Nominations committee: checks and balances or sabotage?
The problem isn’t the new committee. The problem is the way the committee is being led. If it doesn’t change, and quick, we’re all in a heap of trouble and ordinary Arizonans will be the ones that suffer.
Arizona CTE needs to refocus on promises made to taxpayers
Career and technical education is a wonderful thing when it is done right. It raises graduation rates by keeping students engaged in learning that is relevant to them. It gives students a leg up on being prepared for the workforce and college. But expanding CTE so more students can be placed into electives, students who may have no intention of making that elective their career path, is not the pr[...]
Child fatalities: We deserve an answer
In Arizona, 46% of abuse and neglect deaths involved a prior history with the state’s child welfare agency. Arizona Senate Bill 1252, championed by Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, recognizes these deaths are preventable, and we desperately need to chart a path toward change that will ultimately save lives.
Arizona ethics take another step backward
Recently, many in Arizona rightfully took issue when the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature voted to exempt itself from the state’s public records law. The change also allows members to delete their emails after 90 days. This move was universally condemned by state Democrats, yet few Republicans offered any explanation for the change.
Super Bowl, other big sports events generate massive revenue
With another successful Super Bowl in the books, Arizona says goodbye to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who flocked to the Valley this past week, and hello to the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue that will benefit our state economy for years to come.
Terry Goddard is hiding the ball on Prop 211
Terry Goddard gave his latest initiative the moniker Voters’ Right to Know Act. Unfortunately, after reading the details it should have been named the Speech Czar Creation Act.
Want to bring more jobs to Arizona? Invest in EV manufacturing
It’s clear from 2022 that electric vehicles are here to stay. EVs experienced tremendous sales growth last year and automakers are committing to electrify more vehicle models than ever before. For Arizona, this means that electric vehicles can bring even more jobs to the state, more economic investment, and establish a true EV manufacturing hub.
Virtual workforce is choice for more than half of state’s employees
The “New Reality” of a virtual workforce is proving to live beyond the pandemic necessity of 2020 and has emerged as the go-to choice for nearly half of the State of Arizona’s 32,000 person workforce.
When it comes to school regulation, less is more
Let’s identify needless regulations and cut the red tape holding back our district and charter schools. Let’s free the education innovators, truly put parents in charge of their children’s education, ensure more of every dollar gets spent in the classroom instead of the front office and build the best possible education system for Arizona!
Nation watches as Arizona’s universal ESA voucher fiasco fails
Universal ESA vouchers are already a dismal failure defunding our local public schools, threatening to bankrupt our state and raising red flags about taxpayer-funded discrimination. And the nation is watching as special interests rush to force through vouchers in other states before the cautionary tale of Arizona comes fully to light.
Tax credit headline missed the forest through the trees
A recent article headline published in the Arizona Capitol Times unfairly mischaracterized SB1108 – Senator Wendy Rogers’ income tax credit bill for businesses located in municipalities like Flagstaff and Tucson with higher wage mandates than the state wage mandate. The headline purports those cities to whom the bill would apply stand to lose. We disagree.
It’s time we take serious look at intercity passenger rail
The Sun Corridor connecting Phoenix and Tucson is defined as a megaregion. It’s one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, with population growth anticipated to double by 2040. Recent spikes in population growth have demonstrated strains on our already overburdened freeways, which impact our safety, environment and ability to address the demands of a modern economy and quality of life.