Arizona
Defying inflation? How Arizona Iced Tea (mostly) maintains Its 99-cent price tag
During times of sustained inflation — those periods when the price of a carton of eggs makes headlines — it doesn’t take much for a business executive to cast themselves as an enemy in the eyes of an overextended American public, but out-of-touch statements with a certain “let them eat cake” undercurrent are certainly a shortcut to achieving villainy.
For instance, in February, WK Kellogg Co. CEO Gary Pilnick was likened to Marie Antoinette for encouraging people to eat cereal for dinner as a way to save money; this, despite the fact that the price per unit of Kellogg’s products was up nearly 20% compared to the year prior, the highest increase among ready-to-eat cereal brands. “There’s no reason for you to jack up your prices the way you did, except to screw us,” said the narration in one TikTok video that went viral at the time.
Months later, Brian Niccol, the CEO of Chipotle was similarly accused of “greedflation” as customers began to report receiving smaller portion sizes when they visited the Mexican-inspired chain. Reddit is littered with hundreds of similar complaints — which somehow weren’t ameliorated by Niccol’s recommendation that customers give employees a special look (eyes wide, head tilted in disappointment) when they “want a little more pico.”
Perhaps that’s why Don Vultaggio, the founder of Arizona Iced Tea, is being lauded as an inflation-time hero for making one simple, yet audacious proclamation: The brand’s 23-ounce cans, which have cost 99 cents for three decades, will continue to be priced at 99 cents for the foreseeable future.
“We’re successful, we’re debt-free,” Vultaggio explained to TODAY’s Savannah Sellers in a June interview. “We own everything. Why? Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent have to pay more for our drink?”
Vultaggio went on to say that he doesn’t intend to raise prices “in the foreseeable future,” a decision impacted by both his background — during his first job as a grocery clerk in Brooklyn, he made $1 an hour — and the current state of the economy.
“Everything [people are] buying today there’s a price increase on. We’re trying to hold the ground for a consumer who is pinched on all fronts,” Vultaggio explained. “I’ve been in business a long time, and candidly, I’ve never seen anything like what’s going on now. Every single thing has gone up, and I call it ‘from a paper clip to a too-big filling machine.’”
That said, there are rarely clean-cut victories for consumers under Big Capitalism and the real cost of Arizona Iced Tea is no exception. While Vultaggio can continue stamping “99-cents” on the can, that doesn’t guarantee stores will actually comply when it comes to their pricing. It’s a discrepancy that numerous observational comedians have used as fodder, and even inspired a satirical commercial on the FX series “Atlanta” which features the now-iconic line: “The price is on the can, though.”
Since Vultaggio’s TODAY interview, X, formerly Twitter, has been flooded with field reports from bodegas and corner stores across the country, where users take and post photographic proof of offending cans, with prices sometimes up to $2. In response to one meme that depicted Arizona Iced Tea as a fantastical giant fighting back its enemy, inflation, an X user said: “As a New Yorker, I’m legally obligated to love Arizona iced tea — and I do — but y’all can’t be posting this … when it’s impossible to find it for sale at 99¢ pretty much anywhere any more.”
Since federal agencies don’t control how much your local supermarket or corner store charges, this isn’t illegal (and despite rumors to the contrary, there isn’t a federal hotline to call to report stores that slap a $1.34 price tag on a can of Arizona Iced Tea). This is something that Vultaggio himself has acknowledged.
“I’ve been in business a long time, and candidly, I’ve never seen anything like what’s going on now.”
“I hate to raise prices, I’m an old salesman and the worst day in a salesman’s life is when he has to go to a customer and say you have to pay more,” Vultaggio later told TODAY.com. “But on the other side of it, we’ve done all we can to hold the price.”
He continued: “Unfortunately, we don’t govern how store owners choose to price their products. The price is on the can. We do all we can to help retailers remain profitable, so stores can sell it for 99 cents.” However, Vultaggio has promised that his company is “gonna fight as hard as we can for consumers.”
“Maybe it’s my little way to give back,” he said.
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from Salon Food
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
Arizona is ranked 18th in the nation when it comes to racial equality in the classroom, according to WalletHub.
The personal finance website compiled its 2026 list of Best States for Racial Equality in Education by looking at differences between Black and white students when it comes to test scores, college attainment and high school graduation rates.
The rankings are based on a weighted average of six metrics, but did WalletHub not provide a breakdown of each category.
However, statistics from the Center for the Future of Arizona support the idea that Arizona has work to do when it comes to racial equality. African American students in Arizona have an average college attainment rate of 38%, while white students have an average rate of 54%.
That difference is also evident in other education areas, with a gap of 11 percentage points between Black and white high schoolers in graduation rate.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo called the high school graduation rate the most “alarming” data set for the Arizona. He said if the study included the state’s large Hispanic population, the results might have been different.
“It would be interesting, if those numbers were included, where the gaps would be. Again, Arizona has a high Hispanic population, as [does] New Mexico, and New Mexico was at number three. So maybe Arizona could take a look at what their neighbors are doing there to kind of bridge those gaps,” he said.
How can Arizona increase racial equality in the classroom?
Lupo said Arizona can boost its ranking and improve racial equality in schools by increasing the representation and funding for public education.
“One thing [to] do is to build more diversity within the school system. More Black administrators and more Black teachers kind of create more of a familiarity for Black students and more mentors. … Increased funding and a more concerted effort to increase diversity among the school systems, I think, would go a long way in bridging that gap,” he said.
WalletHub ranked Wyoming, West Virginia and New Mexico as the best states for racial equality in the classroom, with New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin at the bottom of the list.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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