Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs’ husband, Patrick Goodman, serves as a counselor for Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s (PCH) Gender Support Program (GSP).
As AZ Free News reported in August, PCH’s program provides the only comprehensive “gender-affirming care” via transition in the state. After widespread reporting of the program, PCH removed much of the content related to its programs and services from its website.
Goodman and his colleagues within the GSP consult with children for the application of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Goodman also testified in an ongoing lawsuit to force the state to issue corrective birth certificates based on gender identity, filed by several transgender children and their parents against the state, Roe, et al v. Herrington, et al.
Goodman was the mental health provider for one of the children in the case, then a 10-year-old referred to as Jane Doe. The lawsuit was filed almost exactly two years ago, in November 2020. The latest action to occur in the case concerned the depositions of the Arizona Department of Health Services interim director Don Herrington this week.
Goodman’s medical notes concerning Jane Doe are sealed in the court case.
Happy Father’s Day to my dad, my husband Pat, and all the father figures out there. Thank you for all of your support and love. pic.twitter.com/IvEIf4soTh
The state allows birth certificate changes after a sex change operation. The state doesn’t allow minors to undergo gender transition surgery, though they may still take puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
Hobbs opposed the most recent law banning gender transition surgeries for minors, as well as a law excluding males from female sports.
Yesterday, Gov. Ducey signed two anti-trans bills into law.
Today, on International Transgender Visibility Day, as we celebrate the accomplishments of the trans community, we’re also committed to fighting back against these injustices and protecting Arizona's trans children. 🏳️⚧️
Hobbs said that preventing children from transitioning genders wasn’t protecting them.
Anti-trans bills don’t help protect children and families—they hurt them.
I’m heartbroken Governor Ducey signed these cruel bills into law, and I’ll never stop fighting for Arizona’s trans community. pic.twitter.com/DlyaYbeP2o
In the final six days before Election Day, young pro-life activists are deploying in Mesa and Scottsdale to mobilize voters.
That impacts State Senate Districts 4 and 9, both swing districts. District 4 candidates are Republican Nancy Barto and Democrat Christine Marsh. District 9 candidates are Republican Robert Scantlebury and Democrat Eva Burch.
Behind the grassroots activists is Students for Life Action (SFLA), the political action committee (PAC) arm of the Students for Life (SFL) nonprofit. SFLA stated in a press release that their goal in Arizona is to inform voters about the abortion lobby’s endorsed candidates and Senator Mark Kelly’s record on abortion.
SFLA comes into play weeks after it was revealed that Kelly campaign staffers were likely telling voters that the senator is pro-life for months. Kelly supports abortion.
SFLA also deployed groups into 10 other states: Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Washington. Notably, one SFLA captain, 18-year-old Kaitlyn Ruch, is the Republican candidate for the Montana House.
Groups in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, & Virginia took part in the Overpass Outreach campaign. Check out some displays and a few exciting updates on which candidates across the country are #TooExtreme4Me:https://t.co/XyQnQvdwda
Arizona won’t enforce its ban on abortion until next year. In response to the agreement with Attorney General Mark Brnovich last week, Planned Parenthood resumed abortion services throughout the state (with the exception of a Tucson clinic, which continued operations prior to the agreement).
Even if the state’s abortion ban goes into effect, there’s no guarantee of uniform enforcement. The cities of Tucson and Phoenix both passed resolutions effectively decriminalizing abortions. Pima County Attorney Laura Conover also pledged to not prosecute violations of abortion law.
The upcoming election will further determine the fate of the state’s abortion law. Democratic Maricopa County Attorney candidate Julie Gunnigle pledged to disregard state bans and restrictions on abortion.
“I will #NotNowNotEver prosecute people or their providers for performing abortions or undergoing an abortion procedure,” tweeted Gunnigle last month.
Our stance has been clear from day one. I will #NotNowNotEver prosecute people or their providers for performing abortions or undergoing an abortion procedure.https://t.co/Znv012OYBe
Hobbs told CNN on Wednesday that she would veto any new legislation further restricting abortion in the state.
Meet Katie Hobbs; a PPAA champion who will fight to restore reproductive rights and against abortion bans. We will not stand for anti-abortion politicians.
Arizona’s food banks are faced with a burgeoning number of clientele, some maxing out their resources — a byproduct of the inflation crisis. This increase in families seeking out assistance was further prompted by the ending of pandemic-era stimulus checks, tax credits, and public benefits.
The Arizona Food Bank Network (AZFBN) told AZ Free News that their clientele has grown steadily since April. AFBN is a coalition of five regional food banks and nearly 1,000 pantries and agencies, including: Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, HonorHealth Desert Mission Food Bank, St. Mary’s Food Bank, United Food Bank, and Yuma Community Food Bank.
According to AZFBN President and CEO Angie Rodgers, clients say that inflation’s adverse impact on family budgets was a chief reason for turning to food banks. Rodgers noted that inflation has impacted their network’s purchasing power. Rodgers didn’t say definitively whether their network is struggling currently to meet the needs of their increased clientele.
“The food bank network has relied on donations and more increasingly, on the purchase of food, to help meet that demand,” said Rodgers. “Of course anytime demand goes up, we need a corresponding supply to meet that need. Some food banks are able to purchase additional items when donations are low. Others rely entirely on donations.”
Rodgers had a positive outlook: she said that the holidays tend to increase food and monetary donations as well as volunteers.
“We are grateful for this support. Many food banks this season will likely be asking for additional contributions to address the need,” said Rodgers.
According to the AZFBN, an average of 1 in 7 Arizonans face food insecurity — nearly 800,000 adults and 270,000 children. Food insecurity is defined as the occasional or constant lack of access to food.
AZ Free News also spoke with Paradise Valley Community Food Bank (PVCFB). Their executive director, Kay Norris, told us that food and monetary donations aren’t meeting their community’s need for the first time in 30 years. Their food bank feeds those in need who are working.
Norris shared that they’re booked up five days a week. They had to open up on Saturdays to meet the demand for the first time in 30 years — but even that day is booked up. Norris said they saw an increase in demand last year of 60 percent.
“I can tell you we’re seeing people that I know that have never been to a food bank before,” said Norris. “We can no longer take people who walk up, because we’re booked. They have to walk away.”
PVCFB relies on 140 to 150 volunteers a week during the school year to keep up with the demand. Even with an expansion in operations, Norris said that they’re in need of more donations to meet the growing community need.
“Eventually it’s going to catch up with us if we don’t have more donations,” said Norris.
The new class of faces lining up for assistance isn’t unique to PVCFB. St. Mary’s Food Bank told12 News that many of those seeking assistance are first time clients, leading their clientele to nearly double compared to last year, from up to 650 clients daily to over 1,100 clients last Friday.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Wednesday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs said debates don’t matter when explaining why she won’t debate Republican opponent Kari Lake.
Hobbs made the remarks during a CNN interview. Voters upset over Hobbs’ refusal to debate were told to accept it as part of her campaign strategy. Hobbs added that a debate at this point was too late anyway.
“Look, we’re six days out from the election and our campaign strategy is our campaign strategy,” said Hobbs. “We’re moving forward and I’m continuing to make my case to the voters of Arizona. Whether or not we debate in this race is not going to decide this election.”
Hobbs also claimed that Lake wasn’t interested in a debate, just in creating a spectacle. The CNN “This Morning” hosts — Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins — insisted that Hobbs could challenge Lake’s narratives in real time.
Hobbs also neglected to debate her primary opponent, Marco Lopez. When asked the reason for avoiding that debate, Hobbs said she didn’t need to because of favorable polling. Effectively, Lopez wasn’t worth the time or effort required for a debate. Hobbs didn’t mention her initial excuse for skipping the debate with Lopez: a purported COVID-19 infection and a conflicting campaign event.
“I was miles ahead of him and won handily,” said Hobbs.
Hobbs initially told the public that she skipped the debate against Lopez because of a COVID-19 illness. Yet just several days later, Hobbs participated in an Independence Day parade in Flagstaff.
In September, Hobbs fled from in-person questions posed by media and supporters concerning her refusal to debate Lake.
Last month, Hobbs advised voters that they should forget about her refusal to debate and, instead, focus on her platform.
Kari Lake’s desperate attempts to create a spectacle are a distraction from dangerous positions she can't defend. Today makes clear she has no intention of actually telling voters her plans to govern.
Debate about debates is over. I have real plans to lead Arizona forward #AZGOV
When Hobbs questioned Lake’s water crisis policies on social media last week, Lake pointed out that these sorts of questions were best answered in a debate. Lake has invited Hobbs repeatedly to debate her.
You probably shouldn't have skipped our debate then, @katiehobbs.
Despite mounting evidence debunking the environmental friendliness of electric vehicles (EV), Arizona’s leaders continue to roll out EV infrastructure.
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Tucson, and Phoenix have all rolled out plans to expand EV infrastructure, as well as encourage citizens to switch to electric while transitioning government vehicles to electric. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs pledged to electrify all state vehicle fleets as part of her “clean” energy plan. The state legislature also considered bills to advance EV usage earlier this year, such as SB1102 to require new homes to have EV charging.
In the latest episode of acclaimed reporter John Stossel’s “Stossel TV,” Manhattan Institute physicist Mark Mills shared that EVs won’t change oil use and carbon dioxide emissions “in any significant way.” Mills revealed that even 300-500 million EVs would only reduce world oil consumption by 10 percent. That’s the entire US population, and 5-8 percent of the world population over 16 years old. There are approximately 15-18 million EVs in the world presently.
Most oil use comes from airplanes, buses, and big trucks — even the mining equipment to obtain copper required for EVs.
“It won’t change because those trucks last 40 years,” said Mills.
President Biden: “the future of vehicles is electric!"
Green activists agree.
But an electric car creates “10-20 tons of carbon…before you drive the first mile,” says @MarkPMills.
That’s another debunked claim of EV’s environmental friendliness: the mining process requires a lot of the earth for very little. One battery requires about 500,000 pounds of minerals and rock to be mined. The mining process pollutes the surrounding environment, resulting in most operations to take place abroad in Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Altogether, the mining, manufacturing, and shipping process for EVs emits 10 to 20 tons of carbon dioxide.
Claims that EVs reduce carbon emissions are only true insofar as an EV is driven 100,000 miles at minimum. Even then, that mileage reduces emissions by up to 20 or 30 percent. The average EV battery lasts around 200,000 miles, though an EV warranty is 100,000 miles. (Tesla projects that it may develop a million-mile battery, though their cars are among the most expensive on the market). With every charge cycle, the battery pack loses capacity and reduces driving range.
Further, only 12 percent of electricity production comes from wind or solar power. Most comes from burning natural gas or coal. That’s nothing to say of the potential strain on the country’s energy grids under the Biden administration’s planned EV network, or under varying weather conditions such as cold snaps and heat waves.
EV sales increased 66 percent this year, following government and corporation efforts over the past several years to eradicate gas-powered vehicles and encourage EV buying through incentives like tax credits. California banned the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, with Massachusetts and Washington following via trigger laws. Other states are on track to phase out gas vehicles over the next few decades, including Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Rhode Island.
That’s in addition to nearly all major car brands pledging to shift toward mostly or exclusively EV within the next several decades, including General Motors (Chevrolet, GMC, Buick), Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Rolls-Royce, Volvo, and Audi.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
