Goldwater Institute

Goldwater Institute Feeds from Tax-Exempt Trough While Decrying Cost of Medicaid Expansion

When the Goldwater Institute isn't "lending" $1.9 million to some fatcat on its board or suing the state government over a fish-foot-sucking cosmetic practice, it's arguing against the evils of expanding Arizona's Medicaid program so as to cover hundreds of thousands of poor people and pump billions ... More >>

Goldwater Institute "Lends" $1.9 Million to Rich Guy on Its Board

The eyebrow-raising part of the newly-released "Reporter's Guide to the Goldwater Institute," isn't that GI's executives make lavish six-figure salaries working for a non-profit 501c3, or that the Goldwater Institute is, according to the report, a tool of the Koch bothers and the American Legislativ ... More >>

Judicial Watch vs. Goldwater Institute: Conservative Think Tanks Clash Over Taxpayer-Funded Police Union Work

A legal battle over whether Phoenix police union leaders should be able to perform union-related duties while collecting their taxpayer-funded salaries has pitted two uber-conservative groups -- Goldwater Institute and Judicial Watch -- against each other. At the crux of the debate is Goldwater's ... More >>

Superior Court Judge Halts Phoenix From Paying Cops to Conduct Union Work, Decision Applies Only to Contract Expiring June 30

Maricopa County Judge Katherine Cooper granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday halting contract provisions that allows Phoenix police union officials to conduct union work while they're on the clock. "The city received the judge's order this morning and currently is reviewing it," spokeswoma ... More >>

Miracle on Ice: Can the Coyotes Go All the Way?

Anti-Union Bills Sail Out of Arizona Senate Government Reform Committee

Anti-union sentiments among Arizona's conservative politicos aren't letting up. Four anti-union bills aimed at thwarting unions' existence in the public sector sailed out of the Senate's Government Reform committee on Wednesday.

U.S. Supreme Court Puts Kibosh on Arizona's Matching Funds

​The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that the matching funds portion of Arizona's "Clean Elections" system is unconstitutional, meaning candidates in next year's election will not be given taxpayer money to match funds raised by their opponents.Under the matching funds system, publicly funde ... More >>

Foot-Feasting Fish Case to Be Heard by Court of Appeals

www.barfblog.com Dinner is served. ​Goldwater Institute wants nothing more than to protect your right to have hundreds of small fish suck dead skin off of your feet. Later this week, the Arizona Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear a lawsuit filed by Goldwater on behalf of a Gilbert spa ow ... More >>

Glendale Officials to Meet With Goldwater Institute Representatives in Hope of Avoiding Lawsuit Over Hockey-Team Subsidy

  ​Goldwater Institute representatives are scheduled to meet with Glendale city leaders today at 3 p.m. to hear arguments on why they shouldn't sue the city over a planned $100 million subsidy for the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team. The right-leaning institute says it will release partial ... More >>

Tea Party T-Shirt Lawsuit Settled With Coconino County; County Agrees to Objective Standards for "Electioneering"

Wearing a Tea Party T-shirt!​A settlement's been reached in a lawsuit filed by the Goldwater Institute on behalf of a Coconino County woman who was told in 2010 by election officials that her Tea Party T-shirts were not allowed in polling places. Thanks to the settlement, as long as the Tea Party ... More >>

John Shadegg Named Senior Fellow at Goldwater Institute

John Shadegg​ Outgoing Arizona Congressman John Shadegg has joined the ranks of conservative law professors, writers and policy analysts as a senior fellow at the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute.According to a post by the Institute on Sonoran Alliance, a right-wing blog: Shadegg will suppor ... More >>

Councilman Sal DiCiccio, Nearly Two Dozen Phoenix Insiders Gathering For Secret Meetings; Want Change in Phoenix Government

​An influential group of individuals -- including three elected Phoenix officials, members of the Goldwater Institute and the firefighters' union boss -- have been quietly meeting over the past month and developing strategies on how to change city government.It's unclear what will ultimately emerg ... More >>

Clean Elections Law Deemed Constitutional by 9th Circuit; Goldwater Institute Attorneys Expect Supreme Court to Intervene

www.firstfriday.com​Arizona's controversial Clean Elections Law got a new lease on life Friday when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling of the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, which found the law to be unconstitutional.The three-judge panel ruled unanimously that the law does ... More >>

Phoenix Coyotes Update: Goldwater Institute Not Ready to Sue Just Yet

Goldwater Institute lawyers have decided against suing the city of Glendale -- for now.​Yesterday, a spokesman at the Goldwater Institute told us that the think tank was readying a lawsuit over the city of Glendale's deal with the NHL, which could give the hockey league up to $25 million to ... More >>

Goldwater Institute Will Sue Over Glendale/NHL Coyotes Deal

​So much for that "deal."Just days after Glendale and the NHL agreed to a $25 million deal to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Jobing.com Arena for one more year, the Goldwater Institute tells New Times it will file a lawsuit to invalidate the agreement.Le Templar, a spokesman for the Phoenix-based ... More >>

Arizona Clean Elections Ruling to Be Reviewed by U.S. Court of Appeals on Monday

www.spamtacular.com​The Goldwater Institute announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals will review the decision of a lower court that put an end to matching funds for political candidates who run under Arizona's publicly funded elections system.If you're unfamiliar with matching funds, o ... More >>

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has No Conflict in County Attorney Replacement Pick, Supes Say

Good to go: County Supervisors decide they have no conflict in deciding who will replace former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.​ We thought it was possible the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors had a conflict of interest in picking a new county attorney, with two of the five having be ... More >>

Hot Links: Cremation, Fish on Feet, and Ranch Market Blaze

​Some counties in Arizona have turned to cremating the indigent. Citing budget woes, lack of space, and the high cost of burials, Yavapai, Navajo, and Yuma counties have begun cremating the indigent rather than burying them in paupers' graves. Indigents are still buried in Maricopa County, but off ... More >>

Chicago Cubs Deal With Mesa Could be Soured by Possible Goldwater Institute Lawsuit

www.podbean.com​Just when we thought the whole Chicago Cubs spring training situation was sorted out, the Goldwater Institute has reared its ugly head to rain on the city of Mesa's parade.While the agreement between Mesa and the Cubbies to keep the lovable losers' spring training facilities in Mes ... More >>

Le Templar Hawks Gun Rights for the Goldwater Institute, and Why I Just Purchased My First Minuteman Missile

I'm not pointing it at you, I'm brandishing. I've always dreamed of riding a nuclear payload right into enemy territory a la Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove (whatever "enemy territory" is these days), and I'm a step closer due to the efforts of former East Valley Tribune columnist Le Temp ... More >>

Clean Elections Matching Funds Update: Goldwater Tries to Stop the Stay

Nick Dranias, attorney for the Goldwater Institute​Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver put an end to all-important "matching funds" provisions in Arizona's clean elections system, saying that -- absent a stay from the appellate court -- publicly funded candidates will onl ... More >>

Clean Elections Matching Funds Are Likely Gone, Baby, Gone

Nick Dranias took on Clean Elections -- and appears almost certain to win.​Barring a sudden change of heart or some hitherto undiscovered legal analysis, U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver indicated today that she will hand the Goldwater Institute a huge victory and strike down the "matching ... More >>

Clean Elections Staff Warned Candidates "Don't Count On" Matching Funds

Governor Jan Brewer is counting on matching funds. Ha!​Sounds like Jan Brewer may have missed the memo.As we reported yesterday, the governor's campaign committee recently filed an affidavit in the pending Clean Elections lawsuit being pursued by the Goldwater Institute -- arguing that her c ... More >>

Clean Elections Lawsuit Update: Governor Jan Brewer Objects to Matching Funds Injunction

Jan Brewer is counting on matching funds. Bad idea.​We predicted nearly a year ago that -- thanks to a lawsuit from those principled conservatives over at the Goldwater Institute -- matching funds could be history for this year's state elections.But either Governor Jan Brewer didn't read the ... More >>

City of Tempe Changes Sea Life Deal, But Goldwater Institute Says More Changes Might Need to be Made

​The Goldwater Institute claims that a lawsuit it filed against the city of Tempe has forced changes in the deal between the city and a British developer to build an aquarium at the Arizona Mills Mall.The folks at Goldwater felt the city was giving unfair incentives to Sea Life, a division of ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Slammed by Goldwater Institute Over Stoddard Mess

from the Goldwater InstituteG.I.'s Bolick, sticking it to the man, and the man, he be Sheriff JoeThe Goldwater Institute can be reactionary on various issues, particularly when it comes to denouncing President Obama on health care reform, siding with the tea bag types or rah-rahing charter schools. ... More >>

Goldwater Institute Sues Cosmetology Board Over Fish That Give Pedicures

www.barfblog.com​The state Board of Cosmetology threatened in April to pull the license of a Gilbert spa because of a treatment the owners were calling "doctor fish.""Doctor fish" is a pedicure treatment where people dip their feet in tanks of water that have hundreds of live imported G ... More >>

Sept. 8 In Blogs: Clint Bolick, The Mars Volta, Z'Tejas, and Valley Monkey

​​In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: The Goldwater Institute's Clint Bolick Jumps on the Anti-Intellectual Bash-Obama Bandwagon ... More >>

Goldwater Institute Named "Leader of the Year" in Policy Development; Too Bad it Can't Run For Office

Barry Goldwater​The Goldwater Institute, the Phoenix based government watchdog named after conservative crusader, and former Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, was named this year's leader in policy development by The Arizona Capitol Times Monday."The Goldwater Institute works hard to conduct resear ... More >>

Goldwater Institute Attempts to Intervene in Coyotes' Bankruptcy

​Saying that bankruptcy court might be the only place to stop a deal that forces taxpayers into subsidizing the Phoenix Coyotes, the Goldwater Institute filed a motion this afternoon asking to the judge to allow them to intervene in the case.The motion is filed on behalf of eight Glendale taxpayer ... More >>

MCSO Arrest Rate Is "Startlingly Low," Says Goldwater Institute

Clint BolickThe Maricopa County Sheriff's Office arrested suspects in less than five percent of its cases in 2007, the Goldwater Institute says -- a shockingly low statistic that contradicts what the Sheriff's Office has long officially maintained.The statistics, which the Goldwater Institute ... More >>

High School Students V.S. Immigrants: Who Makes the Grade?

Arizona Department of Education Superintendent Tom Horne If they weren't born here, 96.5 percent of Arizona high school students would not qualify to be United States citizens, according to a study released last week by the Goldwater Institute. The "Freedom From Responsibility" survey shows that o ... More >>

Mad Max Rules: The Arizona Legislature's Mandatory Handgun Ownership Laws

pic by Joshuashearn Coming soon to an athletic sock or purse near you... Just when you thought our gun-lovin' legislature had gone as far over the deep end into Mad Max territory as possible, our lawmakers up and make gun ownership mandatory for all lads and ladies 21 and above ... More >>

Supreme Court to Hear Phoenix Appeal in CityNorth Case

Sarah FenskeThe $97 million CityNorth tax giveaway supposedly paid for this parking garage.This just in: The Arizona Supreme Court will revisit the appellate decision that struck down the city of Phoenix's $97 million subsidy of the CityNorth development.Today's decision to grant review is a victory ... More >>

Local Reporter Mark Flatten to Become Investigator for Goldwater Institute

Image: www.azpbs.org -- Horizon Journalists Roundtable Mark Flatten, an investigative reporter with the East Valley Tribune for more than 20 years, is leaving the newspaper on June 5 to start work as an investigator for the Goldwater Institute.Flatten helped the newspaper on many of its biggest stor ... More >>

Arizona AG Terry Goddard's Home Possibly Staked Out by Joe Arpaio's Office; Patrol Car Photographed

Terry Goddard says the presence of a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office patrol car near his Phoenix home Friday morning made his family "uncomfortable." "This is not typical, and it made my wife and son uncomfortable," the attorney general said in a prepared statement. "I hope the deputy was engaged ... More >>

Politicians Burn Taxpayer Cash on "Shameless Self Promotion," Says Goldwater Institute

www.goldwaterinstitute.orgPoliticians waste millions of your tax dollars pumping up their own names for illegitimate purposes, says a new report by the Goldwater Institute.The author of "Shameless Self-Promotion, How Politicians Use Your Money to Get Re-Elected," is Shawnna Bolick, wife of the Gold ... More >>

Tattoo Parlor Vs. Tempe: Oral Arguments to Begin in Case Defended by Goldwater Institute

Image: http://www.virtualrealitytattoos.lbu.com Arguments are set to begin Monday morning in a case that pits the would-be owners of a Tempe tattoo parlor against officials who think the business is seedy. Tom and Elizabeth Preston, who already own a tattoo shop in Mesa, told the press in 2007, when ... More >>

Gambling Department Director Named by Governor Jan Brewer: Mark Brnovich, Legal Scholar

Goldwater Institute Mark BrnovichLegal scholar, activist, prosecutor and private prison official Mark Brnovich has been appointed director of the Arizona Department of Gaming. Scammers pay heed: This over-achieving barrister is just coming off a stint in the U.S. Attorney's Office in A ... More >>

State Senate to Hold Hearing on Issue of Felony Warrants

  Whether Sheriff Joe Arpaio is using his resources correctly when it comes to serving felony warrants will be among issues discussed at a legislative hearing on Monday. The State Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear testimony starting at 1:30 p.m. on the sub ... More >>

Goldwater Institute "Not Ruling Out" Legal Action Against Phoenix Coyotes and Glendale

Jobing.com Arena, where the Phoenix Coyotes play. The Goldwater Institute has submitted a public records request to the City of Glendale, asking for information on lease negotiations between it and the Phoenix Coyotes. Goldwater attorney Clint Bolick told the Phoenix Business Journal tha ... More >>

CityNorth Development Threatened After Appeals Court Blasts City's Tax Giveaway

The Arizona Court of Appeals today struck down Phoenix's giveaway of $97 million in sales tax that was promised to a developer in exchange for building the Kierland-Commons-like CityNorth center. A few months ago, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Phoenix's be-kind-to-de ... More >>

Anonymous Blogger Takes Issue With Anti-Arpaio Goldwater Report

An anonymous local political blog has been getting some right-wing attention this morning with its claim that the conservative Goldwater Institute has "gone way off the deep end" with their critical report on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Liberty's Apothecary has many problems with the Insti ... More >>

Goldwater Institute Calls Out Sheriff Joe: MCSO "Has Lost Sight Of Its Most Essential Priorities"

  The Goldwater Institute has released a harsh critique of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his office -- concluding that the office "falls seriously short in all three of the core components of its mission" and calling for policy reform. Among other things, the Phoenix- ... More >>

Hey, Janet! The Goldwater Institute Has Some Ideas for You

So things are really bad with the Arizona economy. So bad, in fact, that Janet Napolitano has set up a Web site to solicit ideas on how the state government can save money. Unfortunately for us, those ideas aren't online for public consumption. (We can only imagine just how many yahoos have taken ... More >>

Across Our Blogs

We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries follow: Janet Napolitano Named as Obama's Top Pick for Head of Homeland Security Vete ... More >>

The $687,000 question

Profile in Courage

An immigrant’s tale from halfway around the world should make us think about what’s going on closer to home

Revolting Development

The CityNorth project hosed Phoenix taxpayers, but don't look to city leaders for an apology

Think Tank Warfare

Barry Goldwater's widow says the conservative institute that bears his name is twisting his legacy