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
JILL RYAN: This is KJZZ's Sun Up, your daily news update from Phoenix, the state, and region. Good morning, I'm Jill Ryan. Phil is off today. This podcast is a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by the KJZZ news team. It's Friday, we made it. Congratulations and happy May 22 to you. Thanks for listening. The weekend is upon us, so here we go.
Last night, the Chandler City Council delayed a vote on whether to merge and renew contracts with controversial tech company Flock until at least mid-July. Matthew Casey reports.
MATTHEW CASEY: Chandler currently has about 40 Flock cameras that read license plates and produce alerts, which are sent to police. About the same number of people told the City Council to cut ties with the company. Some in the crowd held signs saying, "Get the Flock out of Chandler." Shane Strong said he's pro-law enforcement, but —
SHANE STRONG: This is the definition of a dystopian corporate panopticon. It treats every single Chandler resident as a suspect in a rolling, never-ending lineup. What is most un-American about this technology is that it renders us guilty until proven innocent.
MATTHEW CASEY: The police chief said one Flock camera that was pointed at a school was removed during the roughly three hours the council considered the contract. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
JILL RYAN: A company accused of defrauding veterans trying to apply for federal benefits agreed to pay $2 million to settle a consumer fraud lawsuit brought by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. From the politics desk, Wayne Schutsky reports.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: From 2019 to 2024, Vetlink offered to help veterans navigate the disability claims process for a fee, according to the lawsuit. Mayes accused the company's founders of using deceptive and misleading sales tactics to convince veterans to sign up. That includes claims it could offer services that can only be provided by organizations accredited by the VA, like preparing disability claims on behalf of veterans.
KRIS MAYES: My office will not allow companies to exploit veterans who are simply trying to access the benefits that they bravely earned.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Under the settlement, Vetlink's founders will pay just under $2 million. Most of that money will go towards providing restitution to affected veterans. The AG's office says customers will receive a postcard notifying them of their eligibility. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
JILL RYAN: Arizona is entering the height of its wildfire season. If you are planning any camping trips this holiday weekend, be sure to review campfire rules ahead of time. Tiffany Davila is with the Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
TIFFANY DAVILA: We will have pretty much all of Arizona in restrictions with the exception of Southern, Southeastern Arizona.
JILL RYAN: Activities that could contribute to human-caused wildfires are prohibited. These include smoking, welding, or using a torch outdoors, and discharging a firearm without a permit. All campfires, even in designated areas, are prohibited in La Paz and Yuma counties.
Arizona added the second most battery storage of any state nationwide in the first three months of this year. As Greg Hahne reports, that's according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association.
GREG HAHNE: Arizona added about 940 megawatt-hours of utility-scale battery storage in the first quarter of this year. That's about as much energy as 1,000 homes use for a month. That, however, is about 36% less than was added at the same time last year in the state. Despite that drop, SEIA anticipates there'll still be strong battery storage growth for the rest of the year nationally. Joan White with the organization says batteries have a specific strength relevant this year.
JOAN WHITE: Unlike fossil fuel that have high price volatility related to geopolitical occurrences, solar and storage have a very stable price profile. So I think in this particular moment, we're seeing a lot of utilities look to solar and storage.
GREG HAHNE: The report also found that beyond utility growth, data centers drove strong growth off the grid. Greg Hahne, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
JILL RYAN: A federal lawsuit alleges the city of Mesa acted illegally to implement landing fees at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa. Connor Greenwall reports.
CONNOR GREENWALL: The lawsuit was filed by two flight schools, CAE Aviation Academy and Thrust Flight Properties, who offer classes out of Falcon Field. The suit alleges Mesa violated several laws, including city code and the Constitution, by implementing landing fees. The city says the intention of the landing fees is to fund the airport, but the schools alleged the landing fees target flight schools in order to reduce traffic and noise at the airport. According to court documents, the schools are asking the court to prevent the enforcement of the fees. The city says the lawsuit lacks legal merit and does not justify delaying the program. Connor Greenwall, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
JILL RYAN: A bipartisan group of members of Congress, including two from Arizona, is forming a new caucus focused on U.S.-Mexico relations. From the Fronteras Desk in Hermosillo, Nina Kravinsky reports.
NINA KRAVINSKY: The group of House representatives includes Greg Stanton and Juan Ciscomani from Arizona. The new caucus will focus on trade, security, and cultural cooperation, according to the lawmakers. Tension has been increasing between the U.S. and Mexico in recent weeks and months after the death of two U.S. agents in Mexico and the U.S. indictment of several Mexican public officials. The creation of the caucus comes in the months ahead of the first mandated review of the USMCA, the trade deal that binds the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Mexico is Arizona's largest trading partner. Billions of dollars cross the U.S.-Mexico border each year. Nina Kravinsky, KJZZ News, Hermosillo.
JILL RYAN: A federal judge is rejecting a claim by Phoenix officials that a former police sergeant was fired for deliberately trying to provoke crime at an anti-ICE student protest in Chandler in January. Instead, the judge writes that Dustin Mullen told Chandler police he planned to let students assault him because he was frustrated that officers didn't intercede when students became aggressive. Steve Serbalik is Mullen's attorney.
STEVE SERBALIK: People being present at a protest or as a counter-protester doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as they're trying to incite or provoke crime.
JILL RYAN: Mullen's request for reinstatement on paid leave while his lawsuit to keep his job goes forward has been denied.
Scottsdale Community College broke ground this week on a new equine science facility at WestWorld. From the education desk, Bridget Dowd has the details.
BRIDGET DOWD: In Scottsdale's equine science program, students learn about horse care, health, and training to prepare for various careers in the equine industry. SCC president Eric Leshinskie says the new facility at WestWorld is a more convenient location for students and will give them hands-on experience.
ERIC LESHINSKIE: They are going to be around an area that, that is very connected to the horse industry and the equine industry, from the Arabian Horse Show that is there on an annual basis to rodeos that occur there as well. So they are going to be around horse professionals.
BRIDGET DOWD: The new space will include 10 horse stalls, two round pens, and a dedicated horse care station. Construction is expected to be completed by this summer in time to support fall semester classes. Bridget Dowd, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
JILL RYAN: A long-withheld political autopsy examining Democrats' electoral losses in 2024 suggested the national party could learn a few things from Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. Here's Wayne Schutsky once more.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin commissioned the report following a dismal 2024 that saw Republicans win control of Congress and the White House. But he refused to publish the document until now, saying it failed to live up to his standards. The report pointed out Gallego significantly outperformed Democrat Kamala Harris, who lost Arizona to President Trump. The report's authors credited Gallego for his ability to appeal to Latino voters, who swung towards Republicans in 2024. Here's Gallego at a campaign event days before the election, laying out his pitch to those voters, who he says just want a shot at the American dream.
RUBEN GALLEGO: They're going to send their kids to school, they want to make sure their kids got a good job, they can buy a home. And if we're the party that talks about that, we're the party that here to give hope and we're not dividing them, then we're going to win.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: The report says Gallego won the Latino vote by 20 points, 12 points better than Harris. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
JILL RYAN: If you're hitting the road this Memorial Day weekend, expect delays due to heavier traffic. But the Arizona Department of Transportation says there are no full highway closures planned in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. ADOT says drivers should be aware of unexpected closures in response to crashes or other incidents. Drivers should avoid stopping in areas with grasses or brush since a hot car could start a fire.
In sports, the Diamondbacks topped the Colorado Rockies 2-1 last night at Chase Field. The same two teams play again tonight starting at 6:40 p.m. In the WNBA, the Mercury lost at home last night 97-88 to the Los Angeles Sparks. Phoenix is 2-4 so far this season. They head to Atlanta to play the Dream on Sunday.
And that's it for this edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast for Friday, May 22. I'm Jill Ryan. Have a great weekend, and we'll be back on Monday for a Memorial Day update.
