Unchaining Democracy in Arizona from “Model Legislation”
April 7, 2019
I’ve been a university writing teacher for a decade now, so I have gotten pretty good at spotting a cut-and-paste job. I will be reading a student’s paper and suddenly the sentence structure gets more complex, the student is using words they never have before, and, in the especially lazy cases, the font changes. The … Read more
Political Calendar: Week of April 7, 2019
April 7, 2019
The Political Calendar is posted on Sundays. Please send us notice of your political events prior to the Sunday before your event (7 days would be most helpful). See the calendar icon in the right-hand column of the blog page for easy access to the calendar. Send notices of your events to blogforarizona@gmail.com. Note: For … Read more
AG’s office effectively kills sub-minimum wage bill
April 6, 2019
Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley (D-Tucson) recently wrote for the blog, #AZ House Republicans Pass $7.25/hour Minimum Wage for Students (video): The worst vote of the 54th session has to be the Republican passage of the sub-minimum wage on Thursday. Rep. Travis Grantham’s HB2523 would allow employers to pay full time students, who work part time … Read more
Vaping Menace Reaches into Tucson Grade Schools
April 6, 2019
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Pima County School Superintendent Dustin Williams said that the menace of nicotine vaping has now reached into the city’s grade schools. “They look exactly like flash drives,” he said. “The cartridges have the equivalent of an entire pack of cigarettes. So kids are walking around buying these, and selling them to friends at school. Vaping … Read more
Republicans Kill Bill Lengthening Time to Report Child Sex Abuse (video)
April 5, 2019
It is shocking how party loyalty can get in the way of doing what’s right for the people of Arizona. Today, the House Appropriations Committee debated lengthening Arizona’s statute of limitations to report child sexual abuse from a two years (after you turn 18) to twelve years. It also allows for a one or two … Read more
Ducey is Now Trump’s Chump
April 4, 2019
If you haven’t followed the recent antics of our once-esteemed Governor Doug Ducey, Tim Stellar has written a nice explainer. In brief, Trump just made Gov. Ducey his bitch. First, Trump threatened to shut down the Mexican border. So Ducey did the rational thing, and the right thing for the State: he said “That’s nuts! … Read more
‘Follow the Money’ – Congress requests Trump tax returns (Updated)
April 4, 2019
I covered this earlier this year, ‘Follow the Money’ – Congress needs to see Trump tax returns, but now House Ways & Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) has finalized his demand letter under Code sec. 6103(f)): Upon written request by either the Chairman of either the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate … Read more
