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Report says kin need more help with foster kids

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

The relatives who stepped up to care for these kids -- so-called kinship caregivers -- are more likely to be poor, single, older, less educated and unemployed than traditional families, according to the report, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Even so, the vast majority of those kids get little or no support from the state.
Children who have been placed with relatives by state Child Protective Services receive medical benefits and child care, but federal cash assistance ...

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AG Horne: I was unintentionally overlooked as GOP delegate

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012




A parade of VIP Republicans will head to Tampa in August for the GOP Convention, where they wil anoint Mitt Romney their party's official presidential candidate. 
 
Gov. Jan Brewer, queen bee of the state's Republicans, will lead the parade, followed by Gov. Gregory Mendoza of the Gila River Indian Community, Secretary of State Ken Bennett, Treasurer Doug Ducey, Senate President Steve Pierce, Speaker of the House Andy Tobin … and the list goes on to include a total of 29 del...

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State loses lawsuit, must pay for briefs

Monday, May 21st, 2012

U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima ordered the state to start covering the briefs for people who are incontinent because of their disability. The judge also ordered the state to reimburse people for all the briefs the state has refused to pay for since the policy was put in place.
It's unclear how many people are affected and how much the ruling will cost the state.
The Arizona Center for Disability Law filed suit in 2009 to force the state to reverse a policy ...

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Legislative staff downsizes

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Already gone is John Mills, who has been pivotal to Republican efforts on political redistricting. A longtime House staffer, Mills was a constant presence at redistricting meetings last year and kept the GOP majorities in both the House and Senate up to date on redistricting efforts.
Leaving at the end of the month are Ron Bellus and Maria Hoffman, who both worked on contracts funded jointly by the House and Senate.
Bellus launched Arizona Capitol Television in 2007, taking the Legislature's cl...

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Brewer: self-serving politicians are unfortunate

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Maybe it's something in the water, says Gov. Jan Brewer. Maybe state lawmakers just don't understand the rules. Or, perhaps their egos have just overshadowed their ability to stay on the straight and narrow.

Whatever it the case, the Republican governor calls the ethical and legal travails of four state lawmakers a troublesome trend that should serve as reminders to elected officials that they're elected to serve the people -- not themselves.

Four state lawmakers have either had ethics compl...

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No end in sight for Maricopa County legal payments

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

The county Board of Supervisors will discuss in executive session whether to appeal a U.S. District Court judge's ruling forcing the county to pay a $975,000+ settlement for Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. Wilcox made a legal claim against the county after being investigated by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
County Treasurer Charles “Hos” Hoskins also will meet with county-financed outside counsel to discuss whether ...

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Clean Elections Commission weighs in on redistricting suit

Monday, May 14th, 2012

The commission oversees the state's public-campaign-finance system and therefore, it argues, is directly affected by the challenge to the new district lines. The commission has a duty to ensure the 2012 election proceeds smoothly, and the prospect of another legislative map so close to the Aug. 28 primary could complicate that operation, the commission argues in a motion filed with the U.S. District Court.
Like the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, which sought an intervention order last week,...

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Smile if you love public health …

Friday, May 11th, 2012

So Will Humble, director of the state Department of Health Services, jumped on a recent e-mail from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging public-health workers to document their lives Tuesday during A Day, an effort to photograph what our lives look like, around the world, on a single day.
Photos taken Tuesday can be downloaded into three separate categories: home, work and connections. The Swedish-based non-profit, Expressions of Humankind, will preserve the photos online and p...

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Russell Pearce is still in

Friday, May 11th, 2012

Pearce, the author of Arizona's controversial immigration law Senate Bill 1070,  lost his Senate seat in a November recall election.
Pearce, a Republican,  was unreachable by phone Friday morning, but did send a  very brief e-mail responding to our inquiry as to the accuracy of the rumors.
"Not true," Pearce said in the e-mail. 
As of now, Pearce is still running. In the primary, he'll face Bob Worsley, a political newcomer who founded and later sold ...

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No Mother's Day treats in state budget, group says

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Playing off a Mother's Day theme, the alliance expressed regret the Legislature didn't restore funding for programs that help families and mothers in need, from housing assistance to child-care subsidies to health care.
Programs that assist grandparents raising their grandkids have gone away with no prospect of returning. Sherry Griffin of Surprise, who is raising her 7-year-old daughter, lost state support two years ago when the Legislature changed the eligibility criteria for the Temporary As...

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Jerry Lewis: I'm used to it

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Attorney Grady Gammage, who supports the Open Elections/Open Government Act, pointed to last fall's recall election of Senate President Russell Pearce as an example of how a non-partisan election could take the extreme edges off the state Legislature.
Lewis defeated Pearce, but voters still chose a conservative candidate, Gammage said.
The word "conservative" drew boos and shouts from the crowd at the forum sponsored by the O'Connor House. Apparently, many believed Lewis is not a cons...

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Hundreds of CPS cases haven't been investigated

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

According to the latest internal report from the state's Division of Children, Youth and Families, 12,649 children were in the state's custody, most of them living either with relatives, in foster homes, shelters or group homes. That's 446 more children than the previous month, a 15 percent increase since July and a nearly 25 percent increase over the past two years.
Of those kids, 1,355 were living in shelters or group homes, including 44 babies ...

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Former AzScam lawmaker exposed in San Diego

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

The article says Kenney apparently had been working as a real-estate broker for 14 years using a license obtained under his son's name. Kenney was convicted of bribery and money laundering in AzScam, a political-corruption probe from the early 1990s, and sentenced to five years in prison.
The San Diego-era Kenney has denied any link to the Arizona Kenney, although critical details (date of birth, colleges attended and even photos) suggest it's the same person. Kenney surrendered his license aft...

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To be or not to be? Poet laureate bill awaits vote

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

But Senate Bill 1348, demands a different approach. It establishes a state poet laureate, and is a pet cause of Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, who ran this bill last year, to no avail. As the bill awaits a defiinitve vote in the House of Representatives, Insider ponders:
 
On this last legislative day
The poet laureate is in play
It's the second run for this Melvin bill
Will his effort be ...

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Cities, counties implore Brewer for elections veto

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012


The bill, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Ugenti, R-Scottsdale, would require local governments to hold their elections only in the fall of even-numbered years.

Local officials say the bill ignores the independence charter governments have to run their own operations, including elections. Others worry the requirement to consolidate their local elections with state and federal contests will take away the ability to do mail-only elections.
It also could drive up election costs, local officials say,...

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Fund sweeps come back from the dust bin

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

But among the details seeping out about the budget agreement between GOP legislative leaders and Gov. Jan Brewer is (wait for it!) ... a sweep.
The Arizona Housing Alliance issued an alert Thursday warning the budget proposal included tapping money from the Arizona Attorney General's Mortgage Settlement Fund. That's a $97.7 million pot of money Arizona was awarded in February as part of a 49-state settlement with five mortgage lenders.
According to AG Tom Horne's website, "Arizona will rec...

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State budget: Nearing the finish line?

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Lawmakers are being briefed today in closed-door "small group" meetings on the results of talks between Senate President Steve Pierce, House Speaker Andy Tobin and staffers from Brewer's office. The governor has been in Washington D.C. all week for the Supreme Court hearing on SB1070, and is due back late today.
Pierce said talks have been "agreeable with the Governor's Office and our office," and said the parties are close to agreement on a budget for the 2013 fiscal ...

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Gould tax policy: One size fits all?

Monday, April 23rd, 2012


He was in fine form when the Senate debated a bill that would provide tax credits to movie and television-production firms that film in Arizona.

“This is purely corporate welfare,” the Lake Havasu City Republican said as lawmakers argued over House Bill 2127. Better for Arizona to have a broad, level tax code instead of carving out exceptions for special groups, he said as he voted against the bill.

But a few minutes later, Gould voted for a bill that would grant tax credits to c...

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Maricopa County's million-dollar question: to sign or not to sign?

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

The Arizona Republic reported last week about a state statute that requires a member of the county Board of Supervisors and the county Treasurer to approve settlements for claims filed by a county supervisor. 
The statute typically applies to claims such as travel expenses and other reimbursements that relate to the daily duties of a county supervisor. Maricopa County Bill Montgomery, after reviewing the statute, told The Republic that it also applies to legal claims filed by county ...

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Dybus: Hiding or hushed?

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

"I don't want to be retaliated against unnecessarily," Dybus told The Insider on Wednesday. "They told me to refer media calls on this to Amy," he said, referring to Horne's spokeswoman Amy Rezzonico. 
Rezzonico, who has confirmed to the Insider that she has been interviewed by the FBI, said no one from the AG's Office told Dybus to not talk to the media.
"He's making things up as he goes along," ...

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