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

Washington is broken. Arizona, like other states throughout the country, is bearing the burden. The crown jewel of the National Park System, Grand Canyon National Park, is closed. The New York Times reports that trip cancellations "are pouring in," while hotels are offering refunds, tour groups are cancelled, and restaurants find themselves without customers.

Arizona currently has no safeguards to protect the most sensitive information of those Arizonans for whom, open enrollment for the federal health exchange has already begun.

First Solar, one of the world’s largest producers of utility scale solar power plants announced this week that it sides with APS in their proposal to slash net metering for residential customers.

The Corporation Commission recently closed the docket considering electric deregulation in Arizona. The conclusion was good for Arizona for a number of reasons.

The secretary of state’s suggestions for compliance with Arizona’s campaign finance laws now that the increased campaign contribution limits of Chapter 98 (HB2593) are in effect have caused quite a stir.

Over the years, our legislators in Phoenix have worked to get our state’s total debt under control and curb unnecessary spending. So when Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited Arizona last week to promote his early-learning initiative, it should give us all some pause to look more closely at the numbers behind the program.

Arizona has a rich history of sheltering its citizens from reckless tax increases. In 1992, voters passed Proposition 108, a constitutional guarantee to prevent abusive tax increases by requiring two-thirds of the Legislature to approve any new tax levies.

According to the lead story in (the Sept. 9 edition of) The Washington Post, the meat inspection program that the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to roll out in meat and poultry plants nationwide has repeatedly failed to stop production of contaminated meat. The program allows meat producers to increase the speed of processing lines and replace USDA safety inspectors with their own employees.

Three children, given up for dead at birth. Two girls and a boy, all of Native American descent. Even if they survived, one would suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome and the physical and mental challenges that this condition causes for the rest of her life, while the two others would struggle with cerebral palsy.

Barry Hess, the longtime vice-chair and voice of Arizona’s Libertarian Party, summed up the Protect Your Right to Vote effort best when he stepped up to the makeshift podium inside the Executive Tower lobby on Wednesday (Sept. 11) afternoon.