{"id":489183,"date":"2026-01-03T10:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/489183\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T10:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:07:14","slug":"goldwater-institute-needs-to-respect-scottsdale-residents-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/489183\/","title":{"rendered":"Goldwater Institute needs to respect Scottsdale residents"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

By Carla | Scottsdale<\/p>\n

OPINION \u2013 Once again, the Goldwater Institute thinks it knows Scottsdale better than its residents.<\/p>\n

A recent editorial from the institute\u2019s CEO Victor Riches touts an unnecessary hospital rezoning by Banner Health that will reduce the quality of\u00a0 Scottsdale\u2019s healthcare, citywide.<\/p>\n

Riches\u2019 position comes after a judge recently dismissed a lawsuit in which the institute sought to derail Prop 490, a voter-approved measure to invest in Scottsdale\u2019s parks,\u00a0 protect our Preserve and provide additional funding for our fire and police departments. I was proud to serve as campaign manager for the Yes on 490 effort.<\/p>\n

The institute never considered the consequences of defunding the preserve, city parks and public safety, or the time and money it costs Scottsdale to defend the will of its voters. Instead, they have doubled down and appealed the ruling!<\/p>\n

Now, apparently, they\u2019re also jumping into another local issue without considering the consequences \u2013 the quality of healthcare in Scottsdale. Riches\u2019 editorial doesn\u2019t account for the shortage of doctors and nurses and the fact that adding another, unnecessary, hospital would spread resources too thin, hurting patients and raising costs. He fails to mention that Scottsdale already has an excellent healthcare system and Banner\u2019s plans could break what doesn\u2019t need fixing.<\/p>\n

Most of us live in the real world where lives are at risk when a hospital doesn\u2019t have enough staff or a Level One Trauma Unit. Personally, as a senior with a heart condition, I need to count on quality health care.<\/p>\n

Years ago, I helped champion the creation of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. It has become one of the things that make Scottsdale special. Scottsdale\u2019s current health care system, powered for more than 60 years by HonorHealth, is another. We shouldn\u2019t allow an outside entity to lessen our quality of life.<\/p>\n

Please submit comments at\u00a0yourvalley.net\/letters<\/a> or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org<\/a>.\u00a0We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our\u00a0Civility Guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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