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Thought Bubble

With 11 games to go in the regular season, the Arizona Diamondbacks control their own destiny to snag one of the National League's wild card spots in the playoffs.

State of play: Entering Tuesday's play, the D-Backs were in the second of three wild card positions after sweeping the Chicago Cubs over the weekend and vaulting over them in the standings.

The D-Backs had Monday off, the Miami Marlins lost and Cincinnati Reds won, leaving the Reds and Cubs a half-game back from Arizona and tied for the final wild card slot.

Yes, but: The D-Backs, Cubs, Marlins and Reds are within one game of each other for the final two spots — the Philadelphia Phillies are 3.5 games ahead of the D-Backs seem unlikely to relinquish the top wild card spot — and the San Francisco Giants aren't far behind.

Presuming Philly, which won the National League last year, is a lock for the wild card, that leaves Arizona as one of five teams fighting for the two other spots.

What's next: Arizona plays the Giants Tuesday and Wednesday, giving the D-Backs a chance to push a division rival further back in the wild card hunt while maintaining their own position.

Arizona's next two series are against the New York Yankees, who are all but eliminated from playoff contention, and the Chicago White Sox, one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball this year.

The D-Backs close out their season with a three-game series against the Houston Astros, so hopefully they can shore up their wild card position before they face the defending World Series champions.

Between the lines: The Giants have two more series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who dominated their way to the National League West title this season.

The Cubs end the season with series against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves, who have the best record in baseball.

Cincinnati and Miami have somewhat easier schedules remaining, with each facing only one team with a winning record before the season's end.

Meanwhile, no matter what happens with the rest of the season, left fielder Corbin Carroll is still a heavy favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

The 23-year-old's batting .279 with 24 home runs and 70 RBI.

Most impressively, his 47 stolen bases is tied for third in the MLB, and in the NL it's second only to NL MVP favorite Ronald Acuna Jr.

Diamondbacks look to hold wild card spot as season nears its end

Arizona is one of six teams vying for three wild cards spots in the NL.

Two baseball players raise their arms and prepare to slap hands in celebration at home plate. 

Ketel Marte celebrates a home run Sunday against the Cubs. Photo: Chris Coduto/Getty Images

Major League Baseball (MLB)

With 11 games to go in the regular season, the Arizona Diamondbacks control their own destiny to snag one of the National League&#x27;s wild card spots in the playoffs.State of play: Entering Tuesday&#x27;s play, the D-Backs were in the second of three wild card positions after sweeping the Chicago Cubs over the weekend and vaulting over them in the standings.

News

Sports

The planned redevelopment of Turf Paradise is up in the air after a developer backed out of plans to purchase the historic horse track in north Phoenix.

Catch up quick: CT Realty, which has offices in Dallas and Newport Beach, California, was under contract to buy the property and planned to convert it into a business park that would include residential, commercial and industrial development near 19th Avenue and Bell Road.

Driving the news: James Watson, CT Realty's managing partner, told The Arizona Republic on Monday that he was canceling his planned purchase of the track because the project had become "too demanding" and was facing backlash.

CT Realty also wanted state lawmakers to approve the use of "historic horse racing" machines it could install at the track, which faced opposition from Native American tribes who were concerned it would infringe on their gaming operations.

Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms on Monday announced his retirement after 23 years running the track and said there'll be no more live racing, meaning the meet it planned to launch in early November is canceled.

The track will also halt simulcasting of horse races starting Oct. 1, which will require it to close the 37 off-track betting locations it runs in Arizona.

What's next: Simms tells Axios Phoenix he's been talking with several other potential buyers. "There's a number of people that have interest," he says.

The property has already been rezoned for CT Realty's proposed project, he said, but rezoning is still needed for 28 acres.

Meanwhile, Simms' retirement and CT Realty's decision to back out leave the future of Arizona horse racing in limbo.

Watson had committed to continuing racing at Turf Paradise for at least two more years, Leroy Gessmann, executive director of the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association, tells Axios Phoenix.

Prescott Valley's Arizona Downs, which as of June was still under contract to be sold to the Stronach Group, raised the possibility of holding a meet later this year, but those plans didn't work out, Gessmann says.

It's still possible there could be a meet there next May, he says, telling us the track and some investors are interested.

Of note: Rillito Park Racetrack in Tucson held a racing season this year and hasn't indicated it won't do the same in 2024.

The intrigue: Gessmann says his organization has talked with national companies that own race tracks about opening a new track in Arizona, and he says he's received three calls since Simms' announcement.

It's not economically feasible for someone else to buy Turf Paradise and continue horse racing there because the land is too expensive and there's so much of it, he says.

Gessmann adds the people he's spoken with want to build a new facility in the Phoenix area. "It would have to be on the edge of town somewhere," he says.

Flashback: Local businessman Walter Cluer opened Turf Paradise in 1956.

Cluer announced in February 1954 he'd open his track near 56th Street and Shea Boulevard, but objections from residents led him to change the site a month later to the 19th Avenue and Bell Road location, The Arizona Republic reported at the time.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to remove an incorrect statement contending that Arizona would be without any horse racing if Arizona Downs is not bought or a new track built. (There is still a track in Tucson.)

Turf Paradise owner seeks buyer after planned sale falls through

Track owner Jerry Simms announced his retirement and is talking with prospective buyers.

Land development

The planned redevelopment of Turf Paradise is up in the air after a developer backed out of plans to purchase the historic horse track in north Phoenix.Catch up quick: CT Realty, which has offices in Dallas and Newport Beach, California, was <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="under contract to buy the property" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/04/12/sale-redevelopment-turf-paradise-horse-racing-phoenix" data-vars-content-id="303e6413-a4d0-4ed7-9920-fbeceda80c23" data-vars-headline="Turf Paradise owner seeks buyer after planned sale falls through" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/04/12/sale-redevelopment-turf-paradise-horse-racing-phoenix" target="_self">under contract to buy the property</a> and planned to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="convert it into a business park" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/04/24/proposal-would-turn-turf-paradise-into-moon-valley-business-park" data-vars-content-id="303e6413-a4d0-4ed7-9920-fbeceda80c23" data-vars-headline="Turf Paradise owner seeks buyer after planned sale falls through" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/04/24/proposal-would-turn-turf-paradise-into-moon-valley-business-park" target="_self">convert it into a business park</a> that would include residential, commercial and industrial development near 19th Avenue and Bell Road.

Business

A campaign to overhaul Arizona's election system by eliminating partisan primaries and opening the door to ranked-choice voting kicked off Tuesday when advocates filed their long-awaited citizen initiative with the secretary of state's office.

Details: The Make Elections Fair Act is a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution that would abolish taxpayer-funded partisan primaries and instead create an open primary in which all candidates for partisan offices appear on the same ballot.

All voters, regardless of party affiliation or lack thereof, would vote on that ballot.

Signature requirements for candidates to get their names on the primary ballot would be the same, regardless of party.

Ballots would include statements explaining that candidates' party affiliation doesn't indicate they're endorsed by that party.

How it works: The Legislature would be tasked with deciding how many candidates advance to the general election. For a race in which one candidate is elected, two to five can advance.

If only two candidates advance to the general, both could be from the same party.

If more than two candidates advance to the general, the eventual winner would be elected through a form of ranked-choice voting (RCV).

Under RCV, voters list candidates by preference, and if no candidate gets a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their second-choice votes are given to the remaining candidates until someone has over 50%.

Of note: The secretary of state would determine how many candidates advance to the general election if the Legislature fails to do so.

Charter cities that hold nonpartisan elections would decide for themselves how many candidates advance to the general.

Why it matters: Advocates view partisan primaries as discriminatory toward independents, who currently constitute a plurality of registered voters in Arizona.

Independents can vote in partisan primaries but must specifically request a ballot rather than being sent one automatically.

Independent candidates don't run in primaries and go straight to the general election ballot but must collect substantially more signatures to qualify than major-party candidates.

RCV advocates view their system as making it more difficult for more extreme candidates on the right and left to get elected.

Between the lines: The initiative would also ban public funding for presidential preference elections unless they're open to registered independents or voters under parties that don't appear on the ballot.

It would also ban publicly funded elections for political party officials known as precinct committeemen.

By the numbers: The campaign must collect at least 383,923 valid signatures by July 3, 2024, to qualify for next November's ballot.

What they're saying: Consultant Chuck Coughlin, who's helping to run the campaign, noted that most legislative and congressional districts don't have competitive general elections because they're predominantly Democratic or Republican.

"What this does is it guarantees general election competition, real competition, not token opposition from some party that never can win one of these safe seats," he told Axios Phoenix.

The other side: Arizona GOP chair Jeff DeWit said the proposal will cause "confusion and voter disenfranchisement," and he called it a "convoluted" voting scheme pushed by "special interest groups" to take away voting power from Arizonans.

Rep. Austin Smith, R-Wittman, who sponsored a proposal that would protect partisan primaries and that lawmakers referred to the 2024 ballot, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, the measure is an attempt to stop conservatives from winning primaries in red districts.

"None of this is about better representation, reducing division or making elections fair. It's about manipulation and one-party control," Smith wrote.

Proposal would overhaul Arizona elections with nonpartisan open primaries

Between two and five candidates would advance to the general election, regardless of party.

Illustration of gold, silver and bronze check marks.

Elections

A campaign to overhaul Arizona&#x27;s election system by eliminating partisan primaries and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="opening the door to ranked-choice voting" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/07/19/arizona-open-primaries-ranked-choice-voting" data-vars-content-id="8899e719-d05d-4c0d-961a-a6bd2eb9ed49" data-vars-headline="Proposal would overhaul Arizona elections with nonpartisan open primaries" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/07/19/arizona-open-primaries-ranked-choice-voting" target="_self">opening the door to ranked-choice voting</a> kicked off Tuesday when advocates filed their <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="long-awaited citizen initiative" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2022/09/13/elections-reforms-ballot-ranked-choice-voting-arizona" data-vars-content-id="8899e719-d05d-4c0d-961a-a6bd2eb9ed49" data-vars-headline="Proposal would overhaul Arizona elections with nonpartisan open primaries" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2022/09/13/elections-reforms-ballot-ranked-choice-voting-arizona" target="_self">long-awaited citizen initiative</a> with the secretary of state&#x27;s office.Details: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Make Elections Fair Act" data-vars-click-url="https://apps.arizona.vote/electioninfo/assets/47/0/BallotMeasures/I-07-2024%20Make%20Elections%20Fair%20Arizona.pdf" data-vars-content-id="8899e719-d05d-4c0d-961a-a6bd2eb9ed49" data-vars-headline="Proposal would overhaul Arizona elections with nonpartisan open primaries" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://apps.arizona.vote/electioninfo/assets/47/0/BallotMeasures/I-07-2024%20Make%20Elections%20Fair%20Arizona.pdf" target="_blank">Make Elections Fair Act</a> is a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution that would abolish taxpayer-funded partisan primaries and instead create an open primary in which all candidates for partisan offices appear on the same ballot.

Politics

Huge dust storms have long been a fact of life here in the Valley, and you've probably wondered why seemingly everyone started calling them "haboobs" one day.

Context: Haboob is an Arabic word that originated to describe the massive dust storms seen in Sudan and are common throughout the region.

The terms are often used interchangeably, but not all dust storms qualify as haboobs — it's the wall or cloud of dust you see that typically qualifies the event as a haboob.

A 1972 article published by the American Meteorological Society stated that about 50% of dust storms in the Phoenix area qualify as haboobs.

Context: Royal Norman of Arizona's Family, who began his career as a meteorologist in the Valley in 1984, says the article is the first reference he's found using the term in Arizona, and he began hearing it on television around 1999, after he returned to Arizona from a three-year stint in Atlanta.

Flashback: But a massive dust storm that slammed into the Valley on July 5, 2011, truly popularized the term here, Norman says.

Photographer and storm chaser Mike Olbinski shot what quickly became famous photos and a viral time-lapse video of a giant wall of dust enveloping the Valley, posted online with the title: "Massive haboob hits Phoenix."

The National Weather Service also used the term to describe the storm, says Randall Cerveny, a professor of geographical sciences at ASU's School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.

"Here we kind of just called them dust storms. But when I was staring at that one in Phoenix, it was the most insane, epic, post-apocalyptic wall of dust I'd ever seen here," Olbinski tells Axios Phoenix. "I was, like, if there's ever a haboob that happened in Arizona, this is it."

Zoom in: The term immediately caught on with local and national media and has been part of the local lexicon ever since.

Olbinski and Norman got the sense that one reason it caught on so quickly was people on TV simply liked saying "haboob."

Olbinski says he heard a lot of pushback — not everyone liked the term.

State of play: Olbinski loves being the person responsible for popularizing the word in Arizona. He even has a personalized license plate that says "haboob" and owns the website www.ilovebighaboobs.com, where he sells T-shirts with the slogan.

"I'm still not a big fan of the term," he says. "But I know what it means and you know what it means. So you know what? That's language, right?" 

Between the lines: "Haboob" isn't the first weather term of Arabic origin to become part of Arizonans' vernacular. Norman recalls there was some lingering public resistance to the popularization of "monsoon" when he began his career.

Jeremy's thought bubble: As a Phoenix native, I quickly joined the "we've always just called them dust storms" camp when "haboob" came into common usage.

On the other hand, I never realized until recently that "monsoon" wasn't always a commonly used word here.

I'm still going to keep saying "dust storm," but Norman's comments gave me some food for thought on the changing nature of language, and I'm at least a little more receptive to "haboob" now.

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

Not all dust storms are haboobs, which are typically characterized by large walls of dust

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

The dust storm that hit Phoenix on July 5, 2011, popularized the term "haboob." Photo: Mike Olbinski

Weather

Huge dust storms have long been a fact of life here in the Valley, and you&#x27;ve probably wondered why seemingly everyone started calling them &quot;haboobs&quot; one day.Context: Haboob is an Arabic word that originated to describe the massive dust storms seen in Sudan and are common throughout the region.

Climate

An Uber driver asked me a couple weeks ago if I knew anything about some colored lights atop a tall pole along Osborn Road, down the street from my house. Since he was wondering, I figured he's probably not the only one.

Details: The pole is actually a replica of a ship's mast, and the large property is known as RONS Club.

RONS is an acronym — Reserve Officers of the Naval Services.

Flashback: RONS Club was founded in what is now Phoenix's North Encanto Historic District by Guy Stillman, a former Navy engineer who'd served three years in New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II.

Stillman had trouble readjusting to civilian life after the war, so he and a group of other Navy veterans began meeting, and in 1947 they raised the money to build the club at 17th Avenue and Osborn, according to a 2002 article in The Arizona Republic.

The nautically themed club featured a large swimming pool, wood-paneled bar and a dining area.

Zoom in: The club was originally open only to people who'd served in the Navy and were sponsored by other members.

Eventually it opened to people without military backgrounds.

RONS Club and the neighboring Terrace Club to the east were "centers of neighborhood life in the formative years of the district," according to an entry in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, with a fierce, long-running rivalry between the clubs' youth swim teams.

RONS closed and the property was sold in 2002; it was converted into a single-family home.

State of play: Since then, the property has changed hands numerous times, mostly recently in 2019, when it was purchased by Andrew Burnham and Ritu Shah-Burnham.

"Do you know how many people we've met that learned how to swim here?" Andrew told Axios Phoenix.

What's next: Andrew and Ritu, who say the lights on the pole my Uber driver asked about come on automatically every night, want their home to once again play a unique role in the community.

They've considered putting affordable housing for students and others on the eastern portion of the lot, a former parking lot for the club that's separated from the main house by a wall.

Ritu would like something "swanky" that fits the neighborhood's vibe, and Andrew envisions '50s-style neon and possibly some Airstream trailers or a bar-and-grill.

"There's potential, but we don't know what we can do with it yet," said Ritu, who added that they're unsure what kinds of restrictions they may face because it's a historic property.

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

The lights atop a ship's mast, leftover from the nautically themed club, are still visible from the road for passersby.

The pool at the former RONS Club. The ship's mast in the background is lit up at night. Photo: Jeremy Duda/Axios

History

An Uber driver asked me a couple weeks ago if I knew anything about some colored lights atop a tall pole along Osborn Road, down the street from my house. Since he was wondering, I figured he&#x27;s probably not the only one.Details: The pole is actually a replica of a ship&#x27;s mast, and the large property is known as RONS Club.

Jeremy Duda

Featured stories

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

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

Turf Paradise owner seeks buyer after planned sale falls through

Proposal would overhaul Arizona elections with nonpartisan open primaries

Diamondbacks look to hold wild card spot as season nears its end