Rate reviews allow consumers to oversee health insurance increases
Ask Arizonans about their health care concerns and — overwhelmingly — they will say they are worried about how much their health insurance costs and whether they will continue to be able to afford it.
Arizona needs a unified vision for the future
For Arizonans, the centennial presents the perfect opportunity to reflect on the past and envision the future of our state, as these are serious times. Based on a number of factors, it appears a unified vision is sorely lacking, and without it, we run the risk of declining prosperity and intractable problems with the ultimate consequence being a significant decline in our quality of life, which is[...]
Arizona must update education finance formula
On April 4, Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed an expansion to Arizona’s education savings account program and drew attention to a subject that affects all Arizona educators and students.
Arizona Chamber has a vested interest in private prison expansion
Since Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, agrees that policy decisions regarding private prisons should be based on facts in his recent commentary “Private prisons are efficient, cost effective” published March 30, it might interest readers to know about the chamber’s cozy relationship with private prison corporations and their Arizona lobbyists.
Stop big, wealthy corporations from dictating police services in your town
We love this great state. We love our profession. We feel supported by the people we serve. But, Arizona is becoming the next victim of a nationwide movement. Out- of-state and foreign entities are dictating what type of police services local residents should receive. Police employees are in disbelief that big, wealthy corporations are manipulating their hometowns. The Arizona Highway Patrol As[...]
Abortion bills out of line with accepted standards of prenatal care
The practice of medicine is as much an art as it is a science. There are subtleties that demand one’s attention as well as an appreciation of the risks, benefits and alternatives to treatments that confront every patient and physician. The practice of medicine is never black and white.
Sen. Allen’s misleading Hezbollah claims concern Mexican government
I believe state Sen. Sylvia Allen’s March 23 letter “Hezbollah terror threat on U.S.-Mexico border is real” contains a number of conjectures that are misleading and which are of concern to the government of Mexico. Contrary to Mrs. Allen’s statement, to this day there are no known terrorist organizations active in Mexico.
Private prisons are efficient, cost-effective
An editorial in The Arizona Republic last month, “Let’s Get Facts On Private Prisons,” encouraged lawmakers to make policy decisions on public-private partnerships in corrections based on data supported by facts. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry wholeheartedly agrees.
Traditional races rising as ‘Clean Elections’ candidates dwindle
Since the passage of the Citizens Clean Election Act in 1998, a significant number of people have run for office with public funding — and many have won. Clean Elections changed the face of Arizona politics, but with fewer people deciding to run with public money, we may be poised for another big shift.
Hezbollah terror threat on U.S.-Mexico border is real
On Feb. 17, the Arizona Capitol Times printed a story disputing my statements concerning Hezbollah terrorists coming across our unsecured, unprotected southern border into the U.S.
The article undermines the need for additional law enforcement support on the Arizona/Mexico border, which is the purpose of my bill, SB1083, which establishes an Arizona Special Missions Unit to organize a s[...]
Ignoring reality: Attacks on SB1359 are nonsense
Facts are boring. Reality is overrated. And the truth is inconvenient. This is the only way I can begin to rationalize why the left and many in the media have so vehemently attacked SB1359, a tort reform bill that prohibits wrongful life and wrongful birth lawsuits.
When buses stop, the Valley’s commerce feels the impact
As you surely know by now, bus drivers for the cities of Phoenix and Tempe went on strike March 10. The private sector contractor, Veolia Transportation, and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1433, met 45 times over 22 months on the Phoenix contract alone before the walkout. Veolia operates transit systems throughout the U.S., has operated bus service in the Valley for the past 35 years an[...]