Goldwater Institute

PHOENIX-Tomorrow, the Arizona Department of Education is scheduled to release the results of the spring 2004 Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test. AIMS is an annual snapshot of student progress toward state academic standards.

PHOENIX-An analysis released yesterday by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) concludes that charter school student achievement is lagging. The AFT stated that their analysis "shows that charter school students mostly underperform and sometimes score about as well as regular public school students." However, that conclusion is based on a limited one-year snapshot of test scores.

PHOENIX-In an unexpected ruling today, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Margaret Downie ruled that the No Taxpayer Money for Politicians Act violates the "single-subject" rule of the Arizona Constitution (Article XXI, Section1), a decision that could stop the initiative from appearing on the November ballot. The defenders of the initiative are rightly filing a special action with the Arizona Supreme Court, requesting review of the lower court decision.

PHOENIX - The Scottsdale City Council will vote Tuesday to approve a controversial plan to turn the site of the former Los Arcos mall into a business park. Scottsdale officials plan to invoke the city charter's emergency clause to prevent a voter referendum on the $130 million project.

PHOENIX - The Phoenix city council will vote this afternoon on whether to build a 1,000-room downtown hotel at public expense. If approved, Phoenix residents will foot the bill for the estimated $350 million project.