Phoenix school lunch prices on the rise as free-lunch program ends

1 big thing: Inflation comes for school lunch

Arizona students fell behind in math and English during pandemic

2. 📉 The pandemic stopped learning progress

Possible budget fight looms over Arizona school year

3.💰School expenditure limit

Illustration of a dollar made out of chalk on a chalkboard being erased

Arizona nonprofits help students in need with back-to-school supplies

4. 🎒 Backpack drives, back-to-school supplies

New jobs to check out

5. Pics du jour: Jessica & Jeremy go back to school

Two side by side images of kids in school.

Happy Monday! We hope you have a great week.

Today's weather: A high of 101 to kick off another mild (for us) week.

📝 Situational awareness: The last wave of Arizona students returns to school this week, so we're taking over the newsletter with all kinds of back-to-school content.

Good luck this year to all the kiddos (and their parents)! 

Today's newsletter is 894 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🏫 Jeremy is happy that his own kids are going back to preschool today after a two-week summer break.  

👩‍❤️‍👨 Jessica had a great date night dinner at The Herb Box in Old Town Scottsdale.  

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Phoenix

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Phoenix newsletter.

Axios Phoenix

Arizona's GOP gubernatorial primary too close to call on election night

1 big thing: Governor's race too close to call

Side-by-side photos of Kari Lake and Karrin Taylor Robson raising their fists in the air

How Trump-backed candidates are faring in Arizona primary races

2. Trump-backed candidates' strong night

Mark Finchem gestures with his hand while speaking to a reporter

3. 🔥 Other hot election results

Illustration of a pattern of checkmarks, some blue, some red.

Can the Arizona Cardinals make it to the Super Bowl in Glendale?

4. 🏈 Politics break: Let's talk Cardinals football

Plan your future

5. Chips and salsa: An extra side of news

Illustration of a coyote with hiking gear next to the words "Chips and Salsa."

6. 💪 Food fuel for a late night

Happy Wednesday. We hope everyone had a great election day. 🗳

Today's weather: High of 103 with a slight chance of thunderstorms tonight. 

Situational awareness: Maricopa County will post updated election results by 7pm.

Today's newsletter is 920 words — a 3.5-minute read.

😮‍💨 Jeremy is glad the primary is over. Bring on the general election.   

🌮 Jessica is elated to hear that the Mexican Pizza is coming back to Taco Bell.

Arizona politicians react to Brittney Griner's nine year sentence

1 big thing: Griner sentenced to nine years

Guards escort Brittney Griner from a Russian courtroom

2. 🗣 Take down your signs, plz 

A bunch of campaign signs at a street corner.

3. 🥵 Extreme heat is hurting our sleep

4. Chips and salsa: An extra side of news

Illustration of the letters PHX spelled out in cacti.

5. 📆 Weekend events: Get your game on

Illustration of an animated neutral emoji changing into a smiling-with-sunglasses emoji.

We made it to Friday! How about some Beyoncé to kick things off?

Today's weather: A high of 103. Looks like we're done with rain for a few days, but we might see isolated thunderstorms on Sunday. 

Situational awareness: The Associated Press called the Republican gubernatorial primary for Kari Lake last night. She will face Katie Hobbs in the November general election.

It also called the Democratic secretary of state race for Adrian Fontes. He will face Republican Mark Finchem.

Today's newsletter is 977 words — a 4-minute read.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Jeremy won't be going to the Game On Expo, but he misses having enough free time to play video games. 

☕️ Jessica is getting into working from coffee shops. Which ones should she try next?

Arizona's tax break on business equipment aims to spur economic development

1 big thing: Business getting break on equipment taxes

Illustration of a conveyor belt in the shape of a dollar sign.

Phoenix's Trulieve dispensary signifies greater marijuana acceptance

2. 🌿 Arizona's 6th "C" is cannabis

3. 🤔 Where are all the D-backs fans? 

Illustration of a rattlesnake wearing sunglasses.

Take your career to the next level

5. The trendiest bar in the East Valley

Today's weather: There's a 30% chance of thunderstorms in the late afternoon, and a high of 101 during the day. 

Situational awareness: Cox Enterprises is acquiring Axios in a $525 million deal. 

Our day-to-day operations won't change, and the deal is expected to increase Axios' investments in local journalism in Phoenix and other markets. 

Today's newsletter is 893 words — a 3.5-minute read.

😢 Jeremy is mourning the death of David McCullough, one of America's greatest historians, and considers his biographies of John Adams and Harry Truman to be among the best history books he's ever read.   

😬 Jessica is not ready for "Better Call Saul" to end.

Lake declares victory in Arizona GOP primary, says outstanding ballots will favor her

1 big thing: Lake declares victory

Kari Lake speaks to the media during a press conference in front of her campaign headquarters

Phoenix newcomers have bigger home-buying budgets than locals, driving up prices

2. 🙅 Don't California our Arizona home prices

3. Chips and salsa: An extra side of news

Nana's Kitchen in metro Phoenix serves plant-based soul food

4. 🤤 1 hidden gem to go: Nana's Kitchen

Ribs, mac & cheese, collard greens, beans and corn bread in a to-go box. 

A new career is waiting for you

Happy Thursday! We're so close to the weekend we can taste it. It tastes like happiness.

Today's weather: A high of 101 with some more stretches of cloud cover like we saw yesterday.

Today's newsletter is 816 words — a 3-minute read.

💈 Jeremy finally took his 2-year-old son to get a much-needed haircut.  

😴 Jessica was too tired from a late primary night and early morning to come up with an outro. Check back tomorrow!

Companies will get a break on the personal property taxes they pay on equipment, which members of the business community hope will help spur economic development and attract major manufacturers to Arizona. 

Personal property is defined as non-real estate property, including machinery, computers, farm equipment and restaurant ovens. 

Driving the news: Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2822 in March, which achieved a years-long goal of Arizona's business community to reduce the state's business personal property tax burden.

Why it's important: Arizona is becoming an increasingly competitive destination for high-tech manufacturers such as Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. 

Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, says the savings will be considerable to high tech manufacturers that sometimes invest more than $1 billion in their facilities. 

Camacho tells Axios Phoenix that it's difficult to determine the effect of the state's personal property tax rate because companies often don't explain why they passed up Arizona for another market. 

Chad Heinrich, who leads the Arizona chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, says the lower tax burden will encourage smaller businesses to buy new equipment as well.

Of note: The law isn't retroactive, so companies won't get a break on equipment they already own.

What they're saying: "I think this is one of the most consequential bills passed in 20 years for economic development in our state," Tim Lawless, president of Commercial Real Estate Executives for Economic Development, tells Axios Phoenix. 

Lawless says the new law will give Arizona an advantage over Texas because its 10-year personal property tax abatement law recently expired, and proposals to renew it fell through during this year's legislative session. 

Details: The Arizona Constitution dictates that personal property be taxed, which has complicated previous efforts to reduce the tax burden.  

Rather than seek a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution, the legislature adjusted the depreciation schedule, effectively lowering the tax burden by lowering the assessed value. 

Yes, but: Other property owners will be the ones who pick up the tab on the tax breaks.  

By the numbers: Arizona is expected to lose $23.4 million in tax revenue this fiscal year as a result of the law, according to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. 

The Maricopa County Assessor's Office estimates that the law will reduce property tax revenues in the county by about $31 million.

The assessor doesn't know what effect the law will have on other property owners' tax bills, and spokesperson Devero Bogart tells Axios Phoenix that much will depend on what type of property they own and where in the county they're located.

The law isn't retroactive, so companies won't get a break on equipment they already own.

Economy

Companies will get a break on the personal property taxes they pay on equipment, which members of the business community hope will help spur economic development and attract major manufacturers to Arizona. <ul><li>Personal property is defined as non-real estate property, including machinery, computers, farm equipment and restaurant ovens. </li></ul>

Business

National

Kari Lake defeated Karrin Taylor Robson in Arizona's Republican gubernatorial primary, AP reports, propelling the Trump-endorsed candidate into a general election where she's favored to become the state's 24th governor.

Driving the news: The former Fox 10 anchor took the race by storm last year, becoming the immediate frontrunner with a style and message that closely emulated former President Trump. 

Lake's campaign has been characterized by her combative style, anti-establishment rhetoric and unflinching support for Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was rigged against him. 

Flashback: Lake declared victory on Wednesday with about 186,000 votes left to count in the primary.

The battle between Lake and Robson became a proxy war between Trump and the establishment wing of the GOP.

Trump endorsed Lake in September, while incumbent Gov. Doug Ducey and former Vice President Mike Pence threw their support behind Robson in July, around the time early voting began.

Between the lines: Despite spending more than $20 million on her campaign, most of it self-funding, Robson was never able to overcome Lake's advantage. 

The developer and former regent gained momentum late in the race with a massive, sustained TV advertising blitz.

Robson also waged an unrelenting attack ad campaign against Lake, hitting her for contributing to Barack Obama in 2008, questioning her conservative credentials and dubbing her "Fake Lake."

Nearly every poll of the race that was ever publicly released showed Lake leading, and despite her financial advantage she was never able to overcome that lead. 

The intrigue: Lake and Ducey will now have to bury the hatchet as they pivot to the general election.

Ducey is the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, which has already reserved about $10.6 million worth of airtime for the general election. 

Lake has been harshly critical of Ducey on his response to COVID-19 and other issues.

Still, Ducey's job as RGA chair is to win gubernatorial races for the GOP, and it would reflect badly on him if the Democrats won the race in his own state. 

What's next: Lake will likely face Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in the general election. Many Democrats viewed Lake as the easier opponent for Hobbs.

Yes, but: This is still Arizona, which, despite Democratic gains during the past few elections, is still a predominantly red state, and this is still expected to be a Republican wave year. 

Of note: Hobbs, who's served as Arizona's top election official since 2019, gained national prominence after the 2020 election fighting the same bogus election fraud allegations that Lake has spent the past year spreading.

Axios Phoenix Thought Bubble

Phoenix Alerts

Trump-backed Kari Lake wins GOP nomination for Arizona governor

Lake's campaign has been characterized by her unflinching support for Trump's false election claims.

Kari Lake holds her arms out to her sides

Kari Lake reacts to the crowd as she comes out to speak prior to former President Donald Trump's speech at a Save America Rally on Friday, July 22, 2022, in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Photo: Ross D. Franklin/AP

Governor races

Politics & Policy

Arizona schools got a big budget increase this year, but that doesn't mean they'll actually get to spend all their new money.

Catch up fast: Voters in 1980 enacted an aggregate expenditure limit (AEL) that created a formulaic cap on the total amount of money that K-12 schools can spend each year, regardless of how much funding has actually been budgeted.

Lawmakers can permit school districts to exceed that limit in any given year with a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber. 

School districts narrowly avoided budget cuts earlier this year when lawmakers suspended the limit following a months-long fight. 

What we're watching: School spending this year is again expected to exceed the AEL, which the Arizona Department of Revenue calculated to be $6.4 billion.

Total school spending for the current fiscal year won't be known until this fall, but Arizona School Boards Association lobbyist Chris Kotterman tells Axios Phoenix that he expects budgeted expenditures to go over the limit by $2 billion.

Of note: School districts set their budgets based on the amount of money the legislature has allocated to them, so if they're unable to spend some of that money because lawmakers won't suspend the AEL, they'll have to make cutbacks late in the academic year. 

The intrigue: You might think it's a given that legislators would allow schools to spend the money they've already budgeted, but there are factors that could complicate things. 

The budget for fiscal year 2023 was a bipartisan compromise instead of the strictly GOP affair that most budgets are, so Republican lawmakers who opposed it may not feel compelled to approve a one-time exemption to the AEL.

Some new Republican lawmakers who weren't around last session could also decide to oppose an exemption as a way of holding the line against a budget that some conservatives believe spent too much.

Much will depend on the composition of the legislature after the November election. 

Meanwhile: Kotterman is holding out hope that voters will get an opportunity to amend or even abolish the AEL.

Lawmakers could place the issue on the November 2024 ballot or even schedule a special election sometime before then.

K-12 advocates could also collect enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot in two years. 

School spending this year is again expected to exceed the AEL.

Education

Arizona schools got a big budget increase this year, but that doesn&#x27;t mean they&#x27;ll actually get to spend all their new money.Catch up fast: Voters in 1980 enacted an aggregate expenditure limit (AEL) that created a formulaic cap on the total amount of money that K-12 schools can spend each year, regardless of how much funding has actually been budgeted.

Politics

Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner was found guilty on drug charges by a Russian court Thursday and sentenced to nine years in prison. 

Her sentencing concluded a trial that has captured national attention and reached the highest levels of U.S. diplomacy, Axios' Ivana Saric reported.

What's next: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Moscow is "ready to discuss" a prisoner swap for Griner and Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan.

Driving the news: Griner's conviction comes nearly six months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport when Russian authorities said they found a vape cartridge with hashish oil in her luggage.

What they're saying: The conviction was met with swift condemnation from the  Mercury. 

"While we knew it was never the legal process that was going to bring our friend home, today's verdict is a sobering milestone in the 168-day nightmare being endured by our sister, BG," the Mercury said in a press statement. "We remain heartbroken for her, as we have every day for nearly six months."

The team said it has faith that the Biden administration will do whatever it takes to end Griner's imprisonment. 

Several elected officials from Arizona expressed similar sentiments, with Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly saying in a statement to Axios Phoenix, "This sentence is completely unjust and again demonstrates how Russia has wrongfully detained Brittney Griner. I've worked with my colleagues to build support for her release, and am going to ensure that her safe return remains a top priority for the administration." 

Kelly and Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's offices both emphasized that they've been in regular contact with the State Department throughout Griner's ordeal. 

What else they're saying: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) tweeted that Griner's conviction was "as unsurprising as it was unjust," and said, "It's clear that Russia sees Ms. Griner as a political pawn in their war in Ukraine." 

Rep. Greg Stanton (D) wrote on Twitter, "This trial was a sham from the very beginning—and today's excessive, unjust sentence makes it clearer than ever that Brittney Griner is being held by Russia for purely political purposes." 

In a press statement, President Biden called for Griner's immediate release and said, "Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney."

U.S. officials have maintained that Griner was "wrongfully detained" by Russia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last month that the U.S. had offered Russia a "substantial proposal" to bring home Griner and Whelan.

A deal reportedly consisted of swapping convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout for Griner and Whelan's release.

Before Thursday night's game between the Mercury and the Connecticut Sun, players met at mid-court and silently bowed their heads for 42 seconds — a nod to Griner's jersey number.

Rep. Ruben Gallego tweeted that Griner's conviction was "as unsurprising as it was unjust."

Brittney Griner is escorted from a courtroom yesterday in Khimki, Russia. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

WNBA

Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner was found guilty on drug charges by a Russian court Thursday and sentenced to nine years in prison. <ul><li>Her sentencing concluded a trial that has captured national attention and reached the highest levels of U.S. diplomacy, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Ivana Saric reported" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/04/russia-brittney-griner-convicted" data-vars-content-id="d5ae2bfb-1a6f-4daf-8c74-af841b5b00bb" data-vars-headline="Arizona politicians react to Brittney Griner&#x27;s nine year sentence" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/08/04/russia-brittney-griner-convicted" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Ivana Saric reported</a>.</li></ul>

News

Sending a student back to school is expensive, and those costs often force students from low-income families to begin the year without the supplies and clothing they need. 

The big picture: The BHHS Legacy Foundation, Back-to-School Clothing Drive, Assistance League of Phoenix and other nonprofit organizations help low-income families with their back-to-school needs. 

Why it matters: The 2020 census found that 19.1% of Arizona children lived below the poverty line. 

The average American household is expected to spend $864 on back-to-school gear this year, according to an annual study by the National Retail Foundation.

How it works: The nonprofits generally reach students by working with Title I schools that identify their kids with the highest level of need.

What's happening: The BHHS Legacy Foundation is primarily a funder of programs that assist low-income students with back-to-school needs. 

They have their Backpack Buddies program. It provides about 8,000 backpacks full of school supplies and personal hygiene products, which are distributed to students by about 35 other nonprofit groups it partners with. 

CEO Gerald Wissink said the foundation reaches about 20,000 students per year through all of its programs and financial contributions. 

Back-to-School Clothing Drive primarily serves elementary schools across the Valley. It holds a summer distribution event every year at Grand Canyon University, and has several other programs that provide clothing year-round to both schools and the general public.

Executive Director Karl Gentles tells Axios Phoenix that the organization works with about 260 schools in more than 30 districts and assists nearly 15,000 students per year. 

Assistance League of Phoenix has three Delivering Dreams buses, which CEO Aimee Runyon described as stores on wheels where students can obtain free clothing and supplies. 

"We want them to feel good about what they're wearing," Runyon says. "They want to fit in with their peers. They want to feel good about themselves."

What they're saying: "Many of them just don't have the funds," Wissink says of the families his organization helps. "These kids end up going to school with holes in their shoes. Some of them have one outfit to wear for the entire week. Some of these families are just struggling."

The most shocking thing Runyon says she's ever heard was from a student on one of her group's buses who'd just received a personal hygiene kit: "I'm so excited. Now I get my own toothbrush."

What's next: Though the nonprofits reach tens of thousands of students each year, there are many more who still need help. And that need is growing, they say. 

Soaring inflation has made things even more difficult for families that were already struggling, Gentles says. 

Runyon says her organization hopes to help 11,000 students this year, and the group's plans call for that number to hit 15,000 by 2025.

The 2020 census found that 19.1% of Arizona children lived below the poverty line.

Sending a student back to school is expensive, and those costs often force students from low-income families to begin the year without the supplies and clothing they need. The big picture: The BHHS Legacy Foundation, Back-to-School Clothing Drive, Assistance League of Phoenix and other nonprofit organizations help low-income families with their back-to-school needs.

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Stories

Arizona's tax break on business equipment aims to spur economic development

Possible budget fight looms over Arizona school year

Arizona nonprofits help students in need with back-to-school supplies

Trump-backed Kari Lake wins GOP nomination for Arizona governor

Arizona politicians react to Brittney Griner's nine year sentence

Newsletter editions

🌿 Arizona's 6th "C"

🥪 School lunch costs more

🫵 Take down those signs

😡 Blame California

👀 Election results