Another list posted this new information. I thought it might be useful for anyone that might have an ancestor that ended up in Arizona. ACCESS ARIZONA RECORDS ONLINE Last week, the Arizona Department of Health Services unveiled a Web site that will make it easier to get Arizona ancestors' vital records. The site, http://genealogy.az.gov, has a searchable database of 400,000 birth and death records-including actual images of the certificates. You can search by an individual's first and last name, and check options to search for the same first or last name (or both) of the person's parents. Sort results by name, birth date, death date, father's or mother's name, and county. Clicking on the individual's name launches a PDF image of the certificate. (You'll need the free Adobe Reader software, downloadable from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html, to view the image.) Arizona seals birth certificates for 75 years after issue, and death certificates for 50 years. Birth ecords in the database span 1887 to 1928, and death records cover 1878 to 1953. (Look for more information on researching Southwest ancestors in the August 2004 Family Tree Magazine.) Before the Arizona records site launched, genealogists had to pay $3 per request, then wait up to three weeks. The Mesa Regional Family History Center, a branch of the Family History Library, teamed up with the Arizona State Library's archives department to develop the site, which cost $25,000. But accessing Arizona public records could get more difficult on other fronts. An amendment to state House Bill 2357 would allow local governments to charge "a reasonable fee" for the cost of preparing public records for viewing. Current law permits fees for providing copies of documents, but not for preparing them for review, which usually requires striking confidential information. The bill would affect mainly news media-though the media aren't specified in its language-because reporters routinely review recrds for articles. The amendment evolved from a case in which a school employee spent three days preparing records for a television station. Supporters say it would save taxpayer money; critics say it hurts the public's ability to scrutinize government actions. ^i^ It's Bev ^i^ Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.