KJZZ Here and Now Weblog

Here and Now: Special Session, East Valley Tribune and Clinical Trials

The Capitol Times reports the legislature and Governor's office have reached a tentative deal on the parameters of a special session to resolve the state's budget deficit. We'll check in with one of the parties and speak to Arizona Guardian reporter Dennis Welch about what is on the table.

We'll also discuss the demise of the East Valley Tribune. The newspaper has always had superior local reporting and was rewarded with a Pulitzer Prize this year for its series of stories on the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. Now, just months after winning journalism's biggest award, the paper announces it will cease publication in all forms by the new year. We'll talk to the editor of the paper and a former editor and one of the reporters who helped win the big prize. The question is, if a good news organization owned by a private company can not stay afloat--what does that mean for the rest of journalism and the public who depends on the news.

We'll also talk to Glen Weiss, MD, who splits his time between TGen and TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare, about some of the clinical trials going on involving cancer research. And we'll check in with ASU's Paul Davies, who is leading the universities efforts at finding how physics affects cancer.

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Here and Now - Arizona's Competive Supermarket Industry

Education & Social Service Budget Cuts / AZ Real Estate Market & Foreign Buyers

The latest round of state budget cuts are certainly not the first, and are far from being the last. Here's the problem state lawmakers and Governor Brewer are trying to solve: the state is scheduled to spend $2 billion dollars more than it's taking in. Only, unlike you and me--well, okay, me --they don't have credit cards to pay for expenses when the cash runs out.

What to do? Only two things. Spend less or raise more money. Lawmakers actually did both in this past legislative special session. They approved $144-million in cuts to Arizona's K-12 school system and $155-million from the Department of Economic Security, which is where people turn to for government help. Lawmakers also approved a bill that allows state agencies to increase fees. While they are safe to campaign saying they did not raise taxes, let's face it, revenue is revenue--whether it's in the form of a tax or fee.

So, we have on the show one of the most respected people in the state when it comes to school finance--Chuck Essigs of the Arizona Association of School Business Officials. He'll explain how the just enacted budget cuts affect schools and what else you need to know about past and proposed budget cuts.

We also have on Neal Young, not the singer, but the director of the Department of Economic Security. He'll explain what programs are impacted by the legislative budget cuts and what will happen if the governor has no choice but to cut agency budgets by 15%.

If that is not dire enough, we then delve into Arizona's real estate market. The Wall Street Journal reports 47.9% of Arizona homeowners with mortgages are upside down--meaning they owe more money than their home is worth. The report comes as new data shows home sales and home prices are up in Arizona. But so too are foreclosures. ASU real estate finance professor Karl Guntermann joins Greg Swann of Bloodhound Realty to discuss what's going on and what all this means. BTW, we had Greg on Here in Now back in August of 2006 talking about the real estate bubble beginning to burst. And boy did it!

We also have realtor Sheila Espinoza join the real estate conversation. A British native, Sheila specializes in helping Canadians and other non-US citizens buy homes here. She'll join Greg to talk about what they are seeing, why so many foreign home buyers are snatching up homes, and some of the complexities involved.

Please post any comments or questions you have for our guests. Thanks for being a part of our show! Paul