Tempe residents protesting against the Mosaic condos at a party thrown by the developers to attract potential investors and other assorted rich scum. A few of the attendees getting tipsy sipping on the free margarita's had conversations with demonstrators, apparently the demonstrators have the gift of gab as a few folks said their minds were changed and they would not be buying any condos at the Mosaic, or in Tempe in the future. Good.
First of all, a unlikely "props" to the AZ Republic's Katie Nelson for posting a link to this fine blog in her own yesterday.
Secondly, I received the following in an email yesterday from a group calling itself Tempe AYA (Anti-Yuppie Action) issuing a call for a demonstration this Sunday, below is the invitation I received from some dedicated anti-development homies:
Anti-Yuppie Action invites all Tempe residents and working people who are fed up with seeing our neighborhoods destroyed by the Yuppie development invasion to join us this Sunday to confront those who would see us uprooted from our neighborhoods and our lives for their selfish, greedy lifestyles. Join us this weekend to let the developers and yuppies know that they're NOT WELCOME in Tempe!
Here's what's going down:
The new Mosaic lofts will soon be built on the NW corner of Ash Ave. & University, the site the co-op was located on, the building will stand 22 stories tall, and as a monument to the yuppie triumph over Tempe. If you're like us, your sick of all the construction that doesn't bring jobs down here for folks like us or improve our economic standing. Nope, it pushes folks like us out of the neighborhood, evicted house by house, apartment by apartment, and even our beloved locally owned business get the boot. Why? For the wealthy and super-wealthy to make Tempe their new playground, apparently Scottsdale and Phoenix just weren't good enough.
So, the Mosaic developers are throwing a booze party for potential buyers of the condos this Sunday (from 2-5 PM) at the Macayo's on 3rd and Ash Ave. Tempe's unwelcome potential new residents will be slurping down the margaritas with their rich pals, chauffeured around on a tour of Tempe by a trolley.
We'll be meeting up at the Southwest corner of Ash Ave & University from 1-1:30, then walking down to the Macayo's to have a working folks' (un)welcoming party (and mobile BBQ, expect some hotdogs, and pork and beans) for future Mosaic residents. We'll be out there having a good time (but making their's a bit more unpleasant) from 2-4, COME ON OUT!!!
Click on the flier below for more info:
Hugh Hallman: Tempe's wet blanketA Tempe news round-up:
Possible nepotism at Pappas at issue
"Embattled county schools chief Sandra Dowling is fighting allegations that she hired her kids to work for the school district that she created. But Dowling wasn't the only top county school official with a relative on the district payroll. Three people with family ties to southeast Valley politician Ben Arredondo, who was Dowling's deputy at the time, have worked for the district for homeless and troubled kids."
Developer of W Hotel plans chain in Tempe
"The developer behind the swanky W Hotel plans to start a new hotel chain in downtown Tempe. Constellation Property Group wants to work the new hotel brand into a pair of condo towers it’s about to start building at the site of a former Arizona National Guard Armory at Fifth Street and College Avenue.
...
Constellation originally called the project the Armory lofts, which it considered a placeholder name referring to the military building that once stood at the site. Now, it’s called Stadium Towers. It includes a 20-story, 225-foot building and a second tower of about 15 floors."
$70 million office building slated for US Airways’ lot in downtown Tempe
"A major Valley developer has set its sights on Mill Avenue with plans to build an eight-story office building on the US Airways headquarters campus in downtown Tempe The $70 million project — called Tempe Gateway — will sit on 3.5 acres at the northwest corner of Mill Avenue and Third Street just north of a future light-rail stop. Under development by Opus West Corp., Gateway is part of a long-standing agreement by the city and the airline to build out the site. “We’re happy to do it,” US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant said. “The city’s been good to us.” "
Proposed Wal-Mart stirs Tempe residents
"Wal-Mart's announcement to open a second store in Tempe has unleashed an outpouring of public dissent. It would take over a Mervyn's at a strip center on the northwestern corner of Rural Road and Southern Avenue. The plan has raised ire from neighbors in every direction. Community members are gathering, creating e-mail lists and planning to circulate petitions and build opposition Web sites."
