Dear HCN,


I understand why Stephen J. Lyons moved to Washington state. I don’t understand why he didn’t do it sooner (HCN, 3/16/98). Here in Arizona we have the same problem. Many people move here (mostly from California) and discover that they hate it because of our “bad welfare system, conservative politics, low wages, poor indigent care, bad roads,” etc., etc., ad nauseum. The problem I have with all of this is that Arizona is filling up with people who hate to be here, and they won’t leave.


I would be most happy to assist in their departure, especially if they would take real estate salesmen with them. Thanks for the opportunity to rant and rave.

W.M. Martin


Kingman, Arizona

Close window X

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Our articles are available for republishing, but images are only available on a case-by-case basis. You can’t republish photographs or illustrations without written permission from High Country News and/or the photographer. Please reach out to syndication@hcn.org to request illustrations and photography for specific stories. Republishing guidelines

• Credit the author and High Country News - We prefer Author Name, High Country News at the byline.  At the top of the story, if on the web, please include this text and link: “This story was originally published by High Country News.”
• Check the image requirements - Images that are clearly marked CC or from federal agencies are in the creative commons and are available for republishing. Outside of this, you can’t republish photographs or illustrations without written permission from High Country News and/or the photographer. Please reach out to syndication@hcn.org to request more information.
• Don’t change anything significant - Articles must be republished in their entirety. Revisions for house style or references to time (“yesterday” to “today”) are allowed. If larger revisions are necessary, including significant trims or an editor’s note, contact us at syndication@hcn.org to get approval for the change ahead of republishing.
• Share on social media - When sharing on social tag High Country News in your post and note the story is from @highcountrynews
  • Twitter: @highcountrynews 
  • Instagram: @highcountrynews
  • TikTok: @highcountrynews
  • Facebook: @highcountrynews
  • LinkedIn: High Country News
• Stay in touch - Let us know you republished the story. Send a link to syndication@hcn.org once you’ve republished the story and let us know how it’s resonating with your readers.

Lyons did the right thing

by W. M. Martin, High Country News
May 25, 1998

<h1>Lyons did the right thing</h1> <p class="byline">by W. M. Martin, High Country News <br />May 25, 1998</p> <p>Dear HCN,</p> <p>I understand why Stephen<br /> J. Lyons moved to Washington state. I don’t understand why he<br /> didn’t do it sooner (HCN, 3/16/98). Here in Arizona we have the<br /> same problem. Many people move here (mostly from California) and<br /> discover that they hate it because of our “bad welfare system,<br /> conservative politics, low wages, poor indigent care, bad roads,”<br /> etc., etc., ad nauseum. The problem I have with all of this is that<br /> Arizona is filling up with people who hate to be here, and they<br /> won’t leave.</p> <p>I would be most happy to assist in<br /> their departure, especially if they would take real estate salesmen<br /> with them. Thanks for the opportunity to rant and<br /> rave.</p> <p>W.M.<br /> Martin</p> <p>Kingman,<br /> Arizona</p> <div class="wp-block-group hcn-print-edition-box"> <p>This article appeared in the <a href="/?p=187383">print edition of the magazine</a> with the headline <span class="hcn-magtitle">Lyons did the right thing</span>.</p> </p></div> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://country-survey-collabs.info/issues/issue-131/lyons-did-the-right-thing/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://country-survey-collabs.info Country News&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cropped-HCN_Logo-Monogram_White_Sq-2.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=100&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://country-survey-collabs.info/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=103248&amp;amp;ga4=G-0NS3WVPPTN&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://country-survey-collabs.info/issues/issue-131/lyons-did-the-right-thing/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/hcn.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;</p> Copy to Clipboard

1