Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

This is the most important election in our history. You don’t have to take my word for it. Our last president knows it’s true. So do something. Now.

Yes, the political fight of five years ago to restore and expand AHCCCS was brutal. But it was worth it.

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, it’s critical to start planning today.

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?

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.”

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 course of action.

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.

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 will to make it a reality?

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.

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 programs over the duration of an inmate’s incarceration.