Can’t find the time to listen to every story on KJZZ? We've got you covered. Get the week’s top stories from the KJZZ newsroom, including highlights from The Show and the latest in Arizona business, education, science and tribal natural resources news.
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New rules for sharing water from the Colorado River are here, and Arizona stands to take the biggest hit. The Tohono O’odham Nation says the Trump administration is sending Border Patrol agents to their tribal lands where contractors are preparing to erect a border wall. The Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix has a special program helping people with memory loss recall happier times. Plus the latest education, business and science news.
As the number of data centers across the U.S. continues to increase, so does public opposition to them and that has some Arizona leaders looking for new standards for what acceptable data center development could look like. An election is underway on whether to form a union at Banner Health, which calls itself Arizona’s largest employer. The West Valley NAACP says it’s filing a complaint with the Peoria Unified School District. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, business and politics news.
Celebrated sites in Arizona are slated to see a double border wall. The water level in Lake Mead is now the lowest it’s been since the nation’s largest reservoir was filled, about ninety years ago. The Arizona Healthy Schools Act recently took effect as students across the state filed back into classrooms. Plus the latest tribal natural resources, business, metro Phoenix, and technology news.
In the first of a three-part series, KJZZ explores the Navajo Nation’s complicated history with the coal industry. Plus, a non-profit in Surprise is bringing military veterans together through the art of theater, Arizona researchers are looking into ways to keep desert dust on the ground, and leaders of the Colorado River Indian Tribes say the federal government didn’t consult them enough while drawing up new plans for sharing Colorado River water.
A new poll shows people living in the Colorado River Basin overwhelmingly want their governments to do more to secure water for the future. Arizona’s two largest utilities APS and SRP say they saw record-breaking demands for energy late last week. And to help answer questions about what is happening and why, we’re launching a reporting project called “A.I. in Arizona.” Plus the latest politics, health, Fronteras Desk, arts, and metro Phoenix news.
After some hesitancy, the Arizona Water Banking Authority has assured city utilities around the Valley that it will use its stored supplies to make up for all of the water they lose to Colorado River cutbacks. Measles continues to spread in Maricopa County. The Trump administration has announced plans to roll back a two-decade moratorium on mineral leasing around Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Plus the latest politics, Fronteras Desk, metro Phoenix, and health news.
The two Republicans seeking re-election to the Arizona Corporation Commission are running on a platform of promises made, promises kept. Policymakers are likely just days away from announcing new rules for managing the Colorado River's shrinking supply, and advocates want to ensure there will still be water saved for the river itself. A panel discusses whether Phoenix can ever be walkable. Plus the latest health, political, Fronteras Desk and tribal natural resources news.
With longtime Congressman Andy Biggs leaving to run for governor, two Republicans are running to replace him in Congressional District 5. As wildfires grow larger in the West, utilities are using a variety of strategies to get ahead of risks and keep the power on. New World Screwworm cases have been confirmed in more than two dozen cows, sheep and goats in Texas since early June, having made its way up through parts of Mexico for over a year and a half. Plus the latest metro Phoenix, tribal natural resources, business, and education news.
A Maricopa County judge reinstated an order requiring Recorder Justin Heap and the board of supervisors to sit down with an independent mediator to solve their ongoing election dispute. The nation’s nearly 600 federally recognized tribes are now eligible for conservation grants from the National Park Service. Valley Metro and the city of Phoenix are planning a light rail extension west down Indian School Road, and have asked the community to help shape the route. Plus a journey to find one of the largest populations of urban bats in the country.
Negotiators are discussing the future of the free trade deal that keeps all the produce crossing the border tariff free. Looking to shore up its water supply as Colorado River cuts loom, Cave Creek is finalizing a water agreement with Peoria. The Tucson Unified School District has approved a nearly $800-million budget proposal for the next fiscal year. Plus the latest tribal natural resources, metro Phoenix, business, and health news.
A new state budget passed out of the Arizona legislature Thursday night with support from most Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Colorado River experts were in Washington D.C. Wednesday to speak with senators about the state of the region’s water crisis. A former Centennial High School student has filed a $20 million notice of claim against the Peoria Unified School District. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, metro Phoenix, business, and science news.
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating claims that Arizona State University is illegally discriminating against some students by operating surreptitious diversity, equity and inclusion programs. A state committee is directing the Arizona Auditor General to conduct special audits on student safety and child care assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed a New World screwworm case in South Texas, after a more than year-long attempt to contain it in Mexico. Plus the latest business, metro Phoenix, and health news.
Extreme heat kills hundreds of Arizonans each year. But some groups are at much higher risk than others – that includes residents of manufactured homes. A member of the Deer Valley Unified School District board is under fire for giving a Nazi salute following a dispute with the board president during a public meeting on Tuesday night. The town of Superior has forged a $20-million dollar water deal with the mining company Resolution Copper. Plus the latest tribal natural resources, business, metro Phoenix and politics news.
Phoenix is planning several new investments in housing affordability and homeless services in the year ahead. A new federal proposal for sharing the Colorado River would take a new approach to managing water, forcing states to check in with each other every two years. Local officials in southern Arizona are voicing concerns about Copper World, a controversial mine proposed just south of the Tucson metro. Plus the latest education, Fronteras Desk, politics, business, and metro Phoenix news.
Arizona is in for another very hot summer but a new weather pattern could bring heavy monsoon storms. A new plan for managing the Colorado River would mean a big difference for cities and towns in the Valley that depend on its water. On Wednesday, the Navajo Police Department responded to a crash involving a semi-truck carrying uranium ore from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim to a mill in Utah. Plus the latest business, health, metro Phoenix, and Fronteras Desk news.
Summer is coming and for the third year in a row, the city of Phoenix will operate a 24-7 heat relief site. As deportations continue under the Trump administration, many longtime residents of the U.S.—and of Arizona—find themselves adjusting to a new life. A federal judge threw out the Department of Justice’s attempt to force Arizona to turn over its voter rolls to the Trump administration. Plus the latest water, indigenous affairs, and metro Phoenix news.
The Arizona Community Foundation, Phoenix, the Desert Botanical Garden and ASU are teaming up to attract more investments in extreme heat mitigation in the Valley. Phoenix residents will soon be paying more for trash and recycling, with collection fees increasing by $14 over the next three years. The federal government has a new plan to prop up water levels in Lake Powell. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, metro Phoenix, politics, business and tribal natural resources news.
The Colorado River is running dry, and the federal government has proposed big cuts to the amount of water that flows to Arizona. APS will no longer disconnect customers’ power when temperatures exceed 95 degrees, following a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office. Excessive marijuana consumption can be a 'nuclear bomb' to mental health. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, education and politics news.
The latest forecasts for water in the Colorado River show a grim picture. Turning Point USA’s political arm spent months pouring money and resources into a little-known utility election in Arizona. This week, Tucson leaders heard the results of a monthslong study of what residents want to see out of a proposed city amendment to regulate data centers. Plus, the latest metro Phoenix and business news.
The city of Phoenix is hard at work setting up new technology at its Cave Creek water treatment plant. A new spiritual caregiver is stepping in known as eco-chaplains. The Navajo Nation signed an agreement with Utah that centers on advancing economic development and authentic Indigenous representation through cinema. Plus the latest education, business and Fronteras Desk news.
