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Recent Articles from Christian Palmer
Supreme Court hears CityNorth case; $97.4M in incentives challenged
Having heard arguments over the legality of a multimillion dollar incentive package designed to lure the development of a large shopping mall in north Phoenix, the Arizona Supreme Court is poised to decide the extent of local governments' power to boost their economies and tax revenues.
AZ Supreme Court to hear CityNorth case Sept. 30
The Arizona Supreme Court on Sept. 30 will weigh the fate of a tax rebate offered by the city of Phoenix to lure a developer that built a massive shopping […]
125,000 have signed Arizona’s medical pot petition
The next state general election will not occur until November, but backers of a ballot proposal to legalize the use of medical marijuana in Arizona claim to be well on their way to qualifying the measure for the 2010 ballot.
U.S. Supreme Court considers ‘Hillary’ film in ruling
It didn't take long for "Hillary: The Movie" to turn into Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Commission, and now Arizona's Capitol insiders are waiting to see how the U.S. Supreme Court will deal with a longstanding roadblock designed to limit the political activity of corporations and unions.
Commercial property owners file wave of tax appeals
Arizona residents and business owners who have seen their property values drop significantly during the past few years have filed what's expected to be a record number of appeals to challenge the valuations - and their tax burdens - set by their county assessors.
Judge: Thomas’ appeal denied; filed with wrong court
For the time being, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors can continue to hire attorneys outside the County Attorney's Office to handle the board's legal issues.
Foreclosure law repealed: AZ bankers will continue to push for reform
A recently passed state law intended to help small Arizona banks recoup enormous financial losses incurred through waves of foreclosure was quietly stripped from statute as part of a budget agreement signed by Gov. Jan Brewer on Sept. 4.
Thomas files exploratory committee to run for AG
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas took his first official step toward launching a 2010 campaign to become the state's next attorney general by registering an exploratory committee with the Secretary of State's Office on Sept. 9.
Connecticut ruling looms over AZ Clean Elections
Opponents of Arizona's system of publicly funded campaigns were further encouraged by a federal judge's Aug. 27 decision to eliminate Connecticut's campaign finance reform method in entirety. The ruling by District of Connecticut Judge Stefan Underhill blasted the state's Citizens' Election Program, a voluntary program enacted in 2005 to provide legislative and statewide candidates with public [...]
Wercinski announces candidacy for Secretary of State
Former Arizona Real Estate Commissioner Sam Wercinski has announced he will run for Secretary of State. Wercinski, a former Air Force officer, issued a press release and a call for contributions on Aug. 28 after concluding a six week campaign organizing effort.
Tax appeals skyrocket as home values plummet
After learning in February that 99 percent of all Maricopa County homeowners could expect to see the value of their homes decrease from the previous year, Gregory Sarena was stunned to learn the county assessor concluded his Cave Creek residence had gone up 20 percent within one year.
Schools, others fear new trust-land law
A freshly passed budget bill granting the Arizona State Land Department the ability to raise money independently to pay for the costs of state trust land management could face a legal challenge based on federal law that is almost 100 years old.
