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 today. This podcast is a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by the KJZZ news team. It's Thursday, May 21, or as we prefer to reference it in the news, Friday eve. Thanks for being here and let's get cracking.
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. As Alex Hager reports, that would create a lot of uncertainty for people who rely on the river's water.
ALEX HAGER: Details about the plan are limited, but we do know one big thing. It would issue big water cutbacks to Arizona, California, and Nevada over the next decade with a chance to reassess every couple of years. Arizona's top water official, Tom Buschatzke, says that could make life hard for cities and farms.
TOM BUSCHATZKE: If you're an end user of water, how do you plan, not knowing how much water you're going to have out into the future?
ALEX HAGER: Buschatzke says there is a silver lining to the two-year check-ins. That unappealing idea of uncertainty could force state leaders to set aside their differences and come up with a long-term plan instead. Alex Hager, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: The Chandler City Council is scheduled tonight to consider whether to renew a contract with a controversial tech company that makes license plate readers. Matthew Casey reports.
MATTHEW CASEY: Chandler currently has about 40 Flock cameras, which have produced around 7,600 alerts this fiscal year. At a recent meeting, the City Council was told that Chandler owns the data collected, decides who to share it with, and keeps it for 30 days. Police Chief Brian Chapman said the system takes pictures of vehicles, not people.
BRYAN CHAPMAN: I'm sensitive certainly to the community feeling that, you know, this is just another surveillance tool that we share broadly with anybody. I'd like to remind the entire council that the confidentiality around law enforcement systems goes back decades.
MATTHEW CASEY: Chapman said his officers can only query the Flock system looking for violent fugitives, and he said his agency has not shared data with ICE. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Phoenix is planning several new investments in housing affordability and homelessness services in the year ahead, Katherine Davis Young reports.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: In a budget approved Tuesday, the Phoenix City Council added $6.6 million to its housing trust fund, nearly doubling the fund's size. Councilwoman Ann O'Brien says the fund allows the city to waive fees and speed up approval for affordable housing projects.
ANN O'BRIEN: We have no time to waste. Every streamlined permit, every waived fee, and every pre-approved plan is a family that gets housed faster.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: The budget also sets aside more than $18 million to keep several homeless shelters and heat relief services running, since pandemic-era federal aid that had been paying for those programs is set to expire this year. The council also approved more than $3 million for a flexible financial assistance program to help vulnerable families avoid homelessness. Katherine Davis Young, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Another typically routine administrative vote by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors devolved into public fighting with Recorder Justin Heap yesterday. From the politics desk, Wayne Schutsky reports.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: The recorder and board have fought over control of various election duties since Heep took office last year. This time, Heap's attorney sent a letter calling on the board to abandon plans to designate ballot drop box locations for upcoming elections, arguing that responsibility belongs to the recorder. And the letter said anyone who helps set up or administer those drop boxes without the recorder's approval would be guilty of a felony. Supervisor Thomas Galvin says that threat put a target on the back of the people the county relies on to administer elections.
THOMAS GALVIN: This is the first time that I can recall of our own employees and volunteers being threatened with criminal penalties, not only in Maricopa County, but in Arizona and the United States of America. This is shocking and appalling.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Heap accused the board of springing the drop box plan on his office at the last minute, but the board said it had worked closely with his staff for months. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: The Maricopa Community Colleges governing board has approved the appointment of the district's next chancellor. As Bridget Dowd reports, members gave a unanimous yes at a special meeting last night.
BRIDGET DOWD: Steven Bloomberg has been selected following a national search. A district spokesperson told KJZZ the board was holding a special meeting to ensure all details related to the new chancellor's appointment could move forward without unnecessary delay. Bloomberg currently serves as chancellor of the Kern Community College District in California. He brings more than 30 years of higher education leadership experience, having served in roles across five states. Bloomberg will succeed Steven Gonzales, who announced he would be concluding his service as chancellor after six and a half years. Bridget Dowd, KJZZ News, Phoenix. KJZZ is licensed to the Maricopa County Community College District.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Local officials in southern Arizona are voicing concerns about Copper World, a controversial mine proposed just south of the Tucson metro by Toronto-based mining company Hudbay Minerals. Gabriel Pietroiazio has more.
GABRIEL PIETROIAZIO: The Pima County Board of Supervisors has sent a slew of letters to investors, including the Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corporation. Hudbay executives and Canadian regulators were also told the project poses unresolved risks to the Santa Rita Mountains.
MATT HEINZ: This is a county that embraces mining.
GABRIEL PIETROIAZIO: Matt Heinz is vice chair of the county board.
MATT HEINZ: We work with ASARCO, we partner with them, so this isn't like a "no mining, not in my backyard, never ever." It's just: why here?
GABRIEL PIETROIAZIO: Copper World sits on private land, but Hudbay has been looking to expand its footprint to the Coronado National Forest. Gabriel Pietroiazio, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Republicans Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers are seeking reelection to the Arizona Corporation Commission, the state's top utility regulator. During a debate on Tuesday, both candidates defended their support for a new policy allowing utilities to seek annual rate increases rather than go through full rate cases, which can take years. Myers disputed arguments by critics who claimed the new annual process will lack oversight and limit public input.
NICK MYERS: We still have to go through a prudency determinations from the commission, we still have to vote on them just like we normally would. Um, but we've also added some other transparency items.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: The Arizona Attorney General's Office has opposed the annual adjustment policy, arguing data from other states shows it could cause rates to increase faster than normal.
The Peoria Unified School District's governing board has appointed a new interim superintendent. The decision drew criticism from the community amidst a teacher sex scandal and other leadership changes. From the education desk, here's Bridget Dowd once more.
BRIDGET DOWD: Tahlya Visatainer will serve as interim superintendent effective May 26. The board had voted just last month to start negotiations for Ryan LaDouceur to assume that role. During a special board meeting this week, board president Jeff Toby said that had changed.
JEFF TOBY: In my conversations with Dr. LaDouceur, he does not wish to be pulled into the politics of the situation, and I want to honor that request, and I'm not going to go into the details regarding my conversation with Dr. LaDouceur.
BRIDGET DOWD: That conflicts with a statement made by board member Heather Rooks, who was recently replaced as president. She says LaDouceur's wife posted on social media that her husband had been pushed out of the role.
HEATHER ROOKS: There was a phone call made on a Sunday morning to push him out, stating that they wanted to go in a different direction. Again, I had no idea that this was happening. Where is the transparency in this process?
BRIDGET DOWD: Several community members spoke during public comment saying it was strange that the board had called a meeting to make this decision in the middle of a Tuesday during a busy time at the end of the school year. Others were concerned about Visatainer's lack of experience in the classroom. She was approved by a 3-2 vote. The district will continue searching for a permanent superintendent in the meantime. Bridget Dowd, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Three Arizona congressmen are asking the Department of Homeland Security to expedite a project to modernize the Deconcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona. From the Fronteras Desk in Hermosillo, Nina Kravinsky has more.
NINA KRAVINSKY: Representative Juan Ciscomani is leading a bipartisan push to modernize the Deconcini land port of entry between Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, which millions of people cross each year. In a letter co-signed by Representatives Greg Stanton and Abe Hamadeh, the lawmakers urged DHS to expedite a pending environmental review of the project. Congress funded a feasibility study for the port modernization in 2022. The area is prone to flooding and sewer overflows during monsoon season, which the lawmakers say exposes Customs and Border Protection employees to hazardous conditions. Nina Kravinsky, KJZZ News, Hermosillo.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: And in sports, another victory for the Diamondbacks as they won at Chase Field yesterday, beating the Giants 6-3. The win completed a three-game sweep for Arizona in the series and was their fourth win in a row. The D-backs stay home for a series against the Colorado Rockies. First pitch is tonight at 6:40.
And in basketball, the Mercury will try to get to .500 on their season tonight as they host the LA Sparks. Phoenix is at 2-3 this year. That game tips off at 7 p.m. in downtown Phoenix.
And that's it for this edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast for Thursday, May 21. I'm Bruce Drummond.
