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 there, and happy Monday. 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, a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by our KJZZ news team.
Hey, it’s the 10th day of August. Hope you had a nice weekend. Thanks for being here today. Let’s start off the new week with a check of the latest news.
Water levels at the nation’s largest reservoir have reached their lowest levels ever. As Alex Hager reports, Lake Mead has not been this low since it was filled, some 90 years ago.
ALEX HAGER: The Hoover Dam straddles the Arizona-Nevada border and holds back water from the Colorado River to create the reservoir. Its water flows to big cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, plus a massive agriculture industry that puts produce on grocery shelves across the country.
Climate change and drought have been cutting into those backup supplies for about 26 years, and policymakers have struggled to respond with a plan that reins in demand. The federal government has been working on a deal with California, Arizona, and Nevada to cut back on the amount of water flowing to those states. It’s part of an effort to leave water in Lake Mead and boost the dropping reservoir. Alex Hager, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, Phoenix has always been known for hot summers, but climate change is driving even more intense heat in the Valley. So, how much hotter could future summers get? Katherine Davis-Young has more.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: The climate research organization Climate Central projects Phoenix’s average summer high temperature will be 7 degrees hotter by 2100, and future summers will not only bring more intense highs, but longer heat seasons, says climate scientist Zachary Labe.
ZACHARY LABE: We’re going to see summer-like heat extend into the fall and extend into the spring, and you might even have a heat wave in winter, you know, into the future.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG: Phoenix averages 111 days per year in the triple digits now. Projections show by the 2080s, 150 days a year could be that hot. Models vary. Labe says one of the biggest unknowns is how much greenhouse gas humans will keep burning, warming the planet. But he says even lower emissions scenarios show Phoenix is on a path to a hotter future. Katherine Davis-Young, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The Arizona Healthy Schools Act recently took effect as students across the state filed back into classrooms. As Bridget Dowd reports, districts say they started planning for the change last year.
BRIDGET DOWD: The law, which passed in 2025, bans public schools participating in federal meal programs from serving foods that contain certain additives and dyes. Julie Peterson is the director of food and nutrition at the Tempe Union High School District. She says after the law was signed, they started going through their menu and replacing some items with healthier alternatives.
JULIE PETERSON: A big one was Gatorade, so a lot of the Gatorades that we served previously had some of the dyes in them, and Gatorade was able to reformulate those and take those dyes out and use a coloring that’s based on a juice.
BRIDGET DOWD: She says some students have noticed the drink colors are not as vibrant, but for the most part, it’s been a smooth transition. The changes also apply to treats brought in for classroom celebrations and daytime fundraisers, but not what parents send in their children’s lunches. Bridget Dowd, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Visitors to the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests currently pay minimal to no fees to go to certain sites, but that may change under a new proposal, as Ignacio Ventura tells us.
IGNACIO VENTURA: Forest officials say these proposed fees will provide a source of funding to improve infrastructure, support staff, and make improvements for visitors. The fees would affect nearly 30 locations, including boating, fishing, and camping sites. For example, while it’s now free to use the Luna Lake boating site, under the proposal, recreationists would pay a $5 day fee per vehicle. Officials with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests say more than 75% of its sites would not require a fee. Public comment will be taken until the end of October. Ignacio Ventura, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, two Western states are top contenders to take on a role in storing nuclear waste and receive federal support to build new nuclear technologies. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Rachel Cohen reports it comes after decades of failed efforts to find a home for the country’s spent nuclear fuel.
RACHEL COHEN: The Department of Energy announced five finalists this week for its effort to develop nuclear life cycle innovation campuses: Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Idaho. Michael Gerrard, a law professor at Columbia University, says the federal government is pairing waste storage with the promise of new nuclear industry.
MICHAEL GERRARD: I think the idea is that a nuclear waste storage facility creates very few jobs — you put the stuff there and you walk away. But these other facilities could create a lot of jobs and economic activity.
RACHEL COHEN: DOE says 26 states applied. The voluntary approach marks a shift. Plans to put the waste deep underground at Yucca Mountain in Nevada stalled because of local opposition, but the push for solutions is gaining urgency as interest in nuclear energy grows. For the Mountain West News Bureau, I’m Rachel Cohen.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, young adults and teens around Mesa can now apply for grants to support climate conservation projects in the city. Lilly Roseburrough has details.
LILLY ROSEBURROUGH: The Mesa Youth Climate Action Fund gives youth ages 15 to 24 an opportunity to address environmental issues within their own neighborhoods. The city awards $1,000 to $5,000 for projects that align with its climate action plan. Program manager Kathrine Blomquist says it teaches young people how to budget, plan and manage their time.
KATHRINE BLOMQUIST: It gives them real-life experience, but it’s teaching them that yes, that it can be done, and they’re making something that lasts. They’re creating a resilient Mesa.
LILLY ROSEBURROUGH: This is the program’s third year, and it’s funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Lilly Roseburrough, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, a new federal drought outlook shows a mixed picture across the Mountain West. Brad Rippey is meteorologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He says this summer monsoon gave a boost to several areas.
BRAD RIPPEY: A lot of the Four Corners region has had enough wetting rainfall that we’ve kind of reduced the drought risk there. But as we move through what could be a hot, dry August, we’ll have to watch the central and southern Rockies.
PHIL LATZMAN: Rippey says most of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah can expect likely relief, but he adds even where drought improves, the West’s major waterways, including the Colorado River, continue to face long-term challenges. We do have about a 50/50 chance of getting some significant rain this week here in the Phoenix area.
Well, federal officials say they will not release cool water in the Grand Canyon this year, which pauses an effort to protect native fish. The Bureau of Reclamation says it can’t afford to use the water from Lake Powell. Here’s Alex Hager once more with that.
ALEX HAGER: Over the past two years, cool water from Lake Powell helped keep predators away from the threatened humpback chub, which is native to the Colorado River. But this year, water levels in the nation’s second largest reservoir are at record lows, and sending more water downstream could force the shutoff of hydropower generators that send electricity to millions of people.
Federal officials say they will use other approaches to keep invasive fish away from the natives, but conservationists say they’re disappointed to see the government skimp out on the most effective tool for doing that. Lake Powell is less than a quarter full after more than 20 years of drought, climate change, and steady demand for water. Alex Hager, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: The Arizona Department of Gaming is now offering free financial services for people who request to be banned from gambling activities. The agency is partnering with GamFin, an organization that specializes in advising those with gambling debts. Elise Mikkelsen is with the department’s Division of Problem Gambling.
ELISE MIKKELSEN: The way that they are connected with the program is either through our providers who provide treatment services across Arizona, and then the latest iteration is through those patrons who choose to self-exclude, they will be offered to participate in GamFin.
PHIL LATZMAN: Mikkelsen says a budget increase led to the expansion of the program. According to the agency, over 650 people are currently enrolled. That’s the highest total ever.
A new courthouse is under construction in Flagstaff, bringing the federal court system closer to thousands of residents in Northern Arizona. Connor Greenwall has more.
CONNOR GREENWALL: While some federal cases are heard in municipal and county courts in Northern Arizona, most residents have to travel hundreds of miles to the federal courthouse in Phoenix. The new three-story, 50,000-square-foot facility will be located off historic Route 66. It will include two courtrooms; underground parking for judges and U.S. Marshals; a secure bay for prisoner intake; and separate pathways to keep judges, defendants and the public separated. The facility will have a level three security rating, which includes perimeter fencing, physical barriers, and will be secured by the U.S. Marshals Service. The courthouse is expected to open in early 2027. Connor Greenwall, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: In sports, baseball: Eduardo Rodriguez, back in All-Star form, struck out nine in seven strong innings. The Diamondbacks clinched their first season series over the Dodgers since 2018 with a 4-2 win yesterday at Chase Field. Rodriguez shut the slumping Dodgers down most of the game in the series finale, allowed just two runs and five hits. Ketel Marte had a two-run homer in the first inning, Kevin Ginkel got his first save of the year, clinching Arizona’s 7-6 win in the season series.
More importantly, they’re tied with the Phillies for the final two wild card playoff spots, and the D-backs host the Rockies in the first of three tonight at Chase Field.
Basketball: the Mercury, though, lose again. They were beaten by the Mystics in Washington yesterday, 95-75. Phoenix slumped in the second half without Kelsey Plum, who left with a calf injury. They’ve now lost three in a row and four of their last five as their playoff chances seem to fade.
And that does it for this edition of KJZZ’s Sun Up, Arizona’s morning news podcast this Monday, August the 10th. I’m Phil Latzman. Enjoy the rest of the day. Stay hydrated and cool, and we’ll do it again tomorrow, hoping for some rain.
