Archive for December, 2008
December 27th, 2008, 2:01 pm by Le Templar
Original image at blogs.cars.com
A lot of people have scoffed at my hobby of hypermiling to extend my car’s gasoline mileage, thus saving money, protecting the environment and helping to defeat oil-funded terrorists. But it turns out that hypermiling really is catching on. NPR’s Talk of the Nation mentioned the issue last Friday during a segment on techie words and developments of 2008 (Hat tip to Kimberly Hundley). As the show noted, hypermiling actually was named Word of the Year by the publishers of the New Oxford American Dictionary. These experts of the English language were fascinated by the amount of attention hypermiling received after crude oil/gasoline prices skyrocketed early this summer.
As for my own techniques, unfortunately my average mileage has continued to slip, now down to about 41 miles per gallon from my early high of 45 mpg. I can point to a number of reasons including some problems I’ve had with my tires, the colder weather, and heavier commuter traffic to negotiate with school in full swing and the return of winter visitors. But I suspect the biggest factor is simply the surprising fall in gas prices over the past couple of months. Hypermiling requires a lot of focus and concentration to do correctly. Less concerned about the cost of commuting, I’m not committed to following hypermiling techniques every time I drive.
At least I haven’t fallen back into all of my bad habits. I don’t speed. I check my tires more now (once I got the problems solved). I try to avoid stop-and-go traffic. And 41 mpg is still better than my average before hypermiling of 37 mpg. But one new year’s resolution will be to pick up hypermiling more often. Let’s see if I can boost my gas mileage again.
Posted in: Uncategorized • hypermiling • National Public Radio • New Oxford American Dictionary | 1 Comment »
December 24th, 2008, 10:46 am by Le Templar
“And because Joseph was a member of the royal line he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, King David’s ancient home — journeying there from the Galilean village of Nazareth. He took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was obviously pregnant at the time.
“And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born; and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manager, because there was no room for them in the village inn.”
– Luke 2: 4-7 (The Living Bible, parahrased)
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Posted in: Uncategorized • Happy Holidays • Merry Christmas | Post a Comment »
December 23rd, 2008, 3:00 pm by Le Templar
The Arizona Court of Appeals today rejected most of the $97.4 million subsidy that Phoenix offered to land the CityNorth shopping development near Scottsdale Road and Loop 101. The court agreed with the Goldwater Institute that the subsidy generally violates the Arizona Constitution’s “gift clause.” Phoenix tried to claim the subsidy was justified because it paid for a 3,100-vehicle parking garage with guaranteed free parking for the public. Instead, the court said the city could only legally pay for 200 spaces reserved for commuters who park and ride on public transit. The rest of the subsidy is an unconstitutional benefit to private interests, the opinion says.
The appellate decision overrules a lower court that found what Phoenix did was just fine. So it’s easy to predict that Phoenix and CityNorth will further appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court. But this ruling gives new credence to the move of the Goldwater Institute to challenge the subsidy and inject new life into the “gift clause.”
Posted in: Courts • Economic development • CityNorth • Goldwater Institute | Post a Comment »
December 22nd, 2008, 5:21 pm by Le Templar
I haven’t found a lot of time (or material) to blog about lately. But I haven’t seen any coverage of a new policy report from the Goldwater Institute on resolving the state’s predicted $1.2 billion budget deficit from a libertarian perspective. That means no tax or government fee increases and no additional debt; just whacking away at state government funding, which has grown by an estimated 67 percent since 2004.
Goldwater takes a “no sacred cows” approach, relying heavily on various budget reduction proposals in the past six years offered by legislative budget staff but never approved by the full Legislature. The report also takes into account that the state’s fiscal year is about six months over, so nearly half of the $10 billion General Fund budget already has been spent. Some highlights include:
- $210 million, or a 15 percent cut, for the Arizona Health Cost Containment System (the state Medicaid insurance program). Goldwater suggests that lawmakers let the agency figure out where to find the savings, but does offer some ideas including raising insurance premiums, double-checking the eligibility of applicants and shrinking overhead. Goldwater also urges elimination of any benefit not required for federal matching funds, which could save more money.
- $100 million by eliminating full-day kindergarten and going back to state-funded half-day kindergarten. This would become a yearly savings of $200 million.
- $100 million, or a 10 percent cut, to the state’s three public universities.
- $95 million, or a 10 percent cut, to the state prison system. Goldwater wants lawmakers to make addition nonviolent offenders eligible for early parole and home monitoring. Maricopa County Andrew Thomas might have a particular objection to this, as he has argued the state should be sending more criminals to prison, not less.
- Another $69.5 million in state aid to school districts and other K-12 education programs.
- $61 million, or a 10 percent cut, to the Department of Health Services. Goldwater acknowledges this would force the state to reduce vaccinations and immunization information, disease surveillance and research, and poison control assistance.
- Save about $36 million by eliminating the arts commission, the Department of Commerce and the state tourism office. Goldwater has previously urged the Legislature to abolish these agencies and transfer any critically needed programs elsewhere.
In its conclusion, the Goldwater Institute admits its comprehensive list still would leave a $140 million deficit this year. It also doesn’t address what happens with the next budget that starts July 1. Across-the-board cuts of 10 percent are practically inevitable, and I think full-day kindergarten seriously faces elimination with the make-up of the next Legislature and Janet Napolitano no longer in the governor’s office. But the real value of Goldwater’s report is to illustrate the true depth of the fiscal crisis and how difficult it will be for the Legislature to fix.
You can read the full report if you click on the picture of the front page at the top of this post.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Schools • $1.2 billion deficit • Arizona state budget • Goldwater Institute | 1 Comment »
December 16th, 2008, 3:31 pm by Le Templar
BILLY SHIELDS (LEFT), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE PHOENIX FIREFIGHTERS UNION, ESCORTS GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO AT THE FORMAL 2006 DEDICATION OF THE ARIZONA 9/11 MEMORIAL (Original photo at azgovernor.gov).
Randy Pullen, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, made an interesting point today about the news that Gov. Janet Napolitano is about to sign an executive order granting “meet and confer” status to unions that represent employees at most state agencies. Pullen points out Napolitano had six years to unilaterally recognize unions, but she’s doing so only now that she’s poised to resign as governor and become director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Arizona is a right-to-work state and the governor is changing a long standing policy because she knows it won’t matter to her political future in Arizona,” Pullen said. “The Legislature has repeatedly refused to pass similar bills.”
I would add that Napolitano no longer would have to deal with the budget implications of granting state employee unions some direct negotiating power. So it’s easier for her to give these unions something they have long desired and could score her points with Democrats in other parts of the country. However, I wonder if the unions shouldn’t be somewhat insulted that Napolitano waited so long. Tribune writer Mark Flatten reported in 2002 that the firefighter unions played a key role in her first campaign for governor by gathering many of the $5 contributions that she needed to qualify for public campaign funds. Unions also have been large fundraisers for state Democratic Party efforts, and Napolitano certainly has been aware of this.
Pullen goes on to demand an official investigation, essentially claiming that Napolitano is consciously rewarding union campaign contributions with the “meet and confer” status, ala what’s going on with the Illinois governor right now. However, if Pullen has any actual evidence of such quid pro quo with the specific unions involved, he should be filing a criminal complaint instead of hoping some prosecutor reads his comments and is inspired to act.
Posted in: Arizona government • Governor • Janet Napolitano • Phoenix firefighters • Randy Pullen • Republican Party | 3 Comments »
December 12th, 2008, 11:40 am by Le Templar
President-elect Barack Obama’s radio/Web video address on Nov. 22 seems to have opened the flood gates for various local and state governments to submit their wish lists for federal bailout money. Obama says he wants to help spark the economy by doling out billions of dollars in new funding for road, utility and other infrastructure construction supposedly just waiting for approval.
So officials across the country are jumping in line for the national charity giveway that opens Jan. 20. The Arizona Department of Transportation unveiled Thursday a list of highway, street and airport projects worth more than $1.3 billlion. On Monday, the U.S. Conference of Mayors issued a survey of cities nationwide, and came back with a list of projects worth $73 billion, including $3.2 billion just in Arizona. And Arizona State University President Michael Crow told the Tribune Editorial Board last week the nation’s public universities will be seeking their own dedicated bread line.
The official statement on Obama’s transition Web site claims he’s looking at a package of $25 billion in projects. But I’ve seen reports that the actual total amount of his stimulus plan could approach the $700 billion bailout approved by Congress in November (half of which already has gone to the U.S. Treasury for spreading around).
Forgive this doubting Thomas. But I have to point out that local governments and universities aren’t going to be getting “free” help from Washington. Taxpayers have to pay for all of these projects now, or with lots of interest in the future. And these projects have been waiting because taxpayers couldn’t afford to pay for them before. Why does Obama or anyone else think we can afford to pay for them in the middle of a deep and long recession?
On a side note, change.gov is a nice-looking Web site. But why doesn’t the Obama team have any links to video or transcriptions from his weekly radio addresses? It’s an odd mistake for a team that used new media so effectively during the 2008 campaign. Anyway, here’s the Nov. 22 speech from YouTube where Obama promises to break the federal coffers wide open.
Posted in: Arizona government • Congress • Transportation • Arizona State University • Michael Crow • President-elect Obama • U.S. Conference of Mayors | Post a Comment »
December 8th, 2008, 3:57 pm by Le Templar
HOUSE SPEAKER JIM WEIERS
In what probably will be his last act as speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, Jim Weiers has decided to appoint a special blue-ribbon committee to “review Arizona’s tax policy and to make recommendations for tax reform.” Weiers added in a news release today that, “the large structural budget deficit that the state face is in part the result of an outdated tax code that creates large cyclical swings in revenue which, in turn, require difficult decisions and extreme cuts to balance the budget every time the economy slows.”
But someone already tried this less than six years ago. That group appointed by Gov. Janet Napolitano spent more than a year reviewing every nook and cranny of the tax code and came up with a list of 35 recommended changes to moderize and equalize the flow of state revenues through good and bad parts of the economic cycle. Some proposed changes would increase some taxes; other types would have been reduced. The overall impact wasn’t clear.
But when the recommendations were released, we learned a lot of people have a lot of vested interests in the existing tax code. So any serious reform would be a long shot, especially when considered in light of Proposition 108, which requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to raise any individual tax.
Once Arizona’s economy clearly was on the road to recovery from the 2001 recession, Napolitano pretended her blue-ribbon commission never existed. Maybe a new committee charged by a Republican speaker will have a better opportunity at being heard by a new Republican governor and a Republican-controlled Legislature. Or maybe Weiers is just trying to distract us from the fact that he’s no longer going to try to rein in the state budget deficit before he leaves the speaker’s office when the new Legislature is seated Jan. 12.
Posted in: Uncategorized | Post a Comment »
December 8th, 2008, 3:50 pm by Le Templar
It’s a shame that government officials always seem to get upset when the public doesn’t beat down their doors to take their free offerings.
Tribune writer Blake Herzog has a story today about the residents of an quaint area of Gilbert called Sonora Town and how few people living there are trying to lay claim to a $417,000 federal grant for house rehabilitation. The story is guided by an attitude from town officials there’s something wrong. I think it’s great that Sonora Town residents aren’t rushing to take someone else’s tax dollars to solve their problems.
Since Gilbert won’t be able to spend all of the grant money on Sonora Town, Herzog reports the town will at least $95,000 will be siphoned off for similar uses elsewhere. But what Gilbert should do is send that money back to Washington. There seems to be a greater need there.
Posted in: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
December 4th, 2008, 4:32 pm by Le Templar
GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO (LEFT) ANSWERS A QUESTION MONDAY AFTER CERTIFYING THE NOV. 4 ELECTION RESULTS WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JAN BREWER (RIGHT). (Photo by Capitol Media Services).
There’s a growing drum-beat among Republican activists and bloggers that Gov. Janet Napolitano should step down immediately now that she has been formally selected to run the Department of Homeland Security when Barack Obama becomes president. The cheerleaders include radio talk show host Austin Hill on the Tribune’s Opinion 2 page, Len Munsil, who ran against Napolitano for governor in 2006, Greg Patterson at espressopundit.com, and the team of pro-life activists at Sonoran Alliance.
The consistent theme is that if Napolitano truly cares about Arizona’s future, she will give Secretary of State Jan Brewer an opportunity to get up to speed on all of the challenges facing state government before the start of the 2009 legislative session in January. There’s also talk in practical terms that state lawmakers and other politicians will simply ignore the Napolitano administration for the next few weeks as they wait for Brewer to take charge.
There’s a tiny flaw with this analysis. Napolitano likely will call the Legislature into special session within the next few days to start addressing this year’s budget deficit that already has reached $442 million. In the past when things didn’t get done on budget issues, Napolitano was a master at shaping public opinion and media coverage to make it appear that the Legislature was almost exclusively at fault. Republicans always cried foul because Napolitano and her Democratic allies usually worked behind the scenes to delay or trip a majority plan that Napolitano wouldn’t support.
But many people who don’t work at the Capitol look at the process this way: it’s the Legislature’s job to pass a budget for the governor to sign or veto. If lawmakers can’t approve a package for her to even consider, it’s their fault, not hers.
And when Napolitano does veto a budget, she always makes sure to pin her action on protecting hot-button issues such as education and health care. That way, it’s still the Legislature that tends to looks bad if it doesn’t meet her demands.
So, if Republicans go into a special session expecting to ignore Napolitano’s agenda in her waning days, they could be the ones who end up looking foolish.
Posted in: Arizona Legislature • Arizona government • Governor • Homeland Security • Jan Brewer • Janet Napolitano | Post a Comment »
December 2nd, 2008, 3:39 pm by Le Templar
2005 CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREE (Original photo found at dc.about.com from the Office of the Architect of the Capitol)
Has Janet Napolitano’s new influence in the nation’s capitol already paid off? The U.S. Forest Service announced this afternoon that Arizona will supply the official Christmas tree for Congress in 2009, and another 75 smaller trees for the headquarters of various government agencies around Washington, D.C. This year’s Capitol Christmas Tree came from Montana and was scheduled to be lit about 3 p.m. today (Arizona time) by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The Capitol tree isn’t quite as famous as the National Christmas Tree, a tradition going back to 1923 of selecting a towering pine to majestically grace the White House lawn and being lit by the president. But as you can see from the photo above, the Capitol version is every bit as lovely.
Forest Service spokesman Jim Payne said in a news release that a 70-foot tree will be harvested in November 2009 from the Apache-Sitgraves National Forests in the White Mountains. The tree can be expected to go on its own publicity tour before arriving in Washington to be raised and decorated in time for the holiday season.
Arizona school children will be able to participate by fashioning up to 5,000 handmade ornaments for the tree, Payne said. Sounds like something the whole family could get involved with next year.
Posted in: Uncategorized • Add new tag • Capitol Christmas Tree • U.S. Forest Service • White Mountains | Post a Comment »
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