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Recent Articles from Guest Opinion
Can America’s power grid support millions of electric cars?
Electric cars are undoubtedly coming, and a new electric age is on the horizon. Meeting this increased electricity demand will be no simple feat, though. America’s power grid will be pushed to the max. What’s needed is a balanced, diverse electricity mix that incorporates coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar in the most efficient means possible. To prepare for tomorrow’s challenges, i[...]
Arizona is filling its prisons with ‘folks we’re just mad at’
Arizona is at a crossroads. Should we continue to build more costly prisons and fill them with low-level offenders? Or should we follow the lead of many other conservative states that reserve expensive prison beds for violent offenders, and direct the savings to programs that have been proven to reduce repeat offenses?
Defense of Rep. Farnsworth and his school misses key points
Having read Shalisa Arnold’s full-throated defense of legislator and charter operator Eddie Farnsworth and his Benjamin Franklin Charter Schools, I thought, “Huh. Ms. Arnold missed a few salient points.”
Light rail corridor change would jeopardize funding so late in game
I strongly encourage the Mayor and Council to move forward to preserve South Central Corridor. It is the only decision that will preserve the will of the voters, not jeopardize the funding grant from the Federal Transportation Authority, and reinforce the value of light rail in Phoenix. Our leaders must stay the course and continue support for this important project. It is the only prudent cou[...]
Charter schools move Arizona forward, but more can be done
Arizona’s charter schools are indeed a success story for our state. Our leaders should be applauded for having the vision to carefully create a climate in which school choice benefits so many through specialized learning, improved test scores, and education options.
Integrative health care treats pain and decreases opioid use
Arizona already licenses the full complement of health professions needed to offer patients an integrative approach to address chronic pain. It is time for health professions to work together for the best interests of our patients. Arizona has the physicians and practitioners needed to be at the forefront in developing integrative approaches to treating patients with chronic pain. Do we have the w[...]
Despite benefits of tax cuts, critics continue to attack
Politics always gets heated in an election year. And Democrats and their well-funded activist army want to make tax cuts the wedge issue. That's fine. While they try to ride their shopworn talking points to victory, Arizona voters will respond with something real that's on the line: their bigger paychecks.
Much not told in ACLU report on criminal justice
What if we provided substance abuse treatment from the point of admission, and cognitive behavioral treatment? What if we just started with drug possession offenders? Re-entry programs are showing significant promise in reducing recidivism and so are diversion and deferred prosecution programs utilizing substance abuse treatment and cognitive behavioral therapies. We should be implementing similar[...]
End mass incarceration crisis created by politicians
If Arizona started on these reforms now and cut the prison population in half by 2025, we would have saved taxpayers more than $1 billion. That’s money that could be spent on education, parks, libraries, and health services. More importantly, if Arizona started on these reforms now, we would prevent countless people from entering a system that destroys lives, families, and communities. It’s[...]
Results show why demand for charter schools remains strong
What Arizona’s charter school revolution has taught us is that educational approaches can be as diverse as the ever-changing needs of Arizona’s students. And thanks to our governor and state Legislature, those diverse needs are being served. It would be a shame for parents and students if the charter school revolution came to an end because a handful of anti-charter advocates managed to convin[...]
No matter the vote, empowerment scholarships have helped many
In November, Arizona voters will decide whether expanding the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program makes sense. It was originally started to help the parents of disabled children, foster children, or parents who are active military. It evolved, with little controversy, to include adopted children, children attending D/F rated schools, and those in Native American communities. About 5,[...]
Cheap water, not lax regulation, at core of Arizona shortage
The recent New York Times article, “The Water Wars of Arizona,” goes into detail about Arizona’s diminishing water resources and blames the problem entirely on “lax regulation,” which, the author says, has enticed large corporate farms to come and suck up all the water. I’m sure they have. But “lax regulation” doesn’t come close to getting to the heart of the problem: water is to[...]
