An announcement on Tuesday from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona (USAO-AZ) revealed that U.S. Attorney Gary M. Restaino was terminated by order of President Donald Trump. U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the sitting President and are subject to removal at their discretion.
Restaino was appointed to the USAO-AZ by former President Joe Biden in 2021.
According to a press release from the USAO-AZ, Restaino was informed by the White House on Monday that he has completed his service to the Department of Justice effective immediately, thanking him for his service to the nation.
Restaino released a statement saying, “Getting the opportunity to lead an Office in which I have worked for many years has been energizing. I am grateful to President Biden for the appointment, to Senators Kelly and Sinema for their support of my nomination, and to Attorney General Garland for his stewardship of the Department of Justice. And most of all I am thankful for our people here in Arizona – the dedicated prosecutors, victim advocates and administrative professionals at the United States Attorney’s Office, as well as the agents, analysts, and accountants at our federal law enforcement agencies – who work collaboratively and collegially with state and local partners and leaders of underserved communities to make Arizona a better and safer place.”
The potential motives behind Restaino’s replacement have not been indicated by the White House or DOJ.
A citizen-safety bill has cleared its first chamber of the Arizona Legislature.
On Monday, the Arizona House of Representatives approved HB 2684, which “prohibits pedestrians from congregating or soliciting in dangerous areas such as painted or raised medians, highway entrance and exit ramps, and other locations without safe pedestrian access.”
In a statement that accompanied the announcement of the bill’s passage, State Representative Joseph Chaplik, the sponsor of the legislation, said, “Arizona ranks among the highest in the nation for pedestrian fatalities, and too often, people are standing or sitting in traffic medians, freeway ramps, and other places where no pedestrian should ever be. This law will prevent senseless tragedies by ensuring that pedestrians stay out of harm’s way, while also protecting drivers from the devastation of hitting someone in traffic. Public safety is not partisan – it’s common sense.”
According to the release from the Arizona House of Representatives, the bill stipulates that “law enforcement officers will issue a warning for a first violation, a civil traffic citation for a second offense, and a class 1 misdemeanor for repeat violations.”
Chaplik added, “With the passage of this bill, House Republicans continue delivering on our promise to make Arizona a safer place. The governor vetoed this bill last year, but we’ve addressed her concerns by adjusting penalties while keeping the focus where it belons – on safety. I hope she reconsiders and signs it into law this time.”
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, representatives from Rural Arizona Action, American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, AZ National Organization for Women (NOW), AZ Attorneys for Criminal Justice, and Arizona Coalition for Working Families, signed in to oppose the proposal from the House Republican.
Earlier this month, HB 2684 was approved by the House Committee on Regulatory Oversight with a 3-2 vote. All three Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while both Democrats joined together in opposition.
HB 2684 will now head over to the Arizona Senate for consideration.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A Republican legislator is planning to hear from his constituents about a topic of interest in northern Arizona.
Late last week, State Senator Mark Finchem announced that he would be “hosting a forum in Yavapai County this month to discuss problems posed by vacation rentals in Arizona.” He called on “all concerned citizens to attend.”
In a statement for the press release, Finchem said, “This forum will offer a unique opportunity to hear about the problems associated with the explosion of vacation rentals that are replacing single-family homes at an alarming pace. The adverse economic impact on communities across Arizona is sobering. Mayors from Page to Oro Valley and from Sedona to Prescott are facing mounting pressure from constituents to do something about what is happening in their neighborhoods.”
Senator Finchem reported that there would be around ten mayors from municipalities across the state in attendance at this forum, and that there would be a question-and-answer time at this event.
The ‘Mayors Forum for the People’ will be held on Thursday, February 20, from 2-4pm, at Embry-Riddle University in Prescott. Reservations can be made here.
The Republican lawmaker is serving his first term in the northern Arizona district after capturing the Republican primary last summer and sailing to victory in November’s General Election. Finchem is the Chairman of the Senate Federal Relations Committee, and a member of both the Judiciary and the Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committees.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The former recorder for Maricopa County, Stephen Richer, is again headlining a “Principles First” summit this weekend.
Principles First, the nonprofit behind the annual D.C.-based summit, proposes a medley of libertarian and progressive values as the true basis of conservatism.
In his panel, Richer will host a “keynote conversation” with former Congressman Adam Kinzinger on the last day of the conference. Kinzinger now works as a commentator for CNN.
Richer also participated in panels during last year’s Principles First summit, themed around defending elections. Richer’s panel focused on improving voter sentiments concerning election integrity.
“We can’t cede the territory [in politics]. We can’t just have it be people who don’t believe in democracy and Democrats, because that’s not a healthy system,” said Richer.
Principles First advocated for the election of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race.
Like others frequently involved with Principles First, Richer voted for Harris last year.
Principles First launched in 2019 as an alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), founded by corporate lawyer Heath Mayo. Mayo voted for former President Joe Biden in 2020 and independent candidate Evan McMullin in 2016. Mayo planned on voting for Biden again prior to the former president dropping out of the race last year.
“Donald Trump represents an existential threat not just to the Republican Party, but to the constitutional principles that shape our country,” said Mayo in a Washington Examiner interview last June. “So, I personally would be voting for Biden.”
Other headliners for the summit this year can be classified as Democrats, centrist or left-leaning Republicans, or Republicans-turned-Democrats: entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, lawyer John Conway, former Fifth Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig, former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia Geoff Duncan, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Michael Steele, former Defense Press Secretary Alyssa Farah, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, former congressman and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former United Nations ambassador and National Security advisor John Bolton, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, political commentator and The Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell, author and political candidate Harry Dunn, political commentator and former consultant Tim Miller, political analyst Michael Fanone, and journalist Steve Hayes.
Participant organizations include Unite America, The Bulwark, The Dispatch, Protect Democracy, Afghan American Veterans Alliance, American Values Coalition, Grumpy Combat Veteran, Veterans for All Voters, ESC, Country First, Leaving MAGA, Nate Gowdy Photography, Rank the Vote, Ranked Choice Voting Maryland, UpVote Virginia, The Concord Coalition, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, An Accountable America, Welcome Democracy Institute, Bright America, and Center for Collaborative Democracy Grand Bargain Project.
Past donors to Principles First included Defending Democracy Together, which gave the nonprofit over $600,000 per 2023 tax records.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Parents within the Deer Valley Unified School District (DVUSD) raised concerns over compliance with the Trump administration’s directive to end Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Last Friday — Valentine’s Day — the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent a letter to the Arizona Department of Education (AZED), along with the departments of education in the remaining 49 states, ordering an end to DEI in all public schools, from K-12 to higher education. The deadline for compliance is Feb. 28, 2025.
Just 11 days left now. As good as they may sound, MTSS and Portrait of a Graduate are problematic and often incorporate DEI.
The Deer Valley Unified 2024-2025 handbook is not available, so one can only assume that's one of the more public documents that needs necessary changes… https://t.co/Qi63QxU29Wpic.twitter.com/sIhAVk6K4b
Additionally, ED opened an OCR complaint line to report unlawful discrimination within public schools based on its letter. ED characterized DEI as unlawful discrimination.
“Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices. Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline,” stated ED. “But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.”
Arizona Women of Action (AWA) expressed concerns over DVUSD’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and Portrait of a Graduate.
“As good as they may sound, MTSS and Portrait of a Graduate are problematic and often incorporate DEI,” stated AWA.
In an X post over the weekend, DVUSD candidate Tiffany Hawkins said she had yet to hear from district leadership about their plan to address the DEI eradication directive. Their next board meeting is next Tuesday.
Deer Valley District has 14 days to comply with removing DEI ordered by US dept of ed. pic.twitter.com/vEV6gtrqFq
MTSS and Portrait of a Graduate are two subcomponents within the DVUSD Strategic Plan for 2023-2028’s “Excellence in Student Learning” component.
The MTSS component relies in part on a “campus equity flowchart,” which is no longer available.
Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) governing board member Sandra Christensen indicated parental concern over DEI eradication compliance in other districts as well.
“We all do [need to comply],” said Christensen. “Districts need to address this.”
DEI ideology hasn’t been stripped immediately from DVUSD’s website — the ideology remains.
The district’s Gifted Services parent portal page includes a section on “Culturally Fair and Inclusive Practices in Serving Gifted Populations” which illustrates its claims of DEI using the oft-employed “Reality-Equality-Equity-Justice” cartoon depicting fans attempting to watch a sports game from different vantage points over a fence.
“The identification and dismantling of barriers must be included as part of the definition of equity since the road to identification for gifted services contains several barriers for [Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse,] CLED students,” stated the webpage. “Gifted characteristics manifest themselves differently in CLED students — some may even appear as negative characteristics[….] Various gaps (which include cultural perception, beliefs, opportunity, etc.) of CLED students and teacher perceptions or stereotypes of giftedness.”
The district claimed barriers included the exclusion of CLED parents due to their ignorance of the gifted services program, educators’ inability to recognize gifted characteristics in CLED students, CLED parents’ reticence to access gift services due to an inability to complete referral forms, and inherent bias against CLED students within assessments or use of national norms.
The Gifted Parent Portal also included Social and Emotional Learning resources.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Last week, the Chairman of the Arizona House Appropriations Committee, Rep. David Livingston, praised Treasurer Kimberly Yee for her recent letter reporting on allegations of “missing money,” somehow “misplaced” by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs. Yee explained that the “missing money…appears to be unfortunate gross financial mismanagement by the Hobbs Administration.”
Chairman Livingston said in a statement, “I appreciate Treasurer Yee’s clarity in addressing the financial mess Governor Hobbs has created. The issue isn’t ‘missing money’—it’s blatant mismanagement.”
“Under the Governor’s feckless leadership, state agencies are making massive spending decisions with zero legislative oversight, ballooning costs, and expecting taxpayers to foot the bill. This kind of incompetence cannot stand.”
Livingston has been among the legislators expressing increasing alarm over the State of Arizona’s Developmental Disabilities Program (DDD). The program is presently staring down insolvency in a matter of months due to decisions made by Hobbs’ Office.
“This Governor is running Arizona’s budget into the ground,” Livingston added. “She’s refusing to control spending, and instead of making responsible choices, she’s leaving families on the hook for her failures. The Republican Majority Legislature won’t stand by while she bankrupts the state.”
According to Matt Beienburg of the Goldwater Institute, the budget proposed by Hobbs in late January is “mismanagement at its worst.” He explained, “Her recently released budget plan seeks to tear down Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program (ESA), the most successful school choice program in the country, even as it fails to account for more than $800 million in statutorily required spending on the state’s Medicaid program.”
In a letter to Hobbs in early February, Livingston called the Governor out for “fiscal mismanagement and lack of legislative consultation.” He claimed that the Hobbs administration has failed to control costs, noting that the program’s supplemental funding needs have ballooned from $109 million to $122 million in just weeks. He observed that in the case of the DDD, “Under Governor Hobbs’ watch, the cost of this program has exploded from $750 million to $1.5 billion.” He added, “The Legislature was blindsided by these numbers, and we need immediate answers on how the administration plans to rein in spending before Arizona families are left with nothing.”
“The state must act now to fix this before families pay the price for this administration’s failure,” Livingston said, according to the Arizona Daily Independent. “We can’t afford more of the governor’s last-minute budget negotiations while programs Arizonans depend on collapse.”
