The Buzz

Arizonans will weigh competing ballot initiatives this year that could have a major impact on how the state handles its primary elections. Will Arizona switch to open primaries or codify its current system in the state constitution?

The 2024 general election is less than six weeks away, and The Buzz is heading into Your Vote 2024 coverage. This week, we go beyond the horse race to talk about efforts to ensure the information being given to the public is accurate.

We're diving back into Arizona's rural water issues. We'll speak with Arizona's Attorney General, Kris Mayes, about a letter she sent to the Arizona Department of Water Resources. And we'll head back to the topic of Fondemonte, a Saudi-owned farm in rural Arizona, as we speak to the reporter who broke that story some years back about his work and the new documentary it led to.

This week on The Buzz, we head back to Chiricahua National Monument as a bill to make it a national park is scheduled for a hearing in the U-S House of Representatives next week. GUESTS: (D) Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, bill sponsor; (R) Representative Juan Ciscomani, bill sponsor. REPEAT.

This week, we're helping voters prepare for this election season. We'll break down how voters can vet news sources and stories, plus we'll talk about what makes a poll worth paying attention to.

This week, we're helping voters prepare for this election season. We'll break down how voters can vet news sources and stories, plus we'll talk about what makes a poll worth paying attention to.

Arizona's relationship with the Arabian peninsula goes back well before Saudi-linked company Fondomonte began buying up agricultural land in the La Paz County desert in order to farm alfalfa that is shipped halfway across the world. It pre-dates the Saudi Kingdom, Arizona statehood and even the US Civil War. This week, we listen in to an episode of Tapped, AZPM's podcast about water in the southwest, that takes us through that long history and how Saudi Arabia's unregulated water use in our state is impacting rural Arizonans.

State and federal reports show unemployment has been under 3.5% for the past three months, a feat the state has never before experienced. But, there are positives and negatives for the state when there are so few people in need of work.

From creating 3-d printer filament to construction blocks to build houses, Arizona companies are finding new ways to help residents give plastic another life.

4 days a week in school or 5? We explore why some Arizona schools choose a 4-day school week and how it affects both students and teachers.