ARIZONA CORNER
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Arizona has executed Thomas Paul
West, who becomes fifth Arizona death-row inmate to be executed since October.
More news http://www.azcentral.com/news/?source=nletter-breakingnews
More news http://www.azcentral.com/news/?source=nletter-breakingnews
Arizona’s
delegation could split on party lines over debt-limit vote
By Anthony Dewitt, Cronkite News Service
Published: July 19, 2011 at 8:11 am
WASHINGTON – All five Republican members of
Arizona’s House delegation have signed on to the Cut, Cap and Balance Act of
2011, a plan to deal with the nation’s debt limit that is expected to come up
for a vote Tuesday.
The three Democrats in the state’s House
delegation could not be reached Monday or declined to comment on how they would
vote on the bill, which would allow a temporary increase in the
debt limit in exchange for a cap on spending, steep budgets and passage of a
constitutional balanced budget amendment. But some have spoken out stridently
against similar GOP proposals in the past.
Regardless of how they vote, the bill is seen as
a largely symbolic measure: While it will likely pass the House Tuesday, it is
not expected to pass the Senate.
“It (the Cut, Cap and Balance Act) is a
statement of position. It stakes out a stance in a negotiation,” said Bill
Galston, a senior fellow of governance at the Brookings Institute. http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2011/07/19/arizona%e2%80%99s-delegation-could-split-on-party-lines-over-debt-limit-vote/?utm_source=Publicaster&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Capitol%20Times%20July%2019%20Morning%20Edition&utm_term=Arizona%e2%80%99s+delegation+could+split+on+party+lines+over+debt-limit+vote
July 18, 2011
Governor Jan Brewer has sent out a powerful message today, providing a
litany of Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce’s successful legislation and
accomplishments which have provoked a recall against him. Gov. Brewer asks for
donations to assist the highly respected Pearce in his fight to retain his seat
against attacks from pro-amnesty radicals.
The recall election of the District
18 Conservative is scheduled for November 8. His well funded adversaries have
previously tried to bring down Pearce — the author of the
popular and nationally
copied SB 1070. Once again, he needs our help. You might not
live in his district, but he represents all Arizona citizens as he works
tirelessly to reduce the size of government and keep our country safe from
invasion.
In her
message, Brewer writes: “This time they mean to recall
from office my friend and colleague State Senate President Russell Pearce. I
have known Russell for over two decades; a dedicated law enforcement officer, shot in the
line of duty, a fiscal conservative who has consistently been a voice and a
vote for decreased government spending, an uncompromising advocate for State’s Rights and now a
national leader in our fight to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and to secure our
border.
His unwavering dedication to
enforcing the rule of law will help save our country from an Obama
administration dedicated to undermining our nation’s immigration laws. Until
the rule of law is established on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border there
will be no peace, no future economic opportunity and no hope or resolving these
issues undermining Arizona’s continued economic prosperity.”
Pearce supporters file suit in hopes of stopping recall
Published: July 18, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Senate President Russell Pearce (Photo by Evan
Wyloge/Arizona Capitol Times)
Arguing that the recall petition against Senate
President Russell Pearce failed to comply with constitutional and statutory
requirements, the Mesa Republican’s allies today asked a judge to signature
sheets in a last-minute bid to block the special election from taking place
this November.
The lawsuit, which was filed by a Pearce supporter from his
district, argued, for example, that while circulators affirmed the correctness
of a signer’s name and address — and that the signer is a qualified voter from
the district — they didn’t follow the constitutional requirement to sign an
affidavit stating “that the signatures are genuine.”
That’s just one of eight instances where the
recall petition was lacking, according to attorney Lisa Hauser, who filed the
suit on behalf of Franklin Bruce Ross.
Hauser is also the lawyer of the group opposing
the recall drive.
“For
a recall, the Constitution kicks it up a notch,” she told Arizona Capitol
Times, referring to the petition requirements for a recall election when
compared to the mandates for an initiative or referendum drive.“I think the
Constitution envisions a much more intense or involved process,” she said.
www.azcapitoltimes.com
Arizona
redistricting hearings begin this week:… The commission has not yet drawn a preliminary
map; public comment will help shape where the lines are drawn. The commission
must carve out nine congressional districts (up from the current eight) and
redraw the 30 legislative districts in the wake of the 2010 census. The new
lines will be used in the 2012 elections. http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2011/07/15/20110715arizona-redistricting-hearings-0716ON.html
The
Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission has released it's 1st round of
public hearings. Please
click THIS LINK to download the list of
locations and times or http://www.azredistricting.org/
What we’re not IRC-ing: Map-drawing panel spends half its time
meeting behind closed doors
Posted on: July 15th, 2011
By Christian Palmer and
Evan Wyloge
Arizona Capitol Times
Prior to voting to award
a lucrative contract to a mapping consultant on June 29, the Independent
Redistricting Commission had spent as much time in closed door executive
meetings as it had before the public.
And public records held
by the commission itself, as well as statements made by commissioners, indicate
the IRC may have violated Arizona’s open meeting laws designed to maintain a
level of transparency in government affairs – that is, if the state
Constitution doesn’t grant the agency unfettered contracting authority.
The commissioners spent
three hours in executive session that day. The two commission Republicans
emerged with no illusions that Strategic Telemetry, a consulting firm with a
long history of working for unions and Democrats, would be hired. And another —
the body’s independent chairwoman, Colleen Mathis — read from a prepared
printed statement that acknowledged her GOP colleagues’ dismay at the
selection.
The vote stoked the ire
of Republicans, who later complained bitterly to the commission, Attorney
General Tom Horne and Gov. Jan Brewer, who has the constitutional authority to
initiate a process to remove malfeasant redistricting commissioners.
An Arizona Capitol Times
investigation reveals that, through the June 29 meeting, the commission had
spent 37 of its 74 hours of commission meetings locked in executive session.
This, despite the promises of promoters of independent redistricting, who said
the system would be a transparent alternative to what they claimed were
secretive give-and-take deliberations among self-interested lawmakers. More:
Yearlong electrical experiment will affect
only some timepieces
Tucson tech: Trial may throw off clocks
The landmark Daniel's Jewelers clock on Church Avenue
south of Congress Street could run fast as a result of an experiment with the
nation's power grid. Clocks that keep time by electric frequency are affected.
At least it won't make you late
for work. The folks who run the nation's electric power grid are getting ready
for a yearlong experiment that may cause some electric clocks to run as much as
20 minutes fast in some parts of the country.
In Arizona and other Western states, the error is
expected to be up to about eight minutes.
In a scenario reminiscent of the Year 2000 issue with
dates, the so-called "time-error correction" issue involves an
experiment with an arcane practice that could result in effects of unknown
proportions.Since the 1930s, some electric clocks have kept track of time based
on the frequency of the electricity that powers them.
Read
more: http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_192a00bc-b55c-59e0-b143-984c932da1d4.html#ixzz1SbucRtbK
