8+ hour, 42+ min ago (184+ words) Maricopa County's Vector Control Division has received more than 6,000 complaints about mosquito bites this season. Last year, the number of complaints was lower, around 1,000. The Vector Control Division says mosquito bite complaints have substantially increased after recent rains. Speaking on PBS's Arizona Horizon, Division Manager John Townsend said there are both daytime and nighttime-biting mosquitoes. He says the nighttime mosquitoes can be dangerous because they pick up West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis. "West Nile, which everybody talks about, are the nighttime biting mosquitoes and they pick that virus up from the birds," he said. He says the nighttime mosquitoes are fairly new to the Phoenix area. "Those are mosquitoes that were imported here about 25 years ago. We didn't have them before that and they breed right in people's backyards. They're container breeders. They prefer human blood as their…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (203+ words) The Vincere Cancer Center in Scottsdale says it officially launched a cancer screening program for firefighters and first responders. Vershalee Shukla is a radiation oncologist with Vincere Cancer Center and helped to found the Screen Shield program five years ago. "We wanted to do a community project, and I happened to be reading about 9/11 and all the first responders getting cancer and being diagnosed with late stage cancer and the funding running out," she said. Vincere Cancer Center first paired with Phoenix Fire Department in 2018. Since then, the center says it has performed 4,000 screenings and detected over 400 cancers, delivering life-saving early detection and rapid treatment for those on the front lines. Firefighters are known to face a high risk of cancer due to toxin exposure, but Shukla said other parts of the job can also have an effect. "The other…...

5+ day, 1+ hour ago (944+ words) Coconino County is purchasing a new mobile library to reach the farthest edges of what is one of the largest counties in the United States. Just like its mainstay counterparts, the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Library Bookmobile offers a bit of everything: a touch of mystery, the opportunity to try something new. But instead of the reader coming to the stacks, the library goes to the readers. And as a rolling library, it has its own unique problems. Some involving Stephen King. More on that later. Bekah Wilce is the Coconino County Bookmobile librarian. On a crisp fall morning, she was wrapping up an inspection of the big colorful bus before heading out for the day to Mountain View Market in the outlying community of Doney Park, Wilce's first stop. She had to lighten the load on the bus to help…...

6+ day, 1+ hour ago (1238+ words) Earthlings have been interested in Mars and the potential for life on the Red Planet for more than a century. NASA's acting administrator said in September that a sample collected from a rover last year is "the closest we have ever come to discovering life on Mars." Science writer David Barron explores the initial interest in whether there was life on Mars in his latest book, "The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America." He joined The Show to talk more about this. MARK BRODIE: David, what role does Arizona play in this story from the early 1900s? It all started in Arizona. BRODIE: And what was Lowell's evidence for this? Why did he think that there was life on Mars? BARON: Well, you have to put yourself back into the late 19th century. All we knew…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (287+ words) The Peoria Unified School District has approved a new policy that prohibits the adoption or promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) frameworks. Community and governing board members talked for nearly an hour Thursday night about the policy, which was revised from a version presented last month. While some were pleased that the new version removed references to Critical Race Theory, which they argued was a non-issue in the district, there were still disagreements about the definition of DEI. Melissa Ewing was the only member to vote no, referencing an attempt by the Trump administration earlier this year to withhold federal funds from public schools with DEI programs. "The president and the courts couldn't even decide "what is the proper definition of DEI?' and the courts determined that what he put in there was vague and unconstitutional," Ewing said. She…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (1246+ words) It was a big weekend in Old Town Scottsdale, where the Dreamy Draw Music Festival drew thousands and one of Scottsdale's signature arts events " Canal Convergence " kicked off on the waterfront. Canal Convergence continues for 10 nights through, featuring arts installations full of lights, flames and interactivity " and even a giant, old fashioned TV this year." It's an event that's been going on since 2008, when Scottsdale Arts held its first event at the canal. Back then, it was dubbed Night Lights. And, Wendy Raisanen told The Show, it was very grassroots. But today, it's far from it. Raisanen is the curator of collections and exhibitions for Scottsdale Public Art was there when it all began. WENDY RAISANEN: You know, it was right after the 2008 crash and the city of Scottsdale wanted us to, you know, somehow activate the canal banks near…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (1407+ words) Comedian Chloe Radcliffe is bringing her solo show to Tempe Center for the Arts on Saturday, Nov. 8. The show is called "Cheat," and it takes on one of the third rails in American culture: infidelity in relationships. Radcliffe herself has a long history of cheating, and as she told The Show's Sam Dingman recently, the show is her attempt to figure out how and why she ended up betraying her own values. Radcliffe talked more about it with The Show. CHLOE RADCLIFFE: I desperately want to be liked. That's sort of the point of the whole show. It's sort of, you know, a huge amount of what animated a lot of the cheating, which is funny because I'm doing the most deeply unlikable thing. We have more sympathy for murderers and serial killers on TV than we do for cheaters....

2+ week, 3+ day ago (269+ words) Over 2,000 ballots from Tuesday's election that were misplaced by poll workers were discovered Friday morning, forcing election officials to rush to make sure they are counted. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Elections Department said the ballots were placed in sealed boxes and mistakenly put in a blue drop box instead of being returned to the county's election center. "Immediately after the discovery, a bipartisan team of election staff took custody of the sealed bins and worked quickly to ensure chain of custody was followed. The green affidavit envelopes will now be signature verified and processed for tabulation," Deputy Elections Director Jennifer Liewer said. Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap said the boxes included 2,288 ballots from a ballot replacement site in Fountain Hills. However, the Elections Department said the ballots were from a voting location in the West…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (499+ words) As demand for groceries continues to grow due to the ongoing government shutdown, some Arizona cities are launching citywide food drives. Flagstaff is launching a two-month-long food and supplies drive for those in need. Sarah Langley with the city said that food can be donated through various city facilities, like city hall and recreation centers. Food will be distributed by the Flagstaff Family Food Center. "We're hearing from nonprofits in Flagstaff that this year they are experiencing really increased demand. The Flagstaff Family Food Center announced that they served over 50,000 meals in October," Langley said. Flagstaff City Hall, 211 W Aspen Ave.Monday-Friday 8 a.m. " 4:30 p.m. Police Department, 911 E Sawmill RdMonday-Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Aquaplex, 1702 N Fourth St.Monday-Friday 6 a.m. - 8 p.m.Saturday 6 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Sunday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Hal Jensen Recreation Center, 2403 N Izabel St.Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Joe C. Montoya Senior Center, 245 N Thorpe Rd.Monday-Thursday 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.Friday 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. Jay Lively Activity Center, 1650 N Turquoise Dr.During regular…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (1146+ words) The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Recorder Justin Heap agree that the county needs to audit its election systems, but they remain at odds over who should oversee the process. That was the main takeaway from a hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday as Heap seeks an order to stop the board from giving a third-party contractor access to interconnected technology systems used by the board and recorder, which includes the voter registration database. Heap filed the legal action after the board hired The Intersect Group to come up with a recommendation for the best way to split the complicated election management systems and databases shared by the two offices to resolve an ongoing power struggle over who controls the county's elections. Kory Langhofer, an attorney for the supervisors, told Judge Scott Blaney that the board is…...