In 2006, Arizona-based Fulton Homes opened Fulton Ranch in Chandler, a 520-acre upscale, master-planned community. That was the height of the residential housing boom and high demand justified the financial risk.

At a time when the housing industry needs an infusion of hope, the demographic gods are poised to unleash what some Realtors, lenders and builders say will be the industry’s salvation: waves of young Hispanic workers and families hungry for houses of their own.

While Arizona’s legendary 5 Cs together claim a smaller piece of the state’s economic pie, their historical significance remains.

When Dan Danser began working his first case as a court-appointed special advocate two years ago, he thought it would end as it started — a mess.

Team Awesome began in February 2011 with a small group of college students who were tired of how they felt the Latino community was viewed and represented by politicians.

Even in good economic times, school districts struggle to meet their financial obligations, leading a few to slip into receivership while others are victimized by various methods of fraud. But in an era of cutbacks in state spending and tight budgets, vigilance on where the dollars are going takes on even greater importance for schools, whose primary role is providing kids with a quality education.

The federal government and state have provided money to begin updating the aging and often inaccurate Student Accountability Information System, but it still has a way to go.

Environmentalists, the U.S. Forest Service and politicians thought they finally had a plan for thinning the state’s forests after years of disagreement.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle acted to make life tougher for Arizona criminals during this year’s legislative session by passing a slate of criminal justice bills.

Although Maricopa County was assigned a grade of “F” for ozone pollution and a grade of “C” for 24-hour particulate pollution in the American Lung Association’s recently released 2012 State of the Air Report, air quality professionals contend that the simple letter grade doesn’t tell the entire story of the Valley’s air, and that progress has been made during recent years in reducing air pollution.