Recent Articles from Richard Tackett
Giving what they can: Even in tough times, state employees contribute to charities through annual campaign
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.
Chasing Cancer: Arizona has lowest rate, but people aren’t getting screened soon enough
Right before Brent Uffelman was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, he wasn’t noticing any extreme symptoms. Sure, he felt tired at times, but that could have been the result of a long day at work, he told himself. It wasn’t until he met a friend for breakfast before starting his day’s shift at Alliance Beverage Distributing Co. that he began to see and feel indisputable signs that somethin[...]
Profiles in conservation
Five sustainability advocates explain what they're doing to lead the Valley toward a greener future.
Lawmakers want state guard to help when National Guard is gone
Providing Arizona’s governor with an armed force that operates separately from the National Guard — and thus from federal control — is vital to the state’s continuing defense, some Republican lawmakers insist.
AHCCCS kill bill designed to trigger a conversation
Although a bill passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee after midnight the morning of Feb. 23 would repeal Arizona's Medicaid system, its real purpose appears to be to start a discussion on how the state can save money on health care.
State Guard bill debate gets heated
A bill discussion in the House Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety turned prickly Feb. 16 when the debate turned to extremism in Arizona.
Town Hall’s message: Dump term limits
When the leader of a civic-improvement think tank declared that term limits drain much of the effectiveness from the Arizona Legislature, she was speaking to an audience that welcomed her opinion.
Tax break bill aims to woo film studios to Arizona
A Republican legislator says if Arizona is ever going to regain its old reputation as a state that welcomes the film industry, it needs to be more appealing to big production studios that want to shoot here.
Vacancy-filling proposal would chuck county supervisors
Filling legislative vacancies, which now ends up in the hands of boards of county supervisors, would become totally the responsibility of political party operatives if a bill proposed by Rep. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, becomes law.
Arizona’s top 5 women lobbyists
Our top women lobbyists list really identifies five tenacious professionals whose communication skills, character and depth of knowledge about the issues important to their clients makes them stand out. They just happen to be women.
Recovery outlook gloomy for home construction
Stimulating Arizona’s economy through the creation of construction jobs in the housing industry is one of the chief priorities of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, but an industry insider says fixed costs and layoffs are making recovery quite difficult.
Recycling reboot
After 300 vehicles dumped nearly 30 tons of potentially toxic electronics waste in a Wal-Mart parking lot in a northeastern Arizona town last August, Mark Shaffer was hooked. He wanted to collect more electronics waste in more towns across the state.