Articles written by Bob Christie
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 27
States submit vaccine orders as coronavirus death toll grows
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — States faced a deadline on Friday to place orders for the coronavirus vaccine as many reported record infections, hospitalizations and deaths, while hospitals were pushed to the breaking point — with the worst feared yet to...
Arizona county prosecutors join in dropping pot charges
PHOENIX (AP) — Top prosecutors in the vast majority of Arizona counties are dropping all existing possession of marijuana cases even before a new voter-approved law eliminating criminal penalties for having small amounts of the drug takes effect...
Arizona governor gets good, bad marks for virus response
PHOENIX (AP) — In early August, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey beamed in the White House as he basked in praise from President Donald Trump for his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. Arizona's response to the virus, Trump said, was a model for other...
Lawmakers fight for GOP's soul in Arizona Senate primary
PHOENIX (AP) — The biggest knock-down, drag-out primary election fight among the 90 Arizona Senate and House seats up for grabs in November features two sitting Republican lawmakers in a suburban north Phoenix district battling for the soul of the...
Arizona hospitals at 83% capacity, elective surgery may stop
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona hospitals that are expected to be able to treat new cases of coronavirus without going into crisis mode were above 80% capacity, a milestone that should trigger an automatic stop to elective surgeries at affected...
Arizona lawmaker wants fallen officers' families to get $1M
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona lawmaker wants the state's voters to approve a measure that would ensure the families of police, firefighters and other public safety officers get at least $1 million if their loved one dies on the job. Sen. David...
Arizona Senate removes key part of school safety bill
PHOENIX (AP) — Republicans who control the Arizona Senate on Tuesday removed a major component of a school safety bill that would have allowed family members or school officials to ask a judge to remove guns from a person at risk of committing a...
Arizona, Colorado teachers rally, schools close for 2nd day
PHOENIX (AP) — As thousands of teachers and supporters gathered at the Arizona Capitol to protest inadequate public school funding for a second day Friday, Gov. Doug Ducey again skipped the chance to address them. Instead, the Republican...
GOP unsettled by narrow win in US House race in Arizona
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It took a big money push from the Republican Party, tweets by the president and the support of the state's current and former governors, but the GOP held onto an Arizona U.S. House seat they would have never considered...
Arizona is next stop for movement seeking better teacher pay
PHOENIX (AP) — The latest stop in the national movement seeking higher teacher pay and better education funding is Arizona, where tens of thousands of teachers have voted to walk off the job next week. They want the Republican-controlled Legislatur...
Arizona governor proposes 20 percent teacher raises by 2020
PHOENIX (AP) — Caving to demands from teachers who have protested low pay and school funding shortfalls for weeks, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey rolled out a proposal Thursday promising a net 20 percent raise by 2020 and pledged to push the proposal...
Arizona teachers group nearing walk out over low pay
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona teachers who have organized to push for big raises and a restoration of school funding are threatening a statewide walkout, following the lead of educators across the country, including Oklahoma where schools have been...
GOP lawmakers want armed teachers in school safety plan
PHOENIX (AP) — Some top Republicans in Arizona's Legislature want to add armed and specially trained school personnel to Gov. Doug Ducey's proposal to boost school safety. The idea is to train select teachers, principals or even janitors who would...
Arizona governor working with lawmakers on school safety
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is working with legislative leaders on a wide-ranging and hopefully bipartisan proposal to boost school safety after the shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead. The emerging policy is still being...
Ex-state senator wins GOP primary in race for US House
PHOENIX (AP) — A former Arizona state senator easily outpaced another candidate embroiled in a sexting scandal and 10 other Republicans to win Tuesday's primary to replace a U.S. congressman who quit amid charges of sexual misconduct. Former state...
Arizona bill OKs stun guns, pepper spray at universities
PHOENIX (AP) — State university and community college students would be allowed to carry pepper spray, stun guns and other "non-lethal" weapons under a bill approved by the Arizona House late Thursday. Republican Rep. Travis Grantham of Gilbert, th...
Arizona lawmakers mull tax break for power plant coal
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Legislature is being asked to exempt coal used in a power plant on the Navajo Nation from the state's sales tax as a way to help make the plant more attractive for potential buyers. The Navajo Generating Station in Page...
Arizona House kicks out Rep. Don Shooter over sex misconduct
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona House kicked out Republican Rep. Don Shooter on Thursday because of a lengthy pattern of sexual misconduct, making him the first state lawmaker in the U.S. to be expelled since the #MeToo movement emerged last year....
No major opposition to opioid plan appears in Legislature
PHOENIX (AP) — No major opposition appeared Tuesday as the Arizona Legislature began considering a proposal from Gov. Doug Ducey designed to cut down on addiction and deaths from prescription painkillers. A House committee took up the proposal...
Ex-fighter pilot launches bid to replace Arizona Sen. Flake
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Republican congresswoman Martha McSally embraced President Donald Trump and his hardline immigration rhetoric as she launched her Senate bid Friday, lashing out at the same establishment leaders who support her campaign to...
Commander of 1st flight of space shuttle Challenger dies
PHOENIX (AP) — Paul Weitz, a retired NASA astronaut who commanded the first flight of the space shuttle Challenger and also piloted the Skylab in the early 1970s, has died. He was 85. Weitz died at his retirement home in Flagstaff, Arizona, on...
Arizona high court rules for rancher in cattle brand fight
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona rancher who fought for years to retain sole use of his "Bar 7" cattle brand won a big victory Thursday in the Arizona Supreme Court when the court ruled the state did not have the legal right to let another cattle company...
Gov. Ducey declares health crisis after opioid deaths rise
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday declared a statewide opioid public health emergency in the wake of a new report that shows overdose deaths increased by 16 percent last year. The governor's declaration will allow the state...
Inmate suicide that led to firings now subject of lawsuit
PHOENIX (AP) — The suicide of an Arizona state prison inmate that led to the mass firing of Arizona corrections officers last year is now the subject of a lawsuit. The parents and three sons of inmate Scott Saba filed a wrongful death lawsuit...
Analysis: School vouchers could cost tens of millions
PHOENIX (AP) — The Legislature's independent budget office estimates that expanding a school voucher program to all Arizona schoolchildren over the next four years could cost more than $24 million, a number that could go much higher. That's...