Axios Phoenix

May 15, 2026
Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekends, everyone!
☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, high of 98.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Phoenix member Jeremy M. Helfgot, and happy early birthday to members Azin Radsan Van Alebeek and Donald Bierman!
Today's newsletter is 864 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: It's tubing time
Salt River tubing season is in full swing and we've got everything you need to know to enjoy the classic Valley summertime outing.
The big picture: The recreation portion of the Salt River in far east Mesa is about 40 miles from downtown Phoenix.
- Depending on flow levels, it'll take about 2-4 hours to meander down the river.
The intrigue: This adventure can be a peaceful float or an absolute rager.
- Weekdays are quieter and more family-friendly, while weekends, especially Memorial Day and 4th of July, can draw large crowds and the rowdiest tubers.
- 🧠 Choose wisely.
How it works:
🚍 The all-inclusive experience: Salt River Tubing has owned the river recreation market here for decades, and they've got it down to a science.
- For $28, they'll give you an inflated tube, bus you from their parking lot to one of two starting points and pick you up from one of two ending points.
- Cooler tubes, to carry your Igloo down the river, are $20.
- Booking online saves time but isn't required.
🛟 BYOT: Salt River Tubing also offers a $20 shuttle-only option for those wanting to bring their own tube.
- The company won't help you inflate it, though.
🚗 🚙 DIY: Making your own arrangements is cheaper and can be a more flexible experience (no shuttle times to worry about) but does require careful planning and two cars.
- Drop off one car at your end point and transport your party to the starting point in the second vehicle. See map for parking lot and route options.
- Both cars need to have a Tonto Day Pass on the dash ($8, available at nearby gas stations and other retailers).
Be smart:
☀️ Bring bedsheets: Old bedsheets draped over your tube go a long way to prevent the hot rubber from frying your skin.
👟 Wear water shoes or old sneakers: The bottom of the river is quite rocky (and occasionally littered with rusty nails, apparently) and you'll have to walk a short way through sand and rock to reach the river. Flip-flops are not the move.
🍻 Alcohol rules: No glass bottles allowed.
🗑️ Don't be a jerk: Collect your trash and throw it away in the bins at the river exits. And no more marshmallows.
2. 🍺 And the winner is...


Axios Phoenix beer drinkers have spoken, and the best craft brew in Arizona isssss... Spellbinder!
State of beer: The hazy IPA from Wren House beat out Pedal Haus' Day Drinker, which recently won a World Beer Cup medal.
Zoom in: Spellbinder, a gold medal winner at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival, is brewed with Arizona-grown Sonora white wheat.
- You can find it canned in some local stores, or get it on draft at one of Wren House's three Valley taprooms.
Thanks for playing! Now who needs a drink? 🙋🏻♀️ 🙋🏻♂️
3. 👶 Arizona's top baby names
If your baby's name is Liam or Olivia, they're going to be in good company for years to come.
Driving the news: The Social Security Administration yesterday released its annual list of top baby names for 2025.
Zoom in: Liam and Olivia were the top names in Arizona for the seventh time in the past nine years.
- Liam slipped to No. 2 behind Mateo in 2023, while Olivia has held the top girls spot since 2019.
- You have to go back to 2016 — Noah and Emma — to find a year when at least one of them wasn't the most popular name.
Topping the list in Arizona were:
Boys:
- Liam
- Noah
- Mateo
- Santiago
- Oliver
Girls:
- Olivia
- Sophia
- Mia
- Amelia
- Isabella
The administration compiles the top 100 for each state and for the U.S. as a whole, so check to see whether your kid's name made the cut.
- You can also see lists from previous years if you're wondering how common your name was the year you were born.
4. Chips & salsa: Judge upholds Axon law
⚖️ A Maricopa County judge upheld a 2025 law that blocked a public vote on the Scottsdale City Council's rezoning for Axon's proposed headquarters building. (AZcentral)
🏈 The Cardinals released their schedule last night. See it here.
🇮🇳 Tikka Drive, Arizona's first drive-through Indian restaurant, opened in Chandler. (Arizona's Family)
👍 Gov. Katie Hobbs is lifting her month-old bill moratorium after what her office deemed a week of "good-faith" budget negotiations with Republican lawmakers. (Arizona Mirror)
🚫 The AG's Office filed a lawsuit seeking to have former state Rep. David Marshall removed as Navajo County recorder. (KJZZ)
5. 🤔 Test your news knowledge!
It's that time again! See how well you absorbed this week's news with our quiz.
🥳 Congratulations to last week's perfect scorers: Debra K., Brent S., Judi S., Jim M., J. James, Ronnie G., Josh H. and Kimberly B.
Hit reply or email us at [email protected] with a screenshot of your perfect score for a shoutout next week!
📕 Jeremy invites everyone to come to the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale at 2pm tomorrow to hear him discuss his new book, "Murder in the Fourth Estate."
🥳 Jessica is wishing her grandpa a happy 80th birthday!
Thanks to Jessica for editing.
Sign up for Axios Phoenix






