Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from past weekend
Jul 30, 2018, 9:16 AM
(KTAR.com Photos/Kathy Cline)
(KTAR.com Photos/Kathy Cline)
PHOENIX — Wednesday night’s shooting death of a state trooper remained a big story as information about the suspect was revealed.
Here is the latest on the shooting, as well as some other major Arizona stories from this past weekend.
Suspect in death of state trooper charged
The suspect in the shooting death of an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper has been charged with first-degree murder, it was announced Sunday.
Isaac King, 20, also was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault, three counts of endangerment and resisting arrest.
King was accused of killing Trooper Tyler Edenhofer, 24, after getting hold of a trooper’s gun during an eight-minute fight along Interstate 10 in the West Valley on Wednesday night.
King also is accused of shooting and wounding Trooper Dalin Dorris in the shoulder.
A candlelight vigil will be held for Edenhofer on Monday night.
Bad sign for Gov. Ducey
With the primary elections less than a month away, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has seen an 8-point dip in his approval ratings.
A quarterly poll conducted by Morning Consult showed Ducey’s approval rating fall to 41 percent from 49 percent.
Ducey’s disapproval rating was 42 percent, making him one of six governors with a negative net approval margin heading into re-election.
Of the 20 states with gubernatorial decisions coming up this November, 14 of the incumbents had a positive net approval.
Of those polled in Arizona, 16 percent either didn’t know or had no opinion of Ducey’s performance.
Elderly Chandler woman killed; grandson charged
An 81-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in an apartment complex in Chandler early Sunday morning.
Officers arrived at the complex at 3:38 a.m after receiving a call from Helen Smith’s grandson, Brandon Smith.
Brandon Smith, who had left the scene, was taken into custody a short time later at a nearby location.
According to the police report, he wanted to put an end to his grandmother’s suffering and sliced her throat with a knife.
He was charged with first-degree murder.
Arizona rakes it in
Legislative analysts reported that Arizona’s main budget account recorded the most annual revenue ever during the fiscal year that ran through the end of June.
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee staff reported that preliminary figures indicated general fund revenue collections totaled $10.1 billion during the 2017-2018 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
The previous high was $9.6 billion in the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
That was the last full fiscal year before the December 2007 start of the Great Recession, which severely squeezed state revenue and state spending.
Scientists work to save endangered fish
Biologists have released endangered fish into a Grand Canyon creek to try to improve their chances of survival.
The release of humpback chub into Bright Angel Creek in May follows efforts to remove trout that prey on them.
The humpback chub once was widespread throughout the Colorado River basin, but its numbers have declined. The largest population now is in Grand Canyon National Park.
Biologists say establishing populations outside the Little Colorado River should help the fish thrive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
