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

Drawing groundwater from near a stream can suck that stream dry. In turn, using all the water in streams and rivers lessens their ability to replenish the aquifers beneath them. Yet California and Arizona -- the two states water experts say are facing the most severe water crises -- continue to count and regulate groundwater and surface water as if they were entirely separate.

A year after a tense standoff between a Nevada rancher's armed supporters and federal land agents, Cliven Bundy is hosting a barbecue and celebration to mark the event that vaulted him into tea party stardom.

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.

Moises de la Cruz grows corn on a 7-acre plot of mountainous land 120 miles north of the Mexico-Guatemala border just as his father did and his father before him. He has never heard of the North American Free Trade Agreement but is profoundly aware that his life as a farmer has drastically changed over the past 20 years.

The removal of a controversial provision didn’t go far enough to bring critics of a livestock cruelty bill on board, but the House of Representatives still narrowly passed the legislation.

A proposal that would allow the creation of new agencies to secure new regional water supplies is stalled in the Arizona House, but Speaker Andy Tobin says he's not convinced opposition from Yuma farmers means the bill won't move this year.

Farmers and businessmen from Yuma said House Speaker Andy Tobin invited them to a meeting Thursday to discuss his proposed comprehensive long-term water plan for Arizona – but then he stood them up.

House Speaker Andy Tobin is sailing ahead in his attempt to pass a comprehensive long-term water plan for the state, even in the face of a flood of opposition from rural cities, counties, ranchers, farmers and conservationists.

Tobin’s marquee water legislation, HB2338, headed for a vote in the House Water and Agriculture Committee on Feb. 19. But when opponents showed up en masse, the committee decided not to hold a vote.

A federal agency is backing a request from Gov. Jan Brewer to declare a drought disaster that will help ranchers and farmers.

Zimmerman Diary has been operating in Arizona for nearly 90 years, but its long-lasting success doesn’t mean its third-generation owners haven’t had to innovate to survive along the way. Facing rising costs, in March 2011 the Zimmermans installed a shiny new fixture they say will enable them to continue to stay in business regardless of electricity rates.