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

Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday aimed at forcing the federal government to protect Arizona’s diminishing cactus ferruginous pygmy owl population under the Endangered Species Act.

Visitor counts show that fewer people overall have been visiting Arizona’s national parks than they did in previous years.

The Marine Corps’ website refers to the bayonet as a Marine’s multipurpose fighting knife and the weapon of choice when shots can’t be fired. Since 2012, several law enforcement agencies in Arizona have acquired 447 bayonets in all through a federal program that distributes surplus military equipment.

Of the nearly 800 fully automatic M-16s Arizona law enforcement organizations have received under a Department of Defense program that gives away surplus military hardware, 13 have gone to a state agency better known for serving farmers and ranchers and protecting consumers.

A write-in candidate has never been elected governor of Arizona, and the odds are long that one ever will be. But don’t tell J. Johnson that.