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Headline: Arizona tribal leaders urge Congress to protect sacred sites

Summary: Tribal leaders in Arizona are supporting a set of bills to protect cultural and sacred sites. Plus, the inflation rate in Phoenix is one of the highest in the country; Flagstaff is set to receive millions for railway restoration, and traffic deaths fell 30% in the
first three months of 2022.

Who contributed
Host: Jordan Lavezzari
Producer: Athena Ankrah
Contributors: Annie Lavino, Jordan Lavezzari, Haley Smilow, John Brown, Ryan Knappenberger

Production note: Audio files are to be saved as an mp3 and audio file name is the following : Cronkite_News_Update_05142021.mp3 (note the date is for “tomorrow” )

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THIS IS YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2GO BRIEFING.

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I’M JORDAN LAVEZZARI ( go to story )

Tribal leaders sacred sites- (RDR /Ryan Knappenberger)

TRIBAL LEADERS ARE ASKING CONGRESS TO PASS A SET OF BILLS THAT WOULD PROTECT DESIGNATED CULTURAL AND SACRED SITES. THE NEW LEGISLATION WOULD ALSO REQUIRE INPUT FROM TRIBES ON ANY DECISIONS ON THOSE LANDS. INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE ARE PROPOSALS TO SET ASIDE NEARLY FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRES IN ARIZONA.

Phx Inflation – (C&C /Annie Lavino)
PHOENIX HAS REACHED A THIRTEEN PERCENT INCREASE IN PRICES, MAKING IT ONE OF THE HIGHEST INFLATION RATES IN THE COUNTRY. THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE LATEST NUMBERS FROM THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. ANDREW SUGRUE (suh-GREW) IS THE DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC POLICY AT THE ARIZONA CENTER FOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS. HE SAYS LOW-INCOME FAMILIES ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL STRAIN.

“inflation hits low income people harder because these things that they depend on like gas, food, utilities and rent comprise a larger share of their income than other folks.”

SUGRUE (suh-GREW) SAYS PROGRAMS LIKE EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, FAMILY TAX CREDITS OR OTHER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS HAVE EXPIRED, WHICH IS A MAJOR REASON LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS ARE STRUGGLING WITH LIVING EXPENSES. INFLATION IS EXPECTED TO LOWER AS GAS PRICES IN PHOENIX DECREASE.

Debate Differences over Utility Regulation – (Reader /Jordan Lavezzari)

THERE ARE FOUR CANDIDATES SEEKING TWO SEATS ON THE ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION WHICH REGULATES UTILITIES. MONDAY ON THE DEBATE STAGE, CANDIDATES SHARED HOW THEY’D APPROACH THE JOB AS THE STATE DEALS WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND A DWINDLING WATER SUPPLY. THE TWO REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES SAY ARIZONA DOESN’T NEED TO CREATE NEW JOBS WHERE POWER PLANTS AND OTHER BUSINESSES ARE CLOSING. THE TWO DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES DISAGREE, SAYING THE COMMISSION NEEDS TO GIVE FINANCIAL AID TO THOSE AFFECTED BY JOB LOSS.

Highway Hope – (Wrap/ John Brown)
ANCHOR INTRO
AFTER YEARS OF BAD NEWS, NEW DATA FROM THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION HAD SOME GOOD NEWS FOR ARIZONA DRIVERS…
CRONKITE NEWS REPORTER JOHN BROWN HAS THE DETAILS FROM OUR WASHINGTON BUREAU.

JOHN BROWN:
WITH COVID-19 IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR, CARS ARE RETURNING TO THE ROADS… AND MORE CARS MEANS MORE CAR CRASHES… NEW FEDERAL DATA SHOWS U-S TRAFFIC FATALITIES ROSE 7 PERCENT IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR…

BUT IN ARIZONA, THE NUMBERS WERE HEADED IN THE OTHER DIRECTION… TRAFFIC DEATHS FELL 31.4 PERCENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

ALBERTO GUTIER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ARIZONA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF HIGHWAY SAFETY SAYS HE WELCOMES THE GOOD NEWS FOR ARIZONA.

<“ I am surprised but I am very happily surprised that Arizona is seeing a downward trend.”>

THAT WAS THE FOURTH-STEEPEST PERCENTAGE DROP IN THE NATION, TRAILING ONLY THE MUCH-SMALLER STATES OF RHODE ISLAND, NORTH DAKOTA AND MONTANA.

THE MOST RECENT NUMBERS FROM THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF HIGHWAY SAFETY SHOW THERE WERE 398 TRAFFIC FATALITIES – INCLUDING CAR, PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE DEATHS – THROUGH JULY… THAT COMPARES TO 700 THROUGH THE SAME PERIOD IN 2021.

EXPERTS SAID THE INCREASE IN DEATHS NATIONALLY COULD BE THE RESULT OF HAVING MORE PEOPLE ON THE ROADS POST-PANDEMIC WITH MORE SPEEDING AND RECKLESS DRIVING. RUSS RADER WITH THE INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AGREES…

<”Traffic fatalities continue to decline in Canada, Europe and other advanced countries, but the United States has been an outlier.”

WHILE THE HIGHWAY SAFETY NUMBERS CONTINUE TO LOOK GOOD FOR ARIZONA, EXPERTS SAY THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO LET YOUR GUARD DOWN…

REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON, JOHN BROWN, CRONKITE NEWS

Flagstaff funding – (RDR /Haley Smilow)

FLAGSTAFF IS GETTING 32 MILLION DOLLARS FOR A RAIL REHABILITATION PROJECT. IT’S PART OF A BILLION-DOLLAR COMMITMENT TO INFRASTRUCTURE LAID OUT IN THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT. THE PROJECT IS ONE OF THE FIRST TO RECEIVE FUNDS FROM THAT PIECE OF LEGISLATION.

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WE HAD HELP TODAY FROM RYAN KNAPPENBERGER, ANNIE LAVINO, JOHN BROWN, AND HALEY SMILOW. A BIG THANK YOU TO ATHENA ANKRAH (AHN-cruh) WHO PRODUCED OUR SHOW..

(list everyone who contributed for the show including the producer credit as well)
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YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STORIES YOU HEARD IN TODAY’S NEWS UPDATE, BY GOING TO CRONKITENEWS-DOT-AZPBS-DOT-ORG.

THAT’S ALL FOR YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2 GO. I’M .

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