Arizona judge rules common practice of validating ballot signatures illegal
A practice used by some, if not all, Arizona counties to verify signatures on early ballots may be illegal.
Goldwater Institute files petition seeking to allow all state voters to consider judges’ retention
The Goldwater Institute filed a special action petition seeking to allow all Arizona voters to weigh in on retention for Arizona Court of Appeals judges, not just those in their jurisdiction, and alleges the current residency-based retention system sows voter disenfranchisement and violates the Arizona Constitution.
For small biz reliant on summer tourism, extreme weather is the new pandemic
For small businesses that rely on summer tourism to keep afloat, extreme weather in Arizona and other states is replacing the pandemic as the determining factor in how well a summer will go.
House panel considers policy to stop elected officials requesting social media post takedowns
A House panel discussed potential legislative reform that would keep state officials from compelling social media companies to remove posts they disagree with.
Horne cancels more than $70M in covid relief for tutoring program
The Arizona Department of Education clawed back more than $70 million in Covid grant funding to make way for a $40 million statewide tutoring program.
Wadsack recall effort fails
A group aiming to recall Sen. Justine Wadsack, R-Tucson, failed to collect enough signatures by today’s filing deadline, and ultimately did not turn in their signatures to the secretary of state.
Jobless rate is down, wages up, but not all is worth celebrating
Arizona’s unemployment is at the lowest rate in decades, there are more jobs than workers available to fill them and salaries are inching up, all of which should be good indicators for workers. Experts say – it depends.
Indigenous people unite to navigate abortion access after Roe
Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade a year ago, demand for Indigenous Women Rising, a national fund that covers the costs of abortions – and the traditional ceremonies that follow – for Indigenous people has skyrocketed.
Petersen and Toma trying to torpedo deal that would lead to state’s obligation to pay for gender-affirming surgery
Top Republican lawmakers are trying to torpedo a deal that would result in a court order that would forever obligate the state to pay for gender-affirming surgery for its employees and dependents.
Organizations advocating for homeless residents’ rights drop lawsuit aimed at preventing ‘sweeps’
Three organizations advocating for rights for the homeless have quietly dropped their lawsuit to prevent "sweeps'' of encampments by the city of Tucson.
State Republicans can vote as usual in next year’s presidential preference election
Arizona Republicans will get to vote as usual in next year's presidential preference election after the head of the state party rejected a demand from leaders of the Maricopa County GOP to cancel the state-run election and instead run the vote themselves.
Student and teacher mental health programming supported by Covid funds could be in limbo
Student and educator mental health programming supported by Covid grant relief funds may be in limbo after the Arizona Department of Education requested reports on the efficacy in remedying learning loss.