BOND. LAME BOND: Supervisor Mikey "The Waffleman" Boyd is deep in denial when he casually claims the $352-million Pima County bond proposal amounts to asking voters to pass "the easy stuff." While we'd like to see most of the bond issues pass, we don't think it's going to be an easy sell to the citizenry. Why? For starters, the supes and staff added pork to what the bond committee recommended, even though the committee, appointed by the supes, spent 18 months researching the county's needs. And, while everyone concedes the need for expanded juvenile facilities, the $42-million price tag, which will supply less than 200 beds, seems awfully steep--a new luxury resort would cost less per room. And many voters are still steamed over the $35-million-and-rising cost of the new baseball stadium. Don't be surprised if voters bite the juvenile facility on the ass in retaliation. Same for the sheriff's department, courts and jails. Many voters don't understand why this stuff has to cost so damn much. Everyone wants to get tough on crime, until the bill comes in. Parks aren't all that popular with some older voters, who feel they've been run out of them by gangs and the homeless. Likewise, open-space acquisition seems popular, but some voters don't want to buy off developers and land speculators to preserve what many believe they shouldn't be allowed to bulldoze anyway. And who decided to group libraries with items like asbestos removal and more county government buildings? Congrats--you just screwed libraries big time. When it comes to sewers, who's going to explain to the voters the difference between a revenue bond and a regular general obligation bond paid for by higher property taxes? (The sewer package involves revenue bonds, which are paid by user fees. But to the Average Joe, there's very little difference between a sewer fee and a tax.) And one more kicker--if you want to slow growth in Pima County, how about saying "no" on this one, and letting a lack of sewers take care of the problem? Bond proposals are usually sold to a community via a consensus of its leadership. In this community, we don't even have a consensus about who makes up the leadership. BOYD BRAIN: A few weeks back, Supervisor Mike Boyd was once again faking concern at a Board meeting by quizzing a staff member on an agenda item. Supervisor Sharon Bronson, tired of Mikey's failure to do his homework, told him, "It's right there on page five." Mikey barked back, "Why don't you just mind your own business!" Gee, Mikey, she was; you weren't. Try reading this stuff before you come to the meetings, willya? It's not a lot to ask of you for $52 grand a year, a car and the other perks. BAD VIBES AT PIMA HIGH: Tensions are strained between Pima County Supervisors Raul Grijalva and Sharon Bronson, who are both Democrats and both neighborhood types. Part of the problem stems from real or imagined slights between their respective aides, Glenn Miller and Chris Limberis. In the petty world of county politics, this has resulted in Grijalva demonstrating inordinate concern about the lease for the Avra Valley Airport, which is located in Bronson's district. Bronson's other aide, Leslie Nixon, is married to Barry Kirschner, an attorney with the law firm representing the lease holder in the airport dispute. Furthermore, Anne Graham-Bergin, who represented the Bronson campaign at one time, is now employed by the same law firm. Grijalva has publicly said Bronson should declare a conflict of interest on anything concerning the lease. Huh? Excuse us, Saint Raul, but conflicts of interest exist when somebody can make money over somebody else's actions. Bronson has no such conflict. Apparently Grijalva has declared himself the moral guidepost for other local pols. There have been problems at the Avra Valley Airport for years, yet Grijalva never gave a rat's ass before Bronson became a supe. Time to grow up, Raul. J. FIFE DEADBEAT III, IN CHARGE: It's time we gave Gov. J. Fife Deadbeat III his rightful due. Not many pols who've filed personal bankruptcy and are under indictment for 23 felony counts could still beat out a majority of anybody for anything. But Gov. Deadbeat's version of school finance reform, universally disliked by most of the Republican hacks who voted for it, seems--at this writing, anyway--on its way to passage. And he managed to muscle it through the Legislature's loose sphincter despite the opposition of state School Superintendent Lisa Graham Keegan, a popular member of his own party. As much as we hate to concede the point, this is leadership. Which really makes you want to take a good look at those legislators who decided to follow His Creepyness. Impeach him? Hell, they're bending over and encouraging him. QUICK, DAVIS! THERE'S AN IMPORTANT MEETING AT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE! Kudos to Tony Davis, the new guy at The Arizona Daily Star. His Sunday piece on the potential glut of fancy resorts in this area, and the resulting burden taxpayers may have to shoulder for infrastructure costs for the big developments where those resorts are proposed, was an example of incisive reporting we seldom see in the mushy morning rag. Of course, we can't help but wonder how soon Davis will find himself covering cops or routine City Council meetings, since the Star always eventually eats its young. SCREWING THE POOR, PART 4,698: The Tucson City Council recently voted to take half the money it had earmarked for covered bus shelters--about $200,000--and apply it to studies on possible road modifications in Council Ward 3, currently ineptly served by Growth Lobby shill Michael Crawford. Of course, it was all Crawford's idea. What's the matter, Mike, did you suddenly realize campaign time is approaching, and you need something--anything!--to show the voters you've actually made things better for them? Truth is, you've hardly given your ward a backward glance in your mad rush to please developers. Still, we can't wait to see the road study on the list of achievements in your campaign literature. Maybe you can add that you also worked to ensure that a lot of poor and handicapped people will continue to bake in the sun. LITTLE RASCALS: So TPD is priming their big net to trawl downtown and North Fourth Avenue? It's supposed to be a major sweep they say is meant to nab hardcore errants like jaywalkers and able-bodied folks hogging those precious handicapped parking spots. But insiders say the clean-up is really aimed at booting scores of barely pubescent, panhandling road-warrior wannabes from the Avenue. And a source close to the action claims the cops also want to prod the City Council off their perpetually bewildered asses, and into penning tough anti-loitering ordinances. Fourth Avenue merchants have been screaming for months about the kids who "spange" (grub spare change) from their patrons. Vendors have also been online, researching heavy-handed ordinances installed by other towns, such as making it a crime to plop one's butt on the pavement. Problem is, the local juvies are a mixed bag of the truly homeless, the stylishly grubby and only a smattering of real hardcores. And before shopkeepers jackboot the whole lot--and trample a few constitutional rights in the process--those post-hippy vendors might recall earlier times when they paraded under the anti-establishment banner themselves, and considered their neo-buddies-in-blue little more than barnyard swine run amok. And they might keep in mind that grunge ain't exactly a fringe fashion statement these days. That means attempts to nab the downright nasty might just nail a few well-heeled, flannel-shirted shoppers in the process. A STAGECOACH FULL OF CRAVEN BULLIES: Those cold-hearted bastards at the giant Wells Fargo Bank just continue to endear themselves to the Tucson community. It wasn't enough to take over the Arizona branches of First Interstate Bank, strip customers of their check-guarantee cards and dump a bunch of full-time employees in favor of part-time workers with fewer benefits. Now, according to Sunday's Arizona Daily Star, the money-changing scumbags are working to evict a 67-year-old granny from her home because her deadbeat former son-in-law defaulted on a $25,000 loan from First Interstate on a portion of her property more than a decade ago. "A bank is not going to look at a situation like this and say a mistake was made and walk away from it," Wells Fargo's cold-hearted attorney told the Star. "The bank is just interested in getting paid the money." Oh, yeah? Well, maybe Wells Fargo should get on Gov. J. Fife Deadbeat III's ass. As we recall, Fife owed First Interstate--now Wells Fargo--a cool $1.3 million when he filed for bankruptcy back in September 1995. The bank didn't seem to think twice about walking away from that one. But it's a lot easier to push around a little old lady than a big-shot governor. It's like the man said: Steal a little and they throw you in jail--steal a lot and they make you king.

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