Both the eastern and western portions of Tucson’s Saguaro National Park would grow under a bill introduced last week by U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who was joined by Democrats Ron Barber and Ann Kirkpatrick in backing the measure.... Read more»
With the health insurance marketplace created by the federal Affordable Care Act set to open in October, advocates are out to make sure that the message reaches Arizonans who are older or Spanish-speaking.... Read more»
We always hear about how polarized the country is, but on most of the big issues there’s a clear public mandate to go in a certain direction. Congress just needs to listen. The budget is a good example. A Jan. 30 Reason-Rupe poll asked respondents what the country spends too much money on, and the most popular response — at 21 percent, the winner by several points — was “defense/military/wars.”... Read more»1
There will be a path to citizenship for immigrants in this country illegally but not before the border is secure, under a bipartisan Senate bill expected to be filed this week. An outline of the immigration reform bill proposed by the so-called “Gang of 8″ calls for billions more for border security, changes in visa laws, stricter enforcement of laws against hiring illegal immigrants and a pathway to lawful residence in 10 years and, later, citizenship.... Read more»3
Proponents of a bill to let ranchers and loggers operate more freely on federal land said last week that changes are needed to give the U.S. Forest Service help clearing forests before wildfires can break out. But critics said the public and private partnerships envisioned in the bill could open the door to environmentally harmful use of the land.... Read more»
Arizona’s Democratic members of Congress sent this letter — about the closure of the mail sorting facility at Tucson’s Cherrybell post office — to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe on Friday:... Read more»1
Advocates and immigrants from Arizona were among thousands who came to Washington on Wednesday to rally at the Capitol in support of comprehensive immigration reform.... Read more»1
A four-hour congressional hearing grew testy Thursday as House members considered a bill to swap thousands of acres of private and federal land to make way for a massive copper mine in Southeast Arizona.... Read more»
The massive federal budget cuts that will start Friday as part of the “sequester” will damage our economic recovery and mean fewer services here in Southern Arizona. Strip away the conservative economic theories and party-line rhetoric and that’s the reality we’re facing.... Read more»
Hundreds gathered on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to rally in support of a federal voter-protection law that governs mostly Southern states with a history of discrimination, including Arizona.... Read more»
Comprehensive immigration reform could go down as one of the most overlooked, overdue priorities Washington has ever let slide. But whatever Republicans might want to tell themselves, it’s not just immigrants who care about it. “Sorry about your childhood, but don’t come back until we lose a few more elections” is not a serious policy.... Read more»2
Arizona would face millions in budget cuts and see the loss of services to thousands of residents if automatic budget cuts are allowed to take effect Friday, the White House warned. Critics, like Sen. Jeff Flake, accused the administration of engaging in scare tactics.... Read more»
For Arizona lawmakers, President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday was either an urgent national call to arms or a ruinous plan for big government, depending on which side of the aisle they sit on.... Read more»
Sen. Jeff Flake said he met with Rosemary Marquez and will review her writing, making supporters optimistic that the long-delayed judicial nominee will get a hearing after 19 months. Marquez has been nominated to the busy U.S. District Court in Arizona, which faces a crushing caseload, with more vacancies recently announced.... Read more»
Two congressmen wrote to the Department of Interior this week to demand information on the progress of its investigation into whether more than 1,700 federally protected wild horses sold to a Colorado man may have been illegally sent to slaughter.... Read more»
A look at the 2013 commercial and industrial real estate forecast from Hank Amos, owner of Tucson Realty and Trust Company, plus an interview with U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva.... Read more»
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