City of Phoenix
Eviction looms for Phoenix mobile home residents
The Phoenix City Council balked at an action that may have prevented hundreds of mobile home residents from being evicted in the coming months. Instead, the council voted 5-4 on Wednesday to allocate $2.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act money to an emergency mobile home displacement fund to help residents facing eviction, and to […]
Phoenix City Council bans ‘source of income’ discrimination for renters, home buyers
The Phoenix City Council has given overwhelming approval to a measure that would prevent landlords and property owners from discriminating against renters or buyers who rely on public assistance for income. The council voted 8-1 on March 1 for the “source of income” ordinance, which is similar to a Tucson law that is currently being […]
City of Phoenix commits to leave more Colorado River water in Lake Mead
In an effort to keep water levels in Lake Mead from declining at a drastic rate, the City of Phoenix announced that it will leave an additional 14,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water in the lake this year. Mayor Kate Gallego and members of the Phoenix City Council approved the move on July 1 as […]
‘Our life could be in danger’: Phoenix residents protest landlord in the face of retaliation
For the residents of the Lazy Daze Mobile Home Park in Phoenix, standing up to management means retaliation — but the community feels they have no other options because they worry their lives depend on it. “When you go to sleep, you never know if you’re going to get up the next morning,” resident Rosa […]
Phoenix police oversight office’s first director begins work
The first director of a new city office overseeing complaints filed against the Phoenix Police Department is on the job. Roger Smith runs the Office of Accountability and Transparency, which was established in May on a 5-4 vote of the City Council after months of testimony about Phoenix police conduct and complaints about a lack of […]
South Phoenix residents seek preservation of historic palm trees displaced by light rail
On a late summer afternoon, Victor Vidales walked along the one-acre lot of his backyard that is temporarily housing more than two dozen palm trees. Dried weeds and rocky soil crunched under his flip flops. “If these trees could talk, what would they say?” Vidales said, as the tall and thin palm trees towered over […]
Light rail construction the final straw for Azukar Coffee, the latest South Phoenix business to close
Azukar Coffee could have been a destination along the light rail extension that will eventually extend from downtown along Central Avenue into South Phoenix, ending at Baseline Road. Instead, the coffee shop that showcased Mexican culture and the neighborhood’s entrepreneurial spirit joins nearly two dozen other businesses as a casualty of the light rail construction […]
Justice Department probing Phoenix Police Department over allegations of excessive force
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the City of Phoenix and its police department, to review whether law enforcement officers there have engaged in a pattern of excessive force and discriminatory practices, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday. The investigation is the third in a series of […]
Police critics arrested after 2019 immigration protest sue Phoenix, police
A man who Phoenix police arrested during an interview with the Arizona Mirror at a July 2019 protest and another bystander who police mistook for a right-wing agitator have filed a lawsuit against the City of Phoenix and several police officers.
Class action lawsuit filed against City of Phoenix, police chief for mass arrests
Twenty three people who Phoenix police rounded up and arrested for unfounded felony rioting charges filed a federal class action lawsuit against the City of Phoenix, Police Chief Jeri Williams and three other employees of the Phoenix Police Department.
AG says counties can ignore mask mandate ban, but Ducey can enforce in other ways
Gov. Doug Ducey’s recent executive order barring cities, counties and towns from requiring face masks likely doesn’t preempt local governments from issuing their own mandates, but he could probably still prohibit them through Arizona Department of Health Services rulemaking process, according to an opinion issued by the Attorney General’s Office. The opinion came at the […]
Federal judge: Phoenix was wrong to exclude some immigrants from COVID aid
Phoenix was wrong to exclude some immigrants from applying for COVID-19 rent, mortgage and utility assistance under a program funded with federal dollars, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.