Jen & Friends | Jen's Two Cents.

Breaking down Arizona’s ESA drama just one day after furious parents walked out of a State Board meeting — and with a potential challenger already being recruited to take on Superintendent Tom Horne in 2026. Time Codes: 00:00 Intro :07 Stacey discusses what happened during the April 28, 2025 ADE meeting :59 Stacey explains what happened during ADE public comment  2:12 The ADE meeting 3:28 Stacey d...

EXCLUSIVE - FIRST INTERVIEW : The Conservative Candidate for Arizona Secretary of State   Rep. Alex Kolodin officially filed to run in the 2026 General Election as a Republican candidate for Arizona Secretary of State on March 31, 2025.  Backed by the powerful Arizona Freedom Caucus, Kolodin gives his first official interview to Senior Investigative Journalist Jen Barber on March 30, 2025. Please...

Axon. Waymo. Arizona's deficit. Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-LD3) talks with "Jen & Friends" about the big issues and hints what might be next for his political career. READ THE STORY VIDEO TIME CODES :00 Intro :26 About State 48 News :42 Chaplik’s support of independent journalism  1:10 About Chaplik & how he got into politics 2:36 Chaplik’s start in Arizona 3:04 Getting involved...

Photo radar. It’s one of the hot topics in the #azleg and who gets to decide its fate is on razor’s edge. The state? Cities? Or citizens? Senior Investigative Journalist Jen Barber has been digging into red-light cameras, license plate readers, and AI-driven mass surveillance for more than a year. In this episode of “Jen and Friends”, Barber talks with a variety of state lawmakers, and shares the...

On this episode of "Jen & Friends", an exclusive interview with Surprise, Arizona's Councilmember-Elect Johnny Melton . The long-time conservative advocate agreed to talk with West Valley Families about the newly formed Conservative Agenda for Arizona group - a group generating a lot of criticism and speculation regarding its motive. While Melton's comments on my early rele...

Happiness is defined as a state of mind. Joy is a feeling of happiness. Or is it? After the death of my father, I’ve been thinking a lot about what separates joy and happiness. And to broaden the conversation, I asked an old friend to join me on my podcast to talk about how we can practice joy in our lives…  I hope you enjoy this Q&A with Mario Valencia. A vet. Business owner. Nonprofit founde...

We kick off our 3rd season of Jen & Friends with an exclusive interview with Nathan Madden. Madden is a governing school board member in the Buckeye Union High School District, and a candidate in LD25’s race for state representative. He talks with us about the formula creating success in West Valley education. And he shares a platform idea that has us re-thinking the way we view leadership in...

He's the sports guy everyone knows and loves in Prescott, Arizona. On this episode of Jen & Friends, we have a spirited conversation with KYCA Radio Sports Director John Rust. From his dream interview to his beef with guacamole, we get more insight about John's interests and hobby-turned-side hustle as an author . We also discuss the state of youth sports. Why are kids leaving the ga...

In this exclusive interview with Sgt. Tyler of the Goodyear Police Department, we tackle TWO big issues. 1. Teen Mental Health Sgt. Tyler is part of an ad hoc committee looking for solutions to prevent teen suicide. 2. School Resource Officers Sgt. Tyler discusses Goodyear's SRO program and his hopes for the future of the program. We've so enjoyed this conversation. Please send us your i...

A second west Valley student was denied the honor of being named "valedictorian" at a local high school graduation. West Valley Families first broke news of this trend in Arizona. Our reporting has led to one top-achieving student to get the recognition he deserves, while a student in another district wrangles to create change for future classes. Independent journalist Jen Barber has exc...

Great conversation with the Board President of the Agua Fria Union HSD. Trey Terry and Jen Barber talk about the District’s long-standing policy on ranking students by GPA… a decision its district made - due to a possible cheating scandal and unrelated to equitable outcomes, he says. The current ranking policy was established well before Arizona School Boards Association started recommending sorti...

West Valley Families' Jen Barber has an exclusive interview with AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne about the hotline established to report CRT in the classroom. Please send news tips to jen@news2jb.com.

The West Valley's Caden Lipsky is a graduating senior with a 5.24 GPA. Number one in his class. But the aspiring astronaut won't be named "Valedictorian" due to school district guidelines now becoming more popular in schools nationwide. While schools like to brag on #1 athletes, they diminish the values of hard work in the classroom by lumping top students into categories of To...

On our first podcast of 2023, Jen and Friends is sure to get you thinking. We talk with my good friend, Ginger. Pour a glass of wine and join us as we laugh, think, and talk about Goodyear's growing needs.  Please send news tips to jen@news2jb.com.

On this second episode of Jen & Friends, good friend Brenda Bernardi Blume joins me for a trip down memory lane. We take a look at how Goodyear, Arizona won the All-America City Award and how the recession impacted plans for a City Center. In our next episode, Brenda will talk with us about how the "Ziz" came to be at the Goodyear Ballpark. Thanks for listening! Please send news tips...

Goodyear, Arizona and the entire West Valley are growing quickly. Why are people moving here? In this very first episode of Jen & Friends, I mic up my hair stylist who opened her salon just before the pandemic started. Not much later, she became a new mom. Hear Leeann Garcia's thoughts on this booming area, how she's created a positive vibe in her salon, and motherhood... Business Li...

Take a sneak peek of our very first podcast with Jen & Friends.... Please send news tips to jen@news2jb.com.