Phoenix News & Information

I’ve met and interviewed thousands of people during my 30 years as a reporter and I have come to be believe that people who tell you how righteous they are usually aren’t very righteous–people who tell you how honest they are usually aren’t very honest–and people who tell you how tough they are usually aren’t very tough. One man’s opinion.

Mike Watkiss

I admit, I love saying the words “autumnal equinox.” I love the way it rolls off the tongue…and sounds so much more impressive than “Fall.” Apparently, one of our fabulous viewers, Gary Strausbaugh, noticed it’s a favorite phrase of mine, and wrote us a song!

 Click here to check it out!

3TV Forecasters, April Warnecke, Arizona

With the start of fall, most of us start looking ahead toward winter….and snow. And, hopefully, a bunch of rain in the deserts, too.

But first things first. The 90-day outlook for fall in Arizona is rather routine. The long range forecast is for above normal temps and normal precipitation.

As for the winter outlook, much further ahead, the Climate Prediction Center is calling for slightly above normal temps in Arizona and slightly below precipitation.

With long range forecasts, we have to keep them in perspective. Remember the prediction for this past summer? It was for warmer than normal and drier than normal. It wasn’t either. And we had a great winter snow season in 2007-08, but no one really forecast that either.

3TV Forecasters, Arizona

The autumnal equinox was Monday morning at 8:44am. Triple-digits are still in the forecast, but officially, Fall is here. It will be a while before we start to cool off noticeably, and even longer before the leaves change, but still it’s fun to look ahead.

The Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for October through December is for above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. I’m not sure that’s a forecast most folks want to hear, but at least we’re doing well this year on rainfall as we head into what may be a fairly dry Fall. So far this year, we’ve received 8.12 inches of rain; we usually get 8.29 inches the entire year! That’s of course thanks to our impressive monsoon, which dumped 5.7 inches of rain on the Valley. The monsoon officially ends on September 30th, and what a change from last year! Last year’s “non-soon” left us with only about 3/4 of an inch of rain!

It was an exciting monsoon, but I, for one, am looking forward to Fall. October is my favorite month in Arizona. The average high for October 1st is 94 degrees, falling to a perfect 81 degrees by the last day of October. After months spent going from air conditioned place to place to escape the muggy monsoon, I can’t wait to hit the local hiking trails and start taking the dog for more walks during those amazing Arizona sunsets.

3TV Forecasters, Arizona

Hunting people is a big part of what I do–finding folks who don’t want to be found.
I’ve spent many a long day and night slouched in cars, hiding in alley ways and crouching in bushes–waiting for just the right moment to pop out and catch someone on camera.
I have done it many times.
They say that with age comes maturity. I’m not sure if that’s true. But I do know that over the years, I have become increasingly selective as to when I use the old “ambush” technique.
These days I do so only when I’m firmly convinced that there are no other options or alternatives to get a person on camera and that the person in question really deserves to get the camera-in-the-face treatment.
It’s usually quite a volatile situation and the results are never guaranteed.
One time when I ambushed a woman in Hawaii, she reached into a shopping bag she was carrying, pulled out a can of “Easy-Off Oven Cleaner” and, without so much as missing a stride, proceeded to spray the toxic cleanser all over my photographer’s very expensive t.v. camera.
Another memorable moment came when notorious figure skate Tony Harding took a swing at our camera as I was trying to ask her some questions in the parking lot of a Portland bar late one night.
I ambushed actress Elizabeth Taylor on board an airplane bound for Singapore one time. (See earlier installment of “confessions of an ambulance chaser–Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson–and that Romantic Flight to Singapore”)
And believe it or not, I actually got offered my current job as a t.v. reporter in Phoenix after I took a punch on national television from some crooked old snake oil salesman during an ambush for the now defunct t.v. show “Hard Copy.” (See earlier installment of “confessions of an ambulance chaser–taking a punch on national t.v.”)
I understand that it may not be the most noble or politically correct part of my profession, but–hey–I’ve got to admit, I’ve always been pretty good at it. Not “Dog the Bounty Hunter” good, but pretty damn decent.
So it is with great pain that I tell the following story–the story of a polygamous man named Orson William Black.
It’s a bizarre tale that includes a SWAT team stakeout up on the isolated Arizona Strip late one night–a chance encounter with a child predator in a tiny Mexico village–and a sleazy little bastard with a very unhealthy appetite for young girls.
For me, it all started when a very good friend of mine, a woman named Pennie Petersen, called to say that she needed some help.
Pennie is one of the great women and powerful forces in what I believe is nothing short of a human rights revolution. Pennie was one of the first women in modern times to stand-up and demand that the States of Arizona and Utah do something about the law-breaking and abuse in the twin polygamous border towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah.
And Pennie was certainly in a good position to lead the fight. At the age of 14, Pennie ran away from her large polygamous family when she learned that she was about to be “placed” into a “plural” marriage with a 48-year-old man who already had multiple wives. Pennie would tell me later that she “ran as far and as fast as she could” to escape.
Like so many women who have found the strength and the courage to flee the repressive polygamous culture of Colorado City, Pennie is exceptionally smart, tough, funny and independent. She’s also lovely, caring woman with a heart of gold.
Suffice it to say that she is one of my heroes!
When young girls like Pennie ran nearly 20 years ago, there was absolutely no help on the outside world–zero–zip–nada!
In fact, back in those days, if a girl on the run tried to get help from outside authorities, odds are, those authorities would have grabbed the girl and promptly taken her right back to Colorado City’s polygamous cops.
Those pillars of justice would have then turned the girl back over to the town’s polygamous prophet who then would have forced the girl into a polygamous marriage where almost immediately she would be impregnated. Thereby greatly reducing the chance that she would ever run again.
Pennie knows the story…..more to come……mw

Arizona, Mike Watkiss

If we were paying attention to the monsoon like we used to, it would be over. But with the new definition the local Weather Service is trying, putting dates on the monsoon season (Jun 15th to Sept 30th), I guess we still have a couple of weeks to go.

By most standards, it was a VERY impressive monsoon.

At Sky Harbor Airport, we got 5.70″ of rain. That’s more than double for an average monsoon (2.77″). Also it was the wettest monsoon since 1984 when we got 9.56″ of rain. And it’s the 10th wettest monsoon on record for Phoenix since weather records started around 1895. Not bad!

That contrasts to a year ago, in 2007, when we only got .74″ of rain during the monsoon, the 5th “driest” of all time.

As far as temperatures were concerned, it wasn’t too bad. July had slightly above normal temps while August had slightly below normal temps. And so far in 2008, 4 of the first 8 months have featured below normal temps.

And as far as rain goes, we’re in good shape for awhile. With a total of 8.12″ so far, we’re way ahead…..so far ahead if it doesn’t rain until around Christmas, we’ll be back to “normal” rainfall. But hopefully, there will be more rain in the forecast. And snow, too!

3TV Forecasters, Arizona

Wow — what a night last night.

All week long we’d been reporting live from the Pepsi Center, which is about two miles from Invesco Field. Moving those two miles in the midst of crushing crowds, not to mention the tightest security perhaps I have ever seen. Well it was a bit of a pain.

They put all the media on buses; ours was kind of like a tour bus, which we rode to the exterior check point. Swat teams and secret service waited with bomb sniffing dogs to search us. Next we moved to the interior security check point where we went through metal detectors.

PHOTOS: Democratic National Convention

Inside Invesco, we were stationed right on the field. Everywhere we looked there was a famous face from the world of politics, entertainment and media.

The Reverend Al Sharpton was there, so was Fergie, Hadyn Panetttiere, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, the list goes on and on. The family of Dr. Martin Luther King was there, too.

There was a very touching tribute to Dr. King, fitting because yesterday marked the 45th anniversary of his famous Dream speech.

I can’t imagine what must have been going through Barack Obama’s mind before stepping out on the stage; was he thinking about Dr. King. Was he nervous? There was so much riding on his every word.

Before Obama, Al Gore spoke to the crowd. Gore is a great speaker, very witty. One line that drew a lot of applause was when the former Vice President said, with regard to John McCain, “We don’t need more of the same policies. I mean, I believe in recycling but this is ridiculous.” The crowd loved it.

One of my favorite moments was when Michael McDonald took the stage, sat down at the piano and performed an amazing rendition of “America”. To see 80,000 + people in an open air stadium waving flags — incredible. It reminded me of the 2001 World Series, right after 9/11 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field). The DBacks took on the Yankees (and pulled off a surprise victory). Before the game, Ray Charles sat at his piano and played “America”, it was beyond amazing.

What struck me last night was all these people showed up. Whether you like Barack Obama or not, whether you agree with him or not, it is cool to see so many people engaged. To me it says people are energized, they really want to have a say in what happens in our country. And this is a crucial time, to be sure.

By all accounts, Obama’s speech was a hit. At least the people who were at Invesco seemed to love it. At one point, right before Obama was about to leave the stage, the fireworks were going off, the crowd was going crazy, the American flags were waiving — he looked very emotional. Again, I wondered was he thinking about Dr. King. After all, had it not been for the efforts and heart of the Civil Rights Leader, Obama might not have had the opportunity to stand on that stage.

3TV Anchors & Reporters, Carey Peña