Maricopa County Homeless Count Planned for Late January

A count of the homeless people living in Maricopa County will take place later this month in an effort to learn who’s experiencing homelessness and the resources they need. The Maricopa Association of Governments coordinates the Point-in-Time homeless count in Maricopa County each year to secure homeless-assistance funding from the…

Arizona Child Support Lien Screwup Infuriates Thousands

Thousands of Arizonans who paid off their child-support debt continued to be marked as subject to property liens because of a state Department of Economic Security screw-up that officials say is almost fixed. Ticked-off customers — including some with lawyers — finally drove the agency to do something about the…

Union Leaders Call Off Phoenix Bus Driver Strike

The hundred thousand people who rely on Phoenix buses to get to and from work or around town every day can rest assured because the bus strike has been called off – at least for now. With about 90 minutes left before 650 bus drivers were set to go on…

Arizona Requires No Cannabis Testing for Pesticides, Despite Recalls in Colorado

In Colorado, the past 16 weeks have seen 15 recalls of cannabis products because of pesticides, including the largest such recall last week. The state’s one of several that now mandate or encourage testing of recreational marijuana for contaminants. But in Arizona, the products of medical-marijuana sellers and cultivators never have…

Phoenix Bus Drivers Will Strike, Union Leaders Say

About 650 bus drivers in Phoenix will go on strike at tonight at midnight, according to local transportation union leaders. Bob Bean, president of the local Amalgamated Transit Union chapter says the strike, which will affect 75 percent of bus routes in Phoenix, comes after weeks of failed negotiations between…

Arizona’s Jon Ritzheimer Is In Oregon With Bundy Protest 2.0

Arizona’s infamous anti-Islam leader, Jon Ritzheimer, is hunkered down with a about a dozen other armed “patriots” in buildings on a federal wildlife refuge as part of an armed protest against the federal government. He’s been in Harney County, a rural ranching area in eastern Oregon, for at least a…

Radioactive Dust Surges Near Mine Close to Grand Canyon

With mere days left for the public to comment on whether Arizona should renew air-quality permits for three uranium mines near the Grand Canyon, multiple tests found that the amount of uranium dust in soil near one of the mines is four times higher than background levels. Energy Fuels Incorporated,…

Phoenix Area Listed as “Buggiest” in United States

Metro Phoenix tops the list for urban areas infested with creepy critters, a services-finding website says. Thumbtack.com is like an Angie’s List competitor and one of the top websites in the country, hooking up Internet users with services like music lessons, home repair, and, of course, pest-control services. Unlike a…

MomForce AZ’s Goal Is Getting Senior Citizens Over Their Fear of Marijuana

Kathy Inman’s organization has a unique mission: Convincing Arizona’s senior-citizen voters that marijuana legalization is a good idea. “It’s about breaking the stereotype,” says Inman, executive director of the pot-advocacy group MomForce AZ. “For a lot of years, it was promoted as a part of the hippie society, and older folks don’t…

Phoenix Leads Nation in Morons Shining Lasers at Airplanes

More fools in Phoenix have pointed lasers at aircraft than in any other city in the United States so far this year, the Federal Aviation Administration statistics show.  There have been 170 reported events here in 2015 — nearly double the 93 incidents from last year — making Phoenix first in…

Arizona Churches Offer Sanctuary from January Immigration Raids

As immigration enforcement officials prepare to round up and deport about 15,000 undocumented immigrants, a network of Arizona faith leaders are mobilizing to shield families. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is finalizing plans, but, according to an article published just before Christmas by the Washington Post’s Jerry Markon and David…