THE LATE SHOW: Catalina High School has a new way of dealing with tardy students: If they're late, let 'em coast. Catalina Principal Linda Schloss noted in faculty announcements last month that "Because Sun Tran and the buses from TUSD are so flakey (sic) as far as staying on a schedule, we don't require any kind of admit in the morning from the kids to first period. Many of our kids need to get breakfast and that may prevent them from being on time everyday as well." As our Skinny source suggested, maybe the school day should start at a time when all the kids can get to class on time.
SPECIAL ED'S BAD MONTH: Supervisor Special Ed Moore (R-Andromeda) did not have a good September. First there was the flap over the Microsoft deal that erupted after he published bizarre accusations in full-page ads in the dailies at taxpayer expense. After being accused of using tax dollars to influence an election, Moore had to pick up the $1,000-plus tab for those rambling communications.
In those odd open letters from the outer limits, Moore contended our local and state judiciary would screw over the CAP initiative by throwing it off the ballot. Moore suggested the business community owned Nogales Superior Court Judge Robert Montiel. After Montiel ruled the initiative should stay on the ballot, Moore claimed the Arizona Supreme Court was fixed.
The Supreme Court justices left the measure on the ballot, making Moore's charges look pretty stupid. His latest response: They would have thrown the measure if he hadn't told people how corrupt they were. Ed saves us once again.
Moore is so far over the edge that he actually walked up to a high-ranking local law enforcement official, demanding he arrest Gov. J. Fife Whiteguy III for his alleged part in encouraging the lawsuit. That's bonkers, folks.
Big question for Bob Beaudry and Terry Pollock, the leaders of the CAP initiative drive: How long they can tolerate Moore's "help" with the initiative? There aren't a lot of people in Tucson ready to vote for anything closely identified with Special Ed.
MICROSOFT COMING TO WHERE? Everybody's so happy Microsoft is coming to town that nobody bothered to report that it really isn't. Tucson isn't getting Microsoft, Pima County is. A small geographic reminder for all the airheads in the local media who promptly interviewed Tucson Mayor George Miller about the deal the city and county taxpayers jointly subsidized: The IBM plant, subsidized by state taxpayers when the UA took control, is outside Tucson's city limits.
But it is near legendary land speculator Don Diamond's Rocking K property. Even though annexation talks are off between the city and Diamond, Microsoft may help spur development of Rocking K. Won't that be lovely?
MEANWHILE, ON THE NORTHWEST: After all the posturing and lawsuits by the City of Tucson over the Town of Marana's annexation of all that sales tax revenue around Ina and Thornydale, watch Tucson take a dive. Seems the heat is on City Manager Mike "The Spike" Brown from the business community (read: developers) to leave things the way they are.
Those guys like things as is--and one look at the rubes who run Dogpatch explains why. Who do you want running your building inspections? Would you rather talk to Molly McKasson or Ora Harn when you need a variance?
Deep down, Brown knows an annexation on the northwest could cost more than it would bring in these days because of the massive growth. The potential cost to clean up the infrastructure mess around Ina and Thornydale is monumental. Marana has cleverly gerrymandered around most of it, leaving the main roads--and costs--to the county. The City of Tucson isn't keen on acquiring those liabilities.
BLIND AMBITION: Republican state Rep. Freddie Hershberger has sent out a mailer to party activists squashing the rumor she plans to retire in '96 from her House seat. This leaves all three District 12 seats filled, including those held by state Sen. Ann Day and state Rep. Dan Schottel. So any Republican planning to run will have to knock out an incumbent.
One rumored candidate is Realtor and Amphi School Board member Vicki Cox-Golder, who has gone so far as to create an exploratory committee. We imagine that's about to become the Vicki for Pima County Supervisor Committee so she can take on incumbent Ed Moore.
While Moore's constituency has dwindled to his immediate family, some of his staff and his printer, most folks know there are other options for the GOP nomination in District 3, including Marana Councilwoman Ora "Mammy Yokum" Harn and former GOP city council candidate Ann Holden.
Cox-Golder already has offended a couple of major constituencies by contributing $100 to the re-election campaign of Democratic Mayor George Miller, thereby snubbing GOP mayoral candidate Sharon Collins. And NRA types aren't real happy about her supporting somebody with an anti-gun position like Miller.
Cox-Golder appears to be soliciting only one constituency--the so-called leaders of the so-called business community, including developers, land speculators and car dealers.
Cox-Golder may have been the driving force behind a weenie resolution the Amphitheater School Board passed calling for impact fees but showing great concern for "fairness" and economic development. The resolution takes the Southern Arizona Home Builders Ass. party line and even smells like the developers ghosted it.
We get the kind of government we do in this valley because the establishment media ignore who runs for office--and the actions of entire jurisdictions. That's how we got turkeys like Alan Lang and Tom Saggau in higher profile posts than mere school boards.
WILSON CASHES IN: California Governor Pete Wilson just canceled one of the shortest presidential campaigns in modern history. He pulled the plug because he was not only out of money, but his campaign was in hock more than one million dollars. Wilson found out he couldn't raise any money outside of California because he couldn't twist arms. Hell, he was even having big trouble in his own state because people noticed he was behind both Bob Dole and Phil Gramm in the polls--and besides, lots of folks had paid good money to put him in office, and they were a mite upset when he broke his promise to stay there.
This leaves a whole lot of egg on the faces of those in Tucson who jumped on his stalled ox-cart. Congressman Jim "I-Wanna-Be-A-Player" Kolbe, legendary land speculator Don Diamond, Supervisor Special Ed Moore and a gaggle of other lemmings will now have to take political sloppy seconds somewhere else.
Wanna bet they're looking real hard at the political genius who recommended that dumb move?
