Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed three Republican-backed education bills this week, including one that would have required districts to be more transparent about top officials\u2019 salaries.<\/p>\n
HB 2075<\/a>\u00a0would have compelled all public and charter school districts to submit the contracts for their superintendents, assistant superintendents and chief financial officers to the Arizona Department of Education as public records.<\/p>\n In\u00a0her veto letter<\/a>, Hobbs said she rejected the bill because it doesn\u2019t cover all education options in the state, citing its \u201crobust school choice environment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill fails to ensure that all options in the marketplace are held to the same level of transparency,\u201d the Democrat wrote.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t directly mention Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, or ESAs, the voucher program that lets families use taxpayer dollars for private school tuition or homeschooling expenses.<\/p>\n However, Hobbs and Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne have\u00a0clashed over<\/a>\u00a0accountability for ESAs in the past. Hobbs\u00a0has called for<\/a>\u00a0the state to \u201ctackle the waste, fraud and abuse\u201d in the voucher program.<\/p>\n Phoenix sergeant put on leave as Chandler official calls for his firing over actions at student protest<\/a><\/p>\n A sergeant with the Phoenix Police Department was put on administrative leave Friday as his off-duty actions at a January student protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Chandler are being investigated.<\/p>\n ABC15\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that Sgt. Dusten Mullen showed up fully armed and masked to an ICE protest that was conducted by Hamilton High School students, according to a Chandler police report.<\/p>\n The report also stated that Mullen confronted students despite police intervention and said he was going to call other armed individuals to the area.<\/p>\n \u201cAs law enforcement professionals, we are held to higher standards of conduct \u2014 both in and out of uniform,\u201d Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano said in a statement Friday. \u201cOur community expects integrity, accountability and sound judgment from every member of this department, and I expect the same. When we fall short, we must be accountable, and we will not tolerate actions which undermine the trust the community has placed in the department.\u201d<\/p>\n Motorcyclist dead at the scene after collision in central Phoenix<\/a><\/p>\n A motorcyclist was killed in a Phoenix collision on Friday morning, authorities said.<\/p>\n Officers with the Phoenix Police Department responded to the scene near\u00a035th Avenue and Thomas Road<\/a>\u00a0before 5 a.m.<\/p>\n They found the motorcyclist \u2014 later identified as 22-year-old\u00a0Elijah Payton\u00a0\u2014 unresponsive. The Phoenix Fire Department pronounced Payton dead at the scene.<\/p>\n RELATED STORIES<\/p>\n Man who trafficked almost 140 pounds of methamphetamine on I-10 sentenced to prison<\/a><\/p>\n A man who trafficked almost 140 pounds of methamphetamine in Arizona last year has been sentenced to seven years in prison, authorities announced Thursday.<\/p>\n Anthony Perez was sentenced last week and ordered to pay more than $5,000 in fines and surcharges, according to the Arizona Attorney General\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n On December 8, 2025, a trooper with the Arizona Department of Public Safety pulled him over after seeing him break multiple traffic laws on westbound Interstate 10.<\/p>\n One of those violations was driving without a license. In fact, prosecutors said he\u00a0never\u00a0was issued a driver\u2019s license. As a result, the vehicle was subject to towing and an inventory search.<\/p>\n During the search, officers found 138.8 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in duffel bags in the back seat.<\/p>\n Controversial West Valley data center wins approval despite 225 opposition letters<\/a><\/p>\n A controversial data center project in the West Valley is moving ahead.<\/p>\n Maricopa County\u2019s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a military special use permit for Project Baccara \u2013 a massive data center campus and accompanying gas power plant during an April 9 meeting.<\/p>\n The developer on the project, Takanock LLC, is a Michigan-based data center firm with four sites in three states. Across those sites it is investing $36 billion to prepare the land and build out massive new campuses, according to the company.<\/p>\n The 160-acre site it\u2019s working on in the West Valley is adjacent to Luke Air Force Base and just outside the city limits of Surprise and Glendale.<\/p>\n Arizona Democrats shocked by conditions at ICE holding facility at Mesa Gateway Airport<\/a><\/p>\n Arizona\u2019s three Democratic U.S. House members said they were shocked by what they saw during their unannounced visit to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility at Mesa Gateway Airport on Thursday night.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we saw inside the facility tonight was shocking \u2014 overcrowding to a level that was completely unacceptable,\u201d Rep. Greg Stanton\u00a0said during a news conference<\/a>\u00a0after witnessing the conditions at an ICE facility called the Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center with Reps. Adelita Grijalva and Yassamin Ansari.<\/p>\n Stanton said people are being held for multiple days in a facility meant for short-term stays for detainees before their deportation flights. He said the ICE facility was well over capacity, with detainees lying side by side on a concrete floor and more being bused in.<\/p>\n Grijalva said the visit was part of their congressional oversight responsibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe overcrowding situation is frightening. And you have people that are sick, people that are sweating, \u2026 women that need sanitary napkins and were asking me if I could get some for them,\u201d Grijalva said in a\u00a0video posted to social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n We want to hear from you.<\/p>\n Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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