by Staff Reporter | Apr 7, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
What was supposed to be a three-way challenge for incumbent Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers has turned into a one-on-one contest with recently resigned Councilman Jamie Aldama. The third candidate was failed former state lawmaker Paul Boyer, who had a long and contentious relationship with the Glendale mayor and the city of Glendale. However, Boyer ultimately came up short of the signatures required to file for office and did not meet the April 1st deadline.
That makes the July 30th primary a winner take all event that promises to offer the citizens of Glendale two very different visions for the city. As mayor, Weiers has overseen the resurgence of this West Valley city, and a dramatic improvement in its economy, its bond rating, and its job base. The city regularly reports on companies and developments that have chosen Glendale or existing companies that are expanding.
While Weiers has been mayor, the city has hosted a number of national events, including two Super Bowls, and after this week, its second NCAA Final Four men’s basketball championship.
Aldama’s pitch is more nuanced, because after nearly a decade on the City Council he wants to take credit for the good things in the city, while simultaneously trying to convince voters that the city council is divided and failing in its job. This is a difficult tightrope for him to walk, say consultants, and supporters of the mayor point out that many of the projects and policies that have made Glendale successful are items that Aldama voted against, and those votes that contributed to the success of the city that Aldama voted for and could campaign on, were also championed by the mayor himself.
Aldama supporters believe the city would be better off if it embraced more of the left-leaning policies of cities like Phoenix, which has a Democratic mayor, like Aldama is trying to be. And Aldama himself has been very aggressive in campaigning as a Democrat and soliciting Democrat votes and support, even though city races are nonpartisan and those sorts of partisan appeals are generally frowned upon.
Campaign finance reports will be filed soon and will give more insight into the race and the prospects for the two candidates, but as with mayoral elections every four years, Glendale voters are once again in for a ride.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 6, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Flagstaff schools are gearing to update their sex ed curriculum with material introducing gender ideology.
Gender ideology topics, such as gender identity and transgenderism, would be introduced to Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) students as young as the fifth grade, per the district’s ongoing review of its Social/Sexual Health Curriculum for grades 2, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
The district last updated their sex ed curriculum in 2006. As the existing curriculum is nearly 20 years old, the curriculum doesn’t include any discussions of gender ideology; rather, the curriculum clearly distinguishes sex education content between the two genders.
A sexual health educator brought in by the district to advise on the curriculum updates — Sydney Tolchinsky with Coconino County Health and Human Services — told the district in a meeting earlier this year that fifth graders could be transgender and not speaking openly about it. That’s why, Tolchinsky advised district officials, schools should leave it up to the students to pick which classroom they attend to receive their sex education.
Under the existing curriculum, sex education classes for grades 5 and 7 occur in gender-segregated classrooms. Coeducational classes don’t occur until grades 9 and 11.
Tolchinsky further advised the district to get rid of gender-based distinctions in lessons in order to be inclusive of transgender students, such as saying “people who have periods” rather than teaching students that only biological females have periods.
“What we’ve started doing is just not having different lessons, we just have the same lesson in both rooms to be really inclusive of all genders, and trying to change our language, instead of saying ‘girls have periods and boys don’t,’ saying ‘people with a uterus are going to have periods most likely and people without a uterus won’t,’” said Tolchinsky. “Sometimes that might mean a boy might have a period and girls might not have a period for a lot of reasons.”
Failing to have a menstrual period as a biological female is a condition known as “amenorrhoea.” Unless a female is pregnant, breastfeeding, experiencing menopause, or underwent surgery to remove the uterus or ovaries, amenorrhea is a sign of a condition warranting medical attention.
Common causes of amenorrhea include major hormone disruptions caused by emotional stress, extreme weight loss, excessive exercise, or reproductive disorders. Untreated, amenorrhea can present many health risks: reduced fertility, increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, increased risk of early onset osteoporosis, and premature menopause and aging.
For males, phallic bleeding may indicate a variety of medical conditions: physical trauma, balanitis, prostatitis, urinary tract infection, ruptured blood vessels, infection, a reaction to medications, or even cancer.
Under Tolchinsky’s suggested teachings, students may believe that conditions like amenorrhea or phallic bleeding are normal and not a cause for concern.
FUSD Assistant Superintendent Lance Huffman agreed with Tolchinsky that gender-neutral language eliminating gender differences would be beneficial.
“We might want to shift to ‘people’ language rather than just boys and girls so some people get periods or people with a uterus may and people with a penis will not,” said Huffman.
Arizona doesn’t require schools to teach sex ed at any level. However, the state does require parents to “opt in” with written permission for all grade levels. Should parents opt out, each individual school provides alternative instruction.
In 2021, the legislature approved a bill requiring, in part, parental consent for discussions of gender ideology in sex ed. Then-Governor Doug Ducey vetoed the legislation, critiquing the bill language as “overly broad and vague,” which the governor said would cause misinterpretations by schools and inhibit child abuse prevention education in early grades.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 3, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, (D-Ariz), announced his cancer diagnosis on Tuesday.
The District 7 congressman, 76, issued a press release on his illness the day after April Fool’s Day. Grijalva didn’t disclose the specifics of his diagnosis, such as whether it was fatal. The congressman clarified that he would maintain his seat through treatment, which he has already begun.
“This diagnosis has been difficult to process, but I am confident in the vigorous course of treatment that my medical team has developed, and I’ve begun my journey to fight this cancer,” said Grijalva.
Grijalva discovered his cancer after seeking medical treatment for a persistent cough, initially diagnosed as pneumonia.
Grijalva was first elected to Congress in 2003, and has held his seat since then. The congressman serves as the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, and also sits on the Education and Labor Committee.
Grijalva is also the chair emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and maintains membership with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
During his 20 years in Congress, Grijalva has introduced 344 bills, 10 of which became law:
HR 4881, the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act, directing the Department of the Interior to take tribally owned lands in Pima County into trust for the benefit of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, and made into part of the Pascua Yaqui Reservation. The act allows gaming on the land taken into this trust.
HR 2030, the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Authorization Act, requiring the Department of the Interior to carry out the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan submitted to Congress on March 19, 2019, by Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
HR 507, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Trust Land Act, holds in trust for the tribe all right, title, and interest of the U.S. in and to approximately 20 acres of federal land from two parcels, one of which was owned by the Tucson Unified School District. The lands held in trust under this act prohibit gaming, as well as the forfeiture or abandonment of any water rights from these lands.
HR 3319, allowing the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to determine the requirements for membership in that tribe. The tribe expanded its membership with the perks of federal services and benefits to any with Pascua Yaqui blood enrolled by the tribe.
HR 3739, amending the Arizona Water Settlements Act to modify the requirements for the statement of findings. The amendment makes the Arizona Water Rights Settlement effective as of the date the Secretary of the Interior publishes in the Federal Register a statement of findings that specified conditions apply. These conditions included the judgment and decree attached to the Tohono O’odham settlement agreement approved in state court.
HR 5857, naming a USPS facility in Tucson as the “Morris K. ‘Mo’ Udall Post Office Building.”
HR 1075, designating a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Port of Entry in Douglas, Arizona as the “Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry.”
HR 794, the Colorado River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act, declared the reservation boundaries to be defined by the Robbins Survey of 1875 and the Harrington Resurvey of 1912. These surveys included 16,000 acres known as the La Paz lands. The act reversed a 1915 executive order excluding those lands from the survey. The land within this trust was exempted from gaming.
HR 327, allowing binding arbitration clauses to be included in all contracts affecting land within the Gila River Indian Community Reservation.
HR 326, amending the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Act of 2000 to adjust the boundary of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area and for other purposes.
Over the past few years, the long-serving congressman has made headlines for his consistent dismissal of the border crisis as an issue. Grijalva most recently skipped out on a hearing to address the border in his district. The hearing was arranged by the subcommittee of the committee in which he serves as a ranking member.
Grijalva disregarded the border hearing as an ulterior means of scapegoating immigrants.
The congressman also praised President Joe Biden’s administration following the president’s State of the Union, especially in regard to the border.
“Trump and Republicans remain fixated on the southern border and chose to block bipartisan immigration reform for the sake of campaign politics,” said Grijalva. “It’s clear the American people have benefitted from the leadership of President Biden and his commitment to defending the freedoms and values essential to American democracy.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 30, 2024 | Economy, News
By Staff Reporter |
Inflation hasn’t discouraged Americans from spending to celebrate the upcoming Easter holiday. Analysts project a spending total surpassing $22 billion, with consumers explaining to them that Easter is an important tradition.
Despite record inflation and consumer goods increasing in price by more than double over the past several years, it appears that Americans still feel the holiday of hope and new life is worth the expense.
The projections come from the annual survey by the National Retail Federation (NFR) and Prosper Insights & Analytics (PIA). In a press release, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay explained that Easter maintained its positive meaning for Americans.
“Each year, Americans look forward to the celebration of Easter and the renewal of time and traditions with loved ones,” said Shay.
NRF surveys date back to 2003. This year’s survey spanned about 8,400 adult consumers from March 1 to 6 with a margin of error plus one or minus 1.1 percent. A majority of Americans (81 percent) said they would celebrate Easter.
64 percent of consumers told survey analysts that they remain inspired to shop for Easter-related items because it’s tradition for them. The next-highest popular reason concerned spending time with family or friends (32 percent), while a close third (29 percent) shopped to capitalize on sales and promotions.
These projections account for food, clothing, and gifts in general. Respondents said they would spend an average of $177 per person. Unsurprisingly, the top-reported expenditures were equally candy and food, followed by general gifts, then clothing, then decorations.
Last year’s Easter shoppers set the record high at $24 billion, with about $190 spent per person.
Back in 2007, shoppers spent $14.5 billion. The 2008 recession did cause a decline in Easter shopping for several years; it wouldn’t be until 2011 that Americans would surpass 2007 Easter spending.
The annual survey also gauged how consumers planned to spend their Easter weekend. 57 percent mentioned cooking a holiday meal, 53 percent mentioned visiting friends and family, and 43 percent mentioned going to church. Only half of households with children planned to conduct an Easter egg hunt at home.
Discount stores were top of the list for Easter shopping destinations (53 percent), followed by department stores (40 percent), online retail (33 percent), local/small businesses (22 percent), and specialty stores (20 percent).
There were those surveyed who shared that they would not be celebrating Easter. 55 percent of that demographic said they would still take advantage of Easter sales, but would spend much less per person, around $20. The capture of their market has to do with how stores advertise and curate a shopping experience, explained PIA Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist in the NRF press release.
“The overall shopping experience itself also plays a role in purchasing behavior,” said Rist. “This year almost one-quarter of consumers said they were inspired to shop for Easter items from store displays and decorations as well as exclusive or seasonal products.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 29, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Arizona Republican lawmakers and concerned parents won a recent victory to protect the state’s universal school choice program from a volley of new regulations.
Over this past weekend, Arizona legislators were involved in a battle over the Draft Parent Handbook for the ESA Program for School Year 2024-2025. Unbeknownst to many ESA families, the handbook was posted to the Arizona State Board of Education’s website – linked to an agenda item – with multiple proposed changes of a significant nature, giving interested parties mere days to leave feedback. The recommendation from the Department was for the State Board of Education to adopt the revised handbook when it convened on Monday, March 25.
A group of parent-stakeholders, led by a long-time watchdog of the ESA program, Christine Accurso, discovered the existence of the handbook and poured through its contents, finding numerous examples of added regulations for students and families. They compiled the list and notified as many other parents as possible.
The parents also reached out to Republican lawmakers, who were shocked to learn about the lack of transparency and the efforts to overregulate the program, which was contrary to the legislative intent. Senators Jake Hoffman and Wendy Rogers, among others, immediately sprang into action to stop the revised handbook from becoming Department policy.
Thanks to the legislators’ and parents’ involvement, the State Board of Education ultimately reversed course on its initial recommendation, voting to maintain the previous year’s handbook with no changes.
Save Our Schools Arizona Director Beth Lewis, who has been a staunch opponent of the ESA program, was extremely disappointed with the outcome from the State Board of Education. After the Board’s vote, she said, “The proposed regulations rejected by Supt. Horne and Republican lawmakers would have provided a thin veneer of oversight for Arizona taxpayers.”
One of the ESA parents, Kelly Kenney, told AZ Free News, “I was shocked about the increased regulations because the new handbook changes will limit the educational opportunities for my child. This would directly impact her access to the type of resources that she absolutely needs. If the ESA program was supposed to be regulated in this way, it would spell it out in the statutes. I’m very glad the State Board saw things our way and sided with the parents in this program.”
The Arizona Department of Education’s “X” account issued a short statement following the vote from the State Board, writing, “Superintendent Horne is thankful for Senate President Warren Petersen and Arizona Senate Republicans for helping garner support from the state board of education to allow more time for input from parents on the ESA handbook.”
In the days leading up to the State Board of Education meeting, Republican legislators had several conversations with individuals at the Arizona Department of Education, informing them of their displeasure with this action and holding them accountable to the original intent of the ESA law. To ensure that ADE understood the seriousness of the situation and the resolve of legislative Republicans, Senator Jake Hoffman wrote a letter to the State Board, which was signed by many of his colleagues, including Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma.
The letter stated that ADE’s “proposed changes restrict[ed] the program further than the Arizona State Legislature intended.” It also highlighted “the failure to allow for public engagement, comment, or input in the shaping of these new regulations,” calling this “incredibly concerning.” Two requests were made of the State Board of Education in this communication. The first was to reject the draft handbook and greenlight the 2023-2024 handbook for another school year. The second was to “form a stakeholder working group consisting primarily of ESA parents, private school administrators, and home schooling parents” for the 2025-2026 handbook.
In an exclusive comment to AZ Free News, Senator Hoffman explained why he took the lead against the proposed changes in the draft ESA handbook. He said, “Transparency and robust public input from those most impacted by these regulations are critically important. Unfortunately, the system failed the Arizona families who rely on empowerment scholarship accounts for the educational success for their children. Thankfully Superintendent Horne and the State Board of Education took the opportunity to remedy this failure. Their decision to reject the deeply flawed 2024-2025 handbook, and instead adopt the current handbook until ESA families and educational providers have a multi-month opportunity to engage with ADE staff on the next handbook was the right move for the children relying on this incredible program.”
Just before the legislators’ letter was delivered to the State Board of Education on Friday evening, the ESA Executive Director wrote an email of his own to ESA families with the “ESA Program Response to Misinformation.” The director stated that “incorrect information has made it into the public dialog regarding payment of ESA purchases…that ESA account holders will not be paid for their allowable purchases until after they have completed an educational program.” The director also noted that the draft handbook had been posted on the State Board of Education’s website since Friday, March 15. Sources told AZ Free News that the alleged complaint was one that they had not seen lodged against the draft handbook and that none of the other concerns brought by parents about proposed changes in ESA policy or guidance were addressed in the director’s email.
The director’s email to ESA families on Friday, March 22, was believed to be the first since January 24, when the program sent an “important update on new features from ClassWallet.” The director had previously sent three consecutive emails to families in late-December 2023. In one of those emails, the director asked parents to submit their “suggestions for specific changes…to [be] made to the ESA Parent Handbook.” The deadline for submissions was January 2, 2024 – four days after that email hit inboxes.
Another ESA parent, Rosemary McAtee, gave the following comment to AZ Free News: “I was appalled to learn how the education department was trying to slide a new handbook past the parents, to the state board, without any input from the parents. I am glad that members of the board voted to include us in the process by allowing more time for our input. This week was a win for ESA parents! I’ve been in this program for 5 years and every year there has been a public process. We really haven’t heard anything at all from the department in the past 7 months when we were accustomed to weekly email updates.”
Solicitation of public comment on changes for the 2024-2025 Draft ESA Handbook was handled much differently – and with less transparency – than the previous year’s redlines. Last year, ADE issued a press release and transmitted an email to ESA account holders to explain the proposed changes.
The uproar over the draft handbook follows another instance where a Republican legislator was forced to intervene in an issue raised by parents. In February, ESA parents asked Rogers to resolve the backlog of orders in the program, which was believed to be around 85,000 (or over four months old), according to sources. AZ Free News was made aware of at least one Arizona private school that experienced severe funding issues due to the lack of reimbursements for ESA students who attended.
After Rogers contacted ADE with her concerns and request to pick up the pace of reimbursements, the issue almost literally evaporated overnight. AZ Free News was told that thousands of orders may have been approved in mere hours – and many more followed in the following days.
In an interview with AZ Free News, Rogers explained why she chose to involve herself over the stockpile of orders from ESA families, saying, “Numerous constituents, including family members had become exceedingly frustrated at the slow turnaround time for reimbursements from the ESA program. People from all over the state wrote me. They know that I fight, and that I’m outspoken. So I began writing terse letters to the Arizona Department of Education and I got results for my people on an individual basis, one by one. Then the word got around among the ESA families and everyone began to write me. So I started inundating the department with these letters, every one of which was carefully and separately written in-depth describing how these reimbursement delays adversely impacted their ability to school their children.”
The rural Arizona state Senator added, “Then all of the sudden, I heard that thousands of ESA reimbursement approvals were done over one night with no scrutiny. This is not a way to run a business. This just feeds the controversy on whether or not expenditure approvals are correct or valid. The ESA program was running well last year. I heard from many families how well run it was. Now it has run amok. There is no excuse for it. It must be repaired. Our children are too important. The legislature put this ESA program in place and now it’s up to administrators to manage it properly.”
The former director of the ESA Program, Christine Accurso, was at the center of both episodes, continuing to be a sounding board for hundreds of parents and an effective liaison to the Republican-led legislature on behalf of stakeholders. After the positive action from the Board on Monday morning, Accurso wrote, “Superintendent Horne committed to having his team work with key stakeholders – mainly parents – in creating the next one. Many Republican lawmakers stepped up to help their constituents, after receiving hundreds of emails this past week, and their advocacy paid off. As an advocate, defender and watchdog of this program for the past 10 years, I am so glad to see this outcome. This is exactly what we wanted and needed to have happen. The parents who attended and spoke at the board meeting did a great job advocating for their children’s education.”
When Accurso inherited the ESA Program in January 2023, there were over 60,000 orders for marketplace, direct pay, and reimbursements. Even with a steady increase of new enrollees adding a significant amount of orders to the existing backlog, Accurso and her team managed to whittle the requests down to essentially ‘zero,’ and drastically minimize the delay in response time to parents.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
