After losing a state land auction to HonorHealth last November, the state’s largest health system plans to build a $400 million hospital campus down the street. Phoenix-based Banner Health plans to purchase 48 acres of land on the southwest corner of Hayden Road and Loop 101 in north Scottsdale — near a separate 48-acre parcel of state land where it had planned to build at the northeast corner of Hayden and Loop 101.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of ONE Community’s UNITY Pledge, which is now the largest equality pledge in the nation. Ten years ago today, on February 13th, 2013, ONE Community launched the UNITY Pledge, a concerted effort by businesses, organizations and individuals who support equal treatment and inclusive non-discrimination policies in employment, housing, and public accommodations for LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies.
The U.S. Department of Energy recently approved the Arizona Department of Housing’s updated Weatherization Assistance Program plan. The DOE is expected to release 35% of total funding to the state as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which amounts to $47 million, according to a press release. Arizona’s WAP is among the first in the nation to be approved.
Maricopa County’s ozone levels are getting worse, harming the health of its 4.5 million residents and threatening to cost the region billions of dollars in the coming years. In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency reclassified the county from marginal to moderate for non-attainment of ozone limits. This means we not only are failing the EPA’s latest ozone standards but also that our air has more of one of the most dangerous air pollutants.
The Phoenix City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to spend up to $230 million over the next five years to purchase low- and no-emission buses as part of the city’s plans to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. “We’re good on clean tech as a City Council,” Mayor Kate Gallego said after the vote. Phoenix has more than 500 buses that regularly travel 48 routes. While the current buses use alternative fuels that are considered cleaner than traditional gasoline, the City Council in December voted to transition to a zero-emission fleet by 2040.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend nearly $500 million on projects to reduce wildfire risk in 11 areas in Western states, including Arizona, the department said Thursday. The new funding, $490 million, comes from Democrats’ budget, climate and taxes law that passed last year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on a call with reporters. The funding will allow the U.S. Forest Service, an agency within USDA, to treat more than 27 million acres across seven states, including Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon.
Eurofins CellTx which provides comprehensive laboratory services to meet the unique testing and processing needs of the transplant community, has officially began operating in the new laboratory located at the University of Arizona (UA) Tech Park. Eurofins CellTx is a member of the Eurofins Transplant Diagnostics family of laboratories and part Eurofins Scientific, a leading international group of laboratories providing an unparalleled range of testing and support services to the pharmaceutical, food, environmental and consumer products industries and to governments. Eurofins Scientific is a worldwide leader in its field with 55,000 employees across 900 sites in 50 countries.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona announced that it will be supporting the contract awarded to TriWest Healthcare Alliance to administer the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) next generation TRICARE program, known as “T-5,” for its 26-state West Region territory. TRICARE is the uniformed services health care program for active duty service members (ADSMs), active duty family members (ADFMs), National Guard and Reserve members and their family members, retirees and retiree family members, survivors, and certain former spouses.
During a nine-day heat wave in the Pacific Northwest in June 2021, temperatures rose a staggering 18 to 54 degrees above average. A new study in the journal Nature Climate Change describes the larger-scale forces at work — some of which could affect the Southwest.
Scottsdale-based Axon Enterprise Inc., a maker of equipment and systems for law enforcement agencies, saw its shares surge Wednesday after reporting record revenue for the third quarter, beating analysts’ earnings estimates and forecasting continued momentum. Axon (Nasdaq:AXON) said its revenue was $312 million for Q3, which was 34.5% above the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 60 cents per share, well over the consensus estimate of 49 cents.