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Deregulation and budget cuts threaten clean air; lawmaker wants to amend Arizona Constitution

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Deregulation and budget cuts threaten clean air; lawmaker wants to amend Arizona Constitution


The perpetual brown cloud engulfed downtown Phoenix for nearly four months out of the year. It blurred the skyline, polluting the view out of Dennis Hoffman’s office window just a few miles away in Tempe. The economics expert said that while Phoenix a couple of decades ago was never as bad as Los Angeles, recent steps to address pollution have improved the city’s air quality.

One of the agencies that made that change possible, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, is facing cuts as the state scrambles to comply with federal legislation commonly called the Big Beautiful Bill. The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency will on Thursday begin to rescind the 2009 “endangerment finding,” which allows for the regulation of greenhouse gases.

Amid the rollback of federal environmental regulations and state funding cuts, Sen. Lauren Kuby (D-Tempe) introduced a green amendment to the Arizona Constitution. Announced at Environmental Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, the amendment would enshrine access to clean air, clean water and a healthy environment as a constitutional right for all Arizonans.

“In this moment in this country, Arizona’s environmental protections are not just weak, they’re moving backwards,” Kuby said. “By passing this amendment, Arizona voters will lead on environmental protection to show that a healthy environment is a fundamental right, just like free speech or religious expression.”

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Metro Phoenix struggles with air quality because it is situated in a valley, according to Sandy Bahr, a member of the Grand Canyon chapter of the Sierra Club. Air pollution gets trapped by the mountains and settles over Phoenix and its suburbs. Bahr said people want to live where air is healthy to breathe.

“Here in the greater Phoenix area, we have very poor air quality,” Bahr said. “If they make those kinds of cuts, then we are going to be out of compliance with the Clean Air Act, and there may actually be implications from an economic perspective as well.”

Poor air quality can cause a number of diseases, including asthma and heart problems, according to health experts. Arizona is subject to cross-pollution from other states that compound the issue.

Sen. Lauren Kuby

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Sen. Lauren Kuby (D-Tempe) introduced a green amendment to the Arizona Constitution in a press conference at the Environmental Day at the Capitol in Phoenix on Feb. 11, 2026.

D. J. Portugal is the director of operations at Chispa Arizona, an organization that focuses on empowering members of the Latino community to advocate for cleaner air and water in the communities worst impacted by climate change.

“Corporations, for the longest time, were able to just do whatever they want and pollute the air and create products that polluted the air, and it wasn’t an issue because the policymakers lived on a side of town that wasn’t zoned for that type of production and air pollution, so they were cool in their communities,” Portugal said. “We want our communities to also be safe to breathe in, because it’s literally our lives on the line.”

The repeal of the endangerment finding would deregulate greenhouse gases, allowing corporations to decide the amount of greenhouse gases are acceptable to release into the atmosphere.

“It’s really the corporate polluters that are responsible for the bulk of, in this case, air pollution,” Portugal said. “If there’s no regulatory standard that they have to adhere to. They have no incentive, right? Their incentive as a corporation is just to make money.”

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The specific area most likely to see cuts in ADEQ in the is the local agency on air quality monitoring, according to Hoffman, who is the director of the Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research at the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Jennifer Allen, chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, said that introducing new protections for clean air and water has been an “uphill battle” at the state Legislature.

“We need the facts, we need data, which is what air quality monitoring provides, and it ensures then that regulators know when to step in and put some limits on polluting industries,” Allen said. “It helps set better policies to protect our air.”

For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.

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Haitian man detained at Arizona ICE facility dies in US custody, brother says

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Haitian man detained at Arizona ICE facility dies in US custody, brother says


FLORENCE, AZ (AP) — A Haitian man confined at an Arizona immigration detention center for months died at a hospital Monday after a tooth infection was left untreated, the man’s brother said Wednesday.

Emmanuel Damas, 56, told medical personnel at the Florence Correctional Center that he had a toothache in mid-February, but he was not sent to a dentist, said Damas’ brother, Presly Nelson.

Nelson believes the staff at the facility did not take his brother’s complaints seriously, even though it was a treatable condition. Nelson said he would expect such a death in countries with less access to health care, but not in the United States.

“As a country — I’m an American now — I think we can do better than that,” Nelson said.

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Damas is among at least nine people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this year.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. ICE had said it hoped to issue a news release Wednesday.

Earlier Wednesday, ICE officials announced the death of Mexican national Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, who had been in a California ICE detention center and died in the hospital Feb. 27 after reporting chest pain and shortness of breath.

Chandler City Council member Christine Ellis, a Haitian American who is a registered nurse, said she was contacted by Damas’ family after his death.

“As a medical person, I am absolutely appalled that there were medical-licensed people that were working there and allowed those things to happen,” Ellis said. “It does not make sense to me.”

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A report from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office listed Damas’ cause of death as “pending” as of Wednesday.

Damas was taken into ICE custody in September and was soon transferred to the medium-security Florence Correctional Center, where he was held for several months, including after his asylum application was denied, Ellis said.

CoreCivic, a for-profit corrections company that runs the Florence facility, did not respond to emails seeking comment.

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Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.



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3 men sentenced in Arizona for multi-million dollar scam against Amazon

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3 men sentenced in Arizona for multi-million dollar scam against Amazon


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Three Valley men have been sentenced for their roles in what prosecutors described as a “sophisticated fraud scheme” against an online shopping giant.

In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Mughith Faisal, 29, of Glendale, was sentenced on Feb. 5 to 18 months in prison. His brother, Basheer Faisal, 28, of Glendale, was also recently ordered to spend 18 months in prison.

The feds said a third defendant in the case, Abdullah Alwan, 28, of Surprise, was sentenced to six months in prison after the trio pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

Prosecutors said the three were also each ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to Amazon.

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According to federal officials, Alwan worked in Amazon’s logistics division and left the company in 2021 when he reportedly used his knowledge to manipulate rates for transportation deliveries assigned to Amazon’s third-party carriers.

The feds said Basheer and Mughith Faisal used “Blue Line Transport” to knowingly get to increased transport rates that Alwan would then input into Amazon’s system, ripping them off out of $4.5 million.

The FBI’s Phoenix Division helped in the investigation, which was then prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

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Copyright 2026 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.



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Arizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for March 3, 2026

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Arizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for March 3, 2026


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The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Tuesday, March 3, 2026 results for each game:

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Winning Mega Millions numbers

07-21-53-54-62, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers

2-0-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers

02-05-18-27-41

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Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Triple Twist numbers

11-14-17-19-23-24

Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results

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What time is the Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?

In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.

How to play the Powerball

To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.

You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers.

To win, match one of the 9 Ways to Win:

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  • 5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize.
  • 5 white balls = $1 million.
  • 4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000.
  • 4 white balls = $100.
  • 3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100.
  • 3 white balls = $7.
  • 2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7.
  • 1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4.
  • 1 red Powerball = $4.

There’s a chance to have your winnings increased two, three, four, five and 10 times through the Power Play for an additional $1 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot wins up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Arizona Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $100 and may redeem winnings up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Arizona Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to P.O. Box 2913, Phoenix, AZ 85062.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID to any of these locations:

Phoenix Arizona Lottery Office: 4740 E. University Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4400. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Tucson Arizona Lottery Office: 2955 E. Grant Road, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-628-5107. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

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Phoenix Sky Harbor Lottery Office: Terminal 4 Baggage Claim, 3400 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4424. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Kingman Arizona Lottery Office: Inside Walmart, 3396 Stockton Hill Road, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-753-8808. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://www.arizonalottery.com/.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arizona Republic editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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