by Staff Reporter | May 7, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Gov. Katie Hobbs’ overruled housing moratorium could leave taxpayers on the hook for more than $1 billion in compensation to builders.
The housing moratorium was a result of the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ (ADWR) indefinite suspension of developer certificates throughout the Valley based on new groundwater regulations imposed under Hobbs in 2024.
For decades, state law required developers to prove 100 years of assured water supply for their developments. Once Hobbs took office, ADWR imposed new regulations that expanded developers’ duty to prove assured water supply beyond their development into the surrounding water management area.
The Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA) sued ADWR over the regulations last January, represented by the Goldwater Institute. Last month, the Maricopa County Superior Court sided with HBACA and struck down the moratorium. Judge Scott Blaney found that ADWR violated Arizona law on the extent of its powers and on agency rulemaking.
ADWR plans to appeal the ruling.
A former ADWR director and one of the leading policymakers behind the legacy rule on assured water supply (the 1980 Groundwater Management Act) spoke out against the superior court ruling.
Kathleen Ferris, now an Arizona State University (ASU) senior research fellow with the Kyl Center for Water Policy, told KJZZ last month that ADWR was justified in its rulemaking because it had discovered that Phoenix-area groundwater was more interconnected than understood previously.
Whether that court ruling will stand on appeal or no, taxpayers will likely be on the hook for hundreds of millions — perhaps over a billion — in builder compensation claims filed under the Private Property Rights Protection Act, enacted under Proposition 207.
Prop 207 entitles property owners to just compensation for any land use laws’ impact on the use, division, sale, or possession of their property that reduces its fair market value.
One such Prop 207 claim is already underway.
Last September, developers Buckeye Tartesso and Buckeye Tartesso II filed a claim demanding over $320 million in compensation for lost value due to the ADWR rule. That figure, however, reflected only a low estimate which the developers felt they could accept as a settlement.
“[This figure] incorporates a number of conservative assumptions, and the [developers] expect that actual, proven damages would be significantly higher,” read the demand letter. “This demand is an offer of settlement, in the nature of a compromise, and the [developers] reserve the right to seek additional or different damages if litigation is necessary.”
ADWR prevented the developers from obtaining a certificate of assured water source for the Tartesso development in the city of Buckeye, which spanned over 12,800 acres. As a consequence, they were prohibited from subdividing or selling lots on that property.
The Goldwater Institute filed the claim on behalf of the developers.
Should all builders file similar claims, taxpayers could be on the hook for over $1 billion in compensation payments at a time when the state is already struggling with budget woes.
Gov. Hobbs inherited a budget surplus of over $2.5 billion from her predecessor, Republican governor Doug Ducey. After two years in office, the budget plunged to a $1.4 billion deficit: a near-180 on the state’s fiscal health.
The latest figures reflect a slightly better status, though still nowhere near in the black: a deficit of over $300 million, according to Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ-06).
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by Staff Reporter | May 7, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) retained a new governing board president following a charged special meeting on Tuesday night.
Former governing board president Heather Rooks lasted five months into her second elected term. Rooks was removed over what a majority on the board alleged was an undermining of their credibility and integrity involving a criminal investigation referral.
The board majority argued that Rooks defied the board’s authority in multiple ways, most recently by requesting the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office investigate Centennial High School officials for mandatory reporting violations in connection to the ongoing criminal cases involving former teachers Haley Beck and Angela Burlaka.
Beck and Burlaka face charges for the alleged sexual abuse of at least one student, though investigators have indicated in recent weeks that the victim pool may be bigger.
The board voted to delay a decision on launching a third-party, internal investigation due to other ongoing investigations by law enforcement. That would make the seventh investigation on the matter.
Also cited as a grievance by the board majority was Rooks’ media interviews in which she expressed criticisms of school administration over the handling of sexual abuse complaints. Rooks alleged the existence of “red flags” known to school administrators, something which has not been declared or proven by investigators.
The board voted 3-2 to replace Rooks with Jeff Tobey. Rooks and board member Janelle Bowles voted against Rooks’ ouster and spoke at length in Rooks’ defense.
Public comment ran for nearly an hour. Over 20 speakers showed up; slightly more speakers wanted to see Rooks replaced, while the remainder defended Rooks.
Rooks has maintained that she filed the internal investigation request in her capacity as a parent, not the board president. Rooks also claimed that her removal constituted retaliation over her speech.
“From a legal standpoint, when protected speech is followed by an adverse action and there is a causal connection between the two, it raises legitimate First Amendment concerns, including potential retaliation,” said Rooks. “If raising concerns about student safety and compliance leads to the removal from leadership, it risks creating a chilling effect, not just for me but for anyone who would otherwise speak up.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s investigatory efforts into high school officials were underway well prior to Rooks’ request. Peoria police have already stated publicly that they don’t plan to file any charges for mandatory reporting failures.
Ewing accused Rooks of undermining the board on its decision to wait for officials to conclude their own investigations into the matter. Ewing said Rooks was advancing theories and claims without evidence, something she said could risk harming prosecution efforts against the two teachers. This was a talking point that echoed throughout public comment advocating for Rooks’ ouster.
“She is advancing a narrative based on belief rather than evidence, despite her direct knowledge of interviews, investigative steps, and findings discussed in multiple executive sessions,” said Ewing.
Though critical, Tobey and Board Member Becky Proudfit had kinder words for Rooks. Proudfit said Rooks had PUSD students’ best interests at heart, but that intent didn’t justify her actions.
Tobey expressed support for Rooks’ freedom of speech generally but clarified that he was “disappointed” in her actions because they reflected her “opinions” and not the facts of the cases.
“I’ve learned the hard way that parallel investigations can interfere with one another,” said Tobey. “I don’t want to give any alleged pedophile any chance or upper hand in trial.”
Rooks accused the Arizona Education Association of coordinating the special meeting that resulted in her removal.
“Peoria School Board Members will vote tomorrow on a new President because the Arizona Teacher Union is calling for me to be removed as President,” said Rooks.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 5, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Attorney General Kris Mayes defended the city of Phoenix’s new policy that prevents Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from entering city property without permission.
Mayes published a 17-page investigative report last week determining the city’s action doesn’t limit or restrict enforcement of federal immigration law.
In March, Phoenix City Council approved a resolution requiring law enforcement to obtain permission from the city prior to conducting operations on property owned or controlled by the city.
Mayes ruled that requiring the city to allow federal immigration enforcement access to city property was equivalent to requiring local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, which the federal law does not require.
“With limited exceptions, federal law does not purport to compel the states’ participation in immigration enforcement, and therefore generally permits localities to refuse cooperation with immigration enforcement activities,” stated Mayes.
Further on in the report, Mayes determined that immigration enforcement would need to obtain a judicial warrant or consent to access non-public city property without permission. Mayes said law enforcement has ample freedom to carry out immigration enforcement on public property, namely public rights-of-way, the airport, and Phoenix Municipal Court.
“This means that federal immigration officials are not presumptively prohibited from staging an enforcement operation on, for example, Phoenix sidewalks, and need not seek the City Manager’s advanced approval before commencing such operations,” wrote Mayes. “In this way, the Regulation simply designates how the City will decide whether to grant the consent to access non-public areas of City-owned property that federal law already requires immigration officials to obtain; it delegates that decision to the City Manager, in consultation with the Police Chief.”
Copied on this report were Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14), Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-LD29), and State Rep. Quang Nguyen (R-LD01). Nguyen requested the report; per state law, which triggers an investigation by the attorney general.
Another one of Mayes’ interpretations of the law as it relates to ICE has been widely contested.
The attorney general made the case in a January interview that individuals had justification for shooting masked ICE agents under Arizona’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
“It’s kind of a recipe for disaster. Because you have these masked federal officers with very little identification, sometimes no identification, wearing plain clothes and masks,” said Mayes. “[The] law says that if you reasonably believe your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property that you could defend yourself with lethal force.”
Mayes’ defense for justified shootings of ICE agents sparked bipartisan controversy. Gov. Hobbs said it was “inappropriate,” possibly dangerous, and needed to be retracted. The new chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, Sergio Arellano, said it was “reckless” and a direct endangerment of law enforcement. Legislative leaders censured Mayes.
Amid the fallout over Mayes’ remarks, anti-ICE activists have taken to vandalizing the ICE Phoenix Field Office with death threats.
Last week Mayes filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to stop its planned ICE detention facility in Surprise.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 4, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
A timeline endeavoring to document Sen. Ruben Gallego’s friendship with the recently resigned congressman accused of rape, Eric Swalwell, has been released.
FOIAzona published the “day-by-day” timeline dating back to 2009, several years prior to the beginning of Gallego and Swalwell’s friendship. The researcher behind the report, Brian Anderson, said the timeline challenged Gallego’s claim that he never witnessed any improper behavior by Swalwell.
Swalwell resigned from Congress and suspended his campaign for California governor following accusations involving sexual assault and rape.
Gallego has repeatedly denied having ever observed or having any knowledge of Swalwell’s alleged misconduct. The senator did admit that he’d heard rumors over the years alluding to Swalwell’s flirtatiousness, but nothing further. Gallego pulled his endorsement of Swalwell, his longtime best friend, and urged his expulsion within the hour before Swalwell resigned.
Gallego served as the chairman of Swalwell’s brief presidential campaign in 2019, and has been supportive of Swalwell’s AI startup in the past year.
Two incidents tracked in 2009 and 2013 concerned, respectively, a harassment complaint filed against Gallego while he was still chief of staff to a city councilman by a former intern, and a sexual harassment complaint filed against Gallego while he was in the state legislature by two female Democratic lawmakers.
In that former instance, an intern claimed she lost her job as retaliation for filing two complaints about Gallego’s behavior. The city maintained that the intern was one of dozens of employees let go due to budget cuts.
In the latter instance, State Rep. Lydia Hernandez (D-LD24) and State Sen. Catherine Miranda (D-LD11) accused Gallego of issuing sexual remarks toward the pair.
The timeline tracked well over 200 days of interactions between Gallego and Swalwell. Most of the documented interactions occurred from 2015 onward.
Gallego and Swalwell became friends approximately 10 years ago. The timeline reflected some of their earliest interactions: a congressional campaign donation, launch of the Future Forum caucus, and frequent travels together across the country. The two also issued one of their first joint statements together by calling for a total bailout of all student loans.
Approximately a year-and-a-half into his friendship with Swalwell, Gallego filed for divorce from then-councilwoman, now-Mayor Kate Gallego about one month before she was due to give birth to their son in December 2016. The pair had been together for over 15 years.
According to court records first obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, Kate Gallego had not seen the divorce coming. The pair had been together since 2001, when they met at a date auction fundraiser for 9/11 first responders while attending Harvard University. They got engaged at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and married in 2010.
As AZ Free News reported earlier this month, Gallego also faced accusations of sexual misconduct. The senator was accused of engaging in sexual romps in the House office building’s basement storage rooms. Gallego has denied the allegations.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna claimed an accuser of Gallego’s has planned to come forward with attorneys. That purported accuser has yet to materialize.
The fall from grace by Gallego’s best friend came days after the senator interviewed with press about his intentions to make a presidential run in 2028.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 3, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The Orangewood Elementary School in Phoenix may soon be sued for alleged security failures by the family of a 10-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by a criminal alien.
Abel Kai Gblah, a 25-year-old citizen of Liberia, allegedly impersonated a doctor and sexually assaulted the girl at Orangewood Elementary School. Gblah was a registered sex offender at the time of the offense.
In their legal notice, the girl’s parents claim Gblah entered the school through the front office and was encountered and briefly questioned by a staff member before being allowed to continue on to the school, where he eventually attacked their daughter.
Their notice also claimed that police weren’t notified and the school wasn’t placed on lockdown until nearly half an hour after Gblah fled campus.
Gblah has a criminal history dating back to at least 2019. The continued presence of Gblah in the U.S. appears to be a result of bipartisan immigration enforcement failures.
Gblah was arrested under both the Trump and Biden administrations, but not deported by either.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the immigration enforcement against Gblah last November, days after media reports of his arrest for sexual assault.
DHS claimed Gblah’s crimes were committed under the Biden administration only, but federal court records say otherwise.
The federal case against Gblah dates back to the summer of 2019, when he was arrested for smuggling illegal aliens into the country. Contrary to those court records, DHS claimed Gblah was arrested in 2022 for that offense.
According to Arizona District Court filings, Gblah worked with an accomplice to smuggle illegal aliens in June 2019. Gblah was given five years of probation for smuggling, and the fine was waived. He surrendered a Liberian passport upon his arrest.
Records further reveal that Gblah violated his probation almost immediately following the judgment against him. Gblah failed to report to his probation officer for six months, from September to December 2020, and then January and February 2021.
In July 2021, Gblah again violated his probation when was arrested for multiple felonies related to sexual abuse, exploitation, and conduct with a minor. That case was handled in the Maricopa County Superior Court. Gblah was convicted of molesting a 16-year-old girl with both intellectual and physical disabilities. Both the victim and her guardian reportedly objected to the plea deal given to Gblah under then-Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel.
Gblah remains listed on the state’s sex offender registry as a Level 2 sex offender.
The first iteration of the Trump administration failed to deport Gblah after his smuggling of illegal aliens. The Biden administration failed to deport Gblah after his sexual crimes against a minor.
Last fall, Gblah served two months in jail for violations of his lifetime probation related to his sex-based crimes per records obtained by ABC15. Violations included missing sex offender treatment dozens of times and an arrest in Florida. Several days after his release late last fall, Gblah committed the sexual assault at the Phoenix area elementary school.
Gblah came into the United States in 2011 under President Barack Obama. He received a green card, according to DHS.
AZ Free News found social media pages connected to Gblah. At one point a man claiming to be Gblah’s father, Robert Muipoe, asked an individual who appeared to be Gblah’s sponsor — Mitchell Gblah — when he could communicate with Gblah.
“Mitchell why I can’t see talk [sic] with my son Abel one day?” asked Muipoe in a comment on a Facebook post made by Mitchell Gblah in January 2017.
Mitchell Gblah died in 2022 while making one of his frequent visits back to his home country of Liberia, where Muipoe and Gblah were also from.
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