City & Local Reform
It turns out that you can fight town hall. Here’s how we’re standing up for local citizens and winning.
Since 1972, America has gained an average of one new local government every day. The mushrooming of local governments is outdone only by the growth in state and local spending, which has outstripped that of the federal government since 1970. Arizona is no exception.
Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon used his State of the City address to announce that he plans to lobby Washington D.C. for more federal dollars. Goldwater Institute communications vice president, Starlee Rhoades, responded on 12 News.
Goldwater Institute litigation director Clint Bolick talks to Channel 15 about why it might be a good idea for the judge in the Don Stapley case to be removed.
The Maricopa County Sheriffs Office is responsible for vitally important law-enforcement functions in one of the largest counties in the nation. It defines its core missions as law-enforcement services, support services, and detention.
After the Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit against Tucson, Ariz. Mayor Bob Walkup for failing to comply with an open records request, KGUN reporter Joel Woldman investigated why. KGUN's investigation found that the request fell into a "black hole."
Click here to view the executive summary and recommendations.
Click here to read the full report of "More Roads to Travel: A Path to Transportation Solutions for Arizona" by Dr. Byron Schlomach.
Phoenix--For a population that likes to be on the move, Arizonans spend a lot of time stuck in traffic. In fact, people who live in Phoenix or Tucson lose the equivalent of one work-week every year sitting in traffic, and traffic congestion costs Arizonans $2 billion annually in lost time and fuel.
The Goldwater Institute thinks it may have a better chance to block the incentive agreement between Phoenix and the CityNorth development in the Arizona Court of Appeals.
"A lot of the applicable law was developed in the Court of Appeals," said Clint Bolick, attorney for the institute. "Trial judges often are reluctant to strike down laws."
Bolick was the losing attorney in the trial phase of the case, which challenged the $97.4million incentive agreement on grounds that it violated several clauses of the state Constitution.
Huge city tax-break under fire
Brahm Resnik
12 News
Feb. 11, 2008 06:56 PM
Desperate to keep another Nordstrom store out of Scottsdale, the City of Phoenix put together a $100 million incentive deal to lure the upscale retailer to the new CityNorth development.
That picture emerged in Maricopa County Superior Court arguments Monday over the constitutionality of the package.