Nearly 300 Afghan refugees are being relocated to a former hotel in Scottsdale after being housed at various military installations, resulting in the mobilization of a Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) team “to plan for providing educational services and support” to any school-aged refugees, according to Superintendent Scott Menzel.
SUSD “has an obligation to provide educational services to homeless students who reside within the district,” Menzel noted in a district newsletter. That obligation is based on compliance with the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
“While we did not anticipate this influx of new students, we are committed to marshalling the resources and supports necessary to ensure that these children are welcomed into our schools as they transition to their news lives in this country,” he wrote.
The newsletter comments also referenced questions raised by some in the community about whether the district should be serving the refuge children. Instead of addressing public health, staffing, and security concerns, Menzel simply cited federal law as leaving the district no option.
Although Menzel’s comments were included in the recent newsletter, there has been nothing posted to SUSD’s Facebook page. In addition, district officials have not disclosed what conversations they have had with state and federal officials about compensation for the sudden influx of non-English speaking students.
More information is expected to be made public on Jan. 25 when the SUSD governing board meets.
Last August, Gov. Doug Ducey stated that Afghan refugees will be welcomed in Arizona. He noted that the Arizona Department of Economic Security, through its Arizona Office of Refugee Resettlement, would help secure housing, employment, and education for the refugees.
The refugees are being housed at the former Homewood Suites on North Scottsdale Road. The property is currently in bankruptcy but was approved by federal officials in early 2021 as a contracted temporary migrant transition facility.
There was no advance notice to Scottsdale city officials about the migrant arrangement last year. That contract expired at the year of 2021, but now the non-profit International Rescue Committee (IRC) is utilizing the massive hotel property for the next few months as temporary housing while efforts are undertaken to place each refuge or refugee family unit in homes with sponsors in the greater Phoenix area.
Some refugees began arriving at the Homewood Suites before Jan. 14. According to Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther, “next to no one was aware” that the property was being repurposed.
Walther issued an advisory to Mayor David Ortega and council members before Menzel’s comments, noting there was no heads up to local authorities about the IRC’s plans to house unsupervised Afghan refugees within the city.
The IRC has now told city officials that the site is expected to use only through April. As far as security, IRC plans to hire security guards but made it clear that the refugees are free to come and go as they wish.
Security was not in place prior to the arrival of the first group of refugees, Walther noted. The refugees are expected to be gone from the hotel property by April, according to Walther.
“This is a federal government activity over which the city of Scottsdale has no oversight,” a city spokesperson recently told AZ Free News.
While Menzel was reticent about the situation, one of his school principal’s issued a detailed email to Cherokee Elementary staff. He reported that more than 80 school-aged refugees are expected to be enrolled across three, possibly four, SUSD schools.
Those students, according to Principal Walter Chantler, could speak one of four languages. And many of the youth, particularly the girls, have never been in school.
Several state lawmakers spent last Wednesday afternoon attending the 2022 Arizona Farm Bureau AgFest on the lawn of the House of Representatives.
The Arizona Farm Bureau is the state’s largest farm and ranch organization, and serves as the industry’s voice. The Jan. 19 event showcased the state’s $23.3 billion agriculture industry to legislators.
Among those attending was Sen. Sine Kerr, who chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, and Water.
Kerr is no stranger to the Ag business. She grew up in rural Buckeye and with her husband now owns a large dairy farm.
“Agriculture is essential to Arizona’s prosperity,” Kerr said at the event. “We all depend on the work our ranchers and farmer are doing for our state and country, and I will do my absolute best to always advocate for them at the state legislature.”
Some of the other lawmakers who attended AgFest were House Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham, as well as Reps. Leo Biasiucci, Frank Carroll, David Cook, and Joel John. Senate President Karen Fann was also on hand, as well as Sen. TJ Shope.
Members of the University of Arizona Collegiate Young Farmers and Ranchers, which has its own Arizona Farm Bureau chapter, also took part in the event.
In other Arizona Farm Bureau news, it was announced earlier this month that the organization earned the American Farm Bureau Federation’s New Horizon Award, which honors the most innovative new state Farm Bureau programs.
The New Horizon Award recognized the Arizona Farm Bureau’s partnership with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service last year to launch a conservation agriculture mentoring program. Stefanie Smallhouse, president of Arizona Farm Bureau, accepted the award during the Federation’s annual convention in Georgia.
Arizona Farm Bureau also won in all four Awards of Excellence categories for demonstrating outstanding achievements in Advocacy, Coalitions & Partnerships, Engagement & Outreach, and Leadership & Business Development.
Several critical water infrastructure projects will move forward across Arizona, funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
Nearly a dozen projects throughout the state will be funded as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 2022 Spend Plan. The $18.5 million in funding was signed into law last November by President Joe Biden, although the authority for the water infrastructure projects in Arizona tracks back to the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 signed by then-President Donald Trump.
The funds are intended for projects to help small, rural, and tribal communities across the state meet their water and wastewater infrastructure needs. Under the authority, federal funds cover 75 percent of a project’s total cost and go towards assisting with design and construction.
The first project to be funded under the authority is already under way—a critical water pipeline for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. The $578,000 pipeline project will boost water security for the community and support future growth in the area, according to supporters.
Other projects in Arizona to be funded under the Corps’ 2022 Spend Plan include:
$3.5 million for construction of a waterline in the city of Maricopa
$3 million for construction of a new wastewater treatment system for the Middle Verde District of the Yavapai-Apache Nation
$2.25 million to make wastewater treatment plant improvements in Buckeye
$2.25 million to install backup generators for Pima County’s water reclamation facility
$2.25 million to install reclaimed water pipeline and rehabilitate existing infiltration gallery at the Queen Creek Restoration Project in Superior
$1.5 million to construct the WF Killip Elementary School Regional Flood Detention basin in Flagstaff to mitigate post-fire flooding
$1.2 million to continue construction of Flagstaff Downtown Flood Lateral Tunnel to provide flood protection
$1.155 million to make improvements to the water filtration treatment plant in Kearny
$772,500 for water system improvements in Quartzite
A separate water infrastructure plan being funded through the Corps will provide $65.7 million to complete a flood control project for the Little Colorado River. The project consists of new and reconstructed levees which will protect the community of Winslow and other areas of Navajo County.
The current levee system is in danger of overtopping or failing in a 100-year flood event. This places nearly 1,600 structures—including almost all of the community’s critical public facilities such as hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and utilities—at risk.
A new report released by the taxpayer-watchdog group Goldwater Institute is calling on the Arizona Legislature to address the use of public money by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns for purposes which go against the public’s interest.
“Taxpayer-Funded League Lobbies Against Taxpayer Interests,” the report by Jon Riches and Jenna Bentley, details the use of taxpayer funds by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns in ways which represent the interests of public officials and government bureaucrats rather than the interests of the taxpaying public.
“The League uses taxpayer dollars to help fund its political efforts, frequently lobbying in favor of or against proposed legislation at the Arizona Legislature,” according to Riches, the Goldwater Institute Director of National Litigation, and Bentley, the Goldwater Institute Director of Government Affairs. “While the League supports and opposes bills sponsored by members of both political parties, its agenda is decidedly anti-freedom, pro-government, and partisan.”
The situation can easily be addressed if state lawmakers approve three reforms, the report states.
“It is time to protect taxpayers by prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying activities while also increasing transparency and accountability when local governments advocate at the legislature through membership organization,” Riches and Bentley assert.
To start, the report recommends extending the current ban enacted in 2017 on using taxpayer funds to pay for lobbyists who represent the state government. The ban should also apply to local government governments and the League, Riches and Bentley propose.
“Cities and towns could still voluntarily join together to discuss issues of mutual concern—but do so without expending taxpayer resources on lobbying,” they say.
Then, there needs to be state legislation passed to address the disproportionate rate of dues paid to the League by smaller municipalities. This occurs because overall dues are capped for Arizona’s larger cities, resulting in a higher per capita rate for citizens of smaller communities.
“Residents of small cities and towns should not bear a disproportionate burden in financing the League and its activities,” the report states. “After all, larger cities receive the same services from the League that smaller cities do.”
The third recommendation put forth by Riches and Bentley calls on lawmakers to ensure better transparency by the League, which is a nonprofit organization comprised exclusively of local governments. In fact, more than a dozen League employees are currently active in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) and several retired League employees receive ASRS pensions.
“League employees themselves are technically private employees, but in many ways they enjoy the benefits of government employment,” the report notes. “Given that the League’s membership is comprised solely of public bodies and its employees receive government perks, one would expect the League to be subject to the same transparency and accountability measures that apply to other public entities.”
These reforms, according to Riches and Bentley, would go a long way toward ensuring tax dollars are used to advance the public’s business, not to amplify the voice of special interest lobbyists.
“The Arizona Legislature can protect municipal taxpayers from the abuses that occur when local governments use taxpayer resources to lobby state government and blur the line between public and private activities,” the report recommends. “It is time to protect taxpayers by prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying activities while also increasing transparency and accountability when local governments advocate at the legislature through membership organizations.”
One of the riskiest business plans for U.S. business owners is entering a new global market or contracting with an international trade partner. But the process does not have to be fraught with stress if you know what to look for, which is where the U.S. Commercial Service comes in.
The U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) is the promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. The agency has trade professionals in more than 100 U.S. cities, including Phoenix and Tucson, as well as U.S. embassies and consulates to help American companies get started in exporting and to support other companies hoping to increase global sales.
On Feb. 2, the USCS is hosting a free webinar about the ABCs of export due diligence. The no-obligation event will provide useful tools which business owners can utilize to quickly and confidently screen prospective international partners.
Then in late March, the U.S. Commercial Service is hosting a Central America Trade Mission & Business Conference in Guatemala for American businesses ready to expand into -or ramp up- business far south of the border.
The conference will explore markets in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama, and will include region-specific sessions, market entry strategies, export compliance, legal, logistics, disaster resilience and recovery, and trade financing resources.
Attendees can also prearrange one-on-one consultations with officials of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service or the U.S. Department of State with expertise in commercial markets throughout the region. More information on the Central America Trade Mission is available at https://www.trade.gov/central-america-trade-mission
In May, USCS is hosting Trade Americas – Business Opportunities in the South America Conference held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The conference offers U.S. companies the opportunity to explore eleven South American markets: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay.
According to USCS, the South America region’s nearly 400 million potential customers make the area a natural commercial partner for U.S. companies due to its close proximity and closely-tied history and culture. In addition, several trade agreements between the U.S. and various South America countries aim to enhance cooperation on trade and investment.
The USCS office in Phoenix recently added a new member to its team of trade professionals. Colin Hudson joins USCS following several years with FedEx, where he held multiple roles in international business development.
Hudson, who is originally from England, has lived and worked in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. He relocated to Arizona from Florida, and brings experience to USCS in assisting clients from different sized companies and industries in managing and growing their global presence. In his most recent position as a FedEx Worldwide Account manager, Hudson helped companies open new markets in diverse locations such as India and Poland.
Personalized assistance is available to Arizona companies engaged in global trade or considering an expansion into an international market. The USCS staff is assigned based on industry or location:
Leandro Solorzano (Director) Industries: General Services, Franchising, Travel and Tourism. Leandro.Solorzano@trade.gov
Christina Parisi (Tucson office) All Industries in Southern Arizona Christina.Parisi@trade.gov
