Valley 101

Picture this: you’re headed to Sedona from downtown Phoenix. As you drive north on Interstate 17, you pass the Outlets by Anthem.  What you might not know is that the section of Anthem with the outlet mall — the western section — is actually part of the city of Phoenix. The larger portion of Anthem, its eastern counterpart, is in unincorporated Maricopa County. There’s no such thing as the city of...

On 52nd Avenue and Glendale Avenue, a five-story building stands empty. It's fenced off from the public with faded red brick and bordered-off windows. Arizona Republic readers picked the Beet Sugar Factory as one of the worst West Valley eyesores.  The factory captured the interest of Valley 101 listener Garret Godfrey. He asked us about the history of the Beet Sugar Factory and about future plans...

If you drive downtown Phoenix, it's likely you have turned down Van Buren Street, Roosevelt Road or another roadway named after a President. Phoenix famously has a grid system for its roads. Roads running North to South are numbered and roads running East to West are named streets.  But one of our listeners asked why the streets in Central Phoenix are named after United States Presidents. They gre...

Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden boasts more than a mile of native plants. Every step of the way, you’ll find plants that are uniquely attended for survival in the hot, dry desert.  In fact, there are more than 200 plants that thrive in our desert climate.  “One of my favorites is the chocolate flower, that spring or fall will grace your morning grand with the aroma of sweet chocolate,” said Kirt...

In honor of Women’s History Month, we're highlighting the story of two women who dedicated their careers and retirements to educational equity. Their names were Betty and Jean Fairfax. Those names might sound familiar. Betty H. Fairfax High School in the Phoenix Union District is named after the oldest sister. She’s the only former educator in the district with a high school named after her. How d...

The Valley is full of transplants. Many of us moved here or our parents moved here, perhaps our grandparents. Then there's Candice Copple, whose family has been in Arizona for six generations. Copple's ancestors came to Arizona in the 1800s as a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her great-great-great grandfather was Charles Innes Robson the 1st. He’s considered a founding fa...

Dust storms can create a wall of dust that miles wide and thousands of feet high. When one hits, visibility can drop down to a quarter of a mile or less. When that happens, the local branch of the National Weather Service will send out a weather emergency alert. Odds are you've received one on your phone. Sirens, however, are not part of the messaging equation. It turns out there are a few reasons...

When you're on the road, odds are you'll see plenty of our standard Arizona license plates. You know, the ones with a purple saguaro and mountain under a blue and yellow sky. But you'll also see a fair number of plates that look different.  Valley 101 listener Harold Lohner noticed this too. He asked why Arizona cars have so many vanity license plates? Is it more than other In this week's episode...

When you go to recycle, what you can put in your bin depends on a few different factors, including which municipality you live in. Different cities within the Valley have different rules. Why is that? Why is there not an across-the-board set of items you can and can’t recycle? In this episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we break down the reasons why where...

The Phoenix Bakery was a downtown staple in the city’s earliest days. German immigrant Ed Eisele Sr. started working there in 1881, purchasing the shop at West Washington Street and Center Street (now Central Avenue) three years later. As the city grew, the bakery grew, leaving its original location in 1929. But the red-brick building that housed the original operation is still around today. There...

Before Las Vegas became known as the quickie wedding hotspot, people flew to Phoenix. Or at least that's what Phoenix's Junior Chamber of Commerce hoped for.  The story dates back to 1937. The city had purchased Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport two years prior in 1935. Most states across the U.S. at this point had laws mandating a 3-day waiting period for couples wishing to wed. But Arizon...

Today, the West Valley is home to 1.7 million people, according to data collected by the Western Maricopa Coalition. And it’s still growing. The coalition anticipates that over the next 25 years, 49.5% of the growth in Maricopa County will happen in the West Valley. That's vastly different from what it was like in the beginning of the 20th century. Before Arizona had towns like Avondale, Goodyear...

In 1964, at the age of 51, Richard E. Harris became the first Black reporter at The Arizona Republic.  His tenure came during a momentous and tumultuous period in our nation’s history. The year before, thousands were arrested while protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Among them was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would deliver his famed “I Have A Dream” speech from the steps of the Linc...

Winter in Arizona means peak hiking season. The weather is beautiful, the landscapes are breathtaking and, because of COVID-19, the fact that you can socially distance in the open air while getting in some exercise is an added perk.  But if you take your dogs with you, there are some things you need to know. Maybe you’re new to the Valley and your transplant dog isn’t used to the desert terrain. B...

There are the normal highway signs, ones that feature messages about travel times or road conditions.  Then there are the funny ones. Ones that say things like, "Cut off? Don’t get bad blood. Shake it off” in reference to a Taylor Swift song. Or “Aggressive driving is the path to the dark side,” a nod to “Star Wars.” Arizona isn't unique in having signs like that. The trend started with the Iowa D...

If you fell down the TikTok rabbit hole in 2020, odds are you probably came across one or two videos of people roller skating. It's a trend and hobby people took up to get outside during the pandemic. Valley 101 listener Antonio Moody is a teacher and heard about the exact same trend from his students. Some of them even thought of taking up roller derby. Moody asked the podcast team if there was a...

If you're a transplant to Arizona from New England, you may have been surprised at the seeming absence of cemeteries in the Phoenix area. After all, they feel like they're located at every corner in some northeastern states. That's how Christopher Bunce felt when he moved to the Valley in January of 2020. So he submitted a question to Valley 101, our newsroom podcast dedicated to helping Phoenicia...

Hey Valley 101 listeners! We're taking a week off for a little rest and relaxation. Thank you for all of your questions this year! We look forward to answering more of them in 2021. Let us know what's on your mind at valley101podcast.azcentral.com or on Twitter @Valley101pod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For almost 20 years, the Outlets at Anthem decorated with the largest Christmas tree in Arizona. This year is no exception. Their 70-foot tall white fir tree weighs four tons after it's decorated.  How did that tradition start? And how does the mall know that its tree is the tallest in the state? Podcast editor Katie O'Connell found out during this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The...

Every winter, Arizona sees an influx of retirees that from out of state. They come to enjoy our mild sunny winters and to escape their snowy season. Many come from Midwestern states like Minnesota or Wisconsin. But what brings snowbirds to Arizona specifically? And once they're here, what's their economic impact on the Valley? In this week's episode, producer Maritza Dominguez digs into this pheno...

Barry Goldwater was a businessman, a Phoenix city councilman, and a prominent U.S. Senator from Arizona. He loved flying his plane across the state's diverse landscapes, and most would say he was a pretty good photographer. In the biggest race of his life, the 1964 presidential election, Goldwater lost significantly to Democrat Lyndon Baines Johnson. LBJ walked away with 61.1% of the popular vote...

Cooling off during the summer months is no easy feat. While people in other parts of the country may retreat to the cooler depths of their basements, that's not an option here in Phoenix. Rather, it's not a popular option. Instead, folks across the Valley take a dip in a pool to find some relief. But why is that? Why do houses here tend to have pools instead of basements? Podcast editor Katie O'Co...

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...

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 V...

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, b...