The city of Eloy will study the possibility of increasing the water rates within the city. The City Council will hold a public hearing to gather public comment on the water rates. Eloy Finance Director Brian Wright emphatically stated the city’s decision to host a public hearing on the issue in no way means that the city will be taking any kind of action at this time. Get the details on the hearing.

Pinal County is awaiting the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission’s maps for congressional and legislative districts. The maps are expected to arrive near the end of December, and will play an important role in informing the county of its new congressional and legislative boundaries, so that it can draw new supervisor districts and supervisor lines affecting voter precinct boundaries.

Speaking of new districts, a county judge says that the current Justice Court boundaries in northern Pinal are confusing, and frequently lead to people being cited into the wrong court. Associate Presiding Judge of Pioneer Justice Court in San Tan Valley Shaun Babeu is asking for different lines to better distinguish his precinct and the Apache Junction precinct.

Also, don’t miss the latest updates from our crime beat:

– According to Pinal County Justice Court records a man accused of knocking out another man at a gas station during an argument over politics pled guilty to endangerment charges.

– A Casa Grande man allegedly hid from Pinal County Sheriff’s deputies in a ditch he had dug under a mobile home on West Carol Avenue after they responded to the home for an unwanted person on the property.