Cold War history will come alive in Phoenix as the city begins work on a monument to a very appropriately named submarine.

The big picture: The USS Phoenix was a nuclear attack submarine used by the Navy during the latter years of the Cold War.

• The Los Angeles-class submarine was in service 1981-1997 and decommissioned in 1998.

State of play: The city of Phoenix at 8am on Saturday will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking — construction has already begun — for the USS Phoenix Cold War Monument at Steele Indian School Park.

• The monument, which will include salvaged pieces of the submarine, will resemble the decommissioned submarine.
• It will be located near the park's Memorial Hall, near Third Street and Indian School Road.
• It's unclear when it will be completed.

Catch up quick: "It has been quite literally decades in the making," Phoenix parks department spokesperson Teleia Galaviz tells Axios.

• The city approved plans for the monument in 2008 after a decade of lobbying, according to the USS Phoenix Cold War Monument Foundation.
• The Navy dismantled the Phoenix and in 2016 trucked its sail, diving planes and top rudder to Arizona from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, where the submarine had been stored for 18 years.

What they're saying: The monument will be "an inspirational, educational, functional museum monument" that will "recognize, memorialize and express appreciation to those submarine sailors, civil servants, defense industry workers and submarine builders for their great sacrifices and service to our country during the period 1946 to 1991 and learn from their experience," the foundation wrote on its website.

Flashback: The submarine isn't the first USS Phoenix. The first was a light cruiser that survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and was later deployed in the Pacific Theater in World War II.

• There was also a USNS Phoenix, an auxiliary ship used in the Philippines until 1973.
• The USS Phoenix also isn't the only Los Angeles-class submarine named for an Arizona city — the USS Tucson was launched in 1994 and is still in service.

Share this story

Construction is underway on a long-awaited high-rise apartment building that developers say is "expected to become a new landmark along the Central Avenue corridor."

Why it matters: The long-vacant spot on the southwest corner of Central Avenue and McDowell Road is a prime location in one of the Valley's most popular and booming areas.

State of play: The Whitney will be 24 stories with 328 units, along with more than 22,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

• Aspirant Development, which is behind the project, touted it as the only residential high-rise in the downtown Phoenix corridor north of Interstate 10.
• It's "positioned within Phoenix's evolving Arts District" — the Whitney is catty-corner from the Phoenix Art Museum — and is in front of the McDowell Road light rail station.
• The first residents are expected to move in around May 2028, the Empire Group, of which Aspirant is part, tells Axios.

What we're watching: It's too early to say which restaurants or retail partners will be part of the Whitney because it's too early for anyone to start signing leases, per Empire Group.

• Developers expect a "mid- to upscale restaurant on the hard corner" with smaller strip mall tenants along McDowell.

Read more

🗳️ A Maricopa County judge blocked a ballot measure referred by legislative Republicans that would have nullified proposed restrictions on Arizona's school voucher program while protecting funds for military families. (ABC15)

• Supporters of the measure are appealing the ruling.

🚘 Waymo's autonomous vehicles are returning to Valley freeways after the company fixed a software glitch that led to them being pulled in May. (AZcentral)

🥪 Colorado-based Smiling Moose Sandwich Grill will open its first Arizona location in Scottsdale, with an investment group that includes former Sun Devils basketball star James Harden. (KTAR)

🐄 The Agua Prieta-Douglas crossing in Arizona will be the first U.S.-Mexico border crossing to reopen to cattle after more than a year-long closure in response to the New World screwworm outbreak. (KJZZ)

For the 10th year in a row, the Arizona Department of Transportation is holding a contest to determine what (hopefully clever) safety slogans will appear on digital message boards above state highways.

How it works: Residents have through Aug. 4 to submit suggestions at azdot.gov/signcontest. There is no limit on entries.

• ADOT will narrow the list to 10 finalists, and online vote will then cut the field down to two winners.

The fine print: Entries must be related to traffic safety and can't include phone numbers, websites or emojis.

What they're saying: "This contest is a way to engage Arizonans about the safe driving choices we all need to make behind the wheel," ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said in an announcement.

• "We all need to think twice about choosing to speed or driving recklessly or distracted, and I can't wait to see the engaging messages the public creates."

Zach's thought bubble: More than the winners, I'm excited to see what gets rejected.