Arizona
The CHIPS Act transforms an Arizona neighborhood
About 7 miles south of a massive construction site where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s biggest chipmaker, is building three factories, one neighborhood is undergoing dramatic change.
The Golden Triangle — as at least one real estate developer calls it — occupies about a half-mile square in Phoenix, Arizona. It has about 100 houses, connected by mostly dirt roads. In addition to the human residents, many of whom moved there in search of a rural lifestyle, it’s home to horses, goats, cows, donkeys, chickens, bees and a 16-year-old tortoise named Crush.
But the economy of the Golden Triangle is getting an overhaul. Three new apartment complexes, with a combined 852 units, have been approved for construction inside its borders. Developers and city officials say the housing is needed, in part, to meet demand driven by the semiconductor industry.
As part of our ongoing series “Breaking Ground,” about how federal government investment is changing the economy in complicated, invisible and contradictory ways, Marketplace looked at the impact of the CHIPS and Science Act on Phoenix. The landmark legislation is part of the government’s plan to rebuild the semiconductor industry in the United States
Residents, business owners and city officials each have their own interests in this development cycle. To explore how the changes are fanning the flames of competition among them, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke with these stakeholders in the Golden Triangle.
Click the audio player above to hear the story.
The small-business owners
Toward one corner of the Golden Triangle, there is a freshly built strip mall with a Mexican restaurant, a nail salon, a day care center and a couple of other small businesses. Its construction was part of a wave of commercial development in the area.
Kat Blaz, the owner of a Bricks & Minifigs franchise, which sells new and used Lego products, opened her store about 2½ years ago. “I was so excited when I found out what was going in behind us,” she said, referring to the planned apartment complexes. “It’s hard nowadays for brick-and-mortar [businesses] to survive with all the online shopping, and so the fact that we can get more foot traffic is awesome,” she said.
One door down, Yvette Stumpf, the owner of a salon franchise specializing in haircuts for kids, hopes the neighborhood’s new residents will bring more traffic to her business as well. But she has mixed feelings about how development is changing the neighborhood. “I see that as a boon to my business because it’s more people,” she said. “However, I also do not like the big-city feel, and we still feel like country.”
Those competing feelings — hopes for the benefits of development and the desire to retain the neighborhood’s character — reflect an ongoing battle over the future of the Golden Triangle as federal investment accelerates the changes.
The real estate developer
Real estate developer Charles Eckert is in the second category of stakeholder — he built the strip mall Blaz and Stumpf’s stores are in. “We’ve taken raw desert, basically, and turned it into this,” he said, gesturing toward the busy intersection.
“There were no curbs, no gutters, no sidewalks. The road was two lanes wide. That was a dirt road right there, and there was nothing here,” he said. “I’ve been developing in this area for 20 years.”
As more businesses invested in north Phoenix — some lured by state tax incentives — Eckert saw potential in that triangle. “That’s why I invested my entire net worth into this area,” he said.
Now, those bets seem to have paid off. He attracted a convenience store, an AutoZone, a Brakes Plus, a storage facility, a day care center and all the small businesses in that strip mall.
Last year, he sold some of his remaining land in the Golden Triangle to an apartment development company for $2.8 million. When making the case to the Phoenix City Council for a five-story apartment complex on that parcel, a representative for the developer cited its proximity to TSMC, the giant semiconductor producer.
“You’ve just got to look around and look at the commercial development that was coming here and say, ‘There will be housing demand here,’” Eckert said.
The neighbors
Laurel Brodie, who lives about 800 yards from Eckert’s strip mall, remembers what this neighborhood looked like before developers like him arrived.
“We’re in what used to be the middle of the desert,” she said. Brodie’s husband and father-in-law bought property here in the 1970s. They were among the first residents in the neighborhood.
Brodie showed Ryssdal an aerial photograph of her house from 1990, when the surrounding area was almost entirely undeveloped. “There’s nothing in this,” Ryssdal observed. “You can see all the way to the mountains.”
Although Brodie acknowledges that development in the area was inevitable, she and a group of her neighbors tried, and failed, to fight Phoenix City Hall about the planned apartments inside the bounds of their unincorporated island on county land.
They argued that high-density housing — especially a five-story apartment building — is inappropriate for the area. “Even the ones on the freeway don’t go up that high, and yet they find it appropriate to put five stories right here,” Brodie said.
“It’s rather threatening to my way of life,” said Alison McKee, who lives down a dirt road from Brodie and joined her in the resistance effort.
McKee and her husband bought their property about 12 years ago because they wanted land where they could have a horse. Now, in addition to the horse, the McKees have five donkeys, 26 chickens, 18 goats (nine kids and nine adults), a dog, a barn cat and a rotating cast of foster donkeys from a local rescue.
In the years since the McKees moved in, a megachurch was built across the street and shopping centers and apartments sprang up down the road. It’s clear that more will be coming with the investment in semiconductor plants.
“We do feel like we will be bowled over,” McKee said. “So am I the weird old lady that stands her ground and holds out? … Only time will tell.”
The city
Because both Alison McKee and Laurel Brodie’s properties sit on unincorporated county land, they do not pay Phoenix city taxes and cannot vote for Phoenix City Council candidates. But the city is getting closer and closer to them.
Councilwoman Ann O’Brien, who represents the district that includes TSMC and the Golden Triangle area, is responsible for balancing the competing interests. She supported the proposed apartment developments.
“You might know, we have a little bit of a housing shortage here, not just in Phoenix but the entire state of Arizona,” she told Ryssdal. “And one of my commitments when I ran for office in 2020 was to ensure that we brought a diversity of housing.”
The Phoenix metropolitan area, already among the fastest-growing in the nation, received a wave of new residents during the pandemic, exacerbating a housing shortage. An Arizona State University research report found that Arizona was short about 270,000 units in 2022.
TSMC, which is investing $65 billion in Arizona with a $6.6 billion boost from the CHIPS Act, plans to hire 6,000 workers. Additionally, the company expects those factories to create tens of thousands of construction and indirect supplier jobs. Those workers will need places to live.
“Phoenix is growing, and what used to be far out there isn’t so far out there anymore,” O’Brien said.
As trillions of government dollars flow into the national economy, more communities will have to grapple with the tradeoffs of development, as the Golden Triangle has. What is happening there will happen elsewhere.
“Change is coming?” Ryssdal asked.
“It’s not just coming,” O’Brien said. “It’s here.”
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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Republican state Sen. Carine Werner from Scottsdale introduced a new bill Thursday to fix the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), our state’s Medicaid system, that’s been plagued by fraud.
“The system is so broken that there’s no going back. I believe that AHCCCS has failed,” said Werner.
Arizona’s Family has extensively covered the sober living home scandal, which led to preventable deaths and one of the biggest fraud cases in Arizona history.
Werner says AHCCCS cannot go on like this, and at this point, a major overhaul is the only way to solve the deep-rooted systemic issues.
If Senate Bill 1611 were to become law, it would allow AHCCCS to retain oversight authority, but all administrative and care coordination would be managed by another outside entity.
Thursday marked the fourth Senate oversight hearing meant to hold AHCCCS accountable after billions of dollars of fraud and fake sober living homes scamming the system were uncovered over the past few years.
Werner says she is still concerned about a lack of data, inaccurate reporting, prolonged payment delays to Indian health care providers, and unresolved complaints related to patient care.
“As a result of the fraud, you know, all kinds of actions had to be taken in order to stop it and that’s important and we have to continue to take actions and use our tools and our processes to ensure that we are mitigating as much as possible fraud, waste, and abuse in the system,” said Virginia Rountree, director of AHCCCS, during the hearing.
“Despite public exposure, investigations, lawsuits, media coverage and legislative attention, the same harmful practices remain active. The system has not been fixed; it has only adapted,” said Reva Stewart, an advocate with the Turtle Island Women Warriors during the hearing. “We really do need change. We don’t need any more excuses.”
During the hearing, concerns about everyone having to suffer for the actions of bad actors were discussed.
A few senators and a lawyer for legitimate behavioral health facilities say some changes AHCCCS has made have punished operators doing the right thing.
They say that’s forced many providers to close their small businesses which creates gaps in care for vulnerable people.
It’s a complex problem involving a critical system that serves nearly 2 million people in our state.
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Arizona’s 3 national parks: Grand Canyon, Saguaro and Petrified Forest
Arizona’s national parks offer majestic views, a forest of towering saguaros and a look back into time with a preserved forest.
The Republic
An extraordinary array of national park units — 34 in all, which include national monuments and historic sites in addition to parks — blanket Arizona from border to border. This is where we keep our most exquisite scenery, our storied history and wide-open spaces. Parks range from the volcanic sprawl of stone hoodoos crowning Chiricahua National Monument to the gaudy badlands of Petrified Forest National Park to the miles of seductive shoreline at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. And there’s even a certain canyon known to steal hearts and alter lives.
Last year brought cutbacks to staff and funding, putting a strain on our national parks. Let’s show our support in 2026 by rediscovering these crown jewels. To get you started, here are 10 of the best hiking trails in Arizona’s national parks.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Victoria Mine Trail
Starting from the campground, this 2.2-mile trail rambles across a rolling desert plain to the foothills of the Sonoyta Mountains. The trail highlights the range of cactus species the park protects as it dips in and out of arroyos on its way to the remains of the Victoria Mine. Founded in the 1890s, the Victoria produced enough gold and silver to keep men digging for decades in this lonely place. Rusting equipment lies scattered about and the ruins of the company store still stand. Return the way you came for a 4.4-mile outing or continue on one of the other trails connecting here.
Details: Park admission: $25 per vehicle. 520-387-6849, www.nps.gov/orpi.
Tonto National Monument, Lower Cliff Dwelling
Even without the big payoff at the end, the hike to the Lower Cliff Dwelling makes a gorgeous desert outing. The paved trail twists up the slope in a series of curves. Signs are posted along the path providing information on native plants and animals, and a good reason to pause and catch your breath. As you climb, the views across the basin widen. What starts as a slivered peek grows into a broad panorama with a bristling foreground of saguaros and a distant backdrop of mountains framing the blue of Roosevelt Lake. At the top of the trail, a rough stone house fills the eye socket of a cave. Built more than 700 years ago by people of the Salado Culture, it contains about 20 rooms. A docent is on hand to answer your questions.
Details: Park admission: $10 per person. 928-467-2241, www.nps.gov/tont.
Chiricahua National Monument, Heart of Rocks Loop
Hidden in the southeastern corner of the state, Chiricahua National Monument is a place of remarkable beauty, sheltering an array of sculpted stone. Massive columns, slender spires and impossibly balanced boulders loom above the timber. The skyline seems built from the splintered remains of ancient castles. An interconnected network of trails provides visitors with several options. The short loop through Heart of Rocks is the craggy core of the park, where you’ll find the most spectacular formations. Easiest route to reach Heart of Rocks is via a trio of trails: Ed Riggs, Mushroom Rock and Big Balanced Rock. The Heart of Rocks twists through a weird stone garden filled with formations like Thor’s Hammer, Duck on a Rock, Camel’s Head and Totem Pole. Mileage totals 7.3 miles round-trip.
Details: Park admission: Free. 520-824-3560, www.nps.gov/chir.
Saguaro National Park, Hugh Norris Trail
Unlike the cruel slog of most summit hikes, the Hugh Norris Trail (10 miles round-trip) is an airy jaunt that keeps your noggin on a swivel while you gawk at one sweeping view after another. There are some steep pitches but that only sweetens the deal, making it feel like you earn the expansive vistas, among the best in Tucson. Set in Saguaro National Park West, the trail carves a route through classic Sonoran landscape to the top of 4,687-foot-high Wasson Peak. The trail starts out on a cactus-studded bajada and switchbacks upwards to snag a rocky ridgeline. From there the trail angles towards Wasson, hugging first one side of the high shoulder and then the other.
Details: Park admission: $25 per vehicle. 520-733-5183, www.nps.gov/sagu.
Grand Canyon National Park, South Kaibab Trail
Screamingly steep, shade-less and sun-beaten may not sound like an endorsement but it’s what makes the South Kaibab astounding. Most canyon trails follow a fault line limiting range of vision. But Kaibab is a torpedo, launching from the South Rim and chasing a ridge down and out across the canyon. In just under a mile, the canyon cracks open wide at aptly named Ooh Aah Point. At 1.5 miles you reach a comfy plateau called Cedar Ridge, the most popular day hike option. Only the fittest hikers should continue to Skeleton Point atop the Redwall Limestone, offering your first glimpse of the Colorado River. This makes for a 6-mile strenuous round-trip.
Details: Park admission: $35. 928-638-7888,www.nps.gov/grca.
Petrified Forest National Park, Blue Mesa Trail
This 1-mile loop appears to wind its way through the suburbs of the moon. The path from the parking area starts out paved but switches to gravel as it makes a sharp descent into a small basin wrapped in an otherworldly array of bluish bentonite clay badlands. These are haunting hills streaked with a soft, mournful color palette. Sprinkled amid this lunar landscape is a colorful collection of petrified wood. Watch for pedestal logs, remnants of ancient trees perched atop a crumbly stand of thick clay as if on display. Numerous plant and animal fossils have been found in the layers of Blue Mesa.
Details: Park admission: $25 per vehicle. 928-524-6228, www.nps.gov/pefo.
Navajo National Monument, Betatakin
Tucked inside a cavernous arch, the ancient village of Betatakin is completely sheltered by the overhanging canyon wall. Approximately 120 rooms were built in the alcove, with some spilling outside. The only way to visit Betatakin is with ranger-led hikes generally offered Memorial Day through Labor Day. These strenuous 5-mile round-trip hikes climb into and out of a steep canyon with the trail dropping through a diverse forest (including a surprising aspen grove), fed by a perennial stream, and wrapped in towering sandstone cliffs. Reservations are not required. A signup sheet is posted in the visitor center and tours are first come, first served. The free tours generally last 3-5 hours.
Details: Park admission: Free. 928-672-2700, www.nps.gov/nava.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, River Trail
This short hike is a fascinating history lesson paired with enchanting scenery. The River Trail is located at Lees Ferry, a crossroads of western history. Starting at the launch ramp, the mile-long path follows an old wagon road past a collection of stone buildings in varying states of decline. Well-placed signs provide a detailed account of life on the frontier here that included Mormon pioneers and hopeful miners. All the while, the river shimmers in the sun, blue then green, then melancholy and moody as cloud shadows sweep overhead. Banks are fringed with grasses and scrubby trees, as colorful hills slant down to the water. The Spencer Trail branches off; an old pack mule route hacked from the cliffs. A brutal climb but it’s worth scrambling up just a level or two for the elevated vistas. The trail officially ends after 1 mile at the ruins of an old cabin.
Details: Park admission: $30 per vehicle. 928 608-6200, www.nps.gov/glca.
Walnut Canyon National Monument, Island Trail
Dozens of prehistoric cliff dwellings built by the Sinagua people are tucked away in the contours of Walnut Canyon, east of Flagstaff. The Island Trail is the centerpiece of the park, dropping steeply 185 vertical feet. It allows visitors to experience a rare intimacy in this small, forested gorge with surprises tucked in every fold of the sloping walls. Ancient cliff dwellings line the path and soot-darkened rooms invite you inside. Interpretive signs tell the story of this resourceful culture. The staircase into the canyon consists of 273 stair steps that will be waiting on the way out. The loop portion of the trail includes another 190 stair steps. That means 736 stair steps if you’re keeping score. As the National Park Service emphasizes: Going down the Island Trail is optional. Returning is mandatory.
Details: Park admission: $25 per vehicle. 928-526-3367, www.nps.gov/waca.
Coronado National Memorial, Joe’s Canyon Trail
This lanky route traverses Montezuma Canyon gaining 1,000 feet of elevation in the first mile as it switchbacks up with lovely views. Out of the canyon, you’ll cross the slanted grasslands of Smuggler’s Ridge while peering deep into the green rolling hills of Sonora, Mexico. When you reach the junction with the Yaqui Ridge Trail, this is more than just two paths crossing. This is the beginning of the Arizona National Scenic Trail (another national park unit). The 800-mile-long iconic trail stretches the entire length of the state from Mexico to Utah, and Yaqui Ridge is the southern terminus. Joe’s Canyon Trail ends at the high saddle of Montezuma Pass. Return the way you came for a 6.2-mile round-trip hike. The park occasionally runs a hiker shuttle so that only a one-way hike is necessary.
Details: Park admission: Free. 520-366-5515, www.nps.gov/coro.
Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com. Or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RogerNaylorinAZ.
Meet Roger Naylor
The Arizona Republic contributor and author, Roger Naylor, will be giving several book presentations over the coming weeks, including discussions of his book, Arizona National Parks and Monuments. All events are free, unless otherwise noted.
February 2 in Maricopa at the Maricopa Library & Cultural Center, 5 p.m. Topic: Route 66 Centennial. 18160 N. Maya Angelou Dr., 520-568-2926.
February 3 in Chandler at the Chandler Museum, 12 p.m. Topic: Route 66 Centennial. 300 S. Chandler Village Dr., 480-782-2717.
February 4 in Tucson/Oro Valley at the National Parks Store, 11 a.m. Topic: Route 66 Centennial. 12880 N. Vistoso Village Dr., 520-622-6014.
February 7 in Scottsdale at the Holland Center, 2 p.m. Topic: Route 66 Centennial. 34250 N. 60th St., Bldg. B, 480-488-1090. $10 admission to benefit Cave Creek Museum.
February 26 – Scottsdale at the Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, 6 p.m. Topic: Arizona National Parks and Monuments. $10 admission. 3830 N. Marshall Way, 480-686-9539. Register at: https://westernspirit.org/project/arizona-national-parks-and-monuments-with-roger-naylor/
OATMAN, AZ (AZFamily) — This year marks the centennial of Route 66, 100 years since the highway connected Chicago to California through northern Arizona.
The so-called Mother Road played a significant role in shaping many of the towns in northern Arizona, including Oatman, where Route 66 helped transform a dying ghost town into a tourist destination.
Nestled in the mountains at the western edge of Arizona, Oatman has fewer than 100 residents but draws more than half a million visitors each year. People come for the mining history and the burros, but what saved this town from obscurity is that it sits on Route 66.
From gold boom to ghost town
Main Street Oatman is only about a quarter of a mile long, but it comes to life with old west gunfights, burros, and friendly locals.
Over a hundred years ago, it was a mining town and one of the highest producers of gold in the American West.
“Once that happened, everybody in the country knew there was gold here and that’s when the boom of Oatman actually started,” said local Mike Fox. “Route 66 went from mining area to mining area.”
Fox first moved to Oatman in 1986. He has worked as one of the local gunfighters and spent his time learning the town’s history.
Fox said Oatman’s boom lasted just a couple of decades. America’s focus shifted away from gold, and in 1951, Oatman and this stretch of Route 66 were bypassed.
“Once that happened, Oatman literally just died and became nothing but a wide spot in the road for the next 30 years,” Fox said.
Oatman fell on hard times, and its population dropped by thousands.
Route 66 resurrection
By the early 1990s, something was changing. Western movies had been shot in town, and an appreciation for the Mother Road resurfaced. Route 66 helped to resurrect the town.
“More and more people started traveling through Oatman and Oatman started coming back to life,” Fox said. “We actually sit on the longest stretch of Route 66.”
Now, more than 500,000 people visit Oatman each year from all over the world.
Julie Slayden is the owner of Julie’s Saloon. She said Oatman is now a Route 66 bucket list destination for tourists passing through.
“Julie’s Saloon, the sign out there is what they want a picture underneath so that’s one of their stops on the bucket list,” Slayden said. “You can have people on the bar tops from all over the place just having conversations with each other.”
Today, tourism is the town’s main economic driver, but Fox said it has taken a hit since the pandemic. He is hopeful this year’s Route 66 centennial will create another boom.
“It’s coming back and it will come back. It’s just a matter of time,” Fox said.
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