared for the costs of long-term care?

Stock market quotations of some publicly traded companies doing business in Southern Arizona

Like everyone else, you hope to remain physically and financially independent your entire life. And you may well achieve the goal. Nonetheless, the future is not ours to see, so you’ll want to prepare yourself for as many contingencies as possible — one of which is the high cost of long-term care. As you may know, long-term care primarily refers to nursing home expenses, but it also includes services provided in your own home. In either case, though, it could be expensive. The national average annual rate for a private room in a nursing home was more than $87,000 last year, according to the 2011 MetLife Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs. The same survey found that the average private-pay hourly rates for home health aides and homemaker companion services were $21 and $19, respectively. With luck, of course, you won’t need to worry about these types of expenses. But consider this: People who reach age 65 have a 40 percent chance of entering a nursing home, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And about 10 percent of those who enter a nursing home will stay there five or more years. Clearly, if you take no steps to prepare yourself for the potentially devastating costs of an extended nursing home stay, you could be jeopardizing the assets you’ve worked so hard to accumulate. Even worse, if you run through your money, you might end up creating a financial and emotional burden for your grown children. Unfortunately, many people assume a federal or state government program will help them pay for their long-term care expenses. However, Medicare pays only a small portion of nursing home costs, and to be

Southern Arizona presence

eligible for a state Medicaid program, you would likely have to divest yourself of most of your financial assets. Consequently, you’ll probably need to find another way to pay for long-term care. TIM BEITHON Fortunately, there are investment or protection vehicles designed specifically to help you meet long-term care expenses. Your financial advisor can help you pick the option that’s most appropriate for your individual situation. Having the ability to pay for long-term care is obviously important. But other issues may also enter the picture. For example, if you need to enter a nursing home, you may be suffering from a physical or mental disability that might prevent you from handling your own affairs. The impairment could prove disastrous to your finances — which is why you can’t afford to take that type of chance. Instead, consult with your legal advisor to determine if you can benefit from a durable power of attorney — a document that lets you delegate your financial decisions to a relative, close friend or anyone else you might choose. None of us like to think about spending time in a nursing home or needing round-the-clock care in our own homes. However, life is unpredictable. But even if you can’t avoid the need for long-term care, you can take steps to help reduce the financial strain it can cause you and your family.

Contact Tim Beithon, a financial advisor with Edward Jones, at Tim.Beithon@ edwardjones.com or (520) 546-1839. Beithon’s office is at 9525 E. Old Spanish Trail, Suite 111.

Company Name

Symbol

Mar. 21 Mar. 14 Change

52-Week 52-Week Low High

Tucson companies Applied Energetics Inc CDEX Inc Providence Service Corp UniSource Energy Corp (Tucson Electric Power)

AERG.OB CEXI.OB PRSC UNS

Alcoa Inc (Huck Fasteners) AA AMR Corp (American Airlines) AMR Augusta Resource Corp (Rosemont Mine) AZC Bank Of America Corp BAC Bank of Montreal (M&I Bank) BMO BBVA Compass BBV Berkshire Hathaway (Geico, Long Cos) BRK-B* Best Buy Co Inc BBY BOK Financial Corp (Bank of Arizona) BOKF Bombardier Inc* (Bombardier Aerospace) BBDB CB Richard Ellis Group CBG Citigroup Inc C Comcast Corp CMCSA Community Health Sys (Northwest Med Cntrs) CYH Computer Sciences Corp CSC Convergys Corp CVG Costco Wholesale Corp COST CenturyLink (Qwest Communications) CTL Cvs/Caremark (CVS pharmacy) CVS Delta Air Lines DAL Dillard Department Stores DDS Dover Corp (Sargent Controls & Aerospace) DOV DR Horton Inc DHI Freeport-McMoRan (Phelps Dodge) FCX Granite Construction Inc GVA Home Depot Inc HD Honeywell Intl Inc HON IBM IBM Iron Mountain IRM Intuit Inc INTU Journal Communications (KGUN 9, KMXZ) JRN JP Morgan Chase & Co JPM Kaman Corp (Electro-Optics Develpmnt Cntr) KAMN KB Home KBH Kohls Corp KSS Kroger Co (Fry's Food Stores) KR Lee Enterprises (Arizona Daily Star) LEE Lennar Corporation LEN Lowe's Cos (Lowe's Home Improvement) LOW Loews Corp (Ventana Canyon Resort) L Macerich Co (Westcor, La Encantada) MAC Macy's Inc M Marriott Intl Inc MAR Meritage Homes Corp MTH Northern Trust Corp NTRS Northrop Grumman Corp NOC Penney, J.C. JCP Pulte Homes Inc (Pulte, Del Webb) PHM Raytheon Co (Raytheon Missile Systems) RTN Roche Holdings AG (Ventana Medical Systems) RHHBY Safeway Inc SWY Sanofi-Aventis SA SNY Sears Holdings (Sears, Kmart, Customer Care) SHLD SkyWest Inc SKYW Southwest Airlines Co LUV Southwest Gas Corp SWX Stantec Inc STN Target Corp TGT TeleTech Holdings Inc TTEC Texas Instruments Inc TXN Time Warner Inc (AOL) TWX Ual Corp (United Airlines) UAUA Union Pacific Corp UNP Apollo Group Inc (University of Phoenix) APOL US Airways Group Inc LCC US Bancorp (US Bank) USB Wal-Mart Stores Inc (Wal-Mart, Sam's Club) WMT Walgreen Co WAG Wells Fargo & Co WFC Western Alliance Bancorp (Alliance Bank) WAL Zions Bancorp (National Bank of Arizona) ZION Data Source: Dow Jones Market Watch *Quotes in U.S. dollars, except Bombardier is Canadian dollars.

0.07 0.01 15.55 36.18

0.09 0.02 15.26 37.38

-0.02 -0.01 0.29 -1.20

0.04 0.01 8.35 32.96

0.89 0.10 15.94 39.25

10.27 0.48 2.82 9.82 59.16 8.53 81.21 27.14 57.09 4.18 20.75 37.80 29.71 23.04 30.86 12.71 90.64 39.52 44.91 9.74 63.14 62.62 15.74 39.80 29.11 49.79 59.47 204.69 29.15 60.12 5.52 45.12 34.66 11.31 48.74 24.28 1.15 26.62 30.86 39.34 56.57 40.47 37.88 27.72 47.40 60.83 36.86 9.39 51.50 43.92 21.04 38.68 76.69 11.18 8.32 42.40 31.88 57.57 16.09 33.61 35.76 20.56 112.31 43.23 7.63 31.54 60.56 33.54 34.02 8.83 22.07

9.55 0.47 2.84 8.02 57.06 8.34 78.82 24.39 53.44 4.08 17.70 33.24 29.24 23.91 30.93 12.19 87.89 38.69 44.71 9.37 62.00 61.39 13.99 38.99 27.73 47.39 57.74 197.77 28.87 57.13 5.04 39.95 32.71 11.13 48.22 24.07 1.10 23.62 28.87 38.21 55.36 38.47 35.90 25.39 43.64 59.96 38.79 8.50 50.71 43.78 21.03 37.21 73.90 11.12 8.49 42.70 29.02 56.64 15.12 32.65 36.59 19.79 107.84 42.51 6.91 28.64 59.86 32.79 30.41 8.06 18.33

0.72 0.01 -0.02 1.80 2.10 0.19 2.39 2.75 3.65 0.10 3.05 4.56 0.47 -0.87 -0.07 0.52 2.75 0.83 0.20 0.37 1.14 1.23 1.75 0.81 1.38 2.40 1.73 6.92 0.28 2.99 0.48 5.17 1.95 0.18 0.52 0.21 0.05 3.00 1.99 1.13 1.21 2.00 1.98 2.33 3.76 0.87 -1.93 0.89 0.79 0.14 0.01 1.47 2.79 0.06 -0.17 -0.30 2.86 0.93 0.97 0.96 -0.83 0.77 4.47 0.72 0.72 2.90 0.70 0.75 3.61 0.77 3.74

8.45 0.20 2.65 4.92 51.83 7.02 65.35 21.79 43.77 3.30 12.30 21.40 19.19 14.61 22.80 8.49 70.22 31.16 31.30 6.41 37.87 43.64 8.03 28.85 16.92 28.13 41.22 157.13 27.68 39.87 2.69 27.85 25.73 5.02 42.14 21.14 0.49 12.14 18.07 32.90 38.64 22.50 25.49 13.68 33.20 49.20 23.44 3.29 38.35 34.02 15.93 30.98 28.89 10.47 7.15 32.12 20.96 45.28 14.10 24.34 27.62 15.51 77.73 37.08 3.96 20.10 48.31 30.34 22.58 4.44 13.18

18.47 6.96 5.66 13.88 66.64 13.01 86.91 32.98 59.59 7.29 29.88 46.90 30.05 41.09 51.43 14.66 91.60 43.49 45.77 11.60 64.24 70.15 16.45 58.75 30.49 49.93 62.28 207.52 35.79 62.33 6.07 47.80 38.40 13.60 57.39 25.85 3.47 27.07 31.00 44.46 56.99 40.68 38.63 29.32 52.57 70.61 43.18 9.69 52.83 45.65 25.43 40.75 87.66 17.15 12.88 43.64 32.63 58.95 22.39 35.98 39.24 26.84 117.40 58.29 10.35 32.18 62.63 45.34 34.59 9.20 24.92

InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Local contractors benefit from court construction ploys about 20 people. Construction financing for the project was provided by Westar Mortgage and Realty, 1775 W Wimbledon Way. The cost was not disclosed. The contractor is C.A. Development & Construction, 3161 E. District St. “Our growth allowed us to build this new state-of-the-art facility. We are extremely confident in Tucson and feel now is the time to take advantage of the opportunities the future holds,” said Coronado.

By Roger Yohem Inside Tucson Business Site preparation and construction is underway on downtown Tucson’s new Pima County Joint Courts Complex at the southeast corner of North Stone and East Toole avenues. The seven-story building is being developed by Pima County to house the Pima County Justice Courts and the Tucson City Courts. Both governments’ existing courts are in aged buildings, have outdated technology and are overcrowded. The $48 million first phase of construction was started on Feb. 1, according to Reid Spaulding, director of Pima County Facilities Management. This stage focuses on utility infrastructure, preliminary site work, the building tower shell, and the central plant. Spaulding said the tower shell is 288,000 square feet and the central plant, a standalone building, is 7,000 square feet. Both are to be completed in August 2013. Tucson-based Sundt Construction holds a construction manager at-risk contract to establish firm budgets for specific phase 1 projects. That effort focuses on the building’s steel-frame skeleton and shell; and the central plant for the chillers, boilers, cooling system and emergency generator. Several local companies have been awarded contracts for various consulting, materials and systems testing, and other services. According to Spaulding, these companies include: GLHN Architects & Engineers; Holben, Martin & White Structural Engineers; Ninyo & Moore geotechnical and environmental engineers; NCS Consultants: Orta Fence; Integrated Interiors; Goodmans Interior Structures; and Reproductions Inc. Pima County will own the Joint Courts

THE PULSE: Median Price Active Listings New Listings Pending Sales Homes Closed

TUCSON REAL ESTATE

3/12/2012

3/5/2012

$135,175 6,000 388 495 266

$127,500 6,013 437 459 205

Source: Long Realty Research Center

Miraval’s new spa

Phase I construction has begun on the new Joint Courts Complex downtown.

Complex building that will include a basement, partial mezzanine, and 1,200-space parking garage. The county will occupy about a third of the space and lease out the rest. In phase 2, Spaulding said tenant improvements and additional site work will be completed. A timeline has not been set and the estimated cost is $25 million to $28 million. The parking garage is estimated to cost $15 million. On the construction side, Sundt Construction also has awarded several contracts to local businesses for phase 1 projects. Kurt Wadlington, senior project director for Sundt, said the companies include: JB Steel, Sun Mechanical, Cascade Electric, Wilson Electric, R.G. & Sons Plumbing, Kazal Fire Protection, Sahara Development, Charles Court Construction, Progressive Roofing, Mirage Plaster and Nelson Greer Painting. Other local firms with subcontracts include: Ajax Barricade, Desert Barricades, Diggins & Sons Power Sweeping, Security Fence of Arizona, Tracy’s Dynamic Cleaning, Conway Tile, Applied Rite Doors, MGM Associates, Lamb Rock, Darling Environmental & Survey, the Groundskeeper and Sign Magic. Insurance and bonding for the complex was awarded to Lovitt & Touche Inc.

WEEKLY MORTGAGE RATES 3/20/2012 Program 30 YEAR 15 YEAR 3/1 ARM

Current

Last Week

One 12 Month 12 Month Year Ago High Low

4.13% 4.375%APR 4.00% 4.25%APR 4.95% 3.63% 3.875%APR 3.50% 3.75% APR 4.22% 3.00% 3.375%APR 3.00% 3.75% APR

4.95% 4.22%

The above rates have a 1% origination fee and 0 discount . FNMA/FHLMC maximum conforming loan amount is $417,000 Conventional Jumbo loans are loans above $417,000 Information provided by Randy Hotchkiss, National Certified Mortgage Consultant (CMC) Peoples Mortgage Company, 1610 E. River Road, Suite-118 Tucson, Arizona 85718 • 520-324-000 MB #0115327. Rates are subject to change without notice based upon market conditions.

3.88% 3.16%

Best sellers Neighborhoods around Tucson International Airport, specifically between Interstates 10 and 19, continue to be popular with home buyers. For much of 2011 and again through early 2012, homes in zip code 85756 have been strong sellers. During February, 33 of 50 available homes were sold there, a 66 percent sales ratio. The region’s next best-selling area was zip code 85757, where 23 of 39 listings sold, a 59 percent pace. The area is basically the far west side near Ryan Airfield south of Ajo Way. The third best-selling area, at 51 percent, was the far southwest side around the Ajo Way-Mission Road zip code of 85746 where 41 of 80 available houses sold. Regarding inventory, Green Valley had the most listings for the second consecutive month. February had 300 homes, one more than in January. Next highest was zip code 85739 with 263 homes. These are neighborhoods along N. Oracle Road from Catalina State Park north to the junction of state routes 77 and 79. The third-highest inventory was in zip code 85750 with 257 units, basically the Sabino Canyon area to the far northeast. Overall, there were 4,560 listings in February, 35 percent fewer than a year ago at 6,947. Compared to January, listings dropped by 280 homes in February. The data is from the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Coronado Plumbing HQ Long-time businessman Al Coronado will move his plumbing company into a new 5,000-square-foot headquarters in August. The facility is under construction at the northeast corner of West Speedway and Interstate 10. Founded in 1981, Al Coronado Plumbing, currently at 3855 S. Evans Blvd., em-

In partnership with Clarins skincare of Paris, Miraval Resort & Spa will open a new 16,000 square foot spa center in May. The “Life in Balance Spa with Clarins” will feature a VIP Suite, 23 treatment rooms, and 15 massage rooms. Miraval, at 5000 E. Via Estancia Miraval near Catalina, tapped two award-winning global firms to design and furnish the spa. The architect was Mithun Architects, Seattle. Clodagh Design, New York City, did the interior design. The contractor was Diversified Design & Construction, 3237 E. Fort Lowell Road. The spa will offer clients 30 exclusive Clarins treatments for facials, massages, and body renewal. The resort did not disclose the construction cost of the spa.

Sales and leases • Arizona Community Physicians purchased 1.78 acres with a 10,185 square foot building at 5515 E. Fifth St. from Pima Alvernon Building LLC for $1.35 million. Patrick Welchert, Picor Commercial Real Estate Services, handled the transaction. • Pima Prevention Partnership purchased a 9,125-square-foot building at 924 N. Alvernon Way from Volunteer Center of Tucson for $975,000. Tom Nieman, Picor Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the seller. Dean Cotlow, Cotlow Company, represented the buyer. • 4803 LLC purchased a 7,985-squarefoot office building at 4803 E. Fifth St. for $425,000 from the Fuller Foundation, Pasadena, Calif., which was represented by Howard Kong, Grubb & Ellis. The buyer was represented by Nancy McClure, CBRE. • Presson Midway LLC leased space at 4500 E. Speedway to: Purgatory Athletics LLC, 9,600 square feet at Suite 96; Church of God, 2,720 square feet in Suite 14; Fangamer LLC, 2,400 square feet in Suites 32-33; and Shelli Industries, 1,200 square feet in Suite 54. Rob Glaser and Paul Hooker, Picor Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the landlord. • Little Bird Nesting Company leased 1,400 square feet at 2924 E. Broadway from LMG Investments LP, represented by David Hammack, Volk Company Commercial Real Estate.

Email news items for this column to ryohem@azbiz.com. Inside Real Estate & Construction appears weekly.

20 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

EDITORIAL BIZ BUZZ

Siri doesn’t work, what’s the big deal? There we were, driving south on Campbell Avenue coming up to Speedway. I knew Tuxedos on Broadway is no longer on Broadway any more because our son, the groom-to-be, told me it’s now on Speedway. But I didn’t know the address or exactly where it is. Our other son was with me and he was quick to the rescue, calling upon Siri on his iPhone 4S. “Find Tuxedos on Broadway, DAVID HATFIELD Tucson, Arizona.” Siri didn’t understand. Her response seemed to be something about mosquitoes. Or was it Salcido’s? Maybe a bolder, more forceful enunciation would help. “Tuxedos on Broadway, Tucson, Arizona.” This time, Siri seemed to think we were asking about road hazards, saying she had no reports of tacks in roadway on Broadway in Tucson, Arizona. Time to make a decision. We made a left on Speedway. It was the correct decision, no thanks to Siri. So my initial first-person experience with Siri was under whelming. Apparently Siri has been frustrating for others as well. A New York man, Frank Fazio, early this month took his frustration to court, filing a federal lawsuit against Apple in California looking to make a class action case out of what he sees as Siri’s shortcomings. From the lawsuit: “For example, in many of Apple’s television advertisements, individuals are shown using Siri to make appointments, find restaurants and even learn the guitar chords to classic rock songs or how to tie a tie.” Fazio claims the commercials misled him to buy the iPhone 4S, but he promptly ran into issues with Siri. The lawsuit even calls Apple’s commercials “fiction.” Who is dumber here, Siri or the guy filing the lawsuit? More worrisome is what we’re turning ourselves into. It would have been great if Siri had reacted to our request but if I were really lost and getting directions was crucial, I could just pull off the road and either Google it or use my Samsung Galaxy’s Android Navigation software to find my way. The whole GPS is pretty darned amazing in itself. Remember how we used to do it? Actually used a map and figure out directions, learning north from south and east from west? Were we smarter then? I’m not Apple zombie. I heard they came out with a new iPad last weekend but I was busy living my life. The wedding was Saturday and if you’ll recall weather forecasters were giving us some bad signs about plummeting temperatures and being outdoors. Siri wasn’t helpful there, either, but she wasn’t alone. As it turned out Saturday had a thin cloud cover and, where we were, there was a beautiful breeze. I felt sorry for the out-of-towners from up north on Sunday and Monday who noted the high temperatures in places like Chicago and Grand Rapids, Mich., were warmer than they were in Tucson. But a good time was had nonetheless. We met new wonderful new friends who are now in-laws. We reconnected and saw others we hadn’t seen in a while. We’ll savor the memories. That’s what’s important. People and experiences make memories, not Siri and not Apple.

Contact David Hatfield at dhatfield@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4237.

EDITORIAL

Can you trust your government? It’s a question we heard asked on more than one occasion as we attended hearings earlier in this legislative session as the House Committee on Technology and Infrastructure considered a bill that would have eliminated publication of public notices in every newspaper in Arizona. Introduced and written by committee chairman, Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, the hearings on the bill (HB 2403) took place over four weeks. On the final day for it to be passed out of committee, the members voted 5-2 against forwarding the bill to the full House for a vote. The five who voted to defeat the bill were: Jeff Dial, R-Chandler; Sally Ann Gonzales, D-Tucson; Terri Proud, R-Tucson; Carl Seel, R-Phoenix; and Bruce Wheeler, D-Tucson. Can you trust your government? Last legislative session, Sen. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, put forth legislation to eliminate public notices as he had done nearly every year for the past five or six. Every time, his fellow legislators voted against the proposal. However, Biggs, with the approval of newspaper representatives and others, did get a resolution passed to form a Public Notice Study Committee which was to gather all the stakeholders to examine this complicated issue. Most of us in the newspaper industry considered this a positive step. Alas, after the legislative session adjourned in 2011 no study committee meetings were scheduled. Finally in the last weeks of the year in December, Biggs called his committee to hear testimony. Besides statements from newspapers and some government agencies, Rep. Stevens also made some comments to the committee. This cursory and hasty process did little in our minds to make significant progress on this important issue. And, to date, Biggs’ group has yet to issue a report. Can you trust your government? Having his bill defeated in his own committee this year, Rep. Stevens turned to a legislative gimmick introducing a “strike-all” amendment to an already existing Senate bill.

From the Arizona Legislature’s website, this is the explanation of the maneuver: “A ‘strike everything after the enacting clause’ amendment... proposes to delete the entire text of the existing bill and substitute new language, essentially making it a completely different bill, possibly on an entirely different subject. These amendments are sometimes used to allow legislators to circumvent the deadlines on introduction of new legislation, deal with an issue that arises after the deadline or revive a bill that has previously been defeated.” What does the new bill do? It calls for public notices to be published in those newspapers with the “most audience” and to the best “targeted” audience. On the surface it would seem this will force most public notices into the state’s largest newspapers. That would hurt smaller, rural newspapers across the state. It would likely cost those placing public notices in newspapers more money since higher circulation newspapers charge more due to their audience reach. It also would require newspapers to send all published public notices to the Arizona Department of Administration. That agency would then become responsible for setting up, maintaining and handling an online database of notices. The Arizona Newspapers Association has been operating such a database for more than eight years at www.publicnoticeads.com at no cost to the state. The proposal would add to the bureaucracy of state government. Its establishment would cost taxpayers money. The sole person speaking in favor of the bill was Rep. Stevens. Nevertheless, the bill was passed out of the committee on a 4-2 vote and was to be voted on by the full Senate. Can you trust your government? Let us hope a majority of senators still believe in doing and can be trusted to do the right thing.

(This editorial was written by the Sierra Vista Herald, owned by Wick Communications and a sister publication to Inside Tucson Business.)

InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

OPINION WAKE UP, TUCSON

Independent survey paints a dreary business environment picture A survey released this month by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona — two non-partisan organizations — asked the question: What’s good and what’s not so good about Southern Arizona? There were 948 respondents to the survey. Let’s start with the good news: What sets Southern Arizona apart from the rest of the nation? • 70.9 percent: Climate • 56.9 percent: Natural beauty and the environment • 45.2 percent: Small-town feel and connectedness • 41.8 percent: Desert • 39.4 percent: Lifestyle Intuitively these results make sense. For decades, people have come to this region for all of these reasons. As the Clevelands and Detroits decline in population, there has been a steady stream of people coming to Arizona. All of these positives have everything to do with our place in the sun, our place in the Sonoran Desert and the generations of great Tucson families who call this region home. On the negative side, the survey points to the region’s biggest challenges: • 62.2 percent: Lack of well-paying jobs • 55 percent: K-12 education

• 42.3 percent: Poverty and the economic divide • 41.7 percent: Local and state dysfunction • 34.6 percent: Social and educational funding • 33.2 percent: JOE HIGGINS Decaying infrastructure. Over the past several weeks, we’ve had a series of dueling columns in Inside Tucson Business between us and members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors. They’re the kind of public CHRIS DeSIMONE debate that is an important and healthy part of a functioning democracy. First and foremost, we are small business owners. This column and our morning radio show are secondary. But we have to ask: Who is responsible for the lack of well-paying jobs? Who is respon-

sible for a poverty rate that allows one in four children in our region to go to bed hungry? Who is responsible for decaying infrastructure and government dysfunction? Is it two guys who have a radio show and write a column pointing out our region’s dirty little secrets? Is it the evil legislature? Is it still George Bush? Or are our issues firmly laid at the footsteps of our local leaders — business and political? We are celebrating our third year on radio and writing columns. In these three years, we’ve been directly involved in the removal and replacement of the leadership at the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (now Tucson Metro Chamber) and the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau. We’ve pushed hard to bring accountability to Rio Nuevo downtown redevelopment, including bringing in a national expert on failed hotel projects the week of a critical Tucson City Council vote to stop a $200 million hotel. We’ve worked hard to have an impact on elections. If you listen to our radio show, we are constantly profiling small business owners who charge out against the odds to survive in an unwelcoming business environment. We’ve talked about positives in our region, particularly Marana. We’ve shown that because Marana has a strategic plan, it

is a municipality with economic opportunities, paved streets free of weeds and jobs. We talked before Rotaries, boards and business, political and religious organizations, all of whom invited us because they know there is a problem and are looking for a place to start making a change. Our goal is to get you fired up. We have an incredibly important election this year. From the presidency to Congress, the federal races are huge. In Pima County, the Board of Supervisors are the most important local elections in a decade. It’s important to pay attention to what is working and what is not working in Southern Arizona and to change the latter. If we miss the opportunity in this year’s elections, expect more of the same to continue. Expect more government dysfunction, more poverty and few well-paying jobs. Expect more deals to developers who know how to play political games. Expect more lawyers to serve on campaigns and collect fees for favors. Expect more FBI investigations, more over-budget projects and higher taxes.

Contact Joe Higgins and Chris DeSimone at wakeuptucson@gmail.com. They host “Wake Up Tucson,” 6-8 a.m. weekdays on The Voice KVOI 1030-AM. Their blog is at www.TucsonChoices.com.

SPEAKING OUT

Graffiti issue requires some creative problem solving As I drive around the community, I see graffiti on traffic signs, neighborhood walls, abandoned buildings and wash embankments. Some have even etched their permanent marks in the glass windows of Sun Tran buses and buildings. This costly destruction is everywhere! Property damage runs well over a million dollars per year, and it is increasing, according to city officials. This is the time of year when we have many visitors who form their opinions of our community by what they observe. Graffiti, a serious community issue. It detracts and leaves a bad impression of us. People worry about their personal safety when they see tagging on residential and commercial structures. Graffiti is bad for business. Tucson and other entities are spending scarce dollars for contractors to try to eradicate graffiti. Because graffiti is so prevalent, it may take two weeks or longer for it to be cleaned up after it is reported. This time lapse usually results in an increase in area tagging, if there is a rivalry between groups. To really discourage perpetrators, the damage should be cleaned up immediately. This denies taggers the notoriety they crave. Some barriers have been placed along

overhead freeway signs to thwart graffiti. This has helped to some degree. A recent news story gave us the welcome news that a young graffiti vandal and his mother had CAROL WEST been arrested. This is a step in the right direction; our police have apprehended a number of these youths by comparing their “work” with past transgressions. When anyone sees a tagger at work, call 911 immediately. It is also important to let the police know where we see graffiti because it will help them in solving cases. We need to look for alternative solutions as other communities have done. The City of Philadelphia has a mural arts program that was initiated by Mayor Wilson Goode, who hired a muralist to “redirect the destructive energies of these youths into creative ones.” The muralist quickly realized the raw talents of these youngsters and sought opportunities for them to produce murals.

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates was founded to raise funds for the nonprofit program. Today about 60 percent of mural project funding comes from the private sector, including foundations. The projects teach job skills such as team work, personal responsibility, respect of self and others, and creative problem solving. The young artists become paid muralists by working on community and business projects. Instead of involvement in a life of crime with a possible early demise, these muralists are learning lifetime skills that give them positive recognition while creating art that is admired and enjoyed by the community. The neighborhoods where a project takes place give input to the muralists about their traditions and culture, creating a partnership between the community and the artists. At-risk children, students, and adults gain self confidence and discover new ambitions while creating art education programs at neighborhood sites throughout Philadelphia. This has inspired many to complete their education to become productive citizens. Why is this project important to busi-

ness? Philadelphia has become a more attractive city in which to live and work. The art projects serve as an economic incentive. The muralists buy their supplies from local merchants and patronize local businesses when they receive their paychecks. This helps the viability of the community. Many young people in our community lack education and jobs; they are not connected to the community where they live. A program like Philadelphia’s would give them the incentive they need to stay in school and give back. It can divert persons from destructive behaviors. Instead they become creative and law-abiding while earning a livelihood. Our community would be able to save money in the long run if graffiti is eradicated in favor of creative art. It would also save dollars if police officers don’t have to pursue those indulging in destructive graffiti. It will take strong leadership and promotion to adopt such a program. A mural arts program could be the solution.

Contact Carol West at cwwfoster@aol. com. West served on the Tucson City Council from 1999-2007 and was a council aide from 1987-1995.

22 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

OPINION GUEST OPINION

Give voters a chance to rethink RTA project priorities To state the obvious, the roads in Tucson, and in many of the surrounding jurisdictions as well as unincorporated Pima County, are horribly in need of significant reconstruction. The problem is far beyond potholes. The taxpayers of the region should not be asked to dip further into their incomes to pay for road repair until elected officials and public servants have exhausted every other option available. One option that exists contains the seed-bed of a very large pool of money, and that exists in the form of an existing tax; the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) sales tax. In 2006, the voters were asked to approve a half-cent sales tax, the use of which was to go into expanding road capacity in the region. The 20-year anticipated revenue stream from the tax was estimated at being $2 billion. The projects shown on the ballot included something for everybody - and so it passed. That’s how we do bond elections around here. Everyone sees some ornaments on the Christmas Tree they like, so they buy the whole deal. Fast forward to today’s reality. The RTA continues moving ahead, as they were told to

do by the voters, and starting projects that will expand our road capacity. And while that is occurring, our existing transit infrastructure has deteriorated to the point that it is a STEVE KOZACHIK safety issue throughout the community. It is also a disincentive to businesses thinking of relocating to our area. And some of the projects are based on flawed traffic projections, and if designed as per plans will eliminate millions of dollars worth of sales and property tax base in the form of existing businesses along corridors that do not need to be expanded to the extent the voters were told would be the case. For example, based on 1987 traffic studies, voters were told that by 2030, Broadway would need to be 150 feet wide to accommodate traffic projections. The RTA has now found those projections were invalid. The Broadway project has $42 million RTA money as a funding base. The total project cost is over $71 million. The difference was to be made up by bond

money from Pima County but that pool has dried up, so the City of Tucson is on the hook for the delta if the project goes forward as planned. Never mind that it will eliminate 115 historic structures and small businesses that form the tax base for our local government general fund. Never mind that we’re spending millions of dollars for a project to which multiple neighborhood associations and business owners have taken exception. And never mind that in doing the work, we’re encouraging traffic density along that arterial, knowing the volumes do not exist in reality, and knowing that when the Broadway traffic passes into downtown, it will pinch into a single lane. Gridlock. The RTA correctly says its list of projects was “voter approved.” As economic, traffic and road conditions change, I am advocating that we hear the voice of the people again in two specific areas: • First, do a project by project reanalysis to see if the underlying bases on which they were sold to the public are valid. If not, down-scope the projects and save millions of dollars in both project costs and saving businesses along the corridors. • Second, ask the voters in each jurisdiction if they’d approve setting aside

20 percent of their RTA tax dollars and earmark it for road reconstruction in their jurisdiction. On a population basis, for the City of Tucson that would equate to over $200 million over the 20-year life of the RTA. Then let’s have a community wide conversation that identifies how we re-scope and possibly put on hold projects so we can afford that reallocation of funds. What I am proposing is offering the taxpayers a dedicated funding source that already exists and earmark it to road repair. The trade off is forcing the RTA into a modern day community discussion about what the “voters approved” back in 2006. Before we ask the taxpayers to take on more debt, let’s ask if they’d like to reallocate some existing debt to fixing our roadways. Getting to that point will require the RTA board to present an idea such as this to the county Board of Supervisors. It might require tweaking a State statute. But if the people speak out, and if there is that level of leadership at the Board of Supervisors and in Phoenix, the question can still appear on the ballot this fall.

Contact Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik, who represents mid-town Ward 6, at ward6@tucsonaz.gov or (520) 791-4601.

InsideTucsonBusiness.com

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Next week’s poll: Who do you think will win the Republican primery election for Congressional District 8?

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Phone: (520) 295-4201Fax: (520) 295-4071 3280 E. Hemisphere Loop, #180 Tucson, AZ 85706-5027 Internet: www.azbiz.com

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InsideTucsonBusiness.com

MARCH 23, 2012

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24 MARCH 23, 2012

INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS

NEWS

Lawmakers take aim at voter-approved taxes, spending By Hank Stephenson Inside Tucson Business PHOENIX â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Republican lawmakers have proposed a pair of amendments to Arizonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constitution designed to make it harder for voters to impose taxes upon themselves or continue voter-approved spending measures. The House has approved a measure that would require 60 percent of voters to approve a ballot measure to increase taxes. The Senate has approved a measure that would require all voter-approved spending and taxation initiatives to be renewed every eight years. Voters would have to approve the Senateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s measure but it also would be retroactive. The proposals are part of a broader effort by lawmakers to make voter-approved spending packages more difficult to implement, and make sure the taxes donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go on indefinitely. The House measure (HCR 2043) raising voter approval from a simple majority to 60 percent â&#x20AC;&#x153;yesâ&#x20AC;? votes would extend to any local school or transportation bonding or constitutional amendement affecting taxes. The measure was approved by the full House by a

vote of 32-26, and is now in the Senate. Democrats on the House floor called the proposed constitutional amendment an insult to democracy, and said it gives an unreasonable amount of power to the 40 percent minority of voters who can quash attempts to invest the community, especially in schools and transportation. House Democratic leader Rep. Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix, noted the proposition itself would need only a simple majority vote by the people to be enacted, and not the 60 percent approval it would require. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the height of irony and in some regards I think the height of hypocrisy,â&#x20AC;? he said. Some Republicans crossed the aisle to oppose the measure, including Rep. Vic Williams, R-Tucson, who said the measure goes too far and is a danger to the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Having a 60 percent threshold to have any kind of a tax increase I believe is unreasonable,â&#x20AC;? Williams said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And also will put us to the tyranny of the minority when it comes to developing various bond issues, infrastructure issues in the state of Arizona.â&#x20AC;? He said most local bond issues for school and transportation infrastructure spending would not have passed under this higher re-

quirement, and handcuffing state and local ability to bond could do serious damage to the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This has the potential to cripple our economic prosperity in the state,â&#x20AC;? Williams said. But Rep J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said the majority has made plenty of bad decisions in the past and making it more difficult to increase taxes is entirely reasonable. He said the measure would protect the overtaxed from tax increases imposed on them by the majority. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The simple reality is this country is not only founded on majority rules, it is also founded on minority rights,â&#x20AC;? he said. The Senate proposal (SCR 1031) would ask voters to approve a plan requiring spending and taxation measures be reauthorized every eight years, otherwise they would expire. The measure was approved by the full Senate by a 22-9 vote and sent to the House. If approved, the measure would also apply retroactively to Nov. 3, 1998 and affect any statewide initiative that creates a fund for public monies, dedicates public monies to a specific purpose or otherwise affects state general fund revenues or expenditures. Among others, it would apply to the 0.6 percent sales tax increase for education ap-

proved by voters in November 2000. Sen. Frank Antenori, R-Tucson, the billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sponsor, said there are a lot of people who voted for these measures, sometimes more than a decade ago, who arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t living in Arizona anymore. Others might have changed their minds about certain programs, especially if the programs havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t performed as expected. The measure would allow voters a chance to revisit and ultimately provide a more responsive, reflective government, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It allows the people who are living in the state now, who are living under the stipulations of initiatives brought forward previously, to evaluate the effectiveness of those programs and determine if they are worth keeping or not by a simple vote at the ballot,â&#x20AC;? Antenori said. But Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson, said the bill would put in jeopardy every statewide initiative since 1998, including programs such as Clean Elections, Growing Smarter, the Independent Redistricting Commission, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Medicaid program Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, a tobacco tax increase for health care, Arizonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s medical marijuana system as well as the 2000 sales tax for education.

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