Public policy-makers and voters need sound, relevant data when making decisions, yet accessing information can be difficult, and often costly. But a national trend to use technology and innovative public and private funding is beginning to change all that.

Arizona's population has ballooned from 2.7 million in 1980 to 6.5 million in 2007. By 2032, the state will have welcomed even more new residents — 4.2 million — for a total of nearly 11 million.

The cover of the New York Times magazine last fall showed an old, disabled speed boat lying on a barren, cracked expanse of earth — which used to be covered with water.

The Phoenix economy "could be worse," says Lee McPheters, director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business. And that's the good news.

Arizona's most severe real estate downturn began in the late 1980s and stretched deeply into the next decade. At the abyss, home prices in the state had declined (on a repeat-sale basis) for a record 17 straight months.

Arizona brought its "A" game to the Super Bowl — both on the field and off — with a winning coordination of events at Glendale's University of Phoenix Stadium.

The dramatic growth of the past half-century has led to higher living standards in much of the world, but has also resulted in urban sprawl, choking pollution and global warming.

What do you look for when you buy a pair of jeans? Color? Cut? Designer label? Price tag? One thing is certain: Even if you buy what you think is the same make/label/origin, year after year, it is an entirely different item with a brand-new geographic story.

What's the best way to convince a 40-year-old to stop smoking? Tell him that he'll get lung cancer and die? Not necessarily.

William Polk has an impressive resume as a historian, policy adviser and diplomat.