State Glance
Phoenix City Council OKs new fees for airport rideshares
PHOENIX — New fees for ride-hailing pickups and drop-offs at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport have been approved by the city council.
Council members voted 7-2 Wednesday to charge companies such as Uber and Lyft a $4 fee for each ride to and from the airport starting in 2020.
With the fee increasing by 25 cents annually, it will reach $5 in 2024.
Sky Harbor officials say the fee changes were designed in part to reduce the number of vehicles at the terminals and encourage use of the free PHX Sky Train.
When rideshare operators began in June 2016 at Sky Harbor, they represented only 9.3 % of the commercial business.
Airport officials say rideshare operators now represent 70 % of the commercial traffic.
32 immigrants found inside refrigerated trailer in Tucson
TUCSON, Ariz. — Authorities say two drivers are facing federal human smuggling charges after 32 immigrants were found locked in a refrigerated semitrailer at a southern Arizona immigration checkpoint.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents sent the semi for a secondary inspection Monday after being alerted by a trained dog.
The entire truck was Xrayed and border officials say the images showed dozens of people locked in the trailer.
They say a majority of the immigrants in the trailer were from Mexico although one was a 6-yearold boy.
Most were clad in long pants and short-sleeved Tshirts in 47-degree conditions inside the semi.
The names of the two male drivers weren’t immediately released.
Homeland Security officials say they’ve intercepted several human smuggling attempts involving semitrucks in the Tucson Sector so far this year.
Woman accused of using teen daughter to hide cocaine
PHOENIX — A Phoenix woman has been indicted after authorities say she used her teenage daughter to hide cocaine from police during a traffic stop two months ago.
State prosecutors say Rufina Lopez Covarruvia is accused of multiple felony charges including involving or using a minor in a drug offense.
Covarruvia allegedly told her 13-year-old daughter to hide a bag of $130 worth of cocaine inside her bra as the car was being pulled over Sept. 19.
Authorities say a 2-yearold and a 10-year-old also were in Covarruvia’s car at the time.
During the traffic stop, the bag of cocaine reportedly fell out of the girl’s bra.
Covarruvia also is accused of being involved in a drug trafficking organization and buying bags of cocaine to split into smaller bags for resale.
4 Phoenix students appear OK after taking heart pills on bus
PHOENIX — Phoenix firefighters say four elementary school students appear stable after taking heart medication pills.
Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade says the children took the pills while on the school bus Thursday morning.
According to McDade, all of them appeared alert.
He says all four were released to their parents who declined transport to a hospital.
The parents said they would take their children to get checked out by a doctor.
Phoenix police plan to investigate.
Police investigate Arizona university student’s death
TUCSON, Ariz. — University of Arizona police are investigating the death of an 18-year-old student believed to have fallen from a residence hall walkway.
The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office says Max Reis’ cause of death was due to multiple blunt force injuries.
The manner of death remains pending.
Campus police officers responded to the Posada San Pedro residence hall in the early hours of Oct. 11.
Police say they found Reis unresponsive, laying in the courtyard with injuries consistent with a fall.
Tucson TV station KOLD says Reis died shortly after he was taken to a hospital.