The city of Tucson traded its water rights in return for $44 million in federal funding that will help pay for infrastructure.
The federal government agreed to pay the city $400 for every acre-foot of water conserved — the city traded away 110,000 acre-feet through 2025.
The city struck the deal with the federal government through provisions within last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The White House announced in April that it would use $15.4 billion from the IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to combat drought. $4 billion of IRA funding was designated specifically for water management and conservation efforts in the Colorado River Basin.
Mayor Regina Romero said the trade qualified Tucson as the “standard in water conservation.”
#Tucson is setting the standard in water conservation. Under my leadership and the Council, the City of Tucson has signed an agreement with @usbr to voluntarily reduce our #water allocation from the #ColoradoRiver. https://t.co/WWgYY8PeMP
In order to receive the $400 per acre-foot in funding, Tucson signed onto a three-year agreement for conservation. This agreement made up the first component of the federal funding opportunity through the newly-established Lower Colorado Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program (LC Conservation Program).
Other options for funding included a one-year agreement for $330 per acre-foot and a two-year agreement for $365 per acre-foot.
Earlier this month, Gov. Katie Hobbs joined California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo in a pact to conserve three million acre-feet over the next three years. That totals $1.2 billion in federal funding.
This consensus proposal is a step in the right direction when it comes to taking urgent action to protect the #ColoradoRiver system; however, I ask all parties to immediately shift their focus to the future of the Colorado River post 2026.
The second component of the program consists of proposals for additional water conservation and efficiency projects, which the Department of the Interior (DOI) disclosed could involve “a variety of pricing options.” Proposals for this program component closed last November.
The third program component concerns proposals for “long-term system efficiency improvements” that would result in a “multi-year system conservation.” Proposals for this program component are currently open according to the DOI website, though former DOI public communications indicated that this component was scheduled to close earlier this year.
The DOI issued a letter last week in an attempt to spur interest in participation with the third program component.
The DOI noted that successful conservation efforts would include results in quantifiable, verifiable water savings in Lake Mead based on consumptive use reduction and recent history of use; addition of new water to the applicant’s water supply, enabling a consumptive use reduction of Colorado River water; submission from a Colorado River water delivery contract, entitlement holders, or Central Arizona Project water delivery contractor subcontract holders, including partnerships with those entities; demonstration of viability for full implementation, including by demonstrating financial and technical capability of the entity for initial implementation and long-term operations, maintenance, and replacement; and provision of monitoring to ensure the proposed benefits to the system are realized.
Recipients of the DOI’s encouragement-to-apply letter included the Arizona Department of Water Resources, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Arizona State Land Department, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, EPCOR Water Arizona, and the University of Arizona.
Senior White House and DOI officials traveled to Arizona — as well as California, Colorado, and Nevada — to broker deals for water conservation efforts in April.
As part of the deal, the Biden administration set aside $233 million for the Gila River Indian Community, $36 million for Coachella Valley conservation, $20 million for four small surface water storage and groundwater storage projects in California and Utah, and over $54 million to repair aging water delivery infrastructure such as the Imperial Dam.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Northern Arizona University (NAU) admitted that it purposefully admitted more Hispanic students in order to receive more federal funding.
The Department of Education (ED) rewards higher education institutions for having a certain racial makeup within their student population, called a “Hispanic-Serving Institution.”
In order to achieve HSI status, colleges or universities must have Hispanic students making up at least 25 percent of their full-time equivalent student population, as well as a significant number of students requiring needs-based financial aid.
NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera said accomplishment of their HSI designation in 2020 was intentional in an interview last week with Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
“NAU applied for classification and then appointed key leadership to ensure we serve our Hispanic students well,” said Cruz Rivera. “It’s not just about meeting the number threshold, but rather about really carrying out our mission and supporting the success of our students.”
Hispanics aren’t the only racial group that NAU has prioritized. NAU pledged free tuition to Native Americans in November. In March 2021, NAU launched multiple initiatives totaling $1.3 million to increase the number of both Native American and Hispanic science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates.
Following their HSI classification, NAU began to prioritize Hispanic students through their strategic plan, NAU 2025 – Elevating Excellence. These prioritizations include Hispanic-specific retention strategies concerning financial aid, mental health services, and community building; hiring and retention strategies to attract more Hispanic faculty; and faculty training to better understand Hispanic students.
HSI federal programming was reestablished in 2021 through an executive order by President Joe Biden: the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics (Initiative). The concept originated in 1990 under former President George H.W. Bush, but fell out of use in subsequent administrations until Biden was elected.
As part of the initiative, Biden established the Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics. The commission convened in its inaugural meeting earlier this month.
Included in the 21-member commission are three Arizonans. One of them is NAU’s program director and teacher for its Arizona K12 Center, Juliana Urutubey.
Urutubey was named the 2021 National Teacher of the Year and the 2019 Chicanos por La Causa Esperanza Latina Teaching Award while working as an educator in Las Vegas, Nevada. Urutubey recently relocated to Phoenix and joined NAU’s Arizona Teacher Residency.
Chicanos por La Causa has been intertwined with several major controversial events in recent years, including a federal pandemic loan fraud investigation; membership with the Aspen Institute, the liberal think tank that played a major role in the cover-up of investigative reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop; and funding to pass propositions outlawing debt collection efforts and awarding in-state college tuition rates to illegal immigrants.
Another Arizonan on the commission is Anna Maria Chávez: President and CEO of the Arizona Community Foundation. Chávez was formerly the CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA; director of intergovernmental affairs, urban relations and community development/military affairs advisor, and deputy chief of staff for former Gov. Janet Napolitano; and several Clinton administration positions, including legal counsel for the Federal Highway Administration, attorney advisor in the Office of the Counsel to the President, senior policy advisor to former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater and SBA Administrator Aida Alvaraz.
Chávez has also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for the National Council on Aging; in June 2020, she became the executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and currently serves as an ex-officio director on its Board of Directors; in 2021, Chávez was appointed as the inaugural chief impact officer of Encantos and president of their online presence. Encantos investors include Kapor Capital, Steve Case’s Revolution Rise of the Rest Fund, Chelsea Clinton’s Metrodora Capital, and L’ATTITUDE Ventures.
The third is Teresa Leyba Ruiz, who became the senior vice president and chief advocacy and programs officer for Education Forward Arizona (EFA) in April. Ruiz formerly served as the president of Glendale Community College (GCC), part of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), having worked in various leadership roles with GCC for over a decade. Ruiz also participated in the Aspen Institute’s 2018-19 Presidential Fellows Program (as mentioned earlier in this article, the Aspen Institute played a major role in covering up the Biden laptop scandal).
EFA received millions from AmeriCorps, the Arizona Department of Education, and Helios Education Foundation in recent years. They also received funding from a wide swath of major entities, including MCCCD and NAU: Alliance Bank of Arizona, Arizona State University, Bank of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Maricopa County, the Salt River Project, State Farm, University of Arizona, and Wells Fargo. Leaders from a number of these entities serve on EFA’s board of directors.
Per their agenda, the commission discussed ways they could advance educational equity in K-12 and higher education using Biden’s budget, reviewed federal data on Hispanics, and discussed means of strengthening career pathways for Hispanic advancement.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Tuesday, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and the House Freedom Caucus spoke in opposition to Congress’ plan to raise the debt ceiling: the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).
Under the current plan, the debt ceiling would increase from $31.5 trillion to $36 trillion by 2025, with no cap in place. Without a raise in the debt limit by June 5, the government will be in default.
“Instead of estimating the actual debt ceiling that will be imposed by that date, January 1, 2025, they simply say that will be the date, there will be an unlimited cap,” said Biggs. “There won’t be a cap for 19 months of the Biden administration, and the Biden administration is probably the most profligate we’ve seen.”
Honored to stand with my colleagues in the @freedomcaucus today.
The national debt current growth rate is projected at over $4 trillion in new debt. Biggs forecasted an increase to $5 trillion by 2025.
Biggs claimed that the version of the FRA agreed to under House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) would only delay, not prevent the IRS from hiring 87,000 new agents costing $71 billion. Biggs said these agents would not only be weaponized against taxpayers, but presented a significant financial burden.
Biggs further claimed that the FRA establishes Green New Deal tax credits and subsidies for the wealthy. He further criticized the PAYGO program, which would require government bureaucrats to justify how they would afford their expenditures; Biggs noted that a similar program already exists in Congress, yet that program hasn’t slowed spending. He added that Congress also already waives PAYGO provisions.
“How come it is Republican leaders always tell us ‘next year we’ll fight hard’?” asked Biggs.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07) also opposed the FRA, but for different reasons. Grijalva expressed opposition to the FRA in his capacity as Democratic ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee. He argued that the FRA would jeopardize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Watch the full press conference here:
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY-04) criticized the Senate for attempting to corner the House into approving their version of the funding bill.
“[The Senate is] sending us a giant omnibus bill the day before the government funding runs out, and saying, ‘Pass the Senate version or the House will be responsible for the shutdown,” said Massie.
House Republican Conference leadership backs the FRA. The chairwoman, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) claimed the FRA would stop runaway inflationary spending, rescind executive overreach, and improve everyday Americans’ financial status.
With the Fiscal Responsibility Act, House Republicans will:
1. Stop out-of-control inflationary spending. 2. Rein in executive overreach. 3. Lift Americans out of poverty.
McCarthy also characterized the FRA as a win, adding that their version eliminates COVID-19 spending, prevents $5 trillion in new tax proposals, and enacts more work requirements for welfare recipients.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress in January that the U.S. had reached its statutory debt limit and would run out of funding sometime in early June. In a follow-up letter last week, Yellen specified the expiration date as June 5.
She disclosed that her department would fulfill over $130 billion of scheduled payments in the first two days of June, including payments to veterans as well as Social Security and Medicare recipients. Yellen added that scheduled payouts would leave the Treasury unable to satisfy all its fiscal obligations.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Phoenix is planning to landlock the Arizona State Capitol with a light rail loop: the “Capitol Extension.” A cost estimate has yet to be announced.
The Capitol Extension will form a 1.4 mile-loop with three stations around the capitol. It’s an addition to the existing Valley Metro Rail system from 3rd Avenue along Washington Street, 19th Avenue, and Jefferson Street. That runs right along the area of the infamous mass homeless encampment known as The Zone, prompting concerns about ridership and capitol grounds safety.
Crime has increased along the Valley Metro light rail system over the last few years. There were over 1,300 incidents in 2020, over 1,600 incidents in 2021, and nearly 2,500 incidents in 2022. According to city data reflected in a 12 News report last May, crime in and around public transit has risen consistently since 2016; the FBI data outlining this crime spike was last updated in 2021.
The extension also surrounds the adjacent Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, Supreme Court, Library Park, and U.S. District Court, stopping short of the current rail loop in front of Phoenix City Hall.
The Phoenix City Council and Valley Metro Rail Board of Directors issued this design — the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) — in November 2021. Plans for the Capitol Extension date back to actions taken by the Phoenix City Council and Valley Metro Rail Board of Directors in 2016.
Prior to construction, federal regulations require an Environmental Assessment. The assessment and preliminary engineering carry an estimated cost of $4.85 million. Preliminary engineering began in 2021 and is scheduled to run through the end of this year; the environmental assessment began this year and is scheduled to run through 2024.
The Capitol Extension isn’t scheduled to run until late 2027.
Final design and pre-construction is scheduled to begin in 2024 and last through 2025; then construction is scheduled to begin in 2025 and last through 2027; testing and certification is scheduled to begin in mid-2027, with no anticipated end date in sight; and revenue service is scheduled to begin in late 2027.
Construction will consist of three to four years of underground utility relocation; trackwork and street rebuilding; sidewalks, landscaping, and signage; stations and overhead electrification; and testing, certification, and operations.
According to a public meeting held earlier this month to discuss design of the tracks, stations, roadway, sidewalks, and street striping, the extension will be funded by 50 percent federal funds, 35 percent local funds, and 15 percent regional funds. Federal funding will come from the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) and Congestion Mitigation, Air Quality (CMAQ); regional funding will come from the Public Transportation Fund (PTF), and extension funds are included within Proposition 400; local funding will come from the Phoenix Transportation 2050 Sales Tax.
The city did disclose in the meeting that the funding breakdown may be subject to change depending on the availability of federal dollars.
Russia has banned Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow for his CIA connections.
Last week, Russia banned Crow and about 500 other Americans from coming into their country. In listing Crow among hundreds banned, the country identified Crow as the chairman of the board of trustees to the CIA venture capital firm specializing in intelligence agency technology, In-Q-Tel Corporation, but not in his capacity as ASU President.
Crow remarked on his ban on Tuesday in a brief, tongue-in-cheek tweet.
“I will miss those cards and flowers from Putin,” wrote Crow.
So, I’ve been added to the list of people banned from Russia.
In-Q-Tel was launched in 1999 by the former CEO of government defense weapons giant Lockheed Martin. It was the first government-sponsored venture capital firm, created with the intention of expanding CIA research and development into the private sector. In-Q-Tel relies on CIA funding to invest in startups developing intelligence technologies.
Crow had plans to launch an ASU extension in Ukraine, American University Kyiv (AUK), up until the Russian invasion. As AZ Free News reported last February, those behind AUK harbored deep ties to the Clintons and the Bidens.
Crow wasn’t the only In-Q-Tel leadership banned: others included Stephen Bowsher, the president; Megan Anderson, executive vice president; Christopher Darby, the executive director; executive vice president for political affairs, Sarah Sewall; executive vice president George Hoyem; Safra Ada Catz, Michael Glenn Mullen, Judith Miscik, George John Tenet, William Ballard Hurd, and Ted Schlein, board of trustees members.
As Arizona Daily Independent noted, Tenet was a former CIA director and Hurd was a former CIA operative.
The remainder of the 500 added to Russia’s ban list included other high-profile figures in global affairs. Among the list of the names of congressmen (49 members), attorneys general (17), governors (8), and top leadership in the White House, federal agencies, and military branches was former President Barack Obama.
The executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Corporation, Tim Cahill, was also banned. Another executive for another defense corporation giant, senior vice president Jeffrey Shockey of Raytheon Technologies, was banned.
Multiple executives from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations were also banned: the CFO, Maija Arbolino, and the executive vice president, Leonard Benardo.
Several organizations had many individuals named to Russia’s ban list. This included over 80 members of the Rand Research Corporation; nearly 30 members of the Brookings Institution; nearly 60 members of the Carnegie Endowment; and 15 members of General Dynamics.
Also named to the ban list were 21 members of the National Security Council; 34 members of the NGO Atlantic Council; 11 members of the NGO Center for a New American Security; 23 members of the NGO Center for Naval Analysis; two journalists, Matthew Continetti with National Review and Jeffrey Scott Shapiro with The Washington Times; and three commentators, Joe Scarborough with MSNBC, Erin Burnett with CNN, and Rachel Maddow with MSNBC.
Military-wise, bans included the deputy secretary, secretary, and chief of staff for the Air Force; the secretary and the general of the Army; and the minister of the Navy.
There were several bans of interest, due to their apparent disconnect with global affairs: Michael Byrd, the U.S. Capitol police officer responsible for fatally shooting Ashley Babbitt during the January 6 incident; and Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger, the only secretary of state listed.
Another ban of interest was Nina Jankowicz, selected last April by the Biden administration to lead a newly created, highly controversial, and quickly scrapped Disinformation Governance Board within the Department of Homeland Security. In September, Jankowicz registered as a foreign agent to embark on a similar disinformation initiative with the United Kingdom-based Centre for Information Resilience (CIR).
I’ve been sanctioned by Russia today.
One of the proudest moments of my career, honestly.
I’ll continue standing up against Putin’s authoritarianism for as long as it is necessary. pic.twitter.com/OqrRMo5I1D
The ASU president wasn’t the only high-profile Arizonan to make Russia’s most recent list of banned persons. Both Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) and Gov. Katie Hobbs also made the cut.
— Eli Crane for Congress (@EliCraneAZ) May 22, 2023
Hobbs wrote that she would continue to support Ukraine in light of this ban.
I'm proud to be banned from Russia by dictator Vladimir Putin.
Arizona will continue to support Ukraine, including training Ukrainian fighter pilots right here in Tucson. I will always stand up for democracy at home and abroad. pic.twitter.com/jmRfQHbME1
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) May 24, 2023
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
