Coyotes and Rattlers

So since I can't talk specifically about what I've been doing at work as I'm sure it would violate some confidentiality rule or other, I'll tell the story of what's been happening at Goldwater in the past few days in the words of reporters who wrote their stories based on public information.

One case that is particularly interesting is the one involving the Phoenix Coyotes.  The lead attorney on that project is Carrie-Ann Sitren, for whom it has been great to work.  Last week ESPN reported:

PHOENIX -- A conservative watchdog group plans to ask a judge for a temporary restraining order Friday to prevent a Glendale City Council vote on a lease agreement that would clear the way for the sale of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. 

The Goldwater Institute said Thursday that its request will be filed at 8:30 a.m. Friday in Maricopa County Superior Court. The institute bases its request on its contention that the city violated the Arizona open meetings law by failing to make public all documents related to the lease.

However, the next day:

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Phoenix Coyotes' long wait for an owner might finally be over.

Glendale's City Council approved a 20-year lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena on Friday, clearing the last major hurdle in the sale of the Coyotes to a group led by former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison. 

The council ratified the 20-year, nearly $325 million agreement by a 4-2 vote after a sometimes-contentious six-hour meeting attended by Jamison, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

But the Goldwater Institute has made very clear that the fight isn't over yet, as the Phoenix Business Journal reported today:

Lawyers at the Goldwater Institute    are working on their next jab at Glendale’s deal with prospective Phoenix Coyotes buyer Greg Jamison. 

The watchdog group promises to be back in court soon as it fights the city’s approval of a 20-year, $300 million arena management fee plan to pay Jamison to run Jobing.com Arena if he buys the hockey team. 

“We are definitely pursuing this and are working on the next court filing now,” said Goldwater executive vice president Starlee Rhoades.

Aside from this kind of stuff that is public knowledge, I probably shouldn't say anything more for fear of saying something I shouldn't.  Suffice it to say, working at the Institute right now is a pretty awesome experience.  At this point all of the clerks and interns have arrived, and it's a pretty awesome group.

During my lunch break I'm usually able to catch some of the Euro 2012 matches.  I always DVR the games too and then watch them when I get home, but I'm usually able to time my lunch so that I can see the last 20 minutes or so of one of the games.  Today I was able to watch the end of France v. England while eating my subway sandwich.

Catching France v. England during
my lunch break.

Outside of work, just hanging out in Phoenix has been pretty fun.  I went to an Arizona Rattlers game the other night with one of the other guys working at Goldwater this summer.  They're the arena football team from around here.  While the arena obviously wasn't that crowded, it was still a halfway decent turnout.  We checked out a few bars in the area too.  Afterwards I was able to meet up with a girl I knew at Wake and some of her friends, and we went to The Devil's Advocate, a bar in Tempe.

This week is going to be really busy, but really interesting.  I'll try to update this thing more often throughout the week.

Arena football!