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—Friday, June 4
Is ASU too big for it’s own good?
> ASU is too big and wields too much power in politics and development. The Empire must be broken to give Arizonans more choices and greater access. Arizona could increase college graduation rates (rather than mere enrollment rates) and Arizona could easily strengthen its university system.
Read the whole post at Voices of Arizona.
/yaa
KEZ has set up a tribute page for Bill Austin. From Phoenix Business Journal:
Austin co-hosted KEZ’s morning show with Beth McDonald from 1990 until February 2010. He retired in February at age 55. McDonald continues to host the soft-rock station’s highly rated morning drive show.
KEZ’s website offers a venue for fans, radio station staff and other to talk about Austin’s positive impact on the business and the Valley. It also links to news stories about his passing and includes pictures of the longtime Phoenix radio duo.
Austin never talked about his illness on the air and did not mention his failing health as a reason for his retirement. Before joining the “Beth and Bill” show, he was a weatherman at KPNX-TV Channel 12 in Phoenix.
/yaa
RIP Lola Tapas
Chef Eric Gitenstein tells me he just found out about owner Felicia Ruiz’s decision — but he doesn’t seem very surprised.
“Slowly, sales have dropped over time. We tried lunch, but people would always go to Culver’s to get a burger instead of coming here,” he says. “We were busy on the weekends, but the weekends alone can’t support a restaurant.”
This was Lola’s fifth year in business. Ruiz opened the business back in 2005 with her now-ex-husband, Daniel Wayne, who owns Lola Coffee.
[…]
This, more than ever is an era where saying ‘I’ve been meaning to go there’ is not enough. Intent does not save local businesses, action does. If you find a local gem, support it by being a patron, otherwise we will be just a city of chains and mediocre food.
/yaa (bolding added)
Looks like Russell Pearce has some still competition for most zany state senator in the US:
The story said that although Haley has “gone out of her way to make sure people know she is a Christian,” she was raised in the Sikh faith and placed more emphasis on that tradition when she ran for the state legislature in 2004.
This evening in an interview with Pub Politics, state Sen. Jake Knotts (R-SC) — who is supporting a different candidate — slammed Haley by using a racial slur:
We already got one raghead in the White House, we don’t need a raghead in the governor’s mansion.
Ouch!
Addendum. Turns out that Senator Knotts wasn’t done:
Knotts says he believes Haley’s father has been sending letters to India saying that Haley is the first Sikh running for high office in America. He says her father walks around Lexington wearing a turban.
“We’re at war over there,” Knotts said.
Asked to clarify, he said he did not mean the United States was at war with India, but was at war with “foreign countries.”
Well that’s something, I guess.
Addendum 2. Senator Knotts Just can’t keep his foot out of his mouth. Here is a transcript of his ‘apology’:
“Unfortunately, the show was not recorded as was intended. If it had been recorded, the public would be able to hear firsthand that my “raghead” comments about Obama and Haley were intended in jest. Bear in mind that this is a freewheeling, anything-goes Internet radio show that is broadcast from a pub. It’s like local political version of Saturday Night Live, which is actually where the joke came from.
Since my intended humorous context was lost in translation, I apologize.
I still believe Ms. Haley is pretending to be someone she is not, much as Obama did, but I apologize to both for an unintended slur.”
/yaa
ASU and the Mayo Clinic are in talks about … something, the Phoenix Business Journal reports:
ASU spokesman Virgil Renzulli said the university and Mayo are in an intense planning phase to further develop their relationship and are discussing about 50 topics, including expanding collaborative research and creating curriculum. He did not provide further details.
But the story quotes Phil Gordon saying something bigger might be up:
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said he hopes to see ASU and Mayo develop a medical school in the next decade.
“I’m confident in the future (ASU President) Michael Crow, working in partnership with Mayo Hospital and Councilwoman Peggy Neely, will figure out a way when the time is right to have a medical school there,” he said. “It’s not a pie-in-the-sky dream. It’s a matter of when, not if.”
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