KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.
Transcript
BRUCE DRUMMOND: This is KJZZ’s Sun Up, your daily news update from Phoenix, the state, and the region. Good morning, I’m Bruce Drummond. Phil is away for a few days. This podcast is a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by the KJZZ news team. It’s Thursday, April 16th. We’re Friday-adjacent, and here comes the news.
APS will no longer disconnect customers’ power when temperatures exceed 95 degrees, following a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office. Catherine Davis Young reports.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: The settlement comes after the heat-related death of an 82-year-old APS customer whose power was cut because of unpaid bills. APS already pauses disconnections from June through mid-October for heat safety, but Attorney General Kris Mayes notes climate change is prolonging Arizona’s dangerous heat season, and this customer’s death occurred in May. Mayes says she wants other utilities in the state to also pause disconnections based on temperature, not date.
KRIS MAYES: And if somebody dies on their watch with a date-based policy, we’re coming after them too.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: As part of the settlement, APS also agreed to add to its notification process for past due bills and expand its financial assistance program for customers. Katherine Davis Young, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, the widow of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is planning a visit to a Paradise Valley high school next week. From the education desk, Bridget Dowd reports.
BRIDGET DOWD: In a letter to parents on Tuesday, Pinnacle High School Principal Jeremy Richards said Kirk would be a guest speaker during a student club meeting on April 24th. He said Kirk would be sharing her personal journey and life experiences with Club America during the lunch period. The gathering is strictly for club members and their one invited guest, and not open to the general student body. Richards said the school will have an increased security presence on campus during the meeting. He added that under the Federal Equal Access Act and a state statute, student groups have the right to invite speakers and engage in activities that align with their interests. Bridget Dowd, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: The top Department of Justice official in Arizona is reviewing a referral from the Republican State Senate President, who accused Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes of interfering in a federal investigation into the 2020 presidential election. From the politics desk, Wayne Schutsky reports.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: After Senate President Warren Petersen gave records from the Senate's discredited review of the 2020 election to the FBI in response to a grand jury subpoena, Mayes and Fontes warned county recorders not to follow suit over concerns voter data is protected by state privacy laws. In a letter to US Attorney Timothy Courchaine, Petersen accused Mayes and Fontes of illegal interference. In a response, Kruschen seemed to agree and said his office is reviewing the issue. Mayes dismissed the allegations.
KRIS MAYES: This is a US Attorney alongside a candidate for this office who is trying desperately to curry favor with Donald Trump as he comes to town on Friday, where he'll undoubtedly continue to lie about his loss in Arizona.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Petersen is seeking the Republican nomination to face Mayes in the 2026 Attorney General election. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: The Peoria Unified School District will cut all of its social workers at the end of this year, as funds from the state’s school safety grant program will run out. The program runs in three-year cycles and supports the costs of school resource officers, counselors, and social workers. Peoria parent Vanessa Goolsby says her daughter has directly benefited from the people in those positions.
VANESSA GOOLSBY: For many students, they are the difference between feeling overwhelmed and feeling supported enough to keep going.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: The district has applied for the next round of grants but is prioritizing school resource officers instead. The state has previously said schools need to prioritize SROs over school counselors in their application.
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari is among a group of Democrats filing articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. From the Fronteras desk, Alisa Reznick has more.
ALISA REZNICK: The filing comes a little over a week after Ansari announced plans to initiate an impeachment process against Hegseth, who she says is the "chief enabler of an illegal war with Iran." The US and Israel began military action against the country at the end of February. Ansari argues that since then, Hegseth, who heads the newly dubbed Department of War, has repeatedly broken his oath to the Constitution, put US troops at risk, and carried out unlawful military actions, including a US strike that hit a girl school in Minab, Iran. She says those actions amount to high crimes and misdemeanors and warrant immediate removal by Congress. Alisa Reznick, KJZZ News, Tucson.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Third-party gubernatorial candidate Hugh Lytle will be on the ballot this year after a judge tossed out a challenge against him yesterday. From the politics team, here’s Camryn Sanchez.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: Lytle is running under the banner of the No Labels party, which was recently known as the Arizona Independent Party. He fended off two unsuccessful challenges that were consolidated into one court case this week. One challenge came from Lytle’s primary opponent, Teri Hourihan, and the other came from a Democrat represented by a law firm tied to Governor Katie Hobbs. Both challenges hinged on the fact that Lytle used the address of a UPS store on his nomination papers instead of his residential address. Both addresses are in Scottsdale, but they're in different legislative districts. But Judge Michael Mandell ruled that because Lytle is running for a statewide office, it doesn’t matter what area of the state he lives in. Camryn Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Two of the largest ticket services for concerts and live events in the country have been found liable for raising ticket costs and deterring competition. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced yesterday the jury found the companies violated federal and state antitrust laws. Amelia Monroe reports.
AMELIA MONROE: The verdict comes almost two years after 40 states, including Arizona and the Justice Department, sued Live Nation, alleging the company’s control of the live event industry suppressed competition. In May, the DOJ and Live Nation reached a settlement, but Mayes and 33 other states opted to continue litigation. The jury found Live Nation and Ticketmaster liable for monopolizing the ticket market, requiring artists to use its event promotion services, and overcharging customers. Mayes and the other states will seek remedies and financial penalties at a separate trial. Amelia Monroe, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: After the death of another Mexican national in ICE detention, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry called the agency’s detention centers, quote, “incompatible with human rights standards,” unquote. At least 15 Mexican nationals have died either in ICE detention or during ICE enforcement actions since President Trump took office, according to Mexico. That includes deaths in Arizona. Jorge Mendoza Yescas is the Mexican Consul General in Phoenix.
JORGE MENDOZA YESCAS: In Arizona, we have had two cases which we deem were unnecessary.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Mexico has formally called on US authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into each of the 15 deaths across the country.
The Scottsdale City Council voted Tuesday night 5 to 2 in favor of expanding a parking structure in Old Town. Supporters say the garage is needed to address the parking needs in the area, including for Spring Training. Opponents say the garage will ruin the charm of Old Town and that the city is relying on outdated data. Councilwoman Solange Whitehead voted against the proposed expansion.
SOLANGE WHITEHEAD: My position isn’t pro or against a parking garage. Major taxpayer investments must be supported by data.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Whitehead says the city could have avoided the controversy over this project by conducting a parking study.
For over 15 years, a local playwright researched the life of a Scottsdale-based con woman turned advocate for criminal justice reform. But as Jill Ryan reports, the new one-woman show, Stung, opening today, promises to reveal hidden truths about the late Sue Ellen Allen.
SUE ELLEN ALLEN (portrayed by PATRICIA DREBACK): And I have no doubt she’ll be really, really good at it.
JILL RYAN: At 57, Sue Ellen Allen was sent to an Arizona prison for securities fraud. She became a well-known advocate for reform, was invited to the White House by two presidents, wrote a memoir, and now in death, is the subject of a play. The Desert Foothills Theater playwright-in-residence, Andrea Markowitz, says she discovered hidden aspects of Allen's complicated life.
ANDREA MARKOWITZ: I’m just going to lay out the evidence and let people in the audience decide for themselves, because I don’t want to make up anyone else’s mind.
JILL RYAN: Local actress Patricia Drapac says she has mixed emotions about Allen, who she’s portraying.
PATRICIA DRAPAC: I think there are a lot of things she could and is credited for that are good, um, but I think it took a lot for her to change her demeanor and ways.
JILL RYAN: Stung is performed at the Holland Center in North Scottsdale. Jill Ryan, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: And in sports, a home run from catcher Adrian Del Castillo in the top of the 10th inning was the difference in Baltimore yesterday. The two-run shot broke a tie and led the Diamondbacks to an 8-to-5 win over the Orioles. They took two of the three games in the series. Arizona has the day off as they head home to take on the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow at Chase Field.
And in basketball, the Suns lost their NBA play-in tournament game against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday, but they still have a shot at the eighth and final playoff spot. They’ll host the Golden State Warriors tomorrow with the winner of that game going to the post-season. The Warriors eliminated the LA Clippers last night.
And that’s it for this edition of KJZZ’s Sun Up, Arizona’s morning news podcast for Thursday, April 16th. I’m Bruce Drummond.
