So, Do You Like ... Stuff?

Note: This column appears in the 7/23 issue of The Glendale Star and the 7/24 issue of the Peoria Times There are two things that the newcomer instantaneously realizes about the Valley: 1) it is hot, and 2) the drivers are awful. I have written about the driving here before. To no avail, apparently, as little has changed. Thankfully, my opinions have recently been echoed and backed up with lukewarm evidence. Allstate released its “ America’s Best Drivers Report ” last week. (In the car insurance world, this is the equivalent of the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit issue release. Except sexier .) If you haven’t read the report then I don’t want to ruin the ending, but let’s just say that we lost. Not quite a surprise, considering that the most noise Valley residents make is in opposition to measures that make driving safer, like, oh I don’t know… traffic cameras . Still, for me personally, it feels good to know that Allstate has my back, and that I am not turning into an 80-year old man sha...

Note: This column appears in the 2/12 issue of The Glendale Star, and the 2/13 issue of the Peoria Times I don’t consider myself as someone who has his finger on the pulse of local interest -- a somewhat alarming biographical tidbit for someone who writes a column for a local weekly newspaper -- but I have noticed that this area is abuzz with a supposed controversy revolving around the cameras used to catch dangerous drivers. For those unaware, cameras have been placed at specific spots throughout the Valley, including Glendale and Peoria, for the sole purpose of catching speeding drivers as well as those who take a liberal stance on the meaning behind a red light. The way it works is, the camera snaps a picture of your license plate, and you are then mailed a traffic ticket, which, according to various email forwards and other unreliable data, you may or may not have to actually pay. (My humble guess? You should probably pay it.) There is, somehow, controversy surrounding this process...