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Arizona Spotlight for January 27th, 2022

With less water on the surface, how long can Arizona rely on what's underground? And, the Pima County Public Library's "Welcome to America Team" is helping Afghan immigrants to find their new home.

Adia Barnes on Teamwork and Motherhood.

Also on Arizona Spotlight:Can new technology save water on farms? Plus Chris Dashiell remembers Peter Bogdanovich, and a short story read by author Michelle Ross.

Jazz guitarist, composer & educator Dave Stryker.

The Dave Stryker Quartet kicks off the 2022 Tucson Jazz Festival.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: The Cocopah Indian Tribe work to restore the Colorado River Delta; How Maryanne Chisholm's artistic vision guided her through difficult times; and the Sonoran Plein Air Painters share "A Brush with the Desert".

The sun shines harshly behind a saguaro cactus.

Last year was fifth-warmest recorded in Tucson

Each month was among the warmest in Tucson history except for July, when there was heavy rainfall during the monsoon season.

Laura Dent had solar panels installed on her home earlier this year through a co-op and says that the process was simple and straightforward.

Nonprofit helps homeowners find good price for solar panels

The organization is launching its second co-op in Tucson.

Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack, here deer hunting with her father Leon, played by Jon Proudstar in the 2021 FX series "Reservation Dogs".

"Reservation Dogs" has found a global audience, and castmember Jon Proudstar knows why.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: How much difference can 2 degrees make in terms of our water table? Plus, Ann Hampton Callaway sings songs that moved a generation!

The Colorado River Basin continues to be sapped dry by increasing temperatures and diminished precipitation.

Drought to continue, say weather experts

The 2021 monsoon did little to help.

County officials and media tour a biogas refining plant at the Tres Rios Water Reclamation Facility, Oct. 21, 2021. The newly-dedicated plant will supply renewable natural gas, or RNG, to Southwest Gas, reducing the utility's demand for fossil-fuel based gas.

Biogas plant makes fuel, money for Pima County

Facility purifies waste methane for commercial use.

A Tucson Unified School District Bus.

Tucson leaders push for electric school buses

Infrastructure bills include billions for zero-emission vehicles

A stretch of border fencing east of Douglas constructed as part of President Trump's initiative to erect a taller wall along the southern border. November 2020.

Rights groups advocate for 'climate-focused' approach to quell deaths at the border

More than 160 sets of human remains have been recovered from the Arizona desert so far this year

Mated pair of Great Plains toads (Anaxyrus cognatus) in the floodplain of the Santa Cruz River.

The Desert Blooms in a Bountiful Monsoon.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Why the music of the rock group Fanny is rocking a whole new generation!

The Central Arizona Project moves water from the Colorado River to southern Arizona. July 2021

Arizona faces cut in water supplies as shortage is declared on Colorado River

Arizona will lose 18% of its share of Colorado River water next year, with cuts falling largely on farmers.

Saguaro National Park employees climbing up a hill within the park to find and spray bunches of buffelgrass with herbicide August 2021.

How one grass at Saguaro National Park shows push and pull of climate change

If left unchecked, buffelgrass poses a tremendous fire danger to native plants and the homes nearby.

Lake Pleasant, north of Phoenix, is a major reservoir for Colorado River water. Each summer the lake is pumped down to send water to Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties. July 2021

Water cutbacks coming to Arizona

A decades-long drought means less water from the Colorado River.

This five day precipitation forecast map released by the National Weather Service on July 21, 2021 shows that much of the state's midsection is expected to get at least one inch of rainfall, with some areas receiving up to three inches, by Saturday night. Nearly all of the state is under a flash flood watch through 11:00 p.m. Saturday.

Flash flood watch through Saturday

NWS predicts 2006-style rainstorms into the weekend.

The Bureau of Land Management used prescribed burns across many of its properties for habitat improvement and to reduce the risk of severe wildfires.

Rain, progress allow operations to be scaled back at 2 fires

Other fires continued to burn around the state and several national forests remained closed due to continued fire danger.

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