Devin Browne

Supporters of a Mexican-American Studies program in Tucson met outside Arizona’s state capitol Wednesday to read from books they say have been banned. School district officials say the books have not been banned–just moved to storage facilities. Devin Browne reports for the Fronteras Changing America Desk.

The activists who successfully led the campaign to recall former Arizona State Senate President Russell Pearce ... are now running another campaign -- calling for the resignation of a sheriff with controversial immigration policies.  As Devin Browne reports from the Fronteras Changing America Desk, the strategy is consistent: Target immigration enforcement leaders, like Sheriff Joe Arpaio, WITHOUT talking about immigration.

Cities and towns in the Southwest have long relied on development fees to fund their growth. Now a new law in Arizona restricts how much development money cities can collect, and what they can use that money for.  Devin Browne reports for the Fronteras Changing America Desk.

Sixteen people were arrested at the Salt River Project’s offices in Tempe Arizona on Friday. As Devin Brown reports from the Fronteras Changing America Desk, the protesters want the utility company to stop operating their coal-fired power plant on the Navajo Nation.

Pigs will probably fly in the Southwest before home builders stop building new homes here, but the types of homes people will need in the next 20 years might look very different. We’re staying single longer, we’re having fewer children, we’re paying more for gas and utilities -- is it time to re-think the all-American SUBURB?  

In part two of the Fronteras Changing America Desk series, Beyond Sprawl, Devin Browne reports on an Arizona State University project to redesign a cul de sac for the future.

The water inside Montezuma Well-part of the Montezuma Castle Monument near Rimrock, Arizona- is ten to thirteen THOUSAND years old. The Arizona Water Company operates two commercial wells near the monument and now another water company wants to open their own high-production well just 300 feet from the boundaries of the national park.

Americans are even poorer than the Census Bureau first predicted last month. New estimates, released Monday, show that sixteen percent of Americans were living in poverty in 2010. Devin Browne reports for the Fronteras Changing America Desk.

Occupy Wall Street protests have been reported in more than 100 American towns and cities – including Albuquerque, Las Vegas, San Diego, and San Antonio.  On Saturday, the protest goes to Arizona with occupations planned in Tucson, Phoenix, and Flagstaff.  Protesters say they represent the 99 percent of Americans who have been left behind by the country’s economic growth.

Researchers from the University of Arizona's law school recently released a report on the impacts of the state's controversial immigration law, S-B 10-70, has had on Arizona youth. As Devin Browne reports for the Fronteras Changing America Desk, the study notes an increase in the number of high school students living without their parents.
 

Longer life expectancies have helped catalyze what many are calling a new life stage in between middle-age and old-age. In part three of our ongoing series, Retirement Redefined, we look at a growing number of older Americans who are putting off true retirement. Devin Browne from the Fronteras Changing America Desk reports they're finding second, or third careers to fill and finance their later years.

By Devin Browne

Phoenix, AZ – Arizona's chamber of commerce wants E-Verify to go national. After last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld Arizona's Employer Sanctions Law, the business lobby says all companies should have to check the immigration status of their employees.

Some federal lawmakers agree. Devin Browne reports from the Fronteras Changing American Desk in Phoenix.

By Devin Browne

Phoenix, AZ – Border states are the first stop for drug trafficking organizations moving their product- both drugs and people- north. Law enforcement here is working hard to stop this movement.

As Devin Browne from the Fronteras Changing America Desk reports, their latest target- leasing agents who provide houses to cartels and their employees.

Fronteras: The Drug War At Home

By Devin Browne

Phoenix, AZ – Most illicit drugs arrive in the United States via the southwest border. The drugs are destined for many places like Las Vegas, Omaha, Denver, and Detroit. It's the drug traffickers' job in places like Arizona to get them started on their journey there.

In the second story in our new series The Drug War at Home, Fronteras Changing America Desk reporter Devin Browne profiles one particular drug route north.

By Devin Brown

Nogalex, Mexico – After Arizona signed its controversial immigration bill last summer, the Mexican border state Sonora saw a surge of enrollment in their schools.

Kids born or raised in the U.S. were coming back to Mexico and many did not read, write, or even speak Spanish.

Now Sonoran schools are faced with a problem all too familiar to many American school districts -- the task of educating students who don't speak the language and don't know the culture.

By Devin Browne

Mesa, AZ – Mesa Arizona is home to Russell Pearce, the sponsor of the state's controversial SB 1070, which requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop. But it's also home to a substantial Mormon population, and the main Mormon temple in Arizona.

Like many other cities in Arizona, Mesa opposed SB 1070. As the bill is held up in the courts, the city is now looking at alternatives, including a possible endorsement of a more lenient approach to immigration, The Utah Compact.