Sal DiCiccio is a masterful politician. In the time he has been in office, he has managed to convince many middle class workers and retirees that other middle class workers and retirees are the reason our city’s economy has tanked, our budget has been squeezed, and our groceries are now taxed. It’s genius, really. When
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Governor Jan Brewer likes to call herself the “Solar Queen.” She often talks about her own personal use of solar power and the fact that under her administration, solar industries have been booming in Arizona. But just as they are doing with Medicaid expansion, Tea Party Republicans, in the name of principle, are set to
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The word “pro-life” has come to define a movement of individuals who believe life begins at conception and that abortion should be neither condoned nor legal. But what about life after birth? Does concern for a living, breathing individual end when that individual is no longer attached to his or her mother by an umbilical
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In the last presidential race, a handful of billionaires handed over millions to their favored candidate to try and sway the outcome of the race. One such billionaire, Sheldon Adelson, gave $95 million to political committees supporting Mitt Romney and other Republican candidates. Imagine how many lives could have been improved, even saved with a
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The Unitarian Universalist Association started an advocacy campaign a while back called “Standing on the Side of Love.” They believe much of what’s happening in today’s world is predicated by hate and fear, and if we “harness the power of love,” we can overcome oppression, exclusion and violence. Compare that message to the one given
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The continuation of the food tax is the least of Phoenix’s worries. The Great Recession along with Arizona’s housing bust ensured we’d feel the pain of an economy dependant on growth for many, many years. Though the Mayor is getting a lot of flack for a broken campaign promise, the reality is we were misled
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“While the legislature’s leadership ignores efforts to target pimps who sell children for sex, Kavanagh is worried about bathroom etiquette.” This was a quote on my Facebook page from retired Mesa police officer Bill Richardson after I expressed my dismay over Representative John Kavanagh’s bill, SB1432, which would criminalize using the wrong bathroom. Kavanagh is
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Arizona’s first school accountability bill is working its way through the state legislature. SB1444 would base a portion of schools’ state funding on performance, starting at 1 percent the first year and incrementally increasing to a total of 5 percent after five years. The ‘performance funding’ as it’s called, is based on two factors: overall
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On this week’s Sunday Square Off, host Brahm Resnik asks, “Who’s school safety plan is better? Mayor Stanton’s or Sheriff Arpaio’s?” In the race for Arizona’s Attorney General, will Terry Goddard challenge Felecia Rotellini in the Democratic primary? Will anyone in the Republican party challenge Tom Horne? LGBT Ordinance… good or bad for
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Twenty years ago when I was in journalism school – before smart phones and iPads and Twitter — I was taught that reporters report the news while columnists editorialize. In other words if you’re a reporter or a news anchor, your goal is to inform your audience, and you should never infuse your personal beliefs
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