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
BRUCE DRUMMOND: This is KJZZ's Sun Up, your daily news update from Phoenix, the state, and the region. Good morning, I'm Bruce Drummond, in for Phil. This podcast is a daily digest of Arizona news as reported by the KJZZ news team. It's Friday, we made it. It's the 4th of September, glad you're here. And here we go with the news.
With state business and political leaders trading shots this week over possibly halting the growth of data centers, Gov. Katie Hobbs weighed in at a press conference yesterday. Taylor Griffith reports.
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: Hobbs said she won't stop data center development, despite her Democratic colleague, Attorney General Kris Mayes, proposing the idea.
KATIE HOBBS: "I don't think a statewide moratorium is the answer. I think there are places where data centers make sense, and they're an important part of the high-tech economy that we're growing here. We need to make sure that they are doing that sustainably."
TAYLOR GRIFFITH: Hobbs says a three-year moratorium on tax credits for data center equipment should allow lawmakers enough time to craft appropriate regulations. But Mayes struck a more urgent tone earlier this week, calling for a statewide development pause and legislative plan for managing looming water shortages and higher energy costs. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce, on the other hand, says supporters of a moratorium should be willing to give up most of the technology data centers make possible. Taylor Griffith, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs led an unsuccessful effort this week to cap the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine, which he says would prevent future Democratic leaders from appointing more justices aligned with their views. From the Politics Desk, Camryn Sanchez reports.
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: The proposal died on party lines without the support of Democrats. Biggs is a close ally of President Trump, who regularly talks about the danger of Democrats, quote, "packing the court" if they ever regain power. Biggs made it clear that's where he's coming from, too, when talking about the proposal.
ANDY BIGGS: "It fixes the number of justices at nine permanently. Not because nine is a magic number, but because a fixed court cannot be expanded by whoever happens to win the next election."
CAMRYN SANCHEZ: Arizona's former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey added two more justices to the state Supreme Court in 2016. Biggs was the Arizona Senate president at the time and supported it, arguing that Arizona's growing population necessitated more justices. Camryn Sanchez, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the progressive group LUCHA against the top two Republicans at the Arizona Legislature, who banned activists from entering the House and Senate earlier this year. Also from the politics team, here's Wayne Schutsky.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: The House and Senate barred some members of Living United for Change in Arizona from entering the chambers. That came after they opposed Republican immigration bills and occasionally engaged in verbal spats with lawmakers. LUCHA sued, arguing that violated its members' constitutional rights. Gina Mendez, one of the plaintiffs, spoke with KJZZ on the day she was banned in February.
GINA MENDEZ: "They don't want us here because we're Brown, and because we keep showing up with community members, and to speak against all of these injustices, all of these bills that would create further harm in our community."
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Federal Judge Susan Brnovich dismissed the case, but she did not address whether the legislative leaders violated activists' rights. Instead, she found the lawsuit could not move forward because the ban ended in June at the end of the legislative session. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Tempe wants to make it easier to access free Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Captain Paramedic Kevin Johnston with Tempe Fire Medical Rescue says anyone can unintentionally overdose on opioids. At the same time, a stigma surrounding the use of Narcan still exists.
KEVIN JOHNSTON: "There is just a lot more scenarios that we see where people accidentally get into it. Or, like I said, a baby crawling on the floor, we all know they like to put things in their mouth, they pick up a pill, they don't know any better. Or the elderly, they're on 12 different medications ..."
BRUCE DRUMMOND: The rate of opioid overdose deaths among most age groups has been on the rise in recent years in Maricopa County, and most of those deaths were classified as unintentional. Free Narcan kits are now available to anyone through city of Tempe programs and locations including fire stations.
Almost 50 miles of the upper Verde River and portions of Sycamore Creek west of Sedona have been granted the highest level of water protections by state regulators. Greg Hahne has more.
GREG HAHNE: The Governor's Regulatory Review Council approved the Tier 3 water designation Tuesday. That level prohibits pollutants from degrading the water quality and preserves wildlife habitats, threatened species, and recreational resources. The Grand Canyon chapter of the Sierra Club nominated the waterways in 2023. The environmental organization says the area covers a diverse habitat corridor, three national forests, and a wildlife preserve. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality says it will finish final state-level rulemaking before submitting to the EPA for federal approval. Greg Hahne, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Tucson police have determined a fatal shooting at a gay bar earlier this week was a targeted anti-LGBTQ hate crime. Cameron Caparra and Vincent Siquieros were fatally shot early Monday morning. Hundreds of people gathered this week at Tucson's Catalina Park for a vigil honoring the men. Mayor Regina Romero told the crowd the park was a memorial site for a 24-year-old gay man who was killed in a 2002 hate crime.
REGINA ROMERO: "As your mayor, I will always stand up for the rights, dignity, and safety of our LGBTQ+ Tucsonans. No están solos."
BRUCE DRUMMOND: Police say the shooter was carrying a list of LGBTQ-friendly businesses. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot.
A judge ordered the Arizona Attorney General's Office to pay tens of thousands of dollars in attorney's fees for Navajo County Recorder David Marshall. That comes after the judge tossed out a lawsuit challenging Marshall's eligibility for office. Here is Wayne Schutsky once more.
WAYNE SCHUTSKY: Marshall resigned from the Legislature this year to fill a vacancy in the Recorder's Office. That prompted Attorney General Kris Mayes to file litigation arguing the state Constitution barred lawmakers from taking other county or statewide offices before the end of their legislative term. Maricopa County Judge David McDowell dismissed that action in July, and now he's ordered the Attorney General's Office to pay nearly $38,000 to cover costs associated with the litigation. Marshall actually sought more than $80,000, but the judge found that amount was based on hourly attorney's fees that exceed a $350 limit included in state law. The Attorney General's Office plans to appeal the ruling dismissing the case. Wayne Schutsky, KJZZ News, Phoenix.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: A professor at Northern Arizona University has added new data to a map of safe drinking water on the Navajo Nation. Chris Clements reports the map is intended to help tribal communities still struggling with the effects of past uranium mining.
CHRIS CLEMENTS: Professor Jani Ingram, a member of the Navajo Nation, had been driving across the reservation for a while with her student. Their goal: find and test a remote well that one family was using.
JANI INGRAM: "It's something that needed to be tested because it really wasn't a great — it had pretty high uranium."
CHRIS CLEMENTS: It can be hard for Navajo families to know if the wells near their homes have been contaminated by high uranium levels, which have been linked to health issues like kidney disease and lung cancer. Ingram mapped safe wells using water quality data she and her students collected from years in the field. The map can be found online at the Navajo Safe Water website. And her work isn't over. There's tons of tribal wells that haven't been tested. I'm Chris Clements in Flagstaff.
BRUCE DRUMMOND: In sports, the college football season is in full swing with openers for the Sun Devils and Wildcats this weekend. Arizona State kicks it off at home in Tempe tomorrow night against Morgan State. The Sun Devils are coming off an 8-5 season, but in the modern transience of college athletics, head coach Kenny Dillingham says it's difficult to know much about his team or the competition just yet.
KENNY DILLINGHAM: "Less now than I did in the past. Because in the past, you kind of knew what a roster looked like. You kind of knew what you were playing. Early in the year now, so many transfers, so many guys on different teams, you don't know."
BRUCE DRUMMOND: It's the first ever meeting between the Sun Devils and an HBCU school, and the home team is a heavy favorite. Meanwhile, the Arizona Wildcats open in Tucson with an in-state matchup against NAU tomorrow evening. The Lumberjacks opened with a win last weekend over eastern Washington.
And in baseball, the Diamondbacks are in Houston today to start a weekend series against the Astros. Arizona is a half game ahead of San Diego for the third and final National League wild card spot. The Padres are in New York to play the Yankees this evening.
And that's it for this edition of KJZZ's Sun Up, Arizona's morning news podcast for Friday, Sept. 4. I'm Bruce Drummond. Have a great weekend, and we'll be right back at it on Monday.
