PHXations—Tuesday, June 8, 2010
An ABC News/Washington Post poll suggests that support for the Tea Party movement is weakening:
“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of the political movement known as the Tea Party?” the survey asked.
Thirty-six percent gave thumbs-up to the Tea Party, while 50 percent had a “Somewhat” or “Strongly” unfavorable view. Fourteen percent had no opinion.
Support for the right-wing populist movement was down from 41 percent in March.
Via GOOD)
/yaa
Buying local has big impacts:
A study released today found that SCF Arizona, the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurer, had a $528.3 million economic impact in Arizona in 2009.
The Phoenix company sourced 82 percent of its goods and services from other Arizona companies, according to the study released by Local First Arizona, a nonprofit that encourages Arizona businesses to buy locally.
Kimber Lanning, executive director of Local First, said the purpose of the study was to demonstrate how one major employer can have a significant impact on Arizona’s economy when buying from other Arizona-based companies. She said this is the first fully scientific study that measures the economic impact of a single employer.
SCF is in the process of becoming a private company. Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1045 into law in May, directing SCF to become a mutual insurance company, which means it would be owned by its policyholders. Created in 1925 as a state agency, SCF Arizona covers more than 35,000 businesses and has about a 40 percent market share in the state.
/yaa
The Republic reports on one benefit of SB 1070:
In the seven weeks since Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed Arizona’s tough new immigration law, there has been a sharp increase in the number of Latinos registering to vote as Democrats, party officials say, jumping from about 100 a week before to 500 now.
Many of those registering are young Latino citizens whose parents may be undocumented.
“Before, it used to be hard,” said Luis Heredia, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party. “Now, they are just saying, ‘Can you give me a form?’ or, ‘I am already registered, but I know someone who isn’t.’”
Regardless of their political affiliation, ethnicity or reason, it is promising to see a new generation of citizens getting involved in politics.
/yaa
In the Arizona Capitol Times, Jeremy Duda reports on the Supreme Court’s administrative decision that effectively blocks matching funds for this election cycle:
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked Arizona’s Clean Elections system from distributing matching funds, throwing a number of high profile campaigns into disarray just weeks before candidates were to start receiving money.
The court on June 8 granted a request by the Goldwater Institute to halt a recent ruling of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that declared matching funds constitutional. The justices ordered that the distribution of matching funds be put on hold until it can hear a full appeal of the matching funds system.
Goldwater Institute attorney Nick Dranias said he doesn’t expect the court to hear the appeal in McComish v. Bennett until around October, meaning matching funds are essentially finished for 2010.
The primary election is Aug. 24. The general election is Nov. 2.
/yaa
Hall & Oates have joined the list of artists boycotting Arizona. From the PBJ:
“Private Eyes” won’t be watching Phoenix next month.
1980s rock duo Daryl Hall and John Oates have canceled their July 2 concert at Chase Field because of Arizona’s contentious immigration law. They had been scheduled to perform after the Arizona Diamondbacks’ game with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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PHXations—Monday, June 7, 2010
600+ MCSO officers picked up their back pay today:
The county is paying $2.1 million in overtime back pay to 1,690 officers under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor.
A 10-month investigation by labor officials found Sheriff Joe Arpaio mismanaged overtime pay and illegally asked officers to attend pre-shift briefings without paying them.
An Arizona Republic story detailing concerns of widespread mismanagement of overtime pay by the Sheriff’s Office triggered the federal investigation.
The money will come out of the sheriff’s detention fund…
/yaa (emphasis added)
Buzz Mills: the (2.3) Million Dollar Man:
PHOENIX (AP) – Yavapai County businessman Buz Mills has spent nearly $2.3 million in the Republican primary campaign for Arizona governor.
Mills this week reported spending that much through May 31 in what is now a five-way race.
Incumbent Jan Brewer has received $707,000 of public funding for the primary. She’s eligible to receive $1.4 million more June 22 because of Mills' higher spending – if the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t block matching funds.
State Treasurer Dean Martin also is running with public funding but hasn’t qualified yet.
Two lesser-known Republicans are also running with private funding. They are Tom Gordon of Mesa and Matthew Jette of Apache Junction
Tucson attorney John Munger ended his privately funded campaign Tuesday.
Via KSWT
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The Constitution is a mere annoyance to Russell Pearce and the AZGOP:
…Pearce’s proposal, which has yet to be drafted as legislation, may target the right of citizenship now granted to children born here under a wide set of circumstances. His goal, he said, was to stop wasting taxpayer money on people who shouldn’t be classified as citizens and, therefore, don’t deserve the services of the government.
Rep. John Kavanagh, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said it’s completely irrational to grant citizenship to people merely because they were born on U.S. soil. He said illegal immigrants take advantage of the system by crossing into the U.S. to have babies here.
[…]
But immigration lawyers and constitutional experts said any law denying citizenship to children of illegal immigrants would be plainly unconstitutional and bound for rejection in federal courts. Whatever the state does won’t change the fact that the 14th Amendment outlines specifically that anyone who is born here is a U.S. citizen, said immigration attorney Regina Jefferies.
/yaa
Sheriff Joe may be costing Maricopa County even more money. The Arizona Capitol Times reports that:
Officials who have complained for years about high legal costs tied to the internal power struggle in Arizona’s most populous county have filed legal notices asking for millions in damages, citing emotional stress caused by the political warfare.
Judges, supervisors, employees and one private citizen all say they were wrongfully targeted by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas in lawsuits and criminal investigations.
Their damage claims range from $1.75 million to $10 million, and attorneys say the potential settlements would keep Arpaio and Thomas from wrongfully investigating others.
/yaa
The Cactus League is facing some thorny times according to the Republic:
The success in growing the Cactus League is indisputable. But when the economy cratered, tax revenues fell, crippling the long-term outlook for crucial funding for Cactus League cities from the Valley-based Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority. That agency is charged with managing and distributing funds collected from Maricopa County hotel and rental-car taxes earmarked for spring training.
Glendale and Goodyear may get no more than just over half the money they expected to help them pay off bonds issued to build their ballparks. The cash the sports authority promised for renovations of other ballparks could fall short, given that teams are demanding more amenities and new facilities.
Mesa, which is fending off a bid from Naples, Fla., to lure away the Cactus League’s marquee attraction, the Chicago Cubs, proposes to sell off land it owns in Pinal County to cover costs for a new ballpark to keep the team.
Meanwhile, protesters are calling for Cactus League teams to leave Arizona because of the state’s new immigration law.
/yaa
The Republic notes that 10 people are competing for the retiring John Shadegg’s Congressional seat in the Republican primary in August.
The three main contenders are Ben Quayle, the son of the former VP; Vernon Parker, the mayor of Paradise Valley; and Paulina Morris, who the paper says supports abortion rights.
There’s not much meat in the story however; Quayle’s big idea, for example, is repealing Obama’s health-care legislation.
The story says there are about 150,000 Republicans in the 3rd District, about 105,000 Democrats, and 110,000 independents.
Here’s a map, courtesy of GovTrack.Us.
(N.B.: PHXations are posted by various PHXated contributors throughout the day).
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