The Urgency and Importance of “Home Rule”

By: Dr. Thea Wilshire, Councilwoman District 2 Globe

OK, some English please!  “Alternative Expenditure Limitation”?  Huh?  And, even the simpler “Home Rule” name doesn’t explain much on the surface.  So what exactly is this item and why is it on the Globe primary election ballot?

In 1980, Arizona voters approved a tax reform package that placed limits on expenditures for cities and towns.  This means that regardless of the money coming into the community or their actual needs, the city cannot spend over the state-imposed ceiling.  The limit is the community’s 1979-1980 budget with a small cost-of-living increase built in for each subsequent year.  However, the cost-of-living increases have come no where near to keeping pace with actual costs of supplies and services, so the limits set 30 years ago are now less tax reform and more economic shackles.  Fortunately, a back door was built into the legislation wherein local voters could approve an exception to state-imposed expenditure limitations and decide locally what is best for their own city or town.  This back door is lovingly referred to as “Home Rule.”  … Continue Reading

Jammin’ at Vida e Caffe

By: Laura Stennerson

Wow! The place was packed with supporters and performers. The smell of coffee and the noise of the espresso machine added to the undercurrent of excitement I felt as I walked in. I headed to the counter, because I knew I would never relax without a delicious Vida latte in hand. I scanned the room. I saw Jared Spencer looking rather official. I had not seen Jared since December at an art opening at Miami Art Works Gallery, where he had performed, I wanted to find out what he had been doing. Mostly though, I just wanted to laugh. Jared is a comic genius with a refreshing life perspective. He told me he was hosting the event. He too, was amazed at the number of people who wanted to perform at open mic. Jared was keeper of the clip board and there was no funny business about that. Jared explained that performers played in the order they signed up to play. Period. As I checked the list, and realized I had already missed two performers.  … Continue Reading

Globe’s Tool Lending Library

Excerpted from the December ‘League Of Arizona Cities and Towns’. The newsletter includes an interview with Globe Mayor, Fernando Shipley, and a feature story on our very own Tool Lending Library.
The City of Globe is offering its residents a unique resource. The Globe Tool Lending Library (TLL) is the only free, community-wide TLL in the state of Arizona. A TLL is a resource that provides local residents with access to various hand and power tools, ladders, gardening resources, and plumbing and electrical tools they might need to maintain and improve their homes and properties. Created on the same premise as a book-lending library, patrons are allowed to borrow tools for a few days at no cost unless the tools are returned late or damaged. … Continue Reading

Globe Historic Home & Building Tour

Snow blankets area

The rains began on Monday night and have steadily saturated every inch of ground and flooded  creek beds from here to the Arizona border . Here in the Globe-Miami area, temperatures began dropping Thursday night and residents awoke to a thick blanket of snow today.  Snow has continued to fall all day and Bill Taylor and his radio station Gila 101.9 has been broadcasting road closures,  downed power lines, and a rash of businesses and government offices who  closed early to give employees a chance to get home before flooding or road conditions got any worse today.

A Night at the Picture Show

By Darin Lowery

Globe suffered a major setback in July 2005 when the Pioneer Hotel and the adjacent Globe Theater burned to the ground. Businesses were destroyed, valuable property was lost, and shock, despair and anger were expressed by everyone.

What remained was a heap of twisted metal which sat on the corner of Broad and Cedar Streets for four and a half years.

I moved to Globe the day after the fire.

After waiting all week, I finally have a night free to go to the pictures, and 2010 is showing. In my book, the best movies in the world are when the world ends. … Continue Reading

Jason Williams on Education in Arizona

Jason Williams, Democratic candidate running for State School Superintendent was in Globe Wednesday night to speak to a gathering of concerned parents and citizens who came to hear his vision for fixing the State's Education system. Tom Horn, current Superintendent is stepping down in 2010 after an 8 year tenure

Jason Williams, a Democrat running for State Superintendent of Schools was in Globe last night to talk to a group of concerned citizens and parents about his vision for the State’s educational woes.

Williams, who ran against Tom Horn in 2006, wants to shift the emphasis back onto public schools and do more to engage kids and address the issues in the public sector to raise the bar. Under the guidance of Tom Horn who has held the seat since 2002, the State greatly increased Charter schools (now at 453) and in a recent report put out by Stanford University the results  out from Charter schools appear disappointing.

“While the report recognized a robust national demand for more charter schools from parents and
local communities, it found that 17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that were
significantly better than traditional public schools, while 37 percent of charter schools showed
gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts, with 46 percent of charter
schools demonstrating no significant difference”

Arizona has the dubious honor of being one of the worst states in the country when it comes to education. (see: Smartest State) To overlook the impact this has when trying to attract business and industry to fuel our economy is to miss the mark entirely. It is not enough to reduce business taxes. If business owners look at the schools here in Arizona and decide neither they, nor their employees, want their kids going to them , and if industry can’t find enough qualified, educated workforce to do the job, then Arizona will continue to struggle to have jobs and economic prosperity. It is critical to our livelihood- not to mention just caring about kids futures- that the State find a way to be better than Dead Last in this area.

Williams thinks he has a few ideas on how to get there.

… Continue Reading

Cited: $9000 for European Vacation

By: Linda Gross

The recent complaint letter by Dr. Timothy Trent directed at GUSD’s School Board is accusing them of, among other things damaging an otherwise exemplary reputation when they removed him to home rule to conduct an audit into both financial and personnel matters. The results of the audit being conducted by the Board  are due out this month, but a recent 90-day letter to the District from the State Auditor General seems to point out several deficiencies in managing the District’s money as well as tracking student attendance. It was was simply the latest in a series of letters from the State identifying “deficiencies” – all under the watch of Superintendent T. Trent. In addition, it might be pointed out that he was sued by a teacher while he was a Principle at Kyrene Elementary before coming to Globe (as reported by the East Valley Tribune) …and for some of the same kinds of actions he is currently accused of in the class action suit filed recently in Gila County.  It seems his “exemplary” career may have just a few smudges. … Continue Reading

No more band aids for GUSD

The definition of bandaid is “: offering, making use of, or serving as a temporary or expedient remedy or solution”  and according to Dr. Don Nelson, acting Chief Administrative Officer for the Globe Unified School District the most recent 90-Day Letter from the State Auditor General’s office is a clear signal that the bandaid solutions of the past have proven ineffective in actually solving problem(s) outlined in previous letters. … Continue Reading

Census means $$$ for Globe

By: Dr. Thea Wilshire:  Globe City Council

It only takes a few minutes and could bring $12,000 per person into our community.  What is this cash cow?  It’s the 2010 Census!  In the midst of economic turmoil and deficits across our country, Globe is approaching an amazing opportunity.  The results of the 2010 census will be used to determine the distribution of funding and power to our community.  It is estimated that a community will get about $1200 a year for 10 years for each person identified as living in that city and, conversely, that missing even 100 people could cost a community $1.2million dollars.  We cannot afford to miss even one person during this opportunity! … Continue Reading