Let’s make Arizona’s future a bright one in science, medicine
BY DENNY BARNEY
A long time has passed since Arizona’s economy could be defined by the five C’s—cotton, cattle, copper, citrus and climate.
In more recent decades, real estate, construction and tourism powered Arizona’s growth. Even more recently and perhaps less noticeably, life sciences, biomedical, higher education and advanced technologies have emerged, particularly in the East Valley.
Let’s take a closer look:
Aerospace: The military’s presence in Arizona has attracted businesses serving the defense industry, including Lockheed Martin, whose Gilbert facility manufactures the optics for the Apache helicopters built in Mesa. The Chandler Airpark is nine square miles and a magnet to aerospace businesses such as Crane Aerospace & Electronics. Crane provides products found in satellites,
medical implants, missiles and unmanned aerial systems (also known as drones.)
Bio-science: In the past decade, bioscience jobs jumped 41 percent in Arizona.
Heliae Development LLC in Gilbert produces industrial scale algae strains for use in the food, fuel, biochemical and health sectors. Innovations Science and Technology Incubator in Chandler offers entrepreneurs space and amenities— including laboratories—to nurture their businesses. Chandler’s incubator could very well produce the next wave of new jobs in this sector.
Medical: The numbers of health care jobs are increasing everywhere. The Celebration Stem Cell Centre in Gilbert is a private bank for umbilical cord blood and adult bonemarrow-derived stem cells. Individuals can use this cord blood later in life to help cure diseases or aid in the recovery of catastrophic injuries. Chandler Regional Medical Center is the city’s seventh largest employer and the only Level 1 trauma center in the Southeast Valley.
So what does this all mean? What does it tell us about the future? And what should we be doing to continue the forward momentum? I’ve been talking to economists like Jim Rounds, senior vice president of Elliot D. Pollack and Company, an economic and real estate consulting firm. Here’s my take:
The future looks good. The East Valley was hit hard by the financial crisis and housing bust of 2008 but it has been successfully climbing out of that recession. We are doing well in terms of diversifying our economy into the high-growth industries that provide higher-wage jobs for residents. This trend is important because it makes us less dependent on those industries whose tanking fueled the recession. Besides, we’ll see an uptick in population growth shortly and even better job growth in home building, construction and retail.
We’re doing the important things right. Our quality of life in the Southeast Valley is generally high. Our schools are well regarded. We have excellent options for higher education and high-tech skills training, which is what attracts many of the current employers in these sectors to our area and continues to fuel new
Letters to the editor
Arizonans need to act to reverse federal overreach
Dear Editor,
I’m writing because Sunday, Feb. 15, was the last day to buy your Obamacare insurance without having to pay a big fine for the right to not buy it. If you bought it, I’ll bet you are expecting a big subsidy from the feds (your neighbor’s taxes) to help pay for it—even though it is contrary to the wording of the Obamacare law!
Good letter writer
The federal government and its agencies are out of control. They have neither a Constitutional obligation nor right to be in the insurance business. Even if they did, do we want the same people who have squandered the Social Security reserve and flat out lied to our veterans
It was really a big surprise to read in the Letters to the Editor by James White that our newly elected governor recommends cutting our state university budgets by $75 million. That’s a pretty large cut. When Ducey was campaigning, I was under the impression that he was dedicated to higher education in Arizona as it is the likely home to the expanding biotech and bioscience industries.
If we are serious about our longterm vision for Arizona’s future and not
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at the VA hospital in Phoenix to be in control of our health care?
We, the people of the United States, can impose restraints on the federal government with an Article V Convention of States which authorizes the people—through their state legislatures—to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
continue to be ranked very near the bottom in per capital spending on higher education, we need to reconsider this budget cut. Now the state Legislature will have a look at the budget. We are hopeful that their vision for Arizona is clearer than the governor’s. State
investments in our communities.
Make sure we don’t mess it up. As policy-makers we need to work together to ensure the business community of two simple facts. One, we protect educational assets. For a business this means they will have the quantity and quality of workers they need in the future. Two, there exists a business-friendly culture that is responsive to business needs. A business looks to stability and predictability when making large and long-term investments. They are not just interested in equitable taxes and reasonable regulations; they want to know this will not change on a whim, or in the next cycle of elected politicians. Bad politics can drive out good policies.
Gone are the days when Arizona was known only for its pleasant golfing weather and irrigated agriculture. The East Valley is making great strides—in technology, retail, manufacturing, tourism, education, agriculture, transportation and advanced business services.
We all have a role in defining Arizona’s tomorrow. Let’s make it a bright one.
Denny Barney is a Gilbert resident and member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
Now is the time to tell our State legislators to take this action. Get involved by visiting the website, www. conventionofstates.com. Email your state senator today and ask for his support.
Jeff Poulos Gilbert, AZ COS Volunteer
Sen. Steve Yarbrough, State Reps. Javan Mesnard and Jeff Weninger—make sure to do the right thing!
Peter Goss
Chandler
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