By Alexander Lomax Xenophobia is expensive. This shouldn’t be news to any moderate or liberal Arizonan. After all, we’re well accustomed to dealing with the fallout and brand damage from extremist bills such as SB1070. We’re probably still paying off the myriad lawsuits from Joe Arpaio’s weaponization of it. So when Trump used “Build the wall” as his clarion call … Read More

By Gilbert Guru Recreational Marijuana became legalized Friday, January 22, 2021, but going to the dispensary for the first time may be a daunting task. Read on to see what to expect when you’re expecting recreational marijuana. For my first journey to a dispensary, I headed over to the Chandler location of Harvest because I knew all of their locations … Read More

Newly elected Scottsdale City Councilwoman Tammy Caputi won, and serves, with a smile.  She threw a few punches on the campaign trail like they all do but she also exhibited a joy not often seen throughout the journey. Some people shrink in the pressure cooker.  Others believe, and thrive.  Indeed, Caputi believed so much in her quest that she dug … Read More

By Alexander Lomax I will never understand the opposition to legalized marijuana here in Arizona. Oddly enough, there seems to be a lot of overlap between those people and the folks who don’t want taxes on anything, which is the most vexing and confusion of dissonances. Is this not the perfect solution? Tax revenue is generated from something that you do … Read More

Staff Report –  A recap of the top three stories on Arizona Progress & Gazette from the past week. No Trouble In Paradise. PV Mall Redevelopment Roll-Out Generates Few Fireworks In Early Going The wrecking ball will be hitting large sections of Paradise Valley Mall at Cactus and Tatum in Phoenix. Built in 1979, the mall is long past its heyday … Read More

By Alexander Lomax Is it too early to think about 2022? Well it seems like quite a few people would like to fast forward to the end of Governor Ducey’s term, so why? The 2016 election saw four Democrats winning statewide office in Arizona, and while the Governor’s race was a blowout a few factors very likely ensure that that … Read More

Scottsdale has had a few things on its plate lately.  Brutal hits to tourism, its largest industry.  Then there was the looting of its citadel.  So it can be excused for not paying enough attention to its Arts District.  But it needs to.  Because there were obvious challenges long before last year’s double whammy. Inattention reminds us why some type … Read More

By Scottsdale Pinetop Since the insurgency on the U.S. Capitol Hill earlier this month, much of the media attention has been focused on the current state of Arizona’s “Grand Old Party.” And rightfully so. With the recent protests challenging the election results to the GOP vote to censure high profile Republicans like Governor Ducey, former U.S Senator Flake and Cindy … Read More

Girl Scout’s adorable sales pitch goes viral causing an outpour of cookie sales By Valley Girl The Girl Scout Cookie season is upon us! And many of us look forward to purchasing our favorite cookie variety. But this year you won’t be seeing girl scouts out and about selling those delectable goods. Since door-to-door and in person interactions are off … Read More