Arizona attorneys have filed a lawsuit seeking to force the agency that regulates the state's medical marijuana program to accept applications to operate from would-be pot shops.

Western state lawmakers from both parties say they are worried that the federal government's firefighting efforts don't place enough emphasis on prevention, and the result is the kind of devastation taking hold in eastern Arizona, where more than 733 square miles have burned.

By the time Republicans called it a day, it almost seemed like a textbook case of what to do — if you don’t want a special session to succeed.

Months after the red wave from last November, with the tea party gaining steam both in the streets and at the Capitol, some veteran conservative legislators are doing a double-take at where they now stand in their caucuses.

And for some, having a party morph around them, and seeing perceptions shift from “staunch conservative” to “moderate statesman” isn’t necessarily a welcome change.

About 40 people gathered outside the Arizona Legislature to urge lawmakers to keep 20 weeks of federally funded extended unemployment benefits flowing to thousands of Arizonans.

Scottsdale has granted permits to six applicants seeking to open medical-marijuana dispensaries and cultivation sites. The move comes after the state recently halted the dispensary-application process after filing a lawsuit in federal court to determine whether Arizona's medical-marijuana law conflicts with federal drug statutes.

The disastrous Wallow fire and the prospect of a prolonged special session might conspire to keep Brewer from her planned trip to the Paris Air Show with the Commerce Authority.

The Arizona Legislature will reconvene Monday afternoon to consider Gov. Jan Brewer's push to keep 20 weeks of federally funded extended unemployment benefits flowing to thousands of Arizonans.

Biggs, another Republican who has been vocal against extending jobless benefits, is unimpressed by the governor's offer of "accountability safeguards" as a way to check abuse in the unemployment benefits program.

Baring the same determination she employed in pushing for a temporary sales tax hike, Gov. Jan Brewer called for a special session to be held on June 10 to extend aid to jobless Arizonans. But it's unclear whether the votes Brewer needs are there.