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
PHIL LATZMAN: This is KJZZ’s Sun Up. It's your daily news episode from here in Phoenix on our state and region. I'm Phil Latzman. Good morning. And we bring you this podcast as a daily digest of the news events here in Arizona as reported by our KJZZ news team. It is Monday, May the 11th. I hope you had a nice weekend. All the moms, a belated happy Mother's Day. Let's start the week off and get caught up on the news. Arizona leaders say they plan to return to the negotiating table with the seven states that share the Colorado River. But as Alex Hager reports, they are not optimistic about reaching an agreement.
ALEX HAGER: The lower basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada submitted a proposal that would keep the river flowing normally through 2028. Their upstream counterparts have not released their own. State leaders say the next round of talks could include a mediator to help bridge their divides, but Arizona's negotiator Tom Buschatzke says even a mediator likely won't pull all seven states together before a federal deadline in July.
TOM BUSCHATZKE: We're too far apart, and the time's too short.
ALEX HAGER: The federal government was involved in crafting the lower basin states' proposal and appears likely to approve at least parts of it to keep the Colorado River system working for at least a couple years. Alex Hager, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: That extreme heat warning is now in effect through Tuesday night, tomorrow night, as temperatures in the valley reach over 100 degrees and then some will be close to 110 today. The National Weather Service says heat-related illnesses increase significantly during this period. Alicia Ryan is an NWS meteorologist in Phoenix.
ALICIA RYAN: Triple digits are going to be mostly staying for the week, with the exception of Friday, maybe dipping slightly below.
PHIL LATZMAN: Ryan also says the high pressure in the upper atmosphere leads to these conditions, and she advises people to stay in the shade, wear sunscreen, and put on light clothing. And as temperatures climb, Arizona state parks and trails is reminding hikers to take precautions to avoid heat-related illness or injury. Katherine Davis-Young has more.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: The most important precaution hikers should take in hot weather is to stay well-hydrated. Arizona State Parks and Trails Ranger Sarah Toms says bring enough water for one liter per person per hour, and turn around before that water is half gone. Toms also recommends checking in with rangers ahead of your hike.
SARAH TOMS: We're going to give you information about the trail. We're going to give you information about the weather and different precautions you can take while you are hiking.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: Other tips include starting your hike early in the day, wearing lightweight clothing, and bringing a fully charged phone with you. Some Phoenix city trails close during extreme heat warnings. Toms suggests hikers consider trails in the northern part of the state where temperatures are cooler. Katherine Davis-Young, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Rising temperatures in Arizona during the summer months could mean higher costs and more frequent charging for electric and hybrid car owners. Amelia Monroe reports.
AMELIA MONROE: The city of Phoenix has set goals to build and expand infrastructure that could support over 280,000 electric vehicles by 2030 as part of an effort to increase sustainability. But a new study from AAA found that extreme temperatures in the Grand Canyon State could make EVs and hybrids less efficient. AAA spokesperson Doug Johnson says that when temperatures exceed 95 degrees, both types of vehicles lose significant range.
DOUG JOHNSON: Hybrid vehicles experience a 12% decrease in fuel efficiency in hot temperatures. EVs, they showed a 10%reduction in efficiency and an 8.5% loss of driving range compared to moderate temperature conditions.
AMELIA MONROE: Johnson says the vehicle batteries are primary contributors to lost efficiency, comparing them to lagging phones after overheating. Amelia Monroe, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The Arizona Commission on the Arts published its five-year strategic plan as it faces potential funding cuts. Jill Ryan has details.
JILL RYAN: Two goals in the new report are to improve access to the arts for underserved communities and to help artists have more sustainable careers. The Commission's Executive Director Christina You-sun Park says they wanted to focus on the needs of the arts community rather than address the Commission's ongoing funding challenges.
CHRISTINA YOU-SUN PARK: We are a state agency. We're not an advocacy organization, but we do have incredible partners that are working on creating a more sustainable funding source.
JILL RYAN: The most recent version of the Arizona state budget allocates zero dollars to the commission. Those budget negotiations are ongoing. Jill Ryan, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The federal workforce shrank by 10% last year, according to Pew Research. Now a new analysis reveals the decrease included thousands of public lands workers in our region of the U.S.. About 700 were lost in Arizona alone. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Rachel Cohen reports.
RACHEL COHEN: The total number of public lands workers who left due to layoffs, retirements, and other departures was compiled by consulting firms made up of former federal employees. Andrea Delgado was a Deputy Regional Forester in Colorado until last October. She combed through public federal workforce data and found declines across agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Geological Survey.
ANDREA DELGADO: You know, we’re talking about engineers who keep trails, roads, and bridges safe to travel on and hike on, the hydrologists who monitor snowpack and watersheds, biologists who track fish and wildlife.
RACHEL COHEN: The drops in public lands workers ranged from an 11% decline in Wyoming to 26% in Colorado. For the Mountain West News Bureau, I’m Rachel Cohen.
PHIL LATZMAN: The ocelot is seldom seen in the Southwest anymore; few animals from the wild spotted cat species still roam between the borderlands of Northern Mexico and Southern Arizona. But as Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, a group of tribal youth with ties to this now-endangered creature have bestowed one with an indigenous name.
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: Tucson High School first-year Isaac Valencia was among nearly three dozen O'odham students part of the Voices of Our Youth program, working with a tribal linguist. Then a couple hundred ballots were cast to decide a fitting moniker through a recent online vote.
ISAAC VALENCIA: When I came up with the name, I named it in O'odham, and Him-dam means traveler, like he has an untold story.
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: Himdam was first spotted in the Atascosa Highlands in 2024. More sightings of the same feline soon followed in the Whetstone, Patagonia, and Santa Rita mountain ranges. The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity shared insights about ocelots and their fragile habitat, the Sky Islands, with this group of students. For 14-year-old Valencia, who is from the San Xavier district of the Tohono O'odham Nation, Him-dam’s survival is inspiring.
ISAAC VALENCIA: It makes me really proud.
GABRIEL PIETRORAZIO: And naming the rare cat means so much more. Gabriel Pietrorazio, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Researchers from the University of Arizona developed seismometers to detect moonquakes and collect other seismic data. They’ll be sent to the moon on a future Artemis mission. Daniella Mendoza DellaGiustina is with the University’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. She said the instruments are needed to withstand lunar conditions and other forces.
DANIELLA MENDOZA DELLAGIUSTINA: That took a lot of work, took us about two years to redesign the instrument and then to test it and ensure that it could survive through a much more challenging environment than it would ever encounter on Earth.
PHIL LATZMAN: The seismometers are planned to be buried near the moon’s south pole. Each year, students from ASU's Master of Real Estate Development program work with cities and towns on a development proposal for a particular piece of land. One recent collaboration reimagined the site of the Turf Paradise horse racetrack in North Phoenix. Ignacio Ventura has more.
IGNACIO VENTURA: While Turf Paradise landowners did not get actively involved with the proposals, the student projects were done with their full knowledge and consent. One proposal integrated multi-family housing, retail, and walkability into the area near 19th Avenue and Bell Road. Students had to address the physical realities of the site, as well as legal, political, economic and financial feasibility.
TAYLOR KOBLENZ: You know, you can only learn so much from books and lectures in a classroom, and the real-world meetings with the actual people who build things and develop things and drew things is what makes this different and more real-world.
IGNACIO VENTURA: Student Taylor Koblenz says his team received guidance from industry mentors. Turf Paradise is on about 213 acres and has struggled in recent years with its future status. Ignacio Ventura, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: In sports, basketball's an up-and-down weekend on the road for the Phoenix Mercury. They opened the season with a 33-point blowout win in Las Vegas in a finals rematch with the Aces Saturday, but they lost in San Francisco to the Valkyries 95–79 last night. Alyssa Thomas had 19 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds but also six turnovers for Phoenix. The 1-1 Mercury play their home opener tomorrow night; they’ll host the Minnesota Lynx.
And in baseball, Eduardo Rodriguez came in within two outs of his first Major League complete game. Ryan Walchmidt had his first three Big League RBIs. The Diamondbacks beat the Mets yesterday in Phoenix 5-1. Rodriguez, now 4-0, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and allowed four hits in eight-and-a-third innings, earning a standing ovation from the Chase Field crowd. D-backs take two of three from the hapless Mets, and they’ll begin a three-game series in Texas against the Rangers this evening.
And that will do it for this edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona’s morning news podcast this Monday, May the 11th. I’m Phil Latzman. Thanks for being with us, and we'll do it again tomorrow. Talk to you then.
