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

During the four decades of merit selection for judges in Arizona’s most populous counties, the number of women and minorities serving in judicial positions has increased gradually. The Arizona Judicial Diversity Project was launched in February to maintain this upward trajectory of increasing diversity, which former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor says results in a better-functioning judiciary.

Consumers in Arizona don’t want much from a bank. They simply require convenience — being close to their home or work, with online account access — and no service charges to maintain a regular checking account.

Rep. Frank Pratt, chairman of the Arizona House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, said a lack of confidence in the former director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality was at the heart of legislation preventing the agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions without express legislative authorization.

Bharath Takulapalli is co-founder and CEO of INanoBio in Tempe. His company is completing a prototype for a fourth-generation genome sequencing machine that would make genome diagnostics faster, easier and much less expensive, so that more doctors and patients could benefit from earlier diagnosis of disease.

Caring for one child with a rare and unknown medical disorder is a challenge for parents and doctors. But when three additional children in the same family are found to have related health problems, all involved are faced with a medical quandary for which some answers have only recently been found through genetic research.

Phoenix area’s recovery time after the slump in tourism following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 was among the top five fastest of major metropolitan areas in the nation. But recovering to peak tourism levels following the economic crash of 2008 has proven much more difficult.

An urban garden cultivates nature in the midst of a man-made environment, and many people find escape and relaxation while digging in the dirt and tending plants.

Dayana Gonzalez and her classmates at Roadrunner School in Phoenix will soon have a new building on their campus that not only incorporates sustainable, environment-friendly features, but also demonstrates them for the students.

Food banks fill a crucial need in a community, with the help of many volunteers. United Food Bank in Arizona found a special volunteer in a registered dietician and university professor who used her training and passion to help the organization deliver healthier meals.

Architects, as any artists, create from their imagination. But architects’ creations are bound by structure, budgets and physics. Patricia Reiter says those limitations present an opportunity for creative solutions.