Stories You Don’t Want to Miss
This year, Maricopa County is spending more on heat relief than it ever has in hopes of turning the heat-related deaths trend around. New technologies using artificial intelligence are shaking up many industries, including publishing and art. Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has submitted new legal filings. Plus the latest in metro Phoenix and Fronteras Desk news.

KJZZ has been committed to covering Arizona’s water challenges, in our ongoing series, “Every Last Drop.” And this week, we’ve been looking into the contaminants that pose threats to the state’s increasingly precious supply of drinking water. Tempe voters on Tuesday rejected a set of ballot measures that would have created a new venue for the Arizona Coyotes. Plus the latest in metro Phoenix, Fronteras Desk, tribal resources, education and science news.

A Flagstaff judge has dismissed a restraining order that state Sen. Wendy Rogers obtained against an Arizona Capitol Times reporter. For the unincorporated community of Rio Verde Foothills, water stopped flowing this year when the nearby city of Scottsdale shut off the taps. Are other small communities facing the same threat? Plus the latest metro Phoenix, science and education news.

A non-profit organization based in the Valley is offering help, in the form of man’s best friend, for combat veterans suffering from PTSD or traumatic brain injuries. On the second floor of Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix is a room filled with Arizona history dating back to territorial days. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, science, business and metro Phoenix news.

There's a centrist political group called No Labels that's getting on the ballot in states like Arizona – and causing some consternation about what their endgame is. Menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes or sleep disturbances can negatively impact women in the workplace and cost billions in lost work time. The US Secretary of Education has been talking about loan forgiveness and school choice. Plus the latest metro Phoenix, business and Fronteras Desk news.

Voters in Tempe are preparing to cast their ballots in a special election on three propositions that will decide the future of its last major piece of prized real estate – a 46-acre tract of land on the northwestern edge of the city within just 2 miles of Sky Harbor Airport. The City of Tucson is returning a portion of ancestral land to the Tohono O’odham Nation in a new resolution passed by the City Council this week. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was before Congress this week answering questions about border apprehensions and the upcoming end of the pandemic-era protocol Title 42, among other issues. Plus the latest science, business and metro Phoenix news.

Tempe residents are expected to soon start receiving ballots for the city’s special election on whether to build an entertainment district around a new home for the Arizona Coyotes. Locals from the Navajo Nation shut down Grand Falls to non-tribal members and now they’re trying to keep it closed. Phoenix is looking for more partners to help protect the city’s most vulnerable this summer. Plus the latest in education and science news.

Republican lawmakers are proposing to rein in the powers of the Arizona governor to declare emergencies that can last for months or years without legislative oversight. A state-funded pilot program launched in 2015 that helped several Arizona school districts improve their performance is expanding. Republican Representative Eli Crane of Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District has reintroduced a bill to ratify a treaty that establishes state tribal lands for the San Juan Southern Paiute. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, metro Phoenix and business news.

The city of Phoenix filed a lawsuit to stop a major development planned in Tempe that Phoenix believes is too close to Sky Harbor Airport. An international body that regulates the trade of protected plants and animals has imposed sanctions on Mexico. And Phoenix has less than four months to begin disbanding the Zone. Plus the latest science, education and metro Phoenix news.

State lawmakers blocked a vote on whether Arizona should ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in a case over a land transfer in the Tonto National Forest that would bring a massive copper mine to a sacred indigenous site about an hour east of Phoenix. After many months of mobile home residents begging Phoenix leaders to help them fight evictions, the City Council took action Wednesday night. Plus the latest metro Phoenix, education, Fronteras Desk and science news.

It looks like Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego will have more support on the city council. Most Arizona Corporation Commissioners say a new regulator who met with financial institutions that invest in Arizona utilities did not commit an ethics violation. From auto-generated email responses to term papers written by ChatGPT, artificial intelligence now churns out text that both saves time and opens the door to fraud. Plus the latest in tribal resources, Fronteras Desk and education news.

Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed a bill that would have banned Arizona’s public schools from talking about race in certain ways. For the two most recent years on record, the case counts of Valley fever hit rates not seen since 2012. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, business and tribal resources news.

A market-based approach to pricing water could ease the crisis in the West. A group of Navajo residents living near what’s become a landmark waterfall in northern Arizona want to close it off to tourists and visitors, saying the increasingly popular area is being loved to death. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, science and metro Phoenix news.

The State Bar of Arizona confirmed it’s received two complaints against former Attorney General Mark Brnovich related to reports that he concealed records debunking election fraud claims. The Scottsdale City Council has unanimously approved a proposal to provide water to the Rio Verde Foothills community. Gov. Katie Hobbs has removed all the board members of a binational nonprofit meant to foster ties between Arizona and Sonora. Plus the latest science, metro Phoenix and education news.

Attorneys for the Hobbs administration say more than $200 million in American Rescue Plan grants issued before former Gov. Doug Ducey left office were done so illegally. Arizona's superintendent of public instruction says schools applying for safety grants have to prioritize armed police officers over school counselors. About 2,000 shipping containers used by former Gov. Ducey to keep people out of Arizona could soon be used to house people. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, science and metro Phoenix news.

Wednesday afternoon, the Arizona Senate passed a resolution to waive Arizona’s K-12 spending limit for this academic year. Fifteen Native American tribes, including the Gila River Indian Community, will get a total of $580 million in federal money this year for water rights settlements. The World Health Organization had announced that it would phase out the term "monkeypox," citing the need to move on from what it called racist and stigmatizing language. Plus the latest science, Fronteras Desk and metro Phoenix news.

A wall of shipping containers put up by former Gov. Doug Ducey’s administration along the border in Cochise County last year has been removed. Between the price of groceries, higher mortgage rates and news reports of layoffs, some people are bracing for tougher economic times — or wondering if they should be. California released its own plan this week on Colorado River water cuts. Plus the latest science, Fronteras Desk, education and metro Phoenix news.

A new app from Customs and Border Protection gives asylum seekers waiting at the U.S.-Mexico border the chance to ask for an exception to Title 42 restrictions on asylum. How do Phoenix leaders allow for growth, while making sure there's enough water to meet increased demand? The Arizona House Education Committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would allow school boards to terminate a superintendent's contract for violating board policy. Plus the latest metro Phoenix and science news.


How has disinformation and misdirection shaped the Grand Canyon? The old structures known as "the domes" near Casa Grande are being demolished, after years of back and forth between Pinal County and the owner of the condemned property. U.S. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly were in Yuma this week as part of a bipartisan group of eight congressional members visiting the border. Plus the latest metro Phoenix, science and education news.
