Featured Stories
After School Sports are Bad for Education
March 14, 2008
by David Safier In what must seem like a neverending crusade to piss off every high school coach, high school athlete and couch potato – oops, I meant to say, sports fan – in Arizona, here is part three of my reasons why after school sports should be cut before we think of closing schools
Paint a Bulls-Eye on This Tucson School
March 14, 2008
by David Safier I hope I’m wrong. But I fear I’m not. Of the four schools slated for closure, the most likely to be shut is Ochoa Elementary. When I read the Thursday op ed in The Star, Closing Ochoa would hurt families, I thought, I’ve been through this movie before. Here’s the basic plot.
Three Reasons Why Being in the Center Makes Sense in Gabby’s View
March 13, 2008
I told CJ, Gabby’s press secretary, that I was planning on doing a strongly critical post about the National Journal’s article "The New Center." In response he sent me a pithy email with the subject line "Three Reasons Why Being in the Center Makes Sense." Its contents were succinct: 153,885 – the number of registered
RenziGate Roundup 3/13
March 13, 2008
I wonder why a guy who has 35 counts against him has no travel restrictions in the terms of his release and doesn’t need to report to pretrial services, while aguy who has only a less-serious subset of those same charges pending against him cannot travel outside of Texas or Arizona without permission from the
Cut School Sports Programs, Part 2
March 12, 2008
by David Safier Yesterday I suggested we could save 4 Tucson elementary schools as well as a handful of librarians and counselors by cutting the after school sports programs. I admit, I have no figures telling me how much the sports programs cost Tucson Schools, but I imagine if you tallied the obvious as well
Librarians Getting the Ax in Arizona
March 12, 2008
by David Safier From today’s Citizen: Many Arizona school districts are shedding librarians and cutting their hours. Sigh. The No Child Left Behind Act also has not been kind to librarians. It has emphasized scientific-based, scripted reading programs based on drills, said Ann Dutton Ewbank, an Arizona State University librarian. It has devalued and left
GOP to ELL Students: What’s Your Hurry?
March 12, 2008
by David Safier (TASL) You’ve waited 16 years, kids. What’s another five weeks between friends? That’s the attitude of the House Majority Leader Tom Boone (R-Peoria) and his Republican friends in the legislature working in concert with the Ed. Supe’s office. They convinced Judge Collins to give them until April 15 to come up with
Election Integrity Film
March 12, 2008
by David Safier I saw the film “Uncounted” at the Loft last night, about problems with the computerizing of our election system. It was followed by a panel discussion featuring the filmmaker, David Earnhard, as well as Brad Friedman, the founder of The Brad Blog, the nation’s premier election integrity website, and our own Bill
