Urbane Legend

As you know -- because you’re a New Times reader and we’re New Times -- we’re not the sort to glad-hand politicians. If we were clinging to the lip of a crevasse and forced to pick a pol to save our life, we’d just let go. If choosing death wasn’t an option, we’d pick Tom Simplot, Phoenix City Council, District 4 (and vice mayor). The urbane public official has championed a number of causes we think worthy in his years in office, but it’s the small cultural flourishes that keep on giving. One example is the summer Moonlight Movies in the Park series at Steele Indian School Park. The councilman negotiated the funding that built the park’s three-story-tall movie screen, and while the fare’s never been cutting-edge -- the Meryl Streep/Anne Hathaway catfight The Devil Wears Prada plays at sundown Friday, April 17 -- hey, it’s politics. Let’s be thankful for what we can get.
Fri., April 17, 2009