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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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.

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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