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Recent Articles from Caitlin Coakley Beckner
New law could further weaken reeling adoption prospects
Combining high unemployment rates, a lack of job security and home foreclosures, potential parents are reconsidering adopting or fostering. And some advocacy groups are worried that a new Arizona law will make it even more difficult for children to find homes.
Salmon announces $158,000 Q3 fundraising
Former Congressman Matt Salmon today announced he raised $158,136 in the third quarter of 2011, bringing his total fundraising to $330,424 since announcing his bid to return to Congress.
Education advocates push for improved statewide database
Even as initiatives to increase school accountability go into effect, Arizona lacks effective database for tracking teacher performance and student achievement. And education officials say the state has a long way to go before it can even manage data in a meaningful way.
Rocky start for Commerce Authority has fiscal hawks looking to rein in power
Outraged by what they see as exorbitant spending and questions of transparency, some lawmakers are considering taking back some of the power they gave the Arizona Commerce Authority last session.
Lawmakers, administrators consider new school assessment methods to save money
With classroom spending in Arizona schools at a historic low, lawmakers and school administrators have turned their attention to standardizing student and teacher assessments as a way to cut expenses and improve student achievement.
Look what I did!
With Arizona’s jobless rate hanging stubbornly at 9 percent, next year’s election will come down to one issue that trumps all others: jobs.
And as dozens of lawmakers gear up for the campaign season — including the 25 freshmen elected last year — they know that voters will be expecting them to do something about it.
8 GOP senators who voted against immigration bills get business backing
Eight of the nine Republican senators who bucked their party and played a pivotal role in defeating a package of immigration bills last session have the backing of the business community going into next year’s election.
Lawmakers looking at AZ solar industry after Solyndra bust
The Solyndra collapse and its subsequent Washington investigation have re-ignited the national debate over whether the solar industry should be subsidized by the government, and some state legislators are calling for a re-examination of Arizona’s own solar incentives.
Proposal to drug-test welfare recipients faces financial, constitutional hurdles
A bill to require random drug testing for recipients of two welfare programs is expected to be revived next year, but opponents argue that based on similar laws in other states, it would likely be ruled unconstitutional and not be cost-effective.
17 Republican Arizona lawmakers back Romney
Seventeen Arizona legislators have thrown their support behind Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, according to an announcement released this morning.
Commerce quandary: Sharp differences over picking winners and losers with state money
The man who was hand-picked by Gov. Jan Brewer to oversee a new agency charged with re-igniting Arizona’s struggling economy is set to collect a whopper of a paycheck. But Don Cardon’s idea of how to guide the Arizona Commerce Authority may run contrary to the governor’s own philosophical leanings about how the quasi-public group should go about luring new business to the state.
Don Cardon, Arizona’s million-dollar man
The CEO of the fledgling Arizona Commerce Authority will collect a base salary that will nearly double his pay compared to when he was the director of the now-defunct Arizona Department of Commerce.
The salary package, approved today by the Arizona Commerce Authority board of directors, came over the objections of House Speaker Andy Tobin and Senate President Russell Pearce.
