EDS: An earlier version of this story misstated the scope of this fall’s teacher shortage. The errors occurred throughout the story and in the graphic. Clients who used previous versions are asked to replace them with the text and graphic below, which have been corrected, and to run the correction found here.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Teacher Shortage WRITETHRU,640 words.
• Photo, graphic available (embed code, thumbnail, caption below).

By Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Nearly one-third of teacher vacancies in Arizona public and charter schools were still unfilled one month into the school year, according to a new report, the most in eight years of data on school vacancies.

The Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association report for the 2023-24 school year said that of the 7,518.3 open teacher positions this fall, 2,229.7 were still unfilled as of September, or 29.7% of the openings. That is up from 26.9% at the same time last year. Continue reading “Nearly a third of teacher vacancies went unfilled this fall, most in 8 years”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Affordable Housing,1140 words.
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By Alyssa Bickle
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A bipartisan group of housing reform advocates, from current and former state lawmakers to government leaders, gathered last Thursday to talk about the lack of affordable housing in Arizona and solutions.

The event was organized by nonpartisan nonprofit Arizona Talks with the aim of facilitating civil dialogue about affordable housing. Most of the speakers touched on how the issue is a personal one and requires bipartisan solutions.

“We all have a housing story, even if you are unsheltered, we all understand the importance and value of housing,” said Joan Serviss, who leads the Arizona Department of Housing. Continue reading “‘Eternally complex problems’: Bipartisan advocates talk affordable housing”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Speaker Silenced,680 words.
• 2 file photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Renee Romo and Alexandria Cullen
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona Reps. Andy Biggs and Eli Crane were among the eight conservative Republicans who voted with all House Democrats Tuesday to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the first time in history a sitting speaker has been removed.

The 216-210 vote could paralyze the House – it took 15 ballots for Republicans to elect McCarthy speaker earlier this year – at a time when Congress has a little more than six weeks to pass a fiscal 2024 budget or face another potential government shutdown. Continue reading “Biggs, Crane join Democrats in historic vote to oust McCarthy as speaker”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Salt River Fire. 390 words. By Deanna Pistono.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Deanna Pistono
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – A fire that broke out at a landfill at about 4 p.m. Saturday on the Salt River Indian Reservation, near N. Beeline Highway east of Scottsdale, had been reduced to a smolder by Tuesday afternoon.

After firefighters were done combating the blaze, said Chuck Kmet, emergency manager for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, a green waste contractor was hired to help further manage the remaining smolder.

Though the flame has been stifled, the lingering smoke may cause or exacerbate various health concerns, one expert said.

Continue reading “Smoke from the Salt River landfill fire could cause health problems”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Veteran Bingo. About 600 words. By Reagan Priest.
• Photos available (thumbnails and captions below).
• Video available.

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Arizona veterans groups say state agencies are unfairly cracking down on electronic bingo cards, while state agencies say agents are only conducting inspections to prevent the use of illegal bingo machines.

At a news conference at the Arizona Capitol on Monday, several members of local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts were joined by Republican Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli, who said the departments of Revenue, Gaming, and Liquor are conducting raids and harassing organizations for their use of bingo technological aids.

Bingo technological aids, or BTAs, are electronic bingo cards that assist bingo players with disabilities and have been legal since 2017. The state says these organizations are not being penalized for using BTAs, but for using bingo gambling machines, which resemble slot machines and can be played without other players present.

Continue reading “Arizona veterans, state agencies battle over bingo machines deemed illegal under state gambling laws”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Witness Rejection,600 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Renee Romo
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court will hear the appeal of an Arizona man who said his right to confront his accuser was violated when the expert witness who tested the drugs in his case was replaced by another expert.

Jason Smith was convicted in part on the testimony of Greggory Longoni, who testified using reports filed by Elizabeth Rast, the Arizona Department of Public Safety forensic scientist who tested the drugs in Smith’s case. Rast had left the department before Smith’s case came to trial. Continue reading “Supreme Court to hear appeal over expert testimony in Yuma drug case”

• Slug: BC-CNS-LA Fights Food Insecurity. 750 words. By Taylor Ens.
• 3 photos available (thumbnails and captions available below).

By Taylor Ens
Cronkite News

LOS ANGELES – Every Thursday, people come to the Central Avenue farmers market at E. 43rd Street in downtown Los Angeles to find fresh produce from local growers – bright red tomatoes, vibrant broccoli and crisp cauliflower. The prices might discourage some low-income customers from shopping there, but this market is different.

At this farmers market, run by Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA), some low-income people can afford to buy fresh fruits and vegetables that could help make their homes more food-secure, thanks to a special program called Market Match.

Continue reading “Los Angeles farmers markets team up with health department to fight food insecurity and support communities”

EDS: WRITES THRU Friday walkup story to reflect Saturday’s approval of stopgap measure to avert a shutdown, changes tenses throughout. adds details on how Arizona delegation voted on the continuing resolution.

• Slug: BC-CNS-Shutdown Economy WRITETHRU,940 words.
• File photo, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Renee Romo
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Congress approved a stopgap measure to keep the government open with just hours to spare Saturday night, heading off a shutdown that would have meant the loss of a paycheck for close to 50,000 federal workers and active-duty military in Arizona – and they’re not the only ones who would have felt the pinch.

Government contractors stop getting paid in a shutdown, small businesses could lose sales as nervous consumers cut spending and anyone who needs a government service, from processing a passport application to visiting a national park, would feel the shutdown firsthand. Continue reading “50,000 federal workers, military, in Arizona spared as shutdown averted”

• Slug: Sports-The Sweet Spot. Runtime 19:12.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

[Music bed under] 

YATES: This is The Sweet Spot where we take a closer look at the week’s biggest sports stories in Arizona. I’m Benjamin Yates, and welcome to our fourth episode of the Sweet Spot. We are excited to have everyone listening in to the show.

[Music fade in/under] Continue reading “The Sweet Spot: Basketball fever, a – literal – charity drive, a new kind of two-way player”

• Slug: BC-CNS-CN2Go Weekly Update. Runtime 12:57.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

[Music bed under] 

CN2Go Host: This is Cronkite News 2 Go. I’m your host, Kiersten Edgett.

[Music fade in/under]

CN2Go Host: On today’s show we talk about Biden’s visit to Arizona on Thursday, the recent record breaking heat’s effect on those experiencing homelessness, water levels in the greater Phoenix area, and how NASCAR Accelerator Charities allowed drivers to do laps around their famous race track. Continue reading “CN2Go Weekly Update: Extreme heat affecting people living in ‘The Zone’”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Shutdown Food,450 words.
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By Angelina Steel
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – If Congress doesn’t come to a spending agreement this weekend, the federal government will shut down on Sunday, Oct. 1.

The shutdown would force millions of federal workers and military service members to go without pay, and many federal services like passport offices and national parks could close.

People who depend on federally funded nutrition programs to pay for groceries were alarmed when U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned, during a press conference this week, that nearly 7 million Americans, mainly women and children, would suffer from a rapid loss of food benefits in a shutdown. Continue reading “Shutdown would not affect food aid – for now – but pantries brace for surge”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Shutdown Economy,850 words.
• File photo, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Renee Romo
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – If Congress cannot head off a government shutdown before Sunday, it would mean the loss of a paycheck for close to 50,000 federal workers and active-duty military in Arizona – and they’re not the only ones to feel the pinch.

Government contractors would stop getting paid, small businesses could lose sales as nervous consumers cut spending and anyone who needs a government service, from processing a passport application to visiting a national park, would feel the shutdown firsthand. Continue reading “50,000 federal workers, military, in Arizona wait, watch as shutdown looms”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Biden Tempe,720 words.
• 3 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Reagan Priest
Cronkite News

TEMPE – President Joe Biden invoked the spirit of the late Sen. John McCain while denouncing “MAGA extremists” as a threat to democracy, during a speech Thursday at the Tempe Arts Center.

Biden, in town to announce the creation of a library and museum honoring McCain, cited the Arizona Republican’s willingness to cross party lines and work with Democrats – a far cry from former President Donald Trump’s supporters who he said “would fundamentally alter the institutions of American democracy as we know it.” Continue reading “Biden honors McCain, denounces ‘MAGA extremists’ during Tempe event”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Unhoused Heat,1120 words.
• 7 photos available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Deanna Pistono
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Near the intersection of S. 11th Avenue and W. Jefferson Street in Phoenix, the heat is intense. For those who live along the street in tents and makeshift shelters, this heat can become fatal.

“My friend … in the street over here, from heat exhaustion.… He couldn’t breathe no more, because it got so hot,” said William Taft Cowan Jr., an unhoused resident of The Zone, a homeless encampment in Phoenix.

“Still young, you know?” Continue reading “‘Like a frying pan’: Extreme heat overwhelms Phoenix’s unhoused community”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Water Rights,670 words.
• 2 photos, video story available (thumbnails, captions below).

By Lux Butler
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Crystalyne Curley told a Senate panel Wednesday that the Navajo Nation Council is 100 years old this year – and that the tribe’s fight for water access has been going on for at least that long.

Curley, the speaker of the Navajo Council, made the comments at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on the government’s trust obligations to ensure water access for tribes. Most of the senators and witnesses at the hearing agreed that there is a legal obligation, but Curley said it goes beyond that.

“I grew up without running water, and so did many of my relatives,” Curley said. “We used to live in a small area and community. So this was at the forefront for most.” Continue reading “Senators urged to step up after Supreme Court ruling on Navajo water rights”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Poor Air Quality. 840 words.
• 2 photos available (thumbnails and captions below).

By Caleb Scott
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – On Aug. 30, the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter issued a 2023 environmental report card that cited the American Lung Association’s report ranking Phoenix air the seventh worst city in the country for particle pollution and fifth worst for ozone level. This poor air quality has led to an increase in health concerns, particularly for marginalized communities.

According to the American Lung Association’s 2023 State of the Air report, four counties in Arizona earned an F grade on their air quality: Gila, Maricopa, Pima and Pinal.

Maricopa County currently has just over 2 million people who identify as nonwhite. According to a 2022 report conducted by the Arizona Department of Health Services, 23% of adults identifying as Black/African American have been diagnosed with asthma, contrasted with the 16% of white non-Hispanic adults who have asthma.

Continue reading “Maricopa County air quality raises health concerns with affected minority communities”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Health Changes,670 words.
• File photo available (thumbnail, caption below).

By Lux Butler
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – The number of Arizonans with health insurance rose in 2022, a post-pandemic bump that experts say has likely turned sharply south in the year since, as COVID-19 benefits have been phased out.

Recent data from the Census Bureau shows that the percentage of Arizonans with health insurance rose from 89.3% in 2021 to 89.7% in 2022. While that is an improvement, the state still lags slightly behind the nation, where coverage rose 0.7% from 91.3% of Americans insured to 92% in that period.

Experts say that rise was likely due to increased availability of Medicaid during the pandemic health emergency. But as the country has moved away from COVID-19 programs and protocols in the past year, one change is that states are no longer prohibited from removing people from their Medicaid rolls. Continue reading “Experts: Slight 2022 Arizona health insurance gains likely to vanish in 2023”

• Slug: BC-CNS-Border Rebound,860 words.
• File photo, video, graphic available (embed code, thumbnail, caption below).

By Adrienne Washington
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Migrant encounters at the southern border surged in August, to almost 233,000 for the month, with the Tucson sector posting the highest numbers in the nation for the second straight month, according to Customs and Border Protection.

CBP data released Friday show that 48,754 migrants were encountered in the Tucson sector, which includes most of the Arizona border, up nearly 10,000 from July and more than 2.5 times the number of migrants encountered in the sector from the previous August.

It was part of an overall surge that saw encounters across the border rise from 144,000 in June to 183,000 in July before rising again in August. More than 2.2 million migrants have been encountered at the southern border so far in fiscal 2023, according to CBP, with one month still to go in the year. Continue reading “Tucson sector led U.S. for second month, as border encounters surge anew”