The city of Tucson unveiled plans for a new $140 million public transit system, with the first proposed route along an existing one covered by Sun Tran, the fare-free transit system in place.
In a press release on Monday, the city called for residents’ feedback on the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. The BRT would cover an existing route by Sun Tran: the 19 – Stone South Route. Both cover the area from the Tohono T’adai Transit Center/Tucson Mall to the downtown Ronstadt Transit Center.
The two public transits have few differences. BRT fare may or may not be free, depending on the continued existence of the no-fare policy applying to Sun Tran. Additionally, the BRT would carry triple the amount of passengers at a quicker pace: anywhere from 100 to 150 persons with a run time of every 10 minutes. Comparatively, Sun Tran buses carry up to 40 passengers with a run time of every 15 to 30 minutes.
On a website dedicated to the new system, the city said that current transit systems are subject to delays and congestion because they operate in local traffic. BRT would have dedicated travel lanes and transit signal priority.
The new BRT system, spanning five miles, is part of a greater 15-mile transit corridor project: the Tucson Rapid Transit. That corridor would consist of a northern segment spanning from the Tohono T’adai Transit Center/Tucson Mall to the Ronstadt Transit Center/downtown Tucson, and then a southern segment spanning from the downtown stop to the Tucson International Airport.
The southern segment would come at another projected cost of $140 million. In total, the Tucson Rapid Transit would cost around $280 million. The city is hoping the federal government will slash that cost in half.
The Federal Transit Administration has approved the city’s proposed northern segment for its Small Starts Capital Investment Grant program, but has yet to award funds. The city applied for coverage of 50 percent of project costs. The remainder of the projected costs would ultimately be taxpayers’ burden, obtained through RTA Next.
The Sun Tran remains free to all riders through the end of this year, and for the foreseeable future.
Last year, city officials decided to continue to waive transit fees from its initial, pandemic-prompted suspension as part of a “new normal” for transit. The total cost of the bus system was estimated at a little over $100 million at the time, with about $53 million coming from the city. Advertising revenue brought in just shy of $2 million annually, with intergovernmental agreements and federal grants accounting for about another $40 million.
The remaining $11 million posed a problem for the city, one that remained unsolved when the council again extended free fare in May.
Ridership has increased in diversity since the pandemic and change in presidents. The border crisis resulted in a consistent flood of noncitizens who have made use of the city’s free transit system. The city allocated about $550,000 from April 1 to Dec. 31 to bus illegal immigrants from between shelter sites and the Tucson International Airport.
The city has also received significant federal investments in its Sun Tran system.
Earlier this year, the city received $21.5 million from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration to decarbonize the Sun Tran system by replacing the remaining diesel bus fleet with 39 compressed natural gas buses.
The city is scheduled to hold three meetings on the first proposed BRT: two in-person meetings on Nov. 14 and 16, and a virtual meeting on Nov. 15.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Americans are spending lots of their money on Halloween festivities in 2023.
A recent study by the National Retail Federation (NRF) showed that there is likely to be $12.2 billion spent on Halloween this year in the United States. This number is an increase from last year’s figure of $10.6 billion.
Halloween spending has recovered from its decline during the COVID-marred year of 2020, where $8 billion was expected to leave the wallets of consumers.
The rise in spending tracks the statistics for the total number of people celebrating on the holiday. Seventy-three percent of Americans are expected to take part in some sort of celebration for Halloween, up from sixty-nine percent in 2022.
“More Americans than ever will be reaching into their wallets and spending a record amount of money to celebrate Halloween this year,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Consumers will be shopping early for festive décor and other related items and retailers are prepared with the inventory to help customers and their families take part in this popular and fun tradition.”
Phil Rist, the Executive Vice President of Strategy for Prosper Insights & Analytics, also issued a statement in conjunction with the release of the survey that was conducted by his firm. Rist said, “Younger consumers are eager to begin their Halloween shopping, with more than half of those ages 25-44 planning to shop before or during September. Social media continues to grow as a source of costume inspiration for younger consumers, as more people under 25 are turning to TikTok, Pinterest and Instagram for ideas.”
The survey found that each consumer is likely to spend $108.24 this year through the October 31st holiday. Almost seventy percent (69%) of people are projected to buy costumes for Halloween, leading to $4.1 billion of spending. Americans are also likely to shell out $3.9 billion on decorations and $3.6 billion on candy in 2023.
According to the report, “consumers are looking to get an early start on their Halloween shopping” with just under fifty percent (45%) commencing their holiday shopping before the month begins, which is an increase of twelve percent from ten years ago.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
More schisms have appeared between the state’s Democrat Chief Executive and Republican legislative leadership.
Earlier this month, Senate Majority Whip Sine Kerr, the Chair of the chamber’s Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water, announced her resignation from the Governor’s Water Council. Senator Kerr sent a letter to Governor Hobbs, which outlined the rationale behind her thinking.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Senate Republicans Withdraw From Governor's Water Policy Council Beholden to Out-of-State Special Interests@SineKerrpic.twitter.com/5bDvkK7vn1
In a subsequent statement, Kerr explained her reasoning for the decision, writing, “The Governor’s Water Policy Council is nothing more than a forum to rubberstamp the progressive environmental goals of special interest groups. Its ultimate objective has nothing to do with serving the best interests of our Arizona citizens and stakeholders who will be greatly impacted by any newly adopted groundwater management policy. The radical agenda being pushed has the potential to damage our economy and kill the livelihoods of our farmers and ranchers. Sadly, this community is not being provided with fair representation at the table.”
Kerr vowed to keep up her efforts to effect legislative change over the state’s water policies in spite of her perceptions of Hobbs’ current track with those endeavors. She said, “I’m incredibly disappointed in the Governor’s approach that seeks to alienate the voices of Arizona’s multi-generational land and water stewards. This extreme departure from Arizona’s historical, collaborative approach to water management favors her own political gains over sound policymaking. Had her approach been taken over the last forty years, we would not have the tools we have today under the Groundwater Management Act, or the major victories for water augmentation, conservation, reuse, recharge, and irrigation efficiency we have adopted at the Legislature in recent years. I plan to continue my work at the Legislature, in collaboration with the agriculture community, to adopt solutions on basin management issues that will benefit all Arizonans and help with continued efforts in security our water future.”
On January 9, Governor Hobbs created the Water Policy Council “to analyze and recommend updates, revisions and additions to the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act (GMA) and related water legislation, which shall include without limitation, analysis and recommendations for groundwater management outside current Active Management Areas.”
On May 4, Hobbs rolled out the members of the Council, saying, “I’m committed to passing water policies that meet this moment and tackle the challenges we face. I know that with our new Water Policy Council, we will develop the path forward and ensure our state’s natural resources are available for generations of Arizonans to come.”
The Republican Senator wasn’t the only member to leave the Council. The Arizona Farm Bureau, on October 13, also announced that it would be withdrawing from the Governor’s panel, citing a “disappointment in what has been the works of the Rural Groundwater Committee of the Council. Stefanie Smallhouse, the President of the Bureau said, “After months of deliberation, the committee’s direction, and thereby the outcome of the greater Council, appears to be pre-determined as essentially a cross between the seriously flawed attempts of the past and an AMA. At best, our priorities have been given very little committee consideration or, at worst, have been totally dismissed. This is unacceptable to our members, farm and ranch families who will undoubtedly be impacted directly and immediately by any rural groundwater regulatory framework.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The city of Flagstaff may face a lawsuit over its forthcoming decision to ban a firearms advertisement.
In a press release issued earlier this week, the Goldwater Institute said that the city’s ban, if approved, would constitute an illegal violation of free speech.
“When a city operates a public facility, it cannot use that authority to censor messages or viewpoints it disagrees with,” said the Goldwater Institute. “But that’s just what the city of Flagstaff is doing: abusing its power to push an anti-gun agenda.”
The Phoenix-based public policy organization reached out to the city to request they reject the ban on behalf of a business owner who, it appears, prompted the ban: Rob Wilson, owner of the indoor gun range Timberline Firearms and Training.
“By denying Mr. Wilson’s request to advertise based on an unreasonable and pretextual application of the advertising policy, the City has violated Mr. Wilson’s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and due process of law,” stated the letter. “Moreover, the new policy currently under consideration is unconstitutional, both as applied to Mr. Wilson (as it expressly targets his expression) and on its face (as it bans broad, poorly-defined categories of speech and discriminates based on content and viewpoint).”
Wilson had run his gun range business ads without issue at the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport since 2019. It wasn’t until April that the city denied his ad. City officials claimed that Wilson’s advertisement conflicted with their advertising guidelines by representing “violence or antisocial behavior.” Wilson’s contested ad video is below.
The city refused Wilson’s attempt at an appeal. Afterwards, the city developed a new policy specifically prohibiting the inclusion of firearms in advertisements.
Heidi Hansen, director of Economic Vitality, was responsible for the policy changes. Hansen explained during a council meeting last month that the rejection of the Timber Firearms and Training ad was due to the video depicting a firearms instructor “firing rapidly” at a “silhouette of a person.” The figure in question was likely the B-27 silhouette paper target, a common tool for shooting ranges, especially for law enforcement training.
“It was firing quite rapidly at a silhouette of a person and we felt like that might make someone uncomfortable,” said Hansen.
Wilson, a Navy veteran, said that his city leadership went against the Constitution he fought to defend for decades.
“Denying my right to advertise is simply wrong,” said Wilson. “After serving 22 years on active duty to defend the Constitution, I’m not about to sacrifice my rights.”
Lawmakers warned the city last month, ahead of a city council discussion of the ban, that it would be both unconstitutional and unlawful.
During discussion of the policy, city officials said they felt that the advertisement video was unwelcoming and discomforting. Councilmember Miranda Sweet said that Timber Firearms and Training might have to compromise on the issue.
“I was very uncomfortable when I watched [the ad video],” said Sweet. “We’re trying to welcome people into the community when they come into the airport, and the video didn’t portray that.”
Although the Goldwater Institute stated in its letter that the Flagstaff City Council may consider the firearms advertisement ban during its Nov. 7 regular meeting, a city spokesperson informedAP News that an “updated version” of the policy would be included in the Nov. 14 council meeting.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The secretary of state’s office lacks the processes in place to remove about 78,000 potential noncitizens and nonresidents from its voter rolls.
In its last two quarterly reports issued to the state legislature in May and August, respectively, the department reported that it had received reports of but not acted on over 78,200 potentially invalid voters. The secretary of state’s office didn’t respond to our inquiry as to whether they have since put in place any processes to remove those potentially invalid voters from the voter rolls.
Through the beginning of August, the secretary of state received reports of over 53,200 persons reported to have been issued a driver’s license or equivalent of an Arizona nonoperating ID license in another state; over 1,300 persons who admitted to not being a citizen on a jury questionnaire; and over 23,600 persons who admitted to not being a resident of a county on a jury questionnaire. In those cases, the secretary of state’s office disclosed that a process for sending notices, placing voter registrations on inactive status, or canceling voter registrations was “in development.”
These reports were included as exhibits in a Monday filing by Attorney General Kris Mayes in the case Mi Familia Vota v. Adrian Fontes, a case seeking to nullify state election integrity laws requiring stricter standards for voter proof of citizenship and voter roll cleanups.
These reports were previously believed to have not been submitted to the legislature, per previous reporters’ accounts of an inability to obtain the records. According to the exhibits, the two reports were submitted to Sen. President Warren Petersen (R-AZ-14) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-AZ-27).
Last month, the Democratic Party-backed activist groups secured a partial win in a ruling from Arizona District Court Judge Susan Bolton. The judge determined that the proof of citizenship requirement set forth by the two laws in question, HB 2492 and HB 2243, posed too great a burden on voters.
Several questions remain before the Arizona District Court in the case.
One concerns whether HB 2492’s requirement that voters provide their place of birth, referred to as the birthplace requirement, violates 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(B), referred to as the materiality provision.
“No person acting under color of law shall – deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election,” states the federal statute.
Last week, the Biden administration issued a brief declaring that birthplace wasn’t material to determining voter eligibility. Kristen Clarke, Civil Rights Division assistant attorney general, and Gary Restaino, Arizona District attorney, argued that certain individuals born in the U.S. can be noncitizens such as those with diplomat parents, those who later renounce their citizenship, and those born outside the country to U.S. citizen parents.
Another question concerns whether the voter list maintenance programs set forth by HB 2492 and HB 2243 violate 52 U.S.C. § 10101(a)(2)(A), referred to as the discrimination provision, or violate the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
“No person acting under color of law shall – in determining whether any individual is qualified under State law or laws to vote in any election, apply any standard, practice, or procedure different from the standards, practices, or procedures applied under such law or laws to other individuals within the same county, parish, or similar political subdivision who have been found by State officials to be qualified to vote,” states the federal statute.
Another concerns whether the NVRA requirement that states accept and use the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) federal voter registration form preempts HB 2243’s voter list maintenance program.
The case is scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 6.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Concerning Israel and Palestine, President Joe Biden called for a two-state solution on Wednesday: an independent state for Palestine alongside Israel. With the focus of U.S. efforts apparently pivoting greatly toward that conflict, the U.S. issued an additional $150 million of arms and equipment to Ukraine on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Biggs said on The Todd Starnes Show that Biden ought to be impeached for giving $100 million in relief aid to Gaza, which is under Hamas control, even though Hamas was still holding Americans hostage.
“We’re going to have to borrow that money [and] give it to, basically, a conduit, a pipeline to Hamas,” said Biggs. “He’s adding to our national debt, our structural deficit, and giving it, basically, to Hamas.”
At the start of the year, Biggs said that American interference in Ukraine increased the potential of a world war.
Sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine brings us closer to a major world war and puts American soldiers in harm's way.
You can bet we'll be sending American troops to Ukraine to operate these tanks.
Biggs’ speculation aligns with the size and readiness of the federal government. This year’s National Defense Authorization Act marked the most expensive one passed since World War II, as Biggs noted.
This year's NDAA is the most expensive since World War II.
The Department of Defense is recklessly spending taxpayer dollars on assets it can't track.
Biggs isn’t the only one who has raised concerns about the potential for another World War as of late.
Elon Musk speculated on Monday that the two military conflicts had the potential for initiating a third world war. Musk said that the Biden administration needed to begin deescalation efforts in both conflicts.
“World War III is a civilizational risk that we may not recover from,” said Musk.
