One hundred years ago, the Salt River Project was formed in response to a great drought. Today, as the water and power utility celebrates its centennial, the story is being repeated.

Cox Communications is accepting nominations for its Cox Conserves Heroes awards program honoring community volunteers who help create, preserve or enhance outdoor places for everyone to enjoy. Nominees must be people who were not paid for their efforts. To nominate someone, go to Cox7.com/coxconserves and vote by Nov. 21. Online public voting will take place Jan. 9-30, 2012. A panel of local civic and environmental leaders will choose one winner for the Phoenix area and one for southern Arizona, and each will receive $5,000 to donate to an environmental nonprofit of their choice. Finalists will earn $1,000 for a nonprofit group of their choice. Winners will be announced in February.

It ended soon after it began, this revolution. Not with a bang, or even a whimper. The soldiers, unsure of their cause, simply left the battlefield. As the sun set on the retreating army, the sun also set on the vision of a shining city on a hill, which remains darkened to this day.

November 18, 2004

Government leaders must more forcefully communicate to the public and municipalities the urgency for water conservation and more efficient water management as Arizona faces a long-term drought, some Valley residents told top state officials Wednesday.

The stakes for the November election were raised drastically last week when hard-line conservatives racked up victories across the state, jeopardizing the agendas of not only Democrats and the governor but moderate Republicans as well.

The leader of the Arizona School Boards Association sent a letter to school district governing boards Monday urging them to be conservative in planning budgets as they prepare for next school year.

The closing of the conservative mind has been in the making for a long time. It has now morphed into something as surreal as a Salvador Dali painting or an encounter with "Alice in Wonderland's" Mad Hatter.

And so, with a resounding, bone-rattling crash, the conservative era ends. Now the scattered and demoralized armies of the right will turn on each other with such ferocity it will make the brutal opening scene of "Gladiator" look like a slap fight at a slumber party. It's about to get mercenary in the woodshed.

NEW YORK - William F. Buckley Jr. died at work, in his study. Communism had fallen long before. A Republican was in the White House. The word "liberal" had been shunned like an ill-mannered guest.

It's been a disappointing year for Arizona Republican leaders, in large part because they've allowed partisanship to obscure common sense and even good public policy. And now, after conceding a lost-cause budget battle to Gov. Napolitano, they're hankering for a fight over her executive order prohibiting discrimination against state employees who happen to be homosexual.

More people than ever are visiting Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve, so needed more than ever are volunteers.

WASHINGTON - President Bush named conservative Rep. Christopher Cox to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday, a day after William Donaldson announced he was stepping down after 28 months.

December 17, 2004

Even if this series of winter storms that have been soaking Arizona marks the beginning of the end of the long drought — and it's a big if — we must not stop efforts to ensure our state's water future. If anything, those efforts need to be redoubled, because the long-term challenge is growing as rapidly as our population.

If the guardian spirit driving Scottsdale's quest to protect its Sonoran Desert environs has a face, it's that of Jane Rau.

September 8, 2004

The Arizona Legislature can be expected to take a harder turn to the right next year as candidates who championed traditional family issues won Republican primaries Tuesday in the East Valley and across the state.

At Salt River Project (SRP), we’ve always believed that every drop of water saved here in the Valley is a drop we can store in our reservoirs to use another day. Keeping track of all of those drops is one of the more important jobs we have at SRP, where we’re working every day to ensure there’s enough water for today and tomorrow.

At Salt River Project, we’ve always believed that every drop of water saved here in the Valley is a drop we can store in our reservoirs to use another day. Keeping track of all of those drops is one of the more important jobs we have at SRP, where we’re working every day to ensure there’s enough water for today and tomorrow.

Guest commentary by Tom Patterson

Clowning is serious business for Terry Ricketts — at least in between the chortles and chuckles he so loves to hear. “Clowns are all about making memories,” says Ricketts, 50, of Mesa. By day, Ricketts works for Arizona Public Service Co.’s creative services department. In his spare time, his alter ego, Malcolm the clown, comes to life.

As states face large budget deficits, calls for reforming sentencing for non-violent offenders also are coming increasingly from conservatives.