Best Twitter Account AZ RIGHT WING WATCH twitter.com/az_rww It wasn’t detectives who found Luka Magnotta, a murderer on Interpol’s most wanted list, 10 years ago. It was social media users with a little free time and a penchant for amateur sleuthing. AZ Right Wing Watch has pledged to do the same here in the Grand Canyon State. The 2020 presidential election was the most- followed American election in history, and Arizona was at the center of the political paradigm shift that ensued. As the alt-right drifted further toward radicalism, AZ Right Wing Watch wasn’t the hero Arizona asked for, but it became the hero we needed. With the entire world abuzz about American politics, the anonymous tweeter established their successful watchdog operation on Twitter, an account that has now amassed more than 15,000 followers. The self-styed “unprofessional” and “random local” claims to be from “The Fiery Infernos of Hell, Arizona.” Apparently, said fiery infernos are rife with great tips about right-wing corruption for journalists across Arizona. Keep doing God’s work, soldier. Best Instagram @arizonahighways Our fair state is a wonderland of stunning natural beauty, from the red rocks of Sedona and the epic Grand Canyon to the brown-hued Grand Falls and the simple joys of wildflower season in the desert. Not that we get to see much of it in person, what with metro Phoenix being the concrete jungle it is. But when we get tired of setting our sights on buildings and freeways, we check in with the Instagram account of the Arizona Highways, the venerable magazine that’s been showing our best features off to the world since 1925. There, we can feast our eyes on everything from storm photog- raphy to snow-dusted images of the high desert in winter. It not only gives us inspi- ration for our next weekend getaway, it makes us truly appreciative of all Arizona has to offer. Best TikTok LEFTOVER GAINS @leftovergains TikTok, like any social media platform, can be used for good, for evil, or simply as a distraction. Scroll on the app long enough, and you’ll run across countless local influ- encers (legit and wannabe) just dying to tell you about Scottsdale’s hottest new restaurant. That’s fine, we suppose, but when we think about a local TikToker who we truly respect and want to keep up with, we think of the woman behind the Leftover Gains account. She goes by Lefty, she’s a veteran, and her content is part account- ability, part call to action about local police and the ongoing challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness in metro Phoenix. Whether she’s filming the sweeps that Phoenix Police routinely do in the Zone (a homeless encampment downtown), or chronicling her frequent trips around town to stock free community refrigerators, she advocates for some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens with passion and intelli- gence. We can find the next cool bar on our own, thank you very much. We’d much rather have our FYP filled with people trying to make Phoenix a better place. Best Cultural Phenomenon INVASION OF THE BACHELORETTES 42 Head to Old Town Scottsdale any night of the week, and you can’t miss them: roving packs of young women, often identifiable as a bride-to-be and her friends by matching sashes, themed T-shirts, and/or coordinating cowboy hats. The uptick in bachelorette getaways held in Scottsdale was noticed by no less than the New York Times, which published an article in June about the phenomenon. As of 2021, Scottsdale was the second-most-popular destination for brides and their brides- maids (just behind Nashville), sparking a cottage industry of people who decorate the incoming women’s Airbnbs with wedding-themed decor and bachelorette- specific events companies. Though we’ve heard some longtime Old Town barflies complain about the bachelorettes, we don’t mind when we see a group walk through the door of our watering hole du jour: They BEST OF PHOENIX 2022 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2022.C0M | SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 A RI Z ON A H IG H W A YS
