Page 10 July 2013 Consider the past 4 years. Is your portfolio ready for what’s next? LivingWellMadeSimple.com eSimple.com rtfolio what’s PHOTOG’S CHOICE! Due 9/30 Due 9/ /30 SUBMIT ENTRIES AT ARCADIAPIX.COM ARCADIA NEWS PHOTO CONTEST [Greg is currently writing a book about the history of Arcadia, so we’re printing some of his personal favorites until his return this fall. Enjoy this summer travel theme column from July, 2007.] By Greg A. Bruns A couple I know jetted off to Naples, Italy last month for a vacation they have waited an agonizing long time for. As it turns out, they learned all sorts of new definitions for agony. They probably should have waited just a little longer to take this trip – at least until the garbage fires go out. Naples was recently hip-deep in a garbage and landfill issue that boggles the mind of an American city dweller. It’s a political problem that would seem likely to only happen in a country run by a bunch of nine-year-olds—some moony bunch of juveniles who call their country something clever like Pokémonistan. Details are a little hard to come by (who wants to travel to the garbage capital of the E.U. to cover this story?). From what I can gather, the ultimate passive aggressive movement in global history went down something like this: Landfill space in Italy was running out and everyone knew it. So last year, work was started on expanding the facilities. Environmentalists were outraged and staged massive protests to beg the municipalities to consider alternative sites. Classic NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) stuff, it would seem. Political officials, recognizing the issue, but not willing to change their stance, just smiled absently and said (I’m paraphrasing all of this), “Nope. We dig here .” NIMBY guerillas countered with, “We will chain ourselves to the heaping piles of discarded foodstuffs and medical waste if you don’t find another location.” Politician’s retort: “Nope. Time’s a wastin’ – if we don’t dig now, the streets will be a sea of trash. It’ll be like Venice, only with garbage instead of garbage floating in a little bit of water.” NIMBY guerillas: “We’d rather live with the trash in our city than have you wreck more of the gorgeous, highly- sought land right next to the dump.” Politicians: “You want it? Youuuuuuu got it!” And that was it. In a month the dumps were full and the trash workers had no place else to drop off the goodies. So they halted service. And the piles of refuse in the streets started growing. And growing. And growing. It wouldn’t be long before they swelled into gigantic rotting mountains of maggot- crawling trash. Rumor has it, some of the more “odiferous” piles actually created motion, like The Blob. Most of the restaurants in Naples had to close. The smell was so bad, customers couldn’t eat without retching. The heaps of rubbish toppled over into the roads, reducing the streets into slim paths that only mopeds could navigate. People complained. The politicians pointed at the NIMBY guerillas and said, “Talk to them . They said they wanted to live with the slag. We’re just giving them what they said they wanted – you certainly can’t fault us for that.” Another month goes by and summer starts rolling in. Stuff starts stewing in the heaps of waste. That’s when the fires started. People who couldn’t stand it anymore ran outside in a fit of grappa- induced rage and set the streets ablaze. As the black, greasy smoke rolled skyward, the environmentalists lost some of the footing in their original argument. Naturally, those who end up with half the city on fire as a result of their position on an issue, are going to have some explaining to do. It’s high time passive aggressive becomes a new branch of democratic government. We can call it the Pagro party. The campaign slogan is already done: “You want it? You got it!” You want heroin legalized? Done. You want bloody puppy fights? Done. You want to stop poverty in Africa? We’ll move them all here and they can live with you and Bono. You want to save the spotted owl? There will be so many screeching owls flying around here your kids will need diving belts to play outside. Then, as the country crumbles into mass chaos, the Pagro party can sit back with their feet up on the table and say, “ What ? This is what you said you wanted! Don’t even start blaming us for this – you said you wanted puppies to fight to the death. What’s that? You want me to fix it now? Okay. But don’t ever question me again. Also, taxes are going up.” Okay, so it’s kind of like a dictatorship in a way. As with any overwhelming form of government, it will eventually be debated in a violent, wild war in the streets in the form of a coup d’etat. Such is life in Pokémonistan. Greg can be reached via e-mail: greg@arcadianews.com.

Susan Tibbets Associate Broker, REALTOR® SFR Certified Office: 602.463.7000 E-mail: susantibbets@gmail.com Web: www.ArcadiaHomes.com Here’s what a client of Susan’s has to say... “We met Susan Tibbets during a home search in 2000. We were impressed with how she marketed the home we bought and we asked her to sell our home. We followed her advice and she successfully sold our home during the first open house! So now, when it came time to sell our home of 13 years, we contacted Susan. She is now working with her husband/business partner, Rich. Their advice, marketing techniques, strong ethics, and professionalism, proved successful again. We are very satisfied clients. Susan and Rich have 25 years Arcadia experience. You can trust them to know the marketplace, and advise you correctly. It was seamless working with them.” – “Thank you Susan and Rich!” - Austen and Christine Schroeder 6012 E. Calle Rosa 3 Bd Rm, 2 Ba, 2,000 Sq. Ft. – Wonderful Pool & Large Back Yard. 17,500 Sq. Ft. Lot on a Beautiful Street $735,000 6126 E. Wilshire Drive 4 Bedrooms, 2 Baths plus Pool Near 60th Street and Thomas Rd. Fantastic neighborhood $410,000 4301 N. 21st Street #35 Wonderful Townhome, Great Location. 2 Bd, 2 Ba. 1585 Sq. Ft., 2 Car Garage. Gated Community - Walk to Biltmore Shopping $229,000 6333 E. Catalina Drive 3 Bd Rm, 3 Ba, Pool… Wonderful sought-after “Age- Restricted” Community $269,500 4948 E. Palomino Road Base of Camelback Mountain 1.2 Acres, 3300 Sq. Ft., Amazing Views 4 Bedrooms + Guest Room, 4.5 Baths $800,000 9th Floor with amazing views. Features include Fitness Facilities, Club Room for Private Events, Roof-top Pool/Spa, 2 Bedrooms + Den, 2.5 Baths, Gorgeous Throughout $1,475,000 6225 E. Lafayette Blvd. Wonderful Lot and Location 4 Bd Rm, 2 Ba + Office/Den. In the Heart of Arcadia $846,000 SOLD! SOLD! YO U R P E R F E C T PA R T N E R S SUSAN TIBBETS & C O L D W E L L B A N K E R Recently SOLD or IN ESCROW in Arcadia & the Surrounding Area 6641 E. Exeter Blvd. / 2515 N. Miller Rd. / 8441 N. Via Linda / 8304 E. Via Rico 5446 E. Exeter Blvd. / 12596 E. Saddlehorn Tr. / 6230 E. Avalon / 4042 E. Saint Joseph Way 6436 E. Calle Del Media / 11629 E. Del Tembre Dr. / 4334 N. 66th Place / 8907 N. 82nd St. 4434 N. 69th Pl. / 11055 N. 79th Pl. / 6224 E. Aire Libre / 2523 N. Miller Rd. / 8666 E. Cypress 8732 E. Buena Terra / 4948 E. Palomino Rd. / 7181 E. Camelback Rd. #905 / 6225 E. Lafayette Blvd. 6012 E. Calle Rosa Recently SOLD! We can sell your home too... SOLD! Golden Keys (61 st /Thomas) Really Nice... New Listing New Listing Exclusive Scottsdale Waterfront Amazing... New Listing IN ESCROW