vizzda.com<\/a>.<\/p>\nMaupin on Sept.\u00a017 filed a petition with the city to rename that portion of Beverly Road \u201cto immortalize the legacy of Mr. Charles J. Kirk, a public intellectual, champion of non-violent civil discourse, statesman, master of statecraft, and minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a release announcing that petition, Maupin said Turning Point\u2019s headquarters \u201cstands as a testament to Mr. Kirk\u2019s deliberate investment in South Phoenix.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis area, often overlooked by economic and social progress, was chosen by Mr. Kirk to foster not only economic vitality but also intellectual and moral renewal, aligning with his vision of a free and virtuous society,\u201d Maupin said in a release.<\/p>\n
Petitions to rename streets and other city facilities go through a vetting process by Phoenix administration before they\u2019re presented to the council.<\/p>\n
That vetting in Maupin\u2019s case showed the petition \u201cdid not qualify as a citizen petition and therefore could not be placed on a council agenda,\u201d Barton said in a memo last Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis determination was due to the fact that Beverly Road, from 48th Street to Pointe Parkway, is a private street without public street signs,\u201d the memo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince this is a private road and not a public right-of-way the City Council does not have authority over the name of this road. A document submitted as a petition to the City Council is only considered a qualified citizen petition if the requested action is within the authority of the City Council to act,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe requested action in this situation is not within the City Council\u2019s authority to act so the document has been considered an information request.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barton said city staff told Maupin about the results of its vetting and that his report \u201cwas created for public awareness, which will be shared with Reverend Maupin as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response to AFN’s request for reaction Maupin said, ” I acknowledge with due frustration the city manager\u2019s determination that the proposed redesignation of a portion of Beverly Road as \u201cCharlie Kirk Way\u201d is impeded by the complexities of partial private\/partial city ownership.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This minor encumbrance does not diminish the imperative to honor the legacy of Charlie Kirk, a statesman whose erudition and commitment to civil discourse remain a beacon in our fractious age.”<\/p>\n
But he already has a back-up plan to submit to the council at its next meeting.<\/p>\n
“I will present to council a citizen petition to rename the 7th Street Bridge (7th Street, from Lincoln Street to Jefferson Street) \u2014 more precisely an overpass, and the most traversed gateway to our vibrant downtown\u2014 as a fitting tribute to Mr. Kirk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This structure, adjacent to the baseball park and proximate to the civic center and sports complexes, stands as a lively nexus of our community\u2019s aspirations. The city has no extant plans to rename this bridge, rendering it an ideal canvas for commemoration.<\/p>\n
This proposal, modest yet profound, imposes no burden upon residents or businesses, requiring no alteration of addresses nor disruption of community sensibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It offers a dignified means to honor an American icon of civility and public debate, guiding citizens toward the cherished pastime of baseball while immortalizing Kirk\u2019s contributions to the republic\u2019s moral and intellectual fabric.”<\/p>\n
He also noted his petition will “require no public funds to make real this important memorial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Private funds have already been committed for banner signage, historic markers and esthetic improvements – as permitted by the city,” Maupin said.<\/p>\n
The number of private streets and roads in Phoenix is nearly impossible to determine.<\/p>\n
In at least some occasions, they were built by companies that needed access to main thoroughfares \u2013 as was the case with a stretch of 48th Street between Baseline Road and South Pointe Parkway that underwent a surprisingly long widening project.<\/p>\n
That stretch had been built by Charles Schwab Co., which agreed to turn it over to the city for conversion. To a public thoroughfare in return for a widening from three lanes to four.<\/p>\n
The project was supposed to last only a year when it began in 2021 but wasn\u2019t completed until last year because crews discovered a tangled network of utility cables and rocks that were not properly documented in plans filed with the city decades ago.<\/p>\n
Turning Point\u2019s Beverly Road headquarters became a mecca for Kirk\u2019s mourners in the Valley in the days after his assassination<\/p>\n
Phoenix Police on Sept. 14 arrested a 19-year-old man for desecrating the large makeshift memorial of flowers and other items left at the site. The status of that case is unclear as there is no Superior Court record of charges having been filed.<\/p>\n
In his petition, Maupin called Kirk \u201ca public intellectual, champion of non-violent civil discourse, statesman, and master of statecraft, as well as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (who) devoted his life to the advancement of liberty and justice, weaving a legacy that resonates with the timeless aspirations of a free and virtuous society.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called the assassination \u201ca deliberate attempt to silence a voice that championed reason, liberty, and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis act of malice, far from dimming Mr. Kirk\u2019s legacy, has cast his contributions into sharper relief, transforming his martyrdom into a rallying cry for the perpetuation of non-violent dialogue and reasoned statecraft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“His death serves as a stark reminder of the cost of standing for truth and the urgent need to preserve the principles he embodied.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maupin also called Kirk \u201ca paragon of intellectual fortitude and rhetorical elegance\u201d who \u201cstood as a bulwark against the encroaching tides of incivility.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said rededicating the portion of Beverly Road would be \u201ca communal act of remembrance to honor Mr. Kirk\u2019s sacrifice and mitigate the enduring grief of his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maupin, who in years past has organized several nonviolent protests of brutality against Phoenix Police, also addressed City Council after filing his petition.<\/p>\n
He noted the council has renamed city streets after \u201ceverything from Robert E. Lee to Martin Luther King\u201d and that \u201cWe can have conservative heroes and liberal heroes.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Phoenix City Manager\u2019s office has decided it cannot do anything about a petition to rename part of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":305207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,19719,154725,94425,1589,78288,154726,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-305206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-charlie-kirk","12":"tag-charlie-kirk-way","13":"tag-jeff-barton","14":"tag-phoenix","15":"tag-phoenix-city-council","16":"tag-rev-jarret-maupin-jr","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115377926716654966","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}