Archive for April, 2010

Several notable bills failed to pass during final push of session

This year’s legislative session already has been called one of the most significant in state history, but as usual, many measures that grabbed headlines during the past 109 days failed to make the final cut.

Last-minute changes to S1070 broaden enforcement power

While supporters of Arizona’s immigration law have said repeatedly that it will allow police officers to check the immigration status of people during the enforcement of other crimes, the law actually gives police much broader enforcement power, according to legal experts and representatives of the law enforcement community. S1070, as passed, gave local police the [...]

39 lawmakers bid farewell as AZ Legislature adjourns siné die 

It was a bittersweet scene in the Arizona Legislature last night. The legislative session ended uncharacteristically early – the Legislature hasn’t adjourned sine die in April since 2000 – but it also marked the end of the line for many lawmakers who are seeking other elected office or retiring.

Tibshraeny seeks return to Chandler mayor’s post

Jay Tibshraeny, who is finishing his last term as a senator, is running for mayor of Chandler.

Arizona immigration law spurs boycott calls

Civil rights leaders are urging organizations to cancel their conventions in Arizona. Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks are encountering protesters on the road. And the AriZona iced tea company wants everyone to know that its drinks are made in New York.

Past cases cited by both sides in immigration lawsuits 

Federal courts have rejected immigration laws in other states that aimed for results similar to those prescribed by Arizona’s S1070, but supporters of the Arizona law say they learned a lesson from those court cases and made sure to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Millionaire gun guru was talked into running for governor by opponent

When Owen Buz Mills jumped into the governor’s race, most people’s reaction was, “Who is that?”

Postcard King of the West 

Perhaps it was fate that Burton Frasher, who would eventually be eulogized as the “Postcard King of the West,” was born in 1888 — the very same year that George Eastman coined the word “Kodak” and the slogan “Kodak as you go” for his new mass market camera.

Losing momentum 

Revelations that Mills had defrauded business partner in Florida and conflicting messages from his campaign that muddied his position on Arizona’s employer sanctions law have set the stage for attacks against him in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Republicans should care about mental illness

Massive cuts to the publicly funded behavioral health system should be a wake- up call for all Arizonians but especially for our Republican leadership whose decisions will lead to massive suffering for those with a mental illness.