Arizona again near bottom of states for per pupil spending, Census says
WASHINGTON - Arizona was again among the worst states in the nation for per pupil spending on K-12 education in 2020, according to a recent Census Bureau report, a ranking that advocates said was embarrassing but not surprising.
Public housing has been privatized in some Arizona cities
ELOY – A few Arizona cities have outsourced to private companies the management of their public housing authorities. But that transfer of oversight has led to problems such as a lack of public-facing information on who qualifies for such housing aid.
Tribal police agencies struggle to attract, maintain officers, panel told
WASHINGTON - A Navajo Nation official told a Senate panel this week that the tribe’s police department lacks the resources to attract and retain officers, a problem that experts say is faced by tribal police departments across the country.
Private landlords have become the key to subsidized housing
PHOENIX – Most Arizona housing authorities that manage HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher program, known as Section 8, lack a formal process for approving landlords.
‘Documented Dreamers’ fear deportation after aging out of visa protection
WASHINGTON - BASIS Peoria senior Ayaan Siddiqui, whose visa-holding parents brought him here at age 1, does not face deportation to India - yet. But like 200,000 other "documented Dreamers," he could when he turns 21, which is why he rallied for a bill to change that.
Arizona housing authorities’ strict criminal background checks often bar people who need a second chance
PHOENIX – As they look for a place to live in the state’s tight rental market, applicants with criminal backgrounds seeking government-supported housing face hurdles that go far beyond what the federal guidelines require.
‘We are still here’: Tribes reclaiming out-of-state ancestral homelands
Tribes that were forcibly resettled to Oklahoma are increasingly buying back or being gifted back property in their ancestral homelands - from Alabama to Michigan to Kansas - either to build economic sustainability or manage cultural preservation sites.
On heels of Flores lawsuit, Black high school football coaches in Arizona hungry for more opportunities
PHOENIX – As the NFL deals with controversy over the dearth of Black head coaches, Arizona’s Black high school football coaches say numbers need to improve in their state.
Surge in congenital syphilis gives Arizona second-worst rate in U.S.
WASHINGTON - Congenital syphilis cases in Arizona rose more than sevenfold from 2016 to 2020, pushing the state from the sixth- to second-worst state in the nation in that time, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CROWN Act banning discrimination against natural Black hair enacted by Tempe, Tucson
TEMPE – A Tempe natural hair stylist talks about the beauty and diversity of natural hair in light of Tempe and Tucson passing the CROWN Act, which prohibits hair discrimination.
Kayla Mueller’s parents speak as ISIS fighter is sentenced in her death
WASHINGTON - Kayla Jean Mueller's parents told a federal judge Friday that "there's not a day, barely an hour" when they don't think of their daughter, who was kidnapped in Syria and held hostage by ISIS for 18 months before being killed in 2015.
Arizona arts commission gave grants to 30 artists. Here’s how they’re using them.
PHOENIX – Dozens of Arizona artists are expanding their creative horizons, thanks to 30 $5,000 research and development grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. The grants were for artists at any stage of their careers to help them experiment with techniques, create new works and more.
