Economic Issues

Margaret Thatcher Protest Songs Came in Every Genre (Hi, Public Enemy)

Monday's news of former English prime minister Margaret Thatcher's death elicited mixed responses. Some sites praised the Iron Lady's leadership tactics, while others celebrated her death. Pushing to get "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" in the Top 40 charts hours after Thatcher's death is pretty tacky ... More >>

City Council

Art of The City

Race Track

Yes on 204 Campaign: Proposition Doesn't Create Gigantic (or Any) Abortion "Slush Fund"

Despite what the Center for Arizona Policy is telling its supporters about Proposition 204, the Yes on 204 campaign says it won't create $100 million "slush fund" to pay for abortions -- or any sort of fund for abortions.In fact, Yes on 204 campaign officials say the estimated $100 million that woul ... More >>

Lure de France

Phoenix Mayor-Elect Greg Stanton Taps Community and Economic Development Director Paul Blue As Chief of Staff

Paul Blue​Phoenix Mayor-elect Greg Stanton, who beat his challenger with a commanding 14-point lead on November 8, has tapped Community and Economic Development Director Paul Blue as his first chief of staff.Stanton won't be sworn into office until January 3, but in the meantime, Blue will help ma ... More >>

Mayor Gordon May Be Remembered Most for Compromising His Ethics for the Woman He Loved

Retired Arizona Public Officials Sue to Keep "Hundreds of Millions" in Pension Payouts Being Denied Because of New Law

Image: Ray SternColin Campbell, retired Maricopa County Superior Court judge, is representing a group of retired judges suing a state pension plan in an attempt to reverse a law that shrinks pensioners' cost-of-living adjustments.​ Retired judges are fighting a new law that reduces their pensi ... More >>

Phoenix Councilman Claude Mattox, Other Public Officials Enjoying Concerts, Suns Games in Arena Suite; Incomplete Records Mask How Often

Public officials living the suite life at the U.S. Airways Center.​Phoenix officials have not kept track of who's been kicking back in the city-owned suite at the U.S. Airways Center watching Phoenix Suns games or rocking out to legends like Elton John. But they're supposed to, according to their ... More >>

Will El Mirage Ever Be Able to Emerge From the Shadow of Luke Air Force Base?

Arizona Republican's Abortion Bill is "Assault [on] Woman's Dignity," Pro-Choice Group Says

www.demotivateus.com​There are several abortion bills making their way through the Arizona Legislature at the moment. None of them seem to make a whole lot of sense, considering the other, more-pressing issues the state currently faces (namely a pesky $2 billion budget shortfall), but o ... More >>

Megan Griego, Fired Surprise Employee, Sues Over Claim That City Violated Her Right to Free Speech

​ A woman who was fired by the city of Surprise after arguing against budget cuts in a public hearing is suing in federal court over the alleged violation of her free-speech rights. Megan Griego had been working as an economic development coordinator for about three years when s ... More >>

Sidebar: Mexican Macroeconomics

Inside Job Will Make You Seethe

Tohono O'odham Nation's West Valley Land Closer to Becoming Part of the Tribe's Reservation, Feds Decide

After a long battle, the Tohono O'odham Nation emerged victorious today when the feds accepted the tribe's West Valley land into "trust."This isn't the final step, but it is a major one for the Indian tribe. It means the Tohono O'odham Nation is closer to building its proposed $600 million resort-st ... More >>

Five Reasons Phoenix Shouldn't Miss Lilith Fair

Gold Rush: Soaring Prices, Unscrupulous Precious-Metals Dealers, Right-Wing Paranoia -- We've Been Down This Yellow-Brick Road Before

Glendale Assails El Mirage for Not Bending Over "In All Ways" to Luke Air Force Base

​El Mirage just can't catch a break.For decades, the small West Valley community has been steamrolled, dismissed, and mocked by neighboring cities, mostly because they believe that El Mirage and its policies pose a threat to Luke Air Force Base.The city was recently assailed by Glendale over d ... More >>

Hot Links: MVD Closures, Job Losses, and Kiddy Porn

​Based on the most recent job-loss data, Arizona may have been hit harder by the recession than Michigan, a state infamous for job losses in the past. The most recent data shows that Arizona, since the start of the recession, shows the highest percentage of job losses. Arizona, according to th ... More >>

Former Chandler Economic Development Director Pleads Guilty to Disorderly Conduct

Richard Mulligan, former director of economic development for the city of Chandler​It seems the only thing separating Richard Mulligan, Chandler's former director of economic development, from the dysfunctional hillbillies gracing the Jerry Springer Show is the number of teeth in h ... More >>

Recession To End September 17, According to Valley Businesses That Have Absolutely No Authority to End Recessions

​Congratulations America, the recession is almost unofficially over!Well, if you believe Valley businesses that have declared September 17 the official end of our current national economic woes.If it was that easy, why the hell didn't they do this six months ago? Not only are all of our e ... More >>

Billionaires for Wealthcare Befuddle Far Right Wackjobs On Healthcare Reform

The billionaires join ranks with the Obama-haters in this new Dennis Gilman video. In the tradition of Michael Moore and the stunts he regularly pulled in his TV show The Awful Truth (and continues to pull in his films), come the Billionaires for Wealthcare, a crew of wannabe-Warren Buffets w ... More >>

Robots to do Battle at MetroCenter; Youths From Maricopa Skill Center Showcasing Summer Project

Image: Wikimedia Commons The rip of metal skin, the smell of electric motors overheating, the excited faces of young nerds in button-down, short-sleeve shirts... If you love a good robot fight like we do, tread on down to Metrocenter this Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. It may not be as exciting as a ... More >>

Happy Campers and Hikers: State Parks Open After Employees Told to Report to Work Despite Lack of Budget

Image: Wikimedia Commons The state parks department sent out the following news release this morning, announcing that "closed" signs were being taken down at state parks. The Arizona Republic's Casey Newton reports that some campers had already been evicted as a state government shutdown loomed. But ... More >>

Arizona Voters Reject Education Cuts in New Poll, Open to Temporary Sales Tax Hike to Heal Budget

Most Arizona voters hate the idea of cutting education to help balance the state's budget, says a new poll by KAET-TV and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Sixty-nine percent of respondents answered "education" to the question, "The one area in which I think cu ... More >>

Society Ball

Gallery reopening benefits downtown arts community

Obama Says Plan Will Shore Up Foreclosures, Create Incentives in Housing Market

President Barack Obama told a cheering crowd at Dobson High School in Mesa that the $787 billion stimulus act he signed into law yesterday will create jobs and restore the housing market to stability.Though the speech was loaded with vague rhetoric, Obama focused on a few of the details he said ... More >>

Jan Brewer: Herbert Hoover in High Heels and a Pantsuit

Separated at birth? According to economist Paul Krugman, it's possible. Will soon-to-be Arizona Governor Jan Brewer repeat the mistakes of Republicans in the midst of the Great Depression, specifically those of President Herbert Hoover?It seems likely. With a GOP-led legislature intent on "starv ... More >>

Mr. Ambassador: The Life and Times of Raul H. Castro

Phoenix Rising?

A peek at the future cityscape

Creative Class Act

Richard Florida knows exactly what's wrong with Phoenix

Heard Mentality

How much longer will the city allow the acclaimed museum to disrupt a historic neighborhood's peace and quiet?

Furious George

Is Scottsdale ready for four more years of political scrutiny from George Zraket? It all depends on who you ask.

Un-Urban Development

Proposed downtown site draws criticism from residents, urban planners

Flashes

From the week of April 12, 2001

Power Trip

Plant near Kingman may be a foreboding sign for the rest of the state

The Last Man in Cactus

City zoning rules make it tough for Larry Jany to sell his property and retire

Unions Struggle for a Foothold

Fife's Myth

Symington's tax cuts had little or nothing to do with Arizona's economic boom, which isn't as robust as it's made out to be

Toll Road Kill?

Contract for South Mountain tollway may depend on company's dumping of its president

Art Attack!

To George Zraket, it's an evil zoning plot by old Sscottsdale cronies; to Janie Ellis, it's the only way her timeworn art colony can survive.

"I've Been Had"

Councilwoman Frances Barwood, facing a recall over her vote on the Sumitomo plant zoning, now claims she was misled by the mayor

Road Kill

An innocuous road near Sedona is all that remains of Ken Parker's dream of a grand resort. Now Yavapai County is joining megadeveloper SunCor to take that away, too--with the county providing condemnation powers and SunCor paying the bills.

Time to Burn

Is the Lone Fire a preview of California-style infernos to come?

Webb Design

The good, the bad and the boring of Del Webb's New River development

Flashes

PENSION APPREHENSION

RETIREES ARE SPOOKED BY THE THOUGHT OF STATE EMPLOYEES MANAGING $1 BILLION OF THEIR NEST EGG

GOVERNOR'S FINGERPRINTS LEAVE GREASY TRAILSCREWED PENSION FUND IN '91

YOU CALL THIS A REVITALIZED DOWNTOWN?

WAIT 'TIL SQUARE ONE BECOMES A PARKING LOT