It's here and it's happening -- FINALLY!!!!!
Fourteen LONG years in the making but the Glenn Street Beautification Project is finally under way. This project runs from Country Club to Columbus affecting all of Glenn Street but mostly the north side where sidewalks are being installed, ADA ramps on all corners, large buffer yards that will have desert vegetation in them and watered solely thru water harvesting. Applause should go out to many in finally getting this accomplished but special attention should be brought to Lisa and Catlow Shipek who are Cabrini residents and run the Watershed Management Group and who I know were very involved in this project. I forgot to mention that beyond the self-watering buffer yards, there will be a bike lane too! One will still remain on the south side of Glenn Street as well. Cabrini residents will all benefit from this long-awaited project with an enhanced southern border and those with properties along Glenn will certainly be happier with new sidewalks and traffic pushed about fifteen feet further away from their properties. Applause to everyone who had a hand in getting this accomplished!!!
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This is one of those things that make me jump for joy! A company called VASA Fitness has purchased the property that Fry's used to own at Grant and Alvernon!!!
Just why does this make me happy?? Let me count the ways . . . The rumor has always been that the theft problem at Fry's was so rampant that they had to shut their doors there. I believed it was likely bad but that bad and apparently it was true. That meant it was likely attracting a criminal element into that area which would spill over into Cabrini as well. I know that's why the Walgreens shuttered its doors and remains a closed and abandoned structure :-(. So now all the good people around the area have lost two wonderful and convenient stores because of criminal activity. Well they're now basically down to one store remaining and it's yet to be seen if even the Wal-Mart will be able to handle it OR -- BETTER YET -- Maybe, just Maybe -- these guys will move on to other neighborhoods. I can only hope!!! A fitness place has NOTHING for the criminals and will attract people to the area who are into taking care of themselves. Maybe, just Maybe -- these guys will move into the neighborhoods surrounding this place. I can only hope!!!! In all seriousness, it could attract those who are ready, willing and able to do re-hab to properties around these older neighborhoods and whether that be by purchasing properties and living here or simply for rentals. Perhaps they'd rent themselves but still be cognizant of wanting to live in a reasonable area and keep their rental properties up. It makes such an impact! I could go on with other reasons but I've got other blogs to write this evening (it's been too long!) . Here's a link to the article regarding the purchase: VASA Fitness 3920 E. Grant Road Originally posted in Commentary
October 2016 Congratulations to whoever did up that MARVELOUS flyer! (copied below) I am so thrilled our CNA has taken an active interest in cleaning up our neighborhood and pointing out to our neighbors and residents just how important this is! More good news on this subject is our Mayor and Council plus our City Manager are all now on board to work towards cleaning up Tucson as a whole and are actively pursuing methods to achieve this. Much was discussed at the September 20 study session which can be found online should you be interested. TRRG (Tucson Residents for Responsive Government) has been heavily involved in resolving the plight of orphan waste, weeds, etc. in our city and has either instigated or participated in multiple meetings regarding this issue including a recent one in which the city of Mesa came and gave us a presentation of just how they do it. So much more! TRRG is happy for additional members so feel free to contact them to join up. Let's make Phoenix eat it's nickname of "Trashy Tucson" they use for us! We're off and running now! Originally post under Commentary
December 2015 Obviously I don't make entries in here very often but every now and again something is worth pointing out whether it be good or bad. Unfortunately, this is me grumbling . . . A few weeks ago, it seemed like everybody was having a yard sale and that's great. What wasn't so great was the signs. They need to come back down after the sale is over. If you've used a box, take the box away, etc., etc. That's fairly normal stuff BUT then we had the Queen of Lack of Yard Sale Sign Etiquette in Cabrini. How do I know this was a female? Because I'd spotted her putting a full-size BRIGHT PINK poster board up on Blacklidge and Palo Verde. It caught my attention as even at a quick glance she appeared to be a well-groomed and attractive woman driving a nice vehicle and I'm catching this just as the sign is going up. So not only could I maybe get over there as it starts, she looked like she might have some genuinely decent stuff. Woo Hoo! I was just too busy to go so I had to pass on on it. I was quite disappointed. I do so wish I'd at least cruised it 'cause then I would know which house on "Blacklidge and Sparkman" had the yard sale and I could have brought back to her the trash she decided she didn't need to collect that she used to put up her signs. Are you ready for this? The trash included a ratty old folding table and an old chaise lounge! She felt there was no need to return to get those and they could just stay on the street corners with their GIANT BRIGHT PINK signs and nobody should care. It's called LITTERING and this is much worse than a drinking up or hamburger wrapper. This was out and out dumping. The GIANT PINK SIGNS didn't come down either. And we wonder why the City of Tucson has ordinances about signs. Originally posted under Commentary
March 2015: I want to send out a big THANK YOU to whoever is acting as a sign vigilante around mid-town Tucson!!! It was about six months ago I first noticed EVERY sign tacked on poles etc. all along Glenn heading towards Craycroft had it's contact number obliterated! Yay!!! I don't know quite when this began but I started taking note after that and noticed that many of these "I Buy Junk Cars" sign types were being rendered useless all over this area. Unfortunately, they seem to keep going up again and the cycle continues. Mostly local to the Cabrini area is a landlord who is putting up "For Rent" signs of the type made with the heavy-wire ground inserts. I don't care if this guy puts up some For Rent signs but he's got dozens of them up and that I do mind PLUS he doesn't seem to be taking them down. Are they supposed to be permanent because he's got multiple units? Today really got my dander up though because someone had pulled one out of the ground and left it laying there and walking my dog before the sun is truly up, I didn't notice it and got my foot hooked up in it. I didn't fall or even stumble BUT that was just a matter of luck. He's lucky I wasn't hurt. I've got to admit I've had enough of these proliferating our neighborhood for months now. Spend a few dollars and run an ad already and quit littering our neighborhood and neighborhoods bordering ours. Originally posted under Commentary
June 7, 2014 I just received an oversized postcard in the mail regarding Nextdoor dot com. I have some very serious reservations about this this endeavor and I hope those on the Cabrini Steering Committee have thoroughly investigated it as they seem to be endorsing it and wanting neighbors and residents to join it. Before going into why I have reservations, I'd like to say it's a great idea BUT the very same thing can be accomplished utilizing facebook with a closed group and verifying those who want to join. Simple and most of us are already on facebook. If not or they don't want their personal facebook account tied to a "Group", they can simply make up a name to use and join. The SC I was involved in did try to get an active group going but it never really did do well -- couldn't even get our then "President" to join us! I don't believe this Steering Committee has ever even tried to start a Cabrini Group up on facebook and if they have, I'm certainly not aware of it. There's some MAJOR RED FLAGS I have: 1. The Nextdoor site is financed by SIlicon Valley companies. Investors include: Bezos Expeditions, Google Ventures, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Allen & Company and Pinnacle Ventures. It is expected in the future that investors will be repaid through advertisements posted on the pages and possibly paid memberships. Currently Nextdoor does not have any advertisements and is free. Bezos Expeditions (Amazon) , Google and the rest are BEHEMOTH for-profit ventures and they're doing this out of the goodness of their hearts? Or they'll get some modest returns later through paid memberships and ads. I'm highly suspicious there's simply got to be more to this. 2. IF YOU SUBSCRIBE TO NEXT DOOR AND THEN DECIDE TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Your personal information, including your name and full address remain on the site, though you do not receive any information or posts from the site. In order to remove your personal information from the site, you must deactivate your account. In the meantime, you have provided them with your personal information and verified it through a one-cent transaction on a credit card! So these ENORMOUS for -profit companies now have your correct name, address AND credit card information. The amount of information that they will be able to glean about you and your shopping and habits in INCREDIBLE. I wonder what's in the fine print when you sign up. Kinda scary to me. One can also be verified by a resident/neighbor vouching for you. So somebody who rents -- maybe just even a month or so in the "hood" can now verify others? That's just dandy. Even scarier than the first way to be verified! The group can be populated with transitory renters and people they claim live here. 3. Individuals who refer a new neighborhood and get them to sign up for Nextdoor and individuals who sign up a certain number of new members receive gift cards from Nextdoor. COLOSSUS sized for-profit companies are providing incentives and give away gift cards for recruiting new members and all from the goodness of their great big hearts. Awwwwww. Makes me tingle all over how kind they are. They even sport for printing and mailing costs to help recruit neighbors to join up! These guys really do care about us. Funny, I don't remember facebook, eBay, Amazon, Google, Twitter, Pinterest, Microsoft, etc., etc, etc. actively recruiting me to use their services and spending money to do so. 4. The default setting is set so that your complete address is displayed and even a map with the location of your home is shown. This can be changed to just your street location with no house number. Members are required to log-in with their real name. This is done in hopes that the conversations on the site will remain civil and polite. Too Much Information!!! Even if I take my address down from being displayed, it's not hard to find me. I own property here in Cabrini and a quick look at the Pima County Assessor's office will bring up my address! I can be civil and a verified resident but be a little "masked". This might work really well in other neighborhoods but I don't think the Cabrini neighborhood is well suited for this. Renters maybe but not property owners so much. Also, what if you own property here but don't live here? Can those people join? Hmmmmmm. In conclusion, as I stated right from the start, I think it's a GREAT idea BUT there's something hinkey or that I don't get going on here and I feel uncomfortable about it. Beware and be wary before you jump in and join. I genuinely want to see our neighborhood and it's residents become become more interactive but I personally am not feeling good that this endeavor is the way to do it for this particular neighborhood (or ANY mid-town Tucson neighborhood with a high rental demographics). I think another shot at a facebook group would be a WAY better option and the Group Administrator could really keep a proper handle on just who is a member. Nextdoor won't know when a Cabrini renter has left and they'd still be privy to the group. I don't like that at all. Here's a few links so you can investigate further: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/12/us-venture-nextdoor-idUSBRE91B0MV20130212 http://streetfightmag.com/2013/06/27/nextdoor-where-privacy-is-a-double-edged-sword/ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/business/on-nextdoorcom-social-networks-for-neighbors.html?_r=0 Lastly, I need to thank Meg and the Garden District for allowing me to lift some information directly from their May 25 Newsletter. Thank you Meg and the Garden District!! Originally posted under Commentary
March 2014 Boy oh boy have I been popular lately! People know I do sincerely care about this neighborhood and where it's going. They also know I'll usually do something about a situation or at least be able to point them to the resources to be able to do it themselves. There's been some unusual situations lately round here and I'm glad I was able to help. The main thing that people seemed to need to know was just who owns a property so they can reach out to the owner. This is sooooooooooooo simple!!! You just need to go to the Pima County Assessor's office and you can do that right from here: Resources One --> Asseessor's Office. I guess the "commentary" boils down to that there seems to be a lack of consideration for residents and neighbors. It has mostly come in the form of noise and lack of general upkeep and maintenance. Once again, I am the eternal optimist and like to believe in people and if a property owner is made aware of a problem, they'll act on it. There's no guarantee but I'll keep my fingers crossed not only for those who are really feeling irritated but for all of us as it does affect the entire neighborhood. Originally posted under Commentary
21 February 2014 DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! And we have a Winnner!!! 3425 E. Presidio Road took the prize this year for putting out a whole Bunch of Junk including BIG OL' TV just two DAYS after Brush and Bulky came down our street. It seems to almost be a race for who can put out the old sofa or mattress or load of crap AFTER brush and bulky has been by and this time the gift of junk to the neighborhood and community came from those that the community and neighborhood has helped for a long time. Code Enforcement has been informed and they in turn will pass it on the city who will then pick up the tab to clean it up. It must be nice to not have the responsibility of paying rent and then leaving your junk out for the neighborhood and getting someone else to pick it up and pay for disposal. Why don't I get that deal too? (BTW, healthy looking young man has lived there for ages! walks his dog and never seemed to be ill but he never had a job. Didn't see much of the wife and child but I know they were there. Probably the gal and child who got the housing and he hitched his lazy wagon to it. Why work when the city will pick up the tab??) |
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