An elementary school student testified that his former teacher harassed him over his family’s conservative beliefs.
The young boy brought his complaints to the attention of the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) at their most recent board meeting.
The little boy accused SUSD teacher Donna Javinett (Anasazi Elementary School) of coordinating with one of his neighbors to target himself and his family for their “extremist” beliefs in recent years.
The boy referenced a court case that resulted in a restraining order against his neighbor; during a hearing, the neighbor disclosed email correspondence with Javinett documenting their collusion against the boy.
“This teacher created a hostile school environment for kids like me when she didn’t like their parents. She would yell at me in the hallway and hurry me along. I also caught her filming me one day. She claimed she was filming for field day but the event was over and her phone was pointing right at me. At the same time, a neighbor on my street was also filming me while I was outside my home. It was creepy and I felt unsafe. It became so bad that my family had to get a restraining order against my neighbor. At court is when the neighbor revealed a personal email from Mrs. Javinett to my teacher not to my neighbor thanking my neighbor for protecting teachers against extremists. This is when I found out that Mrs. Javinett and my neighbor were working together.”
Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity, an activist group of SUSD community members and parents, obtained the referenced email. Javinett wrote an email thanking the neighbor, a retired educator by the name of “Ellen,” to thank her for her actions.
“I want to thank you for defending Scottsdale teachers against extremists who have nothing better to do than harass teachers, administrators, board members, and the superintendent on social media. We have been called groomers, rapists, and people who want nothing more than to indoctrinate children. You have defended us every step of the way. I know you are a retired educator who is still involved with many of our wonderful students in Scottsdale and I hope you know how much your support is appreciated.”
The parents of the student featured in the video shared an email sent by the SUSD 3rd-grade teacher to her neighbor. This email – obtained through a legal proceeding involving Ms. Javinett – appears to confirm that she referred to parents and families who raise concerns about… pic.twitter.com/iC1dJ7VgSD
— Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity (@ScottsdaleUnite) October 13, 2025
Javinett first came into the public eye for her Facebook comments responding to the assassination of Turning Point CEO and president Charlie Kirk.
Javinett argued with community members and parents on social media over whether Kirk was partially at fault for his assassination.
“Yes hate leads to violence and unfortunately Charlie Kirk in sided [sic] violence. He was nothing more than an ugly bigot,” said Javinett. “Kirk’s hatred of trans, LGBTQ, black people, and women is out there. I don’t have to defend the fact that I don’t respect hatred and bigotry.”
Javinett also accused Kirk of being a white nationalist.
“He was disgusting. He was in [sic] white nationalist. He disparaged marginalized communities. He thought that men should control women. You should be embarrassed that you support him,” said Javinett. “It makes me sad that you all try to indoctrinate kids with this right wing Christian bulls**t.”
The little boy asked the SUSD governing board why Javinett was allowed to continue teaching given her comments and past behavior.
“She’s the reason why we and others left Anasazi,” said the boy.
Javinett previously sustained criticisms for supporting an all-encompassing social and emotional learning approach to education.
Scottsdale Unified 3rd grade teacher Donna Javinett said the quiet part out loud and confirmed that class time across all subjects is spent on Social Emotional Learning, i.e. feelings/emotions, racial awareness, gendered identities and distributive justice. (CASEL is the… https://t.co/bPaLjoZCmvpic.twitter.com/6IzJv7dEXe
— Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity (@ScottsdaleUnite) October 23, 2024
Last fall, Javinett donated nearly $1,000 to the campaign of progressive SUSD board member Donna Lewis.
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An unidentified pink-haired student at the University of Arizona (U of A) gave a death threat to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) students.
The student had a male-presenting voice and wore sunglasses, a long pink dress, light pink jacket, black and white sneakers, and a canvas backpack.
The student’s voice and the type of shoes worn in the video that captured his threat — Puma Zip C men’s sneakers — indicated that the student was a male.
Per a video captured by those present, the student threatened those working the TPUSA table with the same fate that befell the late TPUSA founder and CEO, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated by a gunshot through the neck last month at Utah Valley University.
Kirk was one month shy of 32 years old at the time of his death. The prominent young conservative activist and pundit left behind a wife, Erika Kirk, and two young children. The individual arrested and charged for Kirk’s assassination, Tyler Robinson, held progressive political beliefs and was in a romantic relationship with a male who identified as a transgender woman.
“Hey Nazis, can you set up somewhere I can avoid you easily?” said the student.
“Yeah, have a great day,” responded one of the TPUSA individuals behind the table.
“Ah, f**k you Nazi. Watch your neck,” responded the student.
The individual who captured the threat on video, TPUSA field representative Caden Hart, reported that, aside from the incident, their tabling efforts yielded over 25 new signups for their chapter.
Besides this situation, tabling today was full of great conversations and interactions! • Thanks to our @tpusastudents at the University of Arizona we ended the day with 25+ signups! https://t.co/KnCa2N7s7k
There is a closed hearing scheduled for Friday at the Utah County Courthouse for Kirk’s alleged killer, and a waiver hearing next week. The proceedings will remain “open to the public,” per the judge in the case. Robinson may receive the death penalty if found guilty.
Some point to this recent incident with the TPUSA table as indicative of the political climate at U of A, and associated it with a reported 19 percent drop in first-year students.
The university associated the decline with a dropping number of out-of-state and international students (23 percent less out-of-state students, nine percent less international students); overall student enrollment fell about four percent.
While hundreds in the U of A community mourned Kirk’s assassination, some have been outspoken about their indifference or even support for his death.
Yazmin Castro, a freshman and member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, told AZPM that Kirk bore some responsibility for his own assassination since he was vocal about his conservative beliefs, which included his support for gun ownership.
“I think he was very hateful sometimes with his views,” said Castro. “I hope that the people that believed in those views as well, seeing someone that they looked up to being a victim of gun violence, I hope it opens their eyes to its not worth it,” she said.
A recent U of A graduate and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality employee, Jessika Mesa, posted a celebration of Kirk’s death on her social media page.
Jessika Mesa who has recently graduate from the University Of Arizona posted some hate regarding Charlie Kirk.
Tucson Councilwoman Lane Santa Cruz, an adjunct professor at U of A, responded to Kirk’s death with a story on social media that read “diosito te maldiga,” meaning “God curse (damn) you.”
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Developers looking to build in the Phoenix area may soon be mandated to install art.
The Phoenix City Council may vote on a draft of the proposed ordinance in the spring.
Phoenix City Council’s Economic Development and the Arts Subcommittee discussed the creation of an “Art in Private Development” ordinance last week.
The city’s outgoing Arts and Culture Director, Mitch Menchaca, presented the proposed ordinance. Menchaca said developers would be made to allocate a percentage of their project’s construction costs to original, site-specific art.
Menchaca was hired earlier this month by the Greater Columbus Arts Council in Ohio to be its CEO and president. They reportedly will be paying Menchaca “double” what he was paid by the city of Phoenix.
Sedona, Scottsdale, and Tempe all have variants of public art in private development requirements.
Sedona passed its requirement in 1995. Developments exceeding 5,000 square feet of gross floor area and expansions of existing structures over 2,500 square feet of gross floor area must have art.
Scottsdale passed its requirement in 1985. Planned block developments in the downtown area must have art approved by the Scottsdale Public Art Board.
Tempe passed its requirement in 1991. City-wide developments over 50,000 square feet must either install art approved by the Tempe Arts and Culture Department or contribute fees to the Tempe Municipal Arts Fund.
Per the Public Art Archive, at least 18 states have municipalities with public art in private development requirements.
Currently, the city of Phoenix has an incentive program which rewards businesses that install art with earning density or height bonuses and an alternative to meeting standards.
Catrina Kahler, ArtLink Inc nonprofit CEO and Democratic donor, expressed support for a mandate. ArtLink is behind monthly events to support local artists downtown such as the popular First Fridays.
“This risk is low. The return on investment is very high,” said Kahler. “We are in competition with many other cities, not only across the Valley but across the nation. People have choices about where to live, no matter what sector they engage in in terms of their employment, they want to live in a city that’s creative, thoughtful, and beautiful.”
Phoenix Committee Alliance’s advocacy director Patrick McDaniel also expressed support for the mandate.
Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien indicated support for a proposed ordinance, and that she would like more private developer input prior to establishing the ordinance.
“One of my frustrations with being in the northwest part of the Valley is that the only places we can have art is where something is done with city dollars and we use one percent, which means it might be at a water facility. And not that that’s not a great place but it’s not a place where we see a lot of people hang out,” said O’Brien. “And so my desire to have you all here today was to look at what our options are. It’s important to have art everywhere in our city as we are bringing in more businesses and more people, and we want to continue to do that. Art creates culture. And culture creates community. Art should be throughout our city.”
Councilwoman Debra Stark said she would support a city-wide ordinance but, like the vice mayor, requested the council engage further in talks with the private sector.
Councilwoman Laura Pastor also expressed support for sourcing more funding for the maintenance of existing art installations, possibly within the proposed ordinance.
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It pays to know the guys making the laws from the highest offices in the land.
Senator Ruben Gallego used his voting power to protect the business interests of a longtime friend — fellow Harvard University graduate and prominent Democratic donor and activist Joe Sanberg — interests which would turn out to be fraudulent.
In August, Sanberg pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud perpetrated through his online financial services company, Aspiration Partners. Sanberg admitted to defrauding over $248 million.
Senator Ruben Gallego fought for the success of Sanberg’s company while in Congress.
When he was still a congressman in 2023, Gallego voted to protect against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) limitations that would have impacted Aspiration Partners. The financial services company was uniquely focused on progressive environmental and social causes, including investing in fossil fuel alternatives and selling carbon credits.
Months before that vote, Sanberg gave Gallego a positive endorsement in The Hill. FEC records show Sanberg donated just over $13,000 to Gallego’s campaign from 2014 to 2017.
“The thing about Ruben is he knows exactly who he is,” said Sanberg. “This campaign isn’t about any individual personality.”
In 2015, the two men also launched a political action committee to help elect progressive Latino candidates — LLEGO-PAC, short for Latino Leaders for Equality, Growth, Opportunity, Progressive Action and Change.
Gallego praised Sanberg as “a thought leader” and “progressive leader from day one,” and credited the financial services CEO for being the one who “recruited” him into the Democratic Party. The senator was even a part of Sanberg’s wedding in 2021, per social media posts reported on by Fox News.
“He convinced me to get more involved in politics, and has been a good guiding post for me since then,” said Gallego.
Just a few years ago, Sanberg was shopping himself around to the media as a potential Democratic candidate for president. The Atlantic published one such feature of Sanberg in 2019.
In 2021, Aspiration disclosed in its annual Securities and Exchange Commission filing that 70 percent of its revenue came from ESG services.
Senator Gallego began banking with Aspiration in 2017 and then acquired a non-public stock in the company in 2019.
However, Gallego failed to report that purchase for three years, per Fox News reporting.
Aspiration came on the progressive venture capital scene in 2013 as an “environmental” bank with a “conscience,” the brainchild of co-founders Sanberg and Andrei Cherny, the latter Arizona’s former Democratic Party chairman, congressional candidate, and a Clinton administration speechwriter.
Cherny left Aspiration in mid-October 2022, two years after Sanberg later admitted to prosecutors the company turned fraudulent.
In 2021, Sanberg went into talks with the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team about a four-year, $48 million endorsement deal to sponsor one of their players, Kawhi Leonard.
Many have come to view the endorsement deal as a workaround to the NBA salary cap — a view bolstered by comments from those within Aspiration — though the Clippers have denied this speculation.
Following Sanberg’s arrest and pleading, Aspiration rebranded as GreenFi.
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Glendale City Council hired Gilbert’s town manager, Patrick Banger, who created the town’s censorship department.
Banger will receive base compensation of $400,000, subject to adjustments based on factors including performance, the market, and cost of living. This makes Banger one of the highest-paid administrators in the Valley, not including the other perks that come with the position.
The city’s human resources and risk management director, Jim Brown, said they settled on Banger after undertaking a “nationwide search.” The current city manager, Kevin Phelps, intends to retire.
Council member and Alhambra Elementary School District member Jose “Lupe” Conchas Jr. said Banger aligned with their values of commitment to growth and serving residents with distinction. Councilmember Bart Turner, who has been accused of walking in lockstep with Conchas, was reportedly advocating “hard” for Banger.
“This vote isn’t just about selecting a new city manager, it’s about the future of Glendale for the next decades to come,” said Conchas. “I’m confident that Mr. Banger’s leadership will help us continue the path forward.”
Banger will assume the city manager position on January 12 of next year. Banger will depart Gilbert after 15 years with the town.
Banger beat out one other top candidate, Vicki Rios, Glendale’s assistant city manager and a longtime resident. Rios is credited with the city’s “dramatic financial turnaround” after she saved the city from bankruptcy upon entering the administration in 2013 by refinancing debt and building up cash reserves.
Behind the scene, conservative council members and city residents have vowed to keep Banger in line when it comes to aligning with Glendale values — and not importing those of New York.
AZ Free Newsreported last year that Banger credited former Democratic New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as his inspiration for town management, and caused his creation of the Office of Digital Government (ODG).
“One of the things that I’d been doing for quite some time is following what Mayor Bloomberg was doing in New York,” said Banger.
ODG was a department within Gilbert that monitored the online speech of employees and elected officials to ensure alignment with progressive ideologies. Department salaries cost the town over $1.1 million annually.
The former lead of ODG hired by Banger, Dana Berchman, resigned following reporting on ODG activity. Berchman now runs a communications firm, Oh, hi! Communications.
While managing Gilbert, Banger oversaw a $2.2 billion annual budget and nearly 2,000 employees. Banger is credited with generating nearly $400 million in investments and over 700,000 square feet in new construction in Gilbert.
While all those benefits to Gilbert were felt, residents may be more quick to recall Banger’s leadership during the “Gilbert Goons,” a group of mostly wealthy teens who committed a series of crimes and terrorized the community from 2022 onward that ultimately resulted in the murder of a boy in 2023.
The Gilbert Goons and their Halloween murder quickly became a national story, with much scrutiny over the city’s handling of the teens’ crimes leading up to the murder.
ODG control over city communications led to what former employees and residents believed to be the cause of delays and scarcity in communications on the Gilbert Goons.
Banger is also president-elect of the Arizona City/County Management Association. He was formerly chairman of the Maricopa Association of Governments Management Board and an Honorary Base Commander at Luke Air Force Base.
Before taking over as town manager for Gilbert in 2011, Banger’s roots were in Missouri, where he was a consultant, home builder, city administrator, and city financial analyst.
Watch Glendale City Council discuss and vote on Banger’s hiring here:
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