Year: 1995

A lot of people swear they are going to do a lot of things when each new year rolls around. Promises of drastic life changes are ritually made and ritually broken: Money will be saved, bad habits will be curtailed, more attention will be paid, etc. Miss Candy Cantaloupes has…

Dial Tone Having been with a division of the Dial Corp for 45 years, I found New Times’ six-page writings cheap, nasty and unnecessary (“Dial’s Dirty Laundry,” Paul Rubin, December 14). Why doesn’t Rubin come down and write six pages about the glorious things the Dial Corp does for its…

Since late September, a media-shy collection of ranchers, legislators and sportsmen (that is, hunters) has met with Arizona Game and Fish commissioners and staffers in a basement room of the House of Representatives. The group has been discussing whether the state should pay ranchers to compensate for the forage that…

In December 1990, New Times profiled Glenna Phelps’ fourth-grade class at Hamilton School in a story headlined “The Real War on Drugs.” Staff writer Paul Rubin interviewed many of Mrs. Phelps’ students at that time for the story. Five years later, Rubin tracked down Mrs. Phelps – who retired after…

The Republican revolution has a cure for the troubles of primary education in America, and it can be summarized in one word: competition. After more than a decade of dubious reform efforts, conservative Republicans are looking to change public schools from without, rather than from within. Their proposals have shiny…

This is a time for action. It’s a time to move beyond rhetoric and cosmetics. It’s a time to take bold steps to ensure that children get whatever help they need to grow physically, emotionally and mentally into healthy and happy adults. My vision is of an Arizona that leads…

When congressional Republicans explain their ambitious plan for reforming the federal government–the Contract With America–they often use state governments as examples of the change to come. In fact, the notion that many federal programs would be more effective if they were moved–or devolved–to the state level is inherent to the…

Anthony, who doesn’t want his last name used for reasons that will soon become obvious, is not just a guy sitting at a bar in Flagstaff. Make some small talk, buy him a couple of beers, and the burly, mustachioed construction worker will tell you why. Anthony is a mother…

Fife Symington has long trumpeted himself as a conservative Western governor who also believes in preserving the environment. He has repeatedly claimed he supports efforts to protect the environment, so long as they do not needlessly burden the economy. Yet the public record provides scant evidence that Symington-style reform protects…

Ed Pond was more than a little insulted. No company should have the kind of constant, easy access to high-ranking environmental administrators that the American Smelting and Refining Company seemed to. Pond figured the company was trying to get him fired from his job at the Arizona Department of Environmental…