http://www.thezmag.com/blogs-1-1-1-13.html Here are seventeen suggestions I have for the Tucson City Council, with respect to Downtown Tucson:--- 1. Do an audit of Rio Nuevo. Don't wait for the State to do it. Get all the skeletons out of the closet. 2. Stop tolerating the insider favoritism that's run rampant. 3. Put more funding into the Facade Program. A relatively small investment in fixing up old buildings makes a big difference in downtown's image and in facilitating vib]]> (Originally published on www.TucsonCitizen.com on September 1, 2009) Last Friday afternoon as I approached the corner of Scott and Congress on foot after leaving work a block west of that corner, I had a strange feeling, knowing that when I reached that spot I would not be able to resist the urge to look south towards where the former Santa Rita Hotel was undoubtedly gone, the last vertical section of which had likely been torn down that day whil]]> (Originally published on www.TucsonCitizen.com on Aug. 10, 2009) - A few weeks ago I noticed an appeal on Facebook from Beowulf Alley Theatre Company to contribute to its new capital campaign for facade renovation.Always pleased to see Downtowners working to help themselves, I made a small donation to the cause through a program called “Cause”, and emailed Beth Dell, the Managing Director at Beowulf, to learn more.---It was clear that]]>