KJZZ Here and Now Weblog

Here and Now - GOP Gubernatorial Candidate, Gallup Poll, Diana Gabaldon

Here and Now - The Arizona We Want / NAU President

When it comes to making tough decisions, Arizona is not a leader. But we're not alone. Whether it's in Washington D.C. or Sacramento California, elected leaders have a hard time making decisions that may create some temporary pain, but are in the best interest of the people they serve in the long run.

Case in point. Upon taking office in 2003, Former Governor Janet Napolitano formed a blue ribbon task force of the state's top business leaders in an effort to reform the state's fiscal system. The Citizens Finance Review Commission sorted through mounds of economic data and listened to all sorts of people before issuing its recommendations. The report, which you can read here, was expected to be released in time for the legislative session starting in January 2004.

It wasn't. Despite all the hard work by dozens of people, it was quietly released and destined to sit on a shelve to gather dust. Why? Because Napolitano was smart. She knew there was not the political will to fundamentally reform our tax structure. She also knew that to suggest one of the key recommendations -- broadening the state sales tax to include services while reducing the overall sales tax rate-- would be political suicide. And for a political party that had not held the Governor's office since 1991, it was too much to risk.

I can only wonder if the state's $1.5 billion budget deficit would be smaller if we had elected leaders willing to make the difficult decisions instead of pandering to special interests and their dozens of lobbyists at the state capitol. The same is true of Washington D.C. But I digress.

Now, the Center for the Future of Arizona has a new report out that hopes to push the state in the right direction. It commissioned the Gallup Poll to survey if Arizonans care about their communities and what they'd like to see done about the issues they care about. You can read the report here.

Wednesday, former ASU President Lattie Coor, who heads the Center for the Future of Arizona, joins retired Pinnacle West (parent company of APS) CEO Bill Post on Here and Now to talk about the report, what it means, and how it can be put into action.

Post, by the way, co-chaired the Citizen's Finance Review Commission. It'll be interesting to see if this report will suffer the same fate.

Host Steve Goldstein will also talk with NAU president John Haeger about his university's sustainability efforts and how its addressing record enrollment.

Here and Now - U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, NPR politcal editor Ken Rudin

Newly appointed U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke joins host Steve Goldstein in studio. As the state's top federal prosecutor, Burke is responsible for handing all civil and criminal cases, including crimes that take place on Native reservations, immigration and smuggling cases, and federal white collar crime.

NPR political editor Ken Rudin will also join Steve to talk politics and his passion for political button collecting. It will be interesting to see how many campaign souvenirs he has amassed and which ones stand out.

We had to tape Madeline Albright's interview, so we wont be taking questions for her. A very likable person, she talks with Steve about her pin (or brooch) collection and the challenges facing U.S. foreign policy today.

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Thanks,
Paul

Here and Now - Luke AFB and the F35, The Future of Civic Leadership

Here and Now - Border Deaths, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

How much is opportunity worth to some people? In the case of more than 400 individuals who tried crossing the US/Mexico border, it's worth their life. Although I'm sure few thought they would perish on their way to what they hoped were better lives. Such is the case every year along the US/Mexican border. The highest number of deaths reached almost 500 in 2005. But get this. That year, Border Patrol arrested 1.2 million people trying to cross the border illegally. This past fiscal year, the number of arrests are less than half of that amount.

We'll talk to Robert Gilbert, Tucson Sector Chief, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, about what his agency is doing to prevent border deaths. We'll also talk to representatives of the ACLU and 'No More Deaths' about a new report that calls for more action to be taken.

Plus, she is Arizona's most recognized public servant. Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be on to talk about civic discourse and the lack there of in politics and policy today.

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Here and Now: Mountain Climber, Adventurer, Author Ed Viesturs

His may not be a household name, and his claim to fame is probably not something you or I would ever attempt to do. But by all accounts, Ed Viesturs is someone who sets some pretty loft goals and has done a pretty darn good job achieving them. He has climbed more than a dozen of the tallest mountains in the world, all without the assistance of something almost every other needs to reach the top: oxygen from a canister. You see, the air is so thin, that climbers can rarely exert the energy possible to reach the top of Everest, K2, or other peaks without the help of a small canister of oxygen.

And the fact that he's scaled mountain after mountain and is still alive to talk about it is a feat unto itself. I'd hate to fathom the number of climbers Viesturs has encountered along the way that weren't so lucky.

Viesturs is in town as part of the National Geographic speaker series at the Mesa Arts Center. And he's kind enough to stop KJZZ share some of his experiences with us.

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