Independents, with a lowercase i, are now Arizona’s biggest voter group
The largest political party in Arizona is no longer a party. The latest voter registration numbers from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office show that independent voters edged out Republicans in July to become the largest single group of voters in the state.
Toma and Petersen claim doctors have no legal right to challenge abortion ban
Arizona's top two Republican lawmakers say doctors have no legal right to challenge a 2021 ban the GOP-controlled Legislature enacted on abortions due to fetal abnormalities because they aren't saying they intend to violate it.
Smugglers steering migrants into remote desert, posing new Border Patrol challenges
Border Patrol agents ordered the young Senegalese men to wait in the scant shade of desert scrub brush while they loaded a more vulnerable group of migrants — a family with three young children from India — into a white van for the short trip in triple-degree heat to a canopied field intake center.
Effort to regulate short-term rentals will resume
Stakeholders and lawmakers say that they will renew efforts in the next legislative session to increase municipalities’ ability to restrict short-term rentals to increase the amount of long-term rental properties and for-sale residential properties.
Alternative micro-school fails to meet zoning laws
Tia Howard wanted to start her own micro-school. So, she contracted with a curriculum provider, found a piece of rural residential land, signed a contract and made a $5,000 deposit. But Howard soon found Pinal County’s zoning code does not account for micro-schools. And per an interpretation from the county, a micro-school would be barred from rural residential land as it does not fall under the[...]
GOP leader telling executive committee meeting might not be legally, logistically possible this week
The leader of the Arizona Republican Party is telling members of the party's executive committee that it may not be legally or logistically possible to hold a meeting this week to consider canceling the state-run presidential primary election.
Some US airports strive to make flying more inclusive for those with dementia
Over 14 million people are expected to check into airports nationwide for Labor Day weekend and, inevitably, some will be travelers with dementia or another cognitive impairment. Nearly a dozen airports — from Phoenix to Kansas City, Mo. — in the last few years have modified their facilities and operations to be more dementia-friendly, advocates say.
Sierra Club report card lauds environmental funding, laments climate inaction
The Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter Wednesday released its fall 2023 Environmental Report Card for the Arizona Legislature and governor, and though the organization gave a majority of the state’s legislators negative marks for climate inaction, it praised the state budget’s climate initiatives.
Top prosecutors back compensation for those sickened by US nuclear weapons testing
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and 13 other top prosecutors from around the U.S. are throwing their support behind efforts to compensate people sickened by exposure to radiation during nuclear weapons testing.
Catholic hospital mergers threaten access to reproductive care – even in abortion ‘safe havens’
As more and more states ban abortion following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, patients have flocked to states where the procedure remains legal. But even in those places, reproductive services may be tougher to come by because of the rise of Catholic-run health care.
Scottsdale will no longer house people from ‘The Zone’ with hotel housing program
The City of Scottsdale is walking back a provision that would have sheltered people residing in a large homeless encampment in Phoenix after a Republican lawmaker’s intervention.
Legacy of Native American boarding schools comes into view through new interactive map
A group focused on shedding more light on the troubled legacy of boarding schools where Indigenous children were stripped of their culture and language as part of assimilation efforts released a new interactive map that includes dozens of additional schools in the U.S. and Canada.