http://www.dcourier.com en-us Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:18:25 GMT Daily feed of articles http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85111 I just read about the possible gate closure between Granite Creek Park and the Depot Marketplace and am hoping to goodness that someone is thinking about pedestrian and bicycle safety to and from the marketplace from all the neighborhoods west of the park. Opinions Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:01:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85109 This is in response to A. Wood's letter (Aug. 10) on the Social Security (SS) Trust Fund. He recites correctly to a point, but he fails to understand the trust funds have nothing in them. Opinions Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:56:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85112 The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors is facing some problems - at a minimum, knowing when to jump and how to agree. Opinions Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:56:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85110 The afternoon performance of Timeless Weddings at the Elks Opera House on Aug. 15 was such a delight. Opinions Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:55:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85113 One of every four Americans is fat. Not plump. Not chubby. Not flabby. Not stout. Fat. Health advocates describe the situation as a national epidemic. Opinions Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:55:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85052 If the Democrats look up at the sky and say it's about to fall, the Republicans respond, "No, it isn't." If the Republicans look up at the sky and say it's about to fall, the Democrats say, "No, it isn't." Opinions Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:09:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85050 Your recent editorial concerning the Peavine trail misses the real issue, which is how, and under what conditions, should developers be allowed to add and/or widen roads that cut through this incredible trail. Opinions Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:59:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85051 Much has been made lately concerning the "bloated" public employee pensions and public employee unions that some claim are bankrupting our cities, counties and states. While I can agree that some government entities have made poor decisions concerning pensions, for the most part the pensions are earned and fair. Opinions Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:59:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85027 No one wants Big Brother-like intrusion. No one wants expanded restrictions. And surely no one wants government-ordered "barriers" in our natural environments. However, is this what we deserve? In a word - yeah. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is doing its best to preserve Yavapai County's 71,000-acre Agua Fria National Monument, which contains more than 400 archaeological sites spanning some 2,000 years of human history. Opinions Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:00:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85028 Here are some truths. The immigration policy in the U.S. has been ineffective for years, the need for migrant workers has and always will be present, and business is always motivated by profit. Once upon a time, there was a guest worker program that ran formally between 1942 and 1964. The Mexican Farm Labor Program, informally called the Bracero Program, sponsored 4.5 million border crossings of guest workers from Mexico. Opinions Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:58:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85029 With all due respect to Rev. John M. Kohlenberger ("Candidates Out of Touch on Taxes," Aug. 18), I am amazed that liberals who continually espouse raising taxes totally misunderstand basic economics. Allow me to try to educate: Opinions Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:55:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85030 If the city needs money to maintain and improve our water and sewer system, then the solution is to follow the advice of The Daily Courier in its recent editorial: "Prioritize Fixes ..." Opinions Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:55:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85031 There's plenty of indication out there that our nation is in a lot of trouble: We're $13 billion in debt; of every dollar the government has to spend, 42 cents of it is borrowed; the government gives other nations billions of our dollars as if we were all rich; the government starts wars with Third World nations to the tune of $100 billion a year - so far four of them since World War II, we've yet to win one. Opinions Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:55:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85004 Reflecting on the old days when the Yavapai County Fairgrounds stood in the heart of Prescott evokes nostalgia for people who were here way back then. It's fun to remember it as a hub of activity, especially during the summer. Horse race fans filled the Prescott Downs stands, tip sheets in hand, betting on their favorite ponies. The town was small in the old days, so people knew the horse owners, trainers, jockeys, their favorite racehorses and even the "mudders" that could slop through the wet track to the finish line during the regular monsoon storms. Opinions Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:03:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85005 Community service is sometimes forgotten, but not by a gentleman named Stacey Hickman and his company Core 5 Concrete LLC. Core 5 provided a significant donation to Music Memory 2010, which is sponsored by the Yavapai Symphony Guild. That donation helped make it possible for nearly 4,000 students to learn about and enjoy quality music featuring the Prescott Pops Symphony Orchestra. Opinions Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:59:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85006 I would like to extend my condolences to the family and friends of Eric Sanchez, the Prescott Valley motorcyclist killed as a result of an accident on Aug. 9. What a tragedy Opinions Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:59:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=85007 Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy needs to get her facts straight. In her article attacking Republicans, "Bring Back Corruption of Blood," she states, "there is no hard data on actual anchor babies." As usual, the media suffers from "selective fact-finding or no fact-finding at all when it comes to attacking an opponent. Opinions Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:58:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=84978 Watching television and video coverage of this past Wednesday's gubernatorial debate was like watching a car accident in slow motion. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer's silence and missteps were painful - no matter which party she represents - and one could not turn away. Brewer became governor in January 2009 when her Democratic predecessor, Janet Napolitano, resigned midterm. Brewer is running for a full term against Democrat Attorney General Terry Goddard. According to polls and The Associated Press, Brewer is favored to win. Opinions Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:00:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=84979 I am a naturalized Moslem American, born in Istanbul, Turkey. Nobody can deny Imam Rauf's and his followers' legal right to build a mosque very close to ground zero. The issue is not if the project is legal or not, but if the location is right or wrong - particularly in light of the fact that a mosque already exist in the close vicinity. Opinions Sun, 05 Sep 2010 05:59:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=84980 We want to thank reporter Lisa Irish for the excellent article she wrote on the memorial service for our son Brian and for John Schultz and Jose Presas entitled "Officers Honored, Celebrated." Her powers of observation and her skill in quoting those who spoke are remarkable. We'll keep this article as a fine record of your community's and Arizona's goodbye to three detention officers. Opinions Sun, 05 Sep 2010 05:58:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=84981 I direct this letter to the editors because you failed to address the full intent of "The Smoke Free Arizona Act" ARS 36-601.0113 in your July 13 editorial. It would have been to your credit if you had taken an editorial stance instead of being wish-washy. Opinions Sun, 05 Sep 2010 05:58:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=84934 Naysayers believe that the best thing to do is "lock 'em up and throw away the key.'" They are talking about the kids who fall on the wrong side of the law. They think these young miscreants are beyond salvaging and not worthy of investing in them so that they can become self-sustaining productive citizens. Opinions Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:00:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=84935 Naysayers believe that the best thing to do is "lock 'em up and throw away the key.'" They are talking about the kids who fall on the wrong side of the law. They think these young miscreants are beyond salvaging and not worthy of investing in them so that they can become self-sustaining productive citizens. Opinions Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:00:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=84936 In our past two Citizens Water Advocacy Group (CWAG) columns, we discussed why there should be a mitigation plan before construction of the proposed Big Chino pipeline. In this one we will discuss the economics of mitigation. The cost of the pipeline project is currently estimated at $133 million. This estimate, however, doesn't include the costs to mitigate the reduction in Verde River flows that will result. Opinions Sat, 04 Sep 2010 05:58:00 GMT http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=84937 I feel this year's vote will be the most important in my lifetime. Study your candidates and talk to people who have worked with these people. You may find a different picture than they portray on TV and in articles. The people who have been in office for years have put this country in worse shape than ever. Opinions Sat, 04 Sep 2010 05:57:00 GMT