Bicycle Recycling and Art

Bicycle Inter-Community Action and Salvage (BICAS) will have its 12th Annual Art Auction, Fundraiser and Celebration on Sunday, November 18 from 6 to 9 PM at Artfare, 55 N 6th Ave., across from the Ronstadt Transit Center, just north of Congress St.. Music, food and entertainment will be offered, and winner of the silent auction will be announced at 9 PM. The art will be sculpture, jewelry, paintings and more, all made from bicycle parts or having bicycle themes.

BICAS believes that if you give people fish, you have fed them for a day. Teach people to fish; they can feed themselves for a lifetime. Therefore, the good people of BICAS will not repair your bike for you, but they would be delighted to teach you how to repair it, and you can use their tools.

They will also help people of any age who live in the barrios near BICAS to built their own bikes free of cost. Children from any part of Tucson can apply for scholarships to build their own bikes, too.

The crew reconditions and recycles bikes, so if you're like me, and you just want a nice used bike, you can go to their underground bike purgatory at 44 W 6th St. and pick one out. When I bought my bike there years ago, the entrance to the bike shop was through a hole in a wall next to a loading dock. You'd drop down into the shop, and it was sort of like entering Wonderland with Alice.

The web site photo seems to indicate that they are still underground, but now they have a ramp. Not quite as much quirky fun, but no doubt a lot more convenient.

Prop 200 Defeated

Prop 200 went down in flames. 58,966 people voted. 28% yea, 72% nay.

Opponents of Prop 200 spent over $725,000 on their campaign, which included door hangers and lots of mailings. The victors paid over $17 per vote.

John Kromko's pro-Prop 200 campaign was more cost effective, costing him and his supporters $13,000, or 79 cents per vote.

I hope some serious work on the important problem of limiting growth can now begin.

Prop 200

If the people lead, the leaders will follow. All too often in Tucson, our elected officials fail to address issues that concern voters. Various special interest groups respond by putting propositions on our ballots. Lots of money is spent on advertising, and the side with the most money usually wins.

No one is more opposed to the endless, reckless growth of Tucson than I am. While I do sell houses for a living, I draw the line at selling land and new construction. I am a house recycler. I think there are already more than enough houses in Tucson. If a buyer wants to build a new house, destroying wildlife habitat, wasting energy and building materials while contributing to urban sprawl, I tell him he will have to get some one else to help him with that.

Proposition 200 is on the November 6 ballot. It was written with the intention of stopping new home construction by prohibiting additional connections to Tucson Water's supply once "Tucson Water reaches an annual rate of water delivery to customers that exceeds . . .140,000 acre-feet per year," which is 4,000 acre-feet less than Tucson's allocation of Colorado River water. Except for the part about rejecting some of our allocation, limiting water service to available supply seems to make sense.

Unfortunately, the consequences of this statement were not thoroughly considered. Prop 200 does not define water delivery. Presumably, when he wrote the proposition, former state legislator John Kromko was talking about drinking water, but if we include use of reclaimed water (water that is treated and used for irrigation) the 140,000 acre-feet limit is reached a lot sooner, perhaps as early as 2009. There is no room for presumption when writing public policy.

Additionally, Prop 200 eliminates the $14 per month fee on our water bills that was initially called the refuse fee because it was associated with a new charge for garbage collection that was formerly funded by other revenue sources. Realizing a public relations snafu, Tucson Water changed the refuse fee to the environmental services fee, and revenue from the fee now supports $23 million worth of services that need to be funded somehow. Kromko doesn't state which city programs he wants to have eliminated so we can continue to have brush and bulky, garbage and recycling collection, landfills and groundwater remediation. He simply says the City will have to tighten its belt. Our overworked and underpaid police and fire departments are concerned that their already inadequate staffing will be reduced even more, and they oppose Prop 200.

For emotional impact, Kromko also threw in something to prevent treated sewer water (effluent) from being mixed with drinking water, even though Tucson Water has no intention of delivering water "toilet to tap" as Prop 200 so graphically describes it. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality does not allow direct delivery of treated effluent to homes. Recharge or infiltration of highly treated effluent into groundwater is permitted, but Tucson Water gave up that idea when the public howled. They may revisit this idea in the future, especially if we don't stop building more houses, the drought continues and global warming worsens. In other words, sooner or later effluent will become drinking water in Tucson, just as it is in many other western cities.

Prop 200 requires "the purest possible water". The word pure contains no measurable standards. Who will define purity? Lawyers. Who will pay for the highest level of water treatment? Tucson Water customers. Do we need and will we be able to afford water quality that exceeds EPA drinking water standards? No.

Prop 200 prohibits the use of effluent for some legitimate purposes, such as dust control, fire suppression, and wildlife habitat restoration. Prop 200 says effluent can be used for irrigation, but only enough to "sustain the vegetation". What does that mean? The lawyers will tell us.

Except for 10 days of assistance in an emergency, Prop 200 would prevent Tucson Water from delivering water to a "water distributor," a term that has no definition in water law. Does this means Tucson Water can't provide water to the University of Arizona, Davis Monthan Air Force Base or the VA Hospital? These are water service providers. Is a provider the same as a distributor? The courts will decide.

Kromko probably intended to prevent more than 10 days of assistance to utility companies like Metro Water. Do we really want to cut off the water supply on day 11 to our neighbors in need? Vague intentions have no place in public policy. The lawyers would have to sort that one out, too.

To get the City of Tucson's analysis of all this, click here. Of course, the City of Tucson has an ax to grind. Tucson Water is a City department, so naturally the City of Tucson doesn't support criticism of Tucson Water.

The Arizona Daily Star asked some independent water law experts to evaluate Prop 200. The experts concluded that Prop 200 is poorly written, uses terms that have no legal definition, and if passed, will not accomplish its objective of limiting growth. If developers aren't allowed to connect to Tucson Water's system, they will either drill wells, which could lower the water table, or they will build outside the Tucson Water service area, contributing to sprawl.

Molly McCasson, a former member of the Tucson city council, supports Prop 200. But her argument boils down to this: if Prop 200 passes, the City will be forced to deal with the legal quagmire that will be created by this confusing measure. I think this is the best argument in favor of Prop 200, because it is clear that Tucson Water and the current city council have no intention of dealing with the growth issue unless they are forced to.

Various environmental groups were asked for their views on Prop 200. Only the Sierra Club endorses it.

When evaluating a voter initiative, I think it's smart to follow the money. Usually, if home builders, car dealers and the Tucson Association of Realtors are in favor of something, it means more houses and more people, and I'm automatically against it. The growth industry opposes Prop 200, and they have spent over $700,000 to defeat it. So it's strange to find myself in agreement with these groups, but I have to say that Prop 200 is not the right way to limit growth.

All Souls Procession

If you haven't been part of Tucson's most original event, make this the year that you march in the All Souls Procession.

November 2 is the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Bearing no resemblance to Halloween, this is a day when Mexicans clean and decorate the graves of their beloved departed, and take picnic lunches and maybe some alcohol to share with the deceased in the graveyard. It's a time to keep the deceased close to us and remind them and ourselves of what they mean to us.

This Sunday, November 4, in keeping with the spirit of Dia de los Muertos, thousands of Tucsonans will dress up as skeletons or other dead beings, carry giant puppets or ride on fabulous human-powered floats, and parade down Fourth Avenue to the railroad docks on Toole. Many people carry percussion instruments, and there will be at least a few bands. It is a stunning spectacle, and the best part is this: anyone can and should participate.




All Souls Procession is a creative way to celebrate the lives of dear ones who have passed over to the other side. While the event is a celebration, it is respectful, touching and family-friendly. Participants and spectators are not rowdy. Well, they will hoot and howl as they go through the underpass on 6th Avenue, but who can resist that? But this is not a lewd or drunken Mardi Gras. It's a time to honor and remember friends, family, pets, even border crossers and war victims who have left this world. You absolutely can not miss it.

Find a place on the sidewalk along Fourth Avenue between University Boulevard and 7th Street before 6 PM, watch the procession, and then follow the last marcher. Wear a costume, take pictures, play a percussion instrument, carry a photo of a loved one. The procession will wind through downtown and end at the railroad docks southwest of Toole and Stone. Then you must stay for a performance by Flan Chen. This dance troupe will have giant creatures on stilts wearing big papier mache heads. A percussion band keeps the beat as the dancers sling fire torches and buckets. One of them will do scary flips and spins while suspended from enormous helium ballons.






After Flan Chen, a crane will hoist a huge cloth and metal urn high above the crowd. The urn will contain handwritten messages and prayers from the audience and will be ceremonially burned. You can contribute a message of remembrance or grief, or state what you wish to embrace or release, then watch the sparks of your prayer ascend into the night sky.

17th Street Market

Most people have heard of it, but many still haven't ventured into the industrial area east of downtown to search for 17th Street Market. Once you find it, you will become another convert spreading the exciting news about this amazing place.

Are you looking for fresh fish, organic coffee and produce, or exotic ingredients for your Asian, Mexican, Indian, Jamaican or MIddle Eastern recipe? How about that bizarre Mexican blue parrot fish in the photo? Food is not supposed to be blue! More appealing is the beautiful yellow tail snapper from Brazil, with its pink body and longitudial yellow stripe making it look more like candy than a fish. Imported toys, dishes, tea sets, clothing and cooking supplies make this market a miniature of the famous Uwajimaya of the Pacific Northwest.

Who knew there were so many weird kinds of canned mushrooms? This place is a sensory delight.

But I don't think Uwayimaya has a complete music store. At 17th Street Market, you can buy a guitar, mandolin, ukelele, percussion instrument or thumb piano. Check out the extensive collection of world music CDs and books.

The market jumps every Saturday with a World Music concert from 11:30 to 3:30. This Saturday would be a great time to check out 17th Street Market because my pal and house-buying client Gary Mackender will be there with his fabulous band The Carnivaleros. Gary's the ring leader, abusing the squeeze box and playing original compositions in the Tex/Mex, Cajun, and folk genres. Actually, Carnivaleros defies description, but you can be assured that it is a lot of fun. Gary's band is an ever changing crew of some of Tucson's best musicians. You never know which of his saxophone, fiddle, guitar, bass or drum playing cohorts he'll have with him, but it's always a treat to see The Carnivaleros.

September Sales Stats Update

In my October 18 post, I provided a link to the September Residential Sales Statistics. Multiple Listing Service (MLS) President Judy Lowe summarizes the stats on the first page of the link. Recently, Judy has started commenting on the number of pending sales, instead of the number of sold housing units. A pending sale is one where the inspection, financing and appraisal contingencies have been completed, and the buyer and seller are just waiting for closing. It's almost a done deal, but it's not the same thing as a sale, where everything is signed, sealed and delivered, and the deed has recorded in the buyer's name. The number of pending sales are quite a bit higher than the closed sales. Check this out:

...........................June.....July.......August...Sept.
Pending Sales....2,053....1,777....1,024.....989

Closed Sales......1,226....1,098....1,019.....683

It usually takes about 30 days to get from contract acceptance to close of escrow, so most of the June pending sales should be closed sales by July. I thought the big discrepancy between pending sales and sold units indicated that over a third of the pending sales were canceled and didn't get to closing for some reason.

Judy is Executive Vice President of my company, Realty Executives, and she is a very smart and approachable manager. I asked her why she is focusing on pending sales instead of solds. She said she thought pending sales were more indicative of buyer activity. She explained that when the market was hot and the sales were easy, home builders did not list their inventory in the MLS. Realtors had to go to the builders' websites to see what they had for sale. When the market went soft, builders started putting their inventory in the MLS. This explains, in part, why there are so many more listings in the MLS than there were a few years ago. New construction wasn't in the MLS a few years ago, but now it is.

Judy further explained that with new construction, the time from contract acceptance to closing can be months, because house construction usually begins only after the purchase contract is signed. It's not surprising that June's pending sales didn't become solds in July, because many of those pending sales were new construction contracts. She noted that the apartment-to-condo conversions are also causing long escrow periods while the buyers wait for their new condos to be completed.

Judy says that she hopes the MLS will be able to separate resale houses from new construction in their stats by next year, but this is a huge undertaking, and we shouldn't count on it.

So things look rosier than I thought when I reported 683 sales in September. However, this brings up another trend that sellers need to keep in mind. Builders are offering aggressive incentives to reduce their housing inventory. Free upgrades and price reductions are common. This provides tough competition for sellers of existing homes, especially older ones with small rooms, small closets, low ceilings, outdated floorplans, no garage, no air conditioning plus elderly plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems. Buyers can get a brand new house, and pick out their finishes, for less than the cost of a 20 to 50 year old house. While I myself prefer the older houses, many buyers choose what they perceive to be maintenance-free, semi-custom new construction.

Sellers beware! Your competition in the new construction industry has accepted the changing market conditions, and they are adjusting very smoothly.

Webcam on the Catalina Mountains

Do you think the sky can't really look this spectacular over the Catalina Mountains? Do you think filters and Photoshop were used to produce this purple mountain majesty? Then you haven't been in Tucson very long. Skies like this are not typical, but when I see one, I'm reminded again of how incredibly lucky I am to live here.

Do you think it never rains in Tucson? Then you're really in for a surprise. I moved to Tucson in June 1990, and the all-time record high temperature of 117 degrees was reached within a few weeks of my arrival. Someone told me, "Wait until the monsoons start! It rains so hard, it's like a miracle!" I thought this was a pretty strange outlook on rain, having come from the east coast where rain is a nuisance that frequently ruins plans.

Then, one night in early July, right on schedule, the monsoons started. The skies opened like a pouring bucket, and the streets were instantly flooded. The temperature dropped 20 degrees in minutes, and the spicy fragrance of creosote bushes filled the washed air. Everyone ran outside, raised their faces to the sky, danced around and got soaked while the lightning crashed and flashed. I think that was the moment I realized I was home. I thought, "Wow, they worship the rain here. That's pretty cool." The next day, the ocotillo branches leafed out and the mountains turned from brown to green. Everyone and everything rejoices when the monsoons arrive.

Do you think it never snows in Tucson? Surprise, surprise, surprise! Don't leave your woolies behind if you are moving here from some frozen netherworld. While it could be 75 degrees in the city when the snow is on the mountains, you'll want to be able to go up Mt Lemmon and make some snow angels.

Notice the temperature stamp in the upper right corner of the photo. 31 degrees at 10:31 AM. BRRRR! Also, the snow still hasn't melted from the tile roofs. Many people would have been taking a snow day, which is a lot more fun here than snow days are back east.

These photos were taken by the webcam on top of the Gould Simpson geology building on the campus of the University of Arizona. You can check out the webcam here.

I know a sad ex-Tucsonan who keeps the webcam site on his computer screen all day so he can torture himself with views of what he's missing in Tucson.

Check out the webcam site, and you'll find an archive of some of the coolest photos, as well as all-day videos, which are absolutely fascinating.