For animal shelters, higher temperatures mean higher volume and higher stress

Aug 15, 2023
Record heat in Arizona has brought an influx of mouths to feed at Liberty Wildlife along with high water and electricity bills.
A hawk receiving aid at Liberty Wildlife in Phoenix. Heat waves are a threat to animals as well as people.
Courtesy Laura Hackett
Devonte and Cassie Bradford with their three kids, Damari, Kendrix and Jaylee.
Courtesy Bradford family

She left California for Arizona, but found high rent and lower wages

Dec 5, 2022
Taylor Jenkins learned the hard way that the Phoenix area had become a top destination for those leaving expensive coastal cities.
Taylor Jenkins moved to Arizona from the San Francisco Bay Area in search of more affordable housing, but she struggled to find it there. Above, Jenkins in Arizona.
Courtesy Taylor Jenkins

What it takes to get a "dark money" initiative on the ballot

Arizona is one of 21 states where people can submit signatures and petition. But getting something on the ballot is no easy task.
From left, Becky Daggett, Kelly Gibbs and Diane McQueen are among the volunteers who  collected hundreds of thousands of signatures to get Proposition 211, a financial disclosure proposal, on this year's ballot.
David Brancaccio/Marketplace

An Arizona ballot measure would expose hidden spending in politics

Proposition 211 would make political nonprofits disclose the names of original donors who spend beyond certain thresholds.
Terry Goddard, a former Arizona attorney general, has tried to get a law requiring disclosure of hidden political spending on the ballot since 2016. Arizonans will vote on it next month.
Alex Schroeder/Marketplace

Arizona grapples with balancing growth and a limited water supply

Sep 15, 2022
On of the state's major sources of water, the Colorado River, has fallen to historic lows.
Rancho Sahuarita has grown fast, and its water utility has had to grow quickly with it.
Megan Myscofski/Arizona Public Media

Tucson hopes to lure high earners to work remotely from the city

Dec 25, 2020
A program offers professionals incentives to come live in Arizona, but they must commit to living there for a year.
The program is starting off with a pilot to relocate 10 people. They must have a job that exists elsewhere and they have to be willing to make Tucson home for at least a year.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Nike pulls a shoe, so Arizona pulls Nike subsidies

Jul 2, 2019
Government incentives and politics don't always mix.
Nike canceled the sale of a sneaker with a Betsy Ross flag on its heel. That flag’s been co-opted by far-right groups.  Above, a Nike store in 2017 in New York City.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

With the closing of controversial Southwest Key shelters, an Arizona school district faces cuts

Nov 19, 2018
One shelter was shut down over abuse allegations, while another faces closure due to a legal dispute with the State of Arizona.
An English instruction sheet lies on a student's desk during a class for children caught trying to enter the United States illegally at the Southwest Key compound in Lakeside, California. One shelter in Phoenix, Arizona has been shut down over abuse allegations, while another faces closure over a legal dispute.
Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

More students push up housing costs in Flagstaff, Arizona

Oct 22, 2018
Rents in the college town continue to climb as Northern Arizona University expands.
Developments like this one are sprouting up all over Flagstaff.
Laurel Morales/Marketplace