Friday, January 24, 2020

Bits and Pieces

Many in Oro Valley mourn the passing of Mr. Peanut
Last night, we learned of the death of Mr. Peanut in an upcoming Super Bowl add. He suffered a noble but tragic death, saving the life of two veteran celebrities. We fondly remember him standing tall in Times Square so many years ago. Mr. Peanut was remarkable in that he never aged. Simply amazing. Those of us in Oro Valley who knew him will miss this 104 year old icon. You can watch his tragic death here.

 Marana, like Oro Valley, faces water challenge to growth
The Town of Marana is racing to be big, possibly reaching 50,000 in population in a few years.

They are preparing a potable water study. According to town manager Mehta, the town has a fair amount of water reserves, but the study will look at how future demands might impact the system. It will also consider the Drought Contingency Plan, enacted by the state government in 2019.

"Another area where the town expects new growth is Dove Mountain, where there are 10,000 planned residential homes and nearly half of that amount is already built." (source)

Marana is bent on growth. Perhaps, if they have so much water, they should annex the State Lands.

We have no idea why growth is so important to desert communities. It makes no sense to drive growth in the desert. There just ain't enough water no matter what "they" tell you.

O'Halleran voted to impeach President Trump
Oro Valley is US House of Representative Arizona 1st District. It is huge, It runs from the Colorado border to Oro Valley. Our representative is Tom O'Halleran.

O'Halleran was one of the 229 democrat members of congress to vote in favor of impeaching President Trump (source).

We suppose that this makes you happy if you are a registered democratic and angry if you are a registered republican. For those of us who are independents, however, it sends a very different message as in: "Why can't we all just get along."

We have looked over O'Halleran's voting record. One thing he seems to have done for the 1st district is voting for the US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement, an agreement that was thought at one time to be impossible, an agreement brought about by the President he voted to impeach.

O'Halleran is running for reelection. He has three democratic challengers in the August primary. It will be interesting to see how they play against each other in the coming  months.

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Know Your Parks and Recreation Department
Oro Valley Parks and Recreation includes parks, facilities, and cultural activities. It is a centerpiece of our town. The town is embarking on a process of building a master plan. This will provide direction on where the town will invest in the coming years.

LOVE will be writing feature pieces about the department and about the master plan. You can read more about this Monday.

In the meantime, the panel at right is from Oro Valley 2020 budget. It details the towns Parks and Recreation goals for 2020.

Kudos to Oro Valley's Highway Department
The sinkhole that developed on El Conquistador Way, west of Oracle Rd was quickly repaired over a three day period by the very capable Oro Valley Highway Department. The repair looks great! Way to to, Oro Valley Highway Department.

Donate your fruit!
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We came across a suggestion on Nextdoor.com from one of our neighbors. It has to do with all the citrus that is ripening on our trees.

The idea. Donate the fruit you don't want.

The writer mentioned places you can take it. (panel left).

Donating is a lot better than throwing it away!

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