8+ hour, 16+ min ago (693+ words) Coppery-tailed trogons are known for their shiny green and rose-red colors and stout bodies. A beloved, elusive bird found in Madera Canyon is losing its majestic name following a major taxonomic update. The colorful species, long known as the elegant trogon, has been officially reclassified as the coppery-tailed trogon. The change was announced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in its 2025 eBird Taxonomy Update, released in November. It's part of a global push for consistency in species identification. WASHINGTON " Environmental groups in Arizona are raising alarms over President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management, former New Mexico Rep. Steve Pearce." Read moreTrump BLM pick's calls to sell off public land, expand drilling and mines, alarms environmentalists The U.S. Department of Education's move to establish new borrowing caps for professional and graduate students, excluding several healthcare programs, has…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (648+ words) PHOENIX " Arizona will provide taxpayer money to help private companies develop plans for at least two and possibly three desalination plants in California or Mexico under proposals approved by a state agency's board on Nov. 19. PHOENIX " So when it comes to being behind the wheel of a car, how young is too young? Read moreBill would lower age for learner's driving permit to 15 PHOENIX " Unable to get his measures about who can use what bathroom past Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Fountain Hills Republican senator is planning an end-run. Read moreThwarted by vetoes, Kavanagh wants 'bathroom bill' on the ballot PHOENIX " Esteban Rodriguez sat by himself Thursday morning in Terminal 4 of Sky Harbor International Airport. The 20-year-old entrepreneur had turned the terminal into a makeshift work studio" Read moreCancellations continue at Sky Harbor despite an end to the government shutdown The…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (693+ words) The studios at Old Tucson were for a long time the site for various westerns, ranging from "The Lone Ranger" to "Three Amigos," before much of the facility were destroyed in a 1994 fire. In a new ruling, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Adele Ponce said the Arizona Constitution bars the state from providing grants or subsidies to any individual or corporation. And Ponce acknowledged that lawmakers approved a statute to allow the Arizona Commerce Authority to give out up to $125 million a year in credits that producers can use to offset any tax liability they owe. PHOENIX " Esteban Rodriguez sat by himself Thursday morning in Terminal 4 of Sky Harbor International Airport. The 20-year-old entrepreneur had turned the terminal into a makeshift work studio" Read moreCancellations continue at Sky Harbor despite an end to the government shutdown The federal government has…...

3+ week, 12+ hour ago (702+ words) Arizona gets about 40 percent of its water from the Colorado River, which is now at historic lows. But the Department of the Interior, which had set the deadline, has agreed to hold off on its threat to impose its own solution. Adelita Grijalva'was sworn in Wednesday, more than seven weeks after she won a special election in Arizona's Congressional District 7 to fill the House seat held for more than 20 years by her'late father, Raul. Read moreGrijalva sworn in, signs Epstein petition PHOENIX " Despite a federal deadline of Nov. 11, Arizona and six other states that benefit from Colorado River water left their meeting here without reaching a deal about how to divide up the " Read moreStates miss deadline on Colorado River deal PHOENIX " Americans waiting for full food-stamp benefits will have to wait at least a little longer. Read moreSupreme Court…...

1+ mon, 2+ day ago (741+ words) Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne Horne says an order issue by President Trump the first day he was elected requires states to scrub any references to "diversity, equity, and inclusion" from any programs that receive federal funds. And he contends there are items in Arizona's professional teaching standards that could run afoul of that edict. Nearly 42 million Americans " including 900,000 in Arizona " are entitled to get at least some of their food stamps in November. Read moreUSDA must provide funding for SNAP benefits, judge rules PHOENIX " Arizona's blood supply is in crisis. For minority patients, the shortage is even more severe. Read moreArizona hospitals call for more diverse blood donors PHOENIX " Fearing loss of federal dollars, state schools chief Tom Horne wants the Board of Education to immediately start the process of revising the standards that are used to…...

1+ mon, 3+ day ago (762+ words) Gov. Katie Hobbs has allocated $1.8 million left over from federal'American Rescue Plan Act funding toward to provide some relief to families facing lost SNAP benefits. PHOENIX " Gov. Katie Hobbs is allocating $1.8 million she has left over from federal COVID funds to provide at least some help to the nearly 900,000 Arizonans who won't be getting food stamp benefits in November. In a prepared announcement on Oct. 29, the governor said $1.5 million of that will be divided up among food banks across the state, which are expected to be hard hit once the benefits dry up. WASHINGTON " Arizona and 24 other states sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Oct. 28, accusing the Trump administration of illegally freezing food aid for 42 million Americans during th" Read more25 states sue over pending suspension of SNAP funding Empowerment Scholarship Account, Arizona's school choice program, is projected to have over…...

2+ mon, 3+ day ago (836+ words) Gov. Katie Hobbs gets instructed Monday on the workings of the advanced 911 emergency system by Elisa Meeker of the Chandler Police Department. CHANDLER " Arizona has implemented the last elements of its "Next Generation 911" system that is designed to ensure that cell phone users have as much access to the emergency system as those calling from home or office have had for years. Officials from the state Department of Administration, which played a role in crafting and implementing the $48.5 million system, said Monday that there is now full statewide coverage, with the exception of the Navajo and Hopi tribal communities. But Elizabeth Alvorado-Thorson, the agency's director, said it's more than about being able to call for emergency help with a cell phone. Arizona joined four other states and the Federal Trade Commission in filing a lawsuit on Wednesday against Zillow and…...

2+ mon, 3+ day ago (782+ words) Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick PHOENIX " Republican legislative leaders are entitled to challenge the heart of a voter-approved measure designed to shine a light on "dark money" in Arizona politics, the state Supreme Court ruled. In a divided ruling, five of the justices acknowledged that it was voters in 2022 who approved Proposition 211, using their constitutional power to create their own laws when the Legislature does not act. And the justices said another voter-approved constitutional measure bars lawmakers from repealing what has been approved at the ballot. (The Center Square) - Honest Elections Project, a nonpartisan organization, has filed an amicus brief in support of Republicans' lawsuit against Arizona over its handling of changes to its Ele" Read moreElection organization backs Republicans' suit against Arizona Despite the Arizona Department of Health Services issuing a standing order allowing virtually every Arizona resident…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago (637+ words) The odds of ADOT trying to collect an unpaid toll are non-existent. Arizona doesn't have toll roads. The site, azdot.gov/scams, is a resource in both English and Spanish that provides help spotting red flags (like poor spelling and grammar) in these messages, which typically demand payment for unpaid traffic tickets, parking tickets or tolls, and offers advice on what to do (hint: delete). ADOT does not collect unpaid parking tickets, contrary to efforts by scammers who would try to convince you otherwise. Christmas came early this year for three area non-profits that figure to benefit greatly from seasonal charitable giving. Read moreGila Valley Giving Machine program announces local beneficiaries for 2025 A cheap lunch could help a struggling local senior citizen keep the lights on. Read moreSafford's next annual hot dog fundraiser set for Oct. 16 PHOENIX " Arizona Department of…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago (815+ words) The battle to improve health care access in the state's prison system goes back years. PHOENIX " More than three years after a federal judge found that Arizona's prison health care system was "plainly grossly inadequate" and two years after an injunction required vast improvements, so little progress has been made that lawyers for prisoners now want the judge to essentially take over the system. But attorneys for the state are pleading with Senior U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver to give them more time to improve care. They argued at a hearing last week that appointing a receiver to run health care for more than 35,000 inmates would be a last resort and not the quick fix everyone would like to see. PHOENIX " The Arizona Supreme Court has pulled the plug on a proposal to allow people with just one year of law…...