Recent Articles from Paulina Pineda
GOP lawmaker: Not ‘enough white kids to go around’ in Arizona schools
A Republican lawmaker said his comment that “there aren’t enough white kids to go around” in Arizona’s minority-laden public schools was an attempt at an honest discussion on race.
Challenge to LD28 candidate’s petition signatures alleges forgery
In a complaint filed June 11 in Maricopa County Superior Court, attorneys Kory Langhofer and Joseph Kanefield listed 20 reasons for why the majority of the 2,156 signatures Syms collected must be disqualified.
Dem election plan puts candidate in nearly every race
This year, the Democratic Party is by design fielding a candidate in nearly every federal, statewide and legislative race, with the exception of one, a strategy that has paid off in other states.
Non-profit opens charter schools to serve poorest students
A Phoenix nonprofit aiming to open 25 A-rated charter schools serving students in the city’s urban core by 2020 is well on its way to meeting its goal.
‘Dr. of the day’ checks up on lawmakers, learns to legislate
Semi-retired medical examiner Philip Keen doesn’t usually respond to house calls. But when the House – or the Senate – calls, the pathologist shows up at the Capitol.
Stage set for lawsuit over conflict of state law, Tempe ballot measure
Gov. Doug Ducey signed off on Tempe’s “dark money” ballot initiative, a move that will likely open up the state to a lawsuit.
Wrap up with J.D. Mesnard
In his second year at the helm of the House and in his final year in the chamber, Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, navigated uncharted waters when he asked members to expel one of their own.
Wrap up with Rebecca Rios
After more than two decades at the Legislature, Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, D-Phoenix, said she thought it was pretty safe to assume how her last session in the House would play out.
AG takes Tempe to court over lease agreements with developers
The Attorney General’s Office wants the Arizona Supreme Court to weigh in on whether property tax incentives in lease agreements that the City of Tempe signed with several developers violate state law.
Passing legislation requires moderation, tricks of the trade
Lawmakers passed 369 bills, 30.6 percent of the 1,206 bills introduced in the 2018 session. Of those 369 bills, Ducey signed 346, or 93.8 percent of all the bills that were approved.
Few lawmakers achieve perfect attendance, voting records
Only 19 state lawmakers, or 21 percent, made it to work every day and also registered a vote on 100 percent of the measures that went up on the board during the 53rd Legislature’s second regular session.
Big push on ballot referrals ends with just 2 passed
The Arizona Legislature referred two measures to the ballot this year, more than lawmakers referred in 2016 when they instead focused their attention on trying to defeat several citizen initiatives.