Featured Stories
Emily Bittner Rules The Octagon
March 26, 2008
I just love to watch a good sparring match. I prefer mixed martial arts, but Emily Bittner (AZ Dems’ Communications Director) taking apart House Republican Spokeman Barrett Marson is nearly as funāand almost as bloody. Of course, your view of who wins the this ep of Horizon’s One On One depends entirely on your sympathies
New Study Supports Comprehensive Sex Ed
March 26, 2008
by David Safier Awhile back I wrote about Napolitano turning down abstinence-only sex ed money from the feds. A few days ago, a commenter asked which other states had turned down the money. I couldn’t find an answer, until today, when I read about a new study that concluded students who had abstinence-only education were
Cut Tucson School Staff or After School Sports?
March 26, 2008
by David Safier TUSD is talking about cutting somewhere between 100 and 282 positions due of its current budget shortfall. Yet I have heard not a single word about the possibility of saving money by cutting back on after school sports programs. It hasn’t been mentioned as a possibility or issued as a threat. Schools
Tucson Schools Audit Results
March 26, 2008
by David Safier (TASL) The results of the independent audit of TUSD are in. According to the report, we can save $18 million over five years by making a number of changes, including closing 10 schools and programs. The Star doesn’t break down the cuts in a meaningful way, probably because it dosen’t have the
HCR 2038: The Arizona Republican Legislature’s Backdoor TABOR
March 26, 2008
Unable to summon the political will to control spending though they control the state legislature, the Republicans want to put the state on a starvation diet that will affect the health, education, public safety, and welfare of every Arizona citizen. Their means for accomplishing their evisceration of the public fisc is House Concurrent Resolution 2038,
Sheila Tobias on Donna Branch-Gilby for Pima County Supervisor
March 25, 2008
Sheila Tobias, a well-known educator and activist here in southern Arizona recently has been circulating her endorsement of Donna Branch-Gilby over incumbent Sharon Bronson in the Democratic primary for District 3 Pima County Supervisor. I thought it really well done, and worth a read for anyone trying to understand why Donna is challenging an incumbent
Our LD 28 State Representatives Deserve Your Support
March 24, 2008
My State Representatives, Steve Farley and David Bradley, are two of the good guys. They do a heck of good job and are just damned good liberal Democrats with solid progressive values. I don’t mind that David is obsessed with the welfare of everyone’s kids and Steve with his trains; I think it’s charming, in
Are Teacher Salaries a Zero Sum Game?
March 24, 2008
by David Safier (TASL) Here is a taste of things to come. If there’s no money to increase teacher salaries, abandon the current salary schedule with its built-in yearly raises and only give raises to those who jump through the proper hoops. The Kyrene Elementary School District, south of Phoenix (or in the south part
