Starting next week, someone who wants to make a few bucks can whip up some tasty cookies in their kitchen and sell them down at the local farmer’s market with minimal regulations.

Strict enforcement laws like SB1070 sprang from widespread sentiment that the federal government refuses to untangle the illegal immigration mess, leaving states to bear the brunt of its fiscal and societal costs and compelling them to adopt a patchwork of laws to confront the problem.

Like taxes, budget and immigration, the special session that failed to extend unemployment aid to those who have been out of work the longest became another arena in the war to define the soul of the Republican Party.

The program’s most vocal critics and most ardent supporters are, not surprisingly, members of the GOP.

Failing to deliver an extension to unemployment benefits, the first day of the special session instead ended in recrimination that is once again threatening the fragile relationship between Gov. Jan Brewer and the Republican-led Legislature.

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.

“Nothing will persuade me to adopt a failed Keynesian Obama stimulus that is dragging the economy down.” — Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, on the unemployment insurance extension.

Matthew Salenger etched 54 phrases in a circular piece of steel, building Arizona's Sept. 11 memorial one story at a time. He wanted everyone's story to be told. Salenger thought that all of those thoughts could coexist peacefully on a public memorial. He was wrong.

The nation’s highest court has determined there is room for states to enforce federal immigration laws regarding employment, a ruling that proponents and critics are now parsing for any indication on how the Supreme Court will view SB1070.

The chorus of lawmakers calling for an overhaul of the Voter Protection Act quieted to a low murmur in 2011, but supporters say the dormant issue will be back on the Legislature’s agenda next year.

Several Republican legislators said they will revive their plans to change Proposition 105, the 1998 ballot measure that strictly limits the Legislature’s ability to tamper with voter-approved measures.

Attorney Tim Hogan on Monday filed a request for a special action with Arizona Supreme Court aimed at blocking cuts to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, a move that could unbalance the fiscal year 2012 budget by hundreds of millions of dollars.