Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and two councilwomen say they will seek an ordinance requiring city contractors to provide equal pay for male and female employees. Stanton says gender wage discrimination "is simply something we cannot tolerate anymore." Read more»

While the 2015 Super Bowl will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, the economic impact will be felt across the Valley, Arizona Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said Friday. Read more»

A cigarette tax higher than neighboring states and cheaper prices on American Indian reservations have helped fuel a growing black market for cigarettes in Arizona, according a study by a Washington, D.C., think tank. Read more»

A study of advertising placed during the recent Super Bowl in New Jersey suggests the volume of sex trafficking that will occur when the event comes to Arizona in 2015 will likely exceed the ability of any one law enforcement agency to address. Read more»

A window washer's idea turned into a Phoenix business producing flags and flagpoles large and small. Spend a few minutes with employees of American Flag & Pole Co., which for more than 30 years has been producing and selling U.S. and Arizona flags. Read more»

Sixty-six firearms were confiscated at Sky Harbor in 2013, trailing only three other U.S. airports, according to the TSA. In just the past week, security checkpoints there have taken away a stun gun, brass knuckles, toys and lighters shaped like hand grenades, a circular saw, a golf club, souvenir bats, a bowling pin and a slingshot. Read more»

A new state website will allow registered voters to rate and comment on pending legislation and propose ideas for future changes. Secretary of State Ken Bennett said Arizona Voices, AZVoices.gov, will help connect lawmakers and their constituents. Read more»

Daniel Cauffman, 21, can speak candidly about the physical abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepmother when he was a child. He was one of several young people to give testimony Tuesday alongside regional experts at a public hearing for the advisory committee to the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence. Read more»

Saying that voting can help former felons reintegrate into everyday life, a state lawmaker wants to make it easier for them to get back that right. “I think that people that have served their time and paid their debt to society that it’s important for them to get their most fundamental right – constitutional right – the right to vote, to get it back,” said Rep. Martín J. Quezada, D-Phoenix. Read more» 2

A state lawmaker wants to remove a requirement that children of active-duty military members attend public school for 100 days before applying for a state program that helps families pay for educational alternatives. Read more»

Yuma, Pinal and Coconino counties had Arizona’s worst overall election performances in 2012, according to a report released Thursday by a progressive advocacy group. Read more» 1