AZ Memo: Plane crashes in Gilbert; Cards pummel Buccaneers; saying goodbye to Gov. Rose Mofford; Valley weather and more
Good morning, Arizona. Here's what you need to know today.
The forecast is calling for a high of 103 degrees and a low of 76 degrees today, but temperatures will dip below 100 the rest of the week.
Tomorrow's high is a cool 90 degrees, and there's a 35 percent chance of rain moving into the Valley either Tuesday or Wednesday.
We're nearing the end of the monsoon season, so "we may be looking at the last big show," a National Weather Service meteorologist said.
"Moisture will be moving back into the Valley this coming week as a result of a tropical storm that hit the coast of Mexico."
Now that's more like it
After last week's loss to the Patriots left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth, the Cardinals rebounded to pummel the Buccaneers 40-7 on Sunday for their first win of the season.
There was a lot to celebrate, azcentral sports' Kent Somers writes. QB Carson Palmer found Larry Fitzgerald time and again. Running back David Johnson hurt the Bucs by land and air, and with 20 seconds left in the half, receiver Jaron Brown got behind every defender and caught a 51-yard touchdown pass. The defense also played a much better game, with cornerback Marcus Cooper intercepting a pass in the second half on his second play, taking it all the way for a 60-yard touchdown.
Next up, the Cards will play the Buffalo Bills, who are currently 0-2, in their first away game next Sunday starting at 10 a.m. MST.
The weekend's craziest story
"Fireworks,'' they shouted all around him, but it was an airplane, he was sure of it. He had seen the skydivers jump, watched as the sparklers on their boots carved a trail through the night. Then Jesse Cagle heard it explode.
The wing of a plane heading for Gilbert's Constitution Fair caught fire, the pilot said over the radio, and crashed into a home Saturday night.
The four passengers, all skydivers, jumped to safety; the pilot, also a skydiver, bailed out later; half a mile from where he landed, the two people in the home, who were watching TV, escaped without a scratch.
“Just unbelievable,” a neighbor said on Sunday, looking at what was left of the home.
Cagle and a friend, Kevin Mark, saw the dark flutters of a parachute and rescued the pilot from where he landed in a field.
As they waited for 911 to arrive, adrenaline was giving way to shock, and the pilot's pain levels were rising. Two questions ran through his mind, and he repeated them out loud.
“Did the plane hit a house? Was anybody hurt?”
Out of the ashes
Phoenix has gone from being one of the worst housing markets in the U.S. to one of the best in less than a decade, according to a new ranking.
But is the new ranking just another cherry-picked listicle or a real indicator of success?
Republic reporter Catherine Reagor took a closer look at the data, with good news for Valley real estate.
Saying goodbye to Gov. Rose Mofford
She was a trailblazer and an icon. A friend, politician and humanitarian.
The Republic's Karina Bland writes about her memories of Arizona's first female governor, Rose Mofford, who died last week at 94.
She remembers her phone calls, like the one she received the night in July when Hillary Clinton officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president. Mofford never got tired of talking about women succeeding.
She remembers when the governor officially added her to her Rolodex; when the governor refused to buckle up; when the governor wouldn't stop giving her gifts.
And perhaps most importantly, she remembers what the governor taught her about caring, really caring, for the people in your life.
Today in History
- In 1796, President George Washington’s farewell address was published. In it, America’s first chief executive advised, “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.”
- In 1881, the 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, died 2½ months after being shot by Charles Guiteau; Chester Alan Arthur became president.
- In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, in Los Angeles as part of his U.S. tour, reacted angrily upon being told that, for security reasons, he wouldn’t get to visit Disneyland.
- In 1970, the situation comedy “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” debuted on CBS-TV.
- In 1982, the smiley emoticon was invented by Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman, who suggested punctuating humorously intended computer messages with a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis as a horizontal “smiley face.” :-)
- In 1985, the Mexico City area was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 9,500 people.
- In 1996, IBM announced it would extend health benefits to the partners of its gay employees.