WEEKEND NEWS & VIEWS
Feb. 17-18
Retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko to run for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
Lesko will run to represent District 4, a conservative-leaning area that stretches across the northwestern Valley, encompassing some of the same geographic area as her congressional district.
‘They want to take your gun rights’: Lawmakers push for firearms at state Capitol rally
A lineup of gun rights advocates, including state politicians, spoke at the event, which, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety was attended by approximately 500 people.
Arizonans want federal immigration reform. Why our senators have been failing for decades
Last week, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s attempt to pass a major bipartisan immigration measure failed in Congress after Republicans turned against it, spurred on by former President Donald Trump.
Trump to Democrats eager to run on border issues: ‘Go ahead. Make my day’
Opinion: Republicans killed the border deal, and now Democrats think it’s their attack issue. But they’re wrong. Dead wrong.
Why were there 2 national anthems at the Super Bowl? Don’t ask Tom Horne
Opinion: Arizona’s school chief is making it difficult to properly debate controversies rooted in history, like the national anthem at the Super Bowl.
Gov. Katie Hobbs kills Republican-backed budget with veto, calls plan an ‘insult to Arizonans’
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Thursday vetoed a Republican-backed budget that would have kept year-over-year spending steady and curbed her power to fund Democratic policy priorities in her first year in office.
Proposal would force Arizona Gov. Hobbs to disclose campaign finances sooner
If a GOP lawmaker gets his way, Arizonans won’t have to wait until January 2026 to find out who Gov. Katie Hobbs has been hitting up for money and how much is in her war chest for her reelection and bid to put Democrats in charge of the Legislature.
Voter registration deadline for Arizona’s presidential primary is Feb. 20.
Arizona’s first major election of the year is about to begin, and it’s time to get registered if you wish to participate.
Republicans vote to end early voting. Democrats cheer (at least, they should)
Opinion: A Republican panel votes to strip Arizonans of our right to vote early. It’s almost as if they’re begging the Democrats to win control of the Legislature this fall.
RELATED:Republicans want to roll back the clock 30 years and end no-excuse early voting
House Republicans want to return Arizona to a “pre-1991” voting system in which the vast majority of voters must cast their ballot in person on Election Day.
Fueled by ‘conspiracy theory,’ Republicans are pushing for strict rules on ballot tabulators
Elections officials said they had a multitude of problems with the proposal from one of the most strident election denier
House committee passes bill making secret recordings a felony
A proposal to make felons out of those who secretly record phone conversations is causing some alarm among a group that sometimes uses the tactic: journalists.
Federal regulators deny permits for hydropower projects on Navajo Nation
Federal energy officials took the unusual step of denying permits Thursday to several pumped hydropower projects proposed on the Navajo Nation, citing a new policy that gives tribes a greater voice in projects on their lands.
ASU partners with the Department of Defense to identify missing Vietnam soldiers in Cambodia
More than 15,000 American soldiers are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War and they
Arizona cannabis industry trending toward sales record as medical continues to flounders
As 2023 hit its 11th month, sales trends in the Arizona cannabis industry continued a familiar pattern with the adult-use, recreational market more than tripling that of the medical sector.
RELATED: Ariz. lawmakers push for interstate marijuana commerce
House Bill 2770 would allow marijuana to be sold across state lines, but the bill is contingent on the federal legalization of cannabis.
Yellow Sheet
JUDGE’S BROTHER’S TWEETS SPUR MOTION FOR DISQUALIFICATION: Petersen and Toma filed a motion to change judge for cause in their challenge to the 023 Elections Procedure Manual because Judge Timothy Ryan’s brother, Tom Ryan, called the legislative leaders“Yahoos” on social media and deemed the suit frivolous in a thread. “In light of these developments – and even assuming that Judge Ryan is not subjectively persuaded by his brother’s foundational misunderstandings of legislative standing principles – the plaintiffs have ample reason to believe that they ‘cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial,’” the duo’s attorney Thomas Basile wrote. . . more
