Goldwater Institute

One does not walk into Darcy Olsen’s office at the Goldwater Institute expecting to find a full-size likeness of Darth Vader. Olsen is bright, friendly and cultivated in that New Hampshire-prep-school kind of way. Darth Vader is a trachea-crushing sci-fi boogie man. So why is he loitering near the door?

One year ago, the Wall Street Journal dubbed 2011 “the year of school choice,” opining that “this year is shaping up as the best for reformers in a very long time.” Such quotes were bound to circulate among education reformers and give traditional opponents of school choice, such as teachers unions, heartburn. Thirteen states enacted new programs that allow K–12 students to choose a public or private school instead of attending their assigned school, and similar bills were under consideration in more than two dozen states.

How is it that Olsen was named the 64th most influential person in the sport by The Hockey News on the publication’s yearly power list? The answer: by slapping down the Coyotes’ best shot yet at finding an owner.

Arizona Students’ Association student directors from the UA on several occasions have criticized the recent Goldwater Institute report entitled “Welcome to the Real World” of being factually incorrect. As the author of the report, I would like to set the record straight, particularly when it comes to whether the ASA abided by its own bylaws when it made two separate financial contributions to the Proposition 204 statewide ballot initiative campaign.

Arizona voters would turn the state's electoral system upside down this fall if they approve an open primary in which all could vote and the top two, regardless of party, would compete in the general election.