WHERE WILL TOMORROW'S WATER COME FROM?

posted by Michael Chihak

Three significant pieces of research will be the focal point of the University of Arizona's annual water conference next week.

"Urbanization, Uncertainty and Water: Planning for Arizona's Second Hundred Years" will be held Tuesday, jan. 24, and feature a host of public policy and water specialists.

The three research reports are the Morrison Institute for Public Policy's "Watering the Sun Corridor: Managing Choices om Arizona's Megapolitan Area," the Grand Canyon Institute's "Arizona at the Crossroads: Water Scarcity or Water Sustainability?" and the Arizona Water Resources Development Commission's 2011 report.

On Friday's program, we will speak with four participants in the water conference, including Morrison Institute report author Grady Gammage Jr and Grand Canyon Institute report author Karen L. Smith.

In additional, Sharon Megdal, director of the UA Water Resources Research Center, and Gary Yaquinto, president of the Arizona Investment Council, will parlay their viewpoints.

GOV. WANTS MORE FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

posted by Michael Chihak

The 2012-13 state budget proposal from Gov. Jan Brewer's office calls for additional resources for behavioral health care.

The amounts are small but worth mentioning because in this space last week -- read it here -- yours truly pointed out that the state had done nothing to improve resources for mental health services in the year since the Jan. 8, 2011 Tucson shooting tragedy.

Brewer's proposed budget includes $2.5 million this fiscal year and $7 million next fiscal year for the Arizona State Hospital and $38.5 million next fiscal year for behavioral health services.

The latter figure allows the state to meet its obligations to the "seriously mentally ill" as defined in a 1981 court case whose effect was suspended in 2010 by mutual agreement because of the state's budget crisis. That suspension expires June 30, and thus the governor is recommending reinstatement of the funding.

PREDICTABLE POLITICS? DO SOMETHING UNPREDICTABLE

posted by Michael Chihak

The Arizona Legislature opened its annual session this week with a speech from Gov. Jan Brewer.

We listened to the predictable rhetoric from both political parties, and we heard the predictable responses.

How the session will go is predictable, too: the Republican super majority will do what it wants when it wants, and the Democratic minority will flail flaccidly on the frontier of effectiveness.

Enough with the predictions. How about something unpredictable? How about our involvement in the process because we’re the people most affected by what the lawmakers do?

Yes, we’ll have our say at the voting booth come November, but why not avoid the rush and contact a legislator now to express your opinion on the work being done.

There’s plenty to comment on, because even before the legislative session opened, more than 150 bills had been proposed.

A small number of them relate to the Legislature’s primary responsibility – passing a state budget. The rest delve into a wide range of matters, including what is taught and who teaches in public schools, increased or reduced penalties for various criminal offenses and bills that would expand gun rights, allow seizure of uninsured vehicles and tighten eligibility for public-paid health coverage.

It’s frankly a dizzying array, and the main action hasn’t even begun yet. The governor’s budget proposal along with the details on policy changes she wants will come today and in the weeks ahead.

There will be something for everyone to favor or oppose. Our job as citizens is to take on favor and opposition and let our lawmakers know.

That’s called democracy, and it’s more realistic than any reality show.

So get in on the action. It will be a good way to start getting in shape for that ultimate reality show later this year, the general election.

BREWER: REDISTRICTING FIGHT'S NOT OVER

posted by Michael Chihak

Gov. Jan Brewer is still bristling over the Arizona Supreme Court's rejection of her attempt to remove Colleen Mathis as chair of the Independent Redistricting Commission.

Brewer said in an Arizona Week interview that she was "a little bit, to say the least, disappointed, maybe outraged" that the Supreme Court ruled against her and the Senate's Republican majority. All 21 GOP senators voted for Mathis' removal.

Brewer said the court's action is a denial of the check-and-balance system built into all facets of government, including the redistricting commission.

"I would not be surprised if we didn' see legislation to address that in the upcoming session," she said, adding that she favors legislative action of some sort to change the process.

Asked if she and other Republicans had created a perception that they didn't like competition in political races, based on their complaints that the commission was emphasizing competitiveness over other factors in drawing district lines, Brewer said:

"I don't think anybody likes competition, but we know that comes with the territory. That's what our primaries are all about, that's what the general election is all about -- competition."

At the same time, Brewer said, she stands by her claims that the commission under Mathis violated the state constitution and broke the state Open Meeting Law.

See Brewer's interview, including her complete comments on the redistricting fight, on Friday's Arizona Week, 8:30 p.m. MST on PBS-HD6.

SEEKING BREWER'S 2012 AGENDA

posted by Michael Chihak

Arizona Week Friday will feature our latest conversation with Gov. Jan Brewer., the fourth in a year's time.

We will ask the governor about her legislative agenda for the year, her spending and budgeting plans, what she thinks Child Protective Services needs to get better at what it does and other issues.

What questions should we ask of Brewer? Post your thoughts as comments with this blog, and we will try to work them into the conversation.

Then watch here later in the week for her responses, and watch Arizona Week Friday at 8:30 p.m. MST on PBS-HD6 or at azweek.com for the complete interview.

MENTAL HEALTH HELP? NOT AFTER JAN. 8

posted by Michael Chihak

Here’s the sad fact of the day: Arizona has made no improvements in treatment of mental health issues in the last year.

At the state government level, no one is talking about it, no one is drafting legislation, no one is working on ways and means of coping with a societal issue that has stayed mostly invisible.

It was that way a year ago, too – invisible – until someone who needed mental health help acquired a gun and used it on 19 innocent people.

In the days following the Congress on Your Corner shooting tragedy in Tucson, there were anguished calls for improvement in the mental health treatment system, including requests for more resources.

The man accused in the shooting spree had manifested mental problems for several years, and yet he went untreated.

Afterward, legislative leaders labeled him a “nut” and a “mad man”, but they didn’t bother saying what they as public policy makers would do to see that this or any other mentally unstable person could get needed treatment to avoid another tragedy.

In the year since, very little has been said on the topic at the legislative and policy-making level of state government.

What has happened is that political leaders have drastically cut spending for health care for the poor, including money that would have gone for mental illness detection and treatment.

So we’re worse off now than we were a year ago, despite the impetus that this tragedy should have created.

And while we can’t pay for mental health treatment, we still have big subsidies in place, courtesy of state policy makers, for professional baseball and football and basketball.

We have a raft of tax breaks – dare we call them subsidies? – coming for businesses.

But we can’t afford to provide mental health treatment for people who need it.

And not only that, except for a few isolated forums, media stories and desperate pleadings, we don’t even want to talk about it publicly. That is, until the next tragedy, God forbid.

Who’s the mad man now?