Another senior Republican will not seek re-election to the Senate, an illustration of how term limits are forcing lawmakers to make hard choices.Sen. Karen Johnson, R-18, said she is giving way to her seatmate, Rep. Russell Pearce, who is approaching his term-limit in the House and has dropped plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake [...]

The prepared text of Gov. Janet Napolitano’s State of the State address delivered Jan. 14: “My message to you today is clear: the state of Arizona is strong. And together, we are writing the story of its future. To do that, we must build on the already-written chapters of Arizona’s past, the story of the [...]

A crowded Republican field in an East Valley Congressional district just got a little more crowded, as a veteran state lawmaker announced today he is entering the race. Rep. Mark Anderson, R-18, said he hopes to change what he sees as an ineffective and dysfunctional Congress. The legislator said his idea may be “idealistic and [...]

A legislative panel has approved a measure that exempts senior citizens from paying a vehicle-license tax for one vehicle, as long as they are eligible for property-tax protection. The exemption does not apply to motor homes. The Senate Transportation Committee voted 3-2 on Jan. 15 to approve S1020, starting the long process that a bill [...]

Terry Goddard and 49 other attorneys general have entered into an agreement with social networking giant Myspace.com to continue the push for enhanced safety measures meant to protect children from online predators and pornography.  Goddard hailed the agreement as a “victory for child safety on the Internet,” and a “milestone in collective efforts by Arizona [...]

Iowans turned out in record numbers – especially the young and the Democrat – to choose their early favorites for president during the state’s caucus Thursday night.  The result was a victory for Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Barack Obama.  Obama’s win was considered a setback for Hillary Clinton, who has topped many of the Democrat polls [...]

A state commission has approved plans to remove controversial inscriptions from the state’s Sept. 11 memorial more than a year after critics derided the monument for being unpatriotic and lacking historical context. At a Dec. 21 meeting, the Legislative Governmental Mall Commission approved, by a 7-1 vote, alterations already adopted by the volunteer commission that [...]

Attorneys challenging the employer sanctions law in court are hoping a trio of businesses that say they plan to violate the law by hiring illegal immigrants will be allowed to remain anonymous, but attorneys for the state are arguing there is no reason for the businesses to shield their identities. In a Dec. 21 filing, [...]

A federal judge on Dec. 21 followed through on his statements from a hearing earlier in the week and refused to block the Jan. 1 implementation of Arizona’s unprecedented new law that penalizes businesses for knowingly employing illegal immigrants. U.S. District Judge Neil Wake denied requests for a temporary restraining order and an emergency injunction [...]

Attorneys in the employer sanctions suit will have a chance to argue for a restraining order that would prevent the law from going into effect Jan. 1 until the court rules on the lawsuit, but the federal judge handling the case says he may not grant the request. In a Dec. 10 filing, attorneys for [...]