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"Let people know this is a notoriously awful scam and it's not rude to hang up the phone. The more information and awareness we can get out there the better."
Originally Published: August 14, 2018 3:59 p.m.
PHOENIX — Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan is facing a primary challenge from a Republican businessman who claims her tenure has been marked by missteps.
Steve Gaynor cites issues like a delayed mailing of voter pamphlets and the rollout of a campaign finance website that he calls a "waste of taxpayer money."
Reagan, a former state legislator finishing her first term, maintains that she's brought practical and long-needed improvements to the office, like the ability to accept credit cards. She says the "See the Money" website is still developing and work is in progress to include information like lobbyist disclosures.
"A lot of people get into elected office, and they don't change very much within the office," she said. "They don't advance the technology, they don't do it because that takes risks and it's scary. We look back, and all of these things were risks worth taking."
Gaynor, who owns a commercial printing plant in Los Angeles, points to his management experience as the reason voters should trust him over Reagan.
"I've done corporate turnarounds before and that's why I knew I could would walk into a troubled situation like this and clean it up," he said.
The secretary of state's office handles record keeping and business services in addition to responsibilities involving voter registration and candidate filing as part of the Election Services Division. The person also serves as acting governor when the sitting governor leaves the state.
The winner of the Aug. 28 primary will face state Sen. Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, a Democrat from Phoenix who is running unopposed in the primary.
Reagan says that she accepts responsibility for mistakes that have occurred under her tenure: like when 200,000 voter pamphlets were sent out late. She says new processes were put in place to ensure the pamphlets go out in a timely fashion. She says her office has also worked to move certain businesses processes online...
"This agency is a much better place than it was," she said. "We're immensely proud of that."
Reagan also took heat for hours-long voting lines that Maricopa County voters endured during an election in 2016, but she says the criticism was misplaced. She says the lines were the result of county decisions.
Campaign finance records show that Gaynor's ending cash balance in June of $645,000 was bolstered by $5,650 from seven individuals and $380,000 in loans that he made himself.
In the same time frame, Reagan raised more than $66,000 in donations from more than 100 individuals. She headed into the summer with about $370,000 cash on hand — and said she's suspect of why a wealthy businessman like Gaynor would put so much money into the race.
"What are his motives?" she said. "Voters are smart, they can see through that."
Gaynor says whether he's spending his money or from donors is something voters to decide.
"I think it's important that the office be run competently," he said.
The fellas of Disturbed might finally be smiling when they make it to Somerset Amphitheater next May for Northern Invasion.
A popular spot for metal shows in its prior incarnation as Float-Rite Park, Somerset Amphitheater will get an extra day of the hard stuff next year when Northern Invasion expands to a two-day festival May 14-15.
Organizers announced the new format Monday along with a 2016 lineup that includes many veteran acts who’ve previously played the farmland venue in Somerset, Wis. (an hour from the Twin Cities). AMong the names: Korn, Rob Zombie, Disturbed, Seether, Lamb of God, P.O.D. and Sevendust, plus newer metal stars such as Shine...
Two-day passes go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. for $89.50, or $259 for a four-pack, via NorthernInvasion.com. VIP camping packages will also be available Tuesday starting at $200 for two people.
Last year’s Slipknot-led inaugural installment of Northern Invasion sold out with 25,000 attendees. If next year's festival draws that many each day, it would far surpass the Basilica Block Party and Rock the Garden as our area's biggest two-day music festival.
The event was brought to Somerset Amphitheater as part of a chain of hard-rock festivals promoted throughout the country with AEG Live as World’s Loudest Month, a brand name that also includes the Rocklahoma fest and Ohio’s Rock on the Range. It was hardly a new concept locally, though: Northern Invasion strongly harks...
Millions face higher energy prices Jump to media player Millions of homes face higher energy bills as British Gas implements price increases.
Energy prices inquiry launched Jump to media player An inquiry is to be held into gas and electricity prices following a big jump in profit margins.
Energy firms face price review Jump to media player Ofgem is to investigate recent energy price rises, as it says they have significantly widened suppliers' profit margins.
Millions of households are facing higher energy bills from Friday as recent price rises announced by British Gas come into effect.
The UK's largest domestic energy supplier is increasing both gas and electricity tariffs by an average of seven per-cent. The move will affect around eight million customers.
The BBC's John Moylan reports.
Wavy clouds over the Rocky Mountains mark gravity waves.
Correction, Oct. 29, 2016: In this post, I note that I wasn’t sure these could be cirrus, and they were odd. On Twitter, Kenny Pratt pointed out to me that these are not cirrus clouds, but the plume from a fire! Sure enough, the Beaver Creek fire was raging to my northwest when I took this picture, so that’s clearly wh...
I couldn’t see from where I happened to be, but I had my camera with me, so I made my way around some trees and turned north.
I never, ever tire of watching the amazing clouds that form over Colorado. Click to ennebulenate.
How lovely is that? The Sun had just set and it was getting dark. These long streamers of clouds were low enough to be out of direct sunlight, so they’re silhouetted against the sky.
The wavy appearance is real, and is due to air flowing from the west over the mountains. It rises up over the obstacle, cools, then sinks. As it sinks, it warms up, becomes buoyant and rises again. It’s still flowing east as it does this, so it creates a waving stream of air bobbing up and down (these are generically c...
In this case, though, the cloud is continuous and not broken up into ripples. I can’t be sure, but I’m guessing these really are cirrus made of ice crystals. If that’s the case, then there’s no water vapor to condense and form the clouds at the wave crests; the ice crystals formed to the west and were carried east alon...
A closer view of the clouds. There may be one broad wave with several cirrus clouds sheared along its length, and we see them superposed on each other.
Again, I’m guessing, but this seems likely. Interestingly, the puffy knots of cumulus clouds in the foreground are not showing any of this pattern, so they may be too low to be affected by the gravity waves higher in the atmosphere.
I’ve never seen clouds over the Rockies behaving quite like this before, and it makes me wonder: Does the air do this all the time, but we just can’t see it because no clouds form to reveal it? Or is it truly rare, with many circumstances having to be just right to make the invisible visible?
It reminds me of another type of cloud. If conditions are just so, the rising air over the mountains can form lenticular clouds, lens-shaped clouds that look a lot like UFOs (or Star Destroyers) hovering over the landscape. We get those a lot around here in Colorado, and they’re very cool.
I know not everyone is as enthralled with clouds as I am, but honestly, sometimes they’re just so pretty. The ones I saw here stretched over a good piece of the sky, and together with the gorgeous sunset colors I found them to be enrapturing. I find the science equally compelling, so honestly, how can I resist sharing ...
As reporters peppered lawmakers with questions on how to balance those seemingly conflicting goals, Democrats insisted they had it under control.
“You guys have it all wrong,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, scolding reporters for writing about Democratic divisions following a public, intraparty disagreement over spending levels that preceded the retreat.
Other leaders echoed Pelosi’s confidence about the caucus’s unity, but acknowledged there will be consequences if they fail to deliver.
To illustrate that, Democrats touted the bills they passed during the first 100 days of their majority, which they celebrated Friday. Most of those, however, were easy wins — bills introduced with the vast majority of Democrats already on board.
The obstacles ahead are on bills not yet written — like infrastructure and immigration overhauls — that will require major trade-offs. There are also measures Democrats promised to pass, such as a $15 minimum wage, that still lack enough support in the caucus.
Members of the various factions stressed during the retreat that they want input on caucus proposals, while recognizing they face different political realities.
Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters that her 90-plus members must be consulted on major policy initiatives. But she also understands many lawmakers outside her caucus are in competitive re-election races in GOP-leaning districts.
Finding that balance is easier said than done, especially with vulnerable Democrats already facing Republican attacks tying them to liberal policies like the Green New Deal.
“I often believe that the caucus under-appreciates the needs and pressures of our Frontliners,” said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, referring to lawmakers in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee program for vulnerable incumbents, most of whom are freshmen.
Himes, a leader of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, pointed to a divide over raising the minimum wage and noted that lawmakers who have concerns about legislation that would bring the federal standard up to $15 per hour by 2024 are reflecting concerns from their districts.
Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell, also a New Democrat leader, is spearheading legislation to institute a regional minimum wage, which would allow for areas with lower costs of living and purchasing power to more gradually increase their minimum wage.
Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. Scott, who led a session at the retreat with panelists who argued for his $15 minimum wage bill and against the regional option, expressed confidence it can pass without changes. There are already 205 co-sponsors, and others have told him privately they’ll vote for the bill.
Jayapal, also confident about the bill’s prospects, said Progressive Caucus leaders were working to sway members with concerns. The bill will eventually come to the floor and have the 218 votes needed to pass, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer told reporters.
Still, Sewell dismissed the notion that she and a dozen members who have co-sponsored her bill were being ignored as the majority of the caucus pushes for Scott’s measure.
“We’re not afraid in the caucus to have different ideas and different approaches,” she said.
Democrats are more optimistic about bridging internal divides than finding common ground with Republicans who control the Senate.
“The only thing I would rule out is, we’re not doing another $900 billion stimulus,” McConnell said.
The difficulty of avoiding a “stimulus,” or a federal investment that’s not offset, becomes greater the more Democrats want to spend. Pelosi said she wants the government to invest at least $1 trillion in infrastructure, preferably $2 trillion.
Democrats are committed to finding ways to pay for an infrastructure package but have yet to coalesce around any one proposal.
Members at the retreat mentioned at least four different ideas: Hoyer favors a gas tax increase; Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chairman David Cicilline wants to roll back the GOP tax law for revenue; CPC Co-chair Mark Pocan floated a high speed financial transaction fee; and Kildee, a tax writer, sugge...
Most of the bills House Democrats have passed in the first 100 days have hit a brick wall in the Senate. And legislation they’re planning to move next month on climate change, health care and immigration are expected to face the same fate.
Surprisingly, most Democrats don’t care.
Several Democrats said it’s more important to show what their party stands for by passing bills out of the House and predicted that any failure to get top priority measures on infrastructure and lowering prescription drug prices signed into law won’t endanger their majority.
“It’ll be a bigger problem for Republicans in the Senate,” said California Rep. Ted Lieu, a co-chair of the DPCC.
Even if they can find common ground with Senate Republicans, Democrats face an additional question of whether to work with President Donald Trump.
Anti-Trump sentiment energized the party last cycle, fueling high turnout that propelled Democrats to the House majority. But Democrats in competitive districts are still willing to work with a president they also regularly denounce.
Connecticut Rep. Jahana Hayes and Nevada Rep. Susan Wild, both members of the DCCC’s Frontline program, and Florida Rep. Donna E. Shalala, responded with a chorus of “Yes, yes, yes” when asked if Democrats could work with the president.
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks talk to Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff about the "two exceptional nights" at the Democratic National Convention, and the very high bar set by Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton going into President Obama's nomination acceptance speech.
And with us tonight once again are Shields and Brooks. That is syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.
So, gentlemen, you only have to compete with Mary J. Blige.
I didn't even know she had a song about Paul Ryan.
But she's attacking him viciously.
I will translate for you, David.
So, here we are, 20-some hours after Bill Clinton, Mark Shields.
Are you still thinking about what he had to say, or are you projecting ahead to what President Obama has got to do tonight?
Well, President Obama has to be thinking about what he — what Bill Clinton had to say and what Michelle Obama had to say.
Angela Williams in that tape piece, the delegate on the floor, Bill said Clinton hit a home run. He hit a home run. Michelle Obama hit a home run. Now it's Barack Obama at bat, OK, to carry it forward. He can't get by with a ground rule double tonight. He has got to hit a home run. I mean, they have set a bar that is t...
I mean, there have been two exceptional nights, Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton. And while David and I were quite admiring of Governor Christie in — at Tampa, there was nobody at the Republican event that established anything to the same standard, I think, that Barack Obama faces tonight.
Well, you know, David, the Obama administration — or Obama campaign officials told me today that the first night with Michelle Obama was supposed to be about heart and values. The second night with Bill Clinton's prosecution was supposed to be about the head.
What is tonight supposed to be about with the president?
Well, I hope it's about the future. It better be.
As you say, we know about what's in him. We saw the argument about — against the Republicans. I went back and I read Clinton's speech this morning. And when I was looking for what the future was going to be, there was nothing. There was one sentence.
And so that better be what this is about. A candidate for office is supposed to offer a vision, a vision and a set of proposals. And so he's got to talk a little of theme, but he's got to give us a road map, some sort of road map for the future.
But they say it's not going to be like a State of the Union address, Mark. They are not going to give a laundry list of what has to happen. So how does he thread that needle?
People want the specifics. They want to know where he's going to take the country, but he can't just reel off a bunch of legislation.
And it's more than legislation. It is — American presidential elections about who captures the future, who captures optimism and who captures the future. And he has to give a sense that not only what he wants to achieve, but how the country is going to be better and how it's going to, by his policies, going to make it ...
And that's — to me, that's his chore tonight, and it's a tough one.
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney told several donors on Friday that he’s seriously considering a third run for the White House, a change for the 2012 GOP nominee after months of insisting his career in politics is over.
Romney, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2008 and 2012, has repeatedly insisted he would not run again. Both spoke under condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the private discussions. The meeting was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The news from Romney comes as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush marches swiftly toward a 2016 bid of his own, which threatens to win much of the support from the Republican establishment that fueled Romney’s last campaign. Some donors who gave to Romney have already privately committed to Bush, who has spent recent weeks ho...
In addition to Johnson, Friday’s meeting with Romney included Emil Henry Jr., an assistant treasury secretary in Bush administration; Alexander Navab, of the financial firm KKR; Patrick Durkin, a managing director at Barclays; Clifford Sobel, managing partner of Valor Capital Group; and Edward C. Forst, CEO at Cushman ...
“We’ll get someone who can win,” he added.
Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) activist shareholder Third Point questioned the educational credentials of the tech giant’s chief executive, Scott Thompson, on Thursday and urged the board to take immediate action.
A spokesman for Yahoo said his accusations were correct, but the mistake was an inadvertent error and in no way affects Thompson's qualifications as CEO.
The claim is the latest attempt by Third Point, whose Dan Loeb has long criticized Yahoo’s board and called for an overhaul, to discredit its top leadership in its campaign for change.
Third Point, which owns 5.8% of Yahoo, accused the company of misrepresenting the credentials of Thompson. In a letter to Yahoo’s board of directors, Loeb claimed Thompson only holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Stonehill College, rather than the double degrees of accounting and computer science Yahoo reporte...
The college did not start awarding computer science degrees until 1983, four years after Thompson graduated, Loeb said. During the CEO’s tenure, Stonehill only offered one computer science course, according to the letter.
Third Point called on the board to investigate Thompson’s credentials and take immediate action if it finds he did indeed embellish them and violated Yahoo’s code of ethics. The shareholder claimed that the overstatement undermines his credibility as a technology expert and “reflects poorly” on his character.

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