City Council

BISBEE — Ignoring vociferous opposition and threats of lawsuits, the small southeastern Arizona city of Bisbee legalized civil unions for same-sex couples Tuesday night in an historic council vote that turned into a political circus, as nearly 100 people packed the chambers in both opposition and support.

The City Council pushed aside legal warnings from the state’s attorney general and a conservative advocacy group and voted 5-2 to become first city in the state to offer civil-union certificates for all couples that would extend to same-sex partners some of the same rights as married couples within the Bisbee boundaries. Read more »

It happens so often that you'd imagine Neil Giuliano would be used to it by now.

It started in 1996. That's when Giuliano, then mayor of Tempe, publicly disclosed that he was gay after a voter threatened to out him. Once he spoke openly about his sexuality, the letters started to come in. And these were actual handwritten letters, he likes to point out.

"E-mail was just getting started," he says, smiling. "I received literally thousands of letters and notes and cards."

The people who wrote came from both ends of the spectrum. There were teenagers who were grappling with their own sexuality. There were men in their 70s who had never come out of the closet, deeply ashamed of the secret they were hiding. Read more »

This Thursday, the City of Phoenix will be conducting its Community Budget Hearings.  This is your major opportunity to voice support for arts and culture in Phoenix, and  to tell the Mayor and City Council  how important the arts and culture contributions made by you and/or your organization are  to the vitality of our city.

You have the chance to participate in the first ever online budget hearing with the City Manager David Cavazos.  Mayor Greg Stanton will host the event. The budget hearing will be televised on PHX11 and streamed live at www.phoenix.gov. Read more »