I have a book in my personal library titled, “How to Lie with Statistics.”

I received a postcard in the mail several weeks ago announcing a public hearing on May 21 to provide an opportunity for the public to provide comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Study on the proposed South Mountain Freeway. None of my neighbors received the same postcard when I talked to them. Why were some of the public left out of the mailing? They may not have been informed of this public hearing, but I have comments to make.

REALITY TIME is fast approaching on the conclusion of the public comment period on the proposed Loop 202 for the South Mountain Freeway, as we have just until July 24 to submit our opinions.

State Farm recently announced its role as the anchor tenant in the Marina Heights development on Tempe Town Lake. The company will be hosting a career fair in Phoenix June 11-12 to fill 900 positions in many departments in the Papago Buttes and Gateway facilities, where the company expects continued hiring throughout 2013. The job openings include full- and part-time positions and some bilingual opportunities.

Freeway-improvement projects in the Phoenix area will require closures this weekend (June 7-10), according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Drivers are encouraged to plan ahead and consider alternate routes while the following freeway restrictions are in place this weekend:

Phoenix police arrested several people over the weekend accused of stealing purses, IDs and various other valuables from cars left at Phoenix trailheads.

The South Mountain Freeway is a unique freeway in the Phoenix Valley because it is the only freeway that connects with Interstate 10 in two locations; one on the west side at about 59th Avenue, and the other south at the Pecos Road/Loop 202 intersection. This by-pass would give all I-10 truckers, drivers, military and hazardous waste transporters the opportunity and access to avoid Metropolitan Phoenix.

Active members of Protecting Arizona’s Resources and Children (PARC) in our Village of Ahwatukee and outlying residential areas aim to stop the South Mountain Freeway from being built on Pecos Road. Preventing the destruction of our community and South Mountain is the main goal of PARC, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.

We need to have STANDING ROOM ONLY at the Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway Study Meeting on June 18 at the Foothills Golf Club, 2201 E. Club House Drive, from 4 to 7 p.m. The time is NOW to voice our deep concerns about the highly negative impacts this proposed freeway will have on our village.
Here is a direct quote from the ADOT Fact Sheet: “Traffic volumes for the proposed freeway are expected to be in the range of 137,000 to 142,000 vehicles per day by 2030, which is comparable to current use on Loop 101 and existing segments of Loop 202. The analysis of travel patterns shows the demand for the freeway consists of mostly regional traffic, not traffic moving through metro Phoenix.”


Arizona’s favorable economic and sustainability benefits will be the focus of the 14th annual Global Links Business Outlook luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5 at the Phoenix Convention Center West Building, 100 N. Third St., Room W 101.

Editor’s note: This is part two of a continuing summer series on the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway.

If people vote with their feet, new numbers from the U.S. Census show they like the far suburbs of Phoenix a lot — and are not really keen on large swaths of much of the rest of Arizona.

Individuals for and against the Loop 202 freeway expansion trickled in and out of the Phoenix Convention Center Tuesday and offered passionate pleas to panel members as the Arizona Department of Transportation hosted a day-long public hearing on the South Mountain Freeway.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee is preparing to defend Ahwatukee residents’ quality of life during construction of the South Mountain Freeway, should it go down Pecos Road.

Phoenix is great because of our strong communities where neighbors work together and take pride in the place they call home.

What do United States Congressman David Schweikert, State Senate Majority Leader John McComish, Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCicco, Kedrick Ellison of the Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department, Kyrene Superintendent Dr. David Shauer, Tempe Union High School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Baca, and Pangea Development have in common?

Joe Campbell’s letter (“Phoenix taxpayers deserve better representation,” AFN, May 8) has a unique view as to what is and what is not in the interests of those of us who live in District 6 of Phoenix.

Seeking to keep fields accessible and available to some 4,000 kids in and around Ahwatukee, various youth sports leagues met with the Kyrene School District on Monday after add-on costs to the Ahwatukee Foothills Pony Baseball Association caused heated community concern.

It’s been eight months since I had the great opportunity to join the Ahwatukee Foothills News. Since that time we have not made radical changes to the paper or wild editorial changes to the product. What I wanted to do was listen to our readers and take note of any changes that would aid this great community.

It was a small turnout with a lot of passion at the Protecting Arizona’s Resources and Children (PARC) meeting on Saturday, May 11.

Arizona’s economic recovery is flattening out statewide, with job growth outside the Phoenix metro area for this year and next predicted to be anemic.

Where are the “silver linings” for the Ahwatukee Foothills area from the proposed South Mountain Freeway?

Now that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has finally been released by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on the proposed South Mountain Freeway Loop 202 expansion, we can start doing a feasibility check on the proposed freeway.

The persistence and determination I have shown in the past four years is about reform and getting us ready for the new world we live in. There is a bigger reason why I have been pushing so hard for change. It’s about getting Phoenix ready to compete in a global economy. If the council repeals the food tax it will be added to a long list of reforms we accomplished. There were three significant reforms toward the goal of getting us ready to compete in this new world market and getting government to operate more like your household

Now that the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) for the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway expansion has been released, local environmentalists are planning to use the 90-day comment period to tear it apart.