Stopping climate change essential for national security

The safety and security of the United States will depend on how well we as a nation address the challenges of climate change.

Brewer uses Symington’s playbook, and staffers

Gov. Jan Brewer is taking a page right out of former Gov. Fife Symington’s playbook. And why not? It worked.

State needs to close tax loopholes, cut non-essential services  

Arizonans watched Republican lawmakers and the governor fail multiple times last year to solve one of the biggest budget deficits in history and continue to push our state down the wrong track.

Suspicious signatures

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is collecting signatures to run for attorney general and Bill Montgomery is collecting signatures to run for Maricopa County attorney.

Pearce’s bill would increase county costs, eliminate accountability

Sen. Russell Pearce has introduced a bill that would make elected county offices totally dysfunctional and far more expensive.

Injury, death in family led to missed votes

Recently, the Arizona Capitol Times ran an article stating that I was absent for a number of votes during the past legislative session.

Congratulations to Brewer for Privatization Commission

Gov. Brewer is on the right track in looking for ways to save money by establishing her Privatization Commission (announced Dec. 21). I hope that the targets for this commission will not be limited, since there is virtually no function of state government that cannot be privatized. We may choose to keep the courts and police as government employees, but even they could be private, albeit as a government granted monopoly.

Kavanagh clarifies remarks on Maricopa Integrated Health Care

I wish to apologize to the staff of the Maricopa Medical Center for implying that it was a poorly performing hospital. It is not.

Senator Burns: Read our lips - no new taxes

Based on Senator Burn’s recent editorial in The Arizona Republic (”Conservative Calls for Sales-Tax Hike”) it is apparent that we need to look to other leaders for solutions to our budget challenges. Burns labors mightily to create the impression that everything that could possibly be done to stem the tide of red ink has been done. This is false.

Time has come for sentencing reform

In 1990, a 31-year old man went into a Fry’s grocery store. When no one was looking, he picked up a carton of cigarettes and walked quickly to the exit. All of this was captured on the store video, and he was apprehended in the parking lot with the carton of cigarettes and no receipt.

This offense could have been prosecuted as a misdemeanor, given the value of the cigarettes ($16.95). A misdemeanor may carry up to six months in jail. However, the prosecutor at the time elected to charge it as a felony