KJZZ's Stories You Don't Want to Miss

The two Republicans seeking re-election to the Arizona Corporation Commission are running on a platform of promises made, promises kept. Policymakers are likely just days away from announcing new rules for managing the Colorado River's shrinking supply, and advocates want to ensure there will still be water saved for the river itself. A panel discusses whether Phoenix can ever be walkable. Plus the latest health, political, Fronteras Desk and tribal natural resources news.

With longtime Congressman Andy Biggs leaving to run for governor, two Republicans are running to replace him in Congressional District 5. As wildfires grow larger in the West, utilities are using a variety of strategies to get ahead of risks and keep the power on. New World Screwworm cases have been confirmed in more than two dozen cows, sheep and goats in Texas since early June, having made its way up through parts of Mexico for over a year and a half. Plus the latest metro Phoenix, tribal natural resources, business, and education news.

A Maricopa County judge reinstated an order requiring Recorder Justin Heap and the board of supervisors to sit down with an independent mediator to solve their ongoing election dispute. The nation’s nearly 600 federally recognized tribes are now eligible for conservation grants from the National Park Service. Valley Metro and the city of Phoenix are planning a light rail extension west down Indian School Road, and have asked the community to help shape the route. Plus a journey to find one of the largest populations of urban bats in the country.

Negotiators are discussing the future of the free trade deal that keeps all the produce crossing the border tariff free. Looking to shore up its water supply as Colorado River cuts loom, Cave Creek is finalizing a water agreement with Peoria. The Tucson Unified School District has approved a nearly $800-million budget proposal for the next fiscal year. Plus the latest tribal natural resources, metro Phoenix, business, and health news.

A new state budget passed out of the Arizona legislature Thursday night with support from most Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Colorado River experts were in Washington D.C. Wednesday to speak with senators about the state of the region’s water crisis. A former Centennial High School student has filed a $20 million notice of claim against the Peoria Unified School District. Plus the latest Fronteras Desk, metro Phoenix, business, and science news.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating claims that Arizona State University is illegally discriminating against some students by operating surreptitious diversity, equity and inclusion programs. A state committee is directing the Arizona Auditor General to conduct special audits on student safety and child care assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed a New World screwworm case in South Texas, after a more than year-long attempt to contain it in Mexico. Plus the latest business, metro Phoenix, and health news.

Extreme heat kills hundreds of Arizonans each year. But some groups are at much higher risk than others – that includes residents of manufactured homes. A member of the Deer Valley Unified School District board is under fire for giving a Nazi salute following a dispute with the board president during a public meeting on Tuesday night. The town of Superior has forged a $20-million dollar water deal with the mining company Resolution Copper. Plus the latest tribal natural resources, business, metro Phoenix and politics news.

Phoenix is planning several new investments in housing affordability and homeless services in the year ahead. A new federal proposal for sharing the Colorado River would take a new approach to managing water, forcing states to check in with each other every two years. Local officials in southern Arizona are voicing concerns about Copper World, a controversial mine proposed just south of the Tucson metro. Plus the latest education, Fronteras Desk, politics, business, and metro Phoenix news.

In an escalation of pressure on Mexico, a U.S. grand jury indictment accuses 10 Mexican political and law enforcement figures of a years-long link to organized crime. The Bureau of Land Management has opened the process for companies to bid on public lands for oil and gas drilling in Arizona for the first time since 2018. The Pima County Board of Supervisors will not remove Sheriff Chris Nanos over allegations of perjury. Plus the latest metro Phoenix, education, indigenous affairs, and water news.

Arizona is in for another very hot summer but a new weather pattern could bring heavy monsoon storms. A new plan for managing the Colorado River would mean a big difference for cities and towns in the Valley that depend on its water. On Wednesday, the Navajo Police Department responded to a crash involving a semi-truck carrying uranium ore from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim to a mill in Utah. Plus the latest business, health, metro Phoenix, and Fronteras Desk news.