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Capitol Insiders

Feb 19, 2010

Federal court policies a bad omen for backers of matching funds

A precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1980s does not bode well for Clean Elections supporters who are hoping to keep matching funds in place until after this year's elections.

Feb 18, 2010

Political blood sport: Lawmaker wants question time with governor 

Sen. Jonathan Paton is trying to bring a British practice known as "question time" to the Arizona Capitol to help break down the barrier between government leaders and the public and allow voters to have an inside look at what state politicians are doing.

Feb 18, 2010

Scutari and Cieslak open PR firm

After years at The Arizona Republic and Moses Anshell, Chip Scutari and David Cieslak are ready to strike out on their own.The longtime colleagues earlier this month left Moses Anshell and founded their own firm, Scutari & Cieslak. Since then, the two haven't even had time to find an office or get their Web site up and running, they said, but they've already brought in a couple clients.

Feb 15, 2010

The Grand plan: Federal money will widen roadway at discount  

The priciest federally funded transportation project in Arizona will end up costing much less than originally projected.

Feb 15, 2010

Going nuclear? 

For Arizona politicians, the easy part of plunging back into the nuclear-energy business is well under way - the talking part. Now come the details, which include such hurdles as finding enough water, winning federal permits and - what else? - coming up with the billions of dollars needed to pay for construction.

Feb 12, 2010

State burned through stimulus money

The feds gave Arizona a $2.8 billion crutch to help the state limp through three difficult budget years. But after two years, nearly all of the stimulus money has been spent and the state remains crippled by the recession.

Feb 12, 2010

Liquor agency chief survives criticism, has governor’s support

Jerry Oliver said his first few years as director of the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control were like setting up triage in a disaster zone. But while he was working on those wounds, he wasn't treating some chronic diseases that had lingered for almost a decade.

Feb 12, 2010

Weak enforcement biggest problem at Liquor Department

The biggest problem with the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control was that its enforcement actions varied widely for violations without defined penalties, according to a 2009 Auditor General's report.

Feb 11, 2010

Sine die: 5 of 6 bills pass 

A disagreement between the Senate and the House over the timing of a bill aimed at lowering business taxes and creating jobs derailed one of the six measures the Legislature crafted during the special session.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly at first. The Senate passed all six budget bills Feb. 2 with support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Feb 8, 2010

Local governments against changes to shared-revenue formula

So far, lawmakers and the Governor's Office have avoided conjuring the greatest fear of local governments - changing the formula that determines who gets what from the collective pot of money they all share.

Feb 8, 2010

Special session: Day 4

The House Feb. 8 approved two more measures aimed at filling in a $1.4 billion deficit this year and paving the way to bridge a substantially larger shortfall in the upcoming year, but two more bills still await action.

Feb 8, 2010

Passing the buck: Local governments’ worst budget fears 

Local government is usually the last place the Legislature looks to find extra money, but the state budget deficit has forced lawmakers to take desperate steps. This year and last, cities and counties have been forced to pay bills that historically have been the state's responsibility. During the past year, lawmakers have taken money that was intended to pay for local services, limited cities' [...]

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