Arizona’s famous five Cs have been used as a quick way to describe the economic engines that drive the state. Representations of copper, cattle, climate, cotton and citrus are all emblazoned on the Great Seal of the state of Arizona, although these industries are not the forces they once were.

Each fund-raising cycle begins in January, with several hundred state employees from various agencies volunteering to campaign in their respective workplaces. It’s a six-week pledge drive, plus special events that raise additional money and keep employees engaged throughout the year.

From something as grand as helping build a house or as simple as dropping off supplies at a fire station, Arizona lawmakers give back to their communities.

Five years ago, ICAN, a charitable nonprofit in central Chandler, was experiencing tremendous growth, offering after school, parenting and family programs to lower income residents. But the expanding organization had a problem.

As funding continues on a downward spiral, educators and administrators are faced with the daunting task of keeping schools staffed and operating. While the laying off of teachers grabs the majority of school budget-cut headlines, there is a whole other group that is just as vital to kids’ success in schools and whose numbers are also dwindling: nurses.

Maressa Curran has lived with type 1 diabetes for 21 years. At age 23, she can care for herself now, but it hasn’t always been that way. Attending school in the mid-1990s, she found little support for diabetic students because awareness and diagnosis of the disease, especially in children, was lacking.

Time has run out for school districts that aren’t compliant with the state’s English Language Learner program.

In the three years since the program, which requires four hours a day of English immersion for students who aren’t proficient in the language, was established, not one school district has been sanctioned financially for non-compliance, even though a sanction is required by law, according to a report by the Office of the Auditor General.

Funding Arizona’s K-12 public schools is on the mind of every educator, most policymakers, and business leaders — those who count on a ready workforce. The Arizona Business & Education Coalition (ABEC) presents a set of proposals to redesign the school finance system entirely, to support increasingly higher levels of learning in all public schools.

As a place to do business and in matters related to public policy, personal freedom and taxation, Arizona is a solid “C” student. But can it afford to stay that way?

When it comes to wildfires, size really matters — the bigger the blaze, the greater potential danger to homes, businesses, wildlife, trees, shrubs, the environment, and most important, people.