Archive for February, 2011
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First Draft Report Card
Wyoming’s 61st legislature enters its last week in a fairly relaxed state of mind. Most of the heavy lifting is done. Solons have done some smart things: education reform that may actually improve things in the classroom; they’ve done some risky
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Open Meetings
The press - all two or three of us - has been on the edge of its chair today waiting for the conference committee debate where House and Senate representatives will try to negotiate a compromise on the “validity of marriage” bill (House bill 74)
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Is “Good Government” an Oxymoron?
It’s late in the session, the number of bills has dwindled, and those still in play are getting a little moldy. Legislators are tired: comments get a bit snarky, or the eyes at the committee table roll back. For example (bear with me, it’s going
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A Lesson in Education Reform
The rhetoric about education reform has been pretty enflamed at the legislature this year, as politicians railed about teachers who can’t be fired, and teachers moaned about politicians with their hair on fire, and everybody puzzled over why the ki
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Taking a Constitutional
It's possible there will be three constitutional amendments for voters on the 2012 Wyoming ballot for voters to peruse. I assume - if the legislature reflects that population - that a high percentage of voters are constitutional scholars, so this sho
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Expensive ornaments
There are fewer people in Cheyenne these days – and the headlines about the legislature are buried inside the newspapers, no longer above the fold. Important legislation is going through, but it’s stuff we’ve been reading about for weeks: the s
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Film Industry Financial Incentive (FIFI) program
We don’t want federal assistance for laid-off workers in Wyoming – the legislature turned its nose up at $38 million this week – but we’re willing to invest our own money in subsidizing movie-makers if they’ll just come to Wyoming and put t
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Two Days, Two Surprises
Two days, two surprises. Tuesday, the Wyoming House of Representatives decided that it didn’t want $38 million to extend and expand jobless benefits for laid-off workers in Wyoming – all federal money, no state contribution. Then, today, the H
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The Cheyenne Flasher
We’re not in the business of sending out a “news flash”, but why not, when there's something to flash about? The controversy over public school teachers’ continuing contracts – which effectively give them job security, or tenure, after thre
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That’s a lot of erasers
Okay, teachers, watch out. You hear again and again how great MOST of you are, and how the legislature isn’t targeting you – no, they’re just trying, darn it, to see some results for investing huge amounts of money in public education – up fr
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