When four college students were killed in Idaho in November, investigators began the arduous task of collecting physical evidence, witness statements, and digital data related to dozens of people. But organizing and analyzing all that information by traditional methods can be overwhelming, and often ineffective, especially when multiple investigators are involved.
It is a problem that Tucson-based Zinatt Technologies Inc. has a solution for.
Zinatt’s patented Quick Tracking Information System (Qtis) makes life much easier for detectives and investigators by providing agencies big and small with robust data tracking software they can use on a regular basis. Or an agency may choose to utilize Qtis when faced with a complex crime scene involving several victims.
“Most agencies are currently using spreadsheets and tables on Word to keep track of intelligence pertaining to their investigations,” Zinatt co-founder Gabriel Reina says. “But detectives need solutions that enable them to keep on top of investigations. Qtis provides law enforcement agencies with the capability they need to organize and access key data that improves case solvability rates.”
Equally important, Qtis is compliant with Criminal Justice Information Systems standards. And unlike many static desktop systems typically used by law enforcement, Qtis can be utilized by investigators on mobile devices.
This allows access to case information “anywhere, anytime,” according to Reina, along with file-sharing capability.
“Qtis was built around the needs of law enforcement. We understand how difficult it can be to keep things organized,” Reina says. “Upload all your evidence to Qtis. Having all your evidence in one place allows you to find what you are looking for in seconds by performing a case wide search.”
And while Qtis has become best known for its law enforcement investigative management capabilities, Zinatt has adapted its software for use by private investigators, public health researchers, and even political campaigns.
“Qtis for political campaigns can be used to identify potential issues with the integrity and accuracy of the voter roll,” says Reina. “It can also store additional contact information related to each unique voter and even the issues most important to each voter.”
To learn more about Zinatt and Qtis please call 520-838-0346 to arrange an interview with Reina. Or you may make contact via Zinatt’s website here.
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
On New Year’s Day, Kari Lake asked the Arizona Supreme Court to take up her case challenging the 2022 midterm election. The request for special-action appellate review marks a final effort to prevent transition of power proceedings ahead of Governor-Elect Katie Hobbs’ inauguration on Thursday.
Lake’s team filed their appeal with the Arizona Court of Appeals last Wednesday, alleging that suppressed and illegal votes outnumbered Hobbs’ 17,100 lead. Lake is pushing for a new election.
“A new governor is scheduled to be seated under a cloud of electoral uncertainty and impropriety,” stated Lake.
The embattled GOP candidate’s team cited “extraordinary circumstances” as the reason for their request, characterizing the Election Day tabulator-printer fiasco as a “targeted attack” on voters as well as citing the upcoming swearing-in ceremony.
Lake’s appeal insisted that the court should distinguish the election content standards: namely, clear-and-convincing versus preponderance-of-evidence, the use of latches for the right to violate laws in future elections, and that unconstitutional elections would qualify as misconduct.
We would recommend this thread to anyone still pretending that what happened in November was a free & fair election.
The amount of evidence of intentional misconduct on Election Day and the weeks following is overwhelming.
Lake asserted that Maricopa County officials offered “changing and conflicting testimony” that they alleged was proof of intentional malfeasance on Election Day, including chain of custody violations and improper signature review for mail-in ballots. The appeal included a remark made by the county’s counsel, Thomas Liddy, in his closing argument.
“You reap what you sow,” said Liddy, in reference to Election Day voters.
The longer @katiehobbs is allowed to pretend she's governor, the more damage she does to our institutions.
Serious countries don't allow fundamentally unserious people to pretend that they are leaders.
Especially morally vacant and intellectually vapid ones like Hobbs.
Lake claimed that controversy over this most recent election jeopardizes the republic: a seeming counter to Democrats’ claim that scrutinizing elections jeopardizes democracy.
“A significant majority of voters no longer trust the outcomes of elections in Arizona. A functioning republic cannot exist for long in these circumstances,” read the appeal.
Polls support Lake’s claim concerning election distrust. Rasmussen Reports found that 72 percent of likely voters agreed with Lake’s claims that Election Day problems resulted in disenfranchisement, with 45 percent strongly agreeing.
Tufts University polling conducted the week after the midterm election discovered that distrust in elections correlated with age. Younger voters tended to trust the legitimacy of elections more greatly than older voters, especially concerning the 2020 election. Their polling also discovered that younger generations were far less likely to identify with one specific political party, but didn’t view Democrats as “too extreme” compared with older generations.
Although Hobbs’ team points to Monday as the inauguration day, the official ceremony remains on Thursday.
An appeal may be underway in the case challenging the attorney general race results after Pinal County reported undercounting hundreds of ballots.
Pinal County added to their count over 500 more ballots, effectively halving Democrat Kris Mayes’ lead from 511 to 280. Republican Abraham Hamadeh gained 392 votes, while Mayes gained 115 votes.
BOMBSHELL REPORT:
I am still fighting to get to the bottom of this botched election. Every voter deserves to know who legitimately won and to have every vote count.
In a statement, Pinal County dismissed the missed ballots as “human error” that mainly impacted Election Day votes. The county pointed out that it had a 99 percent accuracy rate, based on the fact that the 500-odd vote discrepancy amounted to a .35 percent variance within 146,000 votes.
“[T]he recount process did what it was supposed to do — it identified a roughly five hundred vote undercount in the Pinal County election attributable to human error,” stated the county. “[I]n light of threatened litigation and rumored appeals, Pinal County can make no further comment at this time.”
The county also speculated that election workers mistakenly believed certain tabulators were counting votes when they malfunctioned.
Prior to the recount and throughout the lawsuit against them, the county admittedly knew the major vote discrepancy existed. The Board of Supervisors’ new chairman, Jeff Serdy, toldArizona Daily Independent that their officials hadn’t said anything because they weren’t sure what they were allowed to say. Yet, their board of supervisors certified the election in late November anyways.
The Pinal County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved canvassing the County's Election results for the November 8, 2022, Election.
Pinal County wouldn’t have had the first board to reject election results over concerns of improper election management or malfeasance. Former Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller said in a statement to AZ Free News that she and fellow supervisor Steve Christy refused to certify the 2020 election due to concerns about her county’s administration of the election. Miller noted that she and Christy had “just cause” per statute to do so.
“I felt certain that a vote approving the canvass would have not only been malfeasant but fraudulent,” said Miller.
Miller opined that signing off on faulty election results may constitute a felony, citing the recent debacle over the Mojave County Board of Supervisors’ initial refusal to certify their election results.
“We heard from the Mojave County supervisors this year that they voted in favor of the canvass under duress. They claimed they were warned by the County Attorney’s Office that if they failed to certify this year’s election before the statutory deadline they would have invalidated all Mohave County elections and failure to approve the canvass may have represented an act of malfeasance,” stated Miller. “They said they would be at risk of committing a Class 2 misdemeanor under Arizona statute. Not only is the legal advice they received disputed, for some of us, it would be a felony to sign-off on an election that was not completely fair and free from shenanigans, or substantial human error.”
The massive discrepancies across the board spurred Secretary of State-Elect Adrian Fontes to remark that the variance was problematic. He said that a recount should yield only single digit differences — not hundreds. Fontes said that the county didn’t “step up” by training or preparing properly, and indicated that increasing funds and resources would remedy the issue.
“It is absolutely, really problematic to see the number of ballots in Pinal County that weren’t tabulated,” said Fontes. “If we’re not funding, training, and staffing these departments, we’re going to have these kinds of problems.”
However, Fontes didn’t hesitate to congratulate Mayes on the victory.
The county’s Democratic and GOP parties issued a joint statement on Friday calling the recount a success and issuing their support for the recorder.
Thank you @PinalCounty and @PinalGOP Party Chair for believing that facts matter and for your continued support to our county Recorder and Elections officials. Some things go beyond party politics and become a matter of fallacies and facts. Facts win every time.@azdempartypic.twitter.com/4Z6S9uJdRv
Pinal County has been beset with problems throughout this election year. In August, former Elections Director David Frisk resigned after back-to-back issues ahead of the primary. The county faced several lawsuits after mailing about 63,000 voters incorrect early ballots. Then on the day of the primary, the county failed to have enough ballots on hand for voters. Workers were forced to disenfranchise those voters.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett will focus first on addressing climate change and affordable housing.
Daggett issued this promise during her swearing-in at last week’s city council meeting. She said she would direct her staff to tackle these two issues first.
“[We are going to emphasize] affordable housing and climate action, and also scheduling meetings with the public and really trying to hit the ground running,” said Daggett.
Affordable housing and climate action are the leading two of several priorities Daggett pledged on the campaign trail. After those priorities, Daggett listed small business growth, job creation, and increased investment in “greener” multi-modal transportation: pedestrian pathways, biking, and busing.
A week prior to her swearing-in, Daggett attended a bipartisan meeting with 12 other mayors to discuss housing as well as public safety, American Rescue Plan funds, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and CHIPS and Science Act. Daggett met with President Joe Biden, the White House Intergovernmental Affairs staff, Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Labor Secretary Martin Walsh, and Housing & Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge.
Both Daggett and the former mayor, Paul Deasy, ran their campaigns on promises to tackle climate change and affordable housing. On the trail, Daggett indicated that she would lean into higher density housing (high rise apartments, etc.) or missing middle housing (duplexes, townhomes, bungalow courts, carriage houses, etc.) to expand neighborhood walkability. Daggett also indicated a desire to reduce parking minimums.
Daggett noted that state law precludes Flagstaff from implementing its ideal affordable housing initiatives. Daggett said that until state law relaxes, the city would rely on incentives such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, partnerships with nonprofit and for-profit developers on city-owned land, and prioritize affordable housing during budget talks.
Climate change has been a winning topic for Flagstaff’s voters for the better part of the past decade; former mayor Coral Evans committed the city to carbon neutrality by 2030, a plan which Daggett supports. Affordable housing presents a newer concern prompted by the hot-turned-cold housing market, combined with the glut of short-term rental properties in the area.
Last June, Daggett and the Flagstaff City Council passed a Carbon Neutrality Plan. The plan noted that every action would integrate equity as a foundational element. The council pledged to encourage alternatives to cars such as walking, biking, rolling, and busing; reduce citizens’ dependence on driving; electrify its buses; expand micro-mobility devices; support citizens’ transition to electric vehicles; transition to 100 percent renewable electricity for municipal needs; increase renewable energy installations and usage in new buildings while supporting solar installations on existing buildings; reduce or remove natural gas usage in municipal buildings; encourage electrical grid reliance on new buildings; require new homes to be net zero energy homes by 2030; encourage sustainable consumption; divert waste from the landfill; reduce organic waste to the landfill to feed people; and develop a portfolio of local and regional carbon dioxide removal initiatives to achieve carbon neutrality.
Last August, Daggett said she would look to use American Rescue Plan Act funding to expand emergency shelter and affordable housing initiatives. In June, Daggett said that the city should apply its $5 billion budget surplus to climate action and affordable housing.
According to Flagstaff’s profile on the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), the city has about 971,600 annual GHG emissions. It’s completed five out of nine phases spanning mitigation, adaption, and energy access & poverty initiatives.
GCoM is a coalition of over 11,500 cities and local governments across six continents and 142 countries pledging to lower emissions and establish climate resiliency. GCoM is co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg, former New York City mayor, and Frans Timmersman, European Commission executive vice president for the European Green New Deal.
GCoM ex-officio members include Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC executive secretary; Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat executive director; and the Global Covenant of Mayors executive director. On the board are the mayors of Guelph, Canada; Warsaw, Poland; Heidelberg, Germany; Colombo, Shri Lanka; Kloto 1, Togo; Makati, Philippines; and Hobart, Australia.
Phoenix is also a member of GCoM, with reported annual GHG emissions of 16.45 million.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Governor-elect Katie Hobbs said she doesn’t plan on working with Arizona Senate Republicans.
The comments offer a stark contrast to Hobbs’ public promises for bipartisanship and a confidence that she can work well with GOP leaders.
Our campaign was never about Democrats or Republicans, and my administration will be no different. If we're going to tackle Arizona's toughest challenges, it's going to take bipartisanship to deliver Arizona solutions. https://t.co/Vn05maQzWa
Yesterday I had the opportunity to share my vision for Arizona in my 1st interview as Governor-Elect.
Arizonans are facing real challenges right now, and I'm ready to get to work bringing people together to deliver bipartisan solutions.https://t.co/oaNwje2aRw
Hobbs issued the remarks during the Democratic Governor Association’s (DGA) annual winter meeting at the beginning of December in New Orleans, Louisiana: an exclusive Ritz-Carlton Hotel confab with donors, lobbyists, and a handful of journalists.
"I believe that if we can put our partisan differences aside, there are things we can work together on. And that's a win-win for all Arizonans."
According to The New York Times relay of Hobbs’ commentary, the governor-elect said that her communication with their leadership was strained to the point that she hadn’t and wouldn’t communicate with them.
Arizona is divided. But the path forward is clear — we need to work together, across parties, to mend fences and heal our divisions. It’s time to leave the past behind and look forward into the future.
Hobbs indicated she would be harsh to those constituents and political leaders who challenge the validity of her election. Hobbs also said that she wasn’t optimistic about finding common ground on voting issues.
“These people are claiming fraud when there is none, these people mounted an insurrection on the Capitol, they’re the ones who have broken the trust,” said Hobbs. “You can’t coddle these people that have been misled by the people they have upheld as leaders. These so-called leaders need to be held accountable.”
Yet over a week later, Hobbs publicized her meeting with State Rep. Ben Toma (R-LD27), speaker-elect, and State Sen. Warren Petersen (R-LD14), president-elect. Her public optimism on the meeting flipped from her DGA outlook. In November, Toma told The Arizona Republic that it was too early to know how the state legislature would work with Hobbs.
Had a productive discussion with Speaker-Elect @RepBenToma and President-Elect @votewarren this morning. We are ready to find common ground and get to work on behalf of all Arizonans. pic.twitter.com/0GW1gXQi9N
Hobbs’ DGA remarks followed controversies over her willingness to end the state’s 1901 abortion ban, universal school choice program, and Border Strike Force.
Hobbs will be sworn in next Thursday, Jan. 5.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A BASIS Peoria high school student won one of this year’s congressional app development challenges for her app enabling parents to exchange or donate their children’s toys.
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) featured the winner, Molly Budhiraja, and her app, “Project Toy Exchange,” in her weekly newsletter issued last Saturday.
Budhiraja’s app will be displayed on the Congressional App Challenge website and in the U.S. Capitol, along with other winners nationwide. Budhiraja will have the opportunity to showcase her app to Congress during the annual #HouseofCode festival, a large science fair.
“I am so pleased to congratulate Molly Budhiraja for winning this year’s Congressional App Challenge,” stated Lesko in a press release. “Project Toy Exchange is a great app that connects parents with each other and encourages people to donate toys to children in the community. It is an honor to represent so many bright students, and it is wonderful to see how they use their talents and creativity through these apps to help others!”
Budhiraja thanked the congresswoman in a LinkedIn post, expressing excitement about the future of her app.
“I was honored to meet such an enthusiastic and intelligent woman leader in our community, who not only does remarkable work for our state, but our nation as well,” stated Budhiraja. “It was a pleasure to talk about my app and my future goals with the congresswoman and her team.”
The second-place winners were Mountain Ridge High School students Apramey Akkiraju and Rohan Agrawal. The teens created a “COVID-19 Tracker” app that provided color-coded maps detailing case count concentrations in the Western part of the country, as well as data on case and death counts.
Third-place winners were Challenge Charter School students Alexandra Acuna and Tori Lugo. The pair created the “Math4Life2” app, which helps children with multiplication problems and seeks to make math more fun.
All three apps proposed creative solutions to real issues facing Arizonans: rising costs of toys due to the inflation crisis, advising concerned Arizonans about COVID-19 spread, and fostering a positive relationship with math amid declining test scores.
One of the second-place winners, Agrawal, was last year’s champion, along with Dens Sumesh, a BASIS Peoria student. The pair created the app “DebateEV,” a website that collects existing debate card evidence and makes it accessible via a search format similar to Google’s. Agrawal and Sumesh stated that forced transition to remote learning, coupled with their ongoing involvement in their high school debate club, inspired the app.
Last year, Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-02), Andy Biggs (R-04), David Schweikert (R-06), and Ruben Gallego (D-07) also hosted challenges and named winners.
Kirkpatrick awarded first place to “Memolog” by Gregory School students Erik Wisnom, Chris Allen, Ted Roberts, and Karl Ramus. Their app applied memorization techniques to any piece a student needed to memorize.
Biggs’ winner was an artificial intelligence-based wildfire prevention system by Hamilton High School student Prisha Shroff.
Schweikert awarded first place to “Zubin’s Dungeon Quest” by BASIS Scottsdale student Zubin Sidhu, a video game that blended education with entertainment.
Gallego’s winner was “Surviving the Pandemic While Back-to-School” by University High School students Kamille Cuison, Liana Kay De Guzman, and Nathan Caldwell-Meeks. Their app informed students about the background, treatment options, and safety protocols for COVID-19.
The 2021 Congressional App Challenge reported producing over 2,100 fully functioning apps. Over 7,100 students entered the competition through 340 congressmens’ challenges.
The annual Congressional App Challenge is funded by the Omidyar Network, Amazon (Web Services), theCoderSchool, Facebook, Replit, Accenture, Rise, ACT: the App Association, Comcast NBCUniversal, and CGI.
In addition to Lesko, Kirkpatrick, Biggs, Schweikert, and Gallego, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-03) is also hosting a challenge this year.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
