Arizona
Arizona Diamondbacks’ billionaire owner must be too cheap to fix the AC
If the Arizona Diamondbacks truly cared about fans, they wouldn’t let them roast at Chase Field.
Diamondbacks fans pick up replica NL Championship rings at Chase Field
Early-arriving fans picked up replica National League Championship rings given away to the first 30,000 at a game vs. the Phillies on Aug. 10, 2024.
Jose Romero
What should have been an enjoyable outing at Chase Field for baseball fans to watch the Diamondbacks vs. Phillies last weekend was instead a sweaty, sweltering, miserably hot experience.
Is it asking too much for cheapskate billionaire owner Ken Kendrick to fix the air conditioning? Rather than whine about taxpayers rejecting any more public funding for ballpark improvements?
Fix the AC before fans start cramping up like Zac Gallen did last Saturday night. I’d request a ticket refund, but only true owners who care about the fans would do that.
Kyle Mickel, Phoenix
Are ‘Goons’ or immigrants worse?
Kari Lake and her MAGA crowd seem to be obsessed with what they call “immigrant crime.” I would like to ask her if the “Gilbert Goons” and another adolescent gang in Gilbert, who burned down a barn and harassed teen girls, were immigrants?
From what I’ve read, they were bona fide American teens who seemed to be afflicted with an extreme case of “affluenza.”
I think the only crime stats we have to look at whether “immigrant crime” is really a thing comes from Texas, and their stats show that immigrants commit much less crime than their squeaky-clean American counterparts.
Bob Ellis, Phoenix
$6.89 for milk is highway robbery
I needed some milk to finish some baking. I went to a 7-Eleven to get some, as it’s less than a mile from my house.
I purchased a quart. I paid $6.89. Milk at the grocery store is $1.75. If this isn’t price gouging, I don’t know what price gouging is.
Michael Scully, Mesa
No wonder we hate government
Cox Communications in Phoenix recently shut down for several hours. I called to ask if my monthly bill would reflect the service reduction. I was told that Cox charges by the day, not the minute/hour.
I tried to complain to the Arizona Corporation Commission and was advised that Cox is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, not the state corporation commission.
More letters: Why did we not learn about this Arizona atrocity?
Try to find a link on the FCC’s site to file a complaint. Not happening, unless it’s hidden in a sub-category that I couldn’t find. In a democracy, complaints against government should never be hidden!
It’s no wonder that citizens get so frustrated with our government.
Page Decker, Avondale
Leave your politics in California
People come to Arizona from countries south of our border and from California in huge numbers. Why are they leaving other countries or states?
Because they wanted a better life or they are looking for work or the taxes were terribly high or they could not afford decent housing or their schools were no good or the socialist form of government was the cause for all of this.
And they vote for Democrats here so they can have all the things that they left.
Craig Holstad, Chandler
Why I sell solar power on the side
As a resident of Phoenix, I’ve seen how our community values sustainability and innovation. The push for renewable energy aligns perfectly with these values and offers numerous benefits for our state.
Arizona’s solar potential is immense. By expanding our solar energy infrastructure, we can lower energy costs and enhance energy security. Renewable energy also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, helping to combat climate change.
The economic benefits are significant. Renewable energy projects create jobs and stimulate local economies. They attract investments in technology and infrastructure, positioning Arizona as a leader in the clean energy revolution.
For me, supporting renewable energy means supporting a thriving, sustainable future.
I’m so passionate about clean energy that I sell solar power on the side, in addition to my work as a bartender in Phoenix. This underscores my belief in the importance and benefits of renewable energy for our community and beyond.
Jill Patsche, Phoenix
Vote for the ideology, not the person
We are in the midst of the dog days of summer and our national election. And it is the same old experience — lies and more lies.
It requires a lot of concentration to sort through the campaign ads to find a scintilla of truth. Most of the time, the entire campaign ad is just yanking our chains.
I would like to believe that we are all smart enough and savvy enough to know when we are being conned. The person we vote for matters less than the political and social ideology we support.
Will you vote for the party candidate who believes that social programs should not exist and wants to pay no taxes? Or will you vote for the candidate who truly cares about you?
We shouldn’t mistake the two by shooting ourselves in the foot. When you select who to vote for, do a bit of research and be sure that your vote does not make your life worse than it is.
Alvin Vasicek, Mesa
What’s on your mind? Send us a letter to the editor online or via email at opinions@arizonarepublic.com.
Arizona
Arizona, career nights from Burries, Krivas beat K-State
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brayden Burries scored 28 points, Motiejus Krivas added a career-high 25 and No. 1 Arizona remained unbeaten with a 101-76 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night.
Arizona (15-0, 2-0 Big 12) is off to its best start since winning the first 21 games of the 2013-14 season. Arizona won by at least 18 points for the 10th consecutive game, matching a mark Michigan had earlier this season that tied for the longest such run since 2003-04.
Burries had his fifth 20-point game and matched his career high by going 12 for 16 from the field while adding nine rebounds. It was his 10th straight game in double figures, including at least 20 points in five of those, after just one over his first five.
Krivas was 7 of 10, making 11 of 13 free throws, and had 12 rebounds.
Koa Peat had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Tobe Awaka added nine and 11 as Arizona outrebounded Kansas State 55-32. Arizona shot 49.3% from the field but was just 3 of 16 from 3-point range.
Kansas State (9-6, 0-2) went 8 for 36 from deep and shot 33.8% overall. PJ Haggerty led the way with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting, while Nate Johnson added 15 and Dorin Buca 12.
Down 15 at the half, Kansas State pulled within 58-49 with 16:09 left on a 3-pointer by Johnson. Arizona responded with a 6-0 run and kept the margin at least 12 the rest of the way. Back-to-back dunks by Burries and Peat and a corner 3-pointer by Jaden Bradley keyed a 13-0 run to put Arizona ahead 92-65 with 3:31 remaining.
It built a 10-point lead less than six minutes into the game and upped it to 20 with 2:52 left in the first half. Burries had 16 before halftime.
Arizona
Arizona HS football’s No. 1 2027 prospect has ASU, Miami high on list
Arizona Open Division football championship MVPs on Basha’s big win
“As soon as we stepped on the field, nerves went away and it was just playing football,” Rogers said of Basha’s performance.
Chandler Basha left tackle Jake Hildebrand, the state’s No. 1 2027 college football prospect, said Arizona State and Miami are among the top potential schools on his recently revealed 10-best list.
Miami is playing in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff semifinal against Ole Miss at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Jan. 8.
Hildebrand, 6-foot-6, 293 pounds, has started every varsity game since his freshman year and helped lead the Bears to the Open Division state title this past season. He won’t be able to attend the Fiesta Bowl because he’s in San Antonio, getting ready to play in the Jan. 10 Navy All-American Bowl. The game airs at 11 a.m. MST on NBC.
Hildebrand also has CFP semifinalists Indiana and Oregon, along with Texas A&M, Alabama, USC, Ohio State and Texas among his top 10 colleges.
“A few schools that are my favorite from the top 10 are ASU, Alabama, Texas A&M, Miami and USC,” Hildebrand said in a direct message to The Arizona Republic. “They have definitely been the schools that have been contacting me the most and built the best relationship with.”
There is no timetable for when Hildebrand will commit. He could wait until he makes trips this spring, summer and fall. But he is among the most coveted left tackles in the country, who has 38 offers, according to 247Sports.
The 247Sports Composite has Hildebrand ranked as the No. 13 overall offensive tackle in the country in the 2027 class. He is ranked No. 1 in the class of 2027 by The Republic.
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
Arizona
Future of Arizona’s Oak Flat faces pivotal day in Phoenix courtroom
Apache Stronghold leader’s propane lines severed
Apache Stronghold leader Wendsler Nosie’s propane tank lines were severed. Nosie claims it is related to the controversy surrounding Oak Flat mine.
Three lawsuits aiming to keep the U.S. Forest Service from turning over Oak Flat to a mining company for a massive copper mine go in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for arguments Jan. 7.
The British-Australian firm Resolution Copper has long sought the exchange to build a mine that bodes to obliterate a site Apaches and other Native peoples hold sacred. It also is one of Arizona’s few functional wetlands.
Two lawsuits filed by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a coalition of environmentalists and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona challenged the land exchange, authorized by a last-minute amendment to a “must-pass” defense bill in December 2014. The arguments in the lawsuits are based on the tribe’s religious beliefs and on environmental concerns, including disputes over water usage and possible damage of one of central Arizona’s key aquifers.
In the third suit, the latest to be filed, a group of Apache women who have spiritual and cultural connections to the site argue that the exchange would violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the First Amendment’s religious rights protections and two environmental laws.
Their lawsuit also brought two new factors into play: a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirms parental rights to direct their children’s religious education and references to Justice Neil Gorsuch’s blistering dissent to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear another case related to the land exchange.
A three-judge panel will hear the cases at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix.
Religious rights advocates and First Amendment experts have said the ability of Native peoples to exercise their religious rights is at stake.
Oak Flat story: As an Apache girl enters womanhood, lawsuits and tariffs cast shadows
The struggle over Oak Flat nears 30-year mark
For more than two decades, Oak Flat Campground, known to Apaches as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, “the place where the Emory oak grows,” has been ground zero in a battle over Native religious rights on public lands as well as environmental preservation for a scarce Arizona ecosystem.
The 2,200-acre primitive campground and riparian zone, within the Tonto National Forest about 60 miles east of Phoenix, also lies over one of the nation’s largest remaining bodies of copper ore.
To obtain the copper, Resolution, which is owned by multinational firms Rio Tinto and BHP, plans to use a method known as block cave mining in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body, and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility.
Eventually, the ground would subside, leaving behind a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across, obliterating Oak Flat.
Resolution Copper, a British-Australian mining firm, sought Congressional approval to exchange other parcels of land it had purchased with the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 10 years when the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other officials engineered a late-night rider to a must-pass defense bill in December 2014. Then-President Barack Obama signed the bill and ever since, tribes, environmentalists and their allies have fought to stop the exchange.
Resolution has said that the mine would bring much-needed jobs and revenues to the economically challenged Copper Triangle to the tune of about $1 billion a year. The company has provided funding to support recovery from the floods that devastated downtown Globe in October and has supported other community organizations.
In November, Resolution announced it had completed rehabilitation of the historic No. 9 shaft at the Magma minehead, including deepening it to nearly 6,900 feet and connecting it to the No. 10 shaft, which plunges about 6,940 feet below the surface.
Vicky Peacey, president and general manager of Resolution, said the shaft project was a huge milestone, employing homegrown talent from surrounding communities to get the job done.
Despite the ongoing litigation, she said, “We are ready to advance this important copper project, enabling thousands of high-paying jobs, billions in economic development for rural Arizona, and access to a domestic supply of copper essential to American security and modern infrastructure.”
Grassroots group Apache Stronghold, led by former San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Wendsler Nosie, filed the first lawsuit to stop the exchange. That litigation was declined twice by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025, but Apache Stronghold continues to fight the land exchange as the group supports the other three lawsuits.
Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol and on Bluesky at @debkrol.bsky.social.
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