Arizona, after being swept at USC and UCLA last week, dropped from 10th to 18th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and in the AP media poll.

I would have thought the Wildcats (23-6) would have dropped further.

As it is, they are the only Pac-10 team in the poll. UCLA, tied with Arizona for the league lead at 12-4, ranks 28th in the coaches poll.

The Wildcats’ record still looks nice, and being tied for the conference lead counts for something. But coach Sean Miller’s team still lacks a signature road victory (winning at Washington State and Cal was nice, but it hardly moves the national needle).

A university in Tucson is seeking to turn the shooting rampage that severely wounded U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords last month into a teachable moment with a new institute promoting civility in politics.

The University of Arizona on Monday inaugurated the National Institute for Civil Discourse, which is a nonpartisan center for debate, research, education and policy.

Arizona legislators began a special session Monday to consider business tax cuts and other parts of an economic development package that Gov. Jan Brewer and Republican legislative leaders said will encourage businesses to expand and relocate in the state.

House and Senate committee hearings are planned Tuesday, which could set the stage for action by the full chambers Wednesday. The special session called by Brewer is running concurrently with the month-old regular session.

Legislation to ban large-capacity gun magazines like the one used in the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson has been introduced in the Arizona Legislature.

The bill was introduced late Monday by Rep. Steve Farley of Tucson and 19 other Democratic lawmakers.

The legislation would generally ban magazines with more than 10 rounds. Authorities have said the Tucson shooter opened fire with a magazine that had more than 30 rounds in it before he was subdued.

Farley says the lack of a large-capacity magazine might have reduced the scope of the Tucson tragedy.

Six people were killed and 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, were injured in the shooting.

Move over Governor Brewer, there’s a new law enforcer in Arizona trying to whip your state into shape. His name is Bloomberg, and he may be small in stature, but he’s huge in kicking ass and taking names. Perhaps you noticed his investigative team at a recent gun show in Phoenix, where again and again they were able to buy semiautomatic weapons thanks to the gun show loophole, and unethical sellers who were only interested in making a buck.

I’m sure it was embarrassing to have a Yankee come into town and shine a light on the dysfunction in Arizona. But why does it take a mayor from New York City to expose the gun problems in a state where one of the most heinous gun crimes in our nation’s history just took place?

City-owned Epcor Utilities Inc. has announced a $470-million US deal to acquire a regulated water utility in Arizona.

Epcor said its Epcor Water (USA) Inc. unit agreed to acquire American Water Works Co.’s two wholly owned U.S. subsidiaries, Arizona American Water and New Mexico American Water.

Arizona American Water is a regulated utility that provides water service to about 106,000 metered water customers, and waste water services to 51,000 customers, Epcor said. About 90 per cent of its customers are located in the Phoenix area.

Jared Lee Loughner went to a Sportman’s Warehouse in Tuscon, Ariz., and purchased a Glock 19 semiautomatic weapon, after passing an instant background check.

He allegedly used that weapon in the January 8 shooting rampage that killed at least six people and wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and 13 others in Tuscon.

Arizona’s gun laws, among the most lenient in the country, allowed Loughner to conceal and carry his firearm without a permit, explains Washington Post reporter James Grimaldi. Grimaldi, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, wrote a piece on Sunday about Arizona’s gun laws.

Republican Jan Brewer on Monday took the oath for a full four-year term as Arizona’s governor, acknowledging she faces “an unfinished task” in resolving the state’s budget crisis.

“We will keep faith with the people who have placed their sacred trust in us,” Brewer said. “And, when we have fulfilled our calling here, we intend to leave Arizona with a budget that is balanced, fueled by private enterprise, unencumbered by heavy regulations and unnecessary rules.”

Two months after her general election win over Democrat Terry Goddard, Brewer was sworn in to the office she assumed as a fill-in just under two years ago, when Democrat Janet Napolitano resigned, elevating Brewer from secretary of state.