The federal response to mass unemployment and business closures due to COVID-19 helped fast-track the recovery - but the lasting effects of the pandemic on the labor force and how well prepared policy makers are to handle a potential recession or another pandemic is unclear. Read more»

A proposal by the Census Bureau could overhaul the way it questions race and ethnicity, in an attempt to “ensure that all people are able to identify themselves within one or more of the minimum categories," and "categories reflect meaningful and easy to understand distinctions.” Read more»

Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher seems to want to adjust the county's base budget upward a tad after the Great Recession forced supervisors to push it down. It's part of a plan to recruit talent and invest in roads, as the surplus reaches $159 million. Plus more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

Some years see a big gap between snowfall and the water runoff that follows, and while there is limited data on why the disparity happens, that gap has far-reaching implications for tens of millions of people who draw water from the Colorado River. Read more»

FC Tucson’s women’s side held open tryouts on Mother’s Day this year. The soccer team is hoping to have a better season than last year, when a series of draws and narrow losses toward the end left them out of the playoffs. Read more»

As Title 42 lifted Thursday night, border towns like Nogales were quiet, but the Biden administration faces legal challenges — one from Florida's attorney general and the other from the ACLU — over how to manage migrants coming across the U.S.-Mexico border. Read more»

Straight out of Poway, the lo-fi electronic buzz and thump of post-punk revivalists Crocodiles was cultured in San Diego — and spread around the world. The group will take to the Club Congress stage on Saturday, with "echoes of friends who are no longer with us." Read more»

Believe it or not, there are plenty of great activities to do with mom for Mother's Day, that don't involve lukewarm bacon and kids marveling at stacks of waffles. Here are a few other ways to show your appreciation. Read more»

Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake may have one more shot at challenging the 2022 election, in which she lost to Katie Hobbs by nearly 20,000 votes, and a three-day trial is set for Wednesday through next Friday, depending on Thompson’s decisions. Read more»

With the stroke of a pen on Thursday, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs approved a $17.8 billion dollar budget, despite criticism from progressive organizations and many in her own party. Read more»

The far-right Patriot Party of Arizona has taken on a new form and new leadership, in the form of former GOP state Rep. John Fillmore, who is aiming to distance the group from its founders and reigniting an attempt to make it a full-fledged political party. Read more»

A top Biden administration official said on Friday that there was no “major influx” of migrants rushing to the southern border overnight after the expiration of the emergency public health order used to quickly expel people from the country. Read more»

COVID-19 no fue la única causa de muerte que representó un aumento en las muertes en Arizona en 2021: un aumento en las muertes por conducir ebrio en las carreteras del estado ese año estuvo entre los más altos de la nación. Read more»

The executive task force for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples - established by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs - held their inaugural meeting and will prepare and submit a report annually on or before Dec. 1 to Hobbs with recommendations for administrative or legislative action. Read more»

A sharply divided U.S. House passed a border security package Thursday - dubbed the Secure the Border Act and approved largely along party lines - that was heavily influenced by Texas Republicans who took the reins on their party’s border agenda this year. Read more»