Arizona: East Valley Trib

by David Safier Remember that wonderful 5 part investigation of tuition tax credits and STOs in the East Valley Trib? And remember how the Trib reporters as well as others at the Republic kept adding to the story? And remember...

by David Safier

Yet another Arizona paper which has performed a valuable journalistic service is shutting down. The East Valley Tribune will be ending both its newspaper and online presences at the end of the year.

One less news source means some stories will slip by unreported, and other papers, pushed to better journalism by the sting of competition, may grow more complacent.

We're in the midst of a sea change of some kind. The outcome is far from certain.

by David Safier

Michelle Reese at the East Valley Trib continues to be on top of the tuition tax credit/STO story. The latest:

The Arizona attorney general has sent letters to 19 of the state’s nonprofit school tuition organizations asking them to explain why they didn’t spend 90 percent of donations on scholarships for private school students as required by law.

The 90% figure is complicated by the difference between a calendar year and a school year. The STOs get a huge chunk of money the last few days of the year, and they most likely don't give it out until sometime the next year.

by David Safier

I gather most of my information sitting here behind my MacBook. If Google Search, Google Alerts and the newspapers somehow disappeared from the web, I'd probably fold up my laptop and go home. Except that I'm already home. So I'd just fold up my laptop and do something else.

From this vantage point at my desk, I get to take unfair advantage of others' work. I cut and paste their copy, comment on it and carp at the reporters when I feel like carping. Fortunately, I'm self aware enough to know that's exactly what I'm doing. I never think, "What do we need those jerks for?" I know how much I need those reporters, both for myself as an informed citizen and for the writing I do on BfA.