Arizona marks 100 years of statehood

PHOENIX -- Arizona is celebrating its centennial and marking 100 years since becoming the 48th state.

Gov. Jan Brewer shouted, "Happy birthday, Arizona!" from a stage in front of the domed Old Capitol in Phoenix at the start of yesterday's festivities.

The event included storytelling and pageantry amid recollections of the state's long independent streak.

Arizona shed its five-decade status as a U.S. territory on Feb. 14, 1912, when it became the last state in the contiguous 48.

The U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp based on a painting by Arizona artist Ed Mell that depicts Cathedral Rock, one of the red rock formations at Sedona. -- AP