Evidently Vestar And Wal-Mart Are Too Good For Oro Valley

David Malin, Vestar's OV Marketplace Project Manager, has unequivocally refused to meet or talk with the citizens of Oro Valley. And why should he? He has our $23.2 million of our future sales tax revenue guaranteed, compliments of an Oro Valley Town Council giveaway. So, why should he even try to explain how a 24/7 Wal-Mart Super Center meets the criteria of being "upscale" and "unique?"

But, what about Wal-Mart? Wouldn't you think this corporate giant, with the wonderful plans of being a good Oro Valley neighbor, would want to communicate with the citizens? Well, think again!

I wrote to Ms. Delia Garcia whose title is Director of Community Relations. What I got back was a message that Ms. Garcia "was out of the office, but would get back to me ASAP."

That was one month ago. So, I wrote again requesting the courtesy of a response. That message is now over one week old, with no response. By the way, other citizens received the exact same courtesy----nothing!

So----what's the point of posting this?

The point is this: Both Vestar & Wal-Mart come across as community concerned organizations. But, as the saying goes,"actions speak louder than words." Vestar and Wal-Mart certainly deserve each other. The citizens of Oro Valley certainly deserve better.

Is it any wonder that thousands of our neighbors will not shop in this Marketplace with Wal-Mart as the "premier" anchor store?

Phil Gibbs Warns Kingman Residents -- Don't Get "Snookered" By Vestar

Our neighbor Phil Gibbs wrote a letter printed in the Aug 6 Kingman Daily Miner. Phil is attempting to alert the residents of Kingman----many of whom already know, that Vestar's entry into their community may not be a happy experience. Click here to read Phil's letter.

Bloggers Respond: "NO" On Our Utility Tax Question

The July 29 Question Of The Week concerned the recently passed Utility Tax.

By far, blogger consensus is a resounding "NO" on the Oro Valley 2% utility tax, together with a genuine sense of anger at the four who voted for it. Some bloggers called for the outright repeal of the tax and a recall on the members who voted for it. One cautioned that we need to get more facts before we can decide if it should be repealed. Others observed that simple budget cutting, slicing the fat out of Oro Valley bloated spending, would enable a repeal of this tax and more.

Click here to read excerpts from blogger comments.