Free thinkers: Advocates tout universal basic income, despite critics
WASHINGTON - Despite reports showing rising incomes and falling poverty, advocates of universal basic income - regular govenment payments to citizens, with no preconditions and no strings attached - say it's as timely now as ever. But critics say UBI is too costly and too impractical to ever come to be.
Poverty rate falls in Arizona, but still exceeds national average
WASHINGTON - An estimated 88,529 Arizonans rose out of the ranks of poverty last year, but that still left about 1 million - or one state resident in seven - living below the poverty level, according to new Census data that show the state's poverty level fell faster, but remained higher, than the nation in 2017.
Thanks to new sponsorship, Arizona Cardinals’ home to be renamed State Farm Stadium
GLENDALE – University of Phoenix Stadium will have a new name soon: State Farm Stadium. The Arizona Cardinals reached a deal with the insurance giant for facility naming rights.
Missing this Labor Day? Labor, as builders scramble to find workers
WASHINGTON - A report by the Associated General Contractors of America showed that 80 percent of construction firms nationwide reported having trouble filling skilled craft positions this year - 82 percent of firms in Arizona said they have had trouble.
Drought, wildfires take toll on Colorado river-rafting industry
River rafting companies in Colorado are having a tough time this season because rivers are running low.
Arizona business leader hopeful as U.S., Mexico agree on NAFTA update
WASHINGTON - Few details were released, but one Arizona business leader said the mere fact that the U.S. and Mexico unveiled a trade agreement Monday should "calm concerns" over the future of NAFTA after President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced a tentative deal.
SunZia power lines would destroy wetlands, kill birds, opponents say
SunZia, a $2 billion project to carry wind-generated electricity from New Mexico to Arizona, faces opposition from community groups about environmental concerns.
Tribal energy loan program starts, more than a decade after its OK
WASHINGTON - More than 10 years after it was first approved, a federal loan program for tribal energy development projects will finally accept its first applications next month under ther Department of Energy's $2 billion Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program.
After 11 years, legal, bureaucratic battles over Rosemont Mine continue
WASHINGTON - A proposal for a massive open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains will be back in court this month, the latest twist in an 11-year battle over the Rosemont Mine that pits supporters who cite its economic benefits against opponents who it's "the absolute worst place" for a mine.
Arizona GDP grew 2.5 percent in first quarter, ahead of national rate
WASHINGTON - Arizona's gross domestic product grew by 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2018, driven by increases in real estate and retail trade, according to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which said the national GDP grew 2.2 percent in the same period.
Toilet water mold, fast food and futons: Many minor leaguers live below poverty line
Baseball is a $10 billion a year industry, but many of its minor leaguers live well below the poverty level.
Gender gap in pay begins with children’s allowances, app maker’s analysis suggests
PHOENIX–Parents pay boys a weekly allowance twice as high as they give girls, according to a study from a Phoenix area company that sells an app to track children’s chores and finances.
