by Corinne Murdock | Jun 8, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) removed a social-emotional learning (SEL) hurdle for low-income schools seeking access to federal funding.
ADE slimmed down the Comprehensive Needs Assessment, which schools must complete and submit in order to receive Title I funding designated for low-income schools. Superintendent Tom Horne directed the assessment to remove questions related to SEL, reducing the assessment questions from 168 to 20.
Horne justified the move in a press release, saying that the SEL questions unnecessarily and disproportionately weighed down the assessment, creating a significant administrative hurdle for schools requiring federal assistance.
“The previous Comprehensive Needs Assessment was weighed down with absurd measurements regarding Social Emotional Learning (SEL), which many teachers have complained is just a series of games that detract from teaching reading and math,” said Horne. “The prior emphasis on SEL issues meant the report grew to an unmanageable 80 pages with 168 questions. Now there are 20 questions on six pages, all devoted to improving core academics.”
In addition to removing the SEL barrier, ADE is updating its annual Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) program. ADE projected that the pilot program will reduce administrative workload by 80 percent time-wise.
Horne represents a 180 from his predecessor, Kathy Hoffman, who was an advocate for SEL.
In other moves signaling a complete turnaround from Hoffman, Horne has also removed the controversial online sexuality-focused chat spaces for minors from the department website, as well as abolished the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Department.
Horne has also been defending the upkeep of universal school choice, the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program. The superintendent defends the program as not only beneficial for parents desiring a more tailored education, but as a cost-saving measure to the state.
This puts the superintendent in conflict with Gov. Katie Hobbs, who claimed universal school choice wasn’t sustainable from a fiscal standpoint.
Horne is also defending state law banning males from female sports — also running counter to the stance held by Hobbs, as well as the Biden administration.
In April, the parents of two boys identifying as girls sued the state over the ban. The lawsuit claimed that transgenderism was a “sex-based trait.”
“There is a medical consensus that a person’s gender identity is not subject to voluntary change and a significant biological foundation,” stated the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claimed that all individuals have a gender identity — a perception of one’s gender in addition to their biological reality — and that the only proper treatment for those with gender dysphoria was to allow the full exercise of the dysphoric feelings.
“Under the medical standards of care for the treatment of gender dysphoria in adolescents, the only safe and effective treatment for gender dysphoria is to permit transgender adolescents to live consistent with their gender identity in all aspects of their lives,” stated the lawsuit.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jun 7, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The 15-minute cities that have received the backing of the mayors of multiple cities eventually result in consequences like zoning permits that limit free movement. These proposals have stirred up controversy.
Such was the case earlier this year in Oxford, England, when the city council announced the division of the city into six districts and the implementation of zoning permits for those traveling by car. Effectively, citizens will be required to obtain permits in order to drive the roads exiting their zone; if they don’t, they will be fined. Those who walk, bike, or take buses or taxis, however, won’t be subjected to fines.
The plan incited global controversy after Oxford residents posted criticisms about the severe limitations that these zoning permits imposed. Fact-checkers and mainstream media outlets debunked the concerns as conspiracy theories.
15-minute cities intend to create communities in which citizens may access everything necessary for living within a 15-minute walking or biking distance. The concept came from controversial University of Paris professor Carlos Moreno. A major premise behind the 15-minute city concept is the belief that it will mitigate and even reverse climate change.
Essentially, 15-minute cities greatly disincentivize or outright ban travel by car, thereby limiting citizens’ movements.
Leadership from several of Arizona’s major cities and towns have backed the 15-minute city concept: Phoenix and Tucson.
The push for 15-minute cities gained momentum following emergency declarations over the COVID-19 outbreak. In July 2020, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) published a plan to implement 15-minute cities via the societal upheaval from the pandemic, using the same slogan as the one used for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign: “Build Back Better.” Nearly 100 mayors with C40 membership signed onto the idea.
C40 also announced that the pandemic was an opportune time for leaders to reset their political and economic priorities. In that call to action, C40 said it would attempt to recruit over 1,000 cities to sign a Global Green New Deal.
“The pandemic has made it clear that existing economic and political systems often fail to protect our communities and our ecosystems, especially the most vulnerable,” stated C40. “However, when we prioritize people and communities over profit, we can build economies and cities that work for everyone and don’t bring harm to the living world around us.”
C40 consists of mayors from over 100 cities globally committed to combating climate change by cutting emissions by 50 percent in its member cities. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has served on the C40’s steering committee since 2021; she is the only American on the 13-member committee.
C40’s emissions reduction plans align with the Paris Accords agreement, which demands carbon neutrality by 2030 or 2050. C40 required member cities to create their own plan in 2016. Plans to reduce emissions must prioritize progressive social justice elements, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion.
C40 launched in 2005 under London, England’s then-Mayor Ken Livingstone, originally called “C20.” In 2006, former President Bill Clinton merged his Climate Initiative with C20 to form what is now known as C40. Clinton’s Clinton Foundation remains one of the organization’s key partners.
In 2007, then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined C40 as well as hosted its second annual conference. Bloomberg remains one of C40’s highest funders; the organization has earned annual revenues well over $32 million the last few years.
Other major funders to C40 include George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Oak Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, Google, the Wellcome Fund, and the European Climate Foundation.
In 2015, both then-President Barack Obama and Biden, while vice president, urged more cities to join C40’s Compact of Mayors.
In April, the Biden administration gave a first-ever investment of $1 million to a C40-led initiative to address “climate migration” in Latin American cities. That same week, Biden signed an executive order to prioritize environmental justice into federal agencies; a C40 representative was there for the signing.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo campaigned off the 15-minute city concept and implemented it during the pandemic in 2020. Under Hidalgo, the city has purged cars from most major areas, causing traffic to worsen and, essentially, disincentivizing car travel. Rush hour along the Seine river now crawls after the city closed a major roadway which had previously ensured car travel at a steady pace. The closed roadway, as Bloomberg observed, is now mostly an empty space with sparse pedestrian and cyclist use. Cars also have reduced access on major streets and the beltway.
Concurrent with the 15-minute city push is Vision Zero: an attempt to eliminate all traffic fatalities by restructuring roads to diminish car usage. Vision Zero is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, a grantmaking institution whose funding comes from a variety of left-leaning nonprofits such as the Grove Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the NoVo Foundation. Phoenix established a Vision Zero plan last year, which will cost $10 million indefinitely.
Initiatives resembling Vision Zero efforts include “road diets,” which reduce the number of drivable lanes by converting car lanes into 15-minute city-friendly features such as bike lanes or pedestrian refuge islands. Scottsdale recently approved a road diet for one of their major roadways.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 7, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A powerful Arizona state senator is calling out the state’s Democrat governor for her veto of his bill that would have protected children.
This week, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed SB 1696, which was recently transmitted to her office. The bill would have outlined “prohibitions on the State of Arizona, a state or a city, town, county or a political subdivision of the state regarding sexually explicit materials.” Those aforementioned entities would have been prohibited “from exposing minors to sexually explicit materials,” and the properties owned, leased or managed by those entities would have been banned from filming or facilitating sexually explicit acts.
Hobbs explained her reasoning behind the veto in a letter to Senate President Warren Petersen, writing, “I have vetoed SB 1696. While I agree that not all content is appropriate for minors, this bill is a poor way to address those concerns. The sponsor has stated that this bill was aimed at preventing a specific action from reoccurring, while in reality it is written in such a vague manner that it serves as little more than a thinly veiled effort to ban books.”
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Jake Hoffman, was outraged over the governor’s action, issuing a blistering statement to push back against her decision: “Once again, Katie Hobbs is spotlighting Democrats’ far-left extremism by vetoing yet another bill intended to protect our children from exposure to sexually explicit materials at the hands of Arizona governments. It’s absolutely sickening that Katie Hobbs is allowing pornography to be filmed in our state’s taxpayer-funded classrooms. These should be safe spaces for our kids to learn in, not venues for the sexually explicit adult entertainment industry. No 12-year-old child should ever have to worry that their middle school desk was the location of a porn shoot, yet because of Hobbs’ actions, this is precisely the case. Hobbs should be ashamed of herself, and every parent in the state of Arizona should be outraged. This is a despicable use of government resources, and there should be legal repercussions in place to discourage these types of practices from ever occurring again.”
In a release sent out just days before Hobbs vetoed his bill, Hoffman explained why his proposal was vital for the interests of the Grand Canyon State, saying, “Just last year, two Arizona teachers in Mohave County used government facilities to film pornography which they were then posting and profiting from. Astonishingly, there is no law that prohibits this from happening.”
SB 1696 recently passed the Arizona House of Representatives with a 31-27 vote (with one member not voting and one seat vacant) after clearing the chamber’s Government Committee with a party-line 5-4 vote. Earlier in the legislative session, it had received approval from the state senate with a 16-14 tally, after being given the green light in the chamber’s Government Committee with another 5-3 party-line vote.
Senators Anthony Kern and Justine Wadsack and Representatives Rachel Jones, Cory McGarr, and Austin Smith joined as co-sponsors to this bill.
Representatives from the Arizona Education Association, the Arizona Chapter for the National Association of Social Workers, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, and Save Our Schools Arizona registered their opposition to the bill throughout the legislative process.
The Arizona Freedom Caucus had weighed in on Hoffman’s earlier plea to Governor Hobbs, writing, “Taxpayer-funded facilities should never be used for things like filming pornography. Unfortunately, it’s a fact that they have been. Putting an end to this abuse of taxpayer-funded school classrooms is a no brainer. Governor Hobbs do the right thing & sign the bill.”
Democrat Representative Nancy Gutierrez took the opposing approach in her response on Twitter, posting: “This is who you are voting for if you are voting Republican in AZ. This is disgusting propaganda. Instead of putting the Legislature on a break for weeks, maybe we could go do our jobs and not leave time for this foolishness.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Jun 6, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The state of Arizona set aside $5 million to research the impact of psychedelic mushrooms on those suffering from mental illnesses like PTSD and drug addiction.
The funds provided by the Arizona legislature in this past session will go to the Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI), the only Arizona facility authorized by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to grow psilocybin mushrooms. Sue Sisley, SRI president, revealed to ABC 15 that this would be the first study of its kind on human subjects.
“Real natural psilocybin mushrooms have never been evaluated in a controlled trial, can you believe that?” said Sisley. “It works its way into that part of the brain and activates some of the neurocircuits that haven’t been enlivened in a while. It starts to enable the brain to kind of be recalibrated.”
Sisley said that all of the data — both positive and negative — would be published in medical journals for public review. Trials are anticipated to begin within the year.
Sisley was also known for being the principal investigator for the only Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved trial in the world to examine the safety and efficacy of marijuana smoking in combat veterans with severe PTSD. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) granted the approval in March 2014. At the time, Sisley was a professor at the the University of Arizona (UArizona) College of Medicine.
The DEA gave Sisley approval for another study on the efficacy and safety of marijuana to treat PTSD in April 2016.
In addition to being licensed for medical-grade cannabis growth, SRI has been licensed to make and issue MDMA and LSD for study.
In 2020, NIDA warned that marijuana usage is linked to an increased risk of earlier onset of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.
Shortly after NIDA’s approval, UArizona terminated Sisley. Sisley claimed that she was terminated by the university for her political activity: specifically, involvement with a recall campaign against then-State Sen. Kimberly Yee, currently the state treasurer. Sisley also claimed that UArizona was opposed to her medicinal marijuana research.
UArizona rejected Sisley’s claims, pointing to legislation they supported the prior year enabling marijuana research to be executed on college campuses.
“The University of Arizona does not comment on personnel issues. In regard to marijuana research, in general, in 2013, the UA championed state legislation to ensure that universities could perform medical marijuana research on campus,” stated the university. “The UA has not received political pressure to terminate any employee as has been suggested in some media and other reports.”
At the time of the federal research approvals through the present, Sisley has served as a medical director for a medical marijuana dispensary, White Mountain Health.
All of the mind-altering drugs in Sisley’s research — psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana, LSD, and MDMA — were the basis of study for the CIA’s covert “mind control” experimentation program, MK-ULTRA, and its predecessors: Project Bluebird and Project ARTICHOKE.
These experiments were inspired by Japanese and Nazi doctors’ practices of using mescaline on prisoners in the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps. MK-ULTRA consisted of psychological torture, resulting in numerous deaths and permanent mental damage.
The CIA destroyed most of the documents pertaining to MK-ULTRA in 1973 following the Watergate scandal. About 20,000 documents were spared due to erroneous filing in a financial records building. The following year, The New York Times began to uncover the program, prompting a congressional investigation.
The researcher that started and ran MK-ULTRA, Sidney Gottlieb, was awarded by the CIA for his work.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 6, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A long-time Arizona Republican elected official is stepping away from public service.
Last week, Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates announced that he will not run for re-election in 2024 and intends to pursue other interests and opportunities.
Gates devoted a good deal of the statement to reminisce on his time of service to the state, writing, “For over thirteen years it has been my honor to serve my home state of Arizona on the Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. As this chapter comes to an end, I rest well knowing that I led with integrity, compassion, and dignity. Regardless of personal partisan preferences or external pressure, I remained focused on making our region the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I am proud to be a principled and limited government Republican. At the city of Phoenix, I cut through the bureaucracy and helped shape a more efficient and responsive government operation. At Maricopa County, I kept government lean, taxes low, supported our most vulnerable residents, and told the truth about our elections in the face of false information.”
The Supervisor thanked many people in his statement, including his colleagues, administrative team, Chief of Staff, supporters, residents of his district, and Maricopa County employees. He saved his most endearing comments, though, to show his gratitude to his family, adding, “To my wife and three daughters, thank you for being my rock, my foundation, and my inspiration. The past few years haven’t always been easy; however, I am a better man, colleague, and public servant because of you.”
Many Arizona officials reacted to the surprising news from Gates. Democrat Representative Marcelino Quiñonez tweeted, “Thank you Supervisor Gates for your years of service. You demonstrated courage & leadership under extraordinary & unjust circumstances. And while our politics might differ, your example must be celebrated by all. Best of luck in your future endeavors.”
Republican Representative Austin Smith used his platform to look ahead at the election to replace Gates on the Board, posting, “I am ready to work and support the most trusted conservative candidate who can win replacing Bill Gates on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.”
The 2024 election will be a pivotal time for the future of the Board and Maricopa County elections. In addition to Gates’ now-open seat, the other Republicans and lone Democrat on the panel – plus Recorder Stephen Richer – face primary and general elections.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jun 5, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Days after Republican legislators warned of possible ethical repercussions over Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes’ public statements against the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program, a private citizen filed a formal complaint against Arizona’s top prosecutor.
On May 31, according to a document received and reviewed by AZ Free News, Charlie Schinke of Chandler filed a charge against Attorney General Mayes with the State Bar of Arizona.
Schinke requests “that the Bar Counsel initiate an investigation to determine whether attorney (and Attorney General) Kristin K. Mayes has breached the foundational duties of loyalty and confidentiality she owes to her clients, in violation of Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6 and 1.7.” The Chandler resident writes, “In just the last month, Ms. Mayes appeared on television to threaten one of her clients with an investigation that could carry potential criminal dimensions, and publicly admonished another client in letters that she distributed in a press release.” He asserts that “the Attorney General serves state agencies as a counselor and confidante; she does not (and cannot) control, regulate or punish them.”
The two allegations that Schinke uses to base his complaint, are Mayes’ April 17 letter to Director Thomas Buschatzke of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, where she “launched into an extended critique of the agency’s studies of so-called active management areas and demanded that Director Buschatzke supply her with documentation evidencing the agency’s compliance with its responsibilities;” and her May 21 interview, in which Mayes “announced that her office ‘is going to be looking at fraud, waste and abuse in the universal school voucher program.’”
Schinke cites Arizona case law that reflects the lawful containment of the Attorney General’s duties, highlighting a portion of Brnovich v. Arizona Board of Regents, which says, “In Arizona, unlike some other states, the Attorney General has no inherent or common law authority… [T]he authority of the Attorney General must be found in statute.” He writes that “the legislature has designated the Attorney General the ‘chief legal officer of the state,’ and in that capacity she is ‘the legal advisor of the departments of this state and [must] render such legal services as the departments require.’”
The author of the complaint ends his letter to the State Bar with two charges, stating, “Attorney General Mayes’ public criticisms of, and threats to investigate her clients are inconsistent with her duties of confidentiality and loyalty.”
Schinke reminded the Bar about a previous case it considered. In that case, former Attorney General Mark Brnovich faced charges due to allegations that “his public criticisms of, and adverse legal actions against, the agency violated his ethical responsibilities.” Schinke ends his letter, pleading with the Bar to exercise the “same scrutiny” with Attorney General Mayes “that her predecessor received,” adding a line about the “Bar’s self-professed commitment to non-partisanship.”
Schinke’s letter comes just six days after a bicameral group of Republican lawmakers, led by Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma, transmitted a letter to Mayes, demanding that she “publicly retract (her) patently false statements attacking ESAs and impugning the motives of thousands of parents that use ESAs to provide the best education for their children.” In their letter, the legislators write: “Of course, Arizona’s Ethical Rules do not tolerate the initiation of criminal proceedings absent probable cause to believe that any parent has committed a crime. See Arizona Ethical Rule 3.8 (listing the special ethical responsibilities of a prosecutor). Further, it would raise ethical questions if a government attorney were to publicly insinuate that a current client is engaging in misconduct with no factual basis. See, e.g., Arizona Ethical Rule 1.7 (imposing a duty of loyalty to a current client).”
Mayes does not appear to have publicly commented on the complaint.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
