Editor's Blog

Food, fun and mass transit – hey now!

I just got word that light rail officials will be hosting “rail parties” around the Valley for the grand opening of the 20.4-mile track on Dec. 27.

At every METRO station, residents will find nine major fiestas that include music, street performers and food. Given the current economic climate, we should take every chance we get at a free meal, because who knows when the next one’s coming, right?

Anyways, on to more positive things. The parties will be held from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., with free rides on the rail up until 8 p.m. The free rides will continue until Dec. 31.

Here’s the lineup of public parties, from west Phoenix to Mesa:

• 19th Avenue and Montebello Road, “A Better Tomorrow Starts Today,” sponsored by Arizona Public Service Co.,
• Thomas Road and Central Avenue, “Health and Wellness,” sponsored by St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center,
• Encanto Park and Central Avenue, “Arts and Culture,” sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona,
• Third Street between Jefferson and Washington streets, “Phoenix Rising,” sponsored by CityScape,
• 44th and Washington streets, “Sky Harbor Community,” sponsored by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport,
• Priest Drive and Washington Street, “Papago Park Celebration,” sponsored by Salt River Project,
• Mill Avenue and Third Street, “Mill Avenue Experience,” sponsored by Hayden Ferry,
• Fifth Street and Veterans Way, “Destination Tempe,” sponsored by Gray Development, Avenue Communities and Aloft Tempe,
• Sycamore and Main streets, “It All Starts Here,” sponsored by SRP.

For more info, click here.

Why our economy sucks: The best summary…ever

Global warming. Worldwide economic crisis. The idea that the L.A. Dodgers could win the pennant.

All of these sound like the end is near. Some of them are too confusing to contemplate. But Steven Pearlstein, a business columnist for The Washington Post, has shed a little light on the U.S. economy — it’s past, present and uncertain future.

We’ve all read scores of stories online about this stuff, but I felt compelled to bring this particular piece to your attention. Pearlstein’s column offers one of the most salient, user-friendly summaries of how we got here and where we have to go next in 208 words or less.

You can view the entire column here. But trust me, this is the best part:

“A better way to think about the economic forecast is that we are at the beginning of a transition period in which our collective spending as a nation will go from roughly 6 or 7 percent more than what we produce to closer to 2 or 3 percent less than we produce, to accommodate an aging population and the need to put away some savings.

That’s a huge swing, and although it won’t necessarily come all at once and may be accomplished through different means, there is no way to accomplish this task by producing more. We’re going to have to consume less, which means a temporary reduction in our standard of living.

Put another way, we didn’t just have a housing bubble and a corporate takeover bubble and a consumer credit bubble and a commodities bubble. In time, those asset bubbles led to the creation of a bubble economy, with too many airplanes and restaurant seats and hotel rooms, too many office buildings and shopping centers, too many investment banks and media outlets dependent on advertising revenue from car companies producing too many cars and home builders producing too many houses. Shrinking all that back to the right size is what the coming recession is all about.”

Now that’s the situation in a nutshell, isn’t it?

Get your Gaelic on

Anyone that’s traveled to the Emerald Isle probably fell in love with its people, its charm and its pubs. But what about the native tongue?

Well, it isn’t English. The Irish actually “speak the Gaelic,” a centuries-old tongue that pre-dates English conquerors.

Luckily for you, the Irish Cultural Center Downtown has the solution. Instead of hanging Gaelic symbols around the house (or tatooing them onto your body), attend a weekend of Irish storytelling and language workshop.

The storytelling sessions are from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5. The Gaelic language workshop runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the next day. It features a beginner and intermediate track. The last installment for the language workshop is 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Some knowledge of Gaelic is preferred.

Registration is $110 or $100 if completed before Nov. 15. The Irish Cultural Center is located at 1106 N. Central Ave., just across the way from the Burton Barr Library. For more information, call (602) 258-0109 or visit azirish.org.

Erin Go Braugh!

Kids docs offer advice on adoption

For any recent adoptive parents, the city’s leading children’s hospital is hosting a discussion that should interest you.

Pediatricians and three adoptive families will offer advice on medical and developmental issues surrounding adopted kids at a free session on Saturday, Nov. 8. The event includes a continental breakfast.

The topics include:

gathering a genetic history,
nutritional considerations,
bonding and attachment,
financial planning.

Speakers from three local families will discuss their experiences with domestic, international and special needs adoptions.

The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Phoenix Children’s Hospital near 20th Street and Thomas Road. It will be held in the Melvin L. Cohen Conference Center in building E (Rosenberg Children’s Medical Plaza).