In a rare show of bipartisan agreement, the Arizona state Senate voted down a bill aimed at addressing the housing crisis on the grounds it doesn’t actually increase affordable housing and strips away powers from cities and towns to guide development to meet local needs. Read more»

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero launched her reelection campaign this week, timing it with the celebration of International Women's Day as she boasted the work she's done for the homeless, small businesses and families in the city. Read more»

Tucson has felt some of the first tangible results of the 2022 midterms, as the Arizona Attorney General's Office just told city officials that "source of income" protection for renters is kosher under state law. Read more»

During its Tuesday study session, the Tucson City Council will discuss a new plan by the RTA Citizen's Advisory Committee, that seems to do right by the Pueblo Viejo. But fiar is in the eye of the beholder. Plus more in local government meetings. Read more»

Remember that drop in student test scores during the pandemic that would no doubt take us eons to recover from, leaving an entire generation academically wrecked? It's just taken a year to start getting back on track. Plus more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

Arizona community activist groups are calling on Gov. Katie Hobbs to take steps to address the affordable housing crisis, scholarships for low-income students and paid family and medical leave - proposals which are likely already dead in the Republican-controlled legislature. Read more»

For Arizona residents, the job market has tilted in favor of job seekers in a way rarely seen - but there are reasons for workers to be concerned that wages are not keeping up with costs. Read more»

Residents who have struggled with high rent in Phoenix are calling on city officials to pass an ordinance addressing discrimination against renters who receive public assistance - similar to an ordinance passed by the Tucson City Council in September that is currently on hold. Read more»

Arizona lawmakers were told that a proposal to force cities to remove all homeless encampments and charge everyone living in them with trespassing was likely unconstitutional, but they nonetheless gave the measure a thumbs up. Read more»

The number of people behind bars is up 30% in Pima County, but jail staffing is down 45 percent in the wake of the pandemic. This is a problem without any obvious solution. The county supes are in a tight spot. Plus more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

Tucson and Pima County will both take up measures and – let's face it – outright hopes and prayers about how to address the needs of people who need emergency housing. Plus more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

As mobile homes continue to be displaced by development across Arizona, a bipartisan bill would increase allotments dispersed by the Mobile Home Relocation Fund, and increase the amount the landlord must pay to the fund for each tenant filing for relocation assistance. Read more»

With a possible recession on the horizon and amid great economic uncertainty, the state of Arizona will have quite a bit of extra cash in its general fund this year — but that excess will quickly dwindle in the next few years with current spending. Read more»

The city of Tucson received 15,000 pre-applications for housing and Section 8 voucher waitlists in January. About 2,000 residents will be randomly approved to move ahead with full applications this year, with the first to be notified by Feb. 15. 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»