PHOENIX – Gov. Doug Ducey’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2019-20 would set aside twice as much as last year for a rainy day, continue a salary hike for teachers and prepare the state for water shortages in the future.
PHOENIX – Maricopa County Animal Care & Control is always tight on funds and its facilities overcrowded. But thanks to creative marketing and partnerships, the county is able to place 95 percent of the dogs in homes.
PHOENIX – Craig and Kathi Juntunen adopted three children from Haiti, and that experience inspired the couple in 2006 to launch Chances for Children, a foundation for Haitian orphans.
CAMP VERDE – A collaboration among Camp Verde farmers, investors and the Nature Conservancy has reduced Verde River water usage by getting farmers to swap our summer corn for winter barley, a key ingredient in beer.
PHOENIX – Phoenix now offers light-recycling services. Residents can drop off lights at one of two transfer stations, starting the day after Christmas.
TEMPE – Meet Brian Johnson, Arizona State’s athletic grounds facilities manager. He spends the bulk of his time during football season caring for the fields at Sun Devil Stadium, but he recently helped with the Cheez-It Bowl at Chase Field.
LAVEEN – The family network of care for Santiago González has become, over the years, as familiar as the lyrics of his favorite music. The family is like those of many of more than millions diagnosed in the U.S. with Alzheimer’s. But older Hispanics are more likely than older whites to be diagnosed with the brain disease, which affects memory.
PHOENIX – A recent global study said beer prices could double under extreme heat and drought trends. Phoenix-area breweries said that prediction, if true, would affect them the most. However, they believe they’ll be able to find ways to adapt to the rising temperatures and drought conditions.
PHOENIX – More than 14 million people are expected to have Alzheimer’s by 2050, but the brain disease affects people of all ages as caregivers grapple with the social and financial costs of a devastating diagnosis.
TEMPE – The Arizona Office of Tourism and Arizona State University specifically market to Chinese international students to attend school in Arizona, hoping to encourage friends and family to visit.
WASHINGTON - Shay Khatiri, an ASU grad and Iranian immigrant, has no ties to Pittsburgh, but he wanted to do something after the Oct. 27 synagogue attack there killed 11. So he set up a GoFundMe account that he thought might raise $700. It wound up raising more than $1.2 million.
PHOENIX – The FBI invited media members to participate in their fitness test, one of the tests FBI applicants must pass in order to get hired by the Bureau.
