Arizona will Greatly Benefit from the Biden/Harris American Jobs Plan

In order to convince the voters and local public servants of both political parties that the American Jobs Plan will greatly benefit all states across the country, the Biden/Harris Administration released a 104-page document that outlined how each state would fare if the infrastructure legislation passed. biden-infrastructure-plan-state-highlights   Arizona, whose over state infrastructure rated a … Read more

Billy Kovacs Outlines 5-Point Plan to Grow Arizona’s Economy

Democratic Congressional Candidate Billy Kovacs
Democratic Congressional Candidate Billy Kovacs

Democratic candidate Billy Kovacs outlined a detailed plan for how he would grow Arizona’s economy as Tucson’s Congressman.

“We can grow our economy without giving massive tax breaks for corporations,” he said at a recent meeting of the Democrats of Greater Tucson.

Among the five serious candidates, Kovacs is the only one emphasizing the economy in Congressional District 2. As Bill Clinton pointed out in 1992, winning elections is about “the economy, stupid!”

In a nutshell, his plan focuses on:

  • Education – creating an educated workforce.
  • Renewable resources – solar energy and energy storage.
  • Public transportation – expanding the Tucson streetcar in all directions and preserving Amtrak in Arizona.
  • Infrastructure – creating millions of jobs with a $1 trillion investment over 10 years.
  • Immigration – creating a path to citizenship for 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants.

“We need to attract companies and workers to Arizona, and I’m talking about smaller companies that want to live in Arizona because of our natural resources and trained personnel from the university — and not for tax breaks,” he said.

Education

According to Kovacs, the US Department of Education is gutting public education with budget cuts to after-school programs, teacher training, Pell Grants, literacy programs and even school lunches. He calls for:

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Sun Link should offer one-way tickets

Sun Link modern streetcar, courtesy of Donovan Dean Durband
Sun Link modern streetcar, courtesy of Donovan Dean Durband

Now that the Sun Link modern streetcar has been operating for almost 4 months, I’m suggesting that some change is needed.  Operations started on July 25, 2014, with the first 3 days of riding for free.

People have been complaining of no one-way passes/tickets.  Not everyone who rides the 4 mile route needs a round trip one day (24 hour) pass, which costs $4 at the kiosks.

Offering one way passes at the Sun Link station kiosks would encourage ridership by people who would use it one way to get somewhere. Currently people who want a one way trip realize it costs $4, so they are opting out.  There is no option to buy a one-way pass at the kiosks.

A one-way ticket for $1.50 or $2 would be highly beneficial for students (who don’t usually have a lot of extra money), new riders, families.  I’ve ridden Sun Link a number of times and have encountered frustrated riders who desire one-way tickets. Even walkers in the All Souls Procession on Nov. 9 needed one-way tickets back to the 6th Avenue/6th Street start-up point, where many had left their cars/trucks/bikes.

Offering one-way passes may help families save some money. For example, a family of four on a day trip in town would have to pay $16 to ride both ways under the current system,  but with one-way passes would pay only $6 – $8,  then could choose to walk back to save some $.  AZ Daily Star columnist Tim Steller and his family encountered this problem just recently: http://tucson.com/news/local/column/steller-streetcar-ticketing-discourages-spontaneous-trips/article_9a4d9b0c-3eb5-54fa-a98b-a4b8a19532e9.html?id=201408

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Ronstadt Transit Center: City, Developers Ponder Proverbial Political Football (video)

RTCneon326-sig-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Anyone who has lived in Tucson long enough knows that the vitality of downtown has ebbed and flowed with the winds of politics and the fortunes of capitalism.

Thanks to infrastructure investments, tax breaks, land deals, and the promise of Rio Nuevo college students with Daddy's credit cards, downtown is again on the upswing– with swanky bars, over-priced restaurants, micro-breweries, maxi-dorms, and a modern street car to deliver college students to the main gate of the university.

With the smell of money in the air, capitalists are ready to play "let's make a deal" with Tucson's Mayor and Council. One city property that developers have been trying to score for years is the Ronstadt Transit Center, on Congress. Once surrounded by seedy bars, funky diners, and shoe-string art galleries, the Ronstadt Center is now in the thick of downtown's rebirth as Mill Ave South.

Anyone who was around in 2009-2010 when developers lobbied for a land swap deal that would include ~40% of the Ronstadt Center for commercial development  should pay attention to what's happening now. Details and video after the jump.