🌱 'Justice for J6' Vigil Tonight In Phx + Big School Absences

Caitlin Sievers
Updated ·3 min read

Rise and shine, Phoenix! It's Thursday, so let's get you started with everything you need to know going on in Phoenix today.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny. High: 68 Low: 45.

Here are the top three stories in Phoenix today:

  1. Today, the one-year anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building that left five people dead and caused $1.5 million in damage, federal authorities advised local police to be on the lookout for people looking to exploit the anniversary. A "Justice for J6" candlelight vigil organized by Looking Ahead America, is set for 6 p.m. Thursday on the east lawn of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Looking Ahead has said that rioters that day were exercising their First Amendment rights and are targets of political persecution. (Phoenix Patch)

  2. The Phoenix City Council has voted to put $4.9 million toward improving mobile COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics and making at-home tests more readily available in the city. The move is meant to increase availability of the city's mobile testing vans through June. The city plans to begin purchasing and distributing at-home test kits immediately. (ABC15 Arizona)

  3. When kids returned to classrooms this week following winter break, a lot of seats were still empty in Phoenix-area school districts. Cartwright School District, which serves around 15,000 students, saw 3,000 absences on Monday. District officials attributed most of those absences to COVID-19. Tempe Elementary and Madison School District also saw significant increases in absences, compared to December. (Arizona's Family)

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Today in Phoenix:

  • Your January Free Marketing Interactive Webinar. (3 p.m.)

From my notebook:

  • The Arizona Humane Society encourages you to take part in the Betty White Challenge by donating to a local animal group, like the Humane Society, in her honor. Betty White was a friend to all animals, and even joked that she sometimes liked animals more than people. Thank you for being a friend! (Facebook)

  • The city of Phoenix is asking for your input in drafting the 2022-2023 Annual Action Plan. This is the plan that directs how an estimated $135 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant funding will be invested. (Facebook)

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You're all caught up for today. I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow with your next update!

— Caitlin Sievers

About me: I'm a passionate writer and photographer who worked as a reporter and editor for various publications in the Midwest before landing in Phoenix. I have seven roommates. Four of them are cats. Contact me at caitlin.sievers@patch.com with story ideas and feedback.

This article originally appeared on the Phoenix Patch