Arizona's Medicaid agency faces a $1 billion budget shortfall at the start of the 2012 fiscal year as stimulus assistance from the federal government expires, yet another sobering reminder of the fiscal fiasco Arizona is in.

The Arizona Legislature has taken the first step to repeal cuts to health care programs in order to comply with the federal health care law and avoid losing nearly $8 billion in federal funding.

The priciest federally funded transportation project in Arizona will end up costing much less than originally projected.

What do an FBI fraud team, a showdown between a governor and the legislature, and a sophisticated online system called geographic information systems have in common? All are part of states' efforts to ensure that billions in federal stimulus money are spent wisely within their borders.

State agencies are submitting their reports to the Governor's Office of Economic Recovery for the first comprehensive look at how Arizona has been impacted by the federal stimulus act. The Office of Economic Recovery, which oversees the state's use of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will collect the data through Oct. 6 and plans to submit a report to federal officials two days later.

The federal government paid out all but $1 billion of the anticipated $49 billion in stimulus money for states and localities for fiscal 2009, a Congressional watchdog reported Sept. 23. But while stimulus dollars helped states patch holes in their budgets, "states will continue to be fiscally strained," the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in its latest bimonthly report of how 16 selected states are using and tracking their recovery money.

Gov. Jan Brewer on Sept. 18 approved the use of $50 million in federal stimulus money to help pay the salaries of Department of Corrections officers. The $50 million is the first portion awarded by Brewer from a pool of stimulus money called the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Government Services Fund. The $185 million pool can be used by the governor for essentially any government services she wants.

Arizona's plan to widen the congested streets of U.S. 60 - our own Grand Avenue - became the 6,000th highway project in the nation this week to be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or federal stimulus. This project puts nearly $45 million to work in Maricopa County, bringing desperately needed jobs to our state. But Sen. Jon Kyl said he doesn't approve of this economic boost to Arizona.

Any budget deal reached by Gov. Jan Brewer and the Legislature might come with a big warning label for Arizona educators - enjoy your stimulus money while it lasts, because it won't last long.

TEMPE - Salt River Project has applied for more than $80 million in stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy for smart metering and smart electrical grid projects.