Dust, particle pollution disproportionately affect Latino and poor communities
PHOENIX – Latino and lower-income communities of Phoenix are breathing in more polluted air than residents in other parts of the city, and a new report indicates it’s part of a national trend.
Coming clean: A snapshot of Arizona’s energy makeup
RED VALLEY – There’s a long history of oil and gas production in the western U.S. including here in Arizona. As part of a collaboration with Elemental, we explain what Arizona’s energy mix is.
Experts say Arizona tribes’ role in drought negotiations marks turning point for inclusion
SACATON – The Drought Contingency Plan aimed at preserving water levels in the Colorado River Basin has been signed into law. Arizona’s tribes had a critical role in the plan’s negotiations, something experts say sets a new precedent for tribal water rights.
Needed or misguided? Permanent ban on uranium mining near Grand Canyon draws mixed reaction
GRAND CANYON – A bill that could permanently prevent uranium mining on more than a million acres of land around the Grand Canyon is something conservation groups and tribes in northern Arizona call long overdue but mining companies condemn.
Sunlight for nighttime: Arizona’s largest utility plans to expand battery storage
PHOENIX – Arizona Public Services Co. plans to add battery storage to its existing solar plants and build new plants by 2025.
A CO₂ sponge: Arizona scientist working to combat rising carbon dioxide levels
TEMPE – A recent study shows an uptick in carbon dioxide levels last year, meanwhile scientists at Arizona State University’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions are working on innovative technology that captures the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
Arizona lawmakers agree on crucial drought contingency plan
ELOY – Arizona lawmakers approve a drought contingency plan that addresses declines in water levels in Lake Mead, the Colorado River reservoir that provides water to many users in Arizona.
4 No More Deaths volunteers found guilty of entering refuge, abandoning property
TUCSON – Four No More Deaths volunteers were found guilty on Friday for charges involving leaving aid in restricted areas of the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
Former Arizona forester taps years of history in new Forest Service job
WASHINGTON - Former Arizona State Forester Vicki Christiansen will draw on her years of experience as she takes on her new role as chief of the U.S. Forest Service, which faces problems of funds, growing wildfires and a lingering culture of harassment at the agency.
Officials hopeful ‘fire funding fix’ helps tame brutal wildfire seasons
WASHINGTON – After years of wrangling, Congress last year passed the "fire funding fix" that creates a $2.25 billion emergency fund that federal officials can tap when the cost of fighting wildfires exceeds the budget, as it has done regularly for years now.
ASU grad hoped to raise ‘a little’ to aid synagogue; nets $1.2 million
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.
Natural disaster, unnatural calm: Trying to stay upbeat after hurricane
MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. - They lost everything in Hurricane Florence, but weeks later the residents of a shelter in Morehead City, North Carolina, were trying to look at the positives of the experience, as community and familiy came together, with one resident saying they had all been blessed to be here."
