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• Slug: BC-CNS-Dam Pipes,1210 words.
• 4 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Alex Hager
KUNC

Conservation groups are calling for changes to the management of Lake Powell, the nation’s second largest reservoir, after the discovery of damaged plumbing within the dam that holds it back.

The damage is to Glen Canyon Dam’s “river outlet works,” a critical set of small tubes near the bottom of the dam that were originally intended to release excess water when the reservoir is nearing full capacity.

The reservoir is currently only 32% full, beleaguered by climate change and steady demand. Water experts think the river outlet works may soon become the only way to pass water from Lake Powell, situated in far northern Arizona, to the Colorado River on the other side. But they worry that damage to those tubes could impede the ability to use them regularly. Continue reading “A plumbing issue at Lake Powell dam could mean big trouble for Western water”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Baby Drivers,510 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Ian McKinney
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – It’s a “scary” trend that border county officials say is getting scarier: Mexican cartels paying teenagers from throughout the country to smuggle illegal migrants across the state as “load car” drivers.

“We’ve had them from every state in the lower 48 down here,” said Robert Watkins, commander of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office patrol and special operations division. “We have 1,500 smugglers coming into Cochise County a month to transport people.”

Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot says the trend has “been going on since 2020, and it’s just increased as you’ve seen more and more people coming across (the border).” Continue reading “Border sheriffs see more ‘load car’ drivers, teens paid to smuggle migrants”

EDS: An earlier version of this story misspelled Steve Christy’s name in grafs 28, 29 and 31. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Shelter Skelter,1820 words.
• 17 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Lillie Boudreaux
Cronkite News

TUCSON – A Customs and Border Protection van pulls to the side door of an industrial building. Two federal agents get out and open the van’s rear doors, revealing metal, barred gates that read “Inmate Transport.”

The first face to emerge from the van’s dark interior is a young girl wearing pink pants and a beaming smile. A man steps out next and carries her, and her juice box, toward the entrance of the shelter where asylum seekers get food, clothes, and a temporary shelter after being processed by CBP and released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention.

The scene is repeated daily at the Casa Alitas shelter in Tucson where hundreds – sometimes thousands – of asylum seekers, many of them young children, are dropped off with little more than the clothes on their backs. Continue reading “Border shelters stave off ‘homelessness on steroids,’ but funding worries remain”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Autism Disparity Research. 1,060 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions available).

By Mia Milinovich
Cronkite News

FLAGSTAFF – Researchers at Northern Arizona University have launched a project to study persistent disparities in autism services for children from underserved communities.

The project was sparked by a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that showed, for the first time, the percentage of 8-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder was higher among Black, Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander children than white children. Before the 2023 Community Report on Autism, white children were identified with autism spectrum disorder at higher rates when compared to other racial or ethnic groups by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.
Continue reading “Northern Arizona University research team addresses disparities in access to autism services”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Telling Time. 440 words.
• Photo available.
• Video available.

By Maria Staubs
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – If asked to check the time, one might check their phone or a digital clock – but, what about the old-school analog clock? As the world continues to move further into a digital era, some might ask: Is reading an analog clock even a necessary skill anymore?

Lowell Elementary School Principal Dana Ramos thinks it is. She said reading an analog clock is still a part of the state curriculum for second or third graders, so students should be proficient.

“I think it’s still a skill that students have to have because they still may run into an analog clock somewhere, and it’s important for them to be able to have that skill even if they don’t utilize it every single day,” Ramos said.
Continue reading “‘Time has a beginning, middle and end:’ Expert says telling time provides life skills”

• Slug: BC-CNS-TNR. 650 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below)
• Video available.

By Lauren Bly
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – In the sprawling urban landscape of Phoenix, where the desert sun sets over bustling streets, there are volunteers quietly tending to a population often overlooked: feral cats.

Jennifer Nitrio’s nightly routine involves filling food dishes for these feline friends. It’s a ritual she’s faithfully performed for a quarter-century.

Continue reading “Quiet heroes: Meet the Valley animal lovers tending to feral cat colonies”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Basketball Court Maintenance. 940 words.
• 3 photos available.

By Aden Schulze-Miller
Cronkite News

PEORIA – Three basketball hoops overlook the serene western vistas of Sonoran Mountain Ranch Park in northern Peoria. One faces a playset and has a double rim. The other two stand with rocks and grassy knolls beyond them. The surrounding mountains are tall, but not enough to block the sun from making the concrete simmer in the summer.

With constant play and the outdoor environment, basketball courts need plenty of maintenance. Some courts have cracks in their concrete or asphalt – some so long from the last resurfacing that weeds and dirt fill up portions of the court. Bulges due to the heat make them too bumpy for the ball.

Those are things that come with the weathering outdoor basketball courts face. Arizona’s harsh climate presents challenges that call for experienced services and unique measures to repair and resurface beaten-up outdoor courts.

Continue reading “Cracks in the blacktop: How Peoria maintains basketball courts in spite of Arizona’s environment”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Missing Person Collaboration. 670 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Marnie Jordan
Cronkite News

GLOBE – Founded in 1876, this old mining town is at the foot of the Pinal Mountains in southern Gila County. As visitors walk the streets of historic downtown Globe, they’ll see cafes, shops and old buildings.

Globe had only about 7,200 residents in 2022, according to the Census Bureau. Here, neighbors know neighbors, which is why when Natalie Jo Sebastian disappeared, word got around quickly.

Continue reading “Globe detective, private investigator work to solve missing-person case”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Sober Living Homes. 1,800 words.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Sadie Buggle
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Jade Lara was five months pregnant in January 2022 when she arrived at a group home in San Tan Valley with the promise of daily classes and group therapy to help her with sobriety. However, when she arrived, she was met with a lack of assistance and care and provided with only one therapy session a week held at a different center.

Lara noted the men in the co-ed home were given the freedom to “come and go,” often coming back clearly intoxicated. The situation turned dangerous the night she was sent to another center in Maricopa County, where an intoxicated man wouldn’t leave her or the other woman in the house alone.

Continue reading “Indigenous advocates work to combat fake sober living homes in Arizona”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Front-row Seat,730 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – They can be seen sitting quietly on the sidelines of legislative committee hearings in their blazers, striped ties and khakis, or bustling around the House or Senate floor delivering papers to lawmakers.

These college students are the Legislature’s pages, quiet but essential workers that one lawmaker compared to “the oil in a machine that keeps things running.”

Pages are college students hired by the Legislature to assist lawmakers and staff in running day-to-day operations. Besides working in committees and on the floor, that can include anything from answering constituent phone calls to setting up hearing rooms and giving information to visitors. Continue reading “‘No dull days’: Pages get front-row seats, help keep the Capitol running”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Cochlear Implants. 830 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Brooke Rindenau
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Cochlear implants have been available in the U.S. since 1961. However, the deaf community is divided over whether getting a cochlear implant undermines deaf identity and culture.

A cochlear implant is a small electronic hearing device, with one part surgically implanted into the bone surrounding the ear and one part placed on the ear like a hearing aid. It allows people who are deaf or very hard of hearing to receive and process sounds and speech; it does not, however, restore normal hearing.

Continue reading “Deaf community is divided over how cochlear implants affect deaf identity and culture”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Engandered Species Scientist. 375 words.
• 6 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Mariah Temprendola
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Tara Harris’ fascination with science began in childhood, eventually forming into her passion for conserving native species. Harris believes animals play vital roles in the environment, yet recognizes some are overlooked.

“I really found a passion for them and wanted to work with our partners to help save them,” Harris said. “I feel like I can make a tangible difference for them right here at home.”

Continue reading “‘A tangible difference’: Phoenix Zoo scientists work to save native species”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Doctor Shortage. 1,300 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Leah Mesquita
Cronkite News

EL PASO, Texas – For Makena Piñon, the Texas doctor shortage is not just an issue for the state – it’s a personal issue with repercussions for her health.

The freshman studying biomedical sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso was born with a congenital heart defect, requiring travel outside her hometown to receive treatment.
Continue reading “Texas Tech Health El Paso program helps high school students go to medical school in state, aims to relieve statewide doctor shortage”

• Slug: BC-CNS-AI Libraries. 1,035 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Naomi DuBovis
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Librarians have a lot to think about now that artificial intelligence has entered the picture. Not only could the technology fundamentally change the way they do their jobs, but it also affects areas such as patron privacy and information literacy.

But librarians also see AI’s potential for good. Cataloging and research are major areas in librarianship that artificial intelligence can automate and potentially improve.

Continue reading “A new intermediary: How AI may impact libraries, research and information retrieval”

• Slug: BC-CNS-George Floyd Exhibit. 320 words. By Julia Schamko.
• 7 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Video available.

TEMPE – ASU Art Museum partnered with Arizona State University’s Center for Work and Democracy and the George Floyd Global Memorial following a professor’s acquisition of a collection of offerings gathered during the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis. Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis during an arrest in May 2020, sparking nationwide protests over police violence.

Items including posters, letters, paintings and more are currently displayed in the museum’s “Twin Flames: The George Floyd Uprising from Minneapolis to Phoenix” exhibit through July 28.

Continue reading “Minneapolis to Phoenix: George Floyd protest offerings displayed at ASU Art Museum”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Sage Memorial Hospital Sidebar. 230 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Video & embeddable map available.

By Mia Milinovich
Cronkite News

GANADO – Sage Memorial Hospital is tackling access to health care beyond its main facility in Ganado, with two mobile units that provide a range of outpatient services, including diabetes mellitus screenings and education, rapid HIV and syphilis tests, screenings and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, adult immunizations, harm reduction services, walk-in services and more.

Kathryn Barron, nurse practitioner and director of outpatient services and community health at Sage Memorial, said officials there are developing the mobile units to provide comprehensive care.

Continue reading “Mobile units and nutrition assistance extend Sage Memorial’s reach”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Sage Memorial Hospital Photo Essay. 530 words.
• 12 photos available (thumbnails, captions throughout).
• Video & embeddable map available.

By Kevinjonah Paguio
Cronkite News

Continue reading “New Sage Memorial Hospital transforms Navajo health care”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Sage Memorial Hospital. 2,560 words.
• 8 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Video & embeddable map available.

By Mia Milinovich
Cronkite News

GANADO – Desert stretches out around the little town of Ganado, which sits in the western part of the 27,000 square miles of the Navajo Nation.

Ganado is home to Sage Memorial Hospital, a Native-managed comprehensive health care system serving thousands of people in surrounding Navajo communities. The medical facility has operated out of its current facilities since 1930. Back then, the outpatient building, Poncel Hall, was home to the first Native American nursing school.

Now, 93 years later, Sage Memorial Hospital has built a 95,614-square-foot state-of-the-art hospital that is more than twice the size of the original hospital and will significantly increase patient capacity.

Continue reading “Sage Memorial Hospital in Navajo Nation constructs new facility to improve health care”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Rattlesnake Ready. 800 words.
• 7 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Video available.

By Analisa Valdez
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Rattlesnake season in Arizona is ramping up and while that means watching out for snakes – it can mean watching out for your pets, too.

Experts caution Arizonans to be aware of their surroundings while hiking or walking their dogs and to keep their eyes and ears open for the telltale signs of rattlesnakes: their coiled bodies and the unmistakable rattle of their tails.

“Certainly there are avoidable situations and potentially unavoidable situations,” said Bryan Kuhn, pharmacist and toxicologist at Banner Health Poison & Drug Information Center. “I can say that for this year, the vast majority of our bites have been these sort of unintentional, unavoidable type scenarios where someone is in an area where they are unaware there’s a snake.”

That’s where Rattlesnake Ready and Rattlesnake Ranch come in. Co-founders and owners Cody and Kate Will have built a large collection of rattlesnakes at Rattlesnake Ranch, which people can visit for a fee to see and learn about the snakes. Through Rattlesnake Ready, the pair prepare and educate pets and pet owners about these misunderstood desert creatures by utilizing ranch resources at the 2,400-square-foot nature center and training area in Cave Creek.

Continue reading “Cave Creek business aims to train dogs to avoid rattlesnakes in the summer months”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Medical Interpreters. 940 words.
• 5 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).
• Related Spanish story available.

By Kevinjonah Paguio
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Non-English speakers can face big communication challenges in medical settings: being unable to convey personal information, understand medical jargon and follow treatment instructions. These challenges can result in misunderstandings, or worse, in misdiagnoses. Phoenix hospitals work at preventing problems like this by providing interpretation and translation services in many different languages.

About 2 million Arizonans speak a language other than English, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, although it is not clear how many would be considered non-English speakers. Over 1.3 million speak Spanish; more than 130,000 speak another Indo-European language; 150,000 speak an Asian or Pacific Island language; and 160,000 speak other languages.

Phoenix hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, Valleywise Health, Abrazo Health and Banner Health, have established services for interpretation – for speech – and translation – for written communication – that can cover dozens of different languages. When a hospital’s language department is unable to directly provide interpretation and translation services, third-party providers – vendors and contractors – will step in.

Continue reading “Medical interpreters break the language barrier in Phoenix hospitals, use interpretation and translation services to broaden accessibility”