u/Collie_Opterous

>B-movie comedian and Scottsdale resident Rob Schneider has been raging against the city’s recycled water program, which he scoffs at as “toilets-to-tap” – and worse.

>On Sept. 27, Schneider posted a threat to Borowsky on his X/Twitter account:

>“If you keep pushing this toilet water crap proposal, I will run against you in 2028 and become the next mayor of Scottsdale.”

>Deuce Bigelow to City Hall?

>Stay tuned.

>The Tennessee prisons chief overseeing the botched execution of Christa Pike on Wednesday was previously accused of mishandling prisoner executions in Arizona.

>Frank Strada, a former deputy director of Arizona's Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry, left the agency after several executions in the state were marred by complications.

>Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2023 commissioned an external review of Arizona's procedures, led by retired U.S. Magistrate Judge David Duncan. Duncan accused the agency of "chilling" shortcomings: Executions staff were under-prepared to administer lethal injections, consulting Wikipedia the night before an execution to confirm the proper dose, he told state officials in a draft of his findings.

>In an interview, Duncan told The Arizona Republic that the failed Tennessee execution was "very sad" but not surprising. He cited research finding that about a third of lethal injection executions run into complications.

>Duncan said he still doesn't have faith that Arizona will avoid a similar situation in the future, despite the state having performed several executions in recent years without incident. The process of lethal injection is "just risky" and "cloaked in secrecy," he argued, making it harder for officials to learn from their mistakes and blocking independent oversight.

>Hobbs and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, both Democrats, have said they are now confident in the state's execution procedures.

Originally published in The Arizona Republic: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/crime-public-safety/2026/10/02/tennessee-prisons-chief-accused-of-execution-failures-in-arizona/92059714007/

>Mitchell's team found eight noncitizens who had voted in Maricopa County.

>Eight.

>If you think that number is pathetic, it gets even worse. Of the eight, only three voted in the November 2020 presidential election. Of the eight, five are independents, two are registered Republicans and one is a registered Democrat. Of the eight, seven were seemingly registered in error. Of the eight, all are in the United States legally, most have been in Arizona for decades and one has been in Arizona for 72 years.

>Maricopa County has approximately 2.5 million registered voters. In the county's November 2020 general election, approximately 2.1 million people voted. The newly uncovered noncitizen voters made up 0.0001428% of the county's presidential vote that year. This finding is entirely consistent with other recent state and county audits.

Stephen Richer is the CEO of Republic Affairs, a legal fellow at the Cato Institute and a former Maricopa County recorder.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona keeps investigating voter fraud. The results are in | Opinion

>The 12,000-acre preserve 36 miles southeast of Willcox is already protected by the Antiquities Act of 1906, but being upgraded to national park status would draw more tourists to the region, according to leaders from both political parties, local communities, and outdoor and conservation organizations who pushed for the bill.

>“This is an incredible day for Willcox, Cochise County and all of southeastern Arizona,” Willcox Mayor Greg Hancock said in a statement. “We would not have been able to get this accomplished without some amazing partners. Senator Mark Kelly and Congressman Juan Ciscomani have championed this effort, worked across party lines and continued pushing it forward. We are extremely grateful for their leadership and commitment to southeastern Arizona.”

>Hunting would be impossible without ongoing efforts to conserve the millions of acres of public lands that sustain our wildlife in states like Arizona. Trump's order enacts policy changes that are ineffectual at best and counterproductive at worst when it comes to his stated goal of protecting hunting for future generations. Opening new areas of national wildlife refuges to hunting and overturning prohibitions on the use of lead ammunition, the order privileges immediate access and ease over long-term sustainability.

>The real purpose of this order, announced six weeks ahead of the midterms, is to serve as a smokescreen. Trump hopes to distract a key constituency from the fact that, in less than two years, the second Trump administration has worked harder to undercut the long-term viability of hunting in the United States than any administration in recent memory.

Alex Trimble Young is a Teaching Professor at Barrett, The Honors College, and the Associate Director of Arizona State University’s BRIDGS Initiative for Gun Studies, where he co-hosts the Guns Unpacked podcast with Jennifer Carlson. A lifelong hunter, he serves on the Arizona Chapter Board of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and was awarded the Arizona Wildlife Federation’s Aldo Leopold Award for Citizen Advocacy in 2024. His views are his own.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona hunters aren't buying Trump's conservation pitch | Opinion

>For Public Works Director Justin Weldy, this marks another milestone.

>“A project like this takes years of planning, coordination and funding before a single piece of asphalt is placed,” he said. “Seeing three eastbound lanes open today is the result of a lot of work by our staff, our contractors and our regional partners.”

>The town was responsible for just 30% of the roughly $3.2 million project while the Maricopa Association of Governments covered the remaining 70% through the Proposition 400 program.

>Years after losing a primary election to State Rep. Walt Blackman (R-LD7), Steve Slaton is still finding ways to challenge him — even if it means deriding Black Americans as “apes” on social media. 

>Blackman issued a press release on Friday calling on his fellow elected officials and community leaders to condemn the rhetoric. 

9/25 News Release

>STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Arizona State Representative Walt Blackman today called on elected officials and community leaders across the political spectrum to condemn social media content depicting Black Americans as apes and using degrading racial stereotypes.

>Arizona State University dining hall workers employed by Aramark submitted a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office alleging that a Muslim employee was forced by management to remove her hijab to continue working, despite her offering other solutions.

>This comes after a State Press report that also alleged Aramark disregarded student workers’ religious beliefs.

>The complaint asks Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to investigate the food service company’s religious discrimination and failure-to-accommodate practices at the ASU facilities it serves and to include employees who are not represented the UNITE HERE Local 11 union, such as student workers.

>Across Arizona Tours filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Arizona, seeking to block a $100-per-person surcharge and higher annual pass prices for visitors who are neither U.S. citizens nor residents.

>The fees took effect Jan. 1 after an executive order from President Donald Trump, according to the complaint. The surcharge applies to visitors ages 16 and older at 11 national park destinations, including the Grand Canyon, unless covered by an annual pass.

>Co-owner Carole Stapleton said in a news release that she surveyed 80 to 90 potential international customers who decided against booking tours, with most citing the increased fees as a major factor, according to the suit.

>The company also says residency verification requirements have added administrative work and prompted it to stop offering Grand Canyon tours to international students at Arizona State University.

>This year's event features a new partnership between Fountain Hills Sister Cities and the International Dark Sky Discovery Center. Oktoberfest ticket holders will receive exclusive early access to telescope stargazing, as well as the center's lobby and gift shop.

The IDSDC is an endeavor supported by the City of Scottsdale: https://www.experiencescottsdale.com/listing/international-dark-sky-discovery-center/55695/

Tonight's 3.5 hour public hearing can be watched on SUSD's Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZOXPnaGjbY

>“David Redkey communicated threats of violence to a Superior Court judge and an attorney’s office. TMU [Threat Management Unit] detectives contacted him on Sept. 19, and he admitted to the communications,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

>Redkey qualified for the Nov. 3 general election ballot as the Arizona Green Party nominee in the 3rd Congressional District. Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari is heavily favored to win reelection in the Phoenix district.

>However, Redkey does not have the support of the party, which lists him as “actively opposed” in its candidate endorsement ratings.

Just a head's up, in case he tries to join your side after this blows over.

I'm not an Oktoberfest guy. But I'm very intrigued by the idea of a Dark Sky Oktoberfest.

Source: https://fountainhillssistercities.org/event/oktoberfest-in-fountain-hills/2026-10-02/

Source: https://fountainhillssistercities.org/oktoberfest/

For more info on IDSDC: https://darkskycenter.org/dark-sky-observatory/

>For local grower Tyler Woodman, however, the story goes back much further.

>“I have been ‘dealing with it’ for about 20 years,” Woodman said.

>Woodman said one of the things that troubled him most was the feeling that responsibility for oversight was fragmented among agencies.

>“Overall, I just kinda got this weird feeling that no one was really in charge and ADEQ didn’t really have the tools they needed to enforce things even if they wanted to,” he said.

>Woodman himself is also now facing a defamation lawsuit filed by AgTech over statements he made while speaking publicly about the company’s operations.

>But perhaps his explanation for continuing to dig best captures why the issue has resonated with so many people in Yuma.

>“It’s a double-edged sword,” Woodman said. “You don’t want to be wrong about what you think is going on, but you also don’t want to find out you’re living next to a superfund site.”

>Whatever comes next, one part of the history is already clear: Yuma did not suddenly discover this issue in 2026.

>Residents had been complaining. Growers had been asking questions. County officials had been pressing state agencies for action. The Board of Supervisors had formally requested termination of the lease.

>For years, Yuma kept making noise.

>This September, the state finally listened.

>DVUSD superintendent sees déjà vu in unaccountable school-choice environment

Dr. Curtis Finch is Deer Valley Unified School District superintendent.

>I’ve seen this before.

>When the main character, Neo, sees the same black cat walk by twice in the original movie “The Matrix,” he asks his colleagues, “Do you ever have déjà vu?” His partners instantly know something is wrong. Déjà vu is usually not a good thing. In the political world, we see it all the time.

>Here’s why Arizona voters should pay attention: I was a superintendent in Michigan for 18 years, and I watched as Republicans secured control of the state House of Representatives and Senate, state Supreme Court majority and governorship during a decade-long run in the early 2000s. That came after a four-decade Democratic reign.

>Once in power, the Republican legislature in Michigan copied Florida’s voucher, charter and private-school program models, with few accountability measures. I warned Michigan’s leadership that if they didn’t put some guardrails around these programs, that abuse, fraud and waste would prevail — and eventually, taxpayers would hold them accountable.

>They didn’t listen.

>Today, Republicans in Michigan hold only the Senate. They lost political control after going against the voters on voucher, charter and private-school accountability and transparency.

>That same process is playing out here in Arizona. Voters are fed up with an unaccountable school-choice environment and a $1 billion voucher program.

>I hate to be the canary in the coal mine, but the November ballot may be about much more than vouchers. It may be about whether elected officials listen when taxpayers and voters keep saying, enough is enough.

>Déjà vu, Arizona.

>The signs haven’t gone unnoticed.

>Arizona Reddit users have posted photos and accounts of the signs appearing throughout South Phoenix, Laveen, Mesa and Chandler. A post in the Chandler subreddit garnered hundreds of comments after claiming the signs were at nearly every intersection on the user’s morning commute.

NOTE: The post in the Chandler subreddit was removed by the moderator.

>The misleading campaign raises a basic question about political advertising: What can a political group legally put on a sign? And when an ad makes a claim about who supports a candidate, what, if anything, does Arizona law require the group to prove?

>Generally, false or misleading claims in political ads aren’t regulated or overseen. 

>Arizona law restricts the distribution of certain deceptive synthetic depictions of candidates within 90 days of an election unless they contain a clear disclosure that the content is not human-made. The statute, though, is specifically aimed to rein in AI-style media that falsely depicts a candidate as saying or doing something they did not do. It does not, by itself, regulate every potentially false or misleading claim made in political advertising.

>Arizona also has separate laws governing disclosures on political advertisements. Those provisions require campaign advertisements to identify who paid for them and whether a candidate authorized them, among other requirements. Not whether claims or marketing is accurate or true. 

>Research released by the Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) reveals that voters across the state want candidates to clearly outline the specific steps they will take on major priorities, rather than simply stating positions on hot-button issues.

>According to the report:

• 93% of Arizona voters say it is important to have opportunities to hear candidates directly answer questions on major issues.
• 80% of voters consider those opportunities “very important.”
• Support is nearly identical across parties: 94% of Republicans, 94% of Democrats and 91% of independent or unaffiliated voters agreed.

>Rather than ideological posturing, most voters favor pragmatic problem-solving. When asked about leadership styles, 63% of respondents said they prefer leaders who build practical solutions to the state’s top issues, even if they disagree on every political stance.

>That preference held true across party lines, backed by 67% of independents, 64% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans. Meanwhile, 33% of voters preferred leaders who consistently stand up for political values even when it makes compromise harder.

>The production runs October 22 through 31 at the college’s Performing Arts Center, 9000 E Chaparral Road, according to a press release.

Since the article's paywalled, more info can be found here: https://www.scottsdalecc.edu/news/2026/sink-your-teeth-sccs-haunting-production-dracula

I feel both hesitant yet compelled to post this.

MODS: I understand if this is considered Not Oniony.

This is full on Dr. Strangelove Doomsday Machine shit.

*cue Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again"*