Education Supt. Kathy Hoffman holds slim lead over GOP challenger Tom Horne

PHOENIX — Former state treasurer Jeff DeWit was elected chair of the Arizona Republican Party on Saturday by the GOP state committee. DeWit succeeded former Gov. Doug Ducey as treasurer in 2015 and was named the chief operations officer for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during his campaign in 2016. DeWit also served as chief financial officer of NASA starting in 2018.

PHOENIX — Arizona Democratic Party State Committee members elected Yolanda Bejarano as their next chair. Bejarano defeated Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo 440 votes to 186 during a virtual party meeting on Saturday, according to ABC 15’s Garrett Archer. “Arizona Democrats had huge successes in both 2020 and...

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has been in office less than four weeks. This week’s Think Tank presents a most interesting discussion with our new attorney general in what I believe is her first in-depth interview since taking office. Mayes has hit the ground running with a flurry of...

PHOENIX — An Arizona lawmaker this week sent letters to Attorney General Kris Mayes and Scottsdale officials in an ongoing attempt to help find a solution to water being cut off from residents of Rio Verde Foothills. Republican Rep. David Cook asked Mayes whether a county board of supervisors...

PHOENIX — Lawsuits are preventing more than 300,000 Arizonans from having some or all of their student debt dismissed, the Biden administration said Friday. Nearly half a million Arizonans applied or were deemed automatically eligible for one-time debt relief under President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, according to data released by the White House.

PHOENIX — As human trafficking continues to alarm the nation, advocates and a survivor in Arizona discussed bringing awareness to human trafficking prevention on Wednesday. “Every experience was a rock bottom for me. Thinking about what I just did, thinking about what I had to endure, wanting those late nights and early mornings to be over,” Alicia Tucker said.

PHOENIX — Scottsdale said it saved more than 38 million gallons of water in 2022 after focusing on conservation due to worsening drought conditions. The East Valley city wanted to reduce usage by 5% last year and asked residents and businesses to follow suit, an initiative that was partially met.

PHOENIX — Arizona State University and the University of Arizona were listed as two of the top 10 online bachelor’s programs in the country this week on the U.S. News and World Report 2023 rankings. ASU came in at No. 7 on the list of online bachelor’s programs...

PHOENIX – A conservation program overseen by the city of Phoenix is looking for volunteers to help spread the word about smart water usage. Applications to the Water Wrangler Institute must be submitted online by Tuesday. Virtual training is scheduled to run Thursday evenings from Feb. 16 to March...

PHOENIX – Local economists are saying a recent report projecting a 2008-like plunge in the Phoenix housing market is no reason to panic. The New York Post reported Tuesday that Goldman Sachs warned clients that the Phoenix; Austin, Texas; San Jose, California; and San Diego markets “will likely grapple with peak-to-trough declines of over 25%” in 2023.

PHOENIX — Valley drivers could face delays this weekend as portions of four metro Phoenix freeways will be closed. In Phoenix, westbound Interstate 10 will be closed from the Loop 202 Santan Freeway and the US 60 Superstition Freeway from 10 p.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Saturday for construction, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

PHOENIX — A man died after a shooting in Phoenix on Saturday evening, authorities said. Officers responded to the area of 12th Street and Highland Avenue just before 6:30 p.m. to calls of a shooting, the Phoenix Police Department said in a press release. A man with a gunshot...

PHOENIX — The city of Glendale is looking to make a splash this summer by offering $25 per hour to lifeguards amid a shortage. “Since the very beginning of COVID, there has been a lifeguard shortage nationally,” Dean Kinnoin, Glendale senior recreation coordinator, said in a press release.

PHOENIX — It is citrus season for the St. Mary’s Food Bank, and donations are being accepted through April 30. Those with extra grapefruits, oranges, tangerines and lemons on their trees can drop them off at both food bank locations in Phoenix (2831 N 31st Avenue) and Surprise (13050 W Elm Street) from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays.

PHOENIX — Police are investigating two separate shootings that left two Valley men dead on Saturday. Phoenix police responded to a call of a shooting near 44th and Whitton avenues just after 8 p.m., according to a press release. They found a victim there and he was transported to...

PHOENIX — Authorities are trying to identify a person whose skeletal remains were found this month on tribal land southwest of Phoenix. The remains were discovered Jan. 12 around 3 p.m. in an irrigation canal along Elliot Road on the Gila River Indian Community, near Phoenix’s Laveen neighborhood.

PHOENIX — Two 13-year-old students at a West Valley elementary school were arrested Thursday after a gun was found on campus, authorities said. A boy and a girl were taken into custody after an unloaded pistol was located in a Riverview Elementary School student’s backpack, according to police in El Mirage, a suburb about 20 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix.

PHOENIX — A pair of metro Phoenix restaurants made Yelp’s list of the top 100 places to eat in the United States in 2023. De Babel, a Middle Eastern restaurant located near Raintree Drive and the Loop 101 Pima freeway in Scottsdale, came in at No. 39. The...

PHOENIX – A video posted of a wild animal being attacked by a man with a baseball bat led to an animal cruelty arrest in the West Valley, authorities said. Roger Henry Alexander, 20, was booked into jail Wednesday on a felony count of animal cruelty in the beating of a javelina, the Surprise Police Department said in a press release.

PHOENIX – Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter John Mayer is tuning up for his first solo acoustic tour, which will make a stop in Phoenix in the spring. Mayer will play downtown’s Footprint Center on April 5 of his North American arena jaunt. Presales begin Thursday at 9 a.m. Arizona time. Ticket sales to the general public will start Friday at 9 a.m.