The firing of Superintendent Anna Battle with no public discussion Tuesday night may not be surprising given the fact that two board members were elected with a theme of change. It is disturbing to some in the community, while others appear happy. The lack of information is sad, but the fina…

Arizonans are for the most part reluctant about the way election seasons run together, but the U.S. Senate contest looming in 2024 takes the situation to a new level. The fact that it could be a three-way race has generated activity at the beginning of 2023. Many are bound to resist paying a…

Crimes that result in a loss of life are always troubling, but the murder of a 14-year-old girl in Coolidge Jan. 19 is especially so. That is because it happened as a drive-by shooting and four people have been arrested, none of them from Coolidge.

The city of Casa Grande is methodically moving toward establishing an on-demand transit service beginning later this year. Part of that process is involving citizens with planning, which is a great idea since public participation and usage is what makes such services successful. The city pre…

The Legislature is in session and Arizona is beginning to feel the effects of divided government. There has already been talk of a government shutdown in July; we can hope it doesn’t happen. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has staked out some positions that are bound to have tough sledding even …

The Arizona Legislature is in session, and as usual many bills were prepared in advance. Fortunately, many of those will go nowhere due to the fact that overall they are not beneficial to Arizonans. One of those would end property taxes for those without a mortgage.

Many people living or spending time in Pinal County might be surprised to learn that Arizona has a serious shortage of housing. The wrong impression would come because housing construction has been everywhere, in the cities and towns or places in between. However, it is helpful to think of t…

Arizona has a complicated system of school finance. A small part of it came about with a 1980 law that puts an aggregate spending cap on school district spending. In recent years, the state has made a serious effort to increase school funding because Arizona ranks low in that. This has resul…

The Arizona Legislature stepped up last year with some major funding to widen Interstate 10 between Casa Grande and Chandler. There also were high hopes for a federal grant that would have sped the project by allowing more work at the same time. However, that didn’t happen, and Pinal County …

The process of elections has been controversial in recent years, and Pinal County is no exception. The primary in August had problems, and now we’ve learned that the November general election was not flawless. However, when many things are put under a microscope, they are not exactly as they…

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has a new program that will begin testing water for 29 types of the chemical PFAS. Short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, these chemicals have been manufactured since the late 1940s. Used in many products and industries globally, they n…

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich apparently decided to keep working until the end. Preparing to leave office after his last term allowed by law, he along with staff filed a civil action this week to reclaim $1.7 million that was paid improperly to the Buckeye Elementary School District…

After years of water shortages in Arizona, a proposal to bring desalinated seawater up from Mexico seems to be moving along. Some critics are saying, “too fast.” But the progress actually is a good thing, and if the plan succeeds, there is time to make sure it is done right.

As the world nears the end of 2022, another year with war and problems, signs of recovery are seen. It is a time when many Americans think of generosity, as well they should.

2022 is ending with problems for the national economy. Inflation has slowed somewhat but is still bad. The Federal Reserve has continued to hike interest rates, knowing that is the only remedy now. Economists widely expect a recession; the only question is how severe it will be.

Arizona’s marijuana industry seems to be doing a good business. However, regulating it is proving to be more complicated than many people expected. Now decisions lie ahead for the incoming administration of our next governor, Katie Hobbs.

The city of Casa Grande held an open house Monday about a plan to upgrade Florence Boulevard. It lately has generated controversy, but the interest shown is something to be desired on big projects. It is likely that the end result will be something Casa Grandeans can be proud of. It may not,…

Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner has been sent home from Russia in a prisoner swap, something that makes most Americans, and not just Arizona basketball fans, happy. Sadly, she was held in Russia since February and most recently received a harsh nine-year sentence in a labor camp. Also s…

Dick Powell received some nice tributes Monday at his final Casa Grande City Council meeting. Believed to be the longest-serving councilmember in the city’s history, he joined the council 25 years ago, in 1997. After continual reelections, he decided not to run again this year.

Cochise County’s Board of Supervisors, at least two of the three members, held a meeting Thursday afternoon under a judge’s order and certified the county’s election results from Nov. 8. The judge’s power obviously got the attention of two recalcitrant board members. The law has been enforce…

The 2022 election is over, and as always, the political parties won some and lost some. State government will be more bipartisan in the new year, with Republicans having a slim majority in both houses of the Legislature and the Democrats winning the governor’s office for the first time in a …

Greenhouse gases are an obsession, at least in Western nations that aren’t the biggest polluters. Goals about carbon fuels now are causing a new look at nuclear energy, something that environmentalists frowned on not long ago.

Much of the news on a daily basis is disturbing, but Americans have much to be thankful for. And we have a wonderful tradition of giving thanks on a special day, as recounted in this editorial annually since 2007.

We’re in the time now when much of the public is happy to put aside thinking about elections, and candidates get some rest. However, those elected to office, including Congress and the Legislature, have been preparing to start work as decisions have been made on leadership roles and committe…

The election and vote counting in Pinal County seems to have made a major improvement since the problems of the August primary. Counting has been proceeding methodically, with regular reports. It has extended more than a week beyond Nov. 8, but that has been the case since early voting start…

A U.S. Supreme Court case involving Arizona shows the complexity of some questions coming before the court and also the fact that justices are not simply split along ideological lines. Based on questions during arguments this week, the outcome will be interesting.

Elections always have some surprises along with some things that could have been predicted. Arizonans love early voting but many of them hold their ballots to the end, and those are the ones still being counted, which could affect some races. Some trends, however, were easy to spot from the …

People in Pinal County and around the nation are going about their business, trying to shield themselves from the bombardment of political messages, but there is tension, polarization and strong feelings on two sides. Much about the philosophy of government is at stake on Tuesday. Meanwhile,…

Arizona’s close U.S. Senate race got a surprise Tuesday with the withdrawal of the Libertarian candidate, Marc Victor. Only a week before Election Day, he threw his support behind Republican Blake Masters, who has trailed incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly throughout the race but who has been clo…

Lax immigration enforcement at the southern border is a topic of concern for many Americans. That is obvious from the fact that current election candidates in both parties claim they want to do something about it. It truly is shocking, however, how ineffective that control of the border has …

Most Pinal County residents are more than tired of being bombarded by campaign advertising, but fortunately, the election is less than two weeks away. In fact, many Pinal voters already have cast their ballots. If not, for the big majority who do not go to the polls, it is time to fill them …

Arizona has been a rapidly growing state. Because of that, it has had a shortage of things, including housing. Another is teachers. And growth of population is not the only reason for that. But Central Arizona College is doing something about the issue by starting a program under which peopl…

Arizonans voting in the Nov. 8 election will decide on 10 state propositions, more than normal. The first five are constitutional amendments, which can only be enacted with voter approval. We make the following recommendations.

Many Pinal County voters cast early ballots, and that certainly will be the case for the Nov. 8 general election. We make the following observations and recommendations, knowing that voters must make up their own minds.

In two sections of a PinalCentral online forum Thursday, candidates for Casa Grande’s school boards answered questions and outlined their ideas. All but one of them participated, and it is apparent they all are interested in supporting education in the community and believe they can help mee…

Legislative District 16 includes much of Pinal County but without the eastern and northern parts. It unifies Maricopa and Casa Grande and includes two incumbents who are currently serving in different districts.

Former news anchor and Republican Kari Lake is facing off against current Secretary of State and Democrat Katie Hobbs for governor of Arizona. Neither candidate is likely to equal the ability of current eight-year Gov. Doug Ducey, but we may be surprised.

Arizona voters soon will be making some important decisions about the Nov. 8 election, if they have not done so already. For representation in Congress, the primary election was affected by loyalty to former President Donald Trump as well as the drawing of new U.S. House districts. Political…

A new state law prohibiting the filming of police activities within 8 feet had no defenders in court, likely meaning that the way the law was written was wrong. HB2319 made such recording a misdemeanor, but it may well be dead.

Conflict in American politics has grown deeper, continuing after recent elections. That makes the U.S. Constitution even more important, but too many Americans seem to know little about their government and the political process.

Arizona law allows school districts to ask voters for approval of budget “overrides” to provide funding for various things. While the name sounds bad to some people, the simple truth is that districts that do not have the overrides are less well funded and lack some things they should have. …

Voters in Casa Grande will have a longer November ballot than others in Pinal County. Part of the reason is four separate bond proposals from the city of Casa Grande. As we all know, the city is growing rapidly and needs new infrastructure. The proposals have been created with some serious p…

Frequently, especially in an election year like this, there is much rhetoric about voting, including concerns about the process and whether the people’s voice is heard. However, recent statistics about the Arizona primary election show that the people’s ballots came in at a pretty good numbe…

Prisons always are objects of scrutiny by advocates and politicians, and Arizona is no exception to that. In fact, Pinal County, where several state and private prisons are located, gets plenty of looks. An example was this week when three state House members showed up for an inspection of E…

Not much brings bipartisan support these days. But one thing that has done that is opposition to allowing some of Arizona’s precious underground water to be shipped out with crops for Saudi Arabia. Of course, everyone knows that lack of water is a major issue for the state.

Many Arizonans are aware of the sad impact of opioids today, especially the number of people who die from this epidemic. A new study adds to the story with a shocking estimate of the cost in dollars and cents to the state’s economy — $53 billion last year! That is nearly triple the $21 billi…

Pinal County voters on the November ballot will have an opportunity to fund major improvements to roads and highways that are needed severely. The voters approved the same half-cent sales tax increase five years ago, but it was rejected by the Arizona Supreme Court on a technicality. The pla…

Challenging the credibility of elections has become all too common, especially in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election loss in 2020. In the absence of any major election fraud that actually occurred, it undermines the strength of our democratic system. A new organization is working to do…

Arizona got some more bad news about water this week, although it is not a big surprise. States using the Colorado River had been unable to reach an agreement on how to further reduce their allocations, so the federal government imposed a plan for next year. It says that the cut to Arizona’s…