Education, child health insurance, transportation on governor's to-do list
18 01 08 - 11:49
Little specific to W. Valley in Glendale address
Carrie Watters
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 18, 2008 07:34 AM
Gov. Janet Napolitano called her speech in Glendale the "Cliffs Notes" version of the State of the State address she delivered Monday before a joint session of the Legislature.
She was right.
The governor offered little that was specific to the West Valley, although many of her plans hit home with those in attendance.
She called for progress in education, better transportation and care for veterans. She wants more children to have health insurance and a bigger push for the use of renewable energy.
Despite the economic downturn, the state is young and - particularly in the West Valley - growing, the governor said.
Napolitano, who has made all-day kindergarten a reality and pushed for higher teacher pay, again put education at the forefront.
She proposes to double the number of bachelor's degrees in the state by 2020.
"We need to change the . . . assumption that a high school diploma is an end," Napolitano said.
She wants to offer free community college and state university tuition to students who maintain a "B" average and don't get into trouble, beginning with this year's eighth-graders.
Surprise Mayor Lyn Truitt, among those in the audience, said her focus strikes a chord. He and the Surprise City Council want to lure a four-year university to his Northwest Valley city. Like Napolitano, he said the investment in education pays dividends by bolstering a stronger economy.
The crowd applauded as the governor called for the licensing of loan officers as one way to prevent another sub-prime lending debacle. She also wants a Homebuyers Bill of Rights to educate those securing loans.
But Napolitano warned that the fallout is not over, as many sub-prime homeowners will see their rates dramatically climbthis spring. The governor said she has worked with mortgage lenders to transfer sub-prime loans to prime-rate mortgages with more bearable rates.
"We keep families that are (at) home from being homeless," she said.
The governor blamed the federal government for failed immigration policies, but said reform was not likely until the presidential election with a newly appointed cabinet.
Until then, she called for the state attorney general to continue efforts to halt the "blood money" that flows from human trafficking.
She called for law enforcement to use funds collected in racketeering cases to enforce the state's employer sanctions law that went into effect Jan. 1.
She also hit on traffic, as much a frustration in the West Valley as elsewhere. The governor said the stacks of local and regional plans should be formed into a statewide vision that can go before voters no later than 2009 and get put into action.
The vision must include roadways, rail and other forms of transit that could ease congestion on the roadway and improve air quality, she said.