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Watchdog Podcast: Sanctuary cities, Donald Trump and another taxpayer-funded solar energy failure

August 21, 2015

Originally written by Eric Boehm for Watchdog

And Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (yes, those words still seem odd to put together) has stepped into the spotlight by voicing some strong opinions on how to address the immigration problem. Perhaps because of that, he’s now leading in some national polls of the Republican primary (and those words are even more odd).

Matt Kittle and Eric Boehm sit down for a conversation about those big issues this week.

Then, we’ll hear from education reporter Moriah Costa, who sits down with Jonathan Butcher, the education director at Arizona’s Goldwater Institute, to talk about the record-breaking support for school choice in that state.

Our Picks of the Litter include check-ins with reporters in Vermont, Mississippi and Wisconsin. Steve Wilson tells us about the problems at a new power plant in Mississippi that could cost ratepayers, and Bruce Parker explains how Vermont’s reliance on alternative energy has the state looking to New Hampshire for help keeping the lights on.

Keeping with that theme, our “Big Dog” interview of the week is Rob Nikolewski, Watchdog’s national energy reporter. He tells us about the massive Ivanpah solar power facility in the Mojave Desert, which has cost taxpayers more than $1.6 billion but is producing less than half of the amount of electricity officials said it would.  It’s not just taxpayers getting burned — the facility is literally frying birds alive.

All that, plus our Nanny of the Week, on the Watchdog Podcast.

 

 

 

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