First lady Laura Bush will be presented the 11th annual Sandra Day O

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Mary Kim Titla, who broke ground in the TV news industry, plans to make inroads in the U.S. Congress.Titla said she plans to run as a Democrat in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, one of the largest congressional districts in the nation. It takes in Flagstaff, Prescott, Apache Junction, Casa Grande and Safford, among other cities and towns scattered across northern, central and eastern Arizona.The seat currently is held by Republican Rick Renzi, who is under federal investigation for possible public corruption.Titla grew up on the San Carlos Apache Reservation and was one of the first American Indian women to have a prominent role on TV news crew in a major market at KPNX. If Titla, 46, wins office, she would be the first American Indian woman to represent Arizona in Congress."After much soul searching and prayer and after being encouraged by voters, I am humbled and honored to inform you I have decided to run for Congress for Arizona’s 1stCongressional District as a Democratic candidate. I will be making an official announcement soon," she said in a statement on her Web site, www.marykimtitla.com."Believing I am the change needed in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, I am ready to be a real voice for the people and although I am a conservative Democrat, I intend to reach out and better serve all citizens of District 1 no matter what party they belong to," she wrote.Titla said she soon will launch a "Hear The People" tour to take the pulse of the district.She said she stands for quality education, strengthening families, bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq and cleaning up curruption in Washington.Titla left TV news to start NativeYouthMagazine.com two years ago.

J.D. Hayworth (third from left) and Jon Kyl (fifth from left)

As Sen. Jon Kyl was making the rounds speaking to national and local media outlets about the Senate’s border security and immigration reform agreement Friday, KFYI talker J.D. Hayworth was railing about it on the air. He christened the day “Sellout Thursday.”

Kyl took the criticism in stride.

“One reason he’s in radio now rather than in the Congress is that he expressed points of view that I don’t think represented the majority view of Americans,” Kyl told me.

Hayworth, a six-term Republican incumbent, lost his office to Democratic challenger Harry Mitchell last year.

“I won my re-election by stressing the fact that I wanted to secure the border, I wanted a very strong employee verification system to ensure that nobody can ever be employed in the future who is not legal in this country, a temporary worker program that is truly for temporary workers … and dealing with the illegal immigrants who are already here in a humane way, in a way that didn’t amount to amnesty,” Kyl said.

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Harry Mitchell, who already has received an extraordinary amount of media attention for a freshman Congressman, is featured in a page-long article in the May 17, 2007, issue of National Journal.

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State Sen. Chuck Gray, who is serving as Mitt Romney

Most of John McCain’s supporters presumably stayed home to watch their man in action during the Republican presidential candidates’ debate Tuesday night.

In contrast, Mitt Romney’s supporters staged house parties across the East Valley and the country to watch the talk-a-thon on live TV.

McCain himself was scheduled to drop into a house party after the debate concluded in South Carolina, said Doug Cole, an Arizona campaign volunteer.

Later Tuesday night and into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the Arizona senator was scheduled to travel to New York to attend the graduation of his daughter Meghan at Columbia University later Wednesday.

McCain is expected to return to Arizona on Friday for a private weekend with his family at his ranch near Sedona. No public events are scheduled.

No presidential candidate would risk being out of the public eye long, of course. McCain is scheduled to be back in Arizona later this month for a breakfast meeting and fund-raiser sponsored by the John McCain 2008 Women

A group of women plan a candlelight vigil outside of Sen. John McCain

The East Valley will figure prominently in Mitt Romney