Latest
Groundwater regulation weaknesses exploited by industrial-scale agriculture
Over the past 15 years, even with groundwater restrictions in effect that limit new irrigated land, at least several thousand acres of dormant farmland have again started siphoning groundwater to sustain new crops in Arizona’s Douglas basin, often under industrial-scale owners that consolidated the land—and the grandfathered water rights tied to it—into massive operations.
Our methods: Groundwater regulation weakness exploited by large farms
To understand the growth of active farmland and groundwater declines in the Douglas basin, AZCIR analyzed data from local and state agencies, including the Arizona Department of Water Resources, as well as satellite data compiled by federal agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
RECENT
State leaders misled public about scope of Medicaid fraud crisis
State leaders have admitted that fraudulent billing extended beyond a small portion of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, contradicting previous assertions that fraud only impacted a small share of the agency. The revelations came to light after AZCIR pressed AHCCCS about its waiver of key provider screenings during the pandemic, ultimately affecting the…
Arizona bill aims to reclaim social equity licenses from investors, corporate marijuana dispensaries
Arizona lawmakers have proposed a bill to return social equity licenses to their original owners, alleging private investors and cannabis corporations used predatory tactics to seize control of nearly all the lucrative marijuana dispensary licenses.
Arizona could become latest state to ban attendance-related suspensions
An Arizona lawmaker is again trying to bar schools from using out-of-school suspensions to punish students who miss class, arguing the strategy is not only ineffective but harmful. House Bill 2218 is Rep. Laura Terech’s second attempt to ban the practice of suspending Arizona students for tardiness and truancy, after a 2022 investigation by AZCIR…
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Health
AHCCCS alerted to ‘predictable’ homelessness surge before fraud crackdown
The embattled state agency at the center of Arizona’s ongoing behavioral health crisis knew its proposed billing reforms could trigger a surge in homelessness nearly a year before implementing the changes, yet failed to prepare accordingly. Though AHCCCS claims it worked to connect victims with ‘reputable’ housing, it arranged for just three facilities—all in the Phoenix area—to meet overwhelming statewide need.
EDUCATION
GOP-led push to fund police over counselors leaves some schools ‘in the lurch’
Strings attached to Arizona School Safety Program dollars are leaving school counselor and social worker positions unfunded throughout the state, as Republican leaders prioritize boosting campus police instead. The apparent mismatch between what schools need and what certain state leaders want to give them reflects an ongoing clash over which types of positions actually make…
IN THE SHERIFF WE TRUST
This project, In the Sheriff We Trust, was produced by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, in collaboration with the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. The Howard Center is based at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and is an initiative of the Scripps Howard Fund in honor of the late news industry executive and pioneer Roy W. Howard.
ENVIRONMENT
Whispers of groundwater regulations spur surges of deeper, higher-capacity wells
Arizona farmers and water experts worry that further delay in groundwater legislation will allow larger, often corporate-backed farms to continue expanding their share of groundwater before future regulation takes effect. By applying for new wells that go deeper, often with higher capacity pumps, those with the financial resources to drill them can extract so much…
Law enforcement
Despite warnings, safeguard to prevent extremist training for law enforcement removed
A rule change that lowers the bar for extremist organizations to radicalize law enforcement through training was enacted on April 5, despite a series of letters from civil rights groups urging Arizona’s governor and attorney general to take preemptive action. The groups are particularly worried about so-called “constitutional sheriff” training, which they say contains false…
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part i — sovereign citizens
‘Sovereign citizen’ filings flood Pima County, parallel national resurgence of controversial movement
Adherents of the sovereign citizen ideology have garnered a reputation for conflict with government officials and members of the public—conflicts that, in some cases, have turned violent. More commonly, they engage in so-called paper terrorism tactics, threatening and harassing people by inundating them with lawsuits and liens.
