Culture Clash

I've posted once or twice about how things were when the Mister's family first began farming here and how the transition began from farming community to suburban community. So when I read this article this morning in the AZ Republic, I had to muse to myself, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." Here are the parts that caught my eye:

Chandler Hts. fears urban takeover
Residents fight plans for nearby shops in Gilbert

The Chandler Heights neighborhood a decade ago was the place to go to get away from the big city. Urban dwellers came to the area one by one, lured by mountain views, wide-open spaces and dreams of owning horses and other livestock. Soon, those residents may be forced to share the land.

May I point out that these residents are not being forced to share any land they actually own? This is an age-old question in fast-growing communities: Who gets to shut the door behind them after moving in? Personal property rights issues are very important to most rural folks, and therein lies the rub, so to speak. If I buy land for a view, but I don't buy the land all the way to "the view" to ensure that it will never be obstructed, do I have a right to complain when the person who owns that other land wishes to build something on his property that obstructs my view? Here's the other paragraph that reopened a question:

Another big concern is that development will further shrink the number of acres available for horses, some residents said. Linda Edwards, a planning manager for the town, said Gilbert is trying to develop equestrian trails to accommodate horse owners.

Frankly, I don't know the answer to the horse dilemma; it's a question that our own family has grappled with - where to ride, how to get there, and how safe is it with all the traffic? There is a twelve foot wide trail that runs north and south along the west side of Higley Groves West, and continues along the west side of Higley Estates. This was installed specifically to accommodate horseback riders, and to connect with the Town of Gilbert's Trail System. Yet, I have caught myself tsk-tsking the riders more than once for choosing to ride, not on the 12 foot wide path designed just for them, but to the side of the trail, on the grass that is dotted with sprinkler heads which are easily displaced by a hoof. I think it is very difficult to graciously mix every aspect of the rural and suburban cultures, but perhaps you can see how very important it is to try to hold on to some of the agricultural, rural feel for those of us who were here when Gilbert was very small. This desire is one of the foundational blocks in the theme of Morrison Ranch.

The Water Expert (He's Already Claimed)

Water Talk

The Water Expert just got a batch of new signs, and was willing to pose with one. Purple is the official color denoting reclaimed water in the world of water management. So when you see the lavender-colored lids in the grass all around Morrison Ranch, it’s a reminder that we use reclaimed water to irrigate. And soon you’ll see the purple signs as well.

Here’s a brief history and explanation for those who are interested in the scintillating topic of water use in Morrison Ranch:

When Higley Groves East and West were designed, the idea was to take the reclaimed water directly from the Town’s pipes, with the Town’s approval. This proved to be problematic, for a number of reasons, mostly having to do with projections for the future, and capacities, and such. That’s why it took years, not months, for Higley Groves East to actually use reclaimed water (HG East went fully online about six months ago). The Farm Bureau building was built in conjunction with the lake, and consequently was able to use the lake water for irrigation right away, as was the shopping center, as is Higley Estates. Highland Groves, on the other hand, will be building it’s lakes at the same time as the landscaping will be going in, so it will probably have to use potable water for a few months, until the lakes are operational.

Higley Groves West is in the process of testing the pump that will supply the reclaimed water; that’s why the northwest corner of the green belt is currently strewn with big white pipes (don’t worry, this is not the long-term landscaping design). Thus far, it’s been impossible to fully test the pump due to air in the lines; but the Town is working on a solution, and hopefully everything will be operational very soon.

I can’t imagine myself ever bending down for a drink of cool (?!) water from a sprinkler head, but if I were ever tempted, I would remember the Water Expert’s sign: No Beber! (Do Not Drink)

Speaking of Intersections...

I see in the AZ Republic that the Town Council will be discussing four-way stops at its meeting tonight:

Portions of southern and eastern Gilbert have outgrown the four-way-stop signs controlling 28 intersections, leading to rush-hour jams as frustrated motorists are forced to play the stop-and-go game. Increasing complaints from residents about the situation has the Town Council seeking answers to a question that long has dogged the town: How can we immediately fix traffic circulation in gridlocked Gilbert? Today, the council will look at potential ways to reduce the travel delays, one of which may involve paying police officers overtime to direct traffic at four-way stops. Freeway construction and numerous road-widening projects have had Gilbert's streets system in constant upheaval for more than a year. But it's the four-way-stop intersections creating different forms of backup - up to a half-mile in some instances - during peak morning and evening rush hours that is in the council's crosshairs.

You can read the rest of the article to see what options they may discuss, or better yet, you can go to the meeting at 7 pm tonight, or watch it on TV, channel 11 for Cox viewers.

I remember feeling like it took FOREVER to get the light in at Higley and Elliot; but really, looked at from the wider perspective of living in Arizona for one's entire life (for the Mister) or 30 years (for me), it wasn't so long. It's just that we are so impatient, we have people to see, places to go, things to do!

Sirens on Sunday

As I was preparing for our Easter Feast on Sunday, I heard some sirens go by, which is not unusual; a few moments later, there were more, then more, and then helicopters. There have been some horrific traffic accidents at the corner of Higley and Elliot over the years, and I have hoped that the traffic light might reduce that somewhat. The Mister ran over to see what was up and came back with a cheering (for us) report: no loss of life, no mangled cars, no damage. Some employees in Albertson's had smelled gas, and Gilbert's fine first responders evacuated the entire shopping center until whatever leak there might be was found and repaired. Better a little loss of business than people getting hurt. All is well now, of course.

Happy Easter

Sherwood Forest is Nice

I've mentioned before that some folks mock our back yard because we have a few trees. They came in very handy today, as the Mister and I celebrated Easter with some close friends and family. All of our kids were home for the event, and we could not have asked for a better setting. The temperature was perfect, the food delicious, the conversation meaningful; all in all, a good weekend of memories.

By the way, we were egged again this morning, and it isn't the first time. Egged in a good way, I mean, with plastic eggs filled with candy littering our front lawn. I have a suspicion about who does this, but I can't catch them - and I was up early putting in the ham, so they must do it very, very early. I love my neighborhood.

Heartbreak Hotel!

The Wildcats lose by one point in overtime, and thus end their season. No amount of housecleaning, ironing or laundry could prevent my emotional involvement tonight; I am disappointed. My personal prediction is that this will turn out to be the most exciting game played from here on out; I think Illinois will cruise by their foes the rest of the way in multi-point victories and thus, the games will be kind of boring. But that's just me.

Higley Groves East Spring Jamboree

Spring Jamboree

Higley Groves East appears to have had a very successful jamboree. The Mister stopped by just long enough to snap a few pictures, and the crowds were still thick, even late in the day. My understanding is that this was put together by the Kristine Devine Group. I'm sure she had plenty of help, since these things take a ton of organization. Well done!

Wildcats Advance to Elite Eight

Whew, whew, and whew! That was a well played game by both teams, and I was prepared to concede it, but I'm so glad to move to the next level.

I tend to get a little too emotionally involved with sports games, so if I see that happening, I will often go do some cleaning or laundry. Let me just say that my stove is brilliant at the moment.

Highland Groves from the Air

Use Your Imagination

The picture above is of Highland Groves, taken last week. A potential resident requested that I post the photo; you do need to use your imagination to see the lakes. The north lake is on the very left edge of the picture, and the dark line to the right of the lake will be the parkway. The south lake is a little harder to make out, but it is directly across the parkway from the other lake. You can also see clearly the L-shaped area around the church that is the town's park site, which I mentioned yesterday. And then just above that a strip of green alfalfa that is future Morrison Ranch office buildings and such, and then Power Road.

...And As For Man Made Light...

Earlier this week as we were meeting around our conference table at the office, we watched a fellow out front take a knee pad into the grass, kneel down at some kind of controller box, and fiddle with something for a while. Always curious and not too shy, the Mister went out to say hello, and returned with the report, which wasn't really all that mysterious: the fellow was disconnecting the street lights on the north side of Elliot Road. Since the street lights in the median are operational now, the lights on the side can be removed. Happily, these lights will be recycled, and used in Highland Groves.

Reach For the Stars

The East Valley Astronomy Club is coming to Gilbert, specifically to the Southeast Regional Library on Greenfield and Guadalupe. Apparently, they have been providing equipment for the Riparian Preserve's monthly sky watch program, but now they are bringing their own monthly meetings to the library. They say that one of the factors involved in their move is the planned construction of a telescope at the Riparian Preserve. By the way, the Riparian Preserve is easily accessible from Higley Groves West via walking trail.

For more information on their meetings and activities, read this article in today's Republic.

Highland Groves Update

The Water Expert took us on a tour of the Highland Groves parkway and lakes yesterday after lunch. This is the newest Morrison Ranch community on the northeast corner of Elliot and Recker. The view right now, of course, is of dirt, stakes, and huge earth-moving machines that obey no speed limits as they make up for the rain delays. It was the first time I've ever felt small in the Water Expert's F350 pickup. But I digress. This community will have two small lakes, and yes, two more fountains; rather than shoot straight into the air, these fountains will be lower and the spray will resemble a mushroom. The lakes are separated by the parkway, but will actually be connected underground. And of course, the lakes are the reclaimed water that will provide irrigation for the project. The lakes themselves will not necessarily be seen from Elliot Road, but there will be a view corridor so drivers can see the fountains.

We exited our tour past the Superstition Springs Church, a lovely set of buildings that opened recently. The bare earth in the L-shape around the church is the town's park space, and I see by this article in the AZ Republic today that negotiations are ongoing with the Field of Dreams folks:

A handful of residents and Gilbert officials are going on a road trip. Members of the Town Council and Gilbert's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board have been invited to visit two sports complexes in California managed by Big League Dreams LLC. The town wants a private agency to manage Elliot District Park, a 63 acre parcel north of Elliot Road, between Recker and Power roads. Big League Dreams, of Chino Hills, Calif., enters partnerships with communities to build sports complexes that feature small-scale versions of major league ballparks, such as Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. The town would build the eight-field, $22.7 million complex. Early estimates suggest the town would receive $500,000 to $1 million in annual revenues. Gilbert would not have to pay operating or maintenance costs.

Read the rest of the article for some of the negative feelings about the project. We'll see what transpires.

And finishing up our tour, looking beyond the park site is 80 more acres abutting Power Road, which is in alfalfa right now, but is planned to be industial/office sorts of things in Morrison Ranch someday.

It was my kind of tour: enough contours in the dirt to help me see what will be, and the physical drive to get a sense of scale. That's much easier for me to visualize than the paper plans in the office.

Stranger Than Fiction

The Water Expert was over at Lakeview Village last night, when he noticed a broken fence and tree in front of the Oasis. As he investigated the details, the story he got was this:

Some teens, lots of teens, found out that Garlic Jim's was handing out free pizza, so they were there for some food. A young driver, newly licensed and with one car accident already under his belt, was spinning around the parking lot when he lost control of his car and ran into another car, which knocked over the fence and the tree. The reason he lost control? His pet python had escaped from its cage and was trying to eat the box of mice he had picked up for the snake's dinner.

I am not making this up.

Seating Designed for the Younger Set

Ribbon Cutting with the Chamber of Commerce

New Food in the Oasis

Pizza Day

Today is the official opening day for Garlic Jim's, but yesterday was the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Several from our office went over and joined the festivities, and did some taste-testing. The Mister tried a piece of Chipotle Nut pizza; when I asked him what was on it, he answered simply, "Chipotle and nuts!" This is a franchise that started in Seattle and Portland, and this is Arizona's year.

Bias For Action's two daughters gave the pizza two thumbs up, so that's a good review from some good food critics!

The Fountain is Back On

Good News For Fountain Lovers

The Water Expert called me to report that the fountain nozzle is now visible in the big lake. This means that he can start running the fountain again. Thanks to all who voiced their opinions on the times for running. At the moment, he's setting it for 7:30-9:00 am and 5:00-7:30 pm each weekday. On the weekends it will fount from 9 am to 6 pm.

Circle of Palms

Palm Circles

The Mister went up in a small plane last week and took some pictures for me. One that I had asked for was of the palm circle around the intersection of Higley and Elliot. The picture-poster software appears to be working this morning; I won't bore you with minute by minute updates on the software: when it works, I'll post pictures, when it doesn't, I won't.

The idea of circling palms around intersections actually started out as a continuation of a theme that lives on in the old homestead, where the Mister's parents live today. The lanes leading up to the house are lined with alternating palm trees and orange trees. So the idea was to wed the idea of palm/oranges and open space on the corners; the first place this would happen was the northeast corner, as Higley Groves East was being built. Unfortunately, the orange trees were transplants with problems, and they didn't survive. The palm trees did, though, and so the next corner was the northwest corner, around our office (which, back in the day, was the Mister's grandmother's house). There were already some palm trees there, amongst the other fully mature trees, so it was fairly simple to complete the half circle of palms. Obviously, the other two corners have followed suit in the last year as Lakeview Village and Higley Estates have been built.

Future intersections will also host a palm tree circle, or as much of a circle as is possible (it will have to be a three quarters circle at the corner of Elliot and Recker, since only three corners will be in Morrison Ranch). Somehow, it seems easier on the eye than any retail establishment, in spite of the fact that it goes against the typical idea of "commercial corners"; and it's a quite pleasant walk for a pedestrian, which is a high priority.

Smell That Garlic?

The Mister was at the oasis last night (the patio area next to the Subway) checking on some things, and he noted that the folks at Garlic Jim's were practising making pizzas. Which reminded me that they are opening for real on Tuesday the 22nd. Yum, I'm excited to give them a try.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

But if I can't post a picture because the blog software I use is inoperable at the moment (it's free, and from the forum I went to for help, it's inoperable for everyone, but as I said, it's free), then I guess I'll have to use 1,000 words. Just kidding!

I did want to post a picture of Highland Groves, the new development at Elliot and Recker; the Water Expert sent me some photos of the two lakes. The south one looked pretty close to being "roughed in", which to me means the hole is dug; the north one was about 2 feet deep as of Friday but may be finished even today.

If this community goes up as fast as Higley Estates has been, we'll be welcoming new neighbors before we know it.

Wildcats Go to the Sweet Sixteen

I didn't get to watch every minute because I was preparing for a party; but the mini-croissant sandwiches were assembled with a fair amount of intensity as I listened. Another level; whew.

Qwest Commercial at Higley Estates

Adding to the Hubbub

Along with the breakneck pace of construction at Higley Estates, there were some extra folks and tents and such over there today. The Water Expert went over and said howdy, and gave me a report:

Here are couple of shots of the Qwest commercial being filmed today at Higley Estates. Qwest is offering some kind of bill paying solution, making it easier and more convenient to pay your bills through Qwest online, I believe. The fella that I spoke with is Alan Benoit, the site locator and photographer. He lives in Gilbert and LOVES Morrison Ranch. He has been involved with several commercials that have been filmed on the farm and around Gilbert. He gave very high compliments to Don [ed. Don's our landscape architect and planner, our Sixth Man, if you will] for the landscape plan, and to Kenny and Marvin [ed. the patriarchs of the original farming operation] for letting them use the Grain Tanks and farm in the other commercials.

I can't imagine a more beautiful site to shoot a commercial; but then, I'm biased.

Wildcats Advance

Whew!

Ft. Knox, it's not

One added word on the area in the fence below. There is nothing stored inside that anyone would want. This really is a pure safety move on our part. Parents need to encourage their youths to "be careful out there". That would include avoiding the area inside the low fence around the corrals. There are too many ways to get a cut from old rusty metal (with the normal materials of a corral on the ground).

Please Don't Party and Play in Here

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

As I ponder the picture above, with the forbidding barbed wire encircling the tanks and mill, I can't help but feel a little sad. And Robert Frost jumped into my head, so I thought I'd share a portion of his poem, "Mending Wall":

SOMETHING there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

When Morrison Ranch was in the conceptual phase, there was much discussion about walls. In short, we were no lovers of walls. When you look at the farming homesteads around the town, you will not see big cinder block fences around the back yards. At most, there will be a chain link fence, but generally there is some sort of split-rail fence, or nothing at all. This proved to be impossible for us to replicate; many families have pools that are required to be fenced, and if not, they have grown accustomed to private backyards. We were going to have to succumb to cinder block-enclosed back yards.

The next question became, "Is there any way to keep the development from looking like a fortress from the arterial streets?" Most new housing developments place the house's back yard facing the street, and the fronts of the houses turned inside. We decided to do the opposite; where possible, our houses face outward, and the ones on the arterials are buffered by a frontage road and two rows of trees. This opens up the feel of the neighborhood.

Next we discussed whether there was a place for the split-rail fence; the answer is obviously yes, as it is one of the aesthetic themes that ties together all of Morrison Ranch.

What about the barbed-wire topped fence that surrounds the mill and the tanks? Back to Frost:

He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors."
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.

Last week I posted about the problem of kids partying at the tanks and the mill, and then doing a little climbing. The answer to Mr. Frost's question about what we are walling out? Late-night revelers whose pickled brains have erased all common sense.

We'll Be Stylin' Come April

There's a new hair salon opening at Lakeview Village the beginning of April, with their Grand Opening celebration scheduled for April 9. DiRicci's will be located next to Cactus Pool Supply, which is next to Subway. I know all this because Mary, a co-owner, stopped by the office this morning to make a brief acquaintance. Her husband is the stylist extraordinaire, coming over from Scottsdale Fashion Square, where, by the way, he had clientele drive from Chandler, which indicates he must be pretty good.

Mary says that they will have 8 chairs, and their specialties will be styling and color, with some of the congruent services like eyebrow waxing. They are not planning on doing nails. I'll bring it up again when it gets closer.

With Subway booming (at least whenever I'm in there, they seem to be), and Garlic Jim's opening next week (on the 22nd), and DiRicci's, and soon the pool supply place, and the table and chairs ordered for under the palm canopy - that's going to be a hopping part of Lakeview.

And the weather is great to enjoy it all.

New Cafe in Downtown Gilbert

Our office decided to try something new for lunch yesterday, and so the Mister expertly maneuvered the back streets, avoiding all Gilbert Road construction, and steered us to the Heartthrob Cafe, next to the Hale Theater. And today, there's some information in the AZ Republic on this cafe:

It's only been open since late December, but the Hearthrob Café has new owners. Benjamin Sang, 24, who with his 25-year-old brothers Brookes and Richard, own The Coyote Grill in Scottsdale, took over operation of the restaurant Feb. 25. Sang said he likes the theme of the place and doesn't plan to change it. The name has been changed slightly, from Hearthrob Music Café to Hearthrob Café.

You could have shot a cannon through there and not hit anyone yesterday, but we were surmising it might be due to the construction; it really is a gauntlet to get there right now. The prices seemed reasonable, the food was good, not great, but the new owners are working on food quality as well:

But there are other areas Sang says need changing from the previous ownership, including food quality and service. "I'm really trying to improve upon the previous owner's theories," he said. So far, the Sang brothers have added to the menu a stuffed pork chop that has a mushroom stuffing and a stuffed salmon with crab stuffing. But those are the only major changes, Sang said. "The menu's pretty much the same. We just kind of improved the recipes," he said. "The pricing is still roughly the same." In the bar, Sang said he hopes to see activities offered, including a possible Texas Hold 'Em tournament Wednesdays, live music Thursdays, and karaoke Fridays and Saturdays. Sang said he would like to add specials.

I hope it does well and lends to the success of the Heritage District.

Farewell to the EV1

The GM proving ground in Mesa is receiving the remnants of the EV1 fleet, according to this article:

General Motors is shipping the last surviving EV1 cars, the automaker's unique experiment in battery-powered transportation, from a storage yard in Burbank, Calif., to the GM Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa for "final disposition," which for most of them means crushing and recycling.

The Mister and I were offered the chance to drive one of SRP's cars for a week when they first came out, and we fell in love with it. It was quiet, it was sporty, it really had some get up and go, and it had one fatal flaw: the battery only lasted about 40 miles (we gave lots of rides to folks, and just HAD to show them the possible accelertion - but that drained the battery faster than) and woe to you if you ran it out before finding a charging station. I remember the Mister coasting in to the airport, just barely making it to the all-important plug.

The owners who leased them want to buy them, but GM isn't allowing this:

There are several reasons GM refuses to sell the remaining EV1s, he said, with product liability the greatest concern. The experimental cars have about 2,000 unique parts, he said, that are no longer available from either GM or any other source. There are no technicians outside GM who can work on the highly complex vehicles, he said. That means private owners would not be able to maintain the cars, which would not only tarnish GM's reputation when they break down but create safety hazards. "Some of these parts, such as the electronic brakes, have serious safety concerns," he said. "If somebody should hit somebody else, in this litigious society we could have a problem."The EV1s will not all disappear, Barthmuss added. GM has donated a number of them to colleges and universities for engineering students and to several museums, including a recent donation to the Smithsonian Institution, he said. GM engineers are currently testing EV1s in cold climates. The electric-car experiment was not a failure, he said, although they were doomed when the expected breakthrough in battery technology never materialized to give the cars greater range between chargings. "We believe the EV1 has been a tremendous success in developing technology," he said, noting that systems created for the EV1 are now used in hybrid vehicles and fuel-cell advancements. "There will be a little bit of EV1 in every hybrid and fuel-cell car."

Still, I'd hoped that they might get that battery thing figured out; we'd have bought one in a heartbeat.

New Signage in Higley Estates

What Color is Green, Anyway?

The new signs are going up in Higley Estates, and I really like the way they look; simple, yet classy. Driving by, I notice the white letters and the words, and normally I wouldn't really think about the green background. But I smile every time I look at the green because there was so much discussion and care to get just the "right" green. I don't join in those conversations; I'm an accountant, green is just green to me; I'll let the artistic office mates handle which green is best. But I do think the signs look great.

Hint of Summer

Starting Spring Break Right

Our neighbors down the street started their spring break with an economic opportunity. The Mister took this picture while our Artist daughter and friend imbibed the fresh-squeezed nectar of the lemon tree. Yummy!

Is This Okay, Dear?

The AZ Republic has an article about some employees who got fired for blogging:

Flight attendant Ellen Simonetti and former Google employee Mark Jen have more in common than their love of blogging: They both got fired over it. Simonetti had posted suggestive photographs of herself in uniform, while Jen speculated online about his employer's finances. In neither case were their bosses happy when they found out. Though many companies have Internet guidelines that prohibit visiting porn sites or forwarding racist jokes, few of the policies directly cover blogs, or Web journals, particularly those written outside of work hours. "There needs to be a dialogue going on between employers and employees," said Heather Armstrong, a Web designer fired for commenting on her blog about goings-on at work. "There's this power of personal publishing, and there needs to be rules about what you can or cannot say about the workplace. "On blogs, which are by their very nature public forums, people often muse about their likes and dislikes of family, friends or co-workers. About 27 percent of online U.S. adults read blogs, and 7 percent pen them, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Well, hmm. You probably won't ever see a picture of me on this blog, fully clothed in my CPA attire (complete with arm band and green visor - okay, not really) hunkered over a desk full of papers, much less in an inappropriate way; and thankfully, our office staff really do enjoy being together (five of the six in the office are family, and the sixth one acts like family). And it's a little bit harder to get fired for blogging when you're married to the boss. But I do run some of my posts by him, because I want to share the feel of our office and planning goings-on without embarrassing anyone or jumping the gun on proposed events.

So far, he's only been unhappy with one post; and I'm saving that one, in case things change later. Is this okay, Dear?

Time To Be Normal

Whew! The Mister and I watched the 2 hour special on the Okvath's house last night, and from reading the papers today, I learned that the family had a full day yesterday. They toured around the city and met and thanked the many many donors and volunteers, and ended up at the Pointe at Squaw Peak to watch the show. (By the way, did you see the Morrison Ranch grain tanks at the beginning? And the shot of the the Superstitions was taken from our quonset hut next to the tanks. So that's our contribution to the flavor of the show.)

At any rate, the family had worked hard all week in Tucson, and were no doubt already emotionally drained as well as physically tired. The East Valley Tribune explains:

"We were coming home after a long, hard week and we were tired," Bryan Okvath said. "We had our buckets ready in the limo for our leaky roof. But we didn’t need them. We moved in and it felt like home." Kassandra’s favorite room is her own bead studio. She makes bead necklaces to raise money for cancer research, which are now available through her new Web site, www.lovecomesfirst.com. The Okvath family also had some surprises in store for them Sunday. Before driving to the Pointe Hilton in a limo, they stopped off at a party at Breuners Arizona furniture store in Scottsdale, where dozens of employees wore yellow shirts with the words "80 volunteers and three trucks = one family’s dream come true." Breuners donated more than $60,000 of furniture to furnish the house. "When we heard the Okvath story, we knew we could do it," said Tom Daley of Breuners. "It’s been real awesome and a life-changing experience." On Sunday, the Okvath family also received a two-year scholarship for each family member, including mom and dad, to Central Arizona College for associate’s degrees. For more on the Okvath family and their extreme makeover — including the backyard carousel and the family’s new movie theater not shown in Sunday’s show — watch "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: How’d They Do That?" at 8 p.m. today on KNXV-TV (Channel 15).

So after this fairy tale time, it seems like they might be ready to be just a normal family again. Hopefully that can start right now.

Extreme Makeover Finale

Just a reminder that the Extreme Makeover featuring the Gilbert house will be showing tomorrow night at 6 pm on channel 15. It's in two parts, over two hours, so I suspect one hour will be the Medical Center in Tucson and one part will be the Okvath's house in Gilbert. And I suppose the Okvath's neighbors will have people driving by again for a closer look.

Another Food Choice

Garlic Jim's is scheduled to open a week from this Tuesday, on March 22. It's next door to the Subway, and they have been working long hours to get ready. It's a take-out sort of pizza, but with some gourmet options, and they deliver. If you decide to eat your pizza or Subway sandwiches there, however, the table and chairs are being ordered now for our outdoor dining experience.

Our leasing agent is working hard to get other eateries in there; the Mister is adamant about some sort of breakfast place. We have a vision, but it all takes time.

In other food news, the Panda Express going in just west of the gas pumps should be starting construction soon.

View of Tanks

Defining Open Space

When we've discussed the drought and the extra rainfall this year, the Mister reminds me that there are several ways to define whether the drought is over. Our entire reservoir system in Arizona is currently at 88%, the Water Expert tells me, up from 40% at this time last year, and when the snow pack melts, it will be substantially more full; is that the definition? We've had above average rainfall for two years in a row - I'd forgotten about that extra rain last year because it pales in comparison to this year - is two years enough? Arizona's forests have had a terrible bark beetle infestation due to dry trees; do we wait until the bark beetles are gone to declare the drought over?

So I think similar questions can be asked about open space. One of the themes repeated in the rhetorical war against sprawl is the loss of open space. If we keep growing, we will lose the desert vistas, I hear. Or, on a more personal level, some of our neighbors didn't want to lose the views of the mountains over the alfalfa fields (neither did we, but I've posted about that before). And on the most personal level, the Mister grew up in a house on a field, with seemingly unlimited open space, and he wasn't sure he wanted to live in a "housing development packed cheek to jowl" (now there's a phrase from the past). So what is open space?

The town of Gilbert requires 10% open space in residential developments; this refers to parks, trails, playgrounds, and such. Most developments end up at about 15%. Morrison Ranch is at 22%. This includes the parks, trails, green belts, and playgrounds. This does not include the parkways or the common area lining the streets, which adds more green to the eye, and eventually will provide more shade (do the trees decrease the open space, or enhance it?).

A buzzword in our office is view corridors; that is, what do you see when you look from this or that direction? A view of the grain silos or the lake is a premier view, but that's not possible from every spot. What is possible is to keep the views open, or at least ending in green rather than walls. When you look down a street, usually the ending view will be a park of some sort, or at least a line of trees. The goal is to promote the open space that we have, and to soften the ends of streets with lush foliage instead of hammering the eyes with concrete walls, or even houses. When you take your next walk through Morrison Ranch, check out the view corridors, and you'll see what I mean.

The picture above this post was taken from a playground in Higley Groves East. The park/playground is open space, and the view corridor gives a glimpse of the grain tanks.

Coming Soon to an Underpass Near You

Set in Stone

On March 2, I posted about the SanTan freeway (the post was titled "Sharing Community Goals"), and that the grain silos of Morrison Ranch are intended to grace one of the concrete retaining walls on an underpass. Tami Ryall, Gilbert's Deputy Town Manager, saw the post and invited the office out to the construction yard to see the test panel, a 10'x10' section of the wall graphic. We went out this morning, and took a few photos. My third daughter, the artist, selected this one for posting: three of the four tanks are in this part (the fourth will show up to the left of these three) behind a large round hay bale; the graphics on the right are wheat, but they are being adjusted a bit, so this will not be the final look (I wish I could say that I overexposed the wheat on purpose, but that would be untrue). To give a sense of proportion, you can see the water expert and his wife (cousin of the Mister and Bias For Action) standing in front of the graphic.

Thank you, Tami, for the invite! We are excited to see the fruit of your hard work.

Hey Cuz, Nice Article

The Mister's first cousin once removed (the Mister and my second daughter are the only two in our family that can figure out the cousins relationships, and believe me, there are plenty of them, since both sides of the family have lived here for nearly a century), Norman Knox, showed up in this front page article of the AZ Republic today:

This is the last year Norman Knox and Mike Gantzel will plow a field, harvest a crop or worry about irrigation. They are end-of-the-line, third-generation southeast Valley farmers who found out the new truth about agriculture against the background of Arizona's growth. Cotton, grain and potato prices can't compete with Arizona's hottest commodity: real estate. On Saturday, they will auction off the majority of their farm equipment, and decades of farming for both families in Chandler and Queen Creek will come to an end.
Farms are giving way to housing developments throughout the Valley and state, especially in growth hotbeds such as once-rural Gilbert and Queen Creek. Even the owners of Young's Farm in Dewey-Humboldt, a popular Valley getaway, announced earlier this year that they plan to sell their land to developers. About half of the Valley's land that is now urban was once used for farming, according to Arizona State University's Center for Business Research.....

Efforts to preserve land for open space and retain the agricultural "feel" in Gilbert, Queen Creek and near Young's Farm have all been abandoned for lack of taxpayers' support and grant programs. In this seller's market, the farms make room for the people.

I'm not sure how Norman feels about being tagged "end-of-the-line" but I am sure that we have some empathy for his situation. Read the whole article if you haven't read one like it before. About ten years ago, this type of article was published about every other day, as our farming neighbors grappled with the explosive growth of Gilbert. Farming gets in your blood, and is passed down from generation to generation. Only someone who has inherited some "farming genes" can understand the deep veneration for dirt.

As I've posted before, the Mister's response to the inability to farm as we had for generations, was to take things into his own hands, and make his own efforts to "preserve land for open space and retain the agricultural 'feel' in Gilbert," - and thus you see Morrison Ranch. I guess the difference is that the open space and agricultural feel invites the new Gilbert residents to partake rather than trying to reserve it for only prior residents. Farmers are generally pretty hospitable that way.

Don't Drink and Climb

Not a Jungle Gym for Teens

The Water Expert spent the morning replacing the destroyed "no trespassing" signs around the tanks and mill. This was in response to a phone call last night from our farm manager:

"He ran off teenagers from the mill [last night]. He found out from talking to the teenagers that it is the place to go. These particular kids drove in, but others are parking at Farm Bureau and walking over with alcohol and hanging out. He has found empty beer and other liquor bottles."

Gee, alcohol and climbing grain tanks; now that's a potent mix. We are in the process of figuring out how to prevent this sort of thing before someone gets hurt. If you should ever notice late night activity by the tanks, and it doesn't involve a pickup truck with a spotlight on top (one of the farm trucks), give us a hand by reporting it to the police, would you?

More on Blog Reading

I wrote a post last month on what a blog is, and how to navigate around one (Blog Reading 101 - you can find it in the archives). As an addendum to those instructions, let me clarify the way that links work. A "link" connects the reader to another source, such as a newspaper or website, and it happens instantly (well, unless you have a dial-up connection; but if you have dial-up, I suspect you won't be spending much time reading the Front Porch because I have way too many pictures and they take an eternity to load on a dial-up connection) just by running the cursor over the bold print in a post and clicking. You'll notice it becomes underlined when your cursor runs over it, and when you click - presto!- your next screen will be the linked source.

For example, if you want to read about the current status of the junk food bill, go here. After you read however much you want to read, if you click on the "Back" button, it will send you back to the Front Porch.

So when you see a post that says "check out this web site" or "here's an interesting article", and it's in bold green, and when you run your cursor over it and it becomes underlined, you know that it's a link, and not referring to the Front Porch.

And just a warning; the underlined/clicking feature is true of all websites - so be discriminating about your clicking, if you want to avoid unwanted advertising and such.

Somewhat Stress Free

I didn't know that we were categorizing our types of stress these days, but here's an interesting article pointing out that Gilbert ranks fourth in communities over 100,000 in ease of economic stress:

Maybe it’s all the sun, palm trees, golf courses, wide streets and desert space. Or maybe it’s the relatively affordable housing, low taxes and rising job creation. It might even be something as simple as most everything being so shiny and new. Whatever the reason, there is little economic stress in Gilbert and Scottsdale, according to recent study by American City Business Journals, the nation’s largest publisher of metropolitan business newspapers. Gilbert ranked fourth and Scottsdale 10th on a list of the least stressful communities with a population of 100,000 or more.

Gilbert ranks fourth and Scottsdale tenth, huh? No surprise there.

The company used a seven part formula to rate socioeconomic stress using raw data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. The formula analyzed factors that can affect any city’s stability, such as poverty, unemployment, insufficient education and vacant housing.

As a CPA, I feel plenty of economic stress this time of year, but that's just me. I'm just happy that someone else ranks Gilbert higher than Scottsdale besides me.

We'll Keep Trying

About 10,000 people voted in the Gilbert elections yesterday. I'm grateful for those who did, and intent on encouraging those who didn't to participate next time. Steve Berman was re-elected as mayor, and Don Skousen returns as a Town Council member. It looks as though there will be a runoff in May for the other council spot between Dave Peterson and Joan Krueger.

The Mister reminds me that ten thousand out of 170,000 doesn't mean there are 160,000 Gilbertonians who neglected to vote. We have a high population of kids; still, here's hoping that those kids grow into active voters.

My son's wallet was stolen from his locker during track practice, and as we were talking about the frustration and inconvenience of it all, he said to me, "Parents need to teach their kids that it's wrong to steal!" The parents that I know do in fact teach that truth, and many others. When folks say Gilbert, and as a subset, Morrison Ranch, is "family-friendly", I think teaching our kids right from wrong, and participating in the community is a large part of that aura.

So we'll keep at it, and someday we'll have higher turnouts for our local elections.

If You Want the Answer...

...to who is getting how many votes, you can check this web site after 8 pm tonight. They say they will give election results with updates every five minutes.

Needless to say, but I will one last time anyway, today is the day to vote.

Photographic Evidence

When we envisioned Lakeview Village, we had some pretty specific ideas about how we wanted it to look. It is by no means completed yet, but we are pleased with the outcome so far. The Mister recently took a picture to see how close we are to the artist's rendition. You can see the results on the Morrison Ranch web site here; scroll down a bit to see a comparison of the artwork and the photograph.

Kudos to our Wildcat daughter for putting this on the web site!

Walking Along Prairie

Give it Time

The Mister and I moved into Higley Groves West just over 4 years ago. In my constant battle against the bulge, I walk; and I must say, my expectations for walking Morrison Ranch were sky high. At the beginning, though, neither the Mister nor I found the experience all that pleasant. He is a runner, and his focus is on the run itself, the time, and if he sees anyone he knows. He doesn't necessarily notice the details of the community at that moment. I would return from my morning walks, and dispassionately offer my suggestions regarding the landscape in a most supportive fashion. Oh all right, I would complain bitterly about whatever dead trees I saw, or spouting sprinkler heads, or bogs of water where only grass should be; and HE would calmly remind me that it takes time to get things right, and adjure me to give it a little time.

He was right, of course; growing a community is somewhat analogous to raising children. The first years show the most change, and every detail is noticed, no matter how small. With a little maturity, pride erupts as the parents cheer on every accomplishment.

So, a short 4 years later, my post-walk disposition has greatly improved. I'm thrilled with the various shades of green punctuated by the neighbor's brilliant flowers; every leafing tree brings a smile, and the walk may or may not reduce the pants size, but it definitely does brighten the outlook on the day.

Give it time. Good advice.

As I Promised, A Reminder

Tomorrow is election day for Gilbert; as this AZ Republic article states, your vote matters:

Tuesday's election in more than a half-dozen cities and towns around the Valley is very much about the future.It's about who will serve as your mayor and council member. It's about who will make the decisions that affect your streets, parks and libraries - your quality of life and safety.

...

With turnouts typically low in municipal elections, the vote you cast will carry a lot of weight in shaping your community's future.

I wish I had an answer for the low turnout; I keep telling the Mister that our town elections need to be timed to coincide with the state elections. He tells me there are other problems with that. Sigh. So I just keep reminding my friends and family to go vote.

Bear Down, Arizona 

Ah, Higher Education

I've mentioned before that the Mister's family is very supportive of all the universities in Arizona. But Friday night we focused on the University of Arizona, as we got a last minute invite to go to an Alumni dinner with the basketball team. Our second daughter is poised to graduate from UofA in May, and is also an avid fan of the team, so she joined us for the evening. Our friend had purchased a table, which meant that we got to have a player sit with us, and that was the young point guard, Mustafa Shakur. Our friend's daughter and her sorority sisters were also at the table, and when introducing the players, Coach Lute Olson remarked on Mustafa's good fortune at sitting at a table full of UofA coeds.

The game yesterday was a nail-biter, but the Wildcats won it by 2 with less than a second to go.

Rain in the Ranch

Last night's storm brought .44 inches of rain to Morrison Ranch; added to the .12 from the night before, that's another half inch for the record books. The Mister was going to turn our sprinklers back on this weekend, but now he'll wait a little longer.

The forecast calls for more throughout the day.

Palms in Oasis 

Plan Your Route Ahead of Time

There's plenty of road construction to navigate around in Gilbert right now. I guess that there's an added problem at Gilbert and Elliot:

Stay away from Gilbert and Elliot roads if you're looking to travel through Gilbert this weekend.A busted waterline near the intersection's southeastern corner is expected to have traffic crawling through the area until Monday as workers continue with repairs.Crews working on the Heritage District streetlight replacement project hit the line midafternoon Thursday, spraying water and forcing the shutdown of northbound Gilbert Road between Palo Verde Street and Elliot Road.The road was torn up Friday morning, with water still pooling along the eastern portion.

Go around, if you must go that direction.

Time to Decide

The Mister and I both voted last week, and now the early voting is closed. But the election is Tuesday (and I think if you live in Morrison Ranch so far, your polling place is the library), and since my nature as a mom is to kind of remind and encourage, I'll be reminding you to go vote. Politics can be distasteful in the rhetoric, at least to a mom who likes everyone to play nice; but even more distasteful is not partaking in the process and influencing how things turn out.

The town says that only about 16% of registered voters in Gilbert will actually vote:

A total of 7,649 votes were cast in the last Berman-Dunham race in 2001, or roughly 16.5 percent of the town's 46,268 registered voters, according to town election data.

The May 2003 general election drew 17 percent of Gilbert's 53,528 registered voters, the highest turnout for a council race in the past 15 years.

First Rose 

No Fountain Yet

Very Full Lake Edge
I posted a few days ago about the fact that the lake is so full that the fountain spout is under water, and unable to spout at the moment. The Water Expert tells me that it won't be long, (as the water gets turned back on to the turf now that the rains are soaked in, the level of the lake will fall) but not yet. I wandered by yesterday for a look, and sure enough, you can't even see the concrete edge of the lake. I guess 3 plus inches of rain will do that to a lake.

Field of Dirt, At the Moment

There are about 65 acres on Elliot and near Recker, near Morrison Ranch's newest budding community - Highland Groves - that has been under discussion for some time now. This is a piece of ground that originally was planned to be another regional park for Gilbert, but the town has struggled to find funds to develop it, and it looked as though nothing was going to be able to be done for several years. Several groups have brought proposals for alternate uses, and the one that seems to be on track for approval has erupted into rather a political firestorm. Read the whole article in the East Valley Tribune, but here is an excerpt:

Leaders of several Gilbert youth sports organizations are upset with a Town Council decision to favor a California company to develop a town park.

And they want some of those who voted yes voted out of office.

Leaders of the Gilbert American Little League, Wham Basketball, Arizona Soccer Club, Gilbert Pop Warner and the Gilbert National Little League are getting the word out that they oppose the re-election of Mayor Steve Berman and Councilman Dave Petersen in the March 8 primary. Berman, along with the majority of the council, voted Jan. 18 to begin negotiations with Big League Dreams of Chino Hills, Calif., for facilities at 65-acre Elliot District Park. The company manages parks of replica ballfields that are decorated to resemble legendary major league fields.

The Mister isn't familiar with all the details of the latest proposals, but he said the Field of Dreams is intended, and marketed to, adults. It's true that Gilbert is in real need of more playing fields for our youth, and this seems to be a pretty sticky situation. Hopefully the resolution will benefit Gilbert as well as the residents of Highland Groves and the Superstition Springs Church, which will both be neighbors to the result.

Good Participation in HOA

Higley Groves West HOA Meeting
There was a nice turnout for the annual HOA meeting last night. Two members on the board were re-elected, Bob Winegar and Carolyn Woods, and we are very grateful for their service. We have a faithful design review committee as well; and individual residents who stand up in their individual areas of expertise to help. Carolyn Woods commented on the fact that the board is committed to keeping Higley Groves West a family-friendly place. It's the involvement of all these residents that help make that happen. Special kudos to Sherry Davis for her incredible service organizing the Pecan Festival.

Sharing Community Goals

I've talked a lot about the desire for Morrison Ranch to reflect the agricultural small-town feel that the Mister had growing up. We share those goals with the Town of Gilbert, as its planners grapple with putting the words "rural community" and "freeway" in the same sentence. They have given it a lot of thought:

When an 8-mile, nearly $110 million freeway is slated to run through a town once known for its hay production, change is inevitable.

This means not only cultural and economic change, but visual as well. To blunt aesthetic upheavals that the Santan Freeway brings to Gilbert, the town has employed some artsy methods to ease the transition for residents left wondering what happened to the open space and farms.

Concrete walls with images of trains and agriculture, recreation basins sitting just yards from the Santan (Loop 202) and themed freeway landscaping are all finding their way into the middle of Gilbert.

The reason, Deputy Town Manager Tami Ryall said, is for Gilbert to keep tight grip on its reputation as a close-knit community, even with rubberized asphalt, noise walls and nearly 1,000 new residents filtering in each month.

Drivers are seeing concrete walls along the realigned Greenfield Road/Union Pacific Railroad underpass that are emblazoned with train-related graphics. Future underpasses and overpasses through the town also will feature train wheels, flashers and cross-arms.

Molded into the concrete, the images harken back to the hundreds of thousands of rail cars that have passed through Gilbert.

"The railroad played such an important part of our history and brought such a wave of prosperity," Ryall said, "just like the Santan will bring a wave of prosperity."Gilbert also gathered public input for bridge walls at Lindsay and Recker roads that will feature agricultural images such as corn and alfalfa.

We don't know exactly what it will look like yet, but we understand that the signature grain tanks of Morrison Ranch will be featured on one of the underpasses, probably on Recker, south of Warner. What a nice reminder.

Can You Hear Me Now? Good

The Mister had lunch with one of the big telecommunication company's representatives this week, as he has on past occasions. They are always very friendly, open conversations, just checking in to see if he wants to set up a preferred provider agreement for Morrison Ranch. These agreements don't exclude the other companies from providing service, but they do allow a leg up for the company with the agreement by advertising in the models to the exclusion of others. This article in the AZ Republic explains how preferred provider agreements work:

Being the preferred provider gives the company exclusive rights to market its products inside the model homes as well as on community Web sites and in development newsletters. Often the competitive advantage is so great that other companies choose not to serve the areas.

The article goes on to tell the story of several developments throughout the valley that have preferred provider agreements:

In many cases, the preferred-provider status in a development is seen as such a competitive advantage that other companies choose not to build infrastructure within the project. Qwest has elected not to serve the more than 14,000-home Verrado community west of Phoenix where Cox is the preferred provider. At DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Qwest is the preferred provider and Cox has stayed out.

The Mister thus far has felt he can't commit to one provider because it isn't clear who will offer the best technology consistently; sometimes one company seems to be ahead of the curve, sometimes another. The Mister is pretty partial to technology, and wants our residents to be able to utilize the most innovative systems available. So, at the moment, Morrison Ranch has not entered into any preferred provider agreements.

Out With the Dead, In With the Alive

Pecan Replacement
Higley Groves West is finishing up replacing about 60 trees, and the Mister and I caught the crew hard at work this morning along Elliot Rd. These pecans came from A&P Nursery; Morrison Ranch has a contract with Waldron Farms to grow the trees that will be initially planted in all projects from the lake on, including, of course, Higley Estates and Highland Groves. The Waldron sisters are quite delightful ladies and very committed to quality in tree-growing.

The Much Maligned HOA

Those three little letters, "HOA" often produce a shudder in folks, for one reason or another. Maybe they've gotten a "nastygram" for not putting away their trash cans quickly enough or some other minor infraction. Or perhaps they've been turned down for approval on a landscape change, or something more major. There have been numerous stories of HOAs run amuck, stealing funds, confiscating widow's houses, and other egregious activities. How interesting would it be to read a story of a well-run HOA made up of top-notch residents who really do struggle through the questions and desires of their fellow homeowners? If you want to see one in action, rather than read about one, be sure to attend the Higley Groves West annual HOA meeting tonight (doors open at 6pm at the Farm Bureau building) where there will be elections for two board members.

The truth is that most of Gilbert's residents live within an HOA, and most of us do just fine under their direction. After all, isn't one of the main purposes to ensure that property values are not decreased by one recalcitrant homeowner? Before moving to Morrison Ranch, the Mister and I lived in a "Parkway Improvement District", which is explained more fully in this article:

Basically, the districts are to HOAs what co-ops are to large corporations.

While neighborhoods that are PKIDs may have covenants, codes and restrictions most do not have homeowners associations. Unlike most HOAs, the districts do not own common property.

The residents pay fees for maintenance of right-of-way areas. These are common landscaped areas and facilities such as green spaces adjacent to curbs, retention basins and fences in their neighborhoods that are not owned by the residents but that residents pay the Public Works Department to maintain. Improvements must be voted on, and often members are expected to pitch in on the work, said Helga Stafford, Gilbert neighborhood services coordinator. There's no property management company like the ones hired by many of Gilbert's HOAs. Projects in the districts are funded through taxing property owners in the neighborhoods, Stafford said.

We had great neighbors where we lived, and most were interested in presenting a tidy scene to the front street. We heard some stories of tension involving street lights (which we could have used more of), and because we used flood irrigation for the large lots, there were some occasional flaring tempers when someone flooded a neighbor; but on the whole, it was a pleasant place to live. The important thing, it seems to me, is to know what sort of association you want to be part of, and then support it as though your property values depended on it.