New Year’s Resolutions

The “Queen” is back, for yet another round of the world according to Jana! Every January, this fine magazine lets me rant and rave about how I’d make the world right if I were “Queen of Arizona.” And all year long, I keep a file on my desk, which fills up month after month with clippings and notes on things that strike me as important.

A nice discovery this year when I opened the file is that I found several outstanding examples of ordinary people doing remarkable things. Queens shouldn’t just dictate, but should honor such accomplishments, too. Of course, as always, there are some things that are in particular need of a positive nudge forward. So, here’s this year’s list of resolutions:

• I’d demand that every Monday morning, Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano and Senate Minority Leader Linda Aguirre have breakfast with the Republican leaders of the Legislature – Senate President Ken Bennett and House Speaker Jim Weiers. Breaking bread together is a fine way to develop friendships and understanding. OK, so I’m not naive enough to think that a weekly breakfast will solve all of Arizona’s political differences, but it couldn’t hurt. These are four fine, decent people who, I believe, really do care about this state. I think if they sit down together – at breakfast or wherever – they’ll find similarities on which they can build a healthy and prosperous state.

• I’d never let Arizona build another monstrosity like the glass-encased Federal Courthouse in Downtown Phoenix, which boils in the summer and freezes in the winter. Hadn’t the New York architect ever visited this desert state to understand the power of the sun? And then to name it for our dear Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor… please, name something decent for this fine lady.

• I’d answer the plea of the fifth-grade students at Island Elementary School in Gilbert, who wrote an impassioned “letter to the editor” last March to The Arizona Republic pleading for a stop in cuts to school libraries. “We believe that America is the land of freedom and learning, and without learning there will be no freedom,” the students wrote. “So we ask our leaders to please support funding of school libraries.” Amen.

• I’d make sure everyone knew of the special effort by the United Phoenix Fire Fighters, who for three years have organized Valley firefighters in a free fence program. Last year, they gave away more than 60 pool fences to families who couldn’t afford them, with the simple reality that pool fences help save lives. These guys always go the extra mile, and that’s why we love them so.

• I’d have everyone in Arizona buy a ticket to a Phoenix Mercury game so they’d see how fun and exciting professional women’s sports can be. Last year, Arizona became the first professional team to be partly owned by women – Anne Mariucci and Kathy Munro. Men have long recognized the value of sports in creating healthy young men, and it works for young women, too.

• I’d reign in those ridiculous “homeowner’s associations” that have shown themselves, at times, to be ridiculous. Consider the case of Higley homeowners Dan and Barbara Stroia, who fell behind in their dues by $66 – after a rate hike they didn’t know about – and ended up being fined through the roof until they owed their homeowner’s association $8,000. The Legislature has tried to stifle these power-hungry groups, and I hope they finally succeed. They say a little power is a dangerous thing, and, unfortunately, too many HOAs have shown they can’t handle any power at all.

• I’d honor Carol Kamin for her tireless and ferocious voice for Arizona children. As director of the Children’s Action Alliance, Kamin can cite chapter and verse on what Arizona is doing and isn’t doing for the health and welfare of our children. She doesn’t back down when told to go away; she doesn’t shrink when faced with huge obstacles; she doesn’t flinch when someone tries to slide children’s issues to a back burner. No, she’s in there fighting every day, and we’re so lucky to have her pluck.

• I’d give a special Eagle Scout badge to Ethan Jackson of Mesa, who had volunteered at the Mesa Southwest Museum for three years and saw an obvious need: Braille signs to help blind children enjoy the museum. Last year was his senior year at Mountain View High School, and like most seniors, he was busy with school activities. But he still found time to raise $1,000 through a yard sale and appeals to civic groups to fund his Braille project. Ethan got the Foundation for Blind Children in Phoenix to print a Braille manual and labels, and museum officials praised the young man for fulfilling a real need. I can’t wait to see what other great things this young man does with his life.

• I’d give a very big Arizona hug to Eddie Basha, The Arizona Republic and 12 News, who remember that people get hungry all year long. Last June, the three sponsored a month long food drive to help needy residents statewide. Together, they raised thousands of dollars and pounds of food that were distributed through St. Vincent de Paul and members of the Association of Arizona Food Banks.

• I’d grease the skids for Phoenix and Arizona State University to fulfill their dream of a “Downtown campus,” which will rejuvenate our Capital City. This is a win-win-win proposition – a win for Phoenix, a win for ASU, and a win for all of Arizona as we move this university into the ranks of one of America’s best. I think I’ll take the visionaries of this plan – Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and ASU President Michael Crow – out for dinner in “The Hood.” It’s the least I can do.

• I’d expand programs like the Second Chance Prison Canine Program, which has inmates training service dogs. Listen to what convicted murderer Alphonzo Hampton said as he “graduated” from this program by training a dog named Buddy: “I had an opportunity to show I could be something better than who I was when I came to jail. I’m happy to say I’m proud of what I’ve done. I haven’t been able to say that before.” These kinds of self-improvement programs can only help inmates seek a different life when they leave prison. I’m all for them, and I’m pleased that Arizona’s new corrections director, Dora Schriro, is too.

• I’d give each Arizona teacher $500 a year to pay for needed supplies in her or his classroom. That money is already being spent, but it’s usually coming out of the teachers’ own pockets – they’re paying from their below-national-average salaries to buy the supplies their kids need to learn. When are we going to wake up to the fact that, contrary to the rhetoric you hear from some circles, we aren’t paying teachers enough or providing enough resources for them to do their jobs? While you’re at it, give a special thanks to Pat Saganey-Wayne, who teaches language arts at Kayenta Middle School on the Navajo Reservation, and Sheryl Castro, a Spanish teacher at Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson. Both did Arizona proud in being named to an elite group of 100 teachers across America who won the annual National Educator Award last year.

• I’d post billboards around Arizona with the pretty face and story of youngsters like Rachel Vogel, a third-grader at Desert Valley Elementary School in Glendale, who donated her honey-brown hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit group that provides hairpieces to children with cancer. Her mom found out about the program, and Rachel was impressed that “you can use your hair instead of just throwing it away.” Makes you feel good to know there are parents out there teaching such selfless values to their youngsters.

• I’d convince Congress to pass The Dream Act, which would give legal status to undocumented immigrants who crossed the border as children and have grown up to attend college or join the U.S. military. What possible sense would it make to deport these people, who have already been contributing?

• I’d convince more Arizonans to volunteer for the Arizona Braille and Talking Book Library. This marvelous program has 275 volunteers recording books and magazines on tape for those who are visually impaired or disabled. More than 10,000 patrons annually use these materials to enrich their lives. If you’ve ever wondered if it’s worth it, just ask Paradise Valley resident Dee Elder or Tempe resident Ann Fogarty – these two women have been volunteering for this program for nearly 30 years. Check it out.

• I’d install the Elmer Young family in a permanent Arizona Hall of Fame. This family has farmed near Dewey since its patriarch returned from Naval service during World War II. Faced with the development pressures of Yavapai County and ever-mounting land prices, Elmer Young thought of selling until his family agreed to do something unprecedented in Arizona: The Youngs sold their development rights so they can continue farming. They joined in a conservation easement agreement with the Trust for Public Land and the Central Arizona Land Trust, which means they still own the farm, but the land can only be used to farm. Even if they sold it someday, the land couldn’t be developed, but will remain a farm forever. I’m stopping by the farm to buy something from their store the next time I’m in that neighborhood. I want to let them know how much Arizona appreciates their decision.

• I’d like every Arizonan to understand the generosity and caring of the late Virginia G. Piper, whose $500 million charitable trust gives out millions every year to benefit everything from children to the elderly to arts and culture to health, education and religion. Not only is this Arizona’s largest trust, but it’s also one of the nation’s most generous trusts. We indeed are grateful that it’s headquartered here, and that the name of this lovely lady will live forever in Arizona.

• I’d have everyone going to the 49th Annual VNSA Used Book Sale, which takes place on February 12-13 at the Exhibit Hall of the State Fairgrounds (1826 W. McDowell Road). This fabulous sale not only provides thousands of great used books, but raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for good causes. The 2004 proceeds amounted to $340,000 for local charities. This year’s charities include Arizona Friends of Foster Children, Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County and Toby House, the state’s first psychiatric halfway house for mentally ill adults.

• I’d stifle my own sharp tongue and open my ears to the words of 12-year-old Alene Gallagher, who spent three weeks before last fall’s national election traveling across the country as a “Kid for Kerry.” This Chandler seventh-grader got an up-close-and-personal look at American politics, and came home older and wiser. I’m happy to report she didn’t come home discouraged or jaded that her candidate lost. But she came home with a political wisdom that all of us – you and I – need to hear. “I learned to respect people’s differences and principles,” she told a local newspaper. “There’s two sides to every story, so listen to both.” From the mouths of babes.

Happy New Year.