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Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
Did a deceased Arizona resident ‘vote’ for Joe Biden in 2020?
A deceased Pima County resident did not have a ballot cast in their name in Arizona’s 2020 election. The resident died in 2019 and was listed as deceased on the vote rolls that year. The Pima County Recorder’s Office confirmed in an email that the resident last voted in 2018.
Can private-sector employers fire someone for unionizing a workplace in Arizona?
A private-sector employer in Arizona cannot fire someone for trying to unionize their workplace. These rights do not extend to public-sector employees, which in Arizona means state, county or city employees of any branch, department or agency, excluding police and firefighters. Federal law prohibits private-sector employers in all states from...
Did Arizona’s school voucher program account for just 2% of state education spending during Fiscal Year 2023?
Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program—which allows families to pay for private school, homeschooling supplies and other expenses—accounted for more than 2% of the state’s education budget in Fiscal Year 2023. The state appropriated $475 million for ESAs in FY2023, after policymakers expanded eligibility to all K-12...
Have recent monsoon rains unearthed an ancient, 8-foot-long Arthropleura in Arizona?
Arthropleura are an extinct species of millipede-like arthropod. The widely-circulating video of the creature in the Arizona desert has been identified as AI-generated. Arthropleura, which fossils indicate could reach more than 8 feet long, are thought to have thrived some 300 million years ago. Fossilized tracks and body parts have been found in North America and the United Kingdom. The creatures are believed to have roamed in areas near the equator.
Is homelessness related to the rising number of Arizona heat deaths?
Last year, as Phoenix endured one of its hottest summers on record, nearly half of those who died from the Arizona heat were unhoused. People experiencing homelessness have accounted for a growing share of the state’s total heat deaths over the past decade, as temperatures have steadily risen. People...
Have gas prices in Arizona increased since January 2021?
Gas prices in Arizona have gone up by around $1.00 since the start of 2021. The rise initially began in late 2020 with the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Crude oil, which is refined and then pumped into your car, dropped dramatically in cost when demand for gas plunged during lockdown. Consumer costs then rose through 2021 and 2022 as pre-pandemic driving habits returned.
Does the U.S. Department of Justice have the legal authority to investigate municipal police departments?
The U.S. Department of Justice has the legal authority to investigate municipal police departments under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when agencies receive federal funding.
Do President Joe Biden and U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego support giving ‘veteran health services’ to undocumented immigrants?
Neither Biden nor Gallego has indicated support for reallocating health care resources for veterans to undocumented immigrants. A prior tweet from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake suggests the claim is referring to an agreement between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Under the agreement,...
Did a judge rule that Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs broke the law when appointing deputy directors to run state agencies?
On June 5, 2024, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ruled that Gov. Katie Hobbs acted illegally in appointing deputy directors as “de facto” directors of state agencies. Hobbs, a Democrat, appointed 13 “executive deputy directors” to state agencies after the Republican-led Senate—using a newly minted “Committee...
Did 10,000 undocumented immigrants cast votes using the same social security number in Arizona’s 2020 election?
There is no evidence that 10,000 undocumented immigrants voted illegally using a single social security number in Arizona’s 2020 election. Undocumented immigrants cannot vote in U.S. elections. Only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote, with the exception of a few municipalities that allow non-citizen voting in local elections. Non-citizens...
Did an ‘audit’ of Maricopa County’s 2020 election results find that then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs included fraudulent mail-in ballots?
An “audit” of 2020 election results commissioned by Arizona’s Republican-led Senate in 2021 did not find that then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs inserted fraudulent mail-in ballots into the election count. The partisan review of Maricopa County’s handling of the presidential election—conducted by Cyber Ninjas, a now-defunct cybersecurity...
Arizona could see return of waitlist for state child care aid
Arizona lawmakers gave the state’s child care system a temporary lifeline this month when they patched up a large part of the multimillion-dollar budget hole left by expiring federal pandemic funds. But the money isn’t enough to guarantee the state will avoid the return of a waitlist for families...
Despite renewed attention, pregnancy and childbirth still deadly across Arizona
It had been six weeks since Danielle Lerner delivered her second child via cesarean section in April 2019, and her emotions were all over the place. She struggled to breastfeed, pumping up to 12 times a day as she recovered from surgery while still caring for a toddler. What she...
Are gates along the Arizona border being left open?
Gates along Arizona’s southern border are left open during the state’s monsoon season to prevent flood waters from damaging the border wall and to mitigate environmental harm. The gates are monitored using surveillance technology and not considered to be “unsupervised” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Border vigilantes are blurring the lines of law enforcement
It was late afternoon when a small group traveling in a white Ford F-150 approached a humanitarian aid camp near Sasabe, a remote Arizona community along the U.S.-Mexico border. The visitors walked among tents, blue tarps and nonperishable food—surveying the camp and filming its occupants. The uninvited guests, who appeared to have left their firearms in the pickup, aimed cameras at immigrants who dotted the cluttered encampment; some had traveled thousands of miles to reach the United States.
Suspensions for missing class prevalent beyond Arizona, data shows
In 2022, a first-of-its-kind investigation by AZCIR and The Hechinger Report revealed that Arizona schools frequently suspended students for tardiness and truancy — essentially blocking them from class for missing class. Now, a Hechinger review of a dozen other states that track attendance-related suspensions shows the controversial disciplinary tactic...
Groundwater regulation weaknesses exploited by industrial-scale agriculture
ELFRIDA, Ariz. — Elaine Bailey stood at the microphone at the Sunsites Community Center in southeastern Arizona, voice shaking as she described the massive scale of new agricultural development next to her property. The nearby fields have drawn so much water from the surrounding area, she said, that her well has gone dry.
Our methods: Groundwater regulation weakness exploited by large farms
To understand the growth of active farmland and groundwater declines in the Douglas basin, AZCIR analyzed data from local and state agencies, including the Arizona Department of Water Resources, as well as satellite data compiled by federal agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is an independent, nonprofit media organization dedicated to statewide accountability journalism in Arizona. AZCIR’s mission is to produce, foster and promote investigative journalism through original and collaborative reporting, public events and trainings, for the betterment of our communities.
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