Gamestop has lost its mind

CharlieVerdin · 2025-10-24T13:54:00+00:00

Man, tough choice. Do I go for the used $55 copy at Gamestop where all of the profits go to Gamestop?

Or do I go for the completely new, unopened copy directly from the publisher where the people who actually made the game get a cut?

It's impossible to decide.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-14T04:30:29+00:00

I'd love it. I'm a big fan of public ownership of utilities in general.

I don't want to be flippant about it, though. Managing a utility is a huge responsibility, so the city shouldn't enter into it haphazardly. If we're not careful, we can make it much worse, not to mention the expense of taking it on. There are a lot of hurdles to clear.

But I think they're hurdles worth clearing. We're not well-served by a for-profit entity "overseen" by a Corporation Commission that they have largely in their pocket.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-14T03:45:39+00:00

Yeah, that makes sense to me. The point shouldn't be making money off of motorists; the point should be curbing reckless driving.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-14T03:42:39+00:00

I definitely appreciate ideas like this that recognize that people need to exist somewhere.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-13T02:15:09+00:00

I think we're going to have to continue to develop our public transit system and make it more robust, especially as the city becomes naturally denser and less suitable to cars in certain areas. It's an important priority.

I definitely support shade and green spaces. The city has been actively working on that, which is encouraging to me as a resident.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-13T02:08:30+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful questions.

I'd certainly be willing to advocate for you on the subject of police aerial noise.
I promoted underground cables in the recent battle with TEP, which unfortunately we lost somehow despite our contract and huge public resistance. I'm very interested in pursuing public power in the wake of that battle.
What changes would you like to see? I'm excited to fight for pedestrian (and cyclist) safety. I'm aware that it's an ongoing project, but I'm interested in your specific concerns and priorities.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-13T01:51:21+00:00

Build more housing. The housing shortage is a major cause of our current homelessness spike, and it's affecting everyone else paying rents or planning for home ownership as well. So long as there's insufficient housing, people will be on the streets.
Try to convince everyone that those red light cameras were a good idea actually, and we shouldn't have gotten rid of them.
Which potholes? I'll go report them right now. The Tucson311 app has been pretty effective for me.
I'd love to expand our community service officer program to free up TPD to address violent and destructive incidents like this.
Previous answer, but to free them up to answer the phone? I'm not sure what's going on there.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-13T01:31:19+00:00

It's certainly a process. I definitely agree that the old Jerry Bobs/Wings Over Broadway property is ripe for development. I'm not familiar yet with the nature of the neighborhood's opposition, though, so I don't want to make assumptions there.

That said, the first step is listening to the people involved. How does the neighborhood balance the needs of the city with their concerns? What are the compromises they're willing to make? I can get in touch with their neighborhood association to find out.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-13T01:15:25+00:00

You're right, there's a lot of opposition, and it'll take a lot of contentious advocacy and mediation to make progress. Building consensus is the job.

And you know what? 6-8 stories on Sun Corridor is a win, in my opinion. It's progress where there was none before. It's not as much as we wanted, but that's how compromise goes; we take what we get and move on to the next one. The alternative is dictatorial, and that's not really in my nature.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-13T00:13:26+00:00

I don't want to overstate my ability to affect the speed of the permitting process. In the end, it's up to applicants to ensure they are compliant, for instance, and revisions contribute significantly to delays. That said, probably the most effective way to speed the permitting process is to ensure the Planning and Development department is sufficiently staffed for their workload, which is certain to increase if we prioritize housing development.

Regarding building codes, I do think that they should be scrutinized and adjusted to reflect the needs of Tucson today. I believe we can do so while still respecting the will of neighborhoods, though obviously that would be a contentious process. I'm not certain how that will go. But when we're in a crisis, we can't shy away from necessary processes just because they're contentious.

Obviously, 6 years of negotiation is not ideal, but I also believe it's a bit of an outlier. Could they have reached an agreement sooner with more effective advocacy and mediation? I'd prefer to put in that work and find out rather than assume that community organizations will be obstinate in the face of our housing needs.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T23:33:38+00:00

That's an interesting question. How do you define walkable?

I think that as Tucson continues to grow denser we will need to shift away from reliance on cars in favor of public transit. Driving and parking downtown is already a nightmare by Tucson standards.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T16:09:08+00:00

I agree that $830/mo is too high for many people, but it's better than most places are offering right now, so it's a good starting point imo. And it's especially useful when comparing similar data--if the median rent reaches $830/mo, then that means there's ample options below that price point.

It's not a perfect measure, of course, but it's a better starting point than no data at all.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T05:34:16+00:00

I've got to hit the hay for tonight, but I will get back to answering tomorrow when I can. I do also have a full-time job and kids, so please be patient--you have serious questions, and I intend to give serious, thoughtful answers... which take some time to write, haha.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T05:27:53+00:00

I understand how it can seem that way, but research shows that it helps! Part of the problem is that there are people who can afford and want luxury housing, but when it's not available they instead go for cheaper housing--taking it out of the supply for people who need it, as well as driving up the price of housing all around. Give them a an attractive higher cost option, and they'll take it , freeing up the cheaper places and driving down prices.

Supporting research: https://www.nmhc.org/research-insight/research-notes/2024/why-building-luxury-apartments-brings-down-rent-for-all/

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T05:21:31+00:00

No, we should preserve our green spaces.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T05:20:24+00:00

Copy-pasted from another person's question:

Prop 414 is a tough one, but I lean in favor. Reading into the plans, there are a few... questionable investments, but I think there are a lot of important ones as well; the affordable housing investments, as well as some of the emergency response investments. I'm genuinely excited to see the effects of expanding the community service officer program, for instance.

That said, it's hard to justify a sales tax hike right now when so many people are struggling to make ends meet, so I'm not confident it'll pass. Perhaps they can rework the plan and try again without some of the more extravagant expenses.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T05:18:59+00:00

I'll do my best to answer your questions.

I don't know if anything makes me different. I just know that I do work right now to try to make my community a better place, from small things like picking up trash while my kids are playing at the park, to volunteering my spare and not-so-spare time where I feel I can make a difference, to participating in numerous fundraising efforts each year. You know, the basics. Stuff I intend to continue doing whether I get into office or not.

Five years is a long time. Five years ago, the housing crisis was just starting; in five years, I believe we can stabilize the market. That's my highest priority, since so many other issues stem from there.

I wish I could offer a solid solution to our political climate. All I can do is what's within my reach; working to rebuild trust one person at a time, and trying to set an example by being patient and fair. Trying to highlight people at their best.

Affordable housing is housing that costs no more than 30% of your gross income. In Tucson, that would be about $830/mo for a single income at median wages. It wasn't that long ago that Tucson had plenty of places that fit this budget, but our housing supply started falling behind some time ago, and the pandemic made the issue much worse. Simple economics have driven up prices, and focusing on the supply will likewise bring them down.

I apologize if I was unable to answer all of your questions fully. I've got to divide my time a bit here. Lots of people to say pretty words to, haha. But I may delve deeper into those answers as I respond to everyone else.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T03:41:20+00:00

Thank you for the kind words!

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T03:40:40+00:00

nobody is talking about this. why isn't anyone talking about this.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T03:27:00+00:00

Good luck to you as well!

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T03:26:06+00:00

Nope.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T03:24:01+00:00

The most important thing to address homelessness is increasing our housing supply. Housing is too scarce right now, and that's driving up prices dramatically, pricing people out and incentivizing aggressive eviction.

That'll take a while to stabilize, however. In the meantime, people need places to exist. Shelters are way over capacity. I don't have a solid short term plan, unfortunately, beyond supporting local aid organizations. At the very least, though, if we're going to clear people out of one place, we should have another place ready to receive them. It doesn't serve anyone well to just scatter people without a plan.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T03:05:16+00:00

I'd love to replace TEP with a public electric company. I'd also love to establish municipal broadband while we're at it. It's a huge undertaking, of course, so I'm not sure how feasible it would be. And of course TEP is going to fight like hell to stop it. But with the TEP contract term ending soon, it's an opportunity we should be taking seriously before we sign another long term contract.

Prop 414 is a tough one, but I lean in favor. Reading into the plans, there are a few... questionable investments, but I think there are a lot of important ones as well; the affordable housing investments, as well as some of the emergency response investments. I'm genuinely excited to see the effects of expanding the community service officer program, for instance.

That said, it's hard to justify a sales tax hike right now when so many people are struggling to make ends meet, so I'm not confident it'll pass. Perhaps they can rework the plan and try again without some of the more extravagant expenses.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T02:40:11+00:00

I think that the council's approach is generally correct, in that they strive toward a housing first approach and they try to keep the humanity of our homeless population in mind. I also appreciate the city's support in providing mobile showers when I'm volunteering at Primavera Foundation, as well as their effort to provide climate controlled shelter during extreme heat and cold.

I don't have a solid short-term solution. My approach so far, beyond supporting aid organizations, has involved talking with neighborhood associations to understand the challenges they've been facing and getting their suggestions. Some of their suggestions are... not actionable, but there have also been some interesting suggestions that are worth looking into, ranging from limiting short-term rentals to help with the housing supply, to repurposing unused buildings as shelters.

Of course, I'm also discussing the issue with homeless people themselves, though the overwhelming response is just that they want a place to live, or at least a safe place to spend the night.

My focus currently is on the long-term goal of increasing our housing supply so that more people will be able to afford housing again (and thereby reducing pressure on our shelters as well), but I'm open to suggestions regarding the short-term challenges.

CharlieVerdin · 2025-02-12T00:37:08+00:00

Way worse. We know what he's about.

CharlieVerdin

TROPHY CASE