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
ANNOUNCER: 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: Hi and welcome to 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, a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by our KJZZ news team. Welcome to Wednesday, welcome to July, happy quarter, happy half here, fiscal year, whatever you're celebrating on this first day of the month in July of 2026. And with the week rolling on, let's get right to the news.
Fires are in the news, and the Pocket Fire, located in the Oak Creek area north of Sedona, has burned more than 15,000 acres and is still 0% contained. But fire officials do say they are making some progress on the blaze and have been able to stop its northward progression. U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dick Fleishman.
DICK FLEISHMAN: We're just being real conservative about calling stuff contained right now. Um, we have quite a bit of line that's in that state, but still being very conservative just because this is such a, a dynamic fire.
PHIL LATZMAN: Nearly 1,000 personnel are battling the blaze and the communities of Oak Creek Canyon, Kachina Village, Forest Highlands and Pine Del remain on high alert for evacuation. State Route 89A remains closed from Sedona to I-17 except for residents. Air quality is poor in the Flagstaff area as winds continue to bring smoke and ash to the high country.
Elsewhere, the other big fire we're watching is the Sycamore Fire located north of Globe in the Salt River Canyon Wilderness area. The lightning-caused blaze has grown to nearly 12,000 acres, but it is currently 76% contained.
Well, for the first time in Flagstaff's history, Arizona regulators have issued a high pollution advisory. As Chris Clements reports, smoke from that Pocket Fire we just talked about has produced high ozone levels.
CHRIS CLEMENTS: Wildfire smoke is one ingredient in a pot full of different pollutants — think cars, power plants — that cause ozone levels to rise. High ozone causes coughing and shortness of breath, especially in people who have preexisting conditions like asthma.
MICHAEL GRAVES: Typically, the vulnerable populations are going to be more impacted by ozone.
CHRIS CLEMENTS: That's Michael Graves with the State Department of Environmental Quality. He says the air quality in Flagstaff is bad right now due to the Pocket Fire, so residents need to stay alert.
MICHAEL GRAVES: If you smell smoke, you're breathing it in.
CHRIS CLEMENTS: You can also measure how poor air quality is by looking to see if nearby landmarks are visible. The weather for the next few days will likely keep smoke billowing around Flagstaff, he says.
MICHAEL GRAVES: So that's going to be conditions to allow the fire to grow.
CHRIS CLEMENTS: So people with preexisting conditions might want to limit their time outdoors. That's Chris Clements reporting from Flagstaff.
PHIL LATZMAN: The state's largest egg producer has agreed to pay a fine and to donate millions of eggs to settle complaints that it had conspired with other companies to keep prices artificially high. Matthew Casey reports.
MATTHEW CASEY: The multistate settlement requires Hickman's to pay $1 million and donate 3 and a quarter million eggs to food banks or related nonprofits within 18 months. Federal prosecutors said Hickman's and others coordinated as far back as 2022 to stop egg prices from falling. Hickman's was sold last year and the new owner says everything in a federal complaint occurred before the acquisition. The Justice Department says that the cost of eggs would be higher now, but Hickman's dropped their prices after learning of the investigation. A lawyer representing Hickman's did not reply to a request for comment. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: As she seeks reelection, Governor Katie Hobbs says she's most proud of the bipartisan successes she's achieved alongside the Republican-led legislature during the fourth and final legislative session of her current term. From the politics desk, Wayne Schutsky reports.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Asked about her biggest accomplishments this session, Hobbs pointed to the $18.3 billion bipartisan state budget she signed into law a few weeks ago.
KATIE HOBBS: This budget had the most support of not just any budget I've had under my belt, but, um, that we've seen in a long time.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Within that budget, Hobbs says she is proud of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for data centers and a $1.4 billion tax cut package which was modeled after federal cuts signed by President Trump last year. Republican lawmakers have criticized Hobbs for claiming credit for the tax cut package, pointing out she vetoed similar proposals three times this year before eventually signing the deal. Hobbs deflected that criticism, saying that was all a part of the negotiation process between the legislature and the governor's office. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Arizona water officials say they are working to avoid draconian water cutbacks to the state's share of the Colorado River's water. And as Alex Hager reports, they met on Tuesday to brief the public on talks with the federal government.
ALEX HAGER: Arizona's top water negotiator, Tom Buschatzke, says they're getting closer and closer to adoption of a proposal submitted alongside California and Nevada. The states would voluntarily cut back on some water use to avoid harsher federal cutbacks. No matter what, though, Buschatzke says cities are well prepared for shortages.
TOM BUSCHATZKE: The likelihood that residents are going to have cuts at their taps inside their houses, I don't see that happening.
ALEX HAGER: The ability to respond to water cutbacks varies city to city and outdoor watering restrictions are still possible. The feds are expecting to release their river management plan in late July. Alex Hager, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: A judge has issued a ruling that clarifies who has authority over career and technical courses between the East Valley Institute of Technology and local school districts. Lilly Roseburrough has more on that.
LILLY ROSEBURROUGH: Nine East Valley school districts sued EVIT earlier this year after they failed to come to a new agreement over how funding should be allocated for education programming. Now, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury has ruled that EVIT will retain its authority over approving course content and local school districts will operate any additional vocational programs on their campuses independent of EVIT oversight. The ruling also requires the districts to spend state-approved funding for career and technical education, not regular classroom instruction. Both EVIT and the districts claim victories in response to the mixed ruling. Lilly Roseburrough, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Banner Health calls itself Arizona's largest private employer, and now about 250 of its employees have filed a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board. Here's Matthew Casey once again with that.
MATTHEW CASEY: Doctors, nurse practitioners, and doctor assistants working for Banner Health are seeking to be represented by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. The employees allege that clinicians keep being excluded from decisions made by Banner executives, which affect patient care conditions. They say a doctor recently filed an unfair labor practice charge after being disciplined for identifying a scheduling error that would have delayed patient care. In a statement, Banner Health said it has always prioritized leaders and staff working together without third-party interference. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The future of energy is on the agenda at the Western Governors' Association conference this week. The Mountain West News Bureau's Yvette Fernandez has more.
YVETTE FERNANDEZ: For the past year, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has spearheaded what he touts as an energy superabundance initiative. It's aimed at making policy recommendations that could streamline energy permitting. This has led to the creation of a Western Transmission Joint Statement of Agreement among a dozen states including Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, and Arizona. The agreement encourages collaboration and is, quote, "a roadmap for expanding transmission infrastructure across the West." Yvette Fernandez, the Mountain West News Bureau.
PHIL LATZMAN: Commuters in Pinal County could start experiencing delays and lane closures. The Arizona Department of Transportation is beginning work on a highway widening project north of Florence. Connor Greenwall has more.
CONNOR GREENWALL: A stretch of State Route 79 between Florence and the U.S. 60 is a busy corridor with only one travel lane in each direction. ADOT will begin work to add passing lanes to the eight-mile stretch, which will alternate between north and southbound traffic. Garin Groff is a spokesperson for ADOT.
GARIN GROFF: This is a project that will enhance safety by providing passing lanes for safer passing than the current configuration. It should also improve the flow of traffic on this section of the highway.
CONNOR GREENWALL: Groff says sections with the passing lanes will be accompanied by a paved shoulder. The project is expected to be completed next summer. Connor Greenwall, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Following the deaths of three wildland firefighters, including one from Arizona near the Utah-Colorado border last weekend, a top federal fire official has strong words of warning ahead of Independence Day. Echoing the concerns of other local and state officials, U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy expressed deep concerns about fireworks.
BRIAN FENNESSY: Any human-caused fires we have to minimize or completely eliminate those because we have enough trouble with the natural-caused fires.
PHIL LATZMAN: The Fourth of July is the busiest day of the year for wildfire starts.
In sports, baseball, Ketel Marte homered in his fourth straight game, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added a three-run shot as the Diamondbacks continued to slay the Giants, extending their dominance over San Francisco with an 8-2 win last night in Phoenix. The D-backs are 8-0 against the Giants this season, they'll go for the sweep of them this evening at Chase Field. In basketball, Mercury off till tomorrow, they'll host the Seattle Storm then.
And that does it for this Wednesday edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast on this July 1. I'm Phil Latzman, thanks for listening, and we'll do it again tomorrow. Talk to you then.
