"There is no reason why a nation as rich as ours should be blighted by poverty, disease, and illiteracy. It is plain that we don't care about our poor people except to exploit them as cheap labor and victimize them through excessive rents and consumer prices. Our Congress passes laws which subsidize corporation farms, oil companies, airlines, and houses for suburbia. But when they turn their attention to the poor, they suddenly become concerned about balancing the budget and cut back on the funds for Head Start, Medicare, and mental health appropriations." —Coretta Scott King, 1968
1.
We knew the day would come when communities in the desert actually run out of water…it is now a reality. The suburb (of Scottsdale) known as Rio Verde (irony at its finest) has lost its Scottsdale water source. According to the New York Times, Scottsdale said it had to focus on conserving water for its own residents, and could no longer sell water to roughly 500 to 700 homes — or around 1,000 people. That meant the unincorporated swath of $500,000 stucco houses, mansions and horse ranches outside Scottsdale’s borders would have to fend for itself and buy water from other suppliers — if homeowners could find them, and afford to pay much higher prices.
Scottsdale’s city web site states that Rio Verde Foothills lies within unincorporated Maricopa County, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is their local government and Scottsdale has warned and advised that it is not responsible for Rio Verde for many years, especially given the requirements of the city’s mandated drought plan. The city remains firm in that position, and confident it is on the right side of the law.
In a related story, the newly elected democratic governor Katie Hobbs is making efforts to shore up groundwater management statewide. Her office released a modeling report Monday afternoon for a newly proposed development west of Phoenix, and it shows that plans to add homes for more than 800,000 people west of the White Tank Mountains will require other water sources if they are to go forward. The said in a released statement that “We must talk about the challenge of our time: Arizona’s decades-long drought, over-usage of the Colorado River, and the combined ramifications on our water supply, our forests, and our communities.”
Meanwhile, People in Rio Verde Foothills are bitterly divided over how to resolve their water woes. When some proposed forming their own self-funded water provider, other residents revolted, saying the idea would foist an expensive, freedom-stealing new arm of government on them. The idea collapsed. Other solutions, like allowing a larger water utility to serve the area, could be years off. Wait a minute…wouldn’t a self-funded water source solution give you MORE freedom from the dang guvmint water source? Them thar freedom lovers confuse me sometimes…
2.
Now that M. T. Greene has committee assignments we’ll need to get more popcorn. On the upside, her recent Anti-Trans Rally last week barely drew a dozen people. According to the linked article Greene stated her intent to reintroduce the so-called “Protect Children’s Innocence” act. The bill would make it a federal crime to provide transition-related care to those under 18, and would ban facilities that provide transition-related care from receiving federal funds. Much like abortion, no legal measures can actually ever put a complete end to transition; they can only make it harder and less safe.
And, as reported by Heather Cox Richardson, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who was removed from committee assignments in the last Congress for her racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories as well as her encouragement of violence against Democrats, has a spot on the Homeland Security Committee. Such spots are usually filled by those with experience in either the military or intelligence, neither of which she has. And security is an odd fit for her: voters in her district tried to get her disqualified from running in 2022 because of her participation in the attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election.
Greene has not just that plum assignment, but another on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. That committee manages investigations and has emerged as a coveted spot for the far right as its members prepare to go after figures in the Biden administration. It now includes right-wing figures Greene, Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Scott Perry (R-PA), Byron Donalds (R-FL), and Gary Palmer (R-AL), all of whom refused to acknowledge President Joe Biden’s 2020 election.
Then there’s that ‘debt ceiling’ business. Again, my pearls are broken from the frantic clutching. Here’s election-denier Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who was involved in the planning for January 6, tweeting “We cannot raise the debt ceiling. Democrats have carelessly spent our taxpayer money and devalued our currency. They’ve made their bed, so they must lie in it.” Never mind that at 5.2% of GDP, the growth of the deficit under Trump was the third largest in our history, behind only that of two other Republican presidents. Go figure. Seat belts and popcorn, I say.
3.
A wave energy convertor has been in development for a decade by a company based in Cyprus & the UK called Sea Wave Energy, LTD. (SWEL) Their “Wave Line Magnet” is a robust and durable WEC that can supply substantial power on demand at a low cost, with minimal maintenance and can be deployed in any wave environment. According to their website, the WEC has the capability (https://swel.eu/application/) for desalination, power generation, coastal erosion prevention, hydrogen production, and fish farming. It appears to still be in the R&D stage but they did publish this graphic as a timeline to implementation.
4.
DAMMIT! According to Consumer Reports, Research has found that some dark chocolate bars contain cadmium and lead—two heavy metals linked to a host of health problems in children and adults. Is nothing sacred?!?!? I always have a piece of chocolate after lunch. A bar lasts more than a week…but still! My former go-to bar was the Trader Joe’s one seen below.
Once I discovered Tony’s bars a few years ago, I haven’t gone back. According to the sight, one of the Tony’s bars (that I don’t buy) is high in lead. I accept my fate.
5.
For a while I collected vintage fabric as it was relatively easy to come by in 1990s…one of the thrift stores on 4th Avenue (Tucson, AZ) used to carry an ongoing assortment of European vintage fabrics/curtains, all relatively cheap. The design sense of the period appeals to me in some deep-seated way I can’t really explain.
Textile designer Lucienne Day (1917 - 2010) developed a unique and widely-copied style of abstract pattern-making in post-war British textiles during the 1950s and 1960s. In 2012, Robin and Lucienne Day’s only child, Paula Day, created the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation as a design education Charity.
Calyx, above, was a turning point in her career. This pattern conjured up the aesthetics of modern abstract painters such as Calder and Klee and the success of this print led to a 25-year partnership with Tom Worthington, Heal Fabrics’ managing director, that led to the creation of over 70 designs in that period.
Click here to view more of their work, including Robin’s furniture design. Dig on what she brought to the table that changed fabric design forever. There are a few companies out there, like Owl & Chickadee Designs, that are doing a fair job of replicating those glory years.
6.
Johnny Wigwag & The Truthseekers came by my services as an accordionist for hire through Airgigs, where I am known as Doc Squeeze. (I’m also available for hire through SoundBetter) Even though the Wigs appear to be from southern Arizona, I think they might be Michigan based. Either way, you can hear me wheezing along on a song called Arivaca, a southern Arizona outpost close to the Mexican border where I’ve played many gigs.
And now…
Probably more expensive than thrift shops but with modern printing tech some old style designs are available printed on demand https://www.spoonflower.com/en/shop?on=fabric&q=lucienne%20day&availability=ForSale&sort=bestSelling&showMatureContent=false
I recall seeing such fabrics around your homestead and person. The Wigs song reminds me of the days that Teddy was in the Carnivaleros.