by Matthew Holloway | Aug 7, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Corporation Commissioner Nick Myers hammered home the necessity of reliability and affordability to Arizona energy providers including Arizona Public Service Company (APS), Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP), UNS Electric, and Arizona Electric Power Cooperative during a workshop for the development of an Integrated Resource Plan or ‘IRP.’
The IRP is required by the commission every three years.
According to the Commission, the providers represented at the workshop gave presentations that highlighted the projected load growth in the state and analyzed their resource portfolios and their estimated revenue requirements.
Both APS and TEP discussed plans to decommission their coal-fired power plants, APS’ at Four corners in 2031 and TEP at various locations by 2032. Both of the utilities told the commission they intend to replace the coal-fired plants with natural gas generation “that can ramp up quickly during the day when customers need electricity the most and make use of existing infrastructure to maintain customer affordability as they transition to renewable energy, battery storage and potentially new technology.”
Myers reportedly pressed the utilities represented on whether they had completed their analysis based on the lowest cost and most technologically neutral means without imposing their politically-driven mandates to reduce emissions on the state as required by Commission rules. He pointedly questioned if their differing goals “may have resulted in the selection of a more costly or less reliable resource portfolio,” per the commission.
Myers said, “IRP planning is a complicated process that involves the analysis of various scenarios, multiple iterations, and complex projections. It is critical that the Commission understands what a utility’s plan is going forward and addresses any possible discrepancies or inconsistencies so that Arizonans can feel comfortable that their air conditioning will remain on and at an affordable rate.”
The commission reported that it is now reviewing the IRPs from the utilities and should bring a memorandum and proposal for review by the end of the month. In closing, Myers told the workshop, “Reliability and affordability will continue to be my highest priorities. We absolutely cannot afford to have blackout and brownouts in Arizona.”
In a July press release reported by KTAR, Chairman Jim O’Connor expressed similar concerns saying, “Hotter temperatures and monsoon winds put even more pressure on our electric grid, as we demand increasing amounts of power each year from our utilities. Thankfully, Arizona has top notch utilities with dedicated employees that coordinate to keep our power reliable across our state.”
O’Connor and the utilities at that time called upon Arizonans to reduce electrical usage by adjusting home thermostats and pushing heavy appliance usage and EV charging later into the evening.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Aug 6, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona State Bar Cochise County Attorney declined to punish Brian McIntyre last week for working against his own county supervisors, and the bar ultimately dismissed the complaint against him. However, the state bar did issue a public admonition against him, according to the Arizona Daily Independent.
The state bar dismissed the complaint because, according to their statements, they felt that lawyer discipline was achievable through “instructional comment,” and because McIntyre had completed a client confidentiality course. The bar admonished McIntyre for airing out his concerns and the county supervisors’ confidential information publicly instead of the more appropriate venue of an executive session.
During a 2022 public meeting in which the Cochise County Board of Supervisors was discussing a post-election hand count audit, McIntyre revealed that he’d advised the board against the audit.
After the board was sued over the audit, McIntyre then sent a letter to the plaintiffs’ counsel disclosing a list of laws he believed his clients had potentially violated.
Former Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller and State Representative Alexander Kolodin had filed the complaint against McIntyre late last year for those actions. The pair alleged that McIntyre violated attorney-client privilege with his remarks during that 2022 public meeting, and that McIntyre had worked against his clients with the letter by providing legal analysis and fodder for the media against his clients.
The controversy escalated amid the state bar investigation after an uncovered document revealed that McIntyre had apparently colluded with Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes against his county supervisors.
The document was a letter from McIntyre to Mayes, in which the county attorney had asked the attorney general to retract an opinion set by her predecessor, Mark Brnovich, on expanded hand counts. McIntyre sent the letter amid an active appeal by his clients (the county supervisors) to conduct those hand counts.
“Key to our initial efforts was determining the readily apparent potential conflicts with pursuing a prosecution that might result from that investigation. While I remain satisfied that legally we could move forward if evidence warranted doing so, practically it would create substantial issues for this office’s relationship with the Board moving forward,” wrote McIntyre. “Unfortunately, recent events outside the office may also create the appearance that any prosecution is motivated by less than just concerns.”
After the state bar began investigating McIntyre last December, Mayes brought down indictments reflecting felony-level election interference and conspiracy charges against Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby.
McIntyre would later testify to the grand jury on the controversial 2022 general election audit.
Several months after struggling with his county supervisors over the 2022 audit, McIntyre was arrested and pleaded guilty to an extreme DUI in early 2023. An extreme DUI applies to blood alcohol content (BAC) levels over .15 percent (the Arizona legal limit is .08 percent); McIntyre had a .2 percent BAC.
The arrest video showed McIntyre was refusing to believe law enforcement’s breathalyzer results.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Aug 6, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Parents and community members within the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) are petitioning for the removal of sexually explicit books from school libraries.
Last week, a coalition of parents’ rights and educational organizations submitted a letter to the SUSD governing board requesting the book removals. Nearly all of the books on their list were only offered at high school libraries, with the exception of one offered at a K-8 school library.
Parents and community members involved with Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity, Arizona Women of Action, Restore Parental Rights in Education, Protect Arizona Children Coalition, A Legal Process, Not In Our Schools, EZAZ, SaveCFSD.org, KIDS FIRST, Mom Army, and Moms for Liberty submitted the request. Two individuals also joined the request, Shiry Shapir and Dan Kleinman.
The parents submitted their request to remove all “pervasively vulgar” or “educationally unsuitable” content from SUSD libraries to the Scottsdale Unified Governing Board, citing Arizona laws on furnishing harmful items to minors and the 1982 Supreme Court ruling recognizing that school boards maintain the authority to remove books determined to be vulgar or unsuitable for education.
The groups argued that the books don’t offer “serious educational value,” or any “serious artistic, literary, political, or scientific value.”
The parents and community members also requested that the district employ a book maturity rating system, and to prohibit future purchases of books rated not for minors or aberrant.
“This request is not to ban books,” said the parents. “All of the books mentioned in this letter are widely available in bookstores and other online and brick-and-mortar retail outlets. Schools have a limited amount of library budget and shelf space, thus the question we must answer is which books should be offered to minors and which should not.”
Per the groups, SUSD hasn’t responded to their request.
The sexually explicit books that parents would like to see removed were “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard, “Doomed” by Chuck Palahniuk, “Haunted” by Chuck Palahniuk, “Lucky” by Alice Sebold, “PUSH” by Sapphire, “Sold” by Patrick McCormick, “Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins, “Perfect” by Ellen Hopkins, “People Kill People” by Ellen Hopkins, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace, “A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sara J. Maas, “Anatomy of a Boyfriend” by Daria Snadowsky, “Anatomy of a Single Girl” by Daria Snadowsky, “Breathless” by Jennifer Niven, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews, “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison, and “Smoke” by Ellen Hopkins.
One or more of the books were located at all five high schools: Arcadia, Chaparral, Coronado, Desert Mountain, and Saguaro.
Desert Canyon K-8 school was also on the list for one book included: “Sold” by Patrick McCormick.
These books not only contain sexually explicit material, they contain aberrant depictions of sexual activities such as child molestation, rape, bestiality, sexual assault or battery, incest, adult and child prostitution, and sodomy. The books also contain descriptions of the usage of drugs and alcohol by both adults and minors, as well as suicide and self harm.
Arizona law prohibits the distribution of harmful items to minors, which includes that which contains descriptions or representations of nudity, sexual activity, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.
Parents cited the Supreme Court case Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School No. 26 v. Pico to make their case that SUSD had full authority to remove the contested books immediately without review.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Aug 6, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The proverbial smoke is clearing from the contentious 2024 Arizona Primary Election, which has become known for a battle for Congressional District 8. GOP strategist Barrett Marson called it, “one of the ugliest—if not the ugliest—primaries in the entire country,” speaking to Bloomberg News. Three of the four Northern Arizona seats: Districts 1,2, and 8 were the most noteworthy, with District 9 representing an uneventful primary, and a likely uneventful general election.
While the results are not finalized in many of the races according to state and county officials, the unofficial results stand thusly as of the evening of August 5, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.
In the primary contest for U.S. House of Representatives District 1, incumbent Congressman David Schweikert handily defeated his opponent Kim George, 62.65%-27.52%, by a difference of 35,224 votes.
George publicly conceded after contacting Rep. Schweikert by phone Wednesday. In a post to X she wrote, “Just got off the phone with @repdavid Schweikert to congratulate him and offer my support in this critical race. We had a great conversation, and I told him I stand ready to do everything I can to help him keep this seat red. Control of the U.S. House may well run through AZCD1. All hands on deck!”
Schweikert will face off against Amish Shah who won the Democratic nomination in a narrow five-way contest by a mere 1,618 votes.
According to Cook Political, District 1 leans Republican R+2.
Incumbent Republican Congressman Eli Crane of District 2 defeated his primary challenger Jack Smith in a strong finish, 80.54%-19.46%, by a wide margin of 67,750 votes.
Crane reposted several reports of his victory via X Wednesday.
Smith has not posted or released any concession statement as of this report. Crane is expected to face off against Democrat Jonathan Nez who ran unopposed garnering 49,813 total votes.
According to Cook Political, District 2 is solidly Republican R+6.
The Republican Congressional Primary for District 8 is easily the most complex in the state. As of this report Abraham Hamadeh has the apparent lead over Blake Masters, 29.90%-25.75%, by a margin of 4,264.
Prominent figures Hamadeh and Masters were both endorsed by President Donald Trump via Truth Social on Saturday night with Trump writing:
“We have a very important Republican Primary Election on Tuesday for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, with two spectacular America First Candidates.
Blake Masters is a very successful businessman, and an incredibly strong supporter of our Movement to Make America Great Again – He is smart and tough! Likewise, Abe Hamadeh, a Veteran, former prosecutor, and fearless fighter for Election Integrity, has been with me all the way!
In Congress, we need a true Warrior who will work tirelessly with us to Grow our Economy, Stop Inflation, Secure our Border, End Migrant Crime, Support our Great Military/Vets, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment – They will both be spectacular, and I’m pleased to announce that both Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh have my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Congressman of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District — THEY WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!“
Other notable Arizona Republicans ran competitively including.
Arizona State Representative Ben Toma, who garnered 21.00% support and former Congressman Trent Franks, who took 16.29% of the vote.
Two additional candidates for the GOP ran as well, earning single digit percentages.
Arizona State Senator Anthony Kern earned just 4.80% of the primary vote. Republican Patrick Briody trailed the main pack with 2.28%.
According to Cook Political, District 8 is solidly Republican at R+10.
As of Wednesday morning, only State Sen. Kern and State Rep. Ben Toma have acknowledged defeat in the election in posts to X.
Kern wrote in part, “We worked hard; we prayed hard; we hoped hard! Sometimes we taste victory in different ways! It is exciting to see what our future holds! To everything there is a season and a reason!”
Toma posted, “The voters of Congressional District 8 made their choice clear last night as to who the Republican nominee will be in November. While I’m certainly disappointed in the outcome, I am forever grateful and humbled by the level of support shown from so many who opened their arms, their homes, and their wallets to support our campaign. It was an honor and a privilege to be endorsed and supported by so many great leaders of our state and to run a positive campaign centered on my record of accomplishments. I wish all the candidates who ran alongside me the very best.”
Republican Congressman Paul Gosar of District 9 ran unopposed in his primary.
Quacy Smith ran unopposed for the Democratic party and will face off against Gosar in November.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Aug 5, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona Republicans are taking credit for a “freer and fairer election” in the just-completed Arizona primaries.
Earlier this week, State Representative Alexander Kolodin issued a press release to share that “Arizonans celebrated rapid results for the 2024 primary election cycle thanks to the historic election reform bill passed by the Arizona State Legislature.”
Kolodin said, “The House Committee on Municipal Oversight and Elections is thrilled to see our historic elections reform bill is paying off with a better experience for Arizona voters than ever before. I am very grateful to all of my colleagues, especially Speaker Toma, Senator Rogers, Representative Heap, and Representative Terech, for being wonderful partners to help bring about this historic reform.”
The bill Kolodin was referring to was HB 2785, which was passed by the Arizona State Legislature and signed by Governor Katie Hobbs earlier this year. According to Kolodin’s release, the legislation “required elections officials to continue tabulation through the night ‘without delay until complete.’ It also clarified that elections officials may begin tabulating early ballots upon receipt, with robust protections to ensure that vote totals were not prematurely accessed.”
Kolodin’s release added that, “Now, just the day after the election, results are known for most major races, reducing unnecessary delay and limiting the time during which administrative or other errors could occur.”
The first-term state legislator, who advanced from the Republican primary Tuesday night in his bid for a second term in office, also said, “We are grateful to the election workers, who, for the first time, labored through the night to hard count election day drop-offs and tabulate ballots. Voters can see that the good work of the legislature has been paying off in terms of faster results, a smoother process, and a more secure system! Seeing these concrete gains only reinforces our resolve to continue to improve upon the efficiency, security, and integrity of Arizona’s election system.”
After Hobbs signed HB 2785 in February, State Senator Wendy Rogers, the chamber’s Elections Committee Chair, stated, “This legislation is a major win for Arizona voters and important in restoring voter confidence in election integrity. After months of painstaking discussions among lawmakers, election experts, administrators, county officials, and the executive branch, I’m proud we were able to craft a commonsense solution that all 15 Arizona counties support. It will ensure our service members abroad will have their votes counted on election day, and moreover, it will enable us to accurately determine the winner sooner rather than later.”
According to an overview provided by the Arizona House of Representatives, HB 2785 was “an emergency measure that modifies certain procedures and deadlines related to the conduct of elections.” The significant provisions of the legislation, per the press release from the Arizona House, were as follows:
- Robust legally binding signature verification standards in law for first time in Arizona.
- Puts political parties on an equal playing field when curing ballots.
- Promotes greater use of ID when voting early.
- Ensures that Arizona’s overseas military will be able to vote, and Arizona’s electors will be delivered on time.
With this bipartisan agreement, Arizona’s primary election date was moved up to July 30.
Hobbs struck a triumphant tone in her statement when she signed the bill, saying, “With this bill, we are making sure every eligible Arizonan can have their voice heard at the ballot box. We protected voters’ rights, we kept the partisan priorities out, and we demonstrated to the country that democracy in our state is strong. Thank you to Republicans and Democrats in the legislature who put partisan politics aside to deliver this important victory for the people of Arizona.”
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, also a Democrat, chimed in with his support of the package. Fontes said, “I am pleased to see Arizona’s bipartisan effort to pass House Bill 2785, keeping on-time ballot delivery for military and overseas voters and securing the state’s electoral votes for the 2024 presidential election. This legislation received overwhelming support across party lines and demonstrates Arizona’s commitment to fair and secure elections.”
The bill passed the state house with a 56-2 vote (with two vacant seats at the time), and the senate with a 24-2 vote (with four members not voting).
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Aug 5, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A federal appeals court’s decision to overturn an order from its own panel has Arizona conservatives outraged.
This week, a panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a recent opinion from another panel within the court that had allowed Arizona’s law on state voter registration proof of citizenship requirements to go into effect. This latest decision from the Ninth Circuit now vacates that order, allowing individuals to essentially register to vote with state or federal forms in Arizona without providing proof of citizenship.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, who was one of the intervenors in the case defending the law against its challengers, issued a statement in condemnation of the Ninth Circuit’s order. Petersen said, “This is just another example of why the radical Ninth Circuit is one of the most overturned circuits in the nation. They routinely engage in judicial warfare to carry out their extremist liberal agenda that’s contrary to the laws our citizens elected us to implement. We will seek assistance from the Supreme Court to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections. If this principle is not followed, democracy as we know it, and as our Founding Fathers intended, is in jeopardy.”
According to the Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus, “This lawsuit stems from radical Left activists, some of which are from outside of Arizona, opposing two laws passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature back in 2022 restricting voters who don’t provide documentation confirming they are in fact legal citizens of the United States.”
Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, also weighed in on the decision from the Ninth Circuit panel, writing, “This opinion from two radical judges on the Ninth Circuit is a travesty of law and to the legal process, overturning a ruling issued just last week by the same court. We are hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly intervene and reverse this poorly reasoned decision on appeal.”
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club was extremely instrumental in the origination and passage of HB 2492, which is one of the state laws at the heart of the legal matter.
In this Ninth Circuit’s order, there was one judge who dissented from his other colleagues – Judge Patrick J. Bumatay. He wrote, “Motions for reconsideration of a motions panel’s order are not meant to be a second bite at the apple. On the contrary, they are highly irregular and strongly disfavored, primarily appropriate if there have been ‘[c]hanges in legal or factual circumstances’ since the motions panel addressed the issue.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
