By Philip Haldiman
Mail | X: @PhilipHaldiman

I understand that paying attention to the news these days can be at best a bit of a chore, and at worst a bit of heartbreak.

There is a lot of negative out there. I know, I write some of it. And trust me, my heart feels it. Unfortunately, now more than ever, we must pay attention to what is happening in the news.

But I have to remind myself that here at Peoria Independent, if you really take a look at our monthly publication or our website, you will find things aren’t so bad. In fact, they are quite good. There’s a lot of uplifting news we produce every day.

For example, you’ll notice that your local Girl Scout troop killed it, selling more than 31,000 cookie boxes this season.

Take a look at our story about a young Peoria resident who will be attending Annapolis in the fall, no small feat.

You can also read about the Cobra Commanders, a robotics team at Cactus High School that has grown into a national competitor, fostering students to become not just engineers and scientists, but leaders in their own right.

Those stories and plenty other positive and upbeat articles can be found at yourvalley.net/peoria-independent.

Related, I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Peoria Unified Comm Camp July 8, when around 70 district leaders descended upon Sunrise Mountain High School to take part in  a hands-on, interactive day of professional development.

I was invited to share how district leaders might shine a light on the good things that are happening at their schools. I invited them, and I am inviting you now, to submit your feel good stories to me. We like to call it refrigerator journalism.

It’s a tough world out there, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t uplifting things happening all around us all the time. Subscribe to our website. You’ll find this to ring true.

Editor's note: Philip Haldiman is the Senior News Editor for the Peoria Independent. He can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.