Campaign to defend standards in schools

Concerns stoked by pundits unfounded, advocacy groups say

By Cathryn Creno

The Republic | azcentral.com 

Arizona’s College and Career Ready Standards were mired in controversy long before they took effect in public schools last fall.

Conservatives, both in Arizo­na and nationally, have used the basis for the standards — the national Common Core State Standards Initiative — as a po­litical punching bag. Now, two powerful Arizona education organizations, the Rodel Foundation of Arizona and Expect More Arizona, say it’s time to fight back. They are organizing a pro-standards campaign called “Arizona Aims Higher.”

Continue reading →

Posted in At the Capitol, Education, Politics in the News, Public Policy | Comments Off on Campaign to defend standards in schools

Brewer, budget committee release conflicting budgets

By Alia Beard Rau – The Republic | azcentral.com – January 24th, 2014

Gov. Jan Brewer and legislative economists over the past week re­leased conflicting budget predictions for the next three years, setting the stage for a battle over Arizona’s fu­ture.

The governor has vowed that by the time her term ends in January 2015, the state budget will be structur­ally balanced — meaning more ongo­ing revenue is coming in than spend­ing going out. Her budget projections reflect that. Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Politics in the News | Comments Off on Brewer, budget committee release conflicting budgets

Panel OKs plan to regulate gifts to lawmakers

By Mary Jo Pitzl – The Republic | azcentral.com  – January 24th, 2014

A free meal outside the Legislature where lobbyists and lawmakers min­gle: acceptable.

A free ticket to a sporting event or concert where similar mingling oc­curs: not so much.

A state Senate panel on Thursday grappled with where to draw the line between appropriate and inappropri­ate efforts to influence legislators as they debated a proposed ban on free sports and entertainment tickets. Continue reading →

Posted in Politics in the News, Sen. Michele Reagan, Sports | Comments Off on Panel OKs plan to regulate gifts to lawmakers

Will legislators be voting to take away your vote?

January 24th, 2014

We almost found out Thursday exactly how much the Re­publicans who control the Legislature resent Arizona voters.

Unfortunately, the hearing at which lawmakers would have made their feelings known was postponed, per­haps because there were TV cameras and actual voters on hand.

But trust me. These people don’t see voters as necessary evils. They see them as unneces­sary ones. Continue reading →

Posted in Politics in the News | Comments Off on Will legislators be voting to take away your vote?

Ariz. jobs up by 6,900 in Dec.

Trade sector leads; unemployment rate drops to 7.6%

By Ronald J. Hansen – The Republic | azcentral.com  – January 24th, 2014

Arizona employers added nearly 7,000 workers in Decem­ber, helping to bring down the state’s unemployment rate, offi­cials reported Thursday.

Some industrial sectors post­ed sizable gains while others re­corded smaller-than-usual losses. It meant Arizona’s un­was employment rate dropped from 7.8 percent to 7.6 percent. Na­tionally, unemployment fell 0.3 percentage points in December to 6.7 percent, but much of the decline was attributed to people giving up looking for work.

Arizona’s trade, transporta­tion and utilities sector, which includes retailers, led the state’s employment growth, adding a net 5,600 workers. It the best December report for that sector since 2006, be­fore the Great Recession start­ed, and suggested that consum­ers may have been more active during the holiday shopping season.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Jobs | Comments Off on Ariz. jobs up by 6,900 in Dec.