The Bob Stump story
by David SafierNow that the Tucson Weekly has expanded the scope of the STO story from Steve Yarbrough to Bob Stump, let's take a look at how Bob Stump figures in. One of the two School Tuition Organizations housed in Yarbrough's business condo, School Choice Arizona (SCA), deals only with corporate tax credit donations. Yarbrough … Read more
Tucson Weekly pulls the Yarbrough story together
by David SafierMari Herreras of the Tucson Weekly does a terrific job of telling the whole story of Yarbrough, his STO and the various ways he profits from the tuition tax credit legislation. All the pieces of the puzzle are there, laid out in a clear, complete narrative. And there's this extra added bonus at … Read more
Why do the media villagers even care what talk radio has to say?
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Every field has its own measure of greatness. Take baseball, for example. A career .300 hitter (meaning three hits in every ten at bats – less than one-third of the time) may qualify as one of the greatest players of all time and be enshrined into the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, … Read more
“They did it too!”
by David SafierIf a Republican politician was caught running out of a bank with a bag of money in one hand and a smoking gun in the other, he'd say, "Yeah, but I saw a Democrat put a Snickers in his pocket without paying at the 7-11. He did it too!" It's a sacred Republican … Read more
Irony alert: ELL funding
by David SafierThis from Education Week: At least four large urban school districts plan to spend a significant amount of their federal economic-stimulus money to support or improve programs for English-language learners, a fast-growing group in U.S. schools. The districts—Boston, New York City, St. Paul, Minn., and Seattle—have had varying degrees of success serving such … Read more
Local National Merit finalists
by David SafierThe close grouping of local National Merit finalists in local schools is surprising to me, though it probably shouldn't be. You can find the students' names in the Star article. University High (a TUSD high school with selective admission): 12 Catalina Foothills High (a public school in the Catalina Foothills district): 4 BASIS … Read more
The return of Cutman and Melvin (not that they ever went away)
by David Safier Though Cutman, the Masked Man from Mesa, and Melvin, his Sidekick from Saddlebrooke (AKA Russell Pearce and Al Melvin), haven't wavered in their neverending battles to cut taxes and chase immigrants, lately, their individual efforts have become part of a larger struggle by a band of valiant Republicans to right the wrongs … Read more
