CD5 field thins - Hatch-Miller out

One of the Republicans trying to become Harry Mitchell's challenger has dropped out of the race for the nomination in CD5.

From the EV Tribune (actually Paul Giblin's blog at the Trib) -

Arizona Corporation Commission member Jeff Hatch-Miller is dropping out of the crowded Republican primary race for the GOP nomination in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District.

Hatch-Miller told the Tribune he expects to issue a formal statement late today or Friday.

He made the decision after losing two key campaign staff members just as he was preparing to ramp up the campaign. His campaign coordinator died unexpectedly Friday, a day after his speech writer told him she had to cut back her work because of other commitments.

Expect at least one or two more of the erstwhile Republican challengers to drop out before the primary. Even with Hatch-Miller's withdrawal, there are five Reps in the race (counting the 'exploring' Susan Bitter Smith), and some will find that there isn't enough support to go around.

Business as usual at the Arizona legislature...

...With the emphasis on 'business'.

In the conflicts and controversies surrounding the state's budget deficit and the harsh nativist measures proposed by Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and his fellow travelers, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that even the so-called "moderate" Republicans in the lege don't care about their constituents, just their campaign contributors.

From AZCentral.com -

Arizona businesses are pushing state legislators to alter workers' compensation laws in ways they say will save them money.

One measure set for House debate would allow the Industrial Commission to reduce an injured employee's benefits if he or she were fired for misconduct. Rep. Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale, said this is designed to prevent what she said are abuses of the system by some workers.

The article goes on to describe some of the more regressive measures in the bills, HB2828 and HB2829. They would...

...allow companies to compel workers' physicians to disclose their patients' private medical info;

...allow an employer to decrease an injured worker's benefits if it can find a lower-paying job for that injured worker to do (they would get to pay benefits based on the lower paying job, not the job the worker was doing when he/she was injured);

...greatly broaden the definitions of "misconduct" or other reasons that employers can terminate employment and employees' benefits.

In short, there's nothing in the bills that even hints of concern for the average Arizonan or of simple fairness. The bills are strictly brazen gifts to business interests, especially the insurance industry.


Is it any great surprise that the campaign finance reports of the two people that the article cites as pushing these measures (McComish and Reagan) show that they've each received thousands of dollars from industry PACs or that their lists of individual contributors read like "who's who" lists of lobbyists, lawyers, and CEOs, especially for those in the insurance industry? And that's just in their current reports?


Interestingly enough, McComish *did* propose one bill modifying workers' comp in a way that seems to favor workers, HB2835. The provisions of the bill would make heart disease and certain other related cardiovascular issues covered under workers' comp.

Of course, other provisions in the bill would apply the changes only to firefighters/EMTs, and then only to those working for the "state or any political subdivision of this state".

FF/EMTs who work for Rural/Metro or private ambulance services?

They're screwed - they work for private employers.


In the interests of openness, I should note here that the bill that actually helps Arizona's workers (or at least a miniscule percentage of them) isn't going anywhere - it hasn't even been assigned to a committee, much less heard in committee. Generally speaking, if that hasn't happened by the end of February, a bill is dead.


The Arizona AFL-CIO's February 25, 2008 Legislative Update is here; an evaluation of HB2829 is halfway down the page.

Later!

Vermont earns its "Smartest State" ranking

From AP via ABC News -

Vt. Towns Approve Bush 'Indictment'

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. Mar 4, 2008 (AP)

Voters in two Vermont towns approved measures Tuesday calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for what they consider violations of the Constitution.

More symbolic than anything, the items sought to have police arrest Bush and Cheney if they ever visit Brattleboro or nearby Marlboro or to extradite them for prosecution elsewhere — if they're not impeached first.

The measures had solid support - 53% in Brattleboro and 63% in the much smaller Marlboro.

The measures are almost purely symbolic - Bush and Cheney have yet to visit Vermont during their terms of office.

Still, it's a nice gesture, and one that is another piece of evidence that supports the conclusion of this 2006 report that found that Vermont is the smartest state.

And that was *before* they elected Bernie Sanders to the U.S. Senate.

(Of course, another major piece of evidence that supports the conclusions of the report is the fact that it ranked Arizona as the 50th smartest. :) )

Legislative candidate update

After reading this post at SeeingRedAZ about how Congressman Jeff Flake's brother-in-law has filed to challenge Russell Pearce in the LD18 Senate primary, I realized that it's high time to check for active candidate committees. All info courtesy the Arizona Secretary of State's website. I cross-checked the names at the Clean Elections website, but there were no names on the CCEC list of candidates that weren't also on the AZSOS's site.

(* = incumbent)


LD17 Senator (Tempe, South Scottsdale) -

Democrats - Meg Burton-Cahill*

Republicans - None yet


LD17 Representative -

Democrats - David Schapira*, Ed Ableser*

Republicans - Wesley Waddle, Mark Thompson (exploratory)

...This district is almost certain to have the hardest-fought general election. While the voter reg trends in the district favor Democrats (whoooo hoooo!), it's still almost evenly split in this district. I have heard of a couple of other possible Rep contenders, but they haven't announced yet, and since I'm not a Rep, I don't exactly have stellar sources among them in order to confirm/refute the rumors. :)



LD18 Representative (West Mesa) -

Democrats - Tammie Pursley

Republicans - Cecil Ash, Joe Dobbins, Steve Court, Kanani Henderson, Ron Middlebrook


LD18 Senator -

Democrats - Judah Nativio

Republicans - Russell Pearce, Kevin Gibbons

...Hmmmm....Both of LD18's Republican primaries look to be dogfights - 5 candidates running for two spots in the race for state rep, and Jeff Flake's brother-in-law running against Russell Pearce in an apparent bit of payback for Pearce's abortive primary challenge of Flake for the CD6 seat. There are no incumbents running in LD18 because Russell Pearce is term-limited out of the House, Karen Johnson has stepped aside to allow Pearce to run for the Senate seat that she currently holds, and current state representative Mark Anderson is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Harry Mitchell in CD5.



LD8 Senate (North Scottsdale, Fountain Hills) -

Republicans - Carolyn Allen*

Democrats - None yet


LD8 Representative -

Republicans - Michelle Reagan*, John Kavanagh*

Democrats - None yet


...Expect Democratic candidates to step forward in LD8; I know of a couple of folks who are mulling over a run, but have yet to announce. Anybody who is interested in running should contact the LD8 Dems at (480) 596-8350.


Later!

LD17 legislators in the news

State Senator Meg Burton-Cahill -

...Sen. Burton-Cahill attended a forum in Tempe regarding health concerns at Corona del Sol High School. From the AZ Republic -

A forum organized to ease the minds of the Corona del Sol High School community turned to outrage as teachers, parents and students stood one after another to describe tumors, cancers, asthma attacks and other diseases plaguing their bodies since coming to the school.

The Tempe Union High School District had hoped to quell fears and rumors about an aging ventilation system partly to blame, according to a 2006 health study, for causing mold, raising carbon dioxide levels and spurring health complaints from staff.

{snip}

"This is not a taxpayer problem. This is a Legislature (problem). Where is . . . District 17 and 20 representatives," [Resident A.J.] Lafaro asked.

District 17 representative Meg Burton Cahill was the only one to announce her presence.

"We don't have the numbers (of votes)," she said. "We need (legislators) who do more than say they support schools. We need (legislators) who say they support funding schools."

...Burton-Cahill was mentioned in an ASU Web Devil article about her bill to regulate tattoo parlors, SB1321. No quotes, though.

...She was also mentioned in an AZ Rep article about the lege's consideration of Sen. Jack Harper's bill to block local ordinances restricting the activities of sign walkers, SB1076.

From the article -

A state senator wants to prevent local governments from stopping someone like Jim Torgeson from twirling a sign to promote a business.

Torgeson, owner of Jet Media Promotions, spoke on Monday in favor of a bill that would restrict a city or town's right to regulate so-called "sign-walkers."

Promoters say it's about free speech and earning a living. Those voting against it said municipalities should have local control.

"We make the public policies for the state," said Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, who sponsored Senate Bill 1076.

{snip}

Sen. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, said Harper's bill interferes with local control.

"I do not think that we should mandate cities and towns at the municipal level about commercial advertising," she said.

Burton Cahill, who voted against the bill, said that Torgeson's primary interest is financial and not based on freedom of speech.

...She was also in articles about a measure to stop state investment in Sudan because of the Darfur genocide (AZ Capitol Times) and another article about the move to regulate tattoo parlors (Glendale Star). Both of those sites require a premium login to view their content.


State Representative Ed Ableser -

...Ableser has been receiving a lot of coverage of his bill to require hybrid vehicles to make more noise, for the safety of blind pedestrians.

From the AZ Daily Star -

...[O]ne state lawmaker, alarmed that hybrid cars are getting too quiet, is seeking to actually make them noisier.

The concern is centered on the danger quiet hybrids could pose to the blind — with their technology so good at muting sound that they have become unnoticeable to the ear.

"Hybrid cars are amazing, and I think one of the unintended consequences of this new technology is that it is so effective in reducing noise on the streets, the fear is that our blind citizens are in danger crossing the road," says state Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, who is pushing a bill in the Legislature to require hybrids to make more noise. "If you drive a hybrid, you're not going to want someone who is listening to cars stepping out into the road in front of your hybrid."

...He was featured in an ASU Web Devil article about Tempe's Fifth Annual Regional Unity Walk.

From the article -

Rep. Ed Ableser of Tempe, an ASU public administration and justice studies doctoral student, walked Saturday for the fifth time.

"Keeping [the walk] in Tempe is so much more effective," he said. Ableser said Tempe is one of the most diverse cities in Arizona, adding that more than 80 languages are spoken here.

"Where better to have a walk [focused on] diversity and acceptance and multiculturalism?" he said.

...From a Tucson Citzen article about legislative proposals to assist deployed troops -

Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, introduced HB 2519, which would require health spas and clubs to allow suspension or cancellation of membership for the duration of a service member's deployment. The bill, which Paton also is sponsoring, is moving toward a vote by the full House.

Ableser said he wrote the bill after a former House page serving in Iraq with the Air Force accrued two years of health spa fees while away.

...From an ASU Web Devil article about a bill [HB2230] that would require textbook publishers to disclose information about prices, editions, and copyrights -

Ableser, an ASU instructor, told the committee he voted for the amendment to move the bill forward, but said he remained concerned.

"We would be faulty to assume that [students] have much choice in the bookstore," he said. "They're held hostage in what they have to buy."

The amendment that Ableser expressed concerns with weakened the bill, changing the bill to call on publishers to reveal that info only on written request.

Note: The Web Devil piece cited the relevant bill as HB2736 in error. That bill references early graduation scholarships.


State Representative David Schapira -

...Schapira was quoted a number of times in this Yuma Sun article regarding HB2713, a bill that purports to protect students' rights to express their religious viewpoints. The wording of the bill actually protects, among other things, a student's ability to answer scientific questions with religious answers.

It's an interesting article; I suggest reading it in its entirety.

...The Wickenburg Sun ran a piece about HB2008, Schapira's bill renewing alternative graduation requirements for students who don't pass the AIMS test, but meet a list of other requirements.

From the article -

“This is an urgent issue. As a high school teacher, I met countless students who proved themselves proficient in course work, but had difficulty performing on high-stakes tests. Many of these students are college-bound,” Rep. Schapira said. “If the legislature fails to approve this bill, thousands of students will not graduate. By depriving a hard-working student of a high school diploma, we are putting their future and quality of life in jeopardy.”

Note: the previous alternative standard expired last month.

...Schapira was featured in an AZ Daily Star article about committee passage of HB2557, a bill that would bar local school districts from dropping elective courses such as PE, Art, and Music without permission of the Arizona Department of Education.

From the article -

Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe, said the ability to drop programs with permission of the state Board of Education ensures that no district will be unnecessarily burdened.

I won't do this sort of post regularly, but I do expect to do a few more before the end of the legislative session.

Later!

When are the Bushies going to learn?

The coverup is *always* worse than the crime.

From AP via GovExec.com -

Agriculture orders auditors to stop questioning employees

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Agriculture Department abruptly ordered congressional auditors to leave its headquarters and told its employees not to cooperate with them.

"You are hereby instructed not to meet with any member of the (Government Accountability Office) today, or until this matter is resolved," Michael Watts, a top USDA attorney, wrote to employees Wednesday in an e-mail obtained by The Associated Press.

The auditors were seeking information for an ongoing audit on Agriculture's office of civil rights and its handling of discrimination complaints. Specifically, they were investigating allegations that the department had previously provided false information for the audit.

All this does, this stonewalling of Congressional investigators (the GAO is the investigative arm of Congress), is to attract more investigative attention.

Lesson for the Bushies - there isn't a surer way to tell investigators that you have something to hide than to act like you're hiding something...


Background on Ag Department discrimination complaints -

GovExec.com article from 1997 detailing some of the history of Ag Department discrimination here

OxFam America press release backgrounder/press release here

NY Times article on the settlement of a lawsuit in 1999 here

NPR report on discrimination against Native American farmers (and a lawsuit) here

Another lawsuit filed (AP via Santa Fe New Mexican)

Fear and Smear: The Republican Campaign To Regain Control Of Congress Has Begun

By now, we've all seen the ads targeting Harry Mitchell as well as Gabrielle Giffords and other freshman Dems in the House.

You know, the spots that open with ominous music then slickly warns folks that the law that allows the U.S. government to eavesdrop on terrorists has expired because the House didn't vote on and approve the Senate-passed expansion of the FISA act. It then goes on to recommend that viewers to call their Congressional representative and urge them to pass that Senate-approved bill.

It very effectively plays on viewers' fears.

However, as FactCheck.org documents here, the spot is more than a little light on facts and heavy on misinformation and outright lies.

The biggest lie is also one of the first ones in the piece - FISA, the law that allows for surveillance of foreign terror suspects has *not* expired; only the temporary expansion that was passed last summer has.

Another lie, or at least a misstatement of the truth, is that this is all the House's fault. In fact, the House passed a long-term expansion and update of FISA in November. The Senate is the group that waited until the last minute to pass an amended version.

One that needed to go to conference to resolve the differences. One of those differences is that the Senate version includes retroactive immunity for telecoms while the House version does not include it - and the White House desperately wants it. In fact, they are so desperate that Bush has pledged to veto any bill that does *not* include a retroactive immunity provision.

The spots were created by an extreme right-wing front group named Defense of Democracies. That group is an offshoot of another far-right group, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). The FDD is headed by a former spokesman for the RNC (Clifford May) with directors that include former GOP candidates for president (Steve Forbes, Jack Kemp.)

On its website, the group professes to be "non-partisan" but the spots only target Democrats.

One of those targets, CD5's Harry Mitchell, has weighed in on the topic of the spots and the FISA expansion issue itself in a campaign email -

Dear Friend,

Old Washington politics and special interests are back at it again. And, they are willing to do anything - lie, cheat or steal - to beat me this fall.

You've probably seen the ads on TV, deceptive and sickening ads. I am one of 15 Representatives in the country they are spending millions of dollars on to spread this filth.

I can take a lot of criticism. As an elected official and a leader, I expect it.

But I won't stand by and let someone attack my patriotism. It's my love of this country that compelled me to teach government for so many years and eventually run for office.

I believe in service. I believe in America. And I refuse to be anyone's rubber stamp.

If we are going to infringe on privacy rights because we believe there is a necessary security issue, then we must carefully consider and debate the issue.

This extremist fear machine, funded by some of the most radical elements of the far right, would have you believe that my rational position helps Bin Laden. That's just disgusting.

Let's be clear. These ridiculous accusations are not about a policy or even how I may vote.

This is scaring the American public for one reason - to stop positive changes from happening in Washington, DC.

Enough is enough.

Help out Harry or Gabby - they're going to face tough, nasty, and just plain dirty tactics this year as the Republicans desperately try to retake control of Congress.

As an aside, many Republicans have said that telecoms that allow or facilitate the wiretaps do so out of patriotism.

What they don't say is that corporate patriotism only lasts as long as the bills are paid, as this article (AP via MSNBC) indicates -

Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time.

{snip}

In at least one case, a wiretap used in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act investigation "was halted due to untimely payment," the audit found.

The DOJ audit is here.

CrooksandLiars.com's take on the spots here; SourceWatch's wiki on the Foundation here.

So maybe the AZ Republicans in Congress really do represent their constituents' attitudes toward children

I know that many people will try to call this an isolated occurrence, but it really does highlight the attitude of too many people here in AZ...

From the Arizona Republic -

Parents alerted about armed HOA guards

There is nothing that prevents Avondale homeowner's associations from hiring armed guards, the Police Department says.

The issue came up this month when Collier Elementary School Principal Pat Bentley sent a letter home to parents, alerting them that the Coldwater Springs homeowners association has armed security guards. He described their presence and focus on students as "a major issue."

In the letter, Bentley said the guards carry guns, look for people damaging public property and that the Coldwater Springs president and security director had blamed Collier Elementary students for the damage.

Yup - I'm definitely not in small town Massachusetts anymore. In the neighborhood that I grew up in, there weren't any sidewalks, so we were *encouraged* to walk across our neighbors' yards for safety's sake.

Not threatened with armed rent-a-cops.

It seems that here in AZ, the attitude is "Safety be damned! We want walls and guns to deal the hordes of marauding six-year olds and their backpacks full of books and other dangerous stuff!"

On the other hand, if state Sen. Karen Johnson and state Rep. Russell Pearce get their way with their "guns in schools" bill, those security guards might be in for a bit of a surprise the next time they try to intimidate a bunch of kids on their way home from school. :))

Another corporate lobbyist "explores" challenge to Harry Mitchell

In a long-expected development, telecom lobbyist Susan Bitter-Smith has announced the establishment of an exploratory committee for the race for CD5 Republican nomination.

Her announcement can be found here.

In her announcement, she cites her experience as a member of the Scottsdale City Council and Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD).

Not mentioned or even hinted at is her long-time job as director of the Arizona Cable Telecommunications Association, an industry lobbying group.

While the lateness her pseudo-entry into the race makes it tougher for her (the other Rep candidates in CD5 have had time to bank contributions and lock up endorsements), however, she will be well-funded by her clients and is sure to have the backing of GOP Chamber of Commerce types like Virginia Korte.

Evaluation: She could make an impact on the race with her money and her ties in north Scottsdale. Working against her are the facts that she has almost no visibility in the Tempe part of the district and the fact that even Republicans aren't too enamored with lobbyists these days.

Caveat: take any of my speculations on the mindsets of Republicans with a grain of salt (maybe the whole salt mine!) - I'm not a Republican...not even close.

...In the category of "Interesting 2006 Replay" - the press contact listed on the announcement press release, Brian Hummell, seemed familiar. Turns out that he is a lobbyist too, sometimes representing organizations such as the Arizona Film and Media Coalition before the AZ legislature.

And the "2006" part?

He was JD Hayworth's spokesman that year. :)))

Arizona earns another low rating when it comes to protecting children

This time, it's the state's Congressional delegation that has let children down.

The Children's Defense Fund Action Council has released its 2007 Congressional scorecard. The scoring was based on 10 key votes each in the House and Senate (the list of votes was slightly different for each chamber.)

Arizona's delegation ended up tied for 44th with Louisiana's.

Hey - at least we beat Nebraska, South Carolina, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

On the other hand, Georgia, Texas and Mississippi beat us, and that's not exactly something to brag about.

By comparison, my old home state of Massachusetts ranked 3rd, with an average score of 97%; the only negative marks were due to absences, not bad votes.


As could be expected, the Arizona delegation split along party lines -

In the House, Democrats Ed Pastor and Raul Grijalva each scored 100%, Gabrielle Giffords 80%, and Harry Mitchell 60%.

On the Republican side, Rick Renzi scored 60%, Trent Franks and John Shadegg scored 10%, and the ever-reliable Jeff Flake earned a big ol' goose egg (he's like Mikey from the Life cereal commercial - he hates *everything.*)

It seems that John Shadegg's 'expertise' on health care doesn't extend to healthy children, only healthy corporate bottom lines. As for Trent Franks, apparently his concern for children stops once they are born.

As for Renzi's 60%, well, you knew that there had to be a real reason that a Republican U.S. Attorney pursued an indictment of a Republican Congressman - I mean, there was no way a Bush appointee would go after a Republican for simple extortion and fraud, right?

:))

And as for Harry Mitchell's 60%, I supposed he can take heart in the high-wattage company he's keeping - Nancy Pelosi was also at 60%, Joe Biden was at 50%, Barack Obama 60%, Hillary Clinton 70%.

Over in the Senate, Jon Kyl scored at 30% and John McCain earned a 10%.

Of course, given that McCain missed 8 of the 10 key votes, maybe his grade should be 'Incomplete.' However, according to the 2006 Scorecard, he made all of the 10 key votes that year, and scored a resounding

10%.

Come November, that's something that parents all over the state might want to think about before they cast a 'favorite son' vote in the general election.

Later!

Press Release of the Day

...Haven't done one of these in a while, but this is the creepiest press releases in, well, *ever.*

Thanks for the heads-up goes out to (of all people!) Jay Leno.

From the Senate website of U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) -

Craig Accepting Applications for Summer Interns

Deadline Quickly Approaching

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Idaho Senator Larry Craig is currently seeking intern applications for the summer term, which runs from May to August. The application deadline is March 15, however if more time is needed for the application process, please contact Senator Craig's office for an extension. Craig offers paid internships within the Washington, D.C., office. Preference is given to Idaho applicants attending Idaho schools who are in their junior or senior years of college (including graduating seniors).

'"Interns have the chance to be an essential part of a working congressional office," said Craig. "They participate in the legislative process as well as ensure that constituent services run smoothly. For those interested in politics, it is an incredible opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at how our government functions while serving the people of Idaho."

Interns are paired with staff members based on experience and interests, in order to best utilize their talents...

Rumor has it that good candidates will get their own cubicles; special candidates will get their own stalls.

The Priorities Of House Republicans -

1. Retroactive telecom immunity.

2. Failing that, heavily armed communities.

Not a priority -

1. Public housing.


Today, the House debated H.R. 3521, the Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act of 2007. According to a summary from the Congressional Research Service, the bill concerns a number of rules regulating public housing authority (PHA) management and PHA asset management.

The fun part was when Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) moved to recommit the bill to the Financial Services Committee with instructions to amend the bill by substituting to become S. 2248, the FISA amendments bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecom companies that participated in George Bush's warrantless wiretapping of Americans program.

That motion was determined to be out of order because the proposed amendment wasn't relevant to the underlying bill. Rep. Smith moved to appeal the chair's ruling to the whole House; the whole House voted to table the appeal by a vote of 218 - 195, with the Reps voting mostly along party lines. (AZ delegation: Pastor, Mitchell, Grijalva - Yea; Renzi, Shadegg, Franks, Flake, and Giffords - Nay)

After that, under the rules of the House, the Republicans could still make a motion to recommit, and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) did so.

Her motion included instructions "inserting provisions that state that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall not accept as reasonable any fees for enforcing any provision of a dwelling lease agreement or other similar agreement that requires the registration of or prohibits the possession of any firearm that is possessed by an individual for his or her personal protection or for sport the possession of which is not prohibited, or the registration of which is not required, by existing law."

Further proceedings on that motion, as well as the underlying bill, were postponed (not sure why yet.)

Nice to see that even with a week off to think about the error of their ways, the House Republicans still place corporate interests and ideological purity above human interest.

Wonder who they're going to blame when they have their butts handed to them in November? Undocumented immigrants?

...Oh wait - undocumented immigrants don't vote.

It should be noted that after regular legislative business was completed that Trent Franks (R-AZ2) took to the floor of the House to talk about the significant issue of the day.

Which, given that it was Trent Franks speaking, of course that issue was abortion.

Later!

There's lazy journalism...

Edit on 2/29 to change a comparison to a more "apples to apples" comparison. Change marked by italics.

...and then there's journalism that's so lazy it becomes a hack job...

Generally, I leave serious criticism of the MSM to Greg over at Espress Pundit; he's passionate about the subject, and he's good at it.

Once in a while, however, a story (or, as in this case, a series of stories related to each other only by timing) is aired or published that just screams professional laziness.

On Thursday night, KPNX-TV in Phoenix (Channel 12) ran what appeared to be a local story about a girl who experienced a reaction to Gardasil, the vaccine for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).

The video of the story, Mother says HPV vaccine paralyzed her daughter, consisted of Channel 12's Lin Sue Cooney doing a stand-up intro to the piece, followed by footage of the girl, Brittany, and her mom, Christina Bell, with the mom telling the story of her daughter helped along by Cooney's voice-over. A doctor, Guy Benrubi, spoke of how he trusted the vaccine so much that the recommended it for his own daughter.

The interestingly lazy part?

Cooney never appeared on screen with the girl and her mother, nor did the story ever state that they live in Arizona.

Those facts, combined with the story's regular reference of the "moral debate" surrounding Gardasil, made me wonder if the story was a plant from one of the "moral" groups that opposed Gardasil because they think that the immunization encourages promiscuity in adolescent girls.

This called for a little research. Turns out it wasn't such a plant. Well, not by a right-wing, anti-science group, anyway.

The story was generated by First Coast News, a Florida-based subsidiary of Gannett, which also owns KPNX. The written story makes it clear that the family is from Florida; in addition, a quick Google search of the doctor's name (Guy Benrubi) turns up an ob/gyn in Jacksonville, FL.

In short, KPNX in Phoenix, Arizona repackaged a Florida story to make it appear as if they had done a locally-based and locally-produced piece.

It was certainly lazy (and rather cynical in its contempt for the perceptiveness of its audience), but probably nothing more than that. It's also a trend that we must get used to in this environment created by the FCC's loosening of corporate media ownership rules - generic stories that can be packaged for many local markets are cheaper than actual local media market newsgathering.


However, "lazy" is perhaps the best thing that can be said about a story that KNXV-TV (Channel 15 in Phoenix) ran the following night.


That story breathlessly advised of an epidemic of conflicts of interest at the legislature (Conflicts abound in Arizona Legislature), an epidemic that "could shake your trust in the system."

The thrust of the story was that since Arizona's legislators are "citizen legislators" - aka "so underpaid they need 2nd jobs", a number of legislators sit on committees that could influence their fields of expertise. The report objected (in soft terms) the idea of teachers sitting on education committees, human services professionals sitting on human services committees, and ranchers sitting on natural resources committees.

Among those singled out was Democratic State Representative Jackie Thrasher (LD10). In her other job, she is a music teacher at Lookout Mountain Elementary School in Phoenix. The video story criticized her for voting for a $46,000,000 pay raise for teachers, and asked her if she had received some of that money. She answered that she was "sure" that she had and that it wasn't a conflict because the raise affected all 54,000 other teachers in the state.

Next, the story went after Rep. David Bradley (D-LD28) for operating a family services company that receives state contracts. There, the conflict alleged is less direct in that Bradley's committee, House Human Services, doesn't award contracts, just writes laws for the agency that does.

Finally, the story gave voice to Republican Rep. Steve Yarbrough (LD21), who doubles as executive director of a private school tuition organization (STO). An STO exists to funnel money from the state's treasury into private schools by soliciting private contributions to private schools, for which the donors receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit (up to a limit.)

I say "gave voice" because the reporter made it clear that Rep. Yarbrough had been given enough time to prepare for their interview (apparently, Thrasher and Bradley just sat down and talked. Note to all public officials and candidates: in general, TV reporters aren't your enemies, but they aren't your friends either. Always prepare.)

He showed up with a letter from the lege's in-house counsel absolving him of any legal conflicts, and then proudly talked about the three STO bills that he is sponsoring this session.

The story also used some verbal tricks to make the legislators sound sneaky or like criminals thriving within the margins of legal technicalities.

My favorite passage highlighting this tactic -

Arizona legislators seem to hang their hat on a law known as the "rule of ten."

It means that if a bill impacts at least ten people it's not considered a legal conflict, even if the lawmaker is one of the ten.

It also disingenuously ignored things like the fact that while teachers such as Jackie Thrasher may sit on an education committee and propose and/or approve education-related matters, only the Appropriations Committee can approve funding.

She doesn't sit on Appropriations.

There was a little partisan bias in the story, besides allowing the one Republican in the video to prepare for his interview - 2 out of the 3 of the legislators in the video of the story are Democrats, as are 62.5% (10/16) of the legislators cited in the written version of the story.

In the whole legislature, only 40 out of 90 (44%) are Democrats.

The report exhibits also exhibits bias in that most of the Democrats cited in the story are public service types (teachers, counselors) while most of the Republicans cited are businessmen (insurance agents, ranchers).

The fact that it equates an ASU faculty associate like Rep. Ed Ableser with a businessman like Steve Yarbrough illustrates this -

...The organization that Yarbrough works for, the Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization (ACSTO), pays him $96,000 per year (per the organization's 2006 Form 990).

...The compensation received by Ableser that Channel 15's reporter was so aghast at because Ableser sits on the House Higher Education Committee? $4000 per year.

In other words, the whole thing was an exercise in "let's pretend that we are investigative journalists...without doing any actual investigating."

The story only served to unjustly smear working legislators, the vast majority of whom are honest public servants.

It should be noted that on Monday, Channel 12 ran a story about how Sheriff Joe Arpaio is having all sorts of financial problems at the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office, causing hit to cut services and staff, yet he has enough money available to send his Chief Deputy Dave Hendershott and a number of other staffers to the Honduras for a vacation...errr..."a goodwill/training trip."

Channel 12 should be applauded for such a hard-hitting report, really, but they lose points because of one small, but very important point -

Stephen Lemons of the New Times has been on this for over a month.

Lemons' most recent piece on this issue here.

It sure looks like that the major corporate-owned KPNX's investigation was actually conducted by the local alternative weekly.

Apparently, a post that I wrote over a year and a half ago concerning the state of investigative journalism in the Phoenix area is still accurate - it's the New Times and a whole big bunch of "not even pretending anymores."

Later!

Groundwater treatment update presentation - City of Scottsdale

Just received the following from Vicki Rosen, the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator for the North Indian Bend Wash (NIBW) Superfund site. It concerns the Central Groundwater Treatment Facility (CGTF) operated by the City of Scottsdale (in other words - *not* the facility that has had all the issues recently, the one operated by Arizona American Water) -

Dear NIBW CIG:

Here's an invitation from the City of Scottsdale regarding the Central 

Groundwater Treatment Facility.  Please feel free to contact Suzanne 

Grendahl directly with any questions.

Vicki


The City of Scottsdale would like to invite you to an 

informal presentation and discussion of the control systems in place at 

the CGTF.  Since the incident in January at the MRTF, we have been 

questioned about whether this could happen at the CGTF.  We hope 

to explain the redundant systems and alarms that are in place at the 

CGTF to address any concerns.  In addition, the City will give 

a brief description of some additional treatment (TDS reduction) 

that will be added to the CGTF over the next two years, unrelated 

to the remedy. The presentation will be held Thursday, March 13, 2008

at 9:30 a.m. at the City of Scottsdale Water Campus (8787 E. Hualapai Drive).

We look forward to seeing you.

Suzanne Grendahl, Water Quality Director
City of Scottsdale
480-312-8719sgrendahl[at]scottsdaleaz.gov

Any questions should be directed to Ms. Grendahl at the above address or to
Vicki at Rosen.Vicki[at]epamail.epa.gov.

Later!

Musings on a community meeting

Edit on 2/26 to add link at the bottom of the post...

Last night, I took the opportunity to attend a meeting of the Community Council of South Scottsdale at the Granite Reef Senior Center in Scottsdale.

One could tell it was an election year, as there were five members of the City Council or candidates for the council present (Jim Lane, Tony Nelssen, Ron McCullagh, Nan Nesvig, Joel Bramoweth), as well as one candidate for Congress (Laura Knaperek).

The main topic of the meeting was a presentation and discussion of a development/redevelopment project proposed for south Scottsdale. One of the components of the project was 'income-restricted' housing units, targeted at lower-income, first-time home buyers. This generated one of the highlights of the meeting.

The discussion of income restricted housing immediately set off a few people in the audience, spouting off about illegal immigrants and subsidized housing and ruined neighborhoods.

That, in turn, sparked council candidate Joel Bramoweth into taking exception to the bigotry being spewed forth. He was shouted down with cries of "she has the floor", but he still impressed me - most candidates for office today won't go against the tide in a gathering such as that one.

I haven't decided who I'm going to vote for, but he went a long way toward earning my vote (and he sure as hell went a long way toward making up for some of the rather rambling speeches that he gives during Council meetings :)) .)

It should be noted here that this is the same group that last year invited State Rep. John Kavanagh to one of their meetings, inspiring me to right this post, comparing Kavanagh to his friend and ideological hero, Russell Pearce. The anti-mmigrant rhetoric present on Thursday night wasn't a surprise.

Other highlights -

...I spoke with Councilman Ron McCullagh for a few moments before the start of the meeting and research into the possible addition of Arizona American Water Company's Scottsdale customers to the Scottsdale municipal water system. Personally, I don't think it will happen during an election year, especially one where most federal, state, county and municipal budgets are stretched to the max, but stay tuned.

...Laura Knaperek spent some time introducing herself and shaking hands. So far, she's been the only Rep candidate that I've seen working the community gathering circuit in south Scottsdale and Tempe (she was at the Tempe City Council forum earlier this month), but that's said with a couple of caveats - I've only been to a few non-partisan events this month, and I don't attend the 'big money' events such as those put on by the Chamber of Commerce and their ilk.

Race for CD5 note - If Knaperek is any indication, the Republican contenders in CD5 learned at least one lesson from Harry Mitchell's 2006 upset of JD Hayworth - they're stressing their 'fiscal conservative' bonafides while minimizing their harsher 'social conservative' credentials. For instance, Knaperek has be Executive Director of a right-wing organization called United Families International for more than a year. That organization is so far right that it opposes UN efforts to outlaw forced marriage and gender-selective infanticide because such efforts demean the value of traditional marriage. (Knaperek's take here.)

On her website's "Meet Laura" page, she has a 6-paragraph, 336-word bio. She devotes a full paragraph to being a fiscal conservative (two paragraphs on her work with the disabled!) and all of one sentence to her work with UFI, and that sentence has no details on the organization.

Ahhh yessssss...the selectively-edited resume. It serves the same purpose in politics that coverup makeup does with tattoos.

...To be fair to the bigots at the meeting, Mexicans weren't the only targets of their ire. During a discussion of the status of the SkySong development at the old Los Arcos Mall location, there were criticisms over the number of non-American companies that have leased space there. A number of the tenants are from countries such as Turkey, Singapore and China, and a group of audience members felt that was "unAmerican".

I'm not making this up.

Later!

Edit on 2/26 to add -

Ari Cohn of the East Valley Tribune was at the meeting; his coverage is here.

End edit.