Discussion about education in Arizona often results in strongly stated opinions from widely varying perspectives. Although consensus seems lacking with regard to the path toward improvement, all parties seem to agree that public education needs improvement. Herein, Peoria’s oldest elementary…

Since Nancy Pelosi became House Speaker in 2007, Republicans have spent an incredible amount of time and energy pushing back against her progressive policy proposals. That’s why it’s odd that the GOP’s newest drug pricing bill is a watered-down copy of one of Pelosi’s worst ideas.

Annie Karni, Maggie Haberman and Sheila Kaplan  of the New York Times describe US President Donald Trump’s proposed ban on flavored e-cigarette products as “a swift and bold reaction to a growing public health crisis affecting teenagers” that Trump backed away from “under pressure from his p…

As the weather cools and the season of giving upon us, many find ourselves reflecting on our blessings. We take a little bit more time to give thanks to the family and friends at our side, the jobs continuing to provide and the home granting warmth and space to rest alongside those we love most. 

Well, we are now entering the Holiday season. In America, the first holiday is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is when the Pilgrims gave thanks to God for their first harvest. It is also the time when extended families get together from all over the United States and beyond to gather for a Thanks…

While we’re all still in a tryptophan-infused haze, full of leftovers and good cheer, it feels only right to continue being thankful. Herewith, one of Arizonan’s list of people and things that inspire gratitude on a daily basis.

Voting is a privilege. It also takes time. Even when voting by mail, there is the act of drawing a line in ink and driving or walking to a post box. When the Peoria Unified School District budget override ballot came to my house, I did not hesitate. I mailed mine, and my Yes vote came with m…

My mother’s father, a dressmaker, was a man I cannot remember speaking a word, though I met him a few times when I was a little boy. 

Much of what makes life in this Valley appealing is the state’s rugged desert feel. The landscape is rough hereabouts, all scrub growth and cactus that can tear flesh.

This summer, we saw remarkable, bipartisan progress on addressing rising health care costs — an issue voters consistently rank as ‘most important’.

Now the calendar flips to November and you find yourself offering a prayer for this embattled nation of ours. 

As we move into November, a month of gratitude, the Small Business Association begins the month by celebrating National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW).

Like other fast-growing communities, public transportation is a critical service and something each city manages uniquely. There is no one-size-fits-all model when it comes to transit. Instead, each city must closely evaluate how to bring about the right kind of transit to meet the diverse a…

As a kid growing up in Queens, New York, a drive over to the White Castle restaurant on Northern Boulevard was a family tradition. 

At last count, Arizona had 4,377 women in its state prisons. You’d be forgiven for thinking there was only one female currently under lock and key.

On the first Sunday in October, the Dallas Cowboys played the Green Bay Packers. The Packers won in a rout, 34-24, but that wasn’t the story.

It’s an exciting time in the Deer Valley Unified School District—growth. With 38 schools covering northern Maricopa County from New River to Bell Road, our 367-mile school district boundaries encompass parts of Phoenix, Glendale, Peoria, Anthem, New River, Cave Creek and unincorporated secti…

By now, voters in nearly half the school districts in Maricopa County have received ballots asking them to decide significant local public school funding questions.

Enough is enough

He was 22 years old when he left this mortal life, on a dusty road in the township of Yusafiyah, a region of Baghdad known as the Triangle of Death.

Did you know that in the United States 129 individuals experience death by suicide each day? Twenty of those occur within our veteran population.

Arizona Helping Hands is the largest provider of basic needs to the 14,000 children in our state’s foster care system. It is truly important to give boys and girls who have been abused and neglected a sense of safety and dignity.  

“Walmart Inc. will stop selling e-cigarettes in its U.S. locations as the country grapples with a string of vaping-related deaths,” Bloomberg reports.

he robots are coming

You move to Arizona to get away from hurricanes, but it turns out massive tropical storms care not at all about geography. 

By now, school children in Arizona have brought markers, scissors, folders and other supplies to class. Although children are bringing items they need to learn and succeed, Arizona is failing to supply safe drinking water in schools across our state. According to the Arizona Department of En…

Labor Day

The Rolling Stones played in Glendale last week, and though a friend offered me a ticket, I passed. Don’t get me wrong: The Stones are terrific and by all accounts put on a helluva show. However, septuagenarian rockers aren’t my thing. The thought of 76-year-old Mick Jagger preening about wh…

We hear a lot of talk these days on health care reform, but it’s important to consider the hundreds of millions of Americans who currently receive quality care thanks to their health plans. I am one of these Americans, and I think my story represents the peace of mind — in otherwise traumati…

When I was first elected to represent Peoria citizens nearly 15 years ago, the city of Peoria’s population was nearing 130,000 residents and our city was growing by the day. We were in the midst of the housing boom and our economy was thriving. People wanted to live in our city, and Peoria w…

The emails came back to back early Tuesday afternoon, two apologies for canceling meetings on short notice.

As the back-to-school season is finally upon us, it is encouraging to think about all that our children will learn in this new academic school year. I was among the many parents in Arizona packing lunch boxes and taking the traditional “first day of school” photos of my children. As they hea…

You know what affliction never gets the attention it deserves? Fame. That’s a disease I hope never to catch. 

I am pleased to share that again this year the Maricopa County Justice Courts will participate in Glendale Stand Up. This is an annual event that helps veterans with a variety of issues that include, but are not limited to, legal advice by experts, assistance from the city courts and justice…

Let me let you in on a professional secret when it comes to managing the news media. 

When I was a little boy growing up in Queens, New York, in the 1970s, my career aspirations inevitably focused on who got to drive the biggest truck.

Did you know Jesus was the first neighborhood activist? In Jesus, God’s Word became flesh. Jesus was sent by God from heaven to earth to show us what God is like. The original language in the Bible clarifies Jesus’ mission. “Jesus pitched His tent in earth’s neighborhood…” Jesus came to eart…

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on political campaigns, and the 2020 elections will be no different. Many of these dollars are from organized donors assembled as countless political action committees or PACS — private corporations and unions. It can be overwhelming to think about r…

In the ongoing uncivil war between President Donald Trump and Democrat congresswomen like Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, I choose to side with …

You will be pleased to learn that the law limits your liability if you break a window on a car to rescue a child or a pet. However, you must follow the rules very closely for this protection.

Homeownership was always a dream, but never a possibility for the Sinclair family. It was when they moved to Arizona to help a sick family member that their search for affordable housing brought them to Habitat for Humanity. Two years later they moved into their new, two-story home in Peoria.

Have you ever considered that good changes can come from crisis or even dry times in your life? Perhaps God is saying, “Hey, I love you but now it’s time to change directions and locations because I’m repositioning you. Let’s get you to the place where you can say, ‘Wow. I was born for this!’”

The argument came out of nowhere.

Sometimes the news and life intersect in strange ways. Last weekend, I bore witness to an epic screaming match on the golf course, a skirmish between two fat old guys over pace of play that would have surely turned into an aggravated assault with nine irons had their playing partners not sep…

Last month, 144,278 migrants were apprehended or deemed inadmissible trying to illegally cross our southern border. That’s enough people to fill State Farm Stadium almost two and a half times over. Perhaps a more staggering figure, the United States is on track to apprehend more than 1 milli…

Running an errand this week, I watched two Phoenix police officers offer a bottle of water to a homeless man grabbing some shade outside a local grocery store.

A few years ago, I was asked some questions on leadership by a graduating university student for a paper he was writing. I thought sharing what I shared with him might be helpful to you. No matter what you do or how old you are, increasing your leadership competency is always good. Everyone …

When we were in elementary school our teachers taught us how to construct a sentence. The very first punctuation we learned was that of a period. I have to admit in those early, early years I did not think it was that big of a deal. I mean really, how could something so tiny make a big diffe…

Recently, some business and personal trips prompted me to fly back and forth across the continent several times. Nothing makes a better case for staying home — forever — than traveling in the 21st century.

Recently, a Māori pastor and close friend of mine, Matai Bennett, made a post on his Facebook page that caught my attention. It was a picture of Matai and his teenage daughter sitting at a restaurant table. She had a smile on her face the size of the Southern Alps in Aotearoa, the Māori name…