Friday, September 21, 2018

Bits and Pieces

"Stuff" sprayed on Kreigh Park Grass causes concern and consternation
Last week, the town sprayed an herbicide on the grass at Kreigh Park. There were no signs posted regarding this. The spraying has been a conversation on “Nexdoor.com”.  It has been a source of conjecture, as to what it was, and of consternation, as to concerns of exposure to an unknown chemical.

We learned what the product was by submitting a request to the town constituent coordinator. The product is Kleenup Pro.  According to the Kleenup Pro “Material Safety Data Sheet”, it is “harmful if absorbed by the skin.” A major caution is that the product should be kept out of the reach of children. I assume, of course, that this also includes pets. Indeed, pets can get short-term gastrointestinal upset if they eat the grass.

Notice of the Kleenup Pro application should have been visibly posted throughout the park.

But there was no notice.

By not posting notices, the town exposed a health hazard to our children, to our pets and to all who used the park last week. And, they caused great consternation and concern among the residents.

Suggestion: Post a notice on any spraying that involves of any product that potentially could be harmful to people and our pets. Display the notice prominently. Use the word“Warning” on the notice.  Include the name of the product sprayed and the time and date of such spraying on the notice.
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Dicks Sporting Goods closing deals an economic blow to Oro Valley 
National retail chain, Dick's Sporting Goods, has shuttered its Oro Valley Marketplace location. It's moving to the Tucson Mall. Other stores have left. There is plenty of vacant retail and commercial space. There are 14 empty stores, according to a report by KOLD TV's Janice Yu. One of the shoppers interviewed for this report, ponders whether the Marketplace will be a ghost town like the Foothills Mall.

According to the report, "J.J. Johnston, the director of community and economic development for the town told Tucson News Now that many of the big stores in the center will be sticking around for now, but he's working on an economic strategy to hopefully fill up some of the empty stores. He'll come up with a recommendation for mayor and council in about a month."

All of this happening at time when the town will finally be getting all of the sales tax revenue generated from the Marketplace.

Don't know to what we refer?

Then read all about the history of the Marketplace here.
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Lack of state law creates mishmash of rules when it comes to cell phone use while driving
"The lack of a state law has led to a mishmash of different ordinances across jurisdictions. Tucson, Sedona and Oro Valley currently prohibit handheld cellphone use while behind the wheel. Meanwhile, Phoenix, Flagstaff and Fountain Hills only prohibit texting while driving." (Source) Otherwise, you are free to do as you wish.

This, of course, makes no sense since people drive across jurisdictions daily.

The state should enact one rule for all and invalidate all others.
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ASU Representative- Hiremath is "A courageous leader"
"Every decision made by the mayor and council has been with the community they love in mind. Some of these decisions haven't been easy or popular but Mayor Hiremath knows that courageous leaders have to made tough decisions that will ultimately make Oro Valley a better place to live. Oro Valley has had a great leader in Mayor Satish Hiremath."

This introduction of Mayor Hiremath was given by a representative of ASU, a sponsor of mayor's State of the Town presentation at the El Conquistador Resort last week.

The event was sponsored by both UofA and ASU. We find it curious that someone from Phoenix, rather than someone from our local university, introduced the mayor of a Tucson-based town.