Rise of the underdog: Undrafted free agent Michael Stefanic knocking on Angels’ door
PHOENIX – Michael Stefanic is on the last rung of the minor league baseball ladder, waiting for the call to join the Los Angeles Angels. His professional career started in Arizona.
Arizona seeks surface water protections after Clean Water Act rollback
Arizona's rivers, lakes and streams have not been fully protected by the Clean Water Act since June 2020. A change to the law during former President Donald Trump's administration limited the number of federal protections. As a result, a new bill -- which is moving through the state legislature -- was created. Representatives from state organizations and state lawmakers weigh in on whether the new bill will meet the needs of Arizona's waterways.
Bye-bye bipartisanship: Unity after 9/11 attacks is a relic in 2020
WASHINGTON - In the hours after the 9/11 attacks, lawmakers from both parties gathered on the steps of the Capitol and began singing "God Bless America" - but that was then. Experts and tourists alike found it hard to imagine such a scene repeating itself in today's climate.
Help for the homeless: Point-in-Time Count to reveal scope of problem, resources
PHOENIX – Volunteers and workers conduct the annual Point-in-Time Count of people who are living in shelters or outside of shelters to determine the scope of needs for those who are homeless.This year, for the first time, data was collected on a smartphone app. The information will be analyzed and sent to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
‘Chaotic, beautiful thing’: The story behind Party Hard Wrestling, Arizona’s weirdest independent wrestling promotion
MESA – “Too art for the wrestling crowd, too wrestling for the art crowd,” Party Hard Wrestling has become a fixture of the Arizona independent wrestling community.
House panel advances bill to expand farmworker visas, green card access
WASHINGTON - A House committee gave preliminary approval to a bill that would add 20,000 farmworker visas and let some workers apply for permanent legal residency, despite Republican concerns that it could open the door to more illegal immigration.
Arizona farmers like – but don’t love – ‘agricultural immigration’ bill
WASHINGTON - Arizona farm groups said a proposal to expand the immigrant workforce and make it easier for those workers to stay in the U.S. is an important first step toward solving the problem of getting and keeping reliable workers - but only a first step.
Despite ‘modest gains,’ schools continue to see severe teacher shortage
WASHINGTON - Arizona schools started this academic year with 21% of all teaching positions vacant, and nearly half of the teachers who were on the payroll did not meet the state's certification standards, according to a new report. And that was an improvement from last year.
Businesses welcome, environmentalists dread end of Obama-era water rule
WASHINGTON - Farming, real estate and manufacturing representatives applauded as EPA and Army officials moved to end an Obama-era rule that expanded waters subject to regulation - a move environmental groups warned would mean virtually no protection for the nation's waterways - especially in the West.
Experts: $20 million for school suicide prevention welcome, more needed
WASHINGTON - Education and government officials called a $20 million grant for suicide prevention programs in Arizona schools an important first step to deal with a growing problem, even as they said much more needs to be done.
Census: Arizona continued to lag far behind U.S. on school spending
WASHINGTON - New Census Bureau figures show that per-pupil spending in Arizona's public schools was fourth-lowest in the nation in 2017, still mired at the back of the pack even though spending rose faster that year in the state than it did in the rest of the country.
New law changes how English Language learners are taught. But what comes next?
MESA – A new law aims to help students who don’t speak English natively succeed, but how will educators implement it?
