Valley 101

When Marshall Shore first came to Arizona 21 years ago, he was told that Arizona had no LGBT+ history. But every time he would venture around the state, whether by car, bike or foot, he would hear stories of people and places that he thought were amazing. Shore is most known by his moniker, "The Hip Historian," a name given to him in 2009, as a way to distinguish him from Marshall Trimble, the state's official historian. Through his work as project manager for the Arizona LGBT History Project, he has worked with Arizona State University to create an archive of the community. On this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, Shore shares some of the stories he's come across about the icons in the state's LGBT+ history. 

The history behind the Christown Spectrum name spurred Valley 101 listener David Thelen to ask: “What is the background and history of the man who served as the inspiration of the part of Phoenix named after him?” In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we’re diving into Christown’s namesake and the cultural impact the mall had on Phoenix after opening in 1961.

Tempe Town Lake sits as a small oasis in the middle of the desert, alongside a freeway. The shimmering body of water is one of Arizona's most visited public attractions, but is more than just a place for music festivals, marathons and regattas.  It all began with James W. Elmore, the founding dean of the College of Architecture at Arizona State University. He challenged the College faculty in 1966 to transform the Salt River, a dry riverbed, from an eyesore into a greenbelt attraction.  One year later, an ASU professor and 16 graduate students proposed The Rio Salado Project, “a vast reservoir of open space unique to the heart of a great city.” Thirty-three years later, the first developed phase of the project was realized when water from the Central Arizona Project flowed into the dry riverbed and Tempe Town Lake was born. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we explores the project’s history and how it connects the Valley together through the unexpected wa

Highways and roadways impact Valley drivers on a daily basis. Valley 101 listeners often submit questions to the Arizona Republic's podcast team to dive into these topics. In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we’re answering three of those questions.  We'll take a brief dive into the history of Arizona toll roads, a look at the future of Interstate Highway 11 and then how Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway has impacted the Valley. In this episode you'll hear from:  Laura Douglas, a communications project manager with the Arizona Department of Transportation Philip Vandermeer, an emeritus professor of history from Arizona State University Eric Anderson, the executive director for the Maricopa Association of Governments. 

Whether you celebrated the long Memorial Day weekend by getting out of town, exploring Phoenix or relaxing at home, the Valley 101 team has a few suggestions of past episodes to listen to.

As Maricopa County continues to be one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, interest in the Valley expands. More travelers and potential new residents want to check out all the unique destinations of the desert. One Valley 101 listener plans on making Phoenix their new home. They asked us to put together a bucket list of activities and places they should check out in the Valley. In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we’re doing just that. Even if you’re an Arizona native, there might be some activities on this list you haven’t heard. We spoke with one expert and a couple of Arizona Republic reporters to share their picks of places to check out in the Valley. You’ll hear about quick day trips and some hidden gems.

In a dried up flood zone just south of Buckeye once lived a lively and vibrant community. Despite nearly 500 residents at one point, the community was absent of good water and sanitation. The community lacked stores, mail delivery, streetlights or even stop signs. This was the town of Allenville. In the 1940s when part of the town was sold by Lee North to John Allen, the town's namesake, it was the only area of town where Black people could own land. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, and with the help of Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic's Southwest Valley reporter, we uncover the hidden past of this all-Black community and how it was destroyed by a series of floods in 1978.

Corrections and Clarifications: In a previous version of this episode an incorrect date was given for the Long Walk and treaty signed by Navajo leaders. Those dates are 1864 and 1868. Valley 101 listener Genevieve Hall asked: "What's the best Native American restaurant in the Valley?"  That depends. There are 21 federally recognized tribes in Arizona and more than 500 in the United States. Each have their own traditions and nuances. However, there is one restaurant that stands out. In this week’s Valley 101 episode, producer Maritza Dominguez spoke with two Valley chefs who specialize in Native American food. They discussed the history of a popular dish and how their culture and community have influenced their cooking style.  

If you lived in Phoenix in August 2020, you probably remember waking up to what felt like an unusually cloudy day. The sun was bright orange and looking directly at it didn't hurt your eyes. But those were not unseasonable clouds, it was smoke from fires in Northern Arizona and California that traveled into the Valley. With the majority of the state in a drought, the potential for an active fire season and big dust storms blowing into the Valley this summer, has one Valley 101 listener asking what they can do to protect their lungs. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we find out what is in store for us this summer and the best practices we can adopt for healthier lungs. Producer Amanda Luberto has more.

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 Anthem.  In this week’s episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we’re answering two questions from our listeners. We’ll look at why Anthem as a whole isn’t located in Phoenix. Then we’ll explore whether the master planned community will ever be fully incorporated into Phoenix. 

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 for the building.  It turns out that building has a connection to the development of Glendale. In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, producer Maritza Dominguez takes a deep dive about the Beet Sugar Factory. Have more questions about Metro Phoenix for the Valley 101 team? Submit them here.  

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 grew up on Portland Street, one street over from Roosevelt and always wanted to know why names of past Presidents adorned the street signs of Phoenix.  In today’s episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we find out how this came to be and what it would take to continue it. Producer Amanda Luberto has more.

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 Kirti Mathura, the Smartscape Program Coordinator at the Maricopa County Cooperative Extension.  Using local or adapted plants like the chocolate flower, in favor of turf or non-native plants, is a type of gardening called xeriscaping. Xeriscaping not only helps conserve water, but it’s beneficial for local wildlife as well.  In this week’s episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, podcast editor Katie O’Connell digs into xeriscaping. You’ll find out the benefits of having a xeriscaped space, as well as some hints for achieving one.

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 did that happen? What kind of legacy did the Fairfax sisters leave in Arizona? In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're diving into their lives and how they inspired students to strive to higher education. 

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 father of Mesa in the East Valley. Charles came to Arizona with his father-in-law Francis Pomeroy and two other families under Brigham Young’s direction. Today, Arizona has the fourth highest population of LDS members in the United States. We’re just behind Utah, California and Idaho. And Arizona’s history with the LDS Church stretches back before Candice’s family. In today’s episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we find out more about the Valley’s connection to the LDS Church. Producer Amanda Luberto explores its history and why Arizona continues to have such a large LDS populat

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 why sirens aren't used during dust storms. Part of it has to do with infrastructure. The other has to do with which type of messaging is most effective during moments of hazardous weather. In today's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're catching up with the National Weather Service and the Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management about dust storms and emergency messaging.

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 of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we're diving in the trend of vanity license plates in Arizona. 

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 you live affects how and what you can recycle.

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’s just one catch: it now resides at the Phoenix Zoo, miles away from its original location.  How did it get there? In this week’s episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we’ll look at the history of the building, starting with the unlikely journey its owner took to immigrate to the U.S. and ending with its reconstruction at the Zoo. 

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 Arizona didn't.  Capitalizing on that lack of regulation, the airport built a chapel and advertised fly-in weddings. The hope was to draw in Hollywood celebrities who wanted to marry quickly and under-the-radar, hopefully without paparazzi.    It wasn't a total success, but it wasn't a failure either. Listen to this week's episode of Valley 101, an Arizona Republic and azcentral.com podcast answering questions about metro Phoenix, to uncover the history of Phoenix's fly-in chapel.