• BC-CNS-Scottsdale Hotel. 550 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail and caption below).

By Zach Bradshaw
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Scottsdale City Council voted Tuesday to fund bridge housing at a local hotel for people who have been displaced from their homes.

The council approved $499,933 for the Independence 47 Hotel to open temporary housing for senior citizens and families with children.

The hotel, at 7330 N. Pima Road, will offer 10 rooms Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2024. According to city documents, hygiene products and utilities will be provided.

Continue reading “Scottsdale will pay local hotel to open temporary housing for unhoused seniors, families with children”

• Slug: Sports-The Sweet Spot. Runtime 10:47.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

[Music bed under] 

HOST INTRO: This is the Sweet Spot where we take a closer look at the week’s biggest sports stories in Arizona. I’m Alex Chenevey, and welcome back to the show, for our second episode of the season!

[Music fade in/under] Continue reading “The Sweet Spot: Exit interviews cool temperatures on Mercury”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Voter Registration. 270 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).
• Downloadable audio by Kiersten Edgett available here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

By Kiersten Edgett
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Secretary of State Adrian Fontes held a series of events on Tuesday, National Voter Registration Day, to encourage voter registration in Arizona.

During an event at the Phoenix Coding Academy, Fontes cited a 2016 Republican primary for Arizona’s 5th Congressional District as a prime example of the importance of voting.

Continue reading “Secretary of State Adrian Fontes pushes voter registration, addresses push to ditch partisan ballots”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Trans Woman Arrested Flagstaff. 720 words.
• Photo available (thumbnail and caption below).

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The arrest of a transgender woman last month in Flagstaff sparked protests in the community and outrage at the handling of trans cases in the criminal justice system – both during her arrest and her time in the men’s side of the jail.

Epona Rose was arrested after an altercation on Aug. 10 at Heritage Square in downtown Flagstaff. Flagstaff police officers who responded to the incident found two men injured by bear spray, and one had a knife wound on his hand, according to a police report. But Rose claims she acted in self-defense after she was attacked and sexually assaulted by four to five men who used transphobic statements, according to court documents filed by Rose’s attorney Ryan Stevens.

Continue reading “Trans woman’s arrest in Flagstaff sparks community outrage at handling of her case”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Arizona SAG-AFTRA Rally. 600 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Members of the Arizona-Utah chapter of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists rallied in Phoenix on Sunday to demand increased benefits and residuals, prohibition of artificial intelligence content and protections against unauthorized use of their likeness.

SAG-AFTRA local leaders and members were joined at the U.A. Local 469 union hall by leaders of local chapters of entertainment unions, including the Actors’ Equity Association, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the American Federation of Musicians, as well as other local union leaders.

Continue reading “SAG-AFTRA Arizona members rally as part of national strike for TV, film worker protections, higher wages”

• BC-CNS-Mahsa Amini Memorial Photos. 280 words.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).
• Video coming.

By Sam Volante
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE – The Arizona Persian Cultural Center held a memorial on Saturday to honor Mahsa Amini and other individuals who stood for Iranian freedom.

The memorial took place one year after the death of Amini, who died in custody three days after her arrest by the Iranian morality police for an “improper hijab,” according to news accounts.

Amini’s death sparked protests across Iran pressing for women’s rights. Human Rights Watch estimates more than 500 people were killed during the protests, with dozens executed following unfair trials, according to the nonprofit.

Continue reading “Mahsa Amini honored in Scottsdale a year after dying in Iranian custody”

• BC-CNS-Overdose Awareness Photo Essay. 760 words.
• Photos available below.

By John Leos
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Arizona advocacy group Sonoran Prevention Works commemorated International Overdose Awareness Day 2023 on Aug. 31, with a vigil at the Desert West Community Center in Phoenix. The group was founded in 2010 by people who had used drugs and wanted to help others by reducing harm, providing health services and creating safe spaces.

Continue reading “As Arizonans remember loved ones lost to drug overdose, advocacy group stresses ‘every death caused by overdose is preventable’”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Race Dominican,2490 words.
• 9 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Morgan Casey
Cronkite Borderlands Initiative

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The Dominican Republic is cracking down on migration from Haiti, in an effort that is roiling the country and leading to accusations of racism in the Dominican government and society.

Under the assumption that black skin and curly hair equals Haitian, Black Dominicans are being targeted by police, the military and, sometimes, their fellow citizens.

The discrimination against Black Dominicans was so severe that the U.S. Embassy in the country issued an advisory last November to “darker skinned U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens of African descent” traveling to the country. The advisory said the Dominican government was detaining dark-skinned travelers, assuming they could be Haitian. Continue reading “Black activists take on Dominican government and society in quest for justice and recognition”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Transgender Students,1320 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Alyssa Bickle
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Jessie Jordan, an 11-year-old at West Elementary School in Coolidge Unified School District, told her mom she wanted to be called a girl when she was 2 years old.

Jessie now identifies as a binary gender, wears dresses, has long hair and can practically run a marathon in high heels, said Johanna Jordan, Jessie’s mother.

“It’s like we’ve never had a son, she’s always been our daughter,” Johanna Jordan said. “If we are at a restaurant, she just goes to the girls’ bathroom, like there’s nothing other than a girls’ bathroom to us.”

But, when the fifth grader is at school, she uses the nurse’s bathroom, which her mother prefers because she feels Jessie will be safer there than the girls’ bathroom. Continue reading “Advocates say Superintendent Tom Horne’s bathroom recommendation ‘others’ transgender students”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Green Jobs,680 words.
• File photo, graphic, video story available (embed code, thumbnails, captions below).

By Renee Romo
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona added more than 2,300 clean-energy industry jobs last year, falling just shy of the state’s pre-pandemic employment levels but matching the nation for job growth in the sector, a new report said.

The annual Clean Jobs America report by Environmental Entrepreneurs – or E2 – said the bulk of the 61,583 clean-energy jobs in the state were in energy-efficiency fields, like efficient lighting, heating and insulation. But Arizona also had almost 12,000 jobs in renewable energy industries and more than 4,000 in clean vehicles. Continue reading “Arizona added 2,374 clean-energy jobs in 2022, near pre-pandemic levels”

EDS: An earlier version of this story failed to note updated information about the Scottsdale program in the 4th graf. The story below has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions are asked to run the correction found here.

• BC-CNS-Scottsdale Homeless Hotel. 415 words. By Kevinjonah Paguio.
• 5 photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Kevinjonah Paguio
Cronkite News

SCOTTSDALE – Scottsdale residents scrutinized the city’s plan to convert hotel rooms into shelter for the unhoused during a community hearing Wednesday at the Civic Center Library. Many called for more transparency and implementation of safeguards.

State GOP Reps. Matt Gress of Phoenix and Quang Nguyen of Prescott Valley, and Democratic Rep. Judy Schwiebert of Phoenix, along with a panel of witnesses, talked with residents and voiced their own opinions on the city’s plan to use local hotel rooms as homeless shelters at an Appropriations Subcommittee on Budgetary Funding Formulas meeting.

On June 27, the Scottsdale City Council voted 6-1 to adopt a resolution that would see the city receive a $940,000 grant from the Arizona Department of Housing. The grant will be used to expand a bridge housing program by using hotel rooms to house individuals experiencing homelessness. Councilmember Barry Graham was the sole dissenting vote.

Continue reading “Scottsdale homeless housing plan met with concern from residents, legislators”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Airport Workers. 730 words. By Reagan Priest.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Two groups of airport workers are speaking out about what they say are dangerous working conditions and low wages at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Concession workers contracted by SSP America voted on Sept. 1 to authorize a strike after negotiations between the union, UNITE HERE Local 11, and the employer broke down. As of Wednesday, there were no plans for the workers to walk out.

Service workers contracted by Prospect Airport Services filed a complaint with the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health on Sept. 6 alleging violations of federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. Service workers include employees who handle bags, clean airplane cabins, assist passengers in wheelchairs and more.

Continue reading “Phoenix Sky Harbor workers file complaint, vote to strike over dangerous working conditions and low wages”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Border Wars,790 words.
• 4 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Renee Romo and Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Will the flow of migrants into the U.S. “grow our workforce, our productivity, and our economy” or is it “unchecked, unfettered, illegal immigration” that depresses wages and takes jobs?

In Washington, it can be both.

While two committees held two hearings on the same topic Wednesday, the hearings in the Democrat-controlled Senate and the GOP-led House came to two very different conclusions. Washington observers were not surprised. Continue reading “Glass half-full or half-empty? In partisan Washington, it’s usually both”

• Slug: BC-Naloxone Available,570 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Jacob Snelgrove
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Naloxone became available over the counter with no prescription needed at thousands of pharmacies across the United States last week – though some local pharmacies aren’t able to keep up with demand based on allocations.

Naloxone is a Food and Drug Administration-approved medication that reverses an opioid overdose. Many people know it as Narcan, which delivers the medication via nasal spray.

Continue reading “Naloxone now available at pharmacies, libraries – and in high demand”

• Slug: BC-Endangered Snail,780 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Zach Bradshaw
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing that a snail found only in Arizona be listed as an endangered species after effects of drought and border wall construction have reduced populations.

The Quitobaquito tryonia, native to the state, is a freshwater snail that lives in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, over 100 miles west of Tucson.

The agency is asking to designate a 6,095-square-foot plot of land, which includes a concrete channel leading to a pond, as a critical habitat for the species.

Continue reading “Arizona snail found only in Quitobaquito Springs may be listed as endangered”

• Slug: BC-CNS-COVID Vaccine,620 words.
• Photo, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Alexandria Cullen
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Federal officials Tuesday approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine for use by anyone age 6 months or older, and health officials are urging people to get the shot amid a fall surge in cases.

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 2,476 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending Sept. 6, down from preceding weeks but still almost twice the number of infections as were reported in early July.

While they caution that it is too early to call it a pattern with coronavirus, health officials say viral infections, like the flu, typically rise in the fall. Which is all the more reason to take advantage of the new vaccines, they said. Continue reading “Updated COVID-19 vaccine OK’d, experts urge people to roll up their sleeves”

• Slug: BC-CNS-9/11 Memorial. About 250 words. By Kiersten Edgett.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download).
• Video coming.

By Kiersten Edgett
Cronkite News

TEMPE – At 5:46 a.m. Monday, speakers at Tempe Beach Park began to read out the names of the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, starting at the time the first plane hit the first of the World Trade Center towers 22 years ago.

The Tempe Healing Field tribute honored the lives of those who died during the 9/11 attack. Organizers lined up American flags across the park, each symbolizing someone who died. Some flags were accompanied by boots or teddy bears to symbolize victims who were soldiers or children. Memorial events also included a 5K run/walk and a candlelight vigil.

Continue reading “22 years later, 9/11 Tempe Healing Field tribute honors lives in terrorist attack”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Mayes E-Cigarettes,480 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Cameron Arcand
Cronkite News

PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and 32 other attorneys general from around the country signed a letter outlining recommendations to cut down on youth vaping numbers. Federal data shows millions of teens regularly use electronic cigarettes, especially flavored products.

In the Aug. 29 letter, the officials suggested that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration take several actions against the e-cigarette industry to make vaping less appealing to young people.

Even though the legal age to purchase is 21 in the U.S., use of tobacco products by youth remains a consistent problem. Continue reading “Kris Mayes, other attorneys general, recommend crackdown on vaping products targeting youth”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Extended Trail Closures. 300 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail and caption below).
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download.)

Text and audio by Kiersten Edgett
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Phoenix City Council voted Aug. 31 to extend excessive heat warning closures year-round – and earlier in the day – on certain hiking trails.

The policy previously only applied May through September, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., when the National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings.

Continue reading “Phoenix City Council votes to extend trail closures during excessive heat warnings”

• Slug: News21-After Roe-Maternal Mortality. 1,500 words. Story and photos by Shelby Rae Wills/News21. Video by Jada Respress and Peyton Brooks/News 21.
• Photos and quote cards available (thumbnails and captions below).
• Video available.

WINGATE, N.C. – We’re experiencing a “major crisis in this country,” says Monica Simpson, the executive director of SisterSong, an Atlanta-based reproductive justice organization advocating for better maternal health care for people of color in the South.

“Maternal health in this country is something that I’m glad that we’re now finally talking about, and SisterSong has been one of those organizations for many years now really sounding the alarm,” Simpson said in an interview with News21.

Continue reading “Activists unite to fight maternal mortality post-Roe v. Wade”