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Mesa businessman Bob Worsley has fired the first shot in the primary race against former Senate President Russell Pearce, calling him out for spearheading a boycott campaign against the advertisers of an alternative newspaper.

A group of Arizona retailers called on Gov. Jan Brewer this week to support legislation that would tax their online competitors, but the lawmaker trying to help broker the deal says the future of the “Amazon bill” is still unclear. The so-called brick-and-mortar retailers want online companies that have a physical presence in the state to be taxed at the same level they are.

Graduate students at Arizona’s three public universities will see across-the-board tuition increases in the next academic year, under plans submitted by university presidents and approved by the state Board of Regents today.

WASHINGTON – Banks are neglecting foreclosed homes in minority neighborhoods compared to those in white communities, according to a housing advocacy group that said it will file Fair Housing Act complaints over the supposed practice.

Gov. Jan Brewer used a veto of a Tucson development district bill to send a lengthy message to legislators about her budget priorities. Brewer's letter explaining the veto Monday of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District says it is unwise to approve legislation with spending or tax changes before there's agreement on a new state budget.

An ambitious economic development bill meant to be a follow-up to the 2011 Arizona Competitiveness Package will jettison some of its more contentious provisions due to the Ninth Floor’s concerns that it will cost too much money.

But lawmakers and business groups pushing the bill say they’re optimistic that an agreement will be reached with Gov. Jan Brewer to cut state taxes on capital gains — the core component of the bill — even if they’re unable to achieve the outright elimination many GOP legislators sought earlier in the session.

A bill to require drug testing for all applicants for unemployment benefits is alive but apparently in trouble at the Arizona Legislature. The bill has already been approved by the Senate but it barely emerged from a House committee on a 7-6 vote Thursday.

An economic development bill championed by Rep. J.D. Mesnard and House Speaker Andy Tobin passed the Senate Appropriations Committee with unanimous GOP support, but several Republicans said they had concerns about the measure and even the bill’s sponsor said it’s likely to undergo changes.

Arizona's tax collections in February dropped from the same month a year ago, raising questions about its impact on the state's fiscal situation.

WASHINGTON – Lori Nelson didn’t choose to leave Phoenix’s construction industry – she was forced out. After a three-decade career in construction ended abruptly when she was laid off in 2009, Nelson had to choose between leaving Phoenix to find construction work elsewhere or changing careers to stay in the city with her family.