Arizona baseball had won five of its last seven games, which included three road wins, entering Friday evening’s matchup with Kansas State.
Arizona
Solution to Arizona's water crisis? Local researcher hopes so, sharing breakthrough in desalination technology
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Two years ago, Arizona state leaders were actively exploring the idea of a binational desalination plant that would bring water from the Sea of Cortez to the state. The plan, spearheaded by former Governor Doug Ducey, aimed to address the state’s growing water shortage. However, after facing backlash from water authorities and a lack of transparency, the project ultimately fell through. Later, Governor Katie Hobbs redirected funds away from long-term water supply projects, further pushing desalination off the table for the time being.
Despite these setbacks, one local researcher has continued to push the boundaries of desalination technology and is hopeful that his breakthroughs could provide a solution to the ongoing water crisis in Arizona. Professor Mark Witten, a researcher at the University of Arizona, has spent the past 17 years finding ways to efficiently remove salt from seawater.
In 2023, he shared his efforts with the public, explaining how his low-energy desalination technology could significantly reduce the cost and energy consumption typically associated with removing salt from seawater.
“We’ve gotten to the point where we can take out 99% of the salt from simulated ocean water,” said Witten, reflecting on his progress.
His recent work has culminated in a groundbreaking discovery that allows for the removal of 335 parts per million (ppm) of concentrated salt, which is the same salinity level found in Earth’s oceans.
He was initially working with a silicon disc, and decided to try isolating salt by using a reactive metal. He experimented with tungsten, copper, iron, and magnesium. Witten described finding success with a small magnesium disc, so he purchased a larger disc.
Witten recalled, “When I first did the first experiment. I just bought a brand new salinity meter from Amazon, and it registered 333 parts per million after I did the desalination. Remember, I started out at 35,000 parts per million. So I thought something was wrong with my new salinity meter. So I went into my kitchen, filled a glass of water, and measured the salinity. It was 425 parts per million and I almost fainted because I thought I had hit the jackpot.”
Witten is confident that his technology can make a real difference. “Our technology, we believe, can produce an acre-foot of water for less than $400,” he said. An acre-foot is equivalent to one acre of land covered by a foot of water, a standard unit of measurement for water volume.
Beyond providing freshwater, Witten hopes his technology will provide more resources. He highlights that the salt could contain lithium, an essential component for electric vehicle batteries, which could help further support the green energy industry.
“We plan to collect the salt and mine lithium from it,” Witten explained. “The electric vehicle industry cannot grow without more lithium, and this could help address that challenge as well.”
As Arizona faces the very real threat of water scarcity, Witten’s innovative desalination technology offers a potential solution to one of the state’s most pressing issues. He believes that large-scale desalination could help protect Arizona’s future by ensuring a more stable and sustainable water supply.
“The future growth of this state, and the other states in the Colorado River Compact, is in danger because we don’t have enough water,” said Witten.
As the state continues to grapple with its water challenges, Witten sees a future where the ocean could provide an answer to Arizona’s water shortage. Witten’s next steps involve getting an industrial prototype of his desalination technology off the ground.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
In the first game of the series, Arizona (14-23, 5-11 Big 12) battled in a low-scoring affair but fell short in a 2-1 loss to Kansas State (24-12, 8-8 Big 12). The Wildcats from Tucson held the Wildcats from Manhattan at bay for a good majority of the night.
Given that Kansas State leads the Big 12 in conference play in batting, on-base percentage, and slugging, Arizona had a rather good performance, but it was not enough.
Owen Kramkowski pitched seven scoreless innings before allowing the first Kansas State run in the top of the eight. He finished with six strikeouts and kept the high octane Wildcats at bay.
“I thought the defense played well behind him too,” said head coach Chip Hale. “There’s a lot of ground balls, and we made plays where we were positioned in good places, and he was pitching in the eighth inning. That’s unbelievable.”
Garrett Hicks (3-1) came in to try and stop the bleeding for the Wildcats and did so by not allowing Kansas State to take the lead in the eighth. It was in the ninth when the lead was surrendered.
It took until the sixth inning but the first run was scored by Arizona. Andrew Cain singled to left field and after Maddox Mihalakis flew out, it was Beau Sylvester bringing Cain home with a triple through right center field.
Sylvester extended his hitting streak to eight games and it proved to be not enough to get Arizona to the finish line.
Kansas State tied the game at the top of the eight when back to back singles got runners on at first and third. Then a passed ball allowed the third base runner to come home.
Arizona had a chance to retake the lead in the bottom of the ninth after Cain singled to deep right field. With Sylvester back at the plate, it seemed like it was a perfect set up.
A wild pitch nearly got past Kansas State and Cain tried to take advantage of it and steal home. However, Kansas State was able to corral the pitch and get Cain out at home.
AJ Evasco started the ninth inning with a double for Kansas State and back to back fly outs eventually got him home to give Kansas State the lead and the win.
With eight players being left on base, Arizona will need to bring those runners in more often than not if they want to tie the series Saturday afternoon.
As a young team, the Wildcats have had to walk a very tight line between disappointment and dejection and will need to continue handling these losses with grace if it wants to turn a corner.
“It’s the way it goes, it’s baseball,” said Hale. “If we don’t handle it, we will come out tomorrow and won’t be ready to go, so hopefully they handle it.”
Over the last 75 years, hair shows have become a staple of Black culture in the U.S. These events celebrate textured hair through the creative, and often sculptural, styling of centuries-old techniques like braiding and barbering.
The biggest hair shows in the country take place in cities with a much larger Black population than Phoenix — like Bronner Bros. in Atlanta, which can bring in around 30,000 people semi-annually.
But as the Black community here grows and newer Arizona residents bring the culture with them, hair shows have started to pop up in town.
The fourth annual Arizona Fantasy Expo Hair Show will return Sunday in Phoenix.
Show producer Athena Ankrah attended the third annual Fantasy Expo Hair Show in Phoenix last April, and shares what she saw.
About 200 people crowd La Princesa event hall in north Phoenix on a Sunday evening in 2025. Music blasts from speakers on either side of a stage and flows into the dance floor below. There are people of all ages here. Most attendees are dressed in white, to match the all-white ball theme, but there’s no shortage of color atop models’ heads.
Lauren Jackson, 20, just graduated from a barber school in Phoenix.
We’re watching a competition between two barbers — who can shave the cleanest tapered fade the fastest — when she tells me her plans for the event she’s competing in: the loc battle.
“So I made a basketball hoop out of locs,” Jackson said.
Hair shows give local hair stylists, barbers and braiders the chance to show off their creative talents through showcases and competitions.
Some stylists had been working on their entries for more than a year leading up to the Fantasy Hair Expo. But that wasn’t the case for Jackson. The event’s organizers promoted the show at Jackson’s barber school shortly before that day.
“I’m like, OK, bet! … Mind you, this was a week before the hair show,” Jackson said.
Hair shows are a Black American tradition dating back about 75 years. The creative hair styling can be so eccentric, it’s almost performance art.
Because it’s not just the hair style on display. It’s a message conveyed through clothes, and sometimes choreography. And a chance to delight in hair textures and styles that have historically been a target of discrimination.
“A lot of us are like really creative and they’re styles that you just can’t do on a daily basis. So the hair show just kind of gives you the platform to just have fun with it, you know, just be really artistic,” Aisha Wesley said.
Wesley is a cosmetologist who organized the event with fellow cosmetologist and friend LaTricia Williams.
“I definitely think that the hair show is empowering to the community because it’s like, if nobody else accepts us, we accept us, right,” Wesley said. “I’ve had clients before that have had to come back and get their hair redone because their job was like, ‘you can’t wear that.’ You know? the hair show just kind of gives that freedom …”
“I can wear whatever I wanna wear,” Williams said.
That freedom and ingenuity was on display at the show.
Now, seeing 40 inches of dollar bills sewn into the bottom of a pixie haircut would have been enough.
But the same stylist, Cherie Nelson of Majestik Handzz Beauty Demand in Mesa, put together a whole crew of models with ’90s-inspired streetwear and exuberant hair to match.
Nelson put one model in vivid bubblegum pink afro puffs, and another with huge headphones over her ears — made entirely of braids.
And for the finale: A young woman crawls on stage, covered in wigs. She’s wearing crimped wigs from head to toe. Underneath, the leather catsuit, knee-high boots and afro wreath around her face gives her a sort of Janet Jackson lioness look.
She stalks downstage, rises to her feet and pulls the lion’s mane onto her shoulders to reveal bantu knots: sleek sectioned hair twisted into knots, a protective style dating back to Zulu women in South Africa.
The crowd is loving it.
“She went from hoodie, to a lion’s mane, to a jacket, to Catwoman – how do you do that?” the host said.
Finally, it’s time for Lauren Jackson’s event — the loc battle.
It’s all about who can craft the most creative and colorful style out of locs and accessories, with extra points for technique and details.
For the uninitiated, locs aren’t always dreadlocks. The term often refers to a more structured twist or coiling of hair rather than the Rastafari-style organic loc-ing of hair.
Loc specialists — also called locticians — can build their styles ahead of time, but on competition day they only have 30 minutes to attach everything to their model’s head and make any finishing touches.
“Y’all ready? Get set! Go!” the host exclaimed.
Anna Holly drove from San Francisco the night before to compete with her mom as her hair model.
“It was about 12 hours. But it wasn’t bad,” Holly said while laughing.
Despite the time constraint, Jackson’s entry is not insignificant.
She super-glued, painted and shaped synthetic hair onto a basketball hoop with about a foot tall backboard.
“So I bought a box of those, the sandwich bags, and I’m like, ‘well, I can use this.’ At Dollar Tree, they also had a hoop already made. So I basically wrapped the whole thing with locs,” Jackson said. “Then I took some orange loc hair and I wrapped that with the rim. And then I took some silver grayish lock hair as well for the, the net to the basketball hoop.”
“It was so hard, I’m not gonna lie. I stayed up like day and night trying to figure it out between school,” Jackson said.
And it’s functional, too — she brought a teeny tiny basketball to prove it.
“Now, if Steph Curry come out of there and shoot a 3? You won!” the host said.
Another loctician, Elisha Davis, has built a sea goddess look that’s essentially a huge halo of locs sticking straight up. It’s woven with seashells. The stylist and her model have matching glittery siren makeup. The design is minimal enough that you can really see the details.
“She sells seashells by the seashore. … Aphrodite ain’t playin’!” the host said.
And Holly is installing a replica of a famous landmark on her mother’s head.
“Is that traffic on her head, y’all? … It’s the Golden Gate Bridge!” the host said to cheers from the crowd.
Yes, the Golden Gate Bridge, made entirely of hair.
“I’m like, dang, I didn’t even know that was possible, y’all! And she had cars on the bridge!” Jackson said.
Master loctitian and cosmetologist Jai Davis is this event’s judge.
“I’m looking for detail, creativity. … I like integrity more than flash. I like skill more than flash,” Davis said.
It was a tight race. But a winner and runner-up are announced.
“This one was super, super hard, we had to go all the way down to details. We had to look at edges and fresh retwists because the creativity in this competition was so cold,” Davis said. “So, because we had to go down to detail and crispy edges. … We gon’ give it to the Golden [Gate] Bridge!”
So Jackson’s basketball hoop didn’t win.
But despite that, she said, “it was so worth it. If I can go back, I would do it all over again.”
And next time, she’ll be ready.
“Oh my God, I’m gonna do so much more next year. Oh my goodness, I can not wait for next year. ‘Cause I’m gonna do so much more,” Jackson said.
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