Horse racing may be over at Turf Paradise, but other tracks plan to keep going

1 big thing: Arizona horse racing will continue with or without Turf Paradise

Before Hobbs, Symington circumvented Senate on nominee confirmation process

2. Hobbs isn't first governor to defy obstinate Senate

A man and a woman sit next to each other with a crowd behind them. 

3. Chips and salsa: AI for PD

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4. 🤷🏻‍♀️ No one wants your fixer-upper

5. 🔥 Hot home: Camelback Corridor living

🐪 Happy hump day! Soak up the last week of September.

Today's newsletter is 885 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🕵 Jeremy started watching the MGM+ miniseries "A Spy Among Friends," about the infamous British spy and Soviet double agent Kim Philby. 

📺 Jessica will be on Arizona's Family today at 3:40pm to discuss her reporting on Axon's proposal to build 2,500 apartments in north Scottsdale.

This newsletter was edited by Gigi Sukin and copy edited by Jay Bennett.

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Abortions have decreased by 16% in Arizona since 2020

1 big thing: Abortion decline

Developer emphasizes affordability with "Streamliner" communities

2. "Streamliner" apartments emphasize affordability

3. Arizona keeps the lights (and AC) on

4. Chips and salsa: Cardinals stun the cowboys

Illustration of a gila monster whose stripes spell "Chips and Salsa."

EVIT is building a residence hall for foster youth

5. What are they building? 

It's Monday. Good job surviving the Sunday scaries! 👻

Today's weather: Sunny and a high of 102°.

Situational awareness: No one correctly guessed the location of last week's "Where in the Valley?" photo. The firefighter monument is near the Mesa fire station at Mesa Drive and First Street.

Today's newsletter is 942 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🍽️ Jeremy decided to fast for Yom Kippur, which began last night and ends tonight, for the first time in years.

⏩ Jessica feels like the weekend flew by.

Hobbs withdraws agency director nominees in move to sidestep Senate confirmation

1 big thing: Hobbs plays hardball with Senate over agency directors

A woman stands at a lectern in front of a microphone with two men sitting behind her. 

2. Sinema's "path to victory"

5 Arizona breweries win medals at Great American Beer Festival

3. 🍻 Great American Beer from AZ

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A new career is waiting for you

4. Chips and salsa: D-backs in the playoff hunt

Illustration of chips and salsa in the shape of Camelback Mountain.

Try some down home cooking at Charlie Mae's Southern Bistro

5. Down home cooking with Charlie Mae

A piece of fried meat covered in brown gravy and onions, with cups of green beans and red beans.

Today's weather: A high of 103°. We miss the 90s. 🫤

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Today's newsletter is 950 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Jeremy had a good fast for Yom Kippur and he hopes everyone else who observed did as well.

💞 Jessica is obsessed with the budding relationship between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce and the social media jokes it has generated.

This newsletter was edited by Shane Savitsky and copy edited by Jay Bennett.

A massive 2011 dust storm popularized the word "haboob" in Arizona

1 big thing: Is it a dust storm or a haboob? 

A huge wall of dust envelops a city during a storm. 

How to taste the rare dates grown at ASU

2. 🧑‍🌾  ASU grows rare dates

The best time to see changing leaves in Arizona this fall

3. 📅 Fall foliage dates

4. Chips and salsa: No Labels tops 15,000 voters

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2023 Arizona State Fair: Prices, parking, deals and more

5. 🎡 Things to do: State Fair guide

Well, hello, Friday! It took you long enough to get here. 😅

Today's weather: A high of 95° with similar temperatures forecast throughout the weekend.

🥾 Situational awareness: National Parks are free tomorrow for National Public Lands Day.

🎂 Happy early birthday to our Axios Phoenix members Susan Slonaker and Kelli Ryan!

Today's newsletter is 903 words — a 3.5-minute read.

📺 Jeremy will be a guest on The Journalists' Roundtable at 5 and 10pm today on PBS' "Arizona Horizon." Make sure to tune in!

🎃 Jessica hopes to start decorating her house for Halloween this weekend.

1 big thing: School funding questioned in Axon apartment proposal

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Once a community gathering place, RONS Club remains as a family home

2. Welcome to RONS Club

3. Chart du jour: What we speak at home

4. Chips and salsa: No guns for Ukraine

On the job hunt? 

5. Where in the Valley? 

Happy Thursday! We can taste the weekend. 😎

Situational awareness: Starting Monday, you can order four free COVID tests through COVIDTests.gov as the federal government restarts its complimentary testing program.

⚓ Jeremy was excited to finally get a chance to see the inside of RONS Club after 10 years in the neighborhood, and wants to thank Andrew Burnham and Ritu Shah-Burnham for welcoming him into their home and showing him around.

😬 Jessica cannot get "Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?" from "Only Murders in the Building" out of her head.

This newsletter was edited by Hadley Malcolm and copy edited by Jay Bennett.

Katie Hobbs isn't the first governor to attempt an end run around a recalcitrant Senate that wouldn't approve a gubernatorial agency director nominee.

Catch up quick: Hobbs on Monday announced she was withdrawing the nominations of 13 directors who hadn't yet received Senate confirmation and instead named them "executive deputy directors" who will continue running their agencies.

Arizona's first Democratic governor in 14 years faced extraordinary resistance in getting her nominees confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, where President Warren Petersen created a new committee to vet them.

The Committee on Director Nominations delayed hearings for many nominees and still hasn't held hearings for some, while the full Senate hasn't held confirmation votes for some nominees who were approved by the committee.

Committee chair Sen. Jake Hoffman subjected some nominees to intense scrutiny, leading Hobbs to withdraw names after raising issues with their records.

Flashback: The Democrat-controlled Senate voted down the Republican Gov. Fife Symington's Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) director in June 1991.

Symington quickly reappointed Gerard Tobin to the director position.

Days later, he struck a deal with Senate President Pete Rios to move Tobin into the deputy director position and reappoint him as director the following year.

Symington said he would appoint an acting ADOA director until Tobin could be reappointed. But Tobin ran the agency as deputy director until his resignation in February 1992, before a scheduled confirmation vote on his nomination.

What they're saying: "I ran a circle around the Senate's approval right, basically," Symington tells Axios Phoenix.

As governor, it's important to have agency heads you believe in who can carry out your agenda, he says.

Symington calls the current situation with Hobbs' nominees "sort of a trainwreck" and says it "seems a bit over the top."

Why it matters: Symington's maneuvering means there's some precedent for what Hobbs did with her unconfirmed agency heads.

Agency directors can serve for only one year without confirmation, and Petersen says that's true for Hobbs' nominees, regardless of their title.

Yes, but: There are significant differences between Hobbs' and Symington's situations.

Symington's nominee was formally rejected by the Senate and Hobbs' weren't. Therefore, his actions were more defiant of the statutory confirmation process, former Symington chief of staff Chris Herstam tells Axios Phoenix.

The governor "liked a good fight and he said, 'I want to see a vote on the floor,'" Herstam says.

Symington says "Hobbs is facing a taller mountain to climb" because the Senate has put the brakes on far more of her nominees.

Of note: Hobbs' executive deputy directors will have the same salaries they had as official agency heads, ADOA spokesperson Megan Rose tells Axios Phoenix.

Symington had reduced Tobin's salary as deputy director.

"I ran a circle around the Senate's approval right, basically," Symington said.

Former Govs. Fife Symington and Jan Brewer in January 2023. Photo: Jeremy Duda/Axios

Governors

Katie Hobbs isn&#x27;t the first governor to attempt an end run around a recalcitrant Senate that wouldn&#x27;t approve a gubernatorial agency director nominee.Catch up quick: Hobbs on Monday announced she was <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="withdrawing the nominations of 13 directors" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/09/25/katie-hobbs-arizona-directors-senate-confirmation" data-vars-content-id="41808670-66c7-444e-955e-d1161138dde9" data-vars-headline="Before Hobbs, Symington circumvented Senate on nominee confirmation process" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/09/25/katie-hobbs-arizona-directors-senate-confirmation" target="_self">withdrawing the nominations of 13 directors</a> who hadn&#x27;t yet received Senate confirmation and instead named them &quot;executive deputy directors&quot; who will continue running their agencies.

News

Politics

Arizona breweries took home six medals from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) over the weekend.

Why it matters: GABF is the most prestigious U.S. beer contest, and this year's medal count was Arizona's largest since 2019.

What they're saying: "We've proven again and again that Arizona produces world-class beers worthy of the state's natural beauty and our sunny economic future," Arizona Craft Brewers Guild director Rob Fullmer said on Facebook.

Flying Basset Brewing: Citrus Snack (gold in Contemporary Gose)

Basin and Range Brewing: In Bloom (silver in Contemporary Gose)

Lumberyard Brewing Co.: Railhead Red (silver in Extra Special Bitter)

Fate Brewing Co.: Fate Single Hop Sour (bronze in American Sour Ale)

Wren House Brewing Co.: Hooks & Dun and Blue Quad Roller Skates (bronzes in Extra Special Bitter and Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale)

The intrigue: Gilbert's Flying Basset Brewing, the only Arizona gold medal winner, is closing at the end of the month after six years in operation.

1 cool thing: Basin and Range in Tucson just launched in June.

GABF is the most prestigious U.S. beer contest.

Beer

Arizona breweries took home six medals from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) over the weekend.Why it matters: GABF is the most prestigious U.S. beer contest, and this year&#x27;s medal count was Arizona&#x27;s largest since 2019.

Food and Drink

Horse racing may be a thing of the past at Turf Paradise, but Arizona's other tracks are planning to continue racing in 2024.

Driving the news: Arizona Downs expects to hold a racing season beginning next May, or possibly earlier, co-owner Tom Auther tells Axios Phoenix.

The Prescott Valley track last held a race in September 2022.

Auther says the track didn't have the money to host races this year, but taking the year off helped their financial situation, which he believes will be good enough for a 2024 season.

"There's nothing guaranteed, but either with a partner or a new buyer I think Arizona Downs will be up and running," Auther says.

State of play: Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms last week announced his retirement and said the north Phoenix track would cease all live racing and simulcasting as of Oct. 1.

That means Turf Paradise won't hold its season that was scheduled to begin in early November, though Simms told Axios Phoenix Monday there's still a chance the track will continue racing under a new buyer.

CT Realty had been under contract to buy the track and was expected to continue live racing for two years while it redeveloped the property into a business park, but the company backed out of plans to purchase Turf Paradise.

Between the lines: The potential closure of Turf Paradise, and possibility there won't be more horse racing there, could be a game changer for Arizona Downs, Auther says.

Arizona Downs is interested in bringing on a new qualified buyer or investor and has spoken with potential buyers.

"I think the time's right. It's a different animal now that Turf isn't going to be around," Auther says.

Arizona Downs had previously been under contract to sell to the Stronach Group, which owns horse tracks in California, Florida and Maryland, but it pulled out in June, he says.

Meanwhile, Rillito Park Racetrack in Tucson plans to hold a racing season next year, most likely in March and April, general manager Michael Weiss tells Axios Phoenix.

Yes, but: Auther downplays Rillito's significance to Arizona's racing scene, noting its shorter track, shorter racing season and fewer horse stalls than Arizona Downs or Turf Paradise.

Weiss says Rillito Park is still a draw for racing fans, and many horse trainers and owners love the track, too.

Though Rillito Park's track is shorter and focused more on quarterhorses, which are bred for speed over shorter distances, it still race plenty of thoroughbreds as well.

Zoom out: Leroy Gessmann, executive director of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, told Axios Phoenix last week he'd spoken with people who are interested in potentially building a new race track in the Valley.

That track would likely be on the edge of town, he speculated, saying it would be too expensive to buy Turf Paradise and continue running it as a racetrack.

Auther tells us he considers a new track unlikely, saying: "It's very expensive. And let's face it — there isn't much money in it."

Catch up quick: Author, his brothers, Dave and Mike, and a business partner bought Arizona Downs in 2018 and reopened it the following year.

The track, formerly known as Yavapai Downs, had been in bankruptcy and hadn't hosted racing since 2010.

Turf Paradise's owner announced he's canceling the racing season planned to start this fall.

A race this summer in Australia. Photo: Pat Scala/Racing Photos via Getty Images

Sports betting

Horse racing <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="may be a thing of the past at Turf Paradise" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/09/19/turf-paradise-horse-racing-park-redevelopment" data-vars-content-id="93df592b-59ad-4968-b191-5fdd8c5bf814" data-vars-headline="Horse racing may be over at Turf Paradise, but other tracks plan to keep going" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/09/19/turf-paradise-horse-racing-park-redevelopment" target="_self">may be a thing of the past at Turf Paradise</a>, but Arizona&#x27;s other tracks are planning to continue racing in 2024.Driving the news: Arizona Downs expects to hold a racing season beginning next May, or possibly earlier, co-owner Tom Auther tells Axios Phoenix.

Business

Gov. Katie Hobbs is withdrawing 13 unconfirmed cabinet nominees from Senate consideration while leaving them in place as "executive deputy directors" who will continue leading their agencies.

Why it matters: It's a response to what she called a "political circus" created by Senate President Warren Petersen and the committee he created to vet her nominees, which has dragged out the confirmation process and subjected some nominees to intense scrutiny.

Hobbs' move includes directors for major agencies like the Department of Administration and Department of Economic Security.

The governor "will pursue other lawful avenues of ensuring state government can continue to function for Arizonans," she wrote in a blistering letter to Petersen.

The intrigue: Agency directors can only serve for a year without Senate confirmation, but Hobbs believes they can serve longer as executive deputy directors, gubernatorial spokesperson Christian Slater told Axios Phoenix.

Catch up quick: Traditionally, agency director nominees go before relevant committees for approval before the full Senate votes on their confirmation.

But Petersen, a Gilbert Republican, bucked tradition and instead created the Committee on Director Nominations to vet appointees from Arizona's first Democratic governor in 14 years.

Chaired by Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican and a close ally of Petersen, the committee rejected several of Hobbs' nominees, leading her to withdraw them from consideration.

The process has taken an unusually long time. Some of the nominees still haven't had committee hearings and some who have been approved still haven't had confirmation votes, even though the legislative session ended nearly two months ago.

What she's saying: Hobbs accused Petersen of creating a process "designed to slow walk nominees and create a political circus that is beneath the dignity of the Arizona State Senate," and called it "an abuse of the confirmation process."

"Legal and traditional vetting processes don't function this way. Instead, it is clear that this Committee is being used as a weapon, wielded for the personal whim of a few legislators," she wrote.

Hobbs said she will resume sending nominees to the Senate for review if Petersen returns to the traditional confirmation process.

Between the lines: The governor also noted that Hoffman has tied some nominees' fates to issues that are unrelated to the confirmation process.

For example, he canceled a hearing in response to Hobbs' executive order to strip county attorneys of authority over abortion-related prosecutions and give it exclusively to Attorney General Kris Mayes, a fellow Democrat.

The other side: Petersen accused Hobbs of trying to circumvent the lawful confirmation process and said — regardless of what title the governor gives them — her agency leaders can only serve for a year without Senate confirmation.

"The law is very specific on who is to run our state agencies. Without directors fulfilling these obligations, the legality of every decision made by these state agencies is dubious, and litigation against the state would surely prevail," he said.

If the agency heads serve for more than a year without confirmation, "they will be removed," Petersen told us, though he didn't elaborate on whether that would happen through litigation or some other means.

Hoffman said in a press statement: "​​Hobbs is the only person to blame for her nominees struggling to succeed under actual due diligence."

Context: Hoffman's committee has been a regular source of political fireworks since the legislative session began, and caused Hobbs to withdraw several nominees.

The committee rejected Theresa Cullen, the governor's nominee to lead the Arizona Department of Health Services, over her support for pandemic-era restrictions while serving as Pima County's public health director.

It rejected former state Sen. Martin Quezada's nomination to lead the Registrar of Contractors over positions he took and statements he made while in the Legislature.

Most recently, the committee's GOP majority two weeks ago voted down the nomination of Joan Serviss, who has run the Department of Housing since January, over accusations of plagiarism in advocacy letters she wrote while leading a nonprofit organization.

"Legal and traditional vetting processes don't function this way."

From left, House speaker Ben Toma, Gov. Katie Hobbs and Senate president Warren Petersen.  Photo: Jeremy Duda/Axios

Gov. Katie Hobbs is withdrawing 13 unconfirmed cabinet nominees from Senate consideration while leaving them in place as &quot;executive deputy directors&quot; who will continue leading their agencies.Why it matters: It&#x27;s a response to what she called a &quot;political circus&quot; created by Senate President Warren Petersen and the committee he created to vet her nominees, which has dragged out the confirmation process and subjected some nominees to intense scrutiny.

I was picking up some Chinese food on Indian School Road near 24th Street a few weeks ago when I noticed a banner on the building across the street advertising Charlie Mae's Southern Bistro.

I'd never heard of the restaurant, which opened last year, but I figured it was worth a try.

What I ordered: There was a lot to choose from, but I went with the fried pork chop, smothered in gravy and fried onions.

For my sides, I picked red beans and rice and Southern green beans.

The verdict: The fried pork chop was juicy and delicious, and I loved the gravy over it.

The red beans and rice were as good as any I've had. Given my perpetual quest to find good Cajun food in the Valley, that alone will bring me back.

What's next: Pretty much everything on the menu looked incredible, so I might have to work Charlie Mae's into my regular lunch rotation. But make sure to bring a healthy appetite.

Of note: I enjoyed that they had a note on their menu explaining, "To preserve the quality of our steaks we don't cook past medium."

We tried the fried smothered pork chop with a side of red beans and rice.

A smothered fried pork chop with sides of green beans and red beans and rice from Charlie Mae's Southern Bistro. Photo: Jeremy Duda/Axios

Restaurants

I was picking up some Chinese food on Indian School Road near 24th Street a few weeks ago when I noticed a banner on the building across the street advertising <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Charlie Mae&#x27;s Southern Bistro" data-vars-click-url="https://charliemaessouthernbistro.com/" data-vars-content-id="c028d1d9-39d0-4070-bc97-82d50b1d11c1" data-vars-headline="Try some down home cooking at Charlie Mae&#x27;s Southern Bistro" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://charliemaessouthernbistro.com/" target="_blank">Charlie Mae&#x27;s Southern Bistro</a>.<ul><li>I&#x27;d never heard of the restaurant, which opened last year, but I figured it was worth a try.</li></ul>What I ordered: There was a lot to choose from, but I went with the fried pork chop, smothered in gravy and fried onions.

Jeremy Duda

Stories

Horse racing may be over at Turf Paradise, but other tracks plan to keep going

Before Hobbs, Symington circumvented Senate on nominee confirmation process

5 Arizona breweries win medals at Great American Beer Festival

Try some down home cooking at Charlie Mae's Southern Bistro

Hobbs withdraws agency director nominees in move to sidestep Senate confirmation

Newsletter editions

🏇 The race goes on

👊 Hobbs plays hardball

📉 Arizona abortions drop

🌬️ Haboob hubbub

👀 Axon apartment intrigue