The nation may see the benefits of hydropower expansion in Arizona, depending on President Joe Biden’s approval of an Arizona congressman’s bill.
That bill, HR 1607 from Congressman David Schweikert, transfers National Forest System land near the Salt River in Arizona to the Bureau of Reclamation for the purpose of additional hydropower generation within the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project.
In remarks before the House last year, Schweikert explained that pumped storage hydroelectricity supplements energy resources in the state.
“It’s environmentally sound, it actually allows us to take care of something that is somewhat unique for us in the desert southwest, and that is the solar power we produce,” said Schweikert.
Pumped storage hydroelectricity pumps water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir during low energy demand. During high energy demand, the upper reservoir releases downhill into the lower reservoir through hydropower turbines to generate around 10-12 hours of reliable energy.
In a press release, Schweikert said the legislation proved Arizona’s standing as a state leading on energy production and efficiency.
“Once again, Arizona has proven to lead the charge to deliver innovation and make life more efficient for Arizonans at a time when our state’s economy and population continue to explode,” said Schweikert. “The near unanimous support for this legislation proves that America is ready to embrace long-term energy storage technologies to expand the supply of affordable and reliable energy for our communities.”
Schweikert thanked his Democratic colleague, Congressman Greg Stanton, for his assistance in getting the bill passed with bipartisan support.
“I’m incredibly thankful for my friend and colleague, Rep. Stanton, who’s been crucial to this process of embracing innovation, and I’m looking forward to seeing this technology benefit Arizona,” said Schweikert in the press release.
Stanton contributed a statement to Schweikert’s press release, adding that the pumped storage hydroelectric expansion couldn’t come at a better time.
“Not only do pumped storage projects provide greater flexibility and improve reliability in our energy grid, but they also cut utility costs for Arizona families and businesses,” said Stanton. “This critical legislation passed the House with an overwhelming majority last year, and today it’s on its way to becoming law.”
It was a bipartisan coalition of elected leaders that ensured the passage of Schweikert’s bill. Both the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources passed the legislation unanimously.
Schweikert introduced the bill last March. The House passed the bill last November, where it awaited Senate review for over a year. The Senate approved the bill on Tuesday. Arizona Senators Mark Kelly (D) and Kyrsten Sinema (I) introduced companion legislation in March, SB 739, which has advanced to Biden’s desk.
Kelly said in the press release that the expansion would not only strengthen the state’s energy grid but result in lower energy costs for Arizonans.
“Expanding pumped-storage hydropower in Arizona will strengthen our energy grid and lower energy costs for families,” said Kelly. “This is about using technology to make our energy more reliable and affordable.”
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The Democrat who formerly represented Arizona’s 29th legislative district, Martín Quezada, is now the lawyer for the major Muslim activist group, Council on American-Islamic Relations of Arizona (CAIR-AZ).
Quezada joined up with the chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy nonprofit over the weekend during their annual banquet. This career move follows his 2022 loss in the race to become Arizona’s treasurer against incumbent Kimberly Yee, and failure to achieve confirmation on a nomination from Governor Katie Hobbs.
From Arizona State Senator…
To running for Arizona State Treasurer…failed.
To nomination for Arizona Registrar of contractors under Hobbs…failed.
Quezada has a long history of sympathizing with Muslim causes.
In 2016, Quezada voted against the state’s first law prohibiting the state from initiating any Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
In a 2021 speech for CAIR-AZ, Quezada accused the Israel government of being a “Zionist state” enacting terrorism. Quezada also called for President Joe Biden to cease funding to the Israeli military.
“All of those billions of dollars, that is directing military aid that is going to occupation forces that are committing terrorism against the people of Palestine right now,” said Quezada at the time. “This — what we are witnessing — is oppression and occupation in action right now. This is murder in action right now.”
Last year, Quezada failed to be confirmed as the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (AROC) director due to his extensive support for the BSD movement. Quezada had purged a number of anti-Israel posts from his timeline in preparation for confirmation, notably one post in which he urged followers to listen to a speech from Michigan Rashida Tlaib demanding the freeing of Palestine.
His timeline has recommenced its criticisms against Israel, last week retweeting a viral post which read “‘Violence isn’t the answer’ unless you’re Israel, the American government, the police, military-trained vigilantes, or a for-profit healthcare system.”
In 2022, Quezada screened a documentary, “Boycott,” detailing various states’ efforts to overturn laws prohibiting BDS actions by the state.
That same year, during his campaign for the state treasurer’s seat, Quezada rejected claims that he was antisemitic.
“First of all, the antisemitism charge, flat-out wrong, and it’s ridiculous to even suggest that,” said Quezada. “I am not antisemitic, hard stop, full period right there.”
CAIR-AZ’s executive director, Azza Abuseif, was the state director for NextGen America in Arizona. Abuseif and her family came to the U.S. as refugees from Sudan. Abuseif also serves as a lead organizer for Women’s March Phoenix, and formerly served as board president for the Arizona Democracy Resource Center.
CAIR-AZ provides free legal services to those who believe they have been discriminated against for being Muslim, and they advocate for the inclusion and acceptance of the Islamic religion.
The nonprofit maintains a running list of Islamophoic individuals and organizations, including: Ann Coulter, ACT For America, the Anti-Defamation League, Bill Maher, Fox News, Glenn Beck, National Review, and Steven Crowder.
The national affiliate, CAIR, is an entity of the Muslim Brotherhood linked to activities engaged in by Hamas, the terrorist organization behind last year’s terrorist attack on Israel.
CAIR leaders celebrated the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
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Congressman-elect Abraham Hamadeh supports Hawaii’s former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence.
Gabbard — a Democrat-turned-Republican — received Hamadeh’s support through a letter signed by himself and over 250 “conservative” veterans. The veterans said that Gabbard’s decision to give up politics and enlist in the military following 9/11 made her fit to serve in Trump’s cabinet.
“Because of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, Tulsi answered the call of duty, enlisted in the Army, and stepped away from her position as a Hawaii State Representative when she volunteered to deploy to Iraq with her unit,” read the letter. “Instead of using her political status to avoid deployment, Tulsi volunteered to serve in a medical unit in Iraq, directly facing the harsh realities, costs, and traumas of war.”
The veterans also cited Gabbard’s legislative advocacy for improved treatment of veterans, namely her work to address toxic exposures and improve cancer care, describing her as “a rare blend of selflessness, courage, and leadership — qualities desperately needed to reform and strengthen our intelligence community.”
70 percent of the veterans signed onto the Gabbard letter were special operations or intelligence, and over 50 percent were retired, per Fox News.
Gabbard enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003 while serving in the Hawaii State Legislature. The next year, Gabbard deployed for a year in Iraq as a specialist with the guard’s medical company at Logistical Support Area Anaconda. Gabbard completed her tour in 2005. That year, Gabbard received a Combat Medical Badge for participating in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.
In 2007, Gabbard graduated from the Alabama Military Academy at the top of her class and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Gabard went on to serve as an Army Military Police officer, and then was stationed in Kuwait from 2008 to 2009. In subsequent years, Gabbard would be promoted from the rank of captain to major to lieutenant colonel, during which time she was transferred to the California-based United States Army Reserve unit.
I’ve been a soldier for over 21 years, and currently serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve. I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside countless great Americans, all of us willing to lay down our lives for the country we love. The best way for us to honor our… pic.twitter.com/IYT1TznOT3
Another Arizona Republican, Congressman Eli Crane, signed onto the letter as well. Crane was a member of the Navy SEALs; three of his five deployments were with the SEALs. Crane joined the Navy one week after the 9/11 attacks, and served from 2001 to 2014.
Hamadeh has served in the U.S. Army Reserve as an intelligence officer since 2016, rising to the rank of captain. In 2020, Hamadeh was deployed to Saudi Arabia following the 2019 terrorist attack on Naval Air Station Pensacola.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Gabbard as his nominee last month. Gabbard was a congresswoman for eight years, representing Hawaii as a Democrat before becoming an independent in 2022. It wasn’t until one of Trump’s rallies in October that Gabbard announced she had fully switched over and became a Republican, several months after endorsing Trump.
On Monday, Capitol Hill reporters lobbed questions about Syria at Gabbard while she attended private meetings with senators on the confirmation of herself and Trump’s other nominees.
Gabbard told reporters that she supports Trump’s Sunday remarks about Syria.
“I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” said Gabbard.
On Sunday, Trump issued severalposts on Truth Social declaring that Russia’s involvement in Ukraine had left Syria vulnerable to opposition fighters, where they once enjoyed the protection of the federation. Trump further clarified that the U.S. should not get involved in this conflict abroad.
“Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians,” said Trump. “There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid. In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, [and] THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”
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The city of Phoenix is one of the cities with the most debt in the country, according to a new study.
Per a study from LendingTree, Phoenix ranks 18th among the 50 largest metropolitan cities for debts held. The average Phoenix resident has a debt surpassing $39,000. That’s higher than the average nonmortgage debt across all 50 of the country’s largest metropolitan cities (about $37,800).
The average Phoenix resident’s income amounts to $79,600 according to Census Bureau data, above the median household income for the rest of the country (over $75,100). The average Phoenix resident debt amount is nearly half of the city’s median income.
LendingTree retrieved its data using anonymized credit reports from around 210,000 users on their platform from April through June of this year across the 50 largest cities. Nonmortgage debt includes auto loans, student loans, credit cards, personal loans, and all other types of debt excluding mortgages.
Nearly 97 percent of consumers in Phoenix have nonmortage loan debts, per the study. That tracks with the debt averages for rest of the 50 most populated metros: on average, 97 percent of residents across all those cities have nonmortage debt.
45 percent of Phoenix residents also have auto loan debt, 85 percent have credit card debt, 24 percent have personal loan debt, and 24 percent have student loan debt.
Phoenix ranked even higher with its average auto loan debt, placing eleventh with the average auto loan debt sitting at nearly $14,000. That’s higher than the average auto loan debt for the state, which amounts to around $6,000. Auto loan debts accounted for the greatest portion of average debts held by Phoenix residents, which is also the case for 26 of the other 50 major metros included in the study.
Average credit card debt in Phoenix amounted to just over $8,200, average personal loan debt amounted to about $4,200, and average student loan debt amounted to over $10,300.
The average Phoenix resident’s credit card debt came out higher than the state’s: the average for all of Arizona amounts to over $6,300.
At the end of last year, Arizona ranked among the top ten states for the highest average unsecured personal loan debts: around $12,300. Arizona also ranked among the top 20 for highest average household debt increases from last year to this year: an increase of over $700, making total household debt in the state amount to over $429.6 billion.
The city’s student loan debt is lower than that of the state. As a whole, the state has an average student loan debt of nearly $35,700, with about 902,600 borrowers living in the state.
Phoenix was the only metro city from Arizona listed on the top-50 ranking by LendingTree.
The top three cities for debts held were all in Texas: Austin, San Antonio, and Houston, in order of highest to lowest.
The three cities with the lowest amounts of debt, in order from least to greatest, were: San Jose, California; Louisville, Kentucky; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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The Maricopa Superior Court dismissed a challenge to a school district’s dual language program, citing lack of standing.
The plaintiff, Patricia Pellett, is a Scottsdale Unified School District parent, and not part of the district she challenged, Creighton Elementary School District (CESD). Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Tom Horne’s wife, Carmen Chenal Horne, represented Pellett in the case.
Back in August, Horne said that it was irrelevant that Pellett didn’t have a child in CESD schools.
“Under a provision in the initiative that said that a student of any parent in the state could bring an action against any school district in the state that violates this initiative,” said Horne.
The challenge to CESD arose from Horne’s crusade against dual language programs. Horne’s aim is to have all schools teach only through immersion programs. Dual language models teach students subjects in languages other than English for part of their education, whereas immersion has students taught their subject matter entirely in English.
State law enacted through a voter initiative (Proposition 203 passed in 2000) requires that public schools teach the English language through English-spoken courses and English language classrooms, unless parents are eligible to provide prior written informed consent for bilingual education techniques or those educational methodologies permitted by law.
“[A]ll children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms,” states the law.
Eligible circumstances include parents with children who already know English, older children, and children with special needs.
The Arizona State Board of Education has determined that parental waivers for immersion aren’t required, a finding affirmed by Attorney General Kris Mayes last year. Mayes published that opinion in response to a request on legal clarity from state representatives as to whether the language models used by seven school districts — Glendale Elementary, Kyrene Elementary, Phoenix Elementary, Mesa Public Schools, Laveen Elementary, Creighton Elementary, and Mexicayotl Academy — warranted corrective action by ADE.
Horne dismissed Mayes’ opinion as “ideologically driven” and not based in law.
Horne turned to Pellett to challenge schools’ dual language programs after Maricopa County Superior Court ordered Horne to pay over $120,000 in legal fees earlier this year.
The judge, Katherine Cooper, ruled that state law didn’t authorize Horne to ask the courts to rule on school district compliance with Proposition 203. Cooper ruled that only the State Board of Education possessed authority over dual language programs, citing the board’s responsibility for developing and approving immersion models. Cooper further declared that Horne had no justiciable claim, either, and ruled that parents and guardians had the power to file lawsuits to enforce the proposition.
“The school districts, like all public and charter schools, are required to follow a model as approved by the State Board,” ruled Cooper.
Horne’s response was to accuse the ruling as avoidant of the merits of the case. He reiterated that the voter-approved initiative (Proposition 203) required children to be taught in English.
With Horne’s continued challenges to the existence of dual language programs and advocacy for immersion programs, the Arizona School Boards Association says it will advocate for greater reliance on 50-50 models.
I agree! That's why I learned other languages, but I learned English first since that is the language needed to join our society and our economy. We need to follow the law, and if parents want to sign a waiver for dual language, they can. I support parents knowing what is best! https://t.co/7g9znMlai0
