Buckmaster: Focusing on gratitude during the holidays

Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward and her team spent more than $530,000 on what one GOP consultant said were “vanity projects” designed to boost her ego instead of winning races on an election that ultimately ended in disaster for Republicans in Arizona. Read more»   

As schools across Arizona face down an impending fiscal cliff, lawmakers met on Thursday to discuss what their options are — despite the fact that legislation to address the issue has been ready to go since the session started. Read more»   

Democrats' dissent wasn’t enough to stop the Arizona House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee from passing four Republican-sponsored bills aimed to instill faith in the election process back into voters, whom Republicans say have less trust following recent elections. Read more»   

Descendants of the four surviving Hia-Ced O’odham families who fled their ancestral lands in the mid-1800s to escape yellow fever are researching the history of the Hia-Ced to prove their existence, and working to advocate for recognition with the federal government. Read more»   

Amid an unusually wet winter and after last summer's strong monsoon, Arizona may be better off than other Southwest states as it continues to battle a 23-year drought - but while the snowpack is high, the Southwest’s reservoirs remain lower than average. Read more»   

Fentanyl dealers linked to an overdose death could face the death penalty under an Arizona Republican proposal that critics say will also sweep up drug addicts and send them to death row. Read more»   

Homelessness disproportionately affects veterans, but the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that a variety of efforts to help veterans find housing has resulted in the rate dropping 11% in the past three years nationwide and more than 50% since 2010. Read more»   

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego is a former Marine Corps combat officer and it shows, as he guns the engine on his U.S. Senate campaign. He is reading the terrain well, surrounding himself with good commanders and has just seized the high ground. Read more»   

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed her sixth executive order Wednesday, establishing an independent prison oversight commission to improve the transparency and accountability of Arizona’s corrections system. Read more»