• Slug: CN2Go.
• Runtime: 6:49.
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)

(Music)

THIS IS YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2GO BRIEFING.

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I’M EMILY MAI ( go to story )

EARLY VOTING (CONOR/OLIVIA DOLS WRAP)
HOST INTRO:
EARLY VOTING IS UNDERWAY NOW IN ARIZONA. VOTERS CAN GO IN-PERSON, BY MAIL, OR DROP OFF THEIR BALLOT AT A BALLOT DROP BOX. CRONKITE NEWS’ OLIVIA DOLS REPORTS ON HOW VOTING IS GOING SO FAR.
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ON THIS FIRST DAY OF EARLY VOTING THERE ISN’T A WHOLE LOT OF ACTIVITY FROM VOTERS AT BALLOT BOXES . STILL MATT ROBERTS WITH MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS SAYS THEY ARE READY FOR WHAT’S AHEAD.

((**SOT**))

“ 1.9 million ballots went out to voters in the active voter list and 12 voting sites throughout the county are now open for people to cast their ballots for the 2022 general election”

U-S SENATOR MARK KELLY, WHO IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION, WAS OUT AT AN EARLY VOTING CENTER ON ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY’S DOWNTOWN CAMPUS WEDNESDAY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO VOTE EARLY.

((**SOT**))
“come up with a plan and vote early if you can. there’s a lot of options for voting here you’ve signed up for an early ballot it’s in the mail and should show up in your mailbox in a few days. get it mailed back in.”

MOST BALLOT BOX SITES CLOSE AT 5 OR 6 P.M. BUT THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO SITES OPEN TWENTY FOUR HOURS. MARICOPA COUNTY ALSO PROVIDES LIVE VIDEO FEEDS OF THE BALLOT BOXES AND INSIDE THE BALLOT TABULATION CENTER TO PROVIDE PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE PROCESS.

IF YOU REQUESTED A MAIL IN BALLOT OFFICIALS HERE AT THE MARICOPA COUNTY OFFICE OF ELECTIONS SAY EXPECT THEM TO ARRIVE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS
OLIVIA DOLS CRONKITE NEWS.

HOST OUTRO:
YOU CAN TRACK THE STATUS OF YOUR BALLOT BY VISITING BE-BALLOT-READY-DOT-VOTE

ABORTIONS CONTINUE AS LEGAL CASE (/READER)

LEGAL ABORTIONS IN ARIZONA RESUMED THIS WEEK AND WILL CONTINUE FOR AT LEAST FIVE WEEKS. THAT’S AFTER A COURT BLOCKED ENFORCEMENT OF A PRE-STATEHOOD BAN AND NOW AN APPEALS COURT WILL CONSIDERS THE CASE.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD AND THE ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE LAWYERS FILED THEIR LEGAL BRIEFS TUESDAY. THAT MEANS THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS CAN’T DECIDE THE CASE UNTIL AT LEAST NOVEMBER 17. THE APPEALS COURT BLOCKED ENFORCEMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR-ERA LAW ON FRIDAY. THAT REVERSES AT LEAST FOR NOW A SEPT. 23 RULING FROM A JUDGE IN TUCSON.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD IS CURRENTLY ONLY OPEN AND OPERATING IN TUCSON. THEY PLAN TO REOPEN PHOENIX BRANCHES.A SECOND PROVIDER, CAMELBACK FAMILY PLANNING IS PROVIDING A RANGE OF ABORTION SERVICES IN PHOENIX.

HOWEVER, ABORTIONS CAN STILL ONLY BE PROVIDED NOW THROUGH 15 WEEKS OF PREGNANCY UNDER A LAW PASSED BY THE REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED LEGISLATURE AND SIGNED BY THE STATE’S REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN MARCH, THE PREVIOUS LIMIT UNDER ROW V WADE WAS 24 WEEKS.

GLENDALE PANHANDLING LAW (AUTRIYA/READER)
GLENDALE’S CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY PASSED TWO ORDINANCES WHICH MAKE PANHANDLING ILLEGAL IN THE CITY. THE NEW LAWS NO LONGER ALLOW PANHANDLING WITHIN 50 FEET OF A BANK OR AN ATM MACHINE OR WITHIN 25 FEET OF A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS. IT ALSO MEANS PEOPLE CAN NO LONGER ASK SOMEONE IN A CAR FOR MONEY.

THE NEW LAWS ALSO MEAN PEDESTRIANS AREN’T ALLOWED TO CROSS THE ROAD WITHOUT USING A CROSSWALK AND CANNOT STAND ON MEDIANS.

STAR PARTY (ISABELLA/FEATURE)

HOST INTRO
ARIZONA IS HOME TO A VARIETY OF STARGAZING OPPORTUNITIES, THANKS TO THE DARK SKIES IN THE MORE RURAL PARTS OF THE STATE. CRONKITE NEWS REPORTER ISABELLA FREDRICKSON TAKES US TO ORACLE STATE PARK WHICH IS AN INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY PARK FOR A RECENT GATHERING OF AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS.
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AS THE SUN GOES DOWN, PEOPLE GATHER WITH TELESCOPES OF ALL SIZES TO VIEW THE NIGHT SKY.

(maybe ambient sound of people talking or birds … something that puts us in the scene ?? ) (YES! I WAS PLANNING TO INSERT SOUNDS OF THE NATURE AND PEOPLE SPEAKING IN BACKGROUND)

THE SMALLEST OF THESE TELESCOPES ARE HANDHELD. THE LARGEST STAND OVER 8 FEET TALL.

SCOTT ROBERTS HE FOUNDED “EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC”, A COMPANY THAT PRODUCES TELESCOPES AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC SCOPES. ROBERTS SAYS PEOPLE OUT HERE AT ORACLE STATE PARK CAN SEE THINGS IN THE SKY THAT THEY’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

“They’re seeing Jupiter and Saturn, Jupiter is 4 million lightyears away, Saturn is almost a billion lightyears away, and it’s 900 million lightyears away.”

BRIAN HARRIS OWNS ONE OF THESE HUGE TELESCOPES. HE COMES TO THIS INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY PARK OFTEN TO LOOK AT HIS FAVORITE THINGS IN THE NIGHT SKY.

“I love looking at nebula, galaxies, star clusters, those are the things I like looking at in mine, we’ll have a couple planets up tonight so that will be good.”

ORACLE STATE PARK IS ONE OF THE DARKEST PLACES IN THE STATE. HERE, STARS SHINE BRIGHTER THAN ANY PLACE ELSE IN ARIZONA. THERE’S NO LIGHT TO INTERFERE WITH AN EXCEPTIONALLY STARRY NIGHT OR THIS RECENT STAR PARTY.

MARK WEASNER IS AN ASTRONOMER AND STAR PARTY VOLUNTEER. THE ORACLE RESIDENT SAYS THIS COMMUNITY LOVES ITS DARK SKY HERITAGE.

“There are people that have lived here in this beautiful community since the 50s, since the 40s, in their parents house, in their grandparents house, they know what the sky used to look like, they want it to stay that way.”

THIS 4,000 ACRE WILDLIFE REFUGE IS IN THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR STARGAZING. MT LEMMON BLOCKS LIGHT COMING FROM TUCSON AND NEIGHBORING TOWNS.

WEASNER SAYS THE DARK SKY IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR THE WELL BEING OF WILDLIFE AND HUMANS.

“Wildlife do certain things at night. if we have a lot of light out, they still think it is day time. our bodies still think its daytime. plants still think its daytime. so we are harming our environment, we are harming ourselves.”

EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT NEAR ONE OF THE FEW INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY PARKS IN ARIZONA, THERE ARE OTHER DARK SKY AREAS SUCH AS CATALINA STATE PARK, WHERE YOU TOO CAN GAZE UP AT THE NIGHT SKY.

ISABELLA FREDRICKSON CRONKITE NEWS.

HOST OUTRO
ANOTHER REASON AREA RESIDENTS ARE SO PROTECTIVE OF THEIR DARK SKY IS ITS HUGE ECONOMIC BENEFIT. THIS STAR PARTY BRINGS STAR LOVERS AND ASTRONOMISTS FROM AS FAR AS CANADA.

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WE HAD HELP TODAY FROM ISABELLA FREDRICKSON, CONOR MCGILL, AND OLIVIA DOLS .
SPECIAL THANKS TO AUTRIYA MANESHNI 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 EMILY MAI .

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