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

H2153, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, seeks to retain control of public streets under legitimately recognized local governments, the towns and cities.

Every industrialized country on Earth delivers health care to its people at a far lower per-person cost than the United States. How do they do that?

When Phoenix realized that it faced a projected $245 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year, new City Manager David Cavazos requested that every department submit proposed budget reductions ranging from 7 to 25 percent. Those proposals were placed on his desk in November and early December. But when the Goldwater Institute asked for them, they disappeared into a black hole.

Seriously, are you happy with Arizona's leadership? I'm not. There's not a lot to be happy about right now. Arizona has become the only state in the union to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program, KidsCare.

A recent survey found that 71 percent of Arizona small-business owners oppose passage of Proposition 100, the one-cent sales tax on the May 18 special election ballot. Our entrepreneurs and job-creators know instinctively that this tax increase is a bad deal for Arizona and the start, not the end, of further bad public policy decisions.

Regardless of what you may have read elsewhere, no one has a decisive lead in the GOP primary race to replace Congressman John Shadegg, who is retiring at the end of the year. There have been three "polls" released by candidates in the race so far, and none of them are worth a lick.

Obama's Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Interior Secretary Salazar recently met in Arizona with proponents and opponents of McCain- sponsored copper mine "land swap" legislation. Mine supporters participated in the meetings, as did opponents such as local townspeople, Native Americans and conservationists.

Dear Editor, Hello, my name is Vanessa Espinoza. I am a fifth grader at Napa Valley Language Academy in Napa, California. The reason I am writing to you is that my class is doing state reports and I have chosen your magnificent state, Arizona.

In the March 5 edition of the Arizona Capitol Times, three of the state's chambers of commerce ran a full-page ad on page 2 supporting the "short-term consumer financing industry," or in English, the payday lenders.

The special session continues today as lawmakers try to hammer out a deal on a budget plan that would eliminate the $700 million deficit remaining in the fiscal 2010 budget and another $2.6 billion deficit in the fiscal 2011 budget. Click here for updates.