As easy as stealing cigarette (taxes) from a baby
by David Safier I'm going to miss Billie Stanton when the Citizen folds next month, a lot. She combines passion with research. Good combination. Stanton's latest column is about the Republicans stealing money from a fund, First Things First, designed to pay for early childhood education and health issues with a tobacco tax. Voters approved … Read more
Brewer on vouchers
by David Safier From the East Valley Trib: Jan Brewer spoke to a rally at the Capitol called to support the education measures already approved and to lobby lawmakers to expand existing tax credits. The same groups that organized this event also backed a limited voucher program enacted in 2006 to help children with special … Read more
Is Al Melvin soft on parks?
by David Safier Looks like Senator Al Melvin has a soft spot for state parks, at least those in his district, LD-26. It couldn't have anything to do with politics, could it? Melvin is far too principled for that! An Explorer story has Melvin commiserating with a group of people about the possible closure of … Read more
Is Kavanagh somewhat warped?
by David Safier I know nothing about John Kavanagh except what I've learned during this budget cutting debacle, so I'm not sure I'm right, but, is he a bit warped? The first time Kavanagh used a death metaphor to defend the budget cuts, I thought it was just a spur of the moment thing. "There are … Read more
“The fix is in”
by David Safier A friend forwarded an email that began with this ominous line: My DC contacts say "the fix is in" to cut education funding and increase tax cuts in the stimulus package in the conference committee. I don't know the basis for that, but let's hope that's not true. Education has already taken … Read more
Maryland “throws money” at ed and sees gains
by David Safier I don't know the details of Maryland's "Bridge to Excellence" act David Sadker writes about in a Star op ed today. But he says Education Week puts Maryland's schools at the top of their list, which is pretty strong praise. Arizona is, um, let's see if I can remember this . . . … Read more
Arizona Guardian goes legit
by David Safier What had become my go-to source for legislative info, the newly created online Arizona Guardian, has adopted the subscription model. A professional subscription costs $150 per month, a non-profit professional, $120 per month and an individual $30 per month. It's now, unfortunately, my no-to source. I got myself a free login, but … Read more
