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For the first time, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ranked number one in J.D. Power's 2020 North America airport satisfaction study. This made Valley 101 listener Gregory Yost wonder: why? What made the airport so satisfying to customers?This wasn't the first question about Phoenix Sky Harbor submitted to the team. Producer Maritza Dominguez teamed up with travel reporter Melissa Yeager to answer your questions about the local airport. They also answer questions about the safety of flying amid a global pandemic and why Sky Harbor doesn’t offer more international flights.In this episode you'll hear from:  Michael Taylor, a representative with J.D. Power Brian Znotins, the vice president of network and schedule planning with American Airlines  Kacey Ernst, a University of Arizona professor in the College of Public Health and an infectious disease epidemiologist 

Buckeye, Arizona was founded in 1888. But it wasn't always called Buckeye. So how did it get that name? And does it have anything to do with Ohio? This week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, dives into those questions Guiding us through the journey are: Jackie Meck, the soon-to-be former mayor of Buckeye. Deanna Kupcik, president and CEO of Buckeye Valley Chamber of Commerce. Levi Beard, former Vice Mayor and owner of Absolute Screen Printing in Buckeye. 

Phoenix's light rail system isn't the first time the city had rail travel. From 1887 to 1948, the Phoenix Street Railway System shuttled riders from downtown through growing neighborhoods to rural areas. In 1929, the system had 6.6 million passengers. That year, the system really lived up to its motto, "Ride a Mile and Smile the While."The system survived the Great Depression and World War II, but a mysterious fire in 1947 was the fatal blow to an already-declining system. However, the system and its role in Phoenix's history weren't forgotten. The wonder and importance of such transportation is memorialized in the Phoenix Trolley Museum. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, podcast editor Katie O'Connell examines the history of the Phoenix trolley.

The 19th Amendment turns 100 this year. The amendment guaranteed American women's suffrage nationally, but some women in Arizona voted before 1920. How did they do that?This week on Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we meet some of the leaders of the women's suffrage movement in Arizona and explore their long-lasting impacts. In this episode you'll hear:  How Frances Munds impacted women's suffrage.  How literacy tests in Arizona disenfranchised women of color. When Native Americans received the right to vote. 

For most Americans, the clock springs forward an hour or falls back one because of Daylight Saving Time. But that's not the case in two states: Arizona and Hawaii. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, podcast intern Jonathan Tease dives into the history and debates that led to Arizona's decision to opt out of Daylight Saving Time.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 built 41,000 miles of interconnected highways across the country. The bill arrived in an era of post-World War II, Cold War tension. Its proponents said highways were necessary for national defense. In case of an attack, people in densely populated cities would need roadways to evacuate. Across the country, highways were placed directly through towns, bisecting neighborhoods and changing the social fabric of communities. Some were routed through Black and minority neighborhoods that city leaders considered unsightly. "Urban renewal” programs sometimes used highways as barriers between Black and white parts of town.In Phoenix, highway construction came years later than other big cities, and the pushback by residents was strong. Mostly middle- and upper-class white residents of Phoenix were able to bargain for alterations and accommodations when infrastructure came in. For mostly low-income Black and Latino neighborhoods, the result was different. 

On Monday, for the first time ever, Arizona will recognize Indigenous Peoples Day. It's a move that State Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai has been working toward for years."The United States is first and foremost, and always has been and always will be, Indigenous peoples' sacred homeland," Peshlakai said.On Sept. 4, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a proclamation recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day. Similar to the city of Phoenix's 2016 shift, the move does not replace Columbus Day, which falls on the same date, as a state holiday. And since it's a proclamation instead of legislation, this year will be the only year Indigenous Peoples Day is recognized by the state.At least for now.Pehslakai has plans to introduce legislation in 2021 to push for Indigenous Peoples Day to replace Columbus Day, but that move won't come without opposition. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're looking at the history behind the movement for Indigenous Peoples Day. The episode is hosted by Shondiin Silversmith, an Indigenous Affairs reporter for the Republic, and produced by podcast editor Katie O'Connell.

As newcomers to the Valley, Stephen Richer and his wife Lindsay noticed a ton of photo shoots taking place in downtown Phoenix. He saw women walking in downtown accompanied by professional photographers.Richer lived in other cities like Chicago, New Orleans and Portland. The phenomenon he saw in Phoenix was new to him. To find out what was going on, he got in touch with our team at Valley 101.In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we dive into the social media influencer community here in the Valley. Producer Maritza Dominguez partnered with the Republic's entertainment reporter KiMi Robinson. 

Hattie Mosher had a pioneering spirit. The daughter of one of the wealthiest families in turn of the century Phoenix, Hattie wasn't one to hold back. She made waves by being one of the first — if not the first — women to ride a bike in Phoenix. She worked as a reporter at the Denver Post. She ran for political office a decade after white women in Arizona were given the right to vote. But Hattie's story would go from riches to rags. In the final years of her life, she would be seen wandering around town in outdated ball gowns, rummaging through garbage bins for scraps. By the time she died in 1945, she had lost all but two small parcels of land and most of her money.How did someone who grew up in the lap of luxury lose everything? It's a story of grief, a city's development and the tenacity of those who helped grow it. To find out more about Hattie Mosher, listen to today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. 

West of the White Tank Mountains in Buckeye, there's a 30-mile, four-land highway that connects Interstate 10 in the south to Bell Road in the north. It was once seen as the key to city growth, anchoring dozens of future master planned communities and some 300,000 anticipated residents.After dozens of private investors constructed the highway in 1988 and 1989, the highway sat unused amid desolate surroundings for nearly 20 years. So what happened? How did this become our "Road to Nowhere"?  This week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, digs into the rich history of Sun Valley Parkway. 

The first day of school is always a big day for students. Many plan out their outfits and memorize their schedules for the day. They walk out on campus with a map in hand to find their classrooms.But this year, many students are not getting that same experience. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic put the traditional rituals of returning to school on hold. This includes students attending Arizona State University.  ASU reopened their campus with new restrictions and guidelines. In today’s episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're following two students and an English instructor as they adj to life on campus. We'll hear how safe they feel teaching and going to school at ASU. The Republic’s higher education reporter Rachel Leingang partnered with producer Martiza Dominguez for today's episode.

Labor Day is a anational holiday that celebrates the contributors to the work force. During this holiday, our Valley 101 podcast team thought it would be fitting to explore one of the largest and most important labor movements in our state's history, the Farmworkers Movement.Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta are two of the most well-known organizers in the movement. But Arizona had its own leaders. People such as Gustavo Gutierrez and Francisca Montoya. Their efforts, which diverged at times from union leadership in California, created lasting impacts for farmworkers in Arizona.The movement is also credited to laying the foundation for activism in the Latino community in Arizona.  Today, we're diving into the movement by answering five questions about the movement. Producers Maritza Dominguez and Taylor Seely will guide you through the history and impacts of the movement. In this episode, you'll hear: Marco Rosales, a Ph.D candidate at the University of California-Davis,  who has extensively researched the movement.   Francisca Montoya who experienced the farmworkers movement first hand in Arizona.   Cesar Chavez in "Huelga!," a 1966 documentary. 

Walk along almost any canal in the metro Phoenix area and you're sure to find thousands of shells each smaller than a quarter. What are they and how did they get there? Those are the questions reporter John D'Anna wonders about every time he walks his dog George along the neighborhood canal path. This week, Valley 101 is answering them. The shells' official name is Corbicula fluminea, but they're more commonly referred to as Asiatic clams. They were first spotted in the U.S. in 1938, then in Phoenix in 1956. 

It's August, which means your TV news broadcasts are usually filled with stories about monsoon season, including stories about flooding, how to drive safely and how much rain we've received. This year has been a little different thanks to a hotter and drier summer. But when the rain hits, there's a noticeable scent to it. That's thanks to a certain desert plant, the creosote bush. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, podcast editor Katie O'Connell explores what element of the creosote bush is responsible for producing this scent. She'll also discover whether or not we're the only place in the world with storms that smell like ours. 

In a previous episode of Valley 101, producer Taylor Seely broke down the grid system of Phoenix streets. The streets in Phoenix run north and south, and east and west. This created streets that run perpendicular to each other.However, there are always exceptions to the rule. Grand Avenue is one of those. Today we’re answering two questions submitted by listeners. First, how does a diagonal street like Grand Avenue exists in a grid system? And second, what’s so grand about Grand Avenue?In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we dive into the street's history.

Health care workers in Arizona are struggling through the burdens of a public health crisis that has hospitalized thousands of Arizonans and pushed emergency rooms and ICUs near full capacity.With higher than usual patient-to-nurse ratios, stringent PPE protocols and looming fears over exposing their loved ones to the novel coronavirus, health care workers in Arizona are feeling tired, dejected and desperate for lawmakers and the public to take COVID-19 seriously.  "They've been trying to do two to one ICU patients to a nurse, but that's starting to be hard," Miranda Dunkelbarger, an ICU nurse in Apache Junction, said. Some days she said she's had three patients at a time. When New York emerged as a national hotspot in March and April and became the subject of eye catching stories about overwhelmed hospitals and mass graves for the dead, health care workers in Arizona watched in both fear and trepidation — How long before it came to Arizona?By early August, the novel coronavirus infected more than 180,000 Arizonans and killed more than 4,000. In June and July, Arizona was thrust in the national spotlight as a global hotspot, at one point recording a 25% positivity rate of tests conducted, a key COVID-19 metric. This week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, follows Dr. Brad Dreifuss and nurse Miranda Dunkelbarger. Dreifuss is an emergency physician based in Tucson and co-founder of HCWHosted, a coalition dedicated to building pandemic preparedness plans for communities. Producer Taylor Seely dives into what they're experiencing and what they want people to know about their work.

Phoenix is the largest metropolitan city in the U.S. without passenger-rail service, but that wasn't always the case. In 1923, Phoenix Union Station opened. And in 1926, a transcontinental line was completed, meaning someone could take the train anywhere in the country. In this episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're exploring the history of passenger-rail service in the Valley. We'll look at what caused the decline in ridership, as well as future plans that could revive rail service to the historic building.

For several people in the Valley who've contracted COVID-19 or watched someone they love contract it, a switch flipped afterward. They felt compelled to convince others to take the disease seriously. Jimmy Flores, a 30-year-old man from Tempe, told Arizona Republic reporter Audrey Jensen he thought COVID-19 was a joke. He figured he was too young and healthy to be susceptible to any significant danger.After a night out at the bars, Flores contracted COVID-19 and was subsequently hospitalized. He tried to persuade friends and family to be more cautious. He posted on Facebook about his experience and tried to steer clear of politics, hoping it might help detractors or skeptics grasp reality.Others trying to spread awareness, though, are diving head first into politics. Mark Urquiza was a 65-year-old resident living in Phoenix's Maryvale neighborhood. He died on June 30 from COVID-19. His daughter, Kristin Urquiza, blames Gov. Doug Ducey. She published an evocative obituary for her father in The Republic calling out, "the carelessness of the politicians" for jeopardizing public health and "brown bodies." In an interview, she said Ducey has "blood on his hands." This week's episode of Valley 101 shares the stories of Flores and the Urquiza family. It examines the confusion some felt about Arizona's reopening and the potential effects of returning to life as usual. 

As a lifelong Valley resident, I would often drive by the spring training stadiums for the Chicago Cubs or the Los Angeles Angels. I always wondered why we had outside teams playing in the Arizona.The reason dates back to the 1940s before the state even had its own Major League Baseball team. Arizona's relationship to Americans' favorite pastime started with a coalition of baseball teams that would eventually become known as the Cactus League.   This week on Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, I look into the history of that league, while answering my own question, "Why is Arizona home to the Cactus League?" In this episode, you'll hear: How the Cactus League got its beginning in Arizona.  How the league planted the seed of integrating the city in the 1940s. The economic impact spring training has in the Valley. 

This episode goes out to all of the book lovers. Did you know that if you live in Tempe, you can get a Phoenix Public Library card? One of our podcast listeners knew that, but he wasn't sure why, so podcast editor Katie O'Connell found out. In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're exploring peeking behind-the-scenes at our local libraries. This includes looking at how services have been updated during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the popular summer reading program for kids.