Prison inmates have jobs that pay minimal wages they can use to buy personal care items and save for their release. It’s a beneficial program, but advocates say they should earn more.

The news in Pinal County and Arizona constantly includes reports of people arrested smuggling fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than morphine. And that means it is very deadly.

A Pinal County case has led to a bill in the Legislature that would standardize enforcement of noise complaints. While sponsor Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, is seeking to protect constituents like the owner of Hitching Post restaurant in Apache Junction from unequal enforcement, the bill also…

America is highly polarized now, and that has contributed to conflict between governmental entities. A major example of this is the “sanctuary cities” movement that seeks to avoid enforcement of federal immigration law. A number of the conflicts involve environmental protection as well.

Arizona’s public safety retirement system has had underfunding problems for years. The management of it also is an embarrassment. Perhaps it is time for major change.

Arizona Public Service Co. has announced a plan to be carbon neutral within 30 years. While three decades is a long time, implementing the plan will be a challenge. The end result, however, will be beneficial. This plan differs significantly from the one that California billionaire Tom Steye…

Years after a slow recovery from the Great Recession began, the economy is roaring under President Trump's corporate tax cut and reduced regulation. Employment is at historic highs, and with that, the state treasury is brimming with cash. This follows several years when cut after cut had been made.

Water use in Arizona’s most populated areas has been in the news because of lengthy negotiations that were required over the prospects of reduced supplies from the Colorado River during a chronic drought. News coverage during that time apparently has prompted state legislators to look more s…

Gov. Doug Ducey delivered his sixth State of the State address Monday, and it included some ideas that could affect Pinal County in a major way. Of course, Ducey’s address merely sets the stage for the annual legislative session, and legislators will complete the budget months from now. But …

Pinal County’s economy has been enhanced by winter visitors for a long time — especially so in recent decades. And many full-year residents are enjoying the benefits.

The federal government last week launched a test program to collect DNA from people in immigration custody and send it to the FBI criminal database. The plan is to make the program go nationwide. This brought immediate objections because permanent residents with “green cards” and asylum seek…

The Casa Grande City Council took a big step Monday toward implementing Mayor Craig McFarland’s longstanding idea of setting up a marketing office in conjunction with the Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce. The plan, heard by the council but not acted on yet, involves raising the city h…

People are moving to warmer states and, according to many commentators, away from states with higher taxes. The national birth rate has grown lower, and immigration is a major factor in the ever-growing population of the United States.

These days we often hear many people lack the spirit of sacrifice and service that made America great. Perhaps it is true, in a time when modern conveniences make that seem less important. But that spirit certainly does exist, as shown by many in dangerous and challenging circumstances. All …

Much of the world now occurs through the internet, and it becomes more essential all the time. Education is no exception. Schools use it frequently, and students do at home as well.

Arizona always has had a special connection to its namesake battleship, which was sunk in the Pearl Harbor attack that brought the United States into World War II. The USS Arizona is remembered especially in December, as the date of the attack was Dec. 7, 1941.

As the world nears the end of 2019, terrorism and violence continue in the Middle East and political conflict at home is extreme, although signs of peace are seen in many places. It is a time when many Americans think of generosity, as well they should.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich obviously takes his job seriously and, along with that, takes an aggressive view of enforcing the law and protecting the public. Many Arizonans appreciate this approach, and they re-elected him last year to a second four-year term.

Arizona, with more than 40,000 state prison inmates, has gained more with the growing population. Unfortunately, with more equality between the sexes, women are committing more crimes, even though they trail the men by a large number. But two years ago Arizona was adding an average of five w…

The long-awaited FBI inspector general’s report was released Monday, and both sides of the debate over President Trump found something to cheer about. Michael Horowitz said the bureau was not affected by bias, a position that many people find impossible to believe. However, he also found 17 …

Casa Grande’s Electric Light Parade on Saturday evening, complete with official lighting of the tree at City Hall, was spectacular. The Winter Wonderland downtown was nice as well.

Americans constantly consume food obtained from supermarkets and restaurants, include the fast food and drive-thru variety, and they are greatly dependent on the quality of the products, specifically their lack of contamination. Authorities at various levels of government inspect the product…

Lucid Motors held a “ground-building” ceremony Monday at its plant site on the west side of Casa Grande. Focusing on the planting of a tree, it was different than the traditional lineup of executives and politicians turning dirt with gold-painted shovels. But the company’s plans are differen…

Many things these days just aren’t as simple as they used to be. A case in point is a pending lawsuit over a Phoenix rescue that didn’t go as planned.

Much of the news on a daily basis is disturbing, including word of serious challenges for the world and the United States, 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.

San Tan Valley, which easily could be the largest city in Pinal County if it actually were a city, has presented many challenges for county government since it sprang up early in the 2000s. Incorporation into a city has been discussed and proposed at times, but getting enough people to appro…

After a years-long wait, the Arizona Department of Water Resources last month released its new model for the Pinal Active Management Area, which includes much of the county but not the northern part. Not having the model had affected development planning, but its specifics raised many questi…

Veterans Day last week was a fitting time to mark the official start of creation of a memorial to Pinal County veterans because, like the day itself, it will recognize the sacrifices made by residents of the county. The project 10 years in the making had its groundbreaking at the site provid…

Phoenix, the state capital and Pinal County’s much larger neighbor to the north, is struggling with what to do about its recycling program, months after Casa Grande faced up to the same issue and decided to end curbside pickup after years of providing the service. Actually, cities and other …

The death of a pedestrian last year in Tempe after being struck by a self-driving Uber test car had an element of mystery. That has been cleared up by a new federal report. As acknowledged earlier, the woman was not seen as a pedestrian. However, the reason she was not seen that way by the c…

Americans traveling in Mexico always knew they were in a very different place, although the experience generally was enjoyable. More recently, cartel violence has resulted in many deaths, but they were often attributed to criminals killing each other. Now the situation has reached a new leve…

The 2020 election season is gearing up. That’s exciting for political junkies but not so much for many Pinal County residents who grow tired of being bombarded with messages. Unfortunately, it’s also the time when we see new reasons to regret the fact that Arizona’s founders saw fit to inclu…

The city of Casa Grande is once again grappling with problems in the alleys and talking about an end to trash pickup there. Residents of some older neighborhoods might not realize that much of the city has no alleys and Casa Grandeans living there are accustomed to wheeling trash containers …

Seeing court action pending in other states, Arizona is suspending its efforts to require Medicaid recipients to work if they can. The plan had been for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System to require work, volunteering or education for about 120,000 people. While the idea seems t…

A new groundwater model, awaited for years, was unveiled Friday, and it had some surprises because of changes included. We can only say that it is good that the state is planning for future years in the desert, but many questions will have to be answered. And hopefully soon.

Maricopa County has had its share of controversial or criminal county officials over the years. Perhaps it is due to the nature of county government in Arizona, which has many people elected to positions. The latest example is Paul Petersen, the county assessor who won two elections but also…

Gov. Doug Ducey has selected a new head of the Arizona Department of Corrections, and David Shinn certainly seems to have the right qualifications. He is a veteran of federal prisons and most recently has been a senior official in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. He faces challenges in Arizona bu…

Decades ago, growing cotton was the main economic engine that drove the development of Casa Grande, Eloy and Coolidge. For many years, agriculture was the leading source of jobs and income. That changed over the years with a few factors, including mechanization, costs, commodity markets and …

Hydroelectric power has been important to parts of the United States for many years. But it’s difficult to build new dams now because they often are controversial for environmental reasons and they already have been built at many of the best sites. A new proposal from a Phoenix company to pu…

Arizona regulates use of groundwater in high-growth and vulnerable areas, and that is a good thing. However, the rules and process present some problems, especially from effects of the Great Recession. The state House of Representatives has a committee looking into the effects on Pinal Count…

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb’s Redirection Mentor Program, which began in San Tan Valley early this year, has expanded to the Casa Grande area. It certainly has the potential to make a difference with young people who might be headed in the wrong direction with their lives.

Pinal County Manager Greg Stanley is retiring after several years of service to the county. The Board of Supervisors has selected Louis Andersen, who like Stanley previously worked in the Public Works Department, as the new manager.

Pinal County’s pending sales tax for building roads was back in the news last week when arguments were heard on a lawsuit that seeks to kill the tax. The county’s Regional Transportation Authority, meanwhile, has been collecting the half-cent tax but has not been able to spend the money. The…

Arizona has had a shortage of corrections officers for a long time, but a recent report highlights that problem. In the 2017-18 budget year, the state paid $40 million in overtime, according to an analysis by The Arizona Republic. That clearly is not a good thing for the state or the workers…

Conflict in American politics has grown deeper. 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 and other states are preparing for more elections next year following the off-year round in 2018. The next general election, however, will include a vote for president, the first following 2016, when Donald Trump won a shocking victory and foreign hacking attempts played a major part…

We all know that technology has changed American life for the good and sometimes bad. Along with that, new forms of crime have developed, especially in identity theft and other cyber crime. However, new ways of preventing crime also have developed.

With mass shootings continuing at a numbing pace, opinions are flying about how to deal with this complex problem. American sentiment supports increased background checks, and Congress may act on that soon. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he is waiting for President Trump to …

Phoenix voters last week rejected two measures that had been the subject of much rhetoric and advertising. Perhaps they made the right choice in deciding against blocking light rail expansion and new limits on spending. However, both propositions point out problems in municipal government an…

A Valley legislator is pushing an idea proposed before to count prison inmates for census purposes where they are from, not where they actually live. The proposal, which would have the greatest negative impact on Pinal County’s largest legislative district, should be shelved the way it was before.