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.
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: 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. It is Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. We got a little rain across the Valley last night; some spots got more than others. Uh, we welcome any amount, especially during the summer here in Phoenix. And here’s a check of what’s happening in the news.
Police departments in the East and West Valleys this week have unveiled internal investigations into officer misuse of AI surveillance technology that’s used to track license plates. Matthew Casey reports.
MATTHEW CASEY: The Goodyear and Apache Junction police departments are more than 50 miles apart. Yet both headquarters recently revealed internal action related to license plate readers made by the company Flock. In Goodyear, an officer is under criminal investigation in connection with a potential department policy violation that was found during a regular audit of the Flock system. In Apache Junction, an officer resigned after investigators said he used Flock technology to find a family member. Three other law enforcement agencies have within the past week said they plan to discontinue use of Flock cameras. Matthew Casey, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, a judge ruled on Tuesday that Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes can’t use the word “vouchers” to refer to a state-funded program which gives taxpayer dollars to families to spend on private school expenses. From the politics desk, Camryn Sanchez has more on that.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: Fontes prepares descriptions of the measures which will appear on the November ballot. He called the state’s Empowerment Scholarship program a voucher program in a description of a ballot measure which would place guardrails on ESAs, including an income cap. That measure is called Prop 212.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Julie Ann Mata says that word is misleading because the state law governing ESAs doesn’t use it. Also, the Arizona Supreme Court draws a distinction between ESAs and vouchers. ESA money goes into an account, which families use to pay for educational expenses, and traditional vouchers are paid directly to private schools. Colloquially, ESAs are often referred to as vouchers. Camryn Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Arizona’s infrastructure is in need of some work. That’s according to a new report by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which looked at all 50 states. Kathy Ritchie has details.
KATHY RITCHIE: Overall, the state earned a C, the same as its last rating in 2020. The report looked at 11 infrastructure areas and found transportation; drinking and wastewater; and public service systems are in need of improvement. The report found much of it has to do with the state’s growing population, hotter temperatures, more frequent wildfires, and prolonged drought conditions. And those challenges are further complicated by persistent funding shortfalls at the state level. Besides closing the funding gap, the report’s authors recommend updating and maintaining existing infrastructure. Kathy Ritchie, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Well, it has been a stormy week here in the Valley, and it has toppled over 120 power line poles in the area. APS, the state’s largest electric utility, reported 23,000 power outages during a storm on Sunday. Spokesperson Anne Porter says the utility’s maintenance teams are ready for more severe weather.
ANN PORTER: I think anyone who lives in Arizona knows that monsoon storms can pack a punch. I will say that it’s been a very long time since we’ve seen storms come through that have caused that much damage. I think it was mostly due to incredibly high winds.
PHIL LATZMAN: Porter says most customers had their power back within a couple of hours, but it took longer in some cases. She recommends households and businesses update their contact information on the APS website if you’re a customer to receive updates about outages.
Back to politics, the Green Party candidate for Arizona Secretary of State helped a Republican qualify for the ballot in the state’s Corporation Commission race, records show. Also from the politics team, here’s Wayne Schutsky with that.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Duwayne Collier won the Arizona Green Party’s Secretary of State primary despite facing open opposition from the party faithful and allegations that he’s a spoiler candidate focused on drawing votes away from Democrats.
The Arizona Mirror reported that Collier and Green Party gubernatorial nominee Risa Lombardo have existing ties to Republican politics. Now, a complaint with the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission shows that Collier and his wife collected signatures for Republican Ralph Heap to help him qualify for the ballot in the Corporation Commission race. Collier did not respond to a request for comment on why he supported Heap and if he has landed similar backing to the Green Party candidate for the Corporation Commission. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Home prices in Flagstaff have nearly tripled since 2011. That’s according to a new report from Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona. Devonna McLaughlin is the organization’s CEO. She told KJZZ’s The Show Flagstaff sees high demand for homes since it’s a vacation destination, a university town and a popular place to retire. But she said:
DEVONNA MCLAUGHLIN: Our supply is limited. We are an island on a hill. We’re surrounded by state trust land and national forest land, and we can’t sprawl the way Phoenix has done over time.
PHIL LATZMAN: McLaughlin said the city is making investments to redevelop properties into affordable housing and to offer down payment assistance to some homebuyers.
The Arizona Supreme Court recently ruled clergy don’t have to report child abuse they learn of during confessions. As Greg Hahne reports, the Court has now issued another ruling setting definitions for when such confessions are protected under law.
GREG HAHNE: The ruling comes from a case where court documents say Pastor Mario Rodriguez Ramirez had admitted to sexually abusing his co-pastor’s niece. The co-pastor had recorded the conversation without Rodriguez Ramirez knowing. Rodriguez Ramirez attempted to block the recording and transcript from being used in court, arguing the state’s laws protect information revealed in a church confession. The State Supreme Court ruled the laws would apply only if the conversation was predominantly centered around spiritual forgiveness or guidance. Instead, the conversation at hand centered around the pastor’s reputation. Greg Hahne, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: Southern Arizona Congressman Juan Ciscomani is asking the Trump administration to suspend its plan to shutter a federal facility in Tucson where tribal members go to receive medical care. From the Fronteras Desk in Tucson, Alisa Reznik reports.
ALISA REZNIK: The Indian Health Services Tucson office serves more than 28,000 tribal members from the Pascua Yaqui, the Tohono O’odham Nation and other tribes. Health and Human Services, which oversees the Indian Health Service, says it planned to shutter the facility as part of a broader reshuffling of the agency. It plans to merge operations handled there with the Phoenix office.
In a letter to Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Ciscomani says closing the facility would force patients to travel farther. The Republican congressman is the latest lawmaker to call for the facility to remain open. Democrats in Arizona’s Legislature have been calling for the same since the plan was announced in June. Alisa Reznik, KJZZ News, Tucson.
PHIL LATZMAN: Attorney General Kris Mayes is warning residents about cryptocurrency ATM scams that have been targeting residents around the state. The scam works by a person transferring money to the scammers through crypto ATMs found outside gas stations and grocery stores. AG spokesperson Richie Taylor says some victims transferred their entire life savings.
RICHIE TAYLOR: The scammer will tell someone that they’re either under investigation or they need to safeguard their money. They’ll pretend to be a government agency or they’ll pretend to be law enforcement, and they’ll try to make the individual fearful enough to go and put physical money ...
PHIL LATZMAN: Taylor says a new law that went into effect last year is helping some victims get their money back. He emphasizes if you were a victim, you have 30 days to submit a report to local law enforcement.
The Grand Canyon National Park is implementing increased water restrictions starting today. As Jill Ryan reports, most of the changes involve two campgrounds on the South Rim.
JILL RYAN: The park has closed water spigots at the Mather and Desert View campgrounds, and fires are prohibited in both areas. Camp services are closed at Mather, though the RV dump and water station will be available. Grand Canyon visitors, staff, and residents are also asked to limit shower use to less than five minutes, be selective in toilet flushing, and only wash full loads of dishes and laundry. Jill Ryan, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
PHIL LATZMAN: In sports, Cardinals play the second of four preseason games this evening in Las Vegas against the Raiders. Head coach Mike LaFleur says starters will get some early playing time, including quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who remains atop the depth chart. The 11-year veteran says he’s still getting used to LaFleur’s new offense.
JACOBY BRISSETT: Uh, I’m catching up for sure. No, I definitely feel like I’ve made leaps and bounds from where I was when I first spoke to you guys. But the thing is, it’s like we’re — you learn every day in this job, in this position. New coach, new system.
PHIL LATZMAN: Brissett sat out the opener as rookie quarterback Carson Beck impressed in his Cardinals debut. Kickoff is at 5:00 p.m. in Las Vegas. We’ll also get a chance to see rookie Jeremiah Love, apparently, for the first time.
In baseball, a setback for the Diamondbacks, as they drop two of three at home to the Rockies. They lose yesterday’s finale 6-4. D-backs starter Merrill Kelly hit hard early, gave up a three-run homer to Colorado’s Brett Sullivan in the second inning. Arizona drops into a tie with the Phillies for the third and final National League wild-card spot. D-backs off today before they start a road trip in Atlanta tomorrow.
And that’ll do it for this edition of KJZZ’s Sun Up, Arizona’s morning news podcast on this Thursday, Aug. 13. Happy Friday Eve, have a great day, and we’re back at you tomorrow. Talk to you then.
