by Corinne Murdock | Jul 5, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The state of California will no longer fully fund official travel to Arizona because of laws banning gender transition procedures for minors (SB1138) and biological males from female sports (SB1165). The West Coast state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta issued the announcement on Thursday, the eleventh hour of Pride Month 2022.
California’s wielding of a 2016 law also applies to Indiana, Louisiana, and Utah, for their respective laws banning biological males, who believe they are transgender females, from participating in girl’s and women’s sports.
Bonta claimed in a press release that protections for women and children were solutions in search of a problem. Rather, Bonta asserted that the laws were veiled attacks on transgenderism and that the state would be “putting [its] money where [its] values are.”
“Make no mistake: There is a coordinated, ongoing attack on transgender rights happening right now all across the country,” said Bonta. “Blanket legislation targeting transgender children is a ‘solution’ in search of a problem. It is detached from reality and directly undermines the well-being of our LGBTQ+ community.”
As of press time, Attorney General Mark Brnovich hasn’t responded to California’s proclamation.
Later on Thursday, Bonta issued a several statements commending members of his staff within the LGBTQ+ community, including his deputy attorney general Lily Weaver, a man who identifies as a “lesbian transgender millennial woman.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jul 4, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona’s Democratic leaders and activists are arguing that the legislature’s decision to universalize the state’s school choice program will cause segregation.
After the legislature voted to universalize the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program last week, State Senator Martín Quezada (D-Glendale) pronounced that school segregation would return.
“We are codifying segregation in our school system today,” asserted Quezada.
Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ), the anti-school choice activist group, has accused school choice programs of discrimination consistently. SOSAZ also claimed that school choice would lead to segregation.
Similarly, State Representative Andrea Dalessandro (D-Sahuarita) has accused the state’s school choice program of discrimination.
The argument is a long-standing one from Dalessandro and the rest of the Democratic Party: school choice systems discriminate on the basis of race.
The ongoing narrative incriminates modern school choice systems using its origins story. The first American school choice program was a form of vouchers that enabled white children to attend white-only schools in response to mandated desegregation through the 1954 Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education. A year later, economist Milton Friedman released “The Role of Government in Education,” proposing a different version of the modern voucher system unrelated to the Supreme Court decision. In the decades following this initial paper, Friedman would champion the private market as a means of empowering parental choice in education, as opposed to leaving families trapped by zip code-determined schools.
The president of the nation’s largest teacher’s union, Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, referred to school choice systems as the “polite cousins of segregation” in 2017, following the appointment of school choice advocate and former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Although Democrats and mainstream media outlets often refer to the ESA Program as “vouchers,” the two are different. The ESA Program utilizes education scholarship accounts, which allocates funds based on per-pupil spending that can be used for approved educational expenses. By contrast, vouchers allow parents to apply public school funding to the private school of their choice.
Prior to Arizona’s universalization of its ESA Program, those eligible were largely special needs students who relied on the funds to personalize their education. Those also eligible were children in a “D” or “F”-rated school, children whose parents are active military or killed in the line of duty, foster care children, a sibling of an ESA recipient, children of a visually or hearing-impaired parent, or children living on native or tribal lands.
Governor Doug Ducey asserted that universal school choice was the “gold standard” for education. That remark prompted former state representative and withdrawn attorney general candidate Diego Rodriguez to reassert the claim that the program would result in segregation.
Drew Anderson begs to differ with Democratic leadership’s claims. The South Phoenix Pastor, a registered Democrat, has testified in the Arizona State Capitol and elsewhere repeatedly about how school choice rescued him from failing school systems and a life of crime, dubbed the “school-to-prison pipeline.” The pastor would go on to become a successful NFL player empowered to lift his family out of poverty.
In a statement to AZ Free News, Anderson contended that school choice would actually undo current segregation enforced by a lack of school choice.
“That is truly so false! Many public schools right now are segregated because the kids in a certain zip code are predominately white, black, or brown,” remarked Anderson. “So, school choice isn’t going to lead to segregation, it’s going to lead to competition for seats in the best schools in Arizona.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jul 3, 2022 | Economy, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizonans will pay an average of 17 percent more for their July 4 cookout than last year due to the inflation and supply chain crises. That averages $10 more for 10 people.
Nearly all staples increased by double digit percentages:
- 2 pounds of ground beef increased 36 percent — $8.18 to $11.12
- 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts increased 33 percent — $6.76 to $8.99
- 32 ounces of pork and beans increased 33 percent — $1.90 to $2.53
- 3 pounds of center cut pork chops increased 31 percent — $11.65 to $15.26
- 2.5 quarts of fresh-squeezed lemonade increased 22 percent — $3.63 to $4.43
- 2.5 pounds of homemade potato salad increased 19 percent — $2.75 to $3.27
- 8 hamburger buns increased 16 percent — $1.67 to $1.93
- Half-gallon of vanilla ice cream increased 10 percent — $4.69 to $5.16
- 13-ounce bag of chocolate chip cookies increased 7 percent — $4.03 to $4.31
Certain foods declined in cost: strawberries by 86 cents, sliced cheese by 48 cents, and potato chips by 22 cents.
The data came from the latest American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) survey. As of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index report from May, inflation in Arizona is at a historic high, rising over eight percent in one year with Phoenix bearing the worst of it at 11 percent.
For last year’s July 4 celebrations, the Biden administration boasted that they helped Americans save an average of 16 cents on cookout foods.
The White House claim was widely criticized, and its corresponding tweet was heavily ratioed: over 23,400 comments and over 17,300 quote tweets, a majority of which were negative, with only over 11,200 likes.
Critics like Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) pointed out that gas prices at the time were at a seven-year high, or a 42 percent increase from 2020. At present, gas prices are hitting all-time highs in recent weeks — even with adjustments for inflation.
Additionally, last year’s Fourth of July food costs may not have been as good as the White House claimed. The Washington Examiner pointed out that the White House ignored certain food items that rose in price: hamburger buns, potato salad, chicken breasts, chocolate chip cookies, and strawberries. The report noted that the Department of Agriculture data reflected an overall increase in food prices of 1.4 percent.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jul 1, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
On Tuesday, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office lost an officer to gunfire: Sergeant Richard Lopez, 51. Lopez’s death marked the second officer killed in the line of duty this year. White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Department Officer Adrian Lopez, Sr., was killed by gunfire on June 2.
According to the latest National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) counts released earlier this month, there have been 14 officers shot in the line of duty so far this year in Arizona. Since that report, at least one unidentified Phoenix police officer was shot. That’s more than double the total number of officers shot last year (six). Only one law enforcement official, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Group Supervisor Michael Garbo, was killed by gunfire last year.
National attention fixated on the increased violence against officers last December when Phoenix Police Officer Tyler Moldovan sustained near-fatal injuries from eight gunshot wounds. At the time, Moldovan hadn’t yet received his official police badge. He finally received it on Sunday.
According to the FOP, ambush-style attacks on law enforcement nationwide increased by 115 percent last year.
Lopez was in pursuit of a theft suspect, later found barricaded in his home and placed in custody on first-degree murder charges. In a press conference on Tuesday, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said they wouldn’t divulge more on the arrest because they lacked the details. The Arizona Department of Public Safety has taken over the investigation.
Governor Doug Ducey was one of many who condemned the lawlessness that led to Lopez’s death.
Sheriff David Rhodes shared that Lopez was known affectionately as “R-Lo,” and a regular participant of the community outreach event for underprivileged or struggling families, “Shop With a Cop.” Lopez leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
“I can’t think of anything low enough to speak of this shooter, this person that decided to take this life. We’re hurt,” said Rhodes. “I’ll tell you this — the violence against law enforcement, it’s escalating everywhere. And it has got to stop.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jul 1, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
On Wednesday, Unilever sold its Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel to its current licensee, American Quality Products (AQP), effectively reversing the ice cream brand’s boycott of Israeli-occupied territory they believed belonged to Palestinians, or “Occupied Palestinian Territory” (OPT). The move came about six months before Ben & Jerry’s license agreement there was set to expire. Ben & Jerry pledged to continue selling in Israel through a different arrangement after that — just not within OPT.
The British consumer goods conglomerate asserted in a press release that they weren’t supportive of Ben & Jerry’s boycott, which they implied was antisemitic. The company explained that it was slow to take action on the boycott, which began last July, because they wanted to conduct an extensive review with parties involved, including the Israeli government.
“Unilever rejects completely and repudiates unequivocally any form of discrimination or intolerance. Antisemitism has no place in any society. We have never expressed any support for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement and have no intention of changing that position,” wrote Unilever.
The conglomerate expressed hope that the Israeli and Palestinian governments could reach a peaceful resolution in their conflict.
Ben & Jerry’s insisted that their boycott wasn’t rooted in antisemitism.
Ben & Jerry’s boycotted the Israel-occupied area last July in response to controversy over Israeli forces along the West Bank, which the company asserted was an illegal incursion. In response, State Treasurer Kimberly Yee divested Unilever of state funds in September. The state originally had around $143 million invested in the conglomerate.
At the time, Yee pointed to Arizona law prohibiting state funds from going to entities that boycott Israel.
“I gave Unilever PLC, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, an ultimatum: reverse the action of Ben & Jerry’s or divest itself of Ben & Jerry’s to come into compliance with Arizona law or face the consequences. They chose the latter,” said Yee. “It does not matter how much investment Unilever PLC has in Israel, with Ben & Jerry’s decision to no longer sell its product in the West Bank, the companies are in violation of the law in Arizona. Arizona will not do business with companies that are attempting to undermine Israel’s economy and blatantly disregarding Arizona’s law.”
On Thursday, Yee issued a formal statement commending Unilever for reversing Ben & Jerry’s boycott. However, the treasurer didn’t pledge to restore the divested funds immediately. Yee shared that her office would review Unilever before deciding to reinvest.
“[I] continue to be concerned about the woke decisions of Ben & Jerry’s Board of Directors,” remarked Yee in closing.
In a statement, Ben & Jerry’s expressed that they didn’t support Unilever’s decision.
“We continue to believe it is inconsistent with Ben & Jerry’s values for our ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” stated the company.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
