Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Track to Arizona Politics

Most Arizonans know that our water supply is low. We face this challenge, along with climate extremes, political and policy relationships with other states and the federal government over water, as well as the need to balance our state’s natural wonders with effective resource use.

As the chairman of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System’s Board of Trustees — and as a Phoenix firefighter since 1983 — I’ve watched closely for years as politicians and pundits have “debated” the health of PSPRS and the state’s public worker retirement system.

As a personal injury lawyer with offices in Glendale and Phoenix, my staff and I represent thousands of injured people every year, the majority of whom were injured in car accidents.

I’ve been implementing Arizona’s College and Career Ready standards for three years in my fifth grade classroom. But I’m going to let you in on a secret: it hasn’t changed my teaching very much. In fact, the standards finally caught up with what many good educators have been trying to do for a long time –move away from rote memorization and isolated skills and return to creativity and in-depth learning in the classroom.

Central Arizona Project (CAP) is the primary steward of Arizona’s Colorado River water supplies and places paramount importance on the health and sustainability of the river.

As an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church, I was very troubled by SB1062, the so-called “religious freedom bill,” and much of the rhetoric surrounding it. While many argued that this bill would have strengthened religious, particularly Christian “freedoms,” I believe it sought to do the exact opposite — it would have used religion as a license to discriminate against anyone of one’s choosing.

Arizonans must reclaim sovereignty over our children’s education. SB1310, which would prohibit the implementation of the Common Core standards and test in Arizona, is a good start. Governor Brewer willingly handed over control of our state’s education to the Common Core group for 30 pieces of silver offered by the Obama Administration in exchange for changing our state’s education policies in 2010.

As a young wife and mother, I endured the devastating effects of watching my beloved mother die of cancer. My mom was diagnosed with stomach cancer when I was expecting my second child. I attended her funeral with my 5-month-old baby in my arms.

For the eighth year in a row, the Legislature has once again introduced a bill to eliminate public notices in newspapers. This bill is an assault on transparency and your right to be notified of important information, all while promoting the growth of government bureaucracy at the expense of local Arizona jobs and businesses.

Legislation originally meant to help pets in hoarding situations has been hijacked by the state’s agribusiness industry.