‘Very personal project’: Repurposed shipping containers provide alternative shelter for those experiencing homelessness
PHOENIX – The city of Phoenix has teamed up with nonprofit St. Vincent de Paul and metal fabrication company Steel + Spark to provide another shelter option using shipping containers.
Big fight for a little bird: Pygmy-owl gets threatened species status
WASHINGTON - Federal officials this week granted threatened species status to the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl, capping 17 years of "litigation and controversy" from advocates fighting to win protection for the 6-inch raptor.
U.S. criticizes Mexico over protection of vaquitas, stops short of sanctions
WASHINGTON - Mexico is not living up to its responsibility to protect the threatened totoaba fish and the critically endangered vaquita, a small porpoise of which there are only around a dozen left in the Gulf of California, the Biden administration said this week.
‘We cannot continue to scar Mother Earth’: Public shows support for proposed monument near Grand Canyon
FLAGSTAFF – Dozens of community members, tribal leaders and state officials gathered in Flagstaff to show their support for a proposed national monument around the Grand Canyon, saying the designation could protect natural and cultural resources. Critics say the monument could hurt the economy.
Coconino official tells House ‘anti-ESG’ bills threaten public investments
WASHINGTON - Coconino County Treasurer Sarah Benatar told House lawmakers Tuesday that it's her job to get the best, and safest, return on public investments for taxpayers, but that "anti-ESG" legislation puts public dollars at risk.
Navajo witnesses clash over government’s Chaco Canyon mining ban
WASHNGTON - A moratorium on mining within 10 miles of Chaco Canyon tramples on tribal sovereignty and denies Navajo badly needed royalty payments; or it is needed to ensure oil and gas operations no longer poison the people, competing witnesses told a House panel.
Navajo president presses Congress for more time, money, for water project
WASHINGTON - Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren asked senators Wednesday for more funding, and time, for a pipeline project that would create a reliable water supply for 250,000 people across Arizona and New Mexico.
Meet the Colorado River’s newest – and youngest – power player
Meet JB Hamby, the Colorado River's newest and youngest policymaker, on his home turf. Hamby serves on the board of the Imperial Irrigation District, the largest single user of Colorado River water, and was recently appointed as California's top water negotiator.
Kamala Harris discusses commitment to Native communities during Arizona visit
LAVEEN – Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Gila River Indian Community Thursday. She addressed disparities facing Native communities.
At Lake Powell, record low water levels revealed an ‘amazing silver lining’
As water levels fell to historic lows at Lake Powell earlier this year, the receding water revealed a breathtaking landscape of deep red-rock canyons that cradle lush ecosystems and otherworldly arches, caverns and waterfalls - what some call a "lost national park."
Report: Shifting to EV fleets would save state, local governments millions
WASHINGTON - Arizona governments could save almost $283 million over the next 10 years if roughly 20,000 gasoline-powered light-duty vehicles in their fleets that are due to be retired were replaced with electric vehicles, according a recent report.
Months of wet weather erase drought across the Southwest
Climate experts recently provided a briefing with updates on the state of drought in the Southwest. In a rare dose of good news, much of the region's drought has been erased by months of wet weather.
