PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The two Republicans running for Arizona attorney general faced each other Thursday in a debate that devolved into insults and name-calling.

State Senate President Warren Petersen is running against military attorney Rodney Glassman in the Republican primary. The debate turned chaotic as the candidates clashed.

“Are you asking the questions, Steve?” Petersen said.

The moderator attempted to regain control. “Gentlemen, we’re going to reset,” he said.

Candidates clash over experience

The debate was the last before early voting begins next month. In between the name-calling, the two candidates argued over their resumes.

Glassman said Petersen does not have the legal experience for the job.

“Warren is just full of information, you can call them lies. He received his law license in December 2023, 28 months ago. He has never filed a lawsuit as a lawyer. He has never prosecuted a criminal as a lawyer,” Glassman said.

Petersen has had a law license for less than three years. He said he worked on cases in Scottsdale while earning his degree. Petersen said his experience as the current state Senate president also counts.

“I have done more in three years than Rodney Glassman will even get done in his life because he’s a trust fund baby who’s just looking for a place. He’s been running for 15 years and he’s lost six elections in a row,” Petersen said.

History of campaigns

Glassman has not won an elected office since he served as a Democrat on the Tucson City Council in 2007. Glassman is an Air Force attorney with 17 years of experience.

Democratic strategist Matt Grodsky said the real winner was the incumbent, Kris Mayes.

“I thought it was entertaining television. I’m glad Arizona got to see up close why these two individuals should be nowhere near the AG’s office,” Grodsky said.

Voting in the primary begins June 24.

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By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

California air regulators on Friday approved a contentious overhaul of the state’s carbon market, creating a program that could steer billions of dollars in free pollution permits to oil refineries and other major polluters over the objections of environmental groups, key lawmakers and three of the board’s own members.

Ten members of the California Air Resources Board voted to adopt the changes to its cap-and-invest program after two days of lengthy hearings, including a full day dedicated to hundreds of public comments.

The overhaul followed intensive lobbying by the oil industry as well as pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to help keep refineries operating in the state amid rising gas prices.

The approval sets up a potential budget fight in Sacramento. The Legislative Analyst’s Office projects that quarterly auction revenue for state climate programs will drop from roughly $4 billion a year to about $2 billion under the new overhaul.

Such a shortfall would effectively zero out programs lawmakers spent last year fighting to fund: affordable housing, public transit, drinking water in low-income communities and pollution monitoring in California’s most polluted neighborhoods.

The governor’s office praised the measure as a compromise that balanced economic uncertainty with the state’s climate goals. Refinery closures and the Iran-Israel war have driven average California gas prices above $6 a gallon. 

Newsom, in a statement, used the moment to draw a contrast with President Donald Trump.

“While Trump sows ongoing chaos and uncertainty, California is staying focused by protecting our economy, safeguarding public health, and doubling down on the clean energy future all Californians deserve,” he said. 

Environmentalists warned the changes to the program amount to a giveaway to the fossil fuel industry that weakens California’s only program setting a firm cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

Katelyn Roedner Sutter, California senior director for the Environmental Defense Fund, called the decision “deeply misguided” for prioritizing polluters over communities.

“Newsom’s air regulators are handing billions to oil executives at the expense of our climate, health, and affordability for working families in a rushed process that has shortchanged meaningful public participation,” said Bahram Fazeli, policy director at Communities for a Better Environment. 

How the program works — and what changes

California’s 13-year-old carbon market forces major polluters to buy permits while the state lowers the overall cap each year. Friday’s vote will reduce those permits – and creates a new subsidy program carved out of the market.

The program, which may still see changes, could make available a new pool of free pollution permits available to industry valued at as much as $4 billion. Companies that pledge to invest in clean energy and efficiency may qualify for the permits in exchange for investments in clean energy. 

The pool will be capped at 118.3 million permits — the same number the air board has said must come off the market for California to hit its 2030 climate target. Environmentalists say the proposal risks wiping out those reductions. 

Half are reserved for the fossil fuel sector. A recent Berkeley analysis, by the chair of an independent committee that oversees the carbon market, found refineries could end up with more free permits than they need to cover their emissions.

The air board has defended the design. Officials say the credits will go only to companies undertaking decarbonization projects, will be limited and temporary and can be clawed back if companies misuse them. The plan, they say, is meant to keep California refineries operating at a time of mounting closures and global market pressure. According to air regulators, the amended program will spur clean-energy investment as Trump cuts federal support.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

As Weld County and Northern Colorado continue to grow, leaders at the Greeley-Weld County Airport are preparing for an expansion they say will position the facility as a major transportation and economic hub for the region.

Airport director Cooper Anderson said the airport has reached a point where additional growth on its current footprint is no longer possible.

“We have reached our capacity, here, as far as growth on the south side of the airport,” Anderson said.

The airport is now developing land northeast of its existing facilities to accommodate larger aircraft and future aviation services. 

“We needed to find a new area to expand and allow larger corporate jets, and eventual charters and commercial service down the road,” Anderson said.

Construction is already underway or completed on several infrastructure projects, including expanded taxiways and sites for future hangars. Anderson said the area being developed was farmland just a few years ago.

“It used to be corn fields, but since then we have ran water, sewage and gas is coming next week,” Anderson said.

The expansion effort has been supported by a combination of local and federal funding. Anderson noted that approximately $850,000 in federal funding was previously secured to develop a master design and long-term vision for the airport, with local money helping execute the plan. Additional federal tax dollars in recent years also helped fund taxiway expansion projects that have prepared the airport for future growth.

Now, Colorado leaders in congress are seeking millions more in federal funding to continue that momentum.

Rep. Gabe Evans, who represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, said the airport plays an important role in one of the nation’s busiest aviation corridors.

“The northern Front Range of Colorado is one of the densest airspace systems in the nation,” Evans said.

Before entering Congress, Evans served as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot out of Buckley Air Force Base and frequently flew throughout Northern Colorado. He said improvements at the Greeley airport would have benefits extending well beyond Weld County, noting other airports are overcrowded to the point of causing some nearby residents to complain of sound.

“It really does impact the entire Front Range,” Evans said.

Evans is working to secure additional federal funding that would help construct and staff an air traffic control tower in Greeley while supporting continued infrastructure improvements.

“When those bills are passed and sent to the president’s desk, writtten into those bills as a line item is several more million dollars to continue to expand the infrastructure at the Greeley airport,” Evans said. “So you can actually start to bring business flights into the Greeley airport and pull a lot of that traffic off of some of the overburdened airports in the metro area.”

Anderson said federal support demonstrates broad confidence in the airport’s future as a hub for business and travel.

“Having the addition of Congressman Evans’ office, and their congressional funding, I think shows how much everybody believes in this,” Anderson said.

That confidence is already attracting attention from the private sector, Anderson said, with major companies expressing interest in locating operations at the airport.

“Greeley’s population is booming. Weld County’s population in general is growing,” Anderson said.

Airport leaders view the expansion as a way to support economic development across the region.

“By us growing, and expanding our services, we are also helping the city of Greeley, Weld County and surrounding Northern Colorado communities and being able to grow economic opportunities for them,” Anderson said.

As the airport prepares for future growth, officials have also upgraded emergency response capabilities. The airport recently acquired two fire trucks that will improve its ability to respond to incidents involving larger aircraft. The vehicles also allow firefighters to use newer, non-toxic firefighting foam, replacing older products that posed environmental concerns.

Airport officials say those improvements will help ensure the facility can safely accommodate larger aircraft and increased traffic in the years ahead.