Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from Dec. 14-16
Dec 16, 2018, 6:30 PM | Updated: 6:55 pm
(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Sen. Jon Kyl’s resignation announcement, a surprising college town ranking and a controversial deportation.
Here are some stories that headlined the news cycle, both locally and nationally, over the weekend.
Jon Kyl to resign from Senate on Dec. 31
Jon Kyl will resign from the U.S. Senate on Dec. 31, keeping his word that he would leave the post by the end of the year.
Kyl turned his resignation letter to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday. He was appointed to the seat in September after John McCain died following a yearlong battle with brain cancer.
Ducey said he would pick a replacement “in the near future.”
Kyl said his return to the U.S. Senate in the heat of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination process was “like parachuting into a war zone” and it played role in his decision against pursuing a longer second stint in office.
While Ducey has not announced a replacement, his former chief-of-staff Kirk Adams and outgoing U.S. Rep. Martha McSally have been among the rumored names to take over the seat.
Scottsdale beats Tucson and Tempe for best college town
According to WalletHub, Scottsdale is the best place for college students to live in the Grand Canyon State.
In fact, the personal finance website rated the home of the Scottsdale Community College Artichokes as the ninth-best college town in the country.
Scottsdale’s strong showing can be attributed to its performance in academic and economic opportunities, where it ranked third overall.
Tucson got the state’s second-best rating at No. 28 overall. The home of the University of Arizona was ranked 13th among the 64 large cities that were analyzed.
Tempe was next in Arizona at No. 45 in the nation. The Arizona State University base was No. 10 on the midsize city list.
Judge orders deportation of Arizona immigration activist
An Arizona immigration rights activist has been ordered out of the country after a judge revoked her green card, and also denied her petitions for asylum.
A federal judge in Tucson ruled this week that Alejandra Pablos, 33, had to leave, pointing to criminal convictions from 2005 to 2010, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
Pablos has been working for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health in Annandale, Virginia since 2016, according to the Washington Post.
Pablos, who said she was born in Nogales, Mexico, but brought to the United States as a baby, became a legal permanent resident.
She served two years in a detention center in Eloy, Arizona, for DUI, endangerment and solicitation to possess a dangerous drug.
In court Tuesday, she told Judge Thomas Michael O’Leary that her life would be danger in Mexico, but he said she wouldn’t qualify for asylum because reproductive rights activists weren’t deemed a group in need of protection.
Arizona city arms police vehicles with cannons that fire sticky GPS trackers
One Arizona city is implementing a GPS tagging system that seems like something out of a spy movie to help police track fleeing suspects without the dangerous high-speed chases.
The police department in the Pinal County city of Maricopa, around 30 miles south of Phoenix, has equipped four of its vehicles with StarChase equipment, a tool that launches can-like tracking devices that stick to cars.
The range of the devices is about 1½ car lengths, Alvarado said, and each canister has two sticking mechanisms: a strong adhesive and a powerful magnet.
HELLUVA Brewing Company to open in Chandler on Monday
Chandler residents will have a new spot to grab a beer starting next week.
HELLUVA Brewing Company, located on the northeast corner of McClintock Drive and Ray Road, will open its doors on Monday at 3 p.m.
The brewery will feature its own beers, cocktails and a “suds and smoke” themed food menu that will focus on smoked meats like pork, ribs and chicken.
Four of HELLUVA’s own beers will be available on tap for Monday’s opening and the brewery promises to eventually have 20 of its beers brewed on site.
