[Source: Howard J. Blitz, Yuma Sun] -- Over the years, one has heard the cry that if government did not provide the goods or services in question, then the goods or services would never be made available. That idea has been promulgated so much that it now extends to practically everything that is discussed. Whether it is a local sports arena, professional sports stadium, health care, global warming or even providing for one's retirement, the song continues to be sung that if government does not do it, then it will never materialize. Last week, in The Sun it was reported that a $600,000 grant from Arizona State Parks Department was added to an equal amount provided by both the city of Yuma and the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area in order to begin work on the Quechan Nature Park to transform 10 acres of rough and overgrown land into a well-developed addition to the Yuma East Wetlands.
The park will be located on tribal land just east of the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge along the Colorado River. There is no question that the park project will allow for the development of additional recreational opportunities for many individuals and will satisfy environmental and economic needs for the Yuma and Winterhaven communities. The amphitheater, park ramadas and irrigated grass will make the area very pleasing to the eye, as will the resulting landscaping. The end result in any project, as this one, is not in question. Unfortunately, however, what is usually not debated and rarely discussed, but rather automatically assumed, is how this or any other aforementioned project is to be achieved. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
