State Glance
Border agents find 2nd large group of immigrants
AJO — For the second time in three weeks, Border Patrol agents have found a large group of immigrants in a remote desert area of southern Arizona.
Border Patrol officials said Wednesday that Ajo Station agents patrolling several miles west of the Lukeville Port on Saturday found 163 immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
They say some children in the group were as young as 4 months and five adults had previously been deported.
All 163 immigrants were medically evaluated, determined to be in good health and transported to the Ajo Station to be processed for immigration violations.
On Aug. 17, Ajo Station agents patrolling near the same port found 128 immigrants — including children as young as 4 — from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico believed abandoned by smugglers.
Much-debated extension of Phx. light rail under scrutiny
PHOENIX — Muchdebated plans to stretch Phoenix’s light rail system into the city’s south will be scrutinized by residents over the next two weeks.
Area public schools are hosting two community meetings this week and three more meetings are set next week at Phoenix’s South Mountain Community Center.
Although plans are 60 percent complete, the city council in June directed the transit authority that operates the line to further study the proposal to extend it another six miles.
The original plan would have narrowed Central Avenue — a north-south artery cutting across the city — from four to two lanes in that southern stretch. Some shop owners complain that having only one lane in each direction will harm business.
Valley Metro’s 26-mile rail has operated since 2008.
Click-and-collect: Sprouts to test curbside pickup
NEW YORK — Sprouts plans to test curbside grocery pickup, following bigger chains like Walmart and Kroger that have been expanding the service as a way to make shopping more convenient and boost sales.
CEO Amin Maredia said Wednesday the tests will occur in the next few months, but declined to specify where. Phoenixbased Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. has more than 300 stores around the country.
Grocers and Amazon-owned Whole Foods have been rolling out the service, in which groceries are ordered online and picked up at the store. Target recently said it’s reduced the curbside wait time to 2 minutes.
Maredia says Sprouts won’t need to make big changes to its stores since newer ones have a flexible space that can be used for the pickups.