By Gloria Gomez/UA Don Bolles Fellow/AZ Mirror PHOENIX — Tatyanna Duchene pushed her 1-year-old son’s stroller around the State Capitol on Wednesday, following a crowd of students and volunteers as they gathered to petition legislators to use the current $5.3 billion dollar budget surplus for community needs. Her daughter, Khaleesi, is just 4 years old,…
By Gloria Gomez/UA Don Bolles Fellow/AZ Mirror PHOENIX — Dozens of victim advocates bowed their heads in the late Monday morning heat, remembering the friends and family members lost to violent crime; some murmured names aloud, others were overcome with grief. They stood just outside the State Capitol, welcoming the start of National Crime Victims’…
By Gloria Gomez/UA Don Bolles Fellow/AZ Mirror PHOENIX — A $13 billion dollar budget, sold by Republican lawmakers as a continuation of last year’s budget while the legislature debates how to spend its current $5.3 billion dollar surplus, was promptly shot down in its first hearing in a House Appropriations Committee. Two Republican lawmakers joined the…
By Gloria Gomez/UA Don Bolles Fellow/AZ Mirror PHOENIX — Religious organizations would be granted wide berth to remain open during health crises if a bill sent Tuesday to Gov. Doug Ducey is signed into law. The Republican-backed House Bill 2507 prohibits lawsuits against religious organizations on the basis that the organizations are religious, operate during a state…
By Gloria Gomez/UA Don Bolles Fellow/AZ Mirror PHOENIX — The future of classroom COVID-19 mitigation measures now lies in Gov. Doug Ducey’s hands: A bill the state Senate approved Monday would force schools to seek parental consent if they want to keep their students masked up. If the governor signs House Bill 2616 into law, school districts…
