Trump's border wall scarred sacred lands, displaced wildlife and drained water. Can it be taken down?
Along the southernmost edge of Arizona, where the San Pedro River once flowed freely over the border from its headwaters in Mexico, a 30-foot steel wall slices across the channel. The barrier resembles a fortress, with massive floodgates, a concrete bridge and light poles that tower over the riverbed. (This project won the 2022 Arizona Sustainability Leadership Award in the Writing category)
Between anger and sadness: How the climate crisis has become a mental health crisis
What Phoenix Heberling remembers most about the tornado is the screaming. She was 2, living in a trailer park in rural Indiana, and her father and some friends were having a party when he got a phone call. Get out now, a tornado is headed straight for you.
Few resources, long distances and a fearless outlook make heat deadlier in rural Arizona
It was a hot day in the middle of July when Janine Acton pulled up to the squat, fifth-wheel trailer in Bouse, a town about 30 miles from the Arizona-California border that would feel like the edge of the frontier except for the buzzing of four-wheelers out in the desert.
'It makes me so angry': First-time voters want leaders to act now on climate change
Thirty years from now, when the youngest Gen Zers are in their mid-50s, human-propelled climate change could displace over 1 billion people and ruin ecosystems.
From hero to zero: Arizona was a leader in climate policy 15 years ago. What happened?
In the early 2000s, growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the planet led Arizona to develop a comprehensive state climate action plan. Other states soon followed. But Arizona is not the leader it was 15 years ago when the state led the West on regional haze and then climate policy.
'Hey, we're here': Black conservationists claim their space in their field
Darren Chapman was caught between two cities, and in the middle, there was the land. Chapman grew up in Phoenix and Los Angeles during the 1970s, going to school in each city for half the year. For Chapman, the long ride on the Amtrak was a breath of fresh air.
On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, another global crisis looms
For Kianna Joe, finding a path forward required looking back. As a young Navajo woman, Joe was raised to have respect for the land and wildlife. It wasn't until her teenage years that she became actively involved in the environmental movement.
Burrowing owls face crisis from growth but there’s hope
It's easy to get lost in the quirks of this amusing little bird — a burrowing owl — but their plight is all too real. They are the only raptor in North America that lives underground, which puts them particularly at risk as development continues at a rapid pace across metro Phoenix, part of the fastest growing county in the country.
Concerns grow that Trump's wall will damage rivers, wildlife habitat on Arizona border
As construction moves forward in this rugged corner of conservative Cochise County, long-cultivated relationships among local ranchers, environmental groups and Border Patrol agents have begun to unravel, the mistrust fed by a lack of communication and reliable information. Agencies that worked together a decade ago are now on shaky ground.
Winter air really is worse in south, west Phoenix. Here's why
Columba Sainz used to spend more time outside with her two young daughters. When her husband got home from work in the evenings, the four of them would go directly to the nearby park in their neighborhood in Tempe. Sometimes they'd be there until 9 or 10 at night.
What’s the Best Way to Change an Abuser?
Court-ordered treatment programs are meant to reform violent men. It’s not clear if they’re working.
In India’s Sundarbans, communities shrink as their island sinks
Twice a month, the tide comes in ripples, swelling the rivers that characterize the Sundarbans, a region of about 200 low-lying archipelagos in the Bay of Bengal and the largest delta in the world. Straddling India and Bangladesh, the Sundarbans is most known, and studied, for its extraordinary biodiversity: mangrove forests, Bengal tigers, and hundreds of other wildlife species. But global heating has caused the islands to become known for something else: climate refugees. Despite the fact that this delta region is home to some 7.5 million people, the challenges the people of the Sundarbans face have received little attention in global climate talks.
Thousands of Central American Kids Planned to Reunite With Family in the U.S. Trump Shut Them Out.
Jorge last saw his daughter Bany in 1998, when he left El Salvador to find work in the United States. His wife Silvia followed him a few years later, leaving Bany with Jorge’s parents until they could afford to bring her to their new home in Northern California. “The cost of coyotes started to get more and more expensive and we started hearing of cases of girls getting raped or killed,” Jorge recalled. “We just didn’t want to risk it.” Bany was one when he left; she is now 21 years old. “I haven’t spent a Father’s Day with her, or even a single Christmas together,” he said. “I have never felt a hug from her.”
A question of consent: Should these videos have negated woman's case against conductor?
A 22-year-old says she was sexually assaulted by a Caltrain conductor while intoxicated. Should prosecutors have relied on videos of her boarding to dismiss the case?
Drones Spray Tree Seeds From the Sky to Fight Deforestation
Every year, about 15 billion trees are cut down to make way for agriculture, mining, logging, and urban sprawl. Such mass deforestation has accelerated global warming and imperiled the survival of millions of species. Though many nations, organizations, and even individuals have tried, no one has been able to plant enough trees to make up for that loss—but some innovative entrepreneurs are working on a high-tech solution.
Deadly Klamathon Fire forces Gov. Brown to declare state of emergency
A wildfire that leaped over the Klamath River before surging into the woodlands near the Oregon-California border claimed the first fire-season fatality in the state Friday morning, and kept fire crews racing to contain it all day.
Why did they call it the Carr Fire? Explaining the names behind the flames
The names that have become part of California’s annals of tragedy — Tubbs, Nuns, and now Carr and Ferguson — were christened in the midst of chaos. Firefighters have to call the new one something, fast, so everyone gets coordinated as the conflagration spreads. And fires almost always spread quickly.
Young and Undocumented
It's not always on their minds. But there are moments when it rushes to the forefront. Lizette was at school working on homework when a boy in her class jokingly said he'd call immigration on her and her family. Maria was excitedly talking to her father about the internship program at her new high school, when he told her to be careful, because they would probably ask for a Social Security number when she applied.
Inside the Last-Minute Effort to Protect Dreamers From Deportation
On a recent Saturday, as picnickers and sun worshippers relaxed in San Francisco’s Dolores Park, 200 people spent the afternoon across the street in the cafeteria of Mission High School, trying to extend their status as recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The free legal consultation was the last city-sponsored workshop before the October 5 deadline for DACA renewal applications to be received by the Department of Homeland Security.
Fear of Deportation Often Keeps Undocumented Victims of Domestic Violence Silent
After nearly ten years of marriage, Marlena's husband left her. This would not be the first time he had left her and their two young children - many times he had disappeared for days with no explanation. He was always in and out of jail. But this time, it would be the last.
Charges filed against Oakland’s ‘Jogger Joe’ as case shows immense power of shared videos
An Oakland man who became known as "Jogger Joe" when he paused during a run to throw away a homeless man's makeshift camp beside Lake Merritt was charged Wednesday with robbery in a case that displays the growing power of videos people share on social media in an effort to gain instant justice.
Inside a Spray Truck During a Night of Mosquito Spraying
“While the insecticide is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for treatment, residents … should avoid contact with the spray by staying indoors. Persons inside a vehicle while trucks are actively spraying should remain in their vehicles with the windows up and the air conditioner on until the trucks pass and the spray is no longer visible. Persons out during the scheduled spraying time should be alert for trucks and should not follow them. Residents who come in contact with the spray are advised to wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water. The spray breaks down quickly in the presence of sunlight and has no residual effect.”
City Ready to Spend Millions To Make Food Deserts Bloom, But Will It Work?
One day in November 2014, Anga Sanders had a revelation when she walked into an Albertson's at Mckinney and Lemmon Avenues. She stopped in her tracks, staring at the salad bar just a few yards within the entrance of the store - the fresh greens, the tomatoes, bell peppers, bacon bits, even pineapple toppings - and realized that there was absolutely nothing like this south of the Trinity River.
SF city worker killed on job remembered for her toughness, humor
Hundreds gathered at a church in the Mission District on Friday, filling the stone steps leading up to the doors of St. Peter's Catholic Church and spilling into Alabama Street almost to the corner of 24th Street.
Is DPD Ready For the Psychological Damage of the Downtown Ambush?
Ensuring mental wellness has long been an under-appreciated task for the heads of police agencies. Displaying stoicism is deeply ingrained in the professional culture of police officers and other emergency-response personnel.
Dallas' Homeless Are Not Impressed By the City's Latest Homeless Commission
This isn’t the first time the city has created some sort of coalition saying it's getting serious about fighting long-term obstacles facing Dallas' homeless citizens.
Two Years Into State’s Foster Care Redesign, North Texas Sees Tentative Improvement
An experiment in a new way of managing the bloated system has been unfolding in North Texas. In what has been dubbed Foster Care Redesign, Tarrant County-based nonprofit ACH Child and Family Services has partnered with DFPS to implement reforms in managing foster children in seven counties (Tarrant, Palo Pinto, Parker, Johnson, Hood, Somervell and Erath).
Inside the Dallas Homeless Shelter Where Patrick Ward Died
“He was laughin', smiling; he was his normal self,” Eubanks says. “We went in (to the shelter), he got a shower, got in a bed, took a nap 'til dinner time. That was his routine. After dinner time, he’d crack a Bible open. He didn't crack it open this time.”
Odessa Police Could Have Acted Earlier in Domestic Abuse Case That Left Woman Dead
The day before she was killed, 32-year-old Odessan Monica Deming and her father, former Odessa Police Department officer Jon Nielsen, had breakfast at Dumpling's -- her favorite restaurant. Shaky and pale, she was not herself that morning. In fact, Deming had not been herself for the past five weeks.
Access To Abortion Clinics Particularly Difficult For West Texas Women
When in 2011 the Texas Legislature cut funding to any women's health care facilities providing abortion care, Planned Parenthood clinics across the state had to make a choice. Soon, the state enacted another law that not only cut funding to those who provided abortions, but cut funding to those who referred to or even provided education about abortion. "If you had devised a way to shut down small, rural health care that was providing family planning that was it," said Carla Holeva, former CEO of Planned Parenthood of West Texas.
Meet The Homeless Man Who's Trying To Organize Dallas' Homeless
James Dunn comes hurtling out of the shade of the tree-laced AT&T Plaza downtown, holding a cell phone that just ran out of batteries and a folder full of looseleaf paper. The 59-year-old has been fielding calls from hundreds of homeless across the city and taking down notes for how to make substantive changes to their situations.
Aerial Spray Against Mosquitos Might Have Hidden Risks
As the cases of Zika and West Nile Virus continue to rise in Dallas County (20 Zika cases and ten West Nile as of today) more pesticides will be sprayed from trucks in more neighborhoods, insect repellent will be applied to ourselves and our children more thoroughly, and aerial spraying will be considered by cities across the county. All of these products have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and encouraged by our local Health and Human Services division.
Planned Parenthood Closures Test Women’s Health Care Resources In Midland
In 2011, the Texas Legislature severely cut funding to groups that provided education about abortion and/or provided abortion service. By far, the organization most impacted by this law was Planned Parenthood, whose primary funding source was from the state, even if its centers did not perform surgical or medical abortions.
Coverage of Murder Trial For Slayer of Richardson Gay Pornographer
Trial begins For Slayer of Richardson Gay Pornographer: Richardson firefighters who came to an office building on the 500 block of E. Arapaho were met with an odd chemical smell, too rancid for a regular fire. The source of the blaze was a nondescript suite with no business name on it, Suite 105. What they found inside on the evening of November 17, 2015 would lead to a strange and horrific story, one of a long-time fetish pornographer and a young man who apparently snapped under the pressure to perform.
Verdict Is In For Murderer of Richardson Pornographer: The clock is ticking towards five o'clock Thursday evening and the jury is still deliberating whether or not Daeveion Mangum, 20, should be found guilty of murdering 60-year-old Michael Castagne in his office on the 500 block of E. Arapahoe Rd on November 17th last year. The question is not whether Mangum committed the murder or not, but rather if he reacted because he believed Castagne was attempting to commit sexual assault against him that evening - that it was a crime of self defense.
Small Permian Basin Towns Feel The Pangs Of Oil Downturn
Wilson has watched four oil busts come and go, and this downturn is more like the others than different, he thinks. "In the '80s, many of our businesses hadn't seen a bust before, and they got in trouble in a hurry," Wilson said. "This time, for a whole lot of our businesses, this is not their first rodeo." Still, Permian Basin towns are struggling with low oil prices and oilfield activity at a fraction of what it was two years ago.
Addiction, Midland-Style
It’s about 6:30 on a Tuesday evening, and Dwayne Gallentine, aka D-Day, has shed his workday mask of a collared shirt and dress pants in favor of his usual: jeans and a T-shirt, black boots and a leather jacket with a patch on the back that screams, “Messengers: Clean and Sober.”
Tornadoes Cause Extensive Damage
GARDEN CITY -- Delia Pierson returned to the north end of Glasscock County on Monday afternoon to a scene of friends, family and county workers cleaning up the wreckage of what used to be her home. It had been destroyed by one of several tornadoes that came through Howard and Glasscock counties Sunday night.
Crisis Response Team Unit Aims For Jail Diversion
“Everybody wants to be a cop to put the bad guys in jail,” Carrasco said. “That was my first intention, to enforce the law and put the dirtbags in jail. But then you get out there and you see what’s going on and you realize you can really help people. No one wants to do what we’re doing (in CRT). They say, ‘Y’all just deal with the crazies.’ No, it’s not so simple as that.”
Lack Of Foster Homes Leads To Kids Being Sent Far From Home County
Eighty percent of the foster children in Region 9 - which includes Midland and Odessa - are sent more than 50 miles away because of the lack of local foster homes, according to Child Protective Services data.
Veterans Share The Impacts Of 9/11’s Wars
Today marks the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that sparked the two longest wars in American history, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Midlander Richard Vernon, 31, remembers a particular Father’s Day in Afghanistan. It was either in his first or second of three deployments, ‘07 to ‘08 or ‘09-’10. He’s pretty sure it was his second, but he can’t quite remember. The tours melt together.
Female Vets Face Unique Challenges When They Come Home
As an air traffic controller, she was one of very few women in her unit. She immediately began to experience sexual harassment from her peers and superiors, she said. “That’s what we face when we’re in,” Sawyers said. “It shouldn’t be going on at all, and at least not as much as it’s going on right now. Women don’t know what to do. We’re scared that they’ll blame it on us, that we’re somehow causing it.” About 1 in 4 of the more than 2 million female veterans suffer from military sexual trauma (MST) as a result of experiencing sexual assault or repeated sexual harassment during their military service.
Growing Up In Midland
Two 16-year-old girls walk through the doors of Midland Park Mall into a gust of air conditioning -- a relief from the heat of summer. Mackenzie Butts has light red hair pulled into a low bun, skinny jeans and an oversized plaid shirt. Her blue eyes are rimmed by black eyeliner.
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