🌵 Best of AZ's past

Happy Monday! Let's all have a great week together.

• Today's weather: Triple digits are back with a high of 102.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Phoenix member Susan Slonaker!

Situational awareness: Congratulations to Brian V, the first reader to give us the correct location of Friday's "Where in the Valley?" photo.

• The building is the Guru Nanak Dwara in Phoenix's Coronado neighborhood.

Today's newsletter is 918 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Republican lawmakers want to see two ballot measures approved that would make it harder for voters to enact new ballot measures.

The big picture: Proposition 134 would amend the Arizona Constitution to make citizen initiatives and referendums collect a minimum amount of signatures from each of the state's 30 legislative districts to qualify for the ballot.

• Currently, ballot measure campaigns can collect their signatures from voters anywhere in the state.
• Proposition 136 would allow people to challenge the constitutionality of citizen initiatives in court before they're actually passed.

Why it matters: Citizen initiatives are a way to pass laws that have majority support from Arizona voters, even if they're opposed by a majority of lawmakers.

• Often that means liberal policies that lack support in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Context: Republican lawmakers have spent years adding restrictions and requirements to the citizen initiative process.

What they're saying: By making it more difficult to collect signatures for citizen initiatives, Prop. 134 would make them more expensive, Drew Chavez, owner of the signature-gathering firm Petition Partners, told Axios.

• Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, described Prop. 134 as "sabotage" in the secretary of state's election publicity pamphlet, noting it would've made it more difficult to pass measures that lawmakers opposed, like minimum wage increases or the state's public smoking ban.

The other side: Supporters say Prop. 134 will give rural Arizonans more voice and prevent initiative campaigns from focusing signature-gathering efforts in the heavily populated Phoenix and Tucson areas while ignoring the rest of the state.

• The proposal would require initiative campaigns "to engage with communities across the state to secure widespread support for a measure before it goes to voters," Danny Seiden, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, said in the publicity pamphlet.

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The Valley said goodbye to a legend over the weekend.

The big picture: Longtime Phoenix Suns announcer Al McCoy died at age 91 on Saturday.

• He was the "Voice of the Suns" for 51 seasons, calling his first game for the team in 1972 and retiring last year.

What they're saying: "When I think back about people who have made incredible contributions to this franchise for decades, not just years, decades, you've got to put Al at the top of the list," former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said.

• Steve Nash called McCoy "the teammate that never wore a jersey," and said, "He loved his Phoenix Suns as much as anyone and his legacy will endure the generations of Suns fans to come."

🗣 You tell us: McCoy was a part of our lives for generations and was probably one of the most beloved people in Arizona. We'll all be yelling "Shazam!" during Suns games because of him.

• What are your favorite memories of the great Al McCoy?

There are plenty of events around the Valley for Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

If you're looking for a fun way to celebrate Latino culture and communities, check out some of these events:

🎨 Hispanic Heritage Month at the Museum

Bring the kids for arts and crafts activities like Frida Kahlo self-portraits and check out the work of featured artist Esmeralda Garcia Torres.

• Tomorrow-Sunday at the Children's Museum of Phoenix. They'll have more activities Oct. 2-8, plus traditional folk dance performances on Oct. 12.

🎺 25th Annual Mariachi and Folklórico Festival

Enjoy music from a group of legends who have banded together to form Leyendas del Mariachi to celebrate the silver anniversary of Chandler's annual event, along with dance performances from Ballet Folklórico Quetzalli-AZ and Los Lupeños de San Jose.

• Oct. 5 at Chandler Center for the Arts. Tickets start at $48.

More events

Arizona artists of all mediums are invited to submit work for GPEC's upcoming exhibit, "Spirit of Greater Phoenix" — an exploration of the region's dynamic character.

What to expect: Artwork is due by Sept. 27 and will include a selection of portraits, conceptual pieces and more.

Share your work.

🗳 The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that 98,000 voters who were mistakenly listed as having provided proof of citizenship can still vote full vote ballots this year. (Axios)

🏈 The Sun Devils lost their Big 12 debut on Saturday, falling 30-22 to Texas Tech for their first loss of the season. (ESPN)

🇮🇹 The Italiano, chef Joey Maggiore's new restaurant, opened Friday in Scottsdale near Shea Boulevard and 90th Street. (Phoenix New Times)

🏛 Chandler City Council member Jane Poston filed a $4 million lawsuit against the city, alleging its employees falsely claimed she was under FBI investigation. (AZcentral)

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Arizona is the youngest state in the lower 48, but we still have a rich history.

State of play: We want to compile the greatest Arizona history books.

• And we want to know your favorites to make our list as comprehensive as possible.
• Is there an event or person from Arizona history that isn't already the subject of a book? Let us know what you want to read about.

My thought bubble: As an Arizona native, and both an author and lifelong student of history, I've got some thoughts on some books that should be on the list.

• Here are some of my favorites. The list is by no means definitive.

"The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral-And How It Changed the American West"

• There's no shortage of books about Tombstone and the shootout at the O.K. Corral, but Jeff Guinn's 2012 account is as good as it gets.

"The Arizona Project"

• It's not so easy to find a copy of this out-of-print book these days, but this chronicle of the crusading journalists who descended on Arizona after Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles' assassination is an eye-opening account of the state's seamier side.

Explore Arizona's history

Show your love for Greater Phoenix at GPEC's anniversary event on Oct. 18 — a night of community, connection and celebration!

🍾 The deets: To honor 35 years of partnership and progress, you're invited to dance, network with industry leaders, and enjoy an open bar and gourmet eats.

Join the fun.

🏀 Jeremy grew up listening to Al McCoy. We were all lucky to have him as a part of our lives.

📖 Jessica is reading "The Last Gunfight" at Jeremy's suggestion.

This newsletter was edited by Gigi Sukin.