Is president’s security detail included in the shutdown?
I was curious. With the government shutdown and federal employees being asked to continue working without pay, does that include the Secret Service who watch over the Trump extended family?
By extended family, I mean those who go on vacation to play golf at Trump resorts and have Secret Service officers drive them around or watch the first lady and their son, Barron, wherever they may be staying?
I’m done with the sports moguls; could you please fix the potholes?
Once again, Phoenix taxpayers are asked to take their hard-earned money and throw it to multimillionaires by funding another upgrade of the Suns arena.
I, for one, am tired of seeing tax money go to the ultrarich when the roads in Phoenix are atrocious. Money is already taken away from our roads to fund the light rail that carries only a tiny fraction of the valley when pot holes abound everywhere on city streets.
Sports for a city are not a necessity — streets are. Reject Sarver and all other sports moguls and take care of the taxpaying people of Phoenix.
Take that $1 billion state surplus and start helping Arizona’s needy
After reading the Sunday article about Arizona having “tons of cash” and “how should we spend it,” I couldn’t help but think this is a no brainer.
Give it to our public schools and colleges, our homeless population, our overworked Child Protective Services agencies and our large population of people living below the poverty level.
What are you waiting for?
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I support charter schools, but it’s clear they require greater scrutiny
In Monday’s edition, your article on charter schools is commendable. I wish to compliment the writers for a fair and balanced article devoid of any fake news supporting a predetermined narrative.
I am a proponent of charter schools, but some of the data your writers divulge give me some discomfort. It is abundantly clear that Arizona needs more scrutinizing oversight of charter schools from state government.
There is far too much latitude given to these schools because of the lack of oversight. As a state we need greater accountability from these schools. After all, they are all funded with state money.
It is also crystal clear that owners and founders, of charter schools should not be able to financially profit from a school that goes insolvent, and closes. We need personal financial responsibility so owners cannot financially gain from school insolvency.
A way for the university to get out of real-estate development racket
Micheal Crow is perhaps the most valuable leader in Arizona. His stewardship of Arizona State University has expanded the reach of the university, helped turn downtown Phoenix into a vibrant place to live and work and increased opportunities for students.
However, acting as a real estate developer is a step too far. There is a simple solution to the lawsuit filed by the attorney general. ASU should finalize its master plan for land it does not need for education, and ask Tempe to zone the land to match the plan.
ASU is then in a position to sell the land to developers, using the process now used for state trust land: Sell the land for the appraised value, at public auction.
The Legislature will need to ensure that the university is free to use the proceeds for education purposes. This revenue will help offset reduced appropriations from the state. This approach will also produce property taxes for schools, cities and other taxing agencies.
Finally, it will make the development process more transparent and competitive.