FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1922, the last federal troops left Fort Apache, a major outpost during the Apache Wars. This undated photo shows the officers’ quarters and the administration building.

Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill into law allowing retired police officers to serve as school security. Get the details in Top Stories. Here’s a recap of the bills she approved and vetoed last Friday.

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Don’t feel like reading the national edition of The Flyover? Tune in to The Flyover Podcast! New episodes drop daily. Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, all in under 15 minutes.

Law Lets Schools Hire Retired Cops

Gov. Katie Hobbs signed an education bill into law allowing schools to hire retired police officers, broadening the pool of officers allowed to provide security.

State schools superintendent Tom Horne applauded the decision, saying it helps resolve a shortage of school resource officers. Currently, some schools share officers or require them to work extra shifts during their off-duty hours.

The law also directs schools to create emergency response plans and train officers to interact with disabled children, while exempting school blueprints from public records requests.

Horne called on school districts that have opted out of hiring armed officers to reconsider. Schools that choose not to hire officers can use the money for security infrastructure upgrades.

Pilot Error Cited in Deadly Crash

A 2024 helicopter crash that killed a U.S. Marine from Arizona and four others resulted from pilot error and other factors, according to investigators.

Chandler resident Sgt. Alec Langen, 23, was among those killed when a CH-53 Super Stallion crashed into a mountain during a late-night flight near California’s Pine Valley in February 2024.

Investigators said the crew’s use of night vision goggles during a period of low cloud cover and precipitation likely obscured mountainous terrain along the flight path.

Also, the crew’s commanding officer should not have given approval to fly in such conditions, they said. In a televised interview, Langen’s parents called on the Marine Corps to implement further safety standards.

Probe Launched into Heat Death

The state public utilities commission agreed to investigate Arizona Public Service after an 82-year-old woman died last May during extreme heat while her power was cut off for nonpayment.

The decision was announced after state Attorney General Kris Mayes demanded that the commission open a public investigation into Sun City resident Kate Korman’s death, which medical examiners said was caused by chronic alcoholism and heat exposure.

The decision also follows a fiery social media exchange between Korman’s two sons and Arizona Corporation Commission Vice Chair Nick Myers, who said the men failed to protect their mother.

The utility said that, before cutting off the power, it made several attempts to contact Korman, who’d fallen three months behind on her energy bill. Her body was discovered six days after the power was shut off.

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➤ Lake Havasu: Arizona State University closed its local campus, attended by more than 200 students and staffed by 20 faculty members. (Watch)

➤ Tucson: Officials are using sheep to target overgrowth of buffelgrass, which contributes to wildfires and threatens other plant life. (Watch)

➤ Glendale: Police are looking for three individuals who they say may have vital information regarding the shooting death of three people at a Cinco de Mayo eve celebration on Sunday. They are not considered suspects. (Photos)

➤ Capitol: U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Phoenix, accused U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Arkansas, of buying $1.6 million in stocks for companies he oversees as a committee chairman. Westerman denied any wrongdoing, saying the stock purchases were made by an investment advisor without his knowledge. (Details)

➤ Cottonwood: Police released bodycam footage showing officers issuing repeated warnings ahead of an April 27 fatal shooting of an armed man. (Watch Footage—Warning: Graphic.)

➤ Chandler: An unidentified adult male suffered serious injuries in a trench collapse on Wednesday. (More)

➤ Baseball fans are sending Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly jars of pickles to help him deal with cramps that have ended a handful of his starts. Some believe the juice from pickles provides cramp relief. (More)

➤ New Phoenix Suns General Manager Brian Gregory said he’s looking for a head coach who wants “toughness” and “physicality” during games. (More)

➤ Arizona Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said, “We’re maybe at the 5-yard line” for a deal to fund stadium renovations at Chase Field. (Details)

➤ Pima Community College became the first community college in Arizona to offer name, image, and likeness opportunities for student athletes. See more stories like this at NIL Wire.

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➤ A study found Sierra Vista home prices are the cheapest among Arizona’s large cities, costing nearly $40 per square foot less than the next lowest city, Tucson. Flagstaff ranked as the most expensive. (Details)

➤ Trader Joe’s and Black Rock Coffee are among the tenants planned for Goodyear’s GSQ mixed-use development in the West Valley. (Details)

➤ IKEA will open a one-level, 75,000-square-foot, smaller-format store in Phoenix that will include a Swedish deli. (More)

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➤ An East Valley basketball coach continues to recover after a life-threatening brain hemorrhage that led to two strokes. (More)

➤ The Canyon Vista Medical Center in Sierra Vista is accepting nominations for its Veterans’ Wall. (Watch)

➤ Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill allowing the state to keep unclaimed cryptocurrency if the owner fails to respond to communications within three years. (Details)

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