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The 2007 election is over and the results are pretty much a done deal. I was glad to see that the Hospitality Tax increase went down in flames. The sour grapes crowd is already complaining about future problems funding parks and recreation. With the better part of two years left to put an acceptable proposal before the voters, the moaning on their part is a bit premature. I think the proposal went down for two reasons. First voters found the 25% tax increase to be unacceptable, and most thought the existing 2% tax should be sufficient. The other reason that the proposal went down was the language about the future community/events center. I think the majority of voters feel that the City of Yuma should not be getting involved in a commercial project such as the proposed arena deal with Global Entertainment. City officials are already looking to alternative funding sources despite the message sent by voters regarding the events center. So what is new! The City of Yuma is famous for ignoring the will of the citizenry.

As Yuma’s next election day nears, we continue to hear about the proposed 25% increase in the hospitality tax. As is usual there has been quite a bit of misinformation generated by those with a vested interest in passing the proposition.

I really enjoy the lower Colorado River’s recreational opportunities. Recently on one hot Saturday, my grandson Alex and I decided we had an extra 90 minutes and wanted to go play in the river. While Gateway Park is fun place to spend some time, we were looking for something a bit more adventuresome.  So we decided to float the river.

I was recently asked “Where can a single gal go dancing in Yuma?” As a married man for the last 25 years, I am certainly unqualified to answer this question. I thought that perhaps a Google search would bring up some suggestions, but other than local dance studios and strip clubs, I came up empty. I suspect that the questioner already knows how to dance and probably is not interested in performing lap dances.

There is no doubt about it! Yuma suffers from a lack of venues for small to large events. Musical acts and promoters complain about it. Local sports and music fans complain about it. In fact there has been a clamoring for the local government to do something about it.