[Source: jsethanderson, blogger, Downtown Phoenix Partnership] — I must be a glutton for punishment.  My passion about Phoenix history burns hot like the Phoenix sun in July and as much as I love the heat, it can harm me if I’m not careful.  Studying Phoenix history can do the same.  The subject is like a cactus: it’s beautiful, I like to look at it and study it, but if I get too close it will prick me and leave a stinging pain that eventually wears off.  Learning new things can have the same effect.  But no matter how often it happens, I keep going back for more.  I have to understand.  The past is the prologue – I must study the past.

Not only must I study history to appease (temporarily) my natural curiosity, I also have to share what I find.  To borrow a phrase from Richard Dawkins, “consciousness raising” is of the utmost importance.  When riding the light rail, I see a city growing out of the awkward teenage years and into young adulthood with a sense of its own identity.  I feel the perfect storm blowing winds of change across vacant lots downtown.  There is an energy and an excitement about urban Phoenix.  The shrill voices from the suburbs still shriek but the rhetoric is foolish and shortsighted.  The days of cheap gas and short commutes are long past.  The true costs of sprawl and of low density “communities” located in the far-flung suburbs have reared its head in a way we’ve never seen before.  It’s about time.

Beneath the city lights, skyscrapers, and our remaining historic buildings lies a fabric of history created and destroyed by lives of countless people.  Some may argue that Phoenix has an unromantic past.  I disagree.  Our romantic past was erased by the wrecking ball before our very eyes, then quickly forgotten.  The early years of the city, when Phoenix grew feed for horses at Fort McDowell, are admittedly, unremarkable.  But it was during the early booms that the desert, against overwhelming odds, blossomed into Victorian architecture with theatres, opera houses, schools, neighborhoods, museums, and trains.  Later Phoenix became addicted to a drug that destroyed it from the inside out- the automobile.  Phoenix is still recovering.  I don’t like what cars did to western American cities.  People need cities where they can walk, people need to be outside, people need to hear voices of strangers.  Phoenix lost that element.

I admit freely that I am a Phoenix cheerleader, a self-conscious cheerleader perhaps.  I’m smart enough to know that blind adoration is not conducive to creativity.  I’m hypersensitive to criticism when it’s unwarranted but will listen when it is.  Claims that “there is nothing to do in Phoenix” or “Phoenix has no culture” are the ramblings of the ignorant and lazy and I always dismiss such claims.

Phoenix doesn’t need “a” history, we just must learn our history.  This knowledge is essential for the creative and innovative ideas to take root.  Mature cities foster their history, they don’t tear it down.  Mature cities build on traditions and common language.  Our cultural language and literature of the city has yet to be written.  I can’t imagine New York without the literary contributions of Edith Wharton, London without Shakespeare, St. Petersburg without Dostoevsky.  I believe the best novels set in and about Phoenix are yet to come.  (Honestly, there is so much to write about!)  [Note: Read the full blog entry at Ode to a Phoenix.]

[Source: City of Phoenix] – Last week McCarty on Monroe officially opened its doors to seniors age 62 and older.  The new, modern, 69-unit apartment complex is on the property where Phoenix real estate broker Leon McCarty originally built quality and affordable housing for low-income families, particularly families of color, in 1963.

The four-story building has a large community room with kitchen facilities for resident activities, a computer room, gated parking garage and a landscaped inner courtyard with walking and seating areas for senior residents.  Six of the units are accessible for people with disabilities and 34 of the units are available for public housing.  “We are committed to providing quality housing for our seniors, people who have made numerous contributions to society and now may be living on a fixed income,” said Mayor Phil Gordon.  “I congratulate the McCarty residents.  They have chosen a safe and comfortable location to enjoy their leisure years.”

The city of Phoenix Housing Department purchased the McCarty apartments in 1977 and continued to provide senior housing.  The original building was demolished in 2008 and ground broken for more units and more modern, quality housing for seniors on a fixed income.  The property is the first city-developed low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) project funded through the Arizona Department of Housing.  The funds enabled the city to build an additional 35 units.  “I welcome the 69 new residents to McCarty on Monroe to District 8,” said Councilman Michael Johnson.  “I’m impressed with all the amenities offered to the seniors, including nearby shopping, restaurants and churches, which are accessible by taking the light rail.”

The Housing Department partnered with six city departments, Arizona Department of Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other local businesses to complete this housing project.  The city’s Housing Department provides almost 650 units of public housing serving area seniors, plus 336 units of affordable housing for seniors in six Phoenix apartment communities.

...and now

Phil Jones then...

[Source: City of Phoenix] – Phil Jones, executive director of the city of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture, is retiring October 14 after 15 years with the city.  Announcing his retirement, Jones said he has been honored to work with artists, cultural organizations, community leaders and other groups “to enhance the quality of life in our city through arts and culture.”  He added, “Together, we’ve made significant progress in developing a cultural infrastructure worthy of the fifth-largest city in the nation.”

During his tenure, Jones oversaw the development of 114 public-art projects at various locations throughout the city, including several large signature pieces.  In addition, Jones coordinated development of the city’s first comprehensive arts and cultural plan and oversaw the development and implementation of several city cultural facility bond projects.  He also supervised administration of the city’s arts grants and arts education programs.

Jones chaired the Downtown Artists Issues Task Force and supported the work of the Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission, a citizens’ advisory board.  Prior to joining the city of Phoenix, Jones headed the city of Dallas’ Office of Cultural Affairs and was associate director of the Nebraska Arts Council.  Jones plans to remain in the Phoenix area, devoting his volunteer efforts to the arts community.  [Note: To learn more about Phoenix’s public art program, click here or call 602-262-4637 or TTY 602-534-5500.]

[Michael Clancy, Arizona Republic] — Meetings are taking place citywide to ask citizens what they like about Phoenix, and what they want to change.  The gatherings are the first step in a three-year process aimed at revising the Phoenix General Plan, a document of nearly 500 pages that governs growth and development in the city.  ”If you want to have a say in what happens — highways vs. transit, sprawl vs. infill, pollution, parks and open space — then you need to get involved,” said Jim McPherson, a civic activist who has volunteered in the effort.

Carol Johnson, a city planner who is managing the process, said meetings will take place over the rest of the year in connection with local village planning committee meetings.  ”We really need to hear from the community about what they want Phoenix to be, and how we can get there,” she said.  ”That will define the scope for what we do next.”

Johnson described the general plan as the city’s “long-term guide for the physical manifestation of the city.”  She said development of the revised plan would entail a period of “visioning,” in which ideas and goals are developed, followed by a period of drafting policies and measures, and determining implementation.

The plan could include updated sustainability measures, improved business-development plans, revised historical features, and new benchmarks for infrastructure repairs and upgrades.  In meetings so far, “there is a lot of interest in climate change and the urban heat island,” Johnson said.  ”Some people have said the village cores are not working. Others want to see land use and transportation planned in tandem.” She said the plan ultimately would be organized around four subject areas: community, economy, environment and infrastructure.

Catrina Knoebl, a downtown activist, said she expects the process to be worthwhile for the public as well as the city.  ”I have found the city absolutely listens to citizens,” she said. “They want to hear what residents have to say.  They are actively reaching out.”  Knoebl said she finds the timing to be advantageous because “we have more people than ever before who are knowledgeable and engaged.”

McPherson agreed the timing is right.  ”We have a little bit of breathing room now,” he said.  ”With the slowdown caused by the economy, we have some time to do some thinking.” [Note: Read the full article at Phoenix seeks residents' input on General Plan revision.]

[Source: Phoenix New Times] – To hear people talk, you’d think Phoenix has had her wings clipped.  But we know the truth.  This is our wonderland.  Times may be tough, but instead of biting the dust, Phoenicians are sticking their heads in the clouds.  And here, as proof, is our annual love letter to the city — 591 examples of dreams becoming reality.

This year we got back to basics with an emphasis on the do-it-yourselfers who are creating this city even as we write this.  We asked a group of creative types — from visual artists to musicians to a pastry chef — to show us their own personal Phoenix wonderlands.  You can see their work on the pages of this issue.  The originals will be on display on First and Third Friday in October at [merz] project, 1437 North First Street — and you’re all invited.

Phoenix, you make our wildest dreams come true.

[Source: Janesa Hilliard, State Press Magazine] – When Andres Cano decided to attend the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism he knew he would be required to live on the Downtown Campus — a move he was excited about making.  “I didn’t fear living or being downtown because it’s such a lively atmosphere,” says Cano, a freshman from Tucson.  “Safety should not be a concern… I think a huge part is the amount of activity going on downtown because of sports and concerts.”

The shift in tone among the freshmen student body is one of anticipation rather than apprehension about what Downtown Phoenix has to offer.  The biggest obstacle the city faces in its second year of full-scale operation is promoting an urban atmosphere, not security concern, a feeling that resonates with both students and ASU Downtown Campus police.  The campus has many opportunities to advance the understanding of community – and safety by extension – as the student body increases, says Commander Richard Wilson of the ASU Police Department’s Downtown Bureau.

Non-profit leadership and management student Samuel Richard agrees.  Richard, a third-year student and downtown Phoenix native, says that downtown’s stigma of being a crime haven is the result of misguided perceptions that trace by to the 1980s.  “Downtown Phoenix is not a geography, it’s a lifestyle,” Richard says.  “Downtown is unpredictable, [the] opposite of a conformed, suburban lifestyle.  This is where it’s exciting.”

Still, Richard says getting the public to see this side of downtown is difficult. People may come downtown to watch a ballgame or check out First Friday, but they don’t stay down here or indulge in any of the businesses. Few people reside within the confines of downtown proper because of an unwariness of the area, due in large part to the homeless population.  [Note: Read the full article at Why downtown Phoenix ISN'T scary.]

[Source: Shaun McKinnon, Arizona Republic] – Heat discriminates.  Phoenix’s sweltering summer inflicts the most misery and illness in poor neighborhoods, a new study shows, and among people least able to protect themselves from the elements.  Conditions in those neighborhoods, with their sparse landscaping, high-density housing and converging freeways, create pockets of extreme heat that persist day and night.  Inside, homeowners sometimes can’t afford to turn up — or even turn on — the air-conditioner.

Wealthier homeowners, meanwhile, often in neighborhoods just blocks away, maintain lush yards and trees that help cool the air more quickly at night, shortening the hours of the hottest heat waves.  They can buy further relief with a nudge of the thermostat.

The disparities present threats more serious than just discomfort on a hot day, according to the study, produced by Arizona State University researchers.  Prolonged exposure to heat can cause illness or even death. The densely developed nature of the hottest areas also means more of the people most vulnerable — the elderly, children, the homebound — live in the neighborhoods where the risk is greatest.

That link between money and the ability to cope with extreme weather emerged clearly in the research.  Among the startling revelations: For every $10,000 an area’s income rises, the average outside temperature drops one-half degree Fahrenheit.  “It’s an environmental-justice issue,” said Darren Ruddell, a geographer who led the study.  “The people who are most vulnerable are also living in the worst conditions.  It’s a double whammy.”

The researchers say they hope their findings will spur discussions about better managing land, water and energy use, factors that will grow more critical if temperatures rise in coming years, as climate-change models predict.  “If we can identify the areas most at risk, we can try to help them,” Ruddell said.  “We could redesign neighborhoods, build cities differently, improve warning systems and ultimately reduce our vulnerability to heat.”  [Note: To read the full article, visit ASU study: Wealth buys rescue from metro Phoenix's urban heat island.  Corresponding PDF graphic here.]

[Source: Grand Avenue Merchants Association] – The Grand Avenue Festival, to be held on Saturday, September 26, 2009, has finalized a schedule of events including live music performances, fashion shows, adaptive re-use tours, open studios, and other special events throughout the day.  The festival will focus on the theme of neighborhood sustainability and adaptive re-use of the Lower Grand Avenue arts and small business district. Everyone is invited to this free (except for adaptive re-use tours), day-long celebration.

Adaptive Re-use/History Tours. Guided walking tours of some of the historic buildings on Lower Grand Avenue will focus on interesting adaptive re-use projects.  Tours will start at 8am, 9:30am, and 11am and will last approximately 1.5 hours.  This is a walking tour so participants should wear comfortable shoes and bring a hat.  Tour tickets can be purchased at Tilt Gallery for $10 per person on the day of the festival, or in advance online.  Tour stops will include Tilt Gallery (all tours will start at Tilt Gallery), 919 W Fillmore; Jordre Studio, 1007 W Grand Ave; Paisley Violin Cafe & Paisley Town, 1028 W Grand Ave; Motley Design Group building, 1114 W Grand Ave; Arnold’s Auto Body Shop building, 1209 W Grand Ave; and Bragg’s Pie Factory building, 1301 W Grand Ave.

Fashion Shows. Three fashion shows are planned for the afternoon and evening of the festival.  The shows will feature the work of local artists, designers, and boutiques.  “Recycled Wearable Art” presented by Lee Berger will be at 5pm at Bragg’s Pie Factory and will feature fashions made from reused materials.  At 7pm “Local Boutique Fashions” will be presented at Bragg’s Pie Factory with fashions from Dragonfly Boutique, Wicked Wear, and Butter Toast Boutique, and music by Silver Medallion.  At 8:30pm, Gloria Marsiglia will present “The BoHo Haute Hippie Movement” at Soul Invictus Theatre.  This accessories fashion show will fuse Bohemian Hippie fashions, late 60s music, a light show, and special effects.  All fashion shows are free.

Live Music Performances. A variety of music performances will be presented free of charge as part of the festival activities at The PHiX, Sweets & Beats, Rockin’ A, and The Loft. Bands include Flyaway Tigers, The Boys, The Super Funk All-Stars, The Chandails, Great Job, River Jones PRESENTS!, The Complainiacs, Snake Snake Snakes!, Liam and the Ladies, Ray Reeves & the Phoenix Sons, Boys and Frogs, Bolt, Some Never Sleep, The Package, Scorpian vs. Tarantula, Azul, Flux Manifesto, Haunted Cologne, Somber Sounds, Man About a Dog, and The Skinwalkers.  Performances will start at 4:00pm and continue through midnight.  A complete schedule of music will be available on the day of the festival.

Open Studios. Fifteen artist studios will be open to the public on the day of the festival from 10am to 6pm.  The public is invited behind the scenes at these working studios: Jordre Studio, The Lodge Art Studio, Lucky Rabbit Studio, Studio of Jen Urso & Christy Puetz, Studio of Lee Berger, the ambient studio, Deus Ex Machina Gallery, Phoenix Fall Space, Studio 8, Moderncat Studio, Barry Sparkman Studio, Brad Konick Sculpture Studio, R. Booker Studio, Chris Caufield Studio, Trillion Clarke Studio.

Other Special Events. Businesses all along Lower Grand Avenue will host special events throughout the day including “The Trashy Sculpture Show” at Bragg’s Pie Factory; “Celebrating Woodstock” with acoustic music starting at noon at Gallery Marsiglia; glass blowing and pottery demonstrations, live music, and exhibits at Paisley Violin and Paisley Town; mural painting in the parking lot at Bragg’s Pie Factory; and free snowcones at ShopDevious.com.  There will also be a raffle for art, jewelry, pottery and more hosted at Paisley Town.  Neighborhood cafes and bars will be open for festival goers to purchase food and beverages. Parking is allowed along Grand Avenue on the day of the festival.

The Grand Avenue Festival is a project of the Grand Avenue Merchants’ Association.  The 2009 Grand Avenue Festival is being sponsored by Downtown Voices Coalition, Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, Downtown Phoenix Journal/Urban Affair, New Times, Capitol Litho, Grand Oasis, Habitat Metro, CenPho.TV, and Yelp. For more information about the festival, please visit our website or follow the festival planning on Twitter.

[Source: Salvatore Caputo, Jewish News of Greater Phoenix] – Arizona Jewish Theatre Company’s decision in April to cancel the last show of its 2008-2009 season was one of the most visible signs of the effects of the current American recession on Arizona arts organizations, but it was not the only one.  “I’m very concerned,” said Rabbi Albert Plotkin, when discussing how the economy has affected the Sylvia Plotkin Judaica Museum in Scottsdale.  He is the director of the museum named after his late wife and housed at Congregation Beth Israel, where he is rabbi emeritus.  “(The museum) has been deeply affected.  We couldn’t even go out to ask for more donations because it would have been a futile venture.”

Donors are a substantial part of the mix for many arts and cultural organizations, and when the crisis in the financial markets erupted in fall 2008, many donors’ investment portfolios were severely affected.  Arts organizations contacted by Jewish News all said that donations were down in the current recession.  In addition, most of them had seen drops in public funding, subscriptions and attendance.  “The biggest thing that has happened to us (as a result of the recession) is the just-about 50 percent cut from the city and state,” said Janet Arnold, AJTC’s producing director.  “Those were our largest contributors, and we don’t know how we’re going to replace that…”

A series of surveys by the Arizona Commission on the Arts has shown that the recession has forced layoffs, programming cuts and reductions in operating budgets across a broad spectrum of arts organizations in the state.  The commission has been conducting the survey “to keep track of how (the organizations are) being affected by the recession” on roughly a quarterly basis this year, said Casey Blake, the commission’s communications and research director.  The most recent was in May, with another due to be taken next month, she said.

The May survey was sent to more than 300 organizations.  Among the 160 that responded, 60 percent said they have reduced their operating budget for the current year by as much as 80 percent.  Of organizations with annual operations of $250,000 or more, 40 percent had laid off staff in the preceding six months, while 50 percent froze hiring and 25 percent put staff furloughs in place. [Note: Read the full article at Recession hits Arizona arts groups.]

[Source: Leong Siok Hui, Malaysia Star] – When American Celeste Froehlich first returned to the United States after living in Rwanda, she was hit by reverse culture shock.  Though she and her husband, Aaron, settled in a nice neighbourhood in Central Phoenix, Arizona, she found it “so stark.”  Hardly anyone strolled in the streets and people didn’t look her in the eye even at the grocery store.

The Froehlichs missed the close-knit community in Rwanda.  “We knew our neighbours.  It was important to say ‘Hi’ or ask about each other’s families when we met on the streets,” says Froehlich, 31, who trained in clinical social work and works with refugees and migrants.  They started looking up intentional communities — planned residential communities that reflect residents’ shared values — to move into.  [Note: Read the full article at Neighborhood "back to basics" for returning Americans.]

[Source: Michael Ferraresi, Arizona Republic] – Sweating in the summer heat, volunteers moved boxes of donated food at the Bridge Church as others helped south Phoenix residents find clothes, jobs and government benefits.  Meanwhile, police officers watched briefly over the small crowd at the worship hall, which doubles as a human-services community center to serve more than 30 families a day in an area long stigmatized by gang violence.

Through partnerships with police and city leaders, the Bridge became a prototype for the renewal of south Phoenix.  It was the first of the area’s 90 churches to join the Neighborhood Roots System.  Police credited the increased faith-based involvement for a 39 percent drop in area homicides, as well as other crimes, since 2008.  Police have saturated south Phoenix with crime-suppression efforts in the past few years.  Now, officers and neighborhood activists are working to sustain the relationships they established years ago.  “When law enforcement is involved, I think businesses look at that as a positive,” said Jon Katov, CEO of non-profit Open Table Inc.  Katov said he was inspired to focus on south Phoenix after attending a service at a community church.

The Bridge is open 20 hours a week in an area where nearly 17,000 people live in poverty.  Katov said 20 other south Phoenix churches have already begun mimicking the Bridge.  He pointed to a small room filled with donated computers.  “Here, you’re looking at a job center inside a working church,” Katov said.  “To me, it’s a breakthrough.”

Churches have helped south Phoenix rebound from the wave of violent crime and gang-related homicides it suffered two years ago.  [Note: Read the full article at Church program seen as key to safer south Phoenix]

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As part of United Airlines’ Hemispheres Magazine’s “Three Perfect Days” series, Peter Aleshire shares his favorite places in Phoenix, Arizona, and recommends the perfect three day itinerary for people visiting the city.

[Source: Jenna Davis, Arizona Republic] – The new Latino cultural center that [the Phoenix City Council] approved for downtown may open in November.  Advocates for Latin@ Arts & Culture Consortium Inc. will have access to a city-owned building beginning Aug. 1 and will then have 120 days to prepare the new facility.  Ruben Hernandez, a spokesman for the group, said organizers hope to have a soft opening on Sept. 15 to coincide with the eve of Mexican Independence Day, but it might be November or December before the 7,200-square-foot facility is ready for visitors. 

The cultural center has been the focus of a consortium of Latino arts groups that said it realized that in a city of 1.5 million people, 40 percent of whom are of Hispanic decent, a Latino cultural center was needed.  The building previously housed the Museo Chicano, 147 E. Adams St., which closed in January.  [Note: Read the full article at Latino cultural center in downtown Phoenix aims for fall opening]

(R-L) Inside Phoenix Council Chambers, Novelist Stella Pope Duarte, ALAC President Erlinda Torres, and painter Jim Covarrubias will lead a group of Latino arts & business leaders to develop the new center. (Photo credit: Jose Muñoz)

[Source: Marcos Najera, KJZZ Radio] — A Latino arts group will start making plans today to turn a storefront space at 147 E. Adams St. in downtown Phoenix into a new cultural center by the end of the year.  The Phoenix City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve the lease.  To listen to the radio segment, click here.

[Source: Grand Avenue Festival organizers] – This is an exciting time in downtown Phoenix and one of the hot spots is Lower Grand Avenue.  All along the Lower Grand Avenue corridor, independent locally-owned businesses, galleries, performance venues, and artist studios are flourishing in a unique, diverse environment.  The area prominently features the creative, adaptive re-use of historic buildings, helping to preserve Phoenix’s heritage.

To increase awareness of this pedestrian-friendly arts and retail district, we are pleased to announce the first annual Grand Avenue Festival, to be held on Saturday, September 26, 2009.  The event is a celebration of the vibrant culture, art, history and adaptive re-use of the Lower Grand Avenue small business district and adjoining neighborhoods.  The festival will include historic building tours, fashion shows, music performances featuring local talent, and a variety of other activities throughout the day.

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Here’s an unofficial list of revitalization initiatives in downtown Phoenix, created by a member of Downtown Voices Coalition, including color-coded status report (as critiqued by the map’s author).  Many are (or could be) “fine-grain” projects that make a city a community.

• BLUE: Successful (Maintain!)
• GREEN: In Progress
• YELLOW: On Hold; Caution
• MAGENTA: On Life Support
• RED: Failed

Click on an individual colored-pin for some “color commentary” and background.

Other important initiatives impacting downtown Phoenix and environs are larger in geographic scope (and thus harder to pinpoint on this map): Adaptive Reuse Task Force; Arts, Culture and Small Business Overlay; Canalscape; Connected Oasis; Discovery Triangle; Grand Avenue; Opportunity Corridor; Roosevelt Row; Shade/Tree Planting Efforts; Urban Form Project.

Any and all additions, edits, suggestions, or offers of mapping expertise are more than welcome.

[The following "letter to the editor" was written by Steve Weiss, Steering Committee Chair of Downtown Voices Coalition, in response to the Arizona Republic's June 10, 2009 editorial on the Jackson Street Entertainment District.  Since the letter hasn't been printed in the Republic, we're reprinting it here.]

There are many issues to debate regarding the proposed Jackson Street Entertainment District: the loss of historic preservation on the last surviving contiguous areas of the Warehouse District, the impact on residents South of Jackson Street, or even whether a created Entertainment District can achieve the financial and sales tax success the developers and city officials hope for.  The debate can rage back and forth on these issues.

But there is one glaring fact that disputes your editorial, where you say “Even now the area is drawing artists’ studios and clubs.”

The artists were forced out of Jackson Street long ago, first by the America West Arena (now US Airways Center) and then by Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field).  What was once an area inhabited by live/work studios and galleries seeking large spaces with cheap rent is now priced for speculation or geared towards the ethereal sports fan.  The one exception is the eternally struggling Icehouse, way West of the proposed development.  No city help seems forthcoming to the last true artspace on Jackson.

As in all big cities, the gentrification of the downtown, first made cool by the artists, will be left to those who can afford “attainable” housing or “themed” entertainment.  A House of Blues club is no match for the authenticity of The Rhythm Room, as an example.

If the developers who seek to make Jackson Street interesting once again are wise enough, they will create incentives for affordable (not just attainable) live/work artist spaces and the kind of hospitable and distinct food, music and art venues that thrive in the less structured and less pricey environments of Grand Avenue and Roosevelt Street.  Look to those streets to find the remaining downtown artists and artspaces.

Steve Weiss
Steering Committee Chair, Downtown Voices Coalition

Phoenix City Councilman Michael Johnson discusses the Jackson Street Entertainment District project at a recent PCU Coalition community forum.

[Source: Phoenix Communities United (PCU) Coalition] – PCU is a diverse and inclusive group consisting of neighborhood groups, students, religious and service organizations, and community leaders from Central and South Phoenix. Coalition members have been attending and will continue to attend various City of Phoenix meetings to voice their opinion on the zoning case for the Jackson Street Entertainment District.  The project is located in Phoenix’s historic Warehouse District, next to Chase Field, connecting south Phoenix to downtown.  The developers want to build a four-block entertainment district, including various entertainment venues, 1,000 units of market-rate housing, 150,000 square foot of retail, 150,000 square feet of office, and at least one hotel.

PCU has been organizing for months, and is working to ensure that this project positively impacts the surrounding community; and includes affordable housing, green standards, job opportunities for local residents; priority for local businesses, and support for community parks which are being shut down due to city budget cuts.

The next meeting in the development process is with the Phoenix Planning Commission. All interested residents are invited to attend:

• Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
• Time: 5:45 – 7:30 p.m.
• Place: Phoenix City Council Chambers, 200 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ

For more information about this issue or PCU, contact Corrine Widmer via e-mail, phone 480-495-4738, or Facebook.

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What projects are planned for your neighborhood or community?  For more information about Arizona’s Centennial efforts, click here.

[Source: Jahna Berry, Arizona Republic] — A consortium of Latino arts groups has taken several early steps to bring a small Latino cultural center to downtown Phoenix.  That includes a kickoff fundraiser tonight that will help the group raise money for that center and lay the groundwork for a $10 million Phoenix facility they want to build years down the road. But Advocates for Latin@ Arts & Culture Consortium, Inc. may have to postpone its plans to open that temporary center in the fall.

The group has key fund-raising and bureaucratic hurdles to clear before that space could open its doors:

• The group has yet to secure a $25,000 loan that would provide the initial money for the temporary cultural center.
• The consortium has had early discussions with Phoenix officials about leasing the city-owned space that used to house the Museo Chicano, a small museum that closed in January.  But the group needs to submit a detailed proposal and a business plan, said Kathy Wenger, a deputy director at the Phoenix Convention Center, which manages the lease for that storefront.
• Any lease would need to be approved by a City Council subcommittee and the full council.

[Note: To read the full article, click here.]

[Source: John Talton, Rogue Columnist] — Former Arizona Republic columnist Jon Talton still thinks and writes about his old hometown, Phoenix.  Upon returning to his current home from a recent visit and book signing tour in Arizona, Jon wrote the following blog post about the new downtown Phoenix Civic Space (in contrast to this other local blogger’s view):

“…Which brings me to the Floating Diaphragm.  That’s what local wags have dubbed the “public art” project that is the signature of the new park on Central Avenue downtown between ASU and the Y.  At night, it’s stunning.  A floating purple dream.  But, as with the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Courthouse, this is something designed by someone with no knowledge of local conditions.  After the first big monsoon, look for the diaphragm in your neighborhood — Gilbert would be appropriate, with its sex phobia and sex scandals. 

The park — we’ll see.  Phoenix is not good at civic spaces.  It’s unclear if it will have enough shade and grass to be inviting year-round.  And nobody can stop the creeping gravelization of the once-oasis central city.  City Hall sets a terrible example.  The old Willo House has been spiffed up as Hob Nobs.  But it’s surrounded by gravel and a couple of fake palm trees — who wouldn’t want to be around that 140-dgree heat surface on a summer day? And there are more of them — the natives and long-timers agree the falls and springs have shrunk to a week or two, and winter is getting shorter (and it lacks the frosts that once kept the mosquito population in check).  The central city needs lots of shade trees and grass, to offset the heat island effect.  It is a much better water investment than new golf courses or more sprawl.  Nobody’s listening.  Almost: The Park Central Starbucks has made its outdoor space even more lush, shady, and comfy. 

Back to the diaphragm.  It’s definitely better than the “public art” you whiz by at Sky Harbor because it focuses a civic space, the kind of walkable, gathering places great cities have and Phoenix mostly lacks.  Some art at the light-rail stations is quite well done.  But, there’s a deadening sameness.  My friend, the Famous Architect, likes to rib me, “Not everything old is good.”  True enough. But not everything new is good, either.  I’d love to see some classical statues and artwork downtown to, say, commemorate the heroic pioneer farmers, the heroic, displaced indigenous peoples, the heroic Mexican-Americans, the heroic African-Americans from this once very Southern town and the heroic Chinese-Americans.  Just two or three would offer some contrast and variety, and, I suspect, unsophisticated oaf that I am, elevate and inspire more souls who communed with them.  It would also give the lie, in visual form, to the newcomer lie that “there’s no history here.” 

Another wish I won’t get.  [Note: To read the full blog posting, click here.]

[Source: Valley Leadership Class XXX] – Valley Leadership Class XXX was tasked with investigating a controversial issue, and our group chose to explore the pros and cons of downtown Phoenix redevelopment.  Has it been a long-awaited boost to the newly named “urban heart of the Southwest”?   Or has it been too much time, effort and money invested in new projects, leaving old Phoenix behind?  Over the next several weeks we will interview key leaders on both sides of the issue in retail, housing, sports, transportation, education, and other key areas contributing to the future of Phoenix.  We look forward to your thoughts and input on the topics, no matter which side you are on. [Note: To learn more, visit VLXXX's Facebook page.]

The first Planned Urban Development (PUD)-required “Community Meeting” for the Jackson Street Entertainment District project in Phoenix’s historic Warehouse District will be held:

• Date: Thursday, April 9, 2009
• Time: 6 p.m. start
• Place: The Summit at Copper Square condominium

The public is invited to attend.

[Source: Jahna Berry, Arizona Republic] – When the Valley’s marquee monthly art walk returns today, it will include several spaces showcasing Latino artists.  The events range from an Arizona State University exhibit to start-up galleries that focus on Latino art.  First Friday, the monthly self-guided tour of downtown Phoenix art galleries and spaces, is important to local artists because it brings thousands of visitors, and it exposes artists to throngs of people who may not have otherwise seen their work.

Friday’s events come as an arts group pushes to create a Latino museum and cultural center in downtown.  Advocates for Latin@ Arts & Culture want to raise $200,000 to open a small cultural center this year, but eventually plan to build a $10 million facility downtown.

Hispanic artists are becoming more visible on First Fridays, said Nydia Cortez, who opened Lo Nuestro Gallery in June.  ”It’s a small but growing scene,” Cortez said.  The gallery at 736 W. Fillmore St. embraces art from a wide sweep of Latin American countries, including Cuba.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

[Source: Arizona Republic] – For the Arizona Aloha Festival, held two weeks ago at the [Tempe] lakeside park, higher fees could put greater financial strain on the non-profit group, said Lacretia Bacon, who chaired the festival’s planning committee.  The Hawaiian celebration had been held in downtown Phoenix for 14 years, but this was the first time the festival had to pay fees for police, fire, trash, and facility rentals.  ”I don’t know what our future will hold.  In our political arena right now, everybody is suffering.  The cities need to assess fees and corporations are not supporting events,” said Bacon, who also works as a volunteer organizer for the city of Phoenix.  “I think there will be tough times, especially for small organizations that do cultural events.”  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]