Report: ‘Child care deserts’ hit poor, rural Arizona families hardest

WASHINGTON - Arizona has 304,180 infants and toddlers who need child care but only 234,270 slots to accommodate them, with poor and rural families most likely to be left out, which did not come as a surprise to state child care advocates.


Digitized health records, safety apps could be game-changer for athletes at every level

PHOENIX – PRIVIT, a leader in the protected health-information field, feeds off a year of uncertainty and aims to impact the way organizations prioritize health care history.


Phoenix PD offers officers mental health training; community members say that’s not enough

The efforts, and backlash, of Phoenix Police Department’s handling of mental health scenarios is being highlighted.


‘Yelp’-like reviews for social justice? ASU civil rights center seeks ways to target systemic inequality

PHOENIX – Ehsan Zaffar, a federal civil rights lawyer, is leading the initiative for a civil rights center at Arizona State University.


Michelangelo up close: Exhibit brings replicas of Sistine Chapel masterpieces to Phoenix

PHOENIX – Phoenicians can travel to Italy this winter with a trip to “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition” at the Croft Downtown in Phoenix’s warehouse district. Life-size prints of the famous frescoes adorn the walls and ceilings so visitors can get a closer look.


Struggles of Cave Creek district are emblematic of Arizona schools during COVID-19

CAVE CREEK – Cave Creek Unified School District students, parents and teachers are dealing with long term substitutes reflecting the struggles of other schools.


Mesa teachers union urges district to halt in-person classes

The Mesa Education Association, which represents teachers, has asked Mesa Public Schools to return to remote learning because of a surge in COVID-19 cases in Maricopa County. District officials say they’ll respond on Thursday.


How Arizona universities are riding the waves of COVID-19

PHOENIX – ASU, NAU and UArizona grapple with the coronavirus with similar but separate approaches to COVID-19 to tests, teaching and telling the public what they’re doing.


‘It’s creating a new normal’: A Navajo school district and its students fight to overcome amid COVID-19

PIÑON – Even in the best of times, Native American K-12 students have faced an uphill battle to getting a high school diploma. Now COVID has brought new challenges, but one district is doing everything it can to help its students persevere.


Schools welcome state mandate for masks in classrooms, buses, events

WASHINGTON - Arizona health officials on Thursday mandated that students wear face coverings in school, on buses and at school activities, an emergency order that school officials called a step in the right direction, but not enough.

school spending buses

Youth advocacy groups kept voters safe and informed on Election Day

LOS ANGELES – Young people stepped up on two fronts this Election Day: volunteering to replace older poll workers who feared exposure to COVID-19 and pushing more of their peers – an age group with historically low turnout – to register and vote.


Soldiering on: After layoff, guardsman wins ‘best warrior’ competition

WASHINGTON - Daniel D'Ippolito's situation was hardly unique he was laid off in March, one of thousands in Arizona who lost jobs to COVID-19. What he's done since is unique, becoming a national finalist in a grueling Army contest of skills and stamina.