During the two sessions of the 50th Legislature, members of the press increasingly had to think twice about where they were and were not allowed to go.

A phantom of sorts lurked in the Senate last session.



Divas weren’t held captive in a cellar. Chandeliers weren’t damaged. But ousted Senate President Russell Pearce’s presence was felt in the chamber that he once ran.

The race is on to woo voters for a slate of ballot measures passed by the 50th Legislature on property taxes, government financing, trust land and states’ rights.



Some of the seven propositions on the November 2012 ballot have dry subjects that might be difficult to grasp, making it all the more important for backers to get organized and present a coherent message, said David Berman, a professor at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute of Public Policy.

The state turned 100 this year, but the unofficial “face” of Arizona’s House of Representatives is only turning 82. It’s warm, kind and famously smiling and it belongs atop the tiny frame of Zoe Spinner, a receptionist at the House information desk and recently retired 25-year veteran of the state Capitol.