Search result for Amanda Mason

‘We’re going to bounce back’: ASU baseball optimistic despite dropping Pac-12 tournament opener

SCOTTSDALE – More than a month after losing 20-0 to the University of Arizona, the Sun Devils walked a season-high 10 batters in a 12-3 loss in the first game of the Pac-12 tournament at Scottsdale Stadium.

ASU baseball took a thumping Tuesday in a 12-3 loss to UArizona in the Pac-12 tournament opener at Scottsdale Stadium. (Photo by Joey Plishka/Cronkite News)

GCU set to play in NCAA men’s volleyball tournament for first time in program history

PHOENIX – Grand Canyon University received a bid to play in the 2023 NCAA men’s volleyball tournament for the first time in program history. For some players, it’s their last chance to go out with a title.

Grand Canyon University went 22-7 and earned the school’s first invitation to the NCAA Men’s National Collegiate Volleyball Championship. The Lopes take on Long Beach State Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of David Kadlubowski/GCU)

De ‘solitario’ a Lily’s Pad: Parque infantil en Tempe brindará a niños inmunocomprometidos la oportunidad de ser niños

PHOENIX – Los niños con sistemas inmunológicos debilitados u otras discapacidades a menudo no pueden jugar con otros niños. Lily's Pad, un nuevo parque infantil programado para abrir en Arizona en abril, está diseñado para ayudar a los niños inmunocomprometidos a construir su salud física y emocional. Está entre otras áreas recreativas en todo Estados Unidos destinadas a dar cabida a niños con discapacidades.

“Casi de inmediato supimos que algo estaba mal dentro de las primeras seis horas de su nacimiento”, dijo Christine Buckrucker sobre su hijo de 4 años, Colton Buckrucker. Colton y su padre, Chris, construyen un juguete. Colton tiene un sistema inmunológico debilitado que ha llevado a varias cirugías y procedimientos médicos. (Foto de Sierra Alvarez/Cronkite Noticias)

From ‘lonely’ to Lily’s Pad: Tempe playground to give immunocompromised kids a chance to be a kid

PHOENIX – Children with weakened immune systems or other disabilities often can’t play with other kids. Lily’s Pad, a new playground scheduled to open in Arizona in April, is designed to help immunocompromised children build their physical and emotional health. It’s among other recreational areas across the U.S. meant to accommodate children with disabilities.

“We knew almost right away that there was something wrong within the first six hours of his birth,” Christine Buckrucker said about her 4-year-old son, Colton Buckrucker. Colton and his father, Chris, build a toy. Colton has a weakened immune system that’s led to several surgeries and medical procedures. (Photo by Sierra Alvarez/Cronkite News)

Perry High School splits 6A soccer state championships

​​MESA – Perry High School fielded two teams in the 6A state championships in soccer on Saturday, but Xavier Prep High School stood in the way of a sweep.

In his fifth season as Perry boys soccer coach, Jason Berg earned his first state championship and celebrated the victory with family. (Photo by Haley Smilow/Cronkite News)

Guesting game: State of the Union guests make political, personal points

WASHINGTON - First lady Jill Biden will host two Arizonans for the State of the Union Tuesday and state lawmakers have invited guests ranging from college student to a college chancellor, tribal leaders to business leaders, in a tradition that can have both personal and political goals.


Threatened narrow-headed garter snake gets help from the Phoenix Zoo

PHOENIX — Forty narrow-headed garter snakes were born last year at the Phoenix Zoo’s Arthur L. and Elaine V. Johnson Conservation Center — by far the most since the program began in 2007. The center’s director is hopeful 2023 will be another successful year. The aquatic snake is threatened because of invasive species — including crawfish and frogs — climate change and development.

A Phoenix Zoo employee holds a garter snake.

Building the future: Trade occupations encouraged as demand for skilled labor grows

PHOENIX – Trade labor jobs are in high demand across the U.S., with many companies desperate for skilled laborers. TradeUp! and West-MEC are handing middle and high school students hard hats and teaching them such crucial skills as electricians, welders and mechanics.

Electrical trade students at West-MEC in Buckey practice wiring light switches in class on Sept. 16, 2022. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

Empathy and humanity are at the center of Holocaust education in Arizona

PHOENIX – Arizona teachers, including some who have visited Holocaust sites, are looking for ways to teach middle and high school students about the Holocaust and other genocides. Experts say teaching it builds empathy and warns of “the dangers of staying silent in the face of evil.”

When Amanda Johnson was visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, she didn’t take photos of the heart-wrenching scenes at the memorial. Instead, she bought books to share with her students and help them learn about the millions of Jewish people who were killed during the Holocaust. Photo taken on Sept. 6, 2022, at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe. (Photo by Sophie Oppfelt/Cronkite News)

HistoriCorps volunteers help preserve structures at Crescent Moon Ranch in Sedona

SEDONA – The nonprofit organization HistoriCorp partnered with Coconino National Forest to preserve historic buildings on the Crescent Moon Ranch in Sedona, founded in 1880.

HistoriCorps volunteer Yumi Shimizu, left, learns how to use a circular saw from project supervisor Pete Specht on Oct. 24, 2022, with Sedona’s Cathedral Rock as a picturesque backdrop. (Photo by Drake Presto/Cronkite News)

Climate change and drought are muting bright fall colors as we know them

FLAGSTAFF – Visitors travel far and wide to view fall colors in northern Arizona, but climate change and ongoing drought are affecting fall foliage as we know it. The PhenoCam Network, based in Flagstaff, is tracking these changes.

A row of bright yellow aspen trees at Arizona Snowbowl north of Flagstaff show off their fall grandeur on Oct. 22, 2022. (Photo by Payton Major/Cronkite News)

Judges grill both sides in effort to untangle state’s jumbled abortion laws

WASHINGTON - Arizona Court of Appeals judges quizzed attorneys Wednesday as they tried to figure out how, or if, they can square competing abortion laws that could restrict or outright criminalize abortions in the state.