by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 11, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema’s decision not to run for re-election is “a political earthquake [that] has rocked Arizona, the likes of which we haven’t seen in recent history,” according to U.S. Senate Candidate Mark Lamb. Sinema, a former Democrat who switched to Independent, announced her decision on March 5.
“I love Arizona and I am so proud of what we’ve delivered,” Sinema said in a video posted to social media. “Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together to get stuff done, I will leave the Senate at the end of this year.”
Lamb said with Senator Sinema out of the race, the focus is now on the Republican Primary.
“My experience and ability to pick up support from conservative Independents and Democrats in the general election separate me from the Republican field,” he said.
Lamb currently serves as Pinal County Sheriff. If he wins the primary, he will take on Democrat Ruben Gallego, who currently serves as the U.S. representative for Arizona’s 3rd congressional district.
“It’s now a two-person race in the general election, between Democrat Ruben Gallego and the eventual Republican nominee,” Lamb said.
“The focus has moved to the Republican primary, where Republicans get their chance to nominate who they think is the most qualified person for the job and who is best able to defeat Gallego and win the general election,” Lamb continued.
The Republican primary is far from over, Lamb argued.
“It’s going to be a spirited contest and it has now taken on renewed interest and sense of urgency,” Lamb said. “Bottom line, Arizonans do not need outsiders selecting our candidates.”
Polls show Lamb as the strongest Republican candidate, he said, pointing to a Noble Predictive Insights Survey showing him beating Gallego by 10 points or more.
Lamb called for a series of debates with the other leading Republican candidate, Kari Lake.
“Voters deserve to hear and see their candidates front and center on the issues,” Lamb said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 9, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Dr. Eugene Livar will serve as Arizona’s first Chief Heat Officer, the state Department of Health announced Wednesday. The position is part of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Extreme Heat Preparedness Plan.
“I’m excited to take on this role and this important work to make sure Arizona is prepared as possible for this upcoming heat season and beyond,” Livar said.
Hobbs, a Democrat, has named addressing extreme heat in Arizona as one of her most important initiatives. The preparedness plan will involve several state agencies along with the Governor’s Office of Resiliency.
Arizona Republicans have criticized Hobbs for wasting government funding on paying unnecessary employees.
“If Hobbs really cared about making AZ “resilient,” she would start by helping Arizonans keep more $$ in their wallets,” the American Free Enterprise Club said on Twitter. “Instead, she’s flexing her power as governor to create a multi-million-dollar program so her political friends can do phony baloney jobs.”
Livar will oversee the implementation of the plan and work to coordinate partnerships between the state, county health departments, local municipalities, communities, the private sector, and community-based organizations, according to a news release.
“ADHS is proud to play a role in meeting this moment and working to fix a complex problem facing Arizonans and we will handle this responsibility with the care it deserves and in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Resiliency Director Maren Mahoney,” said Jennie Cunico, ADHS Cabinet Executive Officer.
The health department under Hobbs also hired a heat relief coordinator to serve as the statewide point-of-contact for county coordinators and develop training for community navigators focused on improving access to human service providers.
Livar has been part of the ADHS team since 2012. He previously served as the assistant director for public health preparedness and steered the development of the ADHS heat preparedness recommendations, which contributed to the state’s heat plan.
Former legislator and current candidate for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Michelle Ugenti-Rita said the chief heat officer position sounds like a joke.
“This is an all time level of absurdity – a “chief heat officer,” she said. “It has to be a joke…we live in the DESERT.”
Merissa Hamilton, Republican politician and executive director of Save Arizona, said Hobbs’ agenda must be rejected.
“Democrats manufacture crises for their degrowth death cult,” she tweeted. “We must firmly reject this agenda!”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 7, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
On Monday, the Arizona Senate approved HCR 2023 to be on the 2024 general election ballot. The ballot measure would compensate residents, businesses, and property owners whose livelihoods are harmed by lawlessness surrounding the homelessness crisis.
According to the Goldwater Institute, the first-in-the-nation reform allows property owners, who have had to deal with mitigation expenses as a result of a municipality’s purposeful failure to enforce nuisance regulations related to the homeless crisis, to receive a refund for damages up to the amount of their property tax liability.
The funds are then deducted from the offending municipality’s state shared revenue and sent to the property owner.
“Arizonans no longer trust that their tax dollars are being used by local governments to enforce the law and address rampant homelessness,” Goldwater President and CEO Victor Riches said. “This ballot measure will ensure that when municipalities fail to do their job, business and property owners are not left holding the bag.”
The Goldwater Institute is a Phoenix-based conservative think tank. The group says the reform has a large coalition of support from residents, property owners, and business owners who have been hurt by their government’s failure to enforce the law, and the government’s tendency for pushing homeless people into unofficial open-air shelters like “The Zone” in Phoenix.
The bill was sponsored by Senate President Warren Petersen and Speaker of the House Ben Toma, both Republicans.
Toma said Arizona residents are tired of lawlessness and inaction regarding the homelessness crisis.
“Business owners and residents alike are having their property stolen, vandalized, or terrorized and are desperate for help,” Toma said. “That’s why I sponsored HCR2023, to hold our local governments accountable to our community members and to help provide some relief for property owners who have suffered damages because of a city’s purposeful failure to provide the public health and safety services we all pay for.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Goldwater Institute was founded by Barry Goldwater. The story has been corrected.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 6, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Congressman David Schweikert’s new bill would help places of worship and other nonprofit organizations protect themselves from danger.
The Warranting of Religious Spaces to Handle Increased Protection (WORSHIP) Act provides greater flexibility to places of worship and other nonprofit organizations receiving funding from FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) to bolster security measures against terrorist threats and antisemitic incidents.
“Our communities depend on places of worship to come together and embrace shared beliefs throughout life. No one should feel threatened when exercising their religious liberty, which is fundamentally protected by the First Amendment,” Schweikert, a Republican, said.
Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 360% in the first three months after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). This is more than triple the number of incidents from the same period last year.
A minimum of 628 reported cases were against synagogues and Jewish community centers, and the preliminary three-month total was higher than the total number of antisemitic incidents tallied in any year over the last decade except for 2022.
The Grand Canyon state has seen its own uptick in antisemitic incidents, as the ADL’s Arizona regional office reported an 86% increase in antisemitic incidents over the past year. The FBI arrested a man for allegedly threatening to execute a Scottsdale rabbi in November.
Crimes motivated by religious bias increased by more than 28% from 2021 to 2022, according to the 2022 Hate Crime Statistics Report released by the FBI. Religion was in the top three bias categories due to the volume of reported hate crime incidents, with the highest religious bias being anti-Jewish.
“I’ve always said my faith motivates me, and I’m proud to introduce this commonsense legislation that will provide our faith-based communities the resources they need to harden security and improve safety,” Schweikert said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this bill.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 5, 2024 | Economy, News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Four Arizona cities made it onto a list of America’s least financially distressed cities.
Last month, WalletHub released the results of their comparison of the 100 largest cities without data limitations across nine key metrics. The personal-finance website determined cities are the most and least financially distressed in light of inflation making it more difficult for Americans to keep up with payments on their loans and lines of credit.
Glendale was 92nd on the list, followed by Chandler at 97, Gilbert at 98, and Scottsdale at 99.
“Getting out of the downward spiral of financial distress is no easy feat,” WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe said in a news release. “You may get temporary relief from your lenders by not having to make payments, but all the while interest will keep building up, making the debt even harder to pay off.”
“People who find themselves in financial distress should budget carefully, cut non-essential expenses, and pursue strategies like debt consolidation or debt management to get their situation under control,” she continued.
Chicago, Illinois was the city with the most financial stress.
“It seems that in the Windy City, people’s financial security is also blowing away,” Happe said. “The share of Chicago residents who are allowed to skip debt payments due to financial difficulties went up by nearly 30% between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023.”
Additionally, Chicago residents had the third-most accounts in distress per person, according to Happe.
“Financial distress may increase further, too, as Chicago has some of the highest Google search interest in the country for terms like ‘debt’ and ‘loans,’ which indicates that people need to borrow even more,” she said.
After Chicago, Houston, Texas had the second most financial stress, followed by New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Atlanta, Riverside, and Jacksonville.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
