Governor Doug Ducey writes, "Great to join Scouting Arizona’s Luncheon to introduce my friend Sharon Harper as she was honored with the Trail to Leadership award. Sharon's love of AZ, dedication to her community, and strong servant leadership make her the perfect person to represent the values of scouting."
Between Oct. 15 and Dec. 14 at the museum, ten movies of Billy with post-screening discussions will be featured.
Bob Boze Bell: Writer, Humorist, Artist, Old West Historian, is being honored as 2025 Arizona Historymaker! Event is October 25.
Opinion section is adding community advisory board
Greg Burton
Executive editor Arizona Republic
USA TODAY NETWORK September 28, 2025
(Charlie) Kirk championed the First Amendment. So do we. The Republic’s Community Advisory Board will encourage civil discourse and civic participation. The stakes are greater today than they’ve been in a long time.
(Congrats to Historical League member and one of the new members of)
The Republic Community Advisory Board:
Lincoln Ragsdale Jr., a small-business owner. Ragsdale is a longtime resident and community leader in metro Phoenix and son of pioneering civil rights heroes Lincoln Ragsdale Sr. and Eleanor Ragsdale.
Sharon Harper, Business/Civic Leader is being honored as 2025 Arizona Historymaker October 25, 2025.
The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com are moving their offices to the redeveloped Park Central Mall in midtown Phoenix, leaving downtown for the first time in the news organization’s 135-year history.
The newspaper’s new office at Park Central will be 17,000 square feet, Andrew Cheney, a broker with Lee and Associates who represented Park Central in the lease, said.
“We have one of the most exciting atmospheres on Central Avenue right now,” Cheney said of the activity at Park Central, listing Creighton University, the new hotel, EOS Fitness, restaurants and apartments, as benefits for Park Central. “There is something for everyone there right now.”
Phoenix recently designated the area around Park Central as a bioscience core, known as “Phoenix Medical Quarter, Global Advancement of Health and Education.”
Sharon Harper, chairperson and CEO of Plaza Cos., one of the co-developers of Park Central, said the success of the redeveloped mall is “such a tribute to Phoenix for sure.”
“Park Central has risen as the epitome of the history and the future of the city,” she said.
Along with The Republic, Dress for Success Phoenix, a non-profit organization that provides unemployed people with professional clothing and job training to help them reenter the work- force, recently moved its office to Park Central.
Harper said new development projects are in the works for the former mall as well. Plaza Cos. is in escrow with the Dinerstein Cos., the developer of an apartment complex already at the former mall, on another site to build an additional apartment building.
Barrow Neurological Institute is also in the early stages of planning a new bioscience building at the site.
Artlink, an arts organization, is planning a new set of programs for performing arts at Park Central.
“We wanted to be a leader in the mix of biosciences, commercial office and arts and culture,” Harper said of the curation of tenants at Park Central.
Honored in 1992 as an Arizona Historymaker, Sandra Day O'Connor continues to be a positive influence for Arizona.
September 25, 2025. The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute is proud to announce that the O’Connor House in Tempe, Arizona, has been awarded the esteemed National Trust for Historic Preservation Trustees’ Emeritus Award for Historic Site Stewardship. The honor was presented in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at its annual PastForward Conference in September. Only eight historic projects and organizations nationwide were recognized for exemplary preservation work.
The O’Connor House, conserved by the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, is the historic adobe family home of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the nation’s highest court. To prevent its demolition, the home was meticulously relocated brick by brick to the pristine desert setting of Papago Park in Tempe, Arizona. Today, the O’Connor House stands as an icon for the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, serving as a symbol of Justice O’Connor’s lifetime work and a gathering place for civic engagement and civility.
“Justice O’Connor’s vision was to create a place where people could come together to address society’s problems through respectful dialogue,” said Gay Wray, Co-Chair of the O’Connor Institute Board of Directors. “The O’Connor House embodies the work of Justice O’Connor, and we are deeply honored that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has recognized its enduring significance.”
The National Preservation Awards, established over six decades ago, are among the highest honors in the field, spotlighting distinguished individuals, organizations, and historic places that enrich their communities through preservation. This year’s awardees reflect the power of historic places to strengthen community engagement, nurture culture, and inspire future generations.
Mark your calendars! On Thursday, October 16th, Raising Cane's is donating 15% of sales from participating Valley and Flagstaff locations to support National History Day Arizona!
