EDITOR’S LETTER: Miracle on 34(7) street

The writing team here at InMaricopa nursed our holiday hangovers and put together a captivating issue chock full of thoughtful, well-researched articles. For a minute there, it felt like a miracle we were able to pull it off.

This edition is full of little miracles. The new Maricopa Chamber of Commerce president, Isaac Jackson, tells me it’s “a miracle” the organization overcame years of extreme hardship despite its recent breakup with the city that might be a little messier than it seems. The February issue opens with my story about these recent developments.

Later, you’ll read Justin Griffin’s tear-jerking story about a child’s miraculous recovery from a near-death experience that introduced her to angels and brought families together in a time of need.

February might be the shortest month of the year, but that doesn’t make our February magazine any shorter. We’ve packed a lot of punch in these pages. After all, sometimes shorter is better — like the line at a self-checkout or a fun-sized candy bar.

And hey, it’s a leap year — that makes February 3.6% longer than usual. What will you do with all that extra time? Maybe check out the many hidden gems in the city’s rural outskirts. Brian Petersheim Jr. Will tell you about some of the most fascinating and whimsical places you can explore.

February is the last cold month of winter here in Pinal County and that means tamales are still plentiful on Maricopa’s “black market” — Jeff Chew will tell you more about the people who make and sell them illegally. They’ve been fighting to overturn that law, but Gov. Katie Hobbs refuses to legalize selling the homemade Mexican treats.

The governor has done plenty more to tick off Maricopans recently. After bragging about securing money to improve State Route 347, she cut that funding and called it “wasteful spending.” Now, she’s trying to further restrict how much water our local alfalfa farmers can use on their already parched, fallow land. Monica D. Spencer’s centerpiece amplifies those farmers’ voices.

Many in the city want a change in leadership, both in the governor’s office and on Capitol Hill. Arizona’s presidential primaries are next month, another reason why February is so transitional. Early enough to buy tamales, late enough to get your vegetables in the ground so they’re salad-ready come warm season. Al Brandenburg will tell you how.

This month brings the launch of our newly designed daily news website, so keep an eye out for a sleek, modern design as you continue to make InMaricopa.com a daily port-of-call for your local news.

And next month, InMaricopa turns 20 years old. When I turned 20, I was a rookie reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writing about women’s sports. Which reminds me, in this edition, Tom Schuman tells us why a girls’ volleyball team inducted a local immigrant from Nigeria as an honorary member.

It might be a short month, but miracles can happen anywhere, anytime, and in an instant. I hope this month you’ll look out for the little miracles life hands us.