Arizona playwright brings stories of Black history to stage
PHOENIX – Larissa Brewington channels a black woman from seven decades back, demure in a black polka-dotted dress with a doily collar and cat-eye glasses perched on her nose, convincing her way into a whites-only Oklahoma law school in 1940s’ America.
Solar power brings light to some Navajo Nation homes
KAYENTA – Electrical power lines are nowhere in sight from Helen Salazar’s home. She lives on a dirt road in Monument Valley, part of the Navajo Nation. Throughout her life, Salazar has adapted to the challenges of living in a remote, off-grid home.
Children say goodbye to mural they painted on border fence
NACO,SONORA - Children who painted a mural on a section of the border fence in Mexico gathered to take a final look at their artwork before the structure is torn down to make way for a new border barrier.
State audit: Vocational program for disabled costs more, has less success
PHOENIX – A recent state audit found the state's Vocational Rehabilitation program, which helps thousands of people with physical or mental disabilities prepare for and find work, spends significantly more per person on average than similar programs in other states – about 2.5 times the amount.
Photo gallery: The view from the U.S.-Mexico border
PHOENIX – With President Donald Trump's executive order to move forward with construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, people across the country are turning their gazes south. Cronkite News journalists report from communities on both sides of the border. Here is a gallery of photos from their travels.
Report: Teachers rated ‘effective’ may lag in student growth standard
WASHINGTON - Thirty states claim to consider student growth a "significant" factor in teacher evaluations, but a new study finds that evaluations in 28 of those states, including Arizona, "fail to live up to promises."
Hundreds of volunteers help document homeless during annual street count
PHOENIX – Armed with clipboards, surveys and layers of clothing, hundreds of volunteers loaded into cars before 5 a.m. on Tuesday with a mission to connect with the homeless as part of the the Point-in-Time homeless count in Phoenix.
ASU study: Body cameras improve relationship between Tempe police officers and public
TEMPE – Police wearing body cameras can promote a good relationship between the community and police, including members of the public saying police officers treated them with respect, early results of an ongoing Arizona State University study show.
Teaching the teachers to stay in Arizona
PARADISE VALLEY – In a poorly-financed education system, Arizona teachers are battling low salaries, the pressures of mandatory testing and a lack of respect for their profession, making it harder for the state to entice and retain teachers, advocates say. One Paradise Valley mentoring program is trying to grow teachers at home and repair a broken pipeline.
Wading through the yuck, researchers study wastewater sludge for public health clues
TEMPE – Pristine white lab coats hang on a wheeled rack. Handwritten measurements and equations are crammed on whiteboards. And a long line of freezers are filled with containers of super-concentrated human waste.
Pharmaceuticals end up in water supply, AZ experts suggest better tracking
PHOENIX – The Arizona health community distributed 305 million pain reliever pills last year – enough to provide 24-hour medication for every adult in the state for two weeks straight, according to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission.
Duties and dreams: Arizona Latina struggles to balance education, family
QUEEN CREEK - When she was 5, Berenice Zendejas scribbled down the answer to her kindergarten teacher’s question.
