Happy Thursday! Remember, remember the fifth of November… It's Guy Fawkes Day, commemorating his arrest in a foiled plot to blow up the House of Lords in 1605.

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, high of 78.

Today’s newsletter is 1,026 words — a 4-minute read.

Our roads in the Valley are some of the deadliest in the country, per a new traffic study.

Why it matters: The analysis, conducted by the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), could lead to new countermeasures to make our roads safer.

• MAG is a nonprofit dedicated to addressing regional challenges. It counts 28 Valley cities and towns, among other entities, as members.

Driving the news: Last month, MAG presented its findings from an examination of 2020-24 traffic data, comparing it with 2014-19 data.

• The study found that roadway safety in the broader Valley — which includes parts of Pinal County — is bad and getting worse.

By the numbers: Here's how the MAG area ranked out of 52 metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), which set policy for their regions.

Zoom in: 30% of fatalities involved "vulnerable road users" — think cyclers and pedestrians — and 70% occurred on non-residential roadways.

• The Valley ranked poorly in pedestrian deaths, non-residential roadway deaths and intersection deaths.

What they're saying: "We know that we have a major safety issue here, but I think it really confirmed for us that intersections are going to be a major focus area," MAG interim safety policy manager Maggie Wong tells Axios.

The other side: MAG's Transportation Policy Committee member Jay Beeber — who is also the chief policy officer for the National Motorists Association — questions the study's methodology.

• The study should have based its numbers on the "gold standard" of vehicle miles traveled rather than population, Beeber tells Axios. He also says the study's five-year span obscured recent improvements in certain metrics, such as a shorter-term dip in fatalities.

Context: Wong says that the MAG study was meant only to establish a benchmark for the region compared with its peers and that future analyses will dig into what's causing the Valley's problems, particularly with intersections.

What's next: A more granular analysis should be done by March, Wong says. Then MAG will determine policy priorities and award grants to member cities for safety improvements. 

• However, it could take years for those improvements to be implemented and years more to collect enough data about whether they work, per Wong.

Buckle up

The voting is over, but there's still some counting left to do in this week's election.

Why it matters: Numerous races have yet to be called, including key legislative contests where Democrats are leading and are poised to win control of both the House and Senate for the first time in 60 years.

State of play: There are around 207,000 ballots remaining in Maricopa County as of last night, according to the county elections department.

• There are also about 67,000 ballots left in Pima County, per the Tucson Sentinel.

Between the lines: The Maricopa County Recorder's Office announced yesterday that it completed signature verification on early ballots.

• The county received about 194,000 early ballots needing verification on Election Day.
• If election officials were unable to verify your signature, you have until Sunday to resolve it.

Democratic leads held steady yesterday in races for 10 House seats and seven Senate seats currently held by Republicans.

• They need net gains of at least four House seats and three Senate seats to win majorities in each chamber and complete the Democratic "trifecta" after Gov. Katie Hobbs' reelection.
• Democratic leads in many of those races are substantial.

If you're sick of seeing campaign signs everywhere, you can look forward to having clear intersections in about two weeks — if the candidates do their jobs.

State of play: Candidates have 15 days after the general election to remove their signs from public rights-of-way, per state law. Some cities and counties provide extra grace periods.

• You can contact your city, or county if you're in an unincorporated area, to report violations and have signs removed.
• Some localities can impose fines for violations, though oftentimes they don't.

Yes, but: If you live in north or central Phoenix, you've got City Council runoff elections coming in March, which means you'll still be looking at roadside campaign signs for a while.

🔎 A YouTuber convicted of stalking a Tucson woman could be released from prison after subsequent investigation revealed that some anonymous threatening emails at the center of the case originated from the home of the victims, one of whom is a city prosecutor. (AZCentral)

🏈 The Cardinals are finalizing a trade to send quarterback Jacoby Brissett to the Ravens after naming Gardner Minshew II as their starting quarterback. (Arizona Sports)

⛏️ Freeport-McMoRan plans to spend $4.5 billion to expand and modernize its Bagdad copper and molybdenum mine in western Arizona. (Wall Street Journal)

🎻 Representatives of the Phoenix Symphony's board of directors and its musicians met to discuss the symphony's future, saying in a joint statement that they're "encouraged by the progress made." (12 News)

I may be far from home this year, but that hasn't stopped me from creating the perfect itinerary to celebrate, Diwali, the Hindu festival marking triumph of light over darkness.

State of play: My weekend starts with a Diwali-themed craft night at Spice Scottsdale, a trinket shop, on Friday night.

• I'm stopping by Ekta Mandir's Diwali festivities happening all weekend in Phoenix.
• On Sunday, the day of Diwali, I have reservations at Michelin-recommended Indibar, located in Paradise Valley and known for upscale Indian cuisine.

Between the lines: Diwali is becoming a global retail moment, but, as Vogue Business reports, American brands are still learning how to engage with this festival in meaningful ways.

The bottom line: Light a candle or two this weekend. That little flame is the heart of Diwali, a reminder that light always finds its way through the dark.

Join the celebration

🏀 Jeremy remains optimistic about UofA basketball despite the Wildcats' season-opening loss to UCLA. Bring on Cal Poly!

🍗 Zach ate for the first time at Monroe's Hot Chicken in downtown. No complaints.

This newsletter was edited by Jodie Lau.