by Matthew Holloway | Nov 11, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a post-Election Day vote on Nov. 6th, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted unanimously to approve a Consent Agreement between Southwest Gas Corporation (SWG) and the Arizona Corporation Commission Office of Pipeline Safety (AZOPS). The Commission slammed SWG with a $2,000,000 civil penalty stemming from two incidents in 2021 in Chandler and Scottsdale caused by degradation in pipelines, leaks, and explosions. The incident in Chandler saw an explosion that injured four people.
As reported by 12News, the explosion on August 26, 2021 that drew the attention of the ACC occurred near Ray and Rural Roads at a Chandler business and injured four people. The blast caused a complete structural failure of the building’s roof which subsequently collapsed and caused the evacuation of nearby homes. The explosion caused damage in excess of $5 million the outlet reported, citing public records.
In a press release, the ACC explained that it voted on Wednesday to impose a Consent Agreement between Southwest Gas Corporation (SWG) and the ACC, which proposes a resolution to the issues related to the Scottsdale and Chandler incidents.
The ACC explained its findings stating:
“AZOPS investigators concluded that pipe purchased by Southwest Gas degraded in high heat areas, leading to leaks, and possible explosions. The investigators further concluded that Southwest Gas failed to properly map where this type of pipe, referred to as Driscopipe polyethylene (PE) M7000 and M8000, was located and needed to increase leak patrols. The mapping errors lead to an incorrect understanding of where the potentially failing piping is located. Maintaining accurate records is mandated by law.
Southwest Gas accepted responsibility and agreed to pay $2,000,000 to the Commission as a civil penalty. As part of the agreement, Southwest Gas also must plan to replace or abandon all services with no active meter sets or stubs identified underground that contains the defective piping material. Southwest Gas estimates there are more than 10,000 miles of M7000 and M8000 pipe installed throughout Arizona.”
Commissioner Kevin Thompson added an amendment that was approved as well that the Consent Agreement is not the final word on the matter “making it clear that enactment of the settlement does not constitute an approval or authorization by the Commission for recovering the costs of pipe replacement or costs associated with fulfilling the terms of the settlement in any upcoming rate case,” according to the release.
He said in a statement, “This matter has been before the Commission long enough and the approval of this settlement is a big step in the direction of maintaining public safety and holding the utility accountable.” He added, “I don’t believe customers should bear the entire responsibility for the mistakes of the manufacturer and their defective products, and I wish the utility would have pursued this path more aggressively when they had the chance.”
Speaking with Fox10 Phoenix, Tom Ryan, trial attorney for the explosion victims, Platinum Printing and the Ryan brothers, said, “It was a shock—a complete devastation. Metal was bent, doors were sent flying 200 feet. It was just an incredible, shocking sight. And I’m still amazed today—that as badly as they were burned—that he lived to tell about it.”
Southwest Gas has not sought legal action against the pipe manufacturer for defective product liability as of this report.
Fox10 reported that the new piping mandated under the Consent Agreement could impact thousands of businesses and homes across the Phoenix Metro area and will total in nearly 1,000 miles of replacement piping.
In a statement issued to AZFamily, a Southwest Gas spokesman wrote, “Southwest Gas worked closely with the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Office of Pipeline Safety during its investigation of the incidents in Scottsdale and Chandler to identify root causes and opportunities to enhance the safety, service, and reliability of our infrastructure in the State of Arizona. The Consent Agreement is the result of these efforts and ensures the insights gained from this process lead to positive change reflective of Southwest Gas’ continued commitment to safely deliver natural gas service for our customers and the communities we serve.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Nov 10, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen, the jurist overseeing the 2020 alternate electors case, has become the subject of intense scrutiny. Emails obtained by Rep. Travis Grantham revealed that the judge demanded that all of his fellow judges and commissioners defend Vice President Kamala Harris in the face of criticism that she was a “DEI hire.” Judge Cohen showed an openly racist bias and targeted men overall, white men in particular, by calling upon them to defend Harris and any colleagues identified as a “person of color.”
As reported by the Arizona Daily Independent, Cohen became offended by the emergence of rhetoric characterizing Harris as a “DEI hire,” despite President Joe Biden freely stating in 2020 that his criteria for selecting a Vice President were explicitly driven by race and gender. Biden told reporters at the time, “ I commit that I will, in fact, appoint a, pick a woman to be vice president,” and that he would select a candidate “of color and/or a different gender,” according to CNN.
Judge Cohen further objected to questions on Harris’ integrity that suggested she would conduct inappropriate relationships with top members of the cabinet or political figures, seemingly linked to her highly controversial relationship with then-speaker of the California State Willie Brown. Later, when Brown was elected Mayor of San Francisco, Harris would be catapulted into office as the district attorney of the state and county of San Francisco per Reuters.
In the email uncovered by Grantham, Cohen wrote:
“It does matter if your chromosomes are made up of ‘XY.’ It matters even more if your skin color is characterized as ‘white’ or Caucasian. We must speak out. We must tell those within our circles of influence that this s**t must stop. NOW! We cannot allow our female colleagues to feel as if they stand alone when there are those who may intimate that their ascension was anything other than based upon exceptionalism. We cannot allow our colleagues who identify as being a ‘person of color’ to stand alone when there are those may claim that their ascension was an ‘equity hire’ rather than based solely upon exceptionalism. We no longer can stay silent merely because others are exercising their right to free speech — we, too, have that same right and must exercise it.”
Cohen continued, equating the conduct and rhetoric of Harris’ detractors and any who refused to defend her to that of the Nazis of World War II, even drawing upon the historic horror of the Holocaust in a lopsidedly hyperbolic comparison.
“I have been reflecting on Martin Niemoller’s brilliant post-WWII essay known as ‘First they came for…’ While the subject matter of his commentary was one of the most horrific periods in world history, its instruction applies equally to present day events,” said Cohen. “When we cannot or do not stand with others, the words of Martin Niemoller are no longer a historic reference to the atrocities of WWII, those words describe the present.”
As reported by the Daily Independent, Cohen appeared to walk-back the email a day later with an apology of sorts, writing in a follow-up email: “Earlier this week I allowed my passion to cloud my judgment and sent an email using this as my forum,” said Cohen. “After reflection, I have come to realize that this was not proper use of this forum. I sincerely apologize to anyone put off or negatively impacted by my lapse of judgment.”
However, the damage may have already been done given that under the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 1.2,” A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.”
The code of conduct notably constrains jurists from political and campaign activities beyond the scope of judicial elections specifically prohibiting “any statement that would reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a matter pending or impending in any court; or in connection with cases, controversies, or issues that are likely to come before the court, make pledges, promises, or commitments that are inconsistent with the impartial performance of the adjudicative duties of judicial office.”
The outlet reported that two-days after the initial email to his colleagues, Cohen sent another directly referencing the ongoing trial against the 2020 Alternate Electors and deriding the defendents directly saying, “I am presiding over a case that involves a number of public officials, including some state senators. We had an all-day hearing yesterday and will have the same all day today,” said Cohen.
He continued making the unsubtle implication that the defendants would abuse their legislative power for their own convenience, blatantly impugning their character. He wrote:
“At the end of yesterday’s proceedings, one of the state senators approached my courtroom clerk and asked her to validate his parking. Is it possible that we will see parking validation added to the court’s allocated budget next year when the legislature passes our next budget and it will somehow be given retroactive application to [this day]?”
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen expressed concern in a post to X sharing the Daily Indpendent’s article regarding Cohen’s conduct and calling upon the judicial system to intervene writing, “Rule 2.11 of the judicial code says you must disqualify yourself if you cannot be impartial. His emails are anything but impartial. @azcourts why is this judge still on this case? Impartiality and fairness please!”
Arguments in the case against the Alternate Electors are scheduled to begin in January 2026, according to Politico. Cohen was appointed in 2005 by Democrat Gov. Janet Napolitano and has indicated he is nearing retirement according to reporting by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Nov 9, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
With Arizona’s Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs languishing at a 36% favorability rating and her efforts to flip the state legislature blue appearing to have failed, Arizona stands poised to hover in political limbo for the next two years. In effect, Hobbs, who has vetoed 216 bills since taking office, could now be a lame-duck governor.
In an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Hobbs confirmed her 216 vetoes to the host, proudly extolling the inaction of the log-jammed government in the most insulting terms possible.
“We have a legislature that is run by literal insurrectionists and indicted fake electors. And they didn’t get the message that voters wanted sanity over chaos, and so they kept sending extreme measures that I had to veto. But here’s the good news about our ballot. In addition to all the garbage that the legislature sent, we also had the chance to vote on a ballot measure to enshrine abortion in our state’s constitution.
Right now, the results of that are looking very good. So I’m optimistic about that passing and us being able to restore our rights here in Arizona. “
Dan Coulson of Citizens for Free Enterprise shared video of the moment on X writing, “In a really awkward interview, @KatieHobbs claims that Arizona Republicans ‘didn’t get the message’ from voters… Hobbs currently has a 36% approval rating and Republicans in the State Legislature expanded their majorities so I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about.”
Conservative Political Consultant Constantine Querard observed, “Among what Katie Hobbs calls ‘garbage’ that the Legislature sent to the ballot is border security, cracking down on those who traffic kids for sex, support for our police, and more. I see she’s in fine form as she launches Campaign 2026!”
As reported by AZCentral, unofficial election results showed Republicans poised to expand their advantage in the Arizona House. The State Senate also appears likely to remain in GOP control, as of this report.
Should these opposing forces in the legislative and executive branches of the Arizona government remain unchanged, then it is likely that even basic business of the government will be brutally fought, and no real reforms will be possible for either party, until the inevitable 2026 rematch for the Governor’s office.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Nov 9, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
On Tuesday, during the early hours of Election Day, American Majority Action (AMA) announced that with record numbers of early voters in the state of Arizona, it had exceeded 3.25 million voter contacts in its targeted voter group and conducted over 600,000 live conversations with them. In so doing, the group stated that it led the effort to encourage conservative voters to vote early.
Arizona Executive Director of American Majority Action Tracy DuCharme said in the statement:
“We focused our Arizona efforts on generating more absentee ballots and changing the voting behavior of low propensity conservative voters. We have been working with our partners to get more conservatives to vote absentee, whether through the mail or in person. We are having face-to-face conversations with voters at the doors, and through their phones with live calls and personal text messages.
Our absentee ballot generation plan was extremely successful and now 68.98% of conservatives who requested a ballot have returned them. We have engaged in nearly 3 million live contacts over phone calls, door knocks, and text messages with targeted voters. While they are tired of being bombarded through the airwaves, we have found people still appreciate personal conversations about the issues that face us all each day. We’re making a lasting impact on our state, one conversation at a time. I’m proud of the work AMA has done here in Arizona, and I know we’ll continue this mission for years to come.”
AMA credited the employment of advanced canvassing technology in its statement adding, “Face-to-face conversations are the highest form of voter engagement, and are shown to greatly increase election turnout. AMA’s activist groundswell is powered by Voter Gravity’s groundbreaking technology that allows staff to quickly and accurately get out the vote through micro-targeting voters.”
According to the Arizona Mirror, as Election Day voting commenced, 785,231 Republicans had already voted early for a turnout of 52.71% as compared to 643,450 Democrats and 466,140 independents.
Final voting data for the 2024 election is not yet available, however, President Donald Trump has been declared the winner of Arizona’s eleven electoral votes. And as of this report, in the race for the U.S. Senate, Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego currently leads Kari Lake 1,381,684 votes to 1,348,362 votes.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Nov 9, 2024 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The City of Glendale’s Proposition 499, the “Hotel and Event Center Minimum Wage and Wage Protection Act,” was soundly defeated on Election Day. The defeat was a rebuke to Worker Power, a California special interest group seeking “economic justice and the preservation of democracy.” Prop 499 was met with staunch opposition in Glendale from the coalition “Save Glendale Jobs,” funded by hospitality industry leaders and supported by three Glendale Councilmembers Lauren Tolmachoff, Joyce Clark, and Vice Mayor Ian Hugh.
The ballot measure would have mandated “hotel and event center workers receive a $20.00 per hour minimum wage (increases annually), service charge payments and premium pay to be enforced by a newly created city department of labor responsible for investigating employer violations involving payment of wages, reporting, recordkeeping, and overtime requirements.”
Hotel developer Chris DeRose, president of CivicGroup LLC, a firm seeking to bring a LivSmart by Hilton Hotel to downtown Glendale, was joined on a conference call prior to the vote by Clark, Hughe, Tolmachoff and Councilmember-elect Dianna Guzman. DeRose explained the serious problems that the proposition would cause for the burgeoning West Valley City, deep in an extended project of downtown revitalization as well as business owners.
“We’re in the process of taking that out to capital. Then we get a proposition that gets ballot access that threatens to upend all of our economic modeling and throw uncertainty into the whole project,” DeRose explained.
“Unfortunately, that’s frozen us in our tracks because whether you’re talking to a bank or you’re talking to investors, they want to know, ‘Hey, what’s the labor cost here?’ For a hotel, your number 1 expense, especially in a limited-service model where you don’t have F&B, it’s salary for staff. And so, this proposition has created uncertainty, and we’re not able to answer those very basic questions right now. And as a result, we’re not able to move the project forward.”
He added that the proposition appeared to be a “Trojan horse.”
“What’s really unusual about this, it’s a minimum wage that’s really – it’s a proposition that is disguised as a minimum wage. The minimum wage part is the Trojan horse.”
“The problem is that there’s actually a cap on productivity and that is unprecedented. I don’t know of another jurisdiction in America where you have a cap on productivity and in this case it’s 3,500 square feet, which is about 10 hotel rooms.”
Councilmember Clark noted the serious impact the proposal could have had on Glendale’s competitiveness in attracting businesses saying, “I think it’s important to note that Glendale will be the only city in the state to mandate $20 an hour. And overtime, it’s more than that. It’s $40 an hour, which people are not paying attention to. It puts Glendale at a competitive disadvantage with every city in the state and the Common Sense Institute says that it may cost Glendale anywhere from a million dollars on up annually just to regulate this and in lost revenue from other projects that may have considered locating in Glendale.”
Councilmember Tolmachoff expressed concerns about navigating the regulatory mandate the city would be required to assume saying, “To put the city in a position to be a regulatory authority and to have to intervene and interact between a civil disagreement between an employee and an employer is absolutely no place for a city to be.”
Save Glendale Jobs Chair Kim Grace Sabow said in a statement after the proposition’s defeat:
“I extend my sincere appreciation to Glendale voters, who chose to preserve and protect the jobs our industry creates. I want to thank the many supporters of our effort, without whom this result would not have been possible, including key business leaders, elected officials, and law enforcement. I also want to thank our dedicated campaign team, which expertly managed every aspect of this campaign, and our volunteers, who spread the word across the city about how damaging this measure would be. Together, we formed a mighty coalition.
“I am thrilled for Glendale, which I am certain will not only continue to grow and create more outstanding destinations, attractions, and experiences for visitors but will also continue to deliver more great jobs and career opportunities for Glendale residents.”
According to Maricopa County Elections, the proposition was defeated by 15.32 pts., or approximately 10,338 votes as of this report.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
