Featured Stories
Tucson to Jonathan Paton: Don’t Tread on Me!
December 18, 2008
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Ah, senator-elect Jonathan Paton (R-Dist. 30) is up to his old tricks again. Paton is in the business of "gimmicks-R-us" to generate news ink to keep his name in the newspapers. (Unfortunately, I will have to indulge his narcissism once more here.) Who could forget when Paton got the vapors and his
Your Republican legislature at work
December 18, 2008
by David Safier A lawmaker-approved plan to spend $1 billion on building projects at the state's three universities and stimulate the construction industry is likely dead after a legislative committee set to review the package canceled its meeting. There's not much more to say, is there? (But I'll say it anyway.) Pearce & Co. think
A tax on sugar water
December 18, 2008
by David Safier (TASL) Nicholas Kristof has a great column this morning about a proposed 18% tax in New York on soft drinks with sugar and other nondiet sugary beverages. The reasoning is, sugar water doesn't curb your appetite. It actually increases it. So sugared beverages are as much or more of a contributor to
Vic Williams gets it from Nintzel on Deposit-gate
December 17, 2008
by David Safier I mentioned that the story of newly elected state rep Vic Williams (R, LD-26) stiffing Iraq vet Tasha Downum for her rental deposit was developing. The latest development is, Jim Nintzel picked the story up from my posts and ran with it in Tucson Weekly's The Skinny. Nintzel talked with Downum and moved
Obama’s Secretary of Education
December 16, 2008
by David Safier It's all but official that Arne Duncan will be the next Secretary of Education. While no one is ecstatic about the choice, no one is angry about it either. That seems to be the watchword for Obama's cabinet picks. It may be a great strategy, choosing people who can work with all
Another reminder
December 16, 2008
by David Safier Yet another reminder to give $200 for one person or $400 for a couple to the public school (or divided among the public schools) of your choice by December 31 and get it all back when you pay your state taxes. I think it's a good idea. Ann-Eve Pedersen,a founder of Tucson
Developing story: Deposit-gate
December 15, 2008
by David Safier Yes, Deposit-gate. Create a hypenated word with "gate" at the end, and everyone knows what kind of story it is (though, I wonder if people remember that Watergate had nothing to do with Water.) Yesterday I wrote a story about newly elected Rep. Vic Williams (R, LD-26) not returning a $400 rental
D.C. Charter school successes, at $12,000+ per student
December 15, 2008
by David Safier Washington D.C. has lots of charter schools, and a Washington Post article says their students are surpassing the regular public school students in test scores. If so, they're accomplishing something that hasn't been accomplished elsewhere, since most studies say charters don't exceed other public schools in student achievement. I don't know how rigorous the
