While the contests weren’t as significant as in other states , last Tuesday, Arizonans concluded a month of elections, which largely took place via absentee ballots.
The majority of races across the state, primarily in Maricopa County, were for bond approvals. Flagstaff voters made decisions on almost two dozen questions, while Tucson voters considered mayoral and city council selections.
Opponents of municipal bonds had a decent night of results. On the Arizona Republic’s Election Tracker page, twelve of forty-four of those questions appeared to be rejected by voters. Many of those results came in the west and east regions of Maricopa County.
In the lead-up to the election, both the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA) shed light on the spending requests up for adjudication by the voters. ATRA wrote in September that the “$3.5 billion in bonds is easily the largest statewide K12 bond request in history.” The Arizona Free Enterprise Club added, “This level of borrowing being sought by local school districts is both unwise and unnecessary, especially given the large amounts of money that have been pumped into the system.”
Most of the bond questions were approved, however, with several of those results occurring in Glendale and Phoenix. Glendale had five successful bond outcomes and Phoenix had four.
Jeff Barton, the City of Phoenix’s Manager thanked his municipality’s voters for their positive support for the bonds, saying, “Thank you, Phoenix residents, for supporting the 2023 General Obligation Bond Program. Because of your support, we will be able to fund critical infrastructure and rehabilitation needs of both aging City facilities and areas of rapid growth, with new and enhanced parks, libraries, fire and police stations, affordable housing, street improvements and more.”
In 2024, Arizona voters will have higher-profile races to make determinations on, including a President of the United States, a U.S. Senator, and a bulging list of initiatives with critical implications for the future of the state. Although elections in even years have both mail-in and in-person components, most of the voting is still done via absentee opportunities, making the return of those ballots critical to candidates’ and propositions’ successes.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
An Arizona State University (ASU) law school professor deleted a viral tweet detailing a racially-motivated verbal attack against Muslims after it was publicly exposed as a fake.
ASU professor Khaled Beydoun shared a picture in which an individual allegedly called another a “dirty Arab” and told them to go back to the Middle East. Beydoun alleged that an Instagram follower sent him the picture of the exchange (archived here). Khaled’s alleged follower purportedly responded that he was unable to return to the Middle East because the U.S. “gave Israel $14 billion last week to destroy it (Gaza).”
However, users on X (formerly known as Twitter) added a Community Note pointing out that the alleged racial attack message was in blue; on Instagram, that means the complainant sent the racial attack message to himself or herself.
“Blue on Instagram means that the message was sent from his own phone,” said the fact-check note. “Khaled presumably sent the racist message to himself.”
Jen Wright, Arizona’s former assistant attorney general, also debunked Beydoun’s post, and criticized ASU for hiring a supporter of a designated foreign terrorist organization, Hamas, to teach courses advocating for Islam.
“Manufacturing bigotry for clicks is not a very inspiring image for @ASUCollegeofLaw,” said Wright. “Why does @ASUCollegeofLaw have a Hamas propagandist who fakes victimhood and lies about the war in the Middle East teaching Islamaphobia [sic] & about Race & the Law?”
Why does @ASUCollegeOfLaw have a Hamas propagandist who fakes victimhood and lies about the war in the Middle East teaching Islamaphobia & about Race & the Law?@asu has a wannabe Jessie Smollet on staff ginning up racial tensions. 🤦🏻♀️
Beydoun teaches two courses at ASU, both with an apparent progressive social justice slant: “Race and the Law,” and “Islamophobia and the Law.” ASU hired Beydoun in June.
Beydoun responded to the debunking of his post by emphasizing that he received the image from another individual, and claimed that those who fact-checked him were “bigots.” Beydoun didn’t apologize for the false claim.
“But people don’t read sadly,” said Beydoun. “If was [sic] flagged by bigots who didn’t read the caption then removed. Done deal, bigger fish to fry.”
Wright pointed out that Beydoun, with his massive platform (nearly 295,000 followers on Twitter and over 1.4 million followers on Instagram), was undertaking actions to exacerbate divisions.
“@ASU prof deletes post after using his platform to spread fabricated hate to gin up hysteria,” said Wright. “As someone teaching Islamaphobia [sic] @ASUCollegeofLaw, he must know that manufactured hate begets more hate, increasing tensions. Why add fuel to a powder keg on the verge of explosion?”
.@ASU prof deletes post after using his platform to spread fabricated hate to gin up hysteria.
As someone teaching Islamaphobia @ @ASUCollegeOfLaw, he must know that manufactured hate begets more hate, increasing tensions.
Wright pointed out that Beydoun also deleted another false post which used pictures from the war in Syria to accuse the Israel government of war crimes. Wright questioned Beydoun’s academic worth based on his consistent issuance of false information.
“[Beydoun] should know to fact check so he doesn’t make false & defamatory claims,” said Wright. “If he doesn’t fact check his posts, does he fact check his curriculum?”
Looks like he deleted the other post that used pictures from Syria in 2017 to lodge false accusations against @IsraeliPM alleging @IDF WAR CRIMES.
Beydoun’s latest book, “The New Crusades: Islamophobia and the Global War on Muslims,” included a foreword written by Kimberlé Crenshaw; she is credited for popularizing Critical Race Theory (CRT). In her foreword, Crenshaw noted that Beydoun was one of her Critical Race Studies students in 2001.
Last week, Beydoun also claimed that another one of his followers had ordered his book but had received a book on Israel instead.
Beydoun announced that all sale royalties would go to Gaza, governed by Hamas.
Following Hamas’ initial terrorist attack on Israel, Beydoun posted a quote from Malcolm X alluding that Hamas was the true victim and Israel was the true oppressor.
“Be careful. Ethnic cleaning [sic] becomes possible and permissible when you paint an entire people as terrorists,” said Beydoun. “‘If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people being oppressed, and loving those doing the oppressing.’ – Malcolm X.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Gilbert residents may face a massive water rate hike of up to 130 percent next year.
The town council discussed three proposed options for water rate increases during its two-day fall retreat last week: cash funded, bond funded, or cash/bond gradual funded. The additional funds would address issues and needs instigated by the Colorado River shortage: a sharp increase in raw water supply cost, infrastructure needs to access groundwater, and additional conservation staffing and programs.
The cash-funded option would require an immediate rate increase of 130 percent: the average monthly residential water bill would increase from $34 to $78 next April. Under this option, there wouldn’t be any new increases planned for the following two years, no new debt, an ongoing capacity of $6 million for one-time Capital Improvement Project (CIP) in the operating fund, and an ongoing Repair & Replacement (R&R) fund capacity of $73 million in the 2029 fiscal year.
The bond-funded option would require an immediate rate increase of 95 percent, increasing the average monthly residential water bill from $34 to $66 next April. Under this option, there would be no increases planned for the following two years, but there would be $205 million of new debt with $110 million of anticipated interest paid over 20 years. The one-time CIP in the operating fund would have an ongoing capacity of $2 million, and the ongoing R&R fund capacity would be $37 million in the 2029 fiscal year. The town noted that this option would have the lowest overall rate increase by total percent.
The cash/bond gradual-funded option would require an immediate rate increase of 50 percent, followed by 25 percent in one year and another 25 percent in two years. This would result in the average monthly residential water bill to increase from $34 to $51 next April, then $64 in 2025 and $80 in 2026. Under this option, there would be a phased increase and $80 million in new debt, with $43 million in anticipated interest paid over 20 years. Additionally, the one-time CIP in the operating fund would be $5 million and the ongoing R&R fund capacity would be $66 million in the 2029 fiscal year.
The Public Works Advisory Board (PWAB) recommended the town council adopt the third option: the cash/bond gradual funded. PWAB further recommended that the town council dedicate staff to research additional financial assistance relief to offset the predicted burden of their preferred rate increase.
The town council expressed a preference for the cash- and cash/bond gradual-funded options.
The town estimated that it will cost around $2.8 billion to undertake pipe replacement when due between the years 2090 and 2110. They estimated that would come down to an average 50-year cost of $76 million annually.
In addition to water rates, town residents also face a 44 percent proposed rate increase for solid waste and recycling services.
Eric Braun, assistant public works director, said that the town had recently taken on the practice of only increasing two of four utility rates at a time because they felt it would mitigate the financial impact on residents. Braun admitted that the plan to not increase rates under the cash-funded option was promissory only and liable to change.
Per a history of rate increases, the town last increased water rates in 2022 by 29.6 percent. Solid waste and recycling increased by 28.6 percent.
Last year, the town increased wastewater and environmental compliance rates by 32.4 percent and 59 percent, respectively.
Rates for all four utilities had no increase from 2019 through 2021.
The town council is scheduled to approve a notice of intent to increase water rates and fees at its Nov. 28 meeting, with a recommended public hearing date of Feb. 6, 2024.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
An Arizona leader has traveled to Israel to show his support of its people as they continue to recover from one of the worst terrorist attacks in their nation’s history.
Peoria Mayor Jason Beck revealed on his Facebook platform this week that he had visited Israel “to meet with and support IDF soldiers, political and religious leaders around the country.”
The first-year mayor surmised he might have been “the first American to visit (the Kibbutz Be’eri) due to the continued threats in the area. This community of approximately 1,100 men, women, and children lost over 120 individuals in the October 7 terrorist attack from Hamas – more than ten percent of its population.
Beck shared he “felt it was extremely important to tour Be’eri and provide an accurate accounting of the horror and the intensity of what took place at this location.” He added that “the lives that were taken, the extreme brutality of Hamas of how men, women and children were tortured, executed and slain is important for someone to take in and carry forward for others to experience and hopefully recognize these heinous acts that took place on these beautiful people.”
As Mayor Beck concluded his post, he challenged readers to stand with this American ally in their fight against their terrorist enemies, writing, “To not support Israel’s ability to defend their people, home and lands from Hamas is to support terrorism and weakness that will surely spread across this world if it is not destroyed.”
According to his account, Beck met with the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen; Rabbi Rabinovich of the Western Wall, and other rabbis and pastors in the country.
Though the west valley mayor has less than one year of time in the political world, he has decades of military and foreign affairs experience through his work in the private sector. Beck is the Founder and CEO of TYR Tactical, which is a “leading global manufacturer of tactical gear and equipment for military and law enforcement.” He also served the United States in the Marine Corps before he veered into his business ventures.
Days after the horrific terrorist attack in Israel, Beck vowed to “send body armor to Israel for the protection of the brave soldiers who will defend their homeland and our Western values.” That promise was fulfilled with an estimate of 2,000 protective vests being shipped to Israel.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office won a Rocky Mountain Emmy for their video of Sheriff Mark Lamb doing “God’s work”: nabbing drivers holding up the left lane made for passing.
The four-minute video, “Stop Camping in the Left Lane,” features Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb as he catches drivers remaining, or “camping,” in the far-left lane reserved for passing and impeding the flow of traffic. One of Lamb’s earliest featured targets was holding up his car and several others while also driving under the speed limit.
“[A]s you know, one of my pet peeves is people camping in the left lane,” said Lamb. “So I’m out here doing God’s work today: we’re going to stop people from driving in the left lane and being inconsiderate of others.”
It appears that no tickets were issued, and therefore no wallets were harmed, in the making of the video.
Lamb was filmed monitoring traffic on the I-10 highway. The sheriff narrates from his dash cam his monitoring one Texas driver camping in the left lane, resulting in three to four other cars to pass on the right.
Lamb pulled that Texas driver over. The Texas driver responded that he “was going the speed limit,” to which Lamb informed him that the left lane is reserved for passing, not strict speed limit adherence.
The Texas driver then claimed he attempted to switch over to a right lane, but was unable to do so, to which Lamb replied that he’d been following him for “a while.”
The exchange hit a lighter note as Lamb asked the driver whether he had any weapons in the car. When the Texan answered in the negative, Lamb advised him that he should for personal safety reasons.
“Do you have any weapons in the car? No? Well, you should, it’s dangerous out there!” said Lamb.
Lamb ultimately let the Texan off with a warning and a valuable lesson about the power of the passing lane.
“It’s not about going the speed limit, it is about: the left lane is for passing,” said Lamb.
The sheriff also had a message for those who refuse to believe in the purpose of the left lane as exclusively for passing.
“And for all those know-it-alls that plan on sending me an email and telling me how wrong I am, let me save you the time: don’t bother, ‘cause I’m not going to read it anyway,” said Lamb.
Another driver took more effort on Lamb’s part to pull over. The driver of a truck hauling construction equipment on a trailer failed to notice the backup of cars behind him and Lamb signaling for him to pull over for “about four or five miles.” Lamb informed the driver that he needed to be over in one of the right lanes, to which the man insisted he hadn’t noticed the sheriff or the backup.
Again, Lamb didn’t commit to a ticket: he opted to offer a warning to the man and sent him on his way.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The University of Arizona (UArizona) School of Music announced a new recording studio opportunity that excludes white and/or straight students.
In an email obtained by Libs of TikTok, UArizona School of Music administrator Marissa Garaygordobil informed students that BIPOC (black, indigenous, or people of color) students were welcome to audition for a free film scoring orchestra performance and recording opportunity in professional recording studios.
SCOOP: University of Arizona School of Music @UAZMusic, offered students an incredible opportunity to record with famous musicians and work in a professional music studio like Warner Bros or Sony.
This opportunity is only open for black students because they aim to “diversify… pic.twitter.com/w1s38sYWno
The opportunity came from the nonprofit Musicians at Play (MAP) Foundation and their annual RISE Diversity Project. Studio spaces were offered by Warner Brothers, Sony, and Fox for Feb. 17 and 18, 2024.
“RISE aims to diversify the world of film and studio recordings by assembling an orchestra of young, BIPOC musicians from all across Los Angeles to work side-by-side with professional studio musicians and perform and record in a world-class recording studio,” stated the project poster.
Although the poster itself doesn’t mention LGBTQ as a preferred qualifier for auditioning, one of the MAP Foundation organizers, John Acosta, announced on Facebook that the diversity program would also show preference to LGBTQ students.
“Musicians at Play (MAP)’s RISE 2024 Diversity Program for BIPOC/LGBTQ Music Students headed by Maestro Anthony Parnther, conductor from ages 14-27 is now open!! Free to join!! PLEASE SHARE FAR AND WIDE! DEADLINE 12/1/23,” wrote Acosta.
The opportunity also comes with four to six coaching sessions, as well as experience under Anthony Parnther, a California-based conductor who serves as the music director and conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Southeast Symphony. Parnther’s recent film and TV scoring work included “Oppenheimer,” “The Mandalorian” series, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” “Creed III,” “Star Wars: the Force Awakens,” and the “Paw Patrol” movie.
Parnther co-founded the RISE Diversity Project, alongside MAP founder and CEO April Williams. He noted that the opportunity was the only one of its kind in the world.
“I’m committed to seeing diversity in all areas of music where I have any influence – including on our scoring stages,” said Parnther.
The MAP Foundation receives funding and support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the state of California Arts Council, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).
That last entity, the City of Los Angeles DCA, partnered with the MAP Foundation to hold the diversity project. The city last reported giving the foundation just over $5,000 for the 2021-22 fiscal year for a separate project. The city didn’t mention the amount of funding, if any, given for the RISE Diversity Program.
The NEA has given the MAP Foundation $20,000 since 2021. The California Arts Council has given the MAP Foundation over $326,600 over the years.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
