Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

MESA - Metro Phoenix's new light rail system has reached a milestone: April marked the first month in which it drew more than 1 million boardings.

The headline on the final print edition of Saturday's Tucson Citizen newspaper said it all: Our epitaph. The 48-page commemorative edition of Arizona's oldest daily newspaper was filled with individual columns from editors and staffers and highlights of the Citizen's 138 years of publication. It had a photo montage of the changing face of Tucson and a look at how the paper affected readers' lives.

The drug war in Mexico shouldn't be used as an excuse to try to restrict American gun rights, Sen. John McCain said May 15 at the National Rifle Association's convention.

More than 1,500 inmates in Maricopa County jails are on a partial hunger strike as part of an ongoing protest against food quality.

With the state facing a budget deficit of $3 billion, state lawmakers are ready to slice and dice various programs that parents and others say are needed to care for those unable to speak for themselves.

TEMPE -A�Arizona State University President Michael Crow says money from the federal stimulus program and a new tuition surcharge will provide the Tempe-based university with a financial “calming point.” Crow told university faculty and staff in a video message e-mailedA�May ...

There's no legal barrier to prevent lawmakers from continuing other legislative work once they've approved a new state budget before the fiscal year starts July 1. But practicalities could be a problem for the part-time Legislature.

FLAGSTAFF - President Barack Obama signed legislation on Friday that officially repeals a decades-long development ban on the western edge of the Navajo Nation.

The University of Arizona is expected to receive more than $500,000 from the federal stimulus in fiscal 2009. University officials said the money will go toward the university's medical research program.

TUCSON - Plans have been in the works for nearly three years for a federal detention facility on land owned by southern Arizona's Tohono O'odham Nation. The Arizona Daily Star reported on its Web site May 4 that the plans are discussed in a document released by the tribe.