Law & Government
There is no ‘practice of filming pornography’ in Arizona schools
A Republican state senator is urging the Arizona governor to sign a bill that would end the “practice of filming pornography in K-12 schools,” something that is currently not allowed or encouraged at public schools in the state. Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, put out a statement earlier this week asking Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs […]
Hobbs flies LGBTQ pride flags on the AZ executive tower for first time ever
For the first time, pride flags are flying from Arizona’s executive tower. On Thursday, the start of the official month-long celebration of LGBTQ communities across the country, Gov. Katie Hobbs decorated the Ninth Floor balcony with four pride flags. The Democrat, a staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights, vowed in a statement to continue working to […]
Arizona school voucher program growth explodes to $900 million for the upcoming school year
Arizona’s universal school voucher program that was estimated to cost only $65 million is now poised to cost the state $900 million over the next year, exceeding its available funding by hundreds of millions of dollars. John Ward, chief auditor for the Arizona Department of Education, said Wednesday the skyrocketing price tag is due to […]
Happy Pride Month. Creepy, bully Republican lawmakers are fixated on assaulting our community.
Happy Pride Month, America, where LGBTQ+ people are under constant assault by bully Republican lawmakers who are weirdly obsessed with our community, especially the transgender members of it. Transgender people — especially transgender people of color — have been leading the activist charge toward LGBTQ+ human rights and equality since the beginning, literally throwing the […]
GOP-led states plan new voter data systems to replace one they rejected. Good luck with that.
So far this year, seven states, all Republican-led, have left the Electronic Registration Information Center, an interstate compact for sharing voter registration data, and more could follow. Amid the exodus, some states, including Texas and Virginia, have said they plan to create their own data-sharing networks to replace ERIC. Pledging to build a new system […]
Chad Campbell, former Dem legislative leader, will be Katie Hobbs’ new chief of staff
After several staff shake ups in the past few months, Gov. Katie Hobbs has hired former Arizona House of Representatives Democratic Leader Chad Campbell as her new chief of staff. Campbell is set to begin his work in the governor’s office on Monday. This comes after Hobbs’ former chief of staff, Allie Bones, resigned suddenly […]
Appeals court says some marijuana sales convictions can be expunged
Some convictions for marijuana sales are eligible for expungement under Proposition 207, which legalized the drug for adult use, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. “This will allow (people who have been convicted) to mitigate the generational impact of their involvement with the criminal legal system, which affects Black and Brown people and people […]
AZ senator who spearheaded QAnon-linked COVID hearing spread QAnon online
A Republican state senator who denied that a COVID conspiracy hearing she spearheaded last week that was marketed with a QAnon acronym had anything to do with the dangerous conspiracy theory had, in fact, posted lots of QAnon content on social media — including the very acronym used by the committee. A report Tuesday by […]
Senate COVID hearing light on facts, heavy on misinformation
A two-day special hearing at the Arizona Senate aimed at examining the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was rife with conspiracy theories, misinformation and fear-mongering around vaccines and public health — all endorsed by the Republican state legislators who sat and listened intently and offered no pushback. The Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee featured […]
Hobbs issues 99th veto: Rejects election denialism, photo radar ban
Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday issued five more vetoes, rejecting Republican-led bills that state officials warned would have undermined and overcomplicated elections in Arizona. With her five new vetoes, Hobbs has so far delivered 99 rejections in her first term as governor, the most of any of her predecessors. One of the vetoes, Senate Bill […]
AZ bears the brunt of voluntary Colorado River cuts, but water usage won’t be limited
Arizona’s water officials stand behind the proposal submitted by the Lower Colorado River Basin States, which prioritizes voluntary water conservation efforts from the state and tribal Nations, and say that Arizonans won’t need to use less water, even as the state will bear the brunt of cutting 3 million acre-feet. Through the Lower Basin Plan, […]
It’s not ‘drug dealers’ who are killing us, it’s drug stigma
“If I die as a result of a drug overdose, I request that no one be charged, prosecuted, or held criminally responsible for my death. This decision is being made in part to challenge the oppressive and false dichotomy between people who use drugs and people who sell drugs. We are, more often than not, […]