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
KJZZ's Sun Up is supported by Banner Health, Arizona's largest nonprofit healthcare system. Last year, Banner reinvested more than $1.1 billion in community health and charity care. Banner Health, nonprofit for Arizona. BannerHealth.com/nonprofitforaz.
PHIL LATZMAN: Hey, this is KJZZ's Sun Up, your daily news update from here in Phoenix on our state and region. I'm Phil Latzman, your host for this podcast, which is a daily digest of Arizona news, as reported by our KJZZ news team. Welcome to Wednesday, dub to dub, the 24th day of June. Weekend is in sight, so we can get over the hump today. Let's get right into the news. Well, Governor Katie Hobbs said yesterday she is concerned about how local officials will handle this year's elections. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and County Recorder are in a heated battle over the recorder's role and the management of the upcoming elections. Hobbs says that's a problem for officials who are in the process of sending out early ballots.
KATIE HOBBS: That is what the county election officials should be focused on instead of this feud, and so I'm worried that it is distracting them from the job at hand.
PHIL LATZMAN: Hobbs says her office is working in tandem with state and local election officials to ensure that elections remain safe and secure in Arizona. She noted there is concern, though, about federal interference as well. Well, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and 40 other mayors statewide signed a pact that addresses the variety of concerns associated with data center development. Taylor Griffith has more.
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: The agreement was launched at this week's London Climate Action Week. It calls upon local leaders and developers to hold data center projects to higher standards. First, the pact says facilities should not be located in areas where they'll add excess heat, noise, or air pollution to neighboring communities. Second, the project should not extend the life of fossil fuels, either on the local grid or as a backup power source for the facility. Third, companies need to provide transparent environmental and economic impact data. Lastly, the mayors agreed data centers must pay their fair share for energy, water, and network access. Taylor Griffith, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Hundreds of electric vehicle factory workers in Arizona are facing layoffs. Matthew Casey tells us why.
MATTHEW CASEY: Lucid Motors is headquartered in California, has a factory in Casa Grande, and its stock is traded on Nasdaq. Lucid filed a warning this week with Arizona officials that about 700 people are set to lose their jobs. The EV maker also announced via the SEC an 18% cut in US workforce as part of a plan toward profitability that's expected to save about $158 million per year. Among those exiting is the chief operating officer whose job was eliminated, but he gets to keep a company vehicle. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The U.S. Army says a helicopter that spilled fuel over Tempe and Phoenix in February was both leaking and intentionally releasing fuel. Connor Greenwall has the latest on that.
CONNOR GREENWALL: On February 5, the Phoenix and Tempe fire departments responded to a call about a low-flying helicopter releasing fuel over neighborhoods. According to ABC15, one Phoenix woman was hospitalized. An Army spokesperson says the Black Hawk helicopter was leaking fuel, but the visible residue on the ground was likely caused by an intentional release. The helicopter made an emergency landing at Sky Harbor about 10 minutes after departing from Papago Park. KJZZ has attempted to obtain records from the Army. The Army initially said the report was complete and would be available in two weeks to a month, but now says it could take a year to finalize. Connor Greenwall, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Oh, Gov. Hobbs signed a series of bills this year that are meant to reform the Department of Child Safety in the wake of multiple high-profile deaths. From the politics desk, Camryn Sanchez has more.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: One of the biggest changes requires DCS to include a child's entire history in a single report if they've been the subject of prior hotline calls. It also requires the department to refer investigations involving repeated reports of abuse to a child safety specialist. Republican Senator Karen Warner says one of the most consistent concerns she received is that critical information on abuse children was scattered across multiple reports, obscuring the whole picture, as in the case of 10-year-old Rebecca Baptist, who was abused for years and whose case was reported many times before her death. Cameron Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, the state has issued an advisory for consuming fish at Watson Lake near Prescott. As Greg Hahne reports, tests found high concentrations of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals.
GREG HAHNE: The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality issued a red light advisory, meaning do not eat, for largemouth bass in the Yavapai County lake. A tissue analysis found heightened levels of a specific type of PFAS in the fish, which are linked to negative health outcomes, including certain cancers. Studies have found that largemouth bass are particularly susceptible to accumulation of forever chemicals. It's the first advisory related to PFAS in fish from the agency, which is also monitoring other lakes across the state. Greg Hahne, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Oh, Governor Hobbs has vetoed a bill aimed at curbing misleading advertising for digital products. As Jill Ryan reports, the bill was once a bipartisan effort but ultimately lost its Democratic support.
JILL RYAN: When purchasing a digital copy of a movie or TV show, one might assume they have ownership forever, but many buyers have seen those digital products disappear from their libraries. This House bill would have required companies to make it clear they're selling a temporary license of a digital product or provide a refund. It originally had bipartisan support in the legislature but lost Democratic backing following changes to the proposed refund process and ultimately passed with a Republican majority. Republican Rep. Nick Kupper was the bill's sponsor.
NICK KUPPER: In fact, the whole reason that we amended it in conference committee was to make sure we could take care of what what Apple needed, and Apple's the biggest player who'd be affected by this bill.
JILL RYAN: When Gov. Hobbs vetoed the bill, she called the refund provisions, quote, "ambiguous and inconsistent with other states." Jill Ryan, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: A gun shop owner faces prison time after admitting that he encouraged the straw purchase of dozens of firearms. He then gave to other people. Here's Matthew Casey once more with that.
MATTHEW CASEY: Federal prosecutors say Alejandro Montemayor of Chandler owned and ran AVAZ Firearms in Phoenix. His plea agreement says in 2024, Montemayor helped people fill out government forms to buy guns and told them to swear it was theirs, even though they both knew it was for someone else. Montemayor reportedly transferred 72 straw purchases to other people. He also pleaded guilty to not filing more than a dozen reports for sales made above $10,000. Montemayor is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 17. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Amid a widespread regional drought, homeowners have been encouraged to save water, but as the Mountain West News Bureau's Yvette Fernandez reports, experts say changes in how farmers and ranchers use water might make a bigger impact.
YVETTE FERNANDEZ: Large portions of the Mountain West states are in severe drought with pockets that are considered extreme, even exceptional. Elizabeth Koebele at the University of Nebraska in Reno says the agriculture industry uses the lion's share of water. It could realize savings, she says, through strategies like better matching crops to climate conditions.
ELIZABETH KOEBELE: If we get 12 cuttings of alfalfa for X amount of water in Arizona and we get four cuttings for X amount of water in Colorado, like where are the right places to grow these crops and might there be some kind of broader transitions there?
YVETTE FERNANDEZ: Koebele says more innovation and embracing new technologies could help the agriculture industry save more water on a long-term basis.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, delegation of Taiwanese business and government officials made Arizona their first stop on a visit to the US this week. Phoenix officials met with the delegation at the Phoenix Bioscience Core on Monday to showcase research following a collaboration agreement between the city and a Taiwanese health firm. Phoenix Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington says the city is expanding its ties with Taiwan.
KESHA HODGE WASHINGTON: While much of our recent collaboration has focused on semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, especially TSMC, we see tremendous opportunity to deepen our relationship in bioscience, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare innovation.
PHIL LATZMAN: Taiwanese media report the delegation will also visit members of the U.S. Congress in Washington. In sports, basketball Suns made news last night in the NBA draft. Without a first-round pick coming in, they traded into the first round to take Arizona Wildcat star and Valley native Koa Pete with the 30th pick. The 19-year-old Pete who grew up in Chandler played one season in Tucson before declaring for the draft. He helped lead the UA into the Final Four this past season. Details of the trade have not been made official, but published reports say it also involved the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks.
In baseball, Nolan Arenado and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had run-scoring hits in Arizona's eventual winning run scored on a passed ball. It all happened in the ninth inning as the Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals 4-3 last night in St. Louis. In fact, all the runs in the game scored in the ninth. The D-backs managed just three hits the first eight innings. They do snap a three-game losing streak. They'll play the third of four in St. Louis this evening.
And in the WNBA, the Phoenix Mercury take on the Fever tonight again in Indiana, second game in as many days against the Fever after they lost the first one Monday. And that will do it for this Wednesday edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast on this June 24. It's going to be really hot out there. Heat warning here in the Valley and for much of the state, so be careful. I'm Phil Latzman. We'll do it again tomorrow. Talk to you then.
