A proposal that would require Arizona high school students to pass a civics test before graduating may soon become a reality. The test would require high school students to correctly answer 60 of the 100 questions asked of immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens, which includes general knowledge questions about…
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this morning in the case of a small church blocked from putting up signs around Gilbert that advertise its Sunday Services. The case of Reed vs. Town of Gilbert is getting a lot of press today, being billed as a major free-speech or religious…
At least three Republican lawmakers are looking to prevent welfare benefits from being spent at fast-food restaurants in Arizona. The bill submitted by Republican Representative Kelly Townsend is one of a handful of bills submitted before this year’s legislative session has begun. The legislation would ban the use of electronic…
Some Arizona lawmakers are proposing that Arizona adopt daylight saving time. Arizona’s one of only two states where DST isn’t observed (Hawaii is the other), and one of the bill’s sponsors told us why he thinks it’s time for Arizona to join the rest. “My rationale is simply that it’s…
Doug Ducey took office today as Arizona’s 23rd governor, pledging in his inauguration speech to fix the state’s fiscal problems without raising taxes. Standing before a crowd of several thousand at the State Capitol in Phoenix, the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery made financial and education issues a focus,…
The 133 disputed votes won’t be counted in the congressional race between Democratic Congressman Ron Barber and Republican challenger Martha McSally. The Barber campaign came up short in its bid to get the votes counted, and state officials approved the election results in a ceremony this morning. “The Court finds…
This week, Democratic Congressman Ron Barber’s campaign filed a federal lawsuit over 133 votes that were cast, not counted, in the race for his congressional seat. The margin between Barber and Republican challenger Martha McSally is close enough — 161 votes — to require a recount, and despite the ongoing…
Democratic Arizona lawmaker and former Navajo Nation President Albert Hale was arrested on Sunday night on suspicion of DUI. The state Department of Public Safety, which made the arrest, declined comment. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Hale, 64, was booked into jail in Holbrook and later released…
A campaign to recall Diane Douglas, voters’ choice for the new Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, has filed organizing paperwork with the state. Douglas won’t be sworn in to her new office until January 5. But the Republican, anti-Common-Core politician has already drawn plenty of criticism — and not just…
Lingering on a road median in Phoenix can now mean a possible fine or jail time, but police are required to give first-time warnings to offenders. In an apparent effort to limit a dangerous form of panhandling, the Phoenix City Council last week passed an ordinance that bans pedestrians from…
Democratic Congressman Ron Barber’s campaign has filed a federal lawsuit over 133 votes that were cast, not counted, in the race for his congressional seat. Republican challenger Martha McSally leads Barber by 161 votes, but with a recount imminent, Barber’s not giving up yet. “We are talking about 133 Southern…
President Obama is going to outline the details of his executive action dealing with immigration tomorrow evening. “Tomorrow night I’m going to be announcing here from the White House, some steps that I can take to start fixing our broken immigration,” Obama said in a video released on Facebook…
Arizona is one of 14 states where the population of unauthorized immigrants decreased from 2009 to 2012, according to data released today by the Pew Research Center. According to the organization’s analysis, Arizona’s unauthorized immigrant population dropped from around 350,000 people to 300,000 people. Only New York and California had…
In southern Arizona’s Second Congressional District, Republican Martha McSally has claimed victory over Democratic Congressman Ron Barber, as a count of all the ballots has put McSally up 161 votes on Barber. “All ballots are now counted and the voters have made their choice,” McSally said in a statement. “We…
Last night, the Red Mountain Tea Party hosted its second speaker in a row who heads an organization found on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of hate groups. Bradlee Dean, called an activist, author, and radio show host in fliers publicizing the event–and called “rabidly anti-gay” by the SPLC–presented…
Republican Martha McSally has lost her bid to stop certain provisional ballots from being counted in her race against Ron Barber for Arizona’s Congressional District Two seat. With all precincts accounted for but some ballots remaining to be counted, McSally, an Air Force veteran, is winning by fewer than 400…
Diane Douglas, the self-taught constitutionalist, former Peoria school-board member and one-issue Republican candidate, is the official winner of the race for state schools chief. Besides the fact that her victory solidifies GOP dominance in state government, it remains unclear how much damage Douglas could do. But if the political novice…
Arizona’s 2005 law that makes smuggling undocumented immigrants a state crime has been struck down by a federal judge. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton declared that the law was “preempted by federal law and is permanently enjoined” in an order released late Friday. Bolton’s order has the effect of…
An insidious ad campaign in key Republican races “depressed” Arizona Democratic voters in order to keep them at home on Tuesday, says losing candidate Terry Goddard. We ran into Goddard and Sandra Kennedy at Phoenix’s Giant Coffee this morning and stole some of their time for a few election post-mortem…
There’s a line from Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost, after Lucifer falls into the pit, that summarizes the predicament of Democrats in Arizona. “Fall’n Cherub,” the Dark Prince tells a cohort, “to be weak is miserable, doing or suffering.” Hard on the heels of Tuesday’s Election Day massacre for the…
Several races from Tuesday’s general election remained too close to call on Wednesday afternoon. The southern Arizona Congressional race between incumbent Democrat Ron Barber and Republican Martha McSally was one of them. However, McSally was retaining a slight lead over Barber and some were predicting he’d have trouble overcoming it…
As you now know, Tuesday night was a stunning upset for Democrats across the country. In a burst of mid-term politician fatigue, Americans put majority power in the hands of the U.S. Senate and firmed up the GOP stronghold in the House. Arizona’s Republican victory shouldn’t have been as shocking…
