Fine Napolitano Over ELL Funding?
April 2, 2008
by David Safier Fine the Governor if the Arizona legislature doesn’t meet the April 15 ELL funding deadline? That sounds grossly unfair. And yet . . . The attorney for the parents suing over ELL funding says Napolitano could do more to move this thing forward, even though the actual funding is the responsibility of
A Public Defender Passes
April 2, 2008
Pima County Public Defender Robert Hooker killed in crashI didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Bob very well personally. A few interactions, a dignified presence in the halls of Superior Court, and an enormously respectful reputation shared in all quarters the Arizona Bar are my only connections to him. But I’m feeling his passing greatly.
McCain Uses “Throw Money at Education” Line
April 1, 2008
by David Safier (TASL) I hold this truth to be self-evident. Anyone who uses the phrase, “government can’t just throw money at public education” is not in favor of increasing educational spending. Arizona’s own John McCain is the only presidential candidate left standing who uses the phrase. In a recent speech, he said, “Government can’t
How Low are High School Graduation Rates?
April 1, 2008
by David Safier Colin Powell and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings have gotten together to say that high school graduation rates are too low, and they are lowest in cities with high rates of poverty. Powell and Spellings are wrong so often, my first reaction is, “If they say graduation rates are low, they’re probably approaching
The Star Fosters Discussion on Tucson’s Future Growth
March 31, 2008
The Arizona Daily Star has recently filled a real vacuum in local civil society by encouraging Tucsonans to take a closer look at what kind of place they want to live in the future. I have quibbles, of course, but they are to be commended for acting as a catalyst and resource for a community faced with some serious choices. There are deep divisions about our future course between those who seek to manage growth (either more or less) and those who believe the facts indicate that we are far past their point where we can just grow smarter, we need to stop growing.
The Star certainly provided some interesting raw data to chew on from their survey earlier this month. Admittedly, some of the questions were intolerably leading and biased, or just plain dopey. But there is some gold in there. I found some insights into Tucsonans’ attitudes toward water, transportation, and development.
Read more about what I see—and failed to see—in the data…
The Cost of Spring Training Baseball in Tucson
March 30, 2008
Any time a wealthy special interest wants the help of local politicians to pick the tax-payer’s pockets, they’ll seek to justify it by touting the wonderful economic impact their conspiracy will have on the community. The standard method is a figure out a multiplier reflecting how the stolen money will ramify through the community. Then
My Commentary by Mike Brewer
March 30, 2008
Mike Brewer recently participated in Tucson’s own locally grown project, My Commentary. He says: "After 39 years of tolerating the nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and psychic ravages of war, I feel impelled to purge myself, at 60 years old, from some of the questions that have lodged themselves in the calcium of my bones. It is
A Sunday Education Grab Bag
March 30, 2008
by David Safier This Sunday’s meta-Ed post is a collection of random items. Want to see today’s front page of your old local paper in Minneapolis or Calcutta, India, or Bogota, Columbia? Go to the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages site. You can view it as an interactive map — put your cursor on a spot
