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OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | MARCH 13, 2022
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Prideful New Yorker meets his match in Mt. Humphries BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
H
aving grown up in New York, I can testify to the immense overconfidence of many New Yorkers. Convinced they live in the only city that matters, New Yorkers often display a level of cockiness best described as the personality equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard. Thus, it’s fun to see New Yorkers taught a lesson like the comeuppance recently received by 28-year-old Brooklyn moron Phillip Vasto. Vasto, who describes himself as an “experienced hiker,” was here in the Valley on business when he decided to sojourn north to Flagstaff. His goal? To hike Mt. Humphries, our state’s highest peak at 12,633 feet. According to media reports, Vasto set out at 2:30 p.m. March 2 armed with his cell phone and trusty AllTrails app. The
hike to the top of Humphries and back is about 10 miles. On that day the trail was so steeped with snow, it took Vasto an hour to find the trailhead. “Unequipped with a light source,” per the Arizona Daily Sun, Vasto trekked until dark, telling the paper, “It was very easy to get off the trail and fall into the snow.” Shortly before 7 that night, Vasto dialed 911 and reported being lost. The Search and Rescue unit from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office tracked him down at about the 10,600-foot mark – in other words, nowhere near the summit. Most of us would have called it good, happy to survive. Not Vasto. This is where he displays that signature New Yorker confidence. Despite a stern talking to from rescuers – including being “encouraged to not attempt the hike again,” according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office – Vasto decided to hike Humphries again the very next morning. March 3 must have been quite the day:
Vasto met fellow hikers who turned back in the face of 25 mph winds – but he kept going. He slipped off the trail and scratched up a leg, Vasto told the Daily Sun. After about eight hours, he noticed his phone was nearly dead. Only then did Vasto call the Search and Rescuers for the second time in 24 hours. The deputies contacted the Arizona Department of Public Safety. A DPS helicopter flew up to fetch Vasto off the mountain. The pride of the Big Apple posted about his adventure on Instagram before deleting his posts – I imagine because he was tired of being called a dumbass. Like many people caught doing ridiculous things, Vasto positioned himself on social media as a wise sage here to warn the rest of us. “With brutal, chilling winds blowing at (more than) 25 mph and freezing temperatures, Humphreys Peak is no joke in March,” Vasto wrote. “I highly advice (sic) NOT attempting Humphreys Peak in the
winter. You can easily injure yourself and get hypothermia up there.” Uh, yeah. Improbably, the entire population of Arizona, all 7 million of us, somehow managed not to need that dire warning. Vasto’s travails will undoubtedly revive calls for the state Legislature to pass a “Stupid Hiker Law,” which the City of Phoenix considered back a few years ago. Like Arizona’s “Stupid Motorist Law,” such a measure would force hikers who make improbably dumb decisions to repay the estimated thousand taxpayer dollars an hour it costs to send highly trained first responders and a chopper to save them from their own stupidity. The law might not be a bad idea. Vasto told the Daily Sun he plans to fly out from New York again in May and try his big adventure one more time. The immortal Sinatra was right about New Yorkers. “King of the hill, top of the heap?” Like Phillip Vasto, they’re all destined for glory.
that we are not a divided as we think and agree on much more than we disagree: • Arizonans agree that educational attainment and a strong education system across the board is vital to building a better future, but only 26% think our K-12 public education is high quality. Majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents want more money spent on public education. • Arizonans believe that education and training are necessary to build their careers, but they worry that opportunities are limited. Only 46% of employed Arizonans earning less than $60,000 say they have access to the education and training they need. • Arizonans are struggling with child care. A quarter of those with children 18 or under say the cost or limited availability of child care prevents them from going back to work or school. • Arizonans overwhelmingly support sustainable practices that protect our air, land, water and wildlife. Seventy percent or
more want improved air quality, regulations that protect rural water supplies, a transition to clean energy, expanded space for parks and outdoor recreation, more spending to prevent forest fires, and steps that reduce the urban heat island effect. • Arizonans support comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. A whopping 86% believe this is necessary, yet our political system has not delivered. If you peruse the websites of the leading candidates for governor, you’ll find few if any specifics on how they would address even one of these issues, much less all of them. So how will we find out any candidate’s thoughts making childcare more affordable? About increasing mid-career training opportunities? About making the Valley’s air more breathable? Once, the answer would clearly have laid with the state’s news organizations. They still have a role to play. But the press needs help, and that must come from us.
Seek out the candidates who want to represent you, whether they’re running for governor, attorney general, the Legislature or another office. Press them on the issues that matter the most to you. You might ask: • How would their policies improve education for your children? • What would they do to make sure water continues to flow from your tap? • How would they make it easier for you to get the training you need to advance in your career? We agree on far more than we disagree, including the need to come together to find solutions that can drive our state forward to a brighter future. We should expect our elected leaders to do the same. We’ll get this only if we let the candidates know what is on our minds. Sybil Francis is president & CEO of the nonprofit Center for the Future of Arizona , a nonpartisan organization.
What do you want Arizona office-seekers? BY SYBIL FRANCIS Tribune Guest Writer
I
t’s an election year. You can tell because political reporters began the year by telling us how much money candidates raised. I don’t know a single voter who casts a ballot based on campaign finance reports. Voters are more interested in what a candidate will do to make their lives, their communities and their state better. Too often missing in campaigns and election coverage is any serious discussion of what voters want to hear from the candidates. But if we are to be a self-governing nation, shouldn’t voters’ concerns be foremost? We know something about this at the Center for the Future of Arizona because an important part of our mission is to listen to Arizonans and learn what matters most to them. The Gallup Arizona Survey, which the Center commissioned in fall 2020, told us
