Heidi Hommel

1 week ago | ktar.com | Heidi Hommel |Hailey Mensik

PHOENIX — The Arizona Corporation Commission has opened a docket to study the impact high-energy use data centers have on utility rates. Data centers are facilities that house computer servers for technology companies like Waymo, Apple and Microsoft to store data. ACC Chairman Kevin Thompson opened the docket to ensure the costs needed to power data centers are not shifted onto residential consumers.

3 weeks ago | ktar.com | Heidi Hommel |Colton Krolak

PHOENIX — State leaders are poised for an early start to the Arizona fire season this year. Fire Officer John Truett with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said carryover vegetation from a dry fall has dried out even more due to lack of rain during the winter and spring. “We’re coming off of several years of drought, we’re experiencing a very extreme dryness out in our vegetation this year,” Truett said during a Tuesday news conference.

4 weeks ago | ktar.com | Heidi Hommel |Colton Krolak |Shira Tanzer |Payne Moses

PHOENIX — Several high-profile technology companies have set up operations in Arizona, sparking concerns about the environmental impact of their services. For example, the increasing demand for artificial intelligence has led to a rise in the need for data centers, which provide the computing storage capacity required for AI. However, these data centers consume a significant amount of energy and rely on water-intensive cooling systems to manage the heat generated during energy production.

1 month ago | ktar.com | Heidi Hommel |Payne Moses |Arizona Central

PHOENIX — An Arizona bill that would activate the Emergency Alert System when an Indigenous person goes missing has reached the state Senate. HB2281 passed unanimously in the Arizona House and allows an alert to be sent out for anyone who disappears under suspicious circumstances. If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill would allow law enforcement to ask the Department of Public Safety to issue alerts for Native and non-Native Arizonans of any age. State Rep.

2 months ago | ktar.com | Heidi Hommel |Payne Moses

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a three-part special series called “Immigration in Arizona Today” that dives into the latest border issues affecting the state. PHOENIX — Since his inauguration last month, President Donald Trump has been making good on a campaign promise to carry out the largest deportation effort in American history.