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The FBI's latest report on mortgage fraud doesn't put Arizona in the top 10 states for the growing problem, but says its one of top 20 states where the problem is prevalent.

Highlights from the report released this week:

It's the park that almost got away, the one that now stands as the city's most popular hiking destination.

Pinnacle Peak Park draws more than 1,200 visitors a day which is more, I'm guessing, than you'll find at any other Scottsdale attraction. Well, except for shopping malls, of course. Shopping will always reign supreme in Scottsdale. And the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. Who doesn't love a good railroad park?

But Pinnacle Peak is undeniably popular.

Now the state Land Department plans to auction off 17 acres next to the park. And the only potential buyer so far? A developer.

This is sad but not unexpected, given the city's early track record at Pinnacle Peak.

For generations, the mountain has been a favorite with Valley hikers and rock climbers – a place for picnics and panoramic views and the occasional shared bottles of wine while the sun went down. That all changed in 1994.

Suddenly, Pinnacle Peak was closed to themasses. The peak, which had for so long belonged to all of us, was sold by the state to the highest bidder, the developer who would build Estancia.

As a condition of the sale, however, the city and the state cut a deal with the developer. He could build his luxury houses and his exclusive golf club at the base. But he would have to return the peak to the public – 185 acres of the mountain plus 23 more for the planned Desert Discovery Center -- before the first swing of a golf club.

Well, Estancia's golf course opened in 1995, but the fence around the peak remained. An opening date of early 1996 was pushed to fall 1997 which became spring 1998 and summer 1999 while suspicions grew that the developer was trying to put the pinch on our peak.

Finally, reluctantly, the peak was turned over to the city in late 1999 and reopened in 2002.

By then, the park had shrunk to 155 acres – 30 short of what was promised. And the 23-acre museum site was only 10 acres – half of which was unusable, which is why the DDC is now slated for Thompson Peak and Bell, the gateway into the McDowell-Sonoran Preserve.

The city never really explained what happened to the promises made at Pinnacle Peak. The best they came up with at the time was that the project simply “evolved”.

Well, here's a chance for it to evolve once more. The state plans to sell 16.81 acres just east of the peak. The land, which is zoned for commercial use and appraised at $12.75 million, will be sold to the highest bidder on June 30.

Thus far, the only interested bidder is a developer who isn't talking about his plans. Unfortunately, neither is the city and it should be.

The park's 50-space parking lot is often full, forcing hikers and climbers to park on the street. If the state land is developed, there are fears that overflow street parking could be cut off – essentially cutting access to the park a la Echo Canyon in Phoenix.

Among those worried is Carla, the former executive director of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy and the city's foremost expert on preservation. She says the city needs to either work a deal with the developer to allow public use of some of the land or buy it outright in order to protect public access.

“Pinnacle Peak is an incredible public asset which was supposed to be an encompassing educational facility and that didn't happen because the space got limited by a previous council decision,” she said. “But this council can make a stand so that the park in the future doesn't become a problem and isn't cut off from the public again.”

In addition to extra parking, the land could be used to enhance the park. Among the things on the city staff's wish list: a classroom and education center where people could learn about the desert, an amphitheater and maybe an alternate trail so that those with disabilities could also enjoy this desert that exists nowhere else on earth.

Of course, $12.75 million is a lot of money. But 30 years from now, I wonder which we would miss more, the $12 million or the land?

(Column published in Scottsdale Republic, May 15, 2008.)

Just when you think the political cage fight in this state can’t get any nastier, it does. Gov. Janet Napolitano on Tuesday put on her brass knuckles and took direct aim at Sheriff Joe Arpaio, delivering a well-placed punch right to his wallet by yanking his $1.6 million state contract to fight illegal immigration.

Apparently, she has lately decided to take an interest in clearing up some of those famed 60,000 felony warrants that have been piling up over the last few years. And so the sheriff's share of the pot created to fight human smuggling is now gone.

That’s more than a shame. It's outrageous. Human smugglers are the worst of the worst – the ones that everybody ought to be after. Every single day, there’s a kidnapping in Phoenix – and those are just the ones that are reported. All over this city, there are drophouses where people are terrorized, threatened, beaten and worse.

I don’t care where a person is from or how he or she got here, it’s inhumane that this stuff is happening and it should not be permitted in our city.  To take any money away from this fight is just wrong – even if you suspect some of it is helping Sheriff Joe run his immigration sweeps.

Of course, this move by the governor is all about political payback.  Just like Arpaio’s “crime suppression” operations are all about nabbing a few illegal immigrants -- not to mention a ton of publicity -- in hopes that the rest will leave.

Just like Phoenix Police Department’s new Operations Order 1.4 – the one that supposedly allows the cops to call ICE when they deem it  necessary -- is a sham.

I’ve been critical of the sheriff’s crime suppression operations because they don’t really seem to suppress anything, given that the sheriff is gone by the time the 10 p.m. news is over.  

But to punish him by diverting resources away from the fight against human smuggling is just wrong. And it hurts us all.

Barry Goldwater's iconic stature in Arizona was recently confirmed by the Arizona Legislature and Gov. Janet Napolitano.