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Looking for a “fresh start” amid Phoenix’s semiconductor boom

The federal government is spending billions to support semiconductor manufacturing. But trainees seeking chipmaking jobs may have to wait.
Students in the Semiconductor Technician Quick Start training course at Mesa Community College practice while wearing “bunny suits,” the required workwear at fabrication plants.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

Chip factory growth boughs to native plants in Phoenix

Here's the story of one business at the intersection of conservation and growth amid Phoenix’s semiconductor boom.
“What we have been able to do with developers is make them understand that not only is there an environmental advantage to saving the trees ... there's also a monetary advantage,” says Rob Kater, owner of Native Resources.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

CHIPS funds are heading to Phoenix, “ground zero for the new economy”

An influx of federal investment in the Arizona metropolis is meant to energize the nation's tech industry and accelerate job creation. Will it work?
President Joe Biden arrives at the TSMC facility in Phoenix to speak in December 2022. TSMC was recently awarded $6.6 billion in CHIPS Act funding.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

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

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

French indie rockers Phoenix take the Marketplace Quiz

May 19, 2017
And explain why oysters are the key to fortune.
Phoenix, from left: Christian Mazzalai, Laurent Brancowitz, Thomas Mars and Deck D’Arcy.
Emma Le Doyen

After all but disappearing, psychiatric hospitals are coming back

Mar 3, 2017
The ER is often the only option for patients with mental-health problems.
Banner Goldfield hospital in rural Apache Junction, Arizona. Mental health patients seeking help in an emergency here can sometimes wait days before finding placement.
Jimmy Jenkins/KJZZ

For public good, not for profit.

University of Phoenix faces new competition for online students

Mar 25, 2015
For-profit colleges have seen enrollments decline due to an improving economy.

First-time home buyers face difficulties

Aug 6, 2013
President Obama will be in Phoenix today, continuing his national tour focusing on the economy. The president is promoting home ownership for the middle class. But there is tension between Obama's message and the reality for many first-time buyers.

High temps hurt economy, outside of Death Valley

Jul 1, 2013
What’s the temperature tolerance to fly a plane? At what degree point does the power grid start shutting down?