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

One item that disturbed me is to learn about a bill moving at the capitol that seems to prioritize a deal for utility companies at the cost of community and local governments. As a deacon and regular voter, I vote for people at different levels of government to represent me. I feel that local issues should be decided by local governments, such as ensuring cities should have their own choices about how to power homes and other buildings.

Our ability to ensure access to quality mental health services is as important as our efforts to provide high quality medical care to all who enter our doors At Valleywise Health, we are dedicated to allocating the resources and attention that mental health deserves.

It doesn’t take many improperly immunized individuals to upset the balance of herd immunity, as few as 6% of the population can put the rest at risk. Should that occur, fingers will begin pointing. Not to be missed in that will be lawmakers who worked to lessen vaccine policies versus protecting the public health.

The Empowerment Scholarship Account program hate groups want to make this week's issue about money! Their “slush fund” argument is ridiculous and falls flat quickly when looking at the facts.

A foundational principle of Arizona governments is home rule. Communities must have a right to determine how they want to proceed with the services utilities provide, whether that service is gas, electricity, Internet, water, telephone, or anything else. Just because one utility is afraid of what’s happening in California doesn’t mean Arizonans need to give our rights away. Let the cities and counties decide what’s best for them. It’s just that simple.

There is a lot of rhetoric from politicians and political activist organizations about ending ESA and sending those funds back to public school. However, they never offer plans about how they will better serve children with special needs and disabilities.

In practice this requires that states “Fundamentally change the purpose of supervision from punishing failure to promoting success. The goal should be to help people repair the harm they have caused and become self-sufficient, law-abiding citizens, rather than simply enforcing rules set by courts and parole boards, catching violators and imposing penalties, including incarceration.”

The Super Bowl. The Final Four. A new corporate headquarters. These are all huge economic wins that are touted by leaders across the state when secured. But, there’s an industry in Arizona that contributes at a greater scale, and continues to grow and thrive even during economic downturns. This is Arizona’s health care industry.

It’s time to knock it off and do what the ESA program was created to do – provide each child with a real chance at educational success. It’s time to stop bullying the families who participate. And it’s time to do what’s right for our kids.

Our policy leaders should regulate school programs with the same ‘light hand’ that they believe in regulating everything else, including themselves. Simply put, Arizona’s citizens know that our teachers need to be supported and basic principles of fairness should apply to all of us. Children should not be forced to learn English through structured state-mandated English policy.