On Monday, the Arizona legislature approved a bill requiring K-12 schools to implement parental review and notification procedures for school library books.
Specifically, HB2439 requires schools to give parents lists of the books or materials their children borrowed from the library, make available online a list of all books purchased for school libraries, and notify parents of the public review period for the books. Certain schools and school districts were exempted: those without full-time library media specialists and those engaged in agreements with county free library districts, municipal libraries, nonprofit and public libraries, tribal libraries, private schools, and tribal schools.
The Arizona House passed edits made to HB2439 on Monday along a party line vote. The Senate passed their version with amendments last week. One of the major amendments to the bill removed the requirement that school boards review and approve all books prior to their addition to a school library.
State Representative Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria) sponsored the bill.
Activists argued that children should have the right to read anything without parental oversight.
On Tuesday, the Gilbert Town Council announced a $289,000 consulting contract for a feasibility study on establishing a commuter rail. The commuter rail, a mode of public transportation at the core of major metropolitan areas like Chicago and New York City, would likely be located somewhere within the Heritage district. The council moved to consider the contract during a later study session.
The proposal comes at a time when transit crime rates have reached an all-time high in areas where they have the most use such as New York City, San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. Multiple studies link the presence of public transit such as light rail and commuter rail to an increase in crime and decrease in surrounding property values.
Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes asserted that the goal of the study wasn’t to establish feasibility, but rather to whip up something with “pretty pictures” that would distract from the facts behind commuter rail and inspire public support. Yentes accused Washington, D.C. lobbyists of pushing an agenda for financial gain at the loss of taxpayers and locals, mocking President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” campaign slogan as well.
“I think quite frankly we’re taking crazy pills if we think people are going to be excited about commuter rail,” said Yentes. “The complete boondoggle that this will be not just for this community, but for this state. We are literally observing California living this nightmare. I can’t point to a state that Amtrak is not being heavily and deeply subsidized by taxpayers despite 75 percent decline in their ridership. I can’t point to a state where we have a good model that makes any amount of sense for this. We’re going to put the foot on the pedal because we’ve got ‘Build Back Bankruptcy’ dollars that are going to be flooding the jurisdictions?”
Yentes also pointed out that all commuter rails require a local sales tax in addition to all the state subsidies and federal monies they receive. She predicted widespread community backlash.
“I think this is insane,” said Yentes. “I don’t think it’s a matter of timing. There is no good timing for broken 19th-century technology. I think this is a broken model and I think there’s a lot of buyer’s remorse in other states that have gone down this track.”
In addition to commuter rail, the transportation expansion would eventually become transit centers accommodating other types of transit: bus, bicycle, micromobility, and rideshare. Town research explained that such an initiative had been in the works since 1993.
Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes said she has “a lot of problems” with the proposed transit center, specifically the commuter rail, calling it “premature.” Yentes said that the scope of the project for stakeholder involvement wasn’t clear, and that the stakeholders’ work were oriented toward designing and planning rather than community outreach to assess desire and need.
Councilwoman Yung Koprowski insisted that the community at large was aware of the city’s intention to establish a commuter rail based on published documents made available to the community.
Yentes disagreed. She said it was one thing for these initiatives to be laid out in planning documents, but that the reality was the community weren’t involved in them. She said that only an “inner bubble” of the community kept an eye on planning documents.
“I think if I asked 100 of my neighbors if they know a commuter rail is coming to Gilbert, I think approximately zero of those people would be aware,” said Yentes.
Koprowski then clarified that this council decision would be the “first step” to get background and decide whether to move forward with the transit center.
Koprowski owns a transportation planning and civil engineering firm, Y2K Engineering.
Councilman Scott Anderson expressed doubts that the transit center would happen, citing Amtrak’s exclusion of Gilbert as a station location in previous reports and agreeing with Yentes that it was premature. Development Services Director Kyle Mieras revealed that Amtrak recently expressed support for a station location. He added that federal funds would be available to back the project.
“We wanted to show support for this and get ahead so if and when Amtrak or commuter rail does come forward, we’ve at least studied this and in a position where we’re going to come out ahead of it, so we’re skating to where the puck is going not where it’s been,” said Mieras.
Mayor Brigette Peterson added that the Amtrak southwest representative was shocked at Gilbert’s exclusion from viable locations. Peterson divulged that Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said that Gilbert was “way ahead” of their city when it came to establishing commuter rail, noting that the town had two areas open for stations, citing Cooley Station as an example.
“If Amtrak comes knocking with those federal dollars, is Gilbert on board to do that?” asked Peterson.
Koprowski noted that the feasibility study would offer some conclusion as to whether commuter rail was feasible and, if not, how the two potential areas could be repurposed. Yentes challenged the council to define its standard of feasibility.
Watch discussion of the transit center below:
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A new law will take effect in Arizona this summer to prevent state officials from shutting down churches or religious services during a public health or public safety emergency.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2507 on Monday, defining a religious service as an essential service during a declared state of emergency. The legislation also protects the fundamental right of Arizonans to exercise their religion freely during a time of crisis and further protects a religious organization from discrimination when it operates or seeks to operate during a state of emergency.
HB2507, which was sponsored by House Republican Majority Leader Ben Toma, notes the U.S. Constriction expressly protects the free exercise of religion, including the right to hold beliefs inwardly and secretly as well as the right “to act on those beliefs outwardly and publicly.”
Toma, who received bipartisan support for HB2507 in the House, said he introduced the bill to ensure Arizonans’ religious freedoms are forever protected.
“During the pandemic, while Arizona was blessed with government leaders that respected religious freedom and the essential role of religious organizations to the people, that wasn’t the situation in some neighboring states,” Toma said. “This law ensures that religious freedom and services in Arizona will continue to be protected in the future, regardless of any emergency, or who leads the state.”
Rep. Lupe Diaz, himself a pastor, said religion is an essential service and religious freedom is essential, which was especially true during the pandemic when Arizonans were facing so many challenges.
“As we look at being able to exercise our religious liberties, which is a constitutional right, it is amazing that we can be denied gathering at churches, yet have stadiums, malls and box stores open,” Diaz said last week in explaining his vote for HB2507.
Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, also applauded the signing of HB2507 into law. She noted that while public officials have the authority to protect health and public safety, they cannot suspend the First Amendment, including the free exercise of religion.
“By signing HB 2507 the Governor acknowledges the fact that religious organizations provide essential services that are vital to the health and welfare of the public,” Herrod said Monday. “They not only meet the spiritual needs of our communities, but they also support social services, health care, and economic activity.”
Mere hours after the missing body of Texas Guardsman Bishop Evans was found along the Rio Grande River, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero expressed support of the Biden administration’s decision to end Title 42, a policy allowing expedited deportations. Romero hasn’t commented on Evans at all.
Romero also lambasted Americans for not being benevolent enough to the relentless torrent of illegal immigrants. News of Romero’s press release was covered in the country’s largest independent political news site of 2020 and one of the largest this year, The Hill.
“Tucson stands ready to support those seeking asylum,” tweeted Romero. “America should take a lesson from our European allies who are taking in millions of Ukrainian refugees. Democracies don’t get to pick and choose when to support human rights.”
Tucson stands ready to support those seeking asylum.
America should take a lesson from our European allies who are taking in millions of Ukrainian refugees. Democracies don't get to pick and choose when to support human rights. https://t.co/CDzl2JE7u1
Evans, a field artilleryman and critical support for multiple Special Operations Forces missions overseas, died while attempting to rescue two illegal immigrants who were crossing the Rio Grande River around Eagle Pass, Texas. The Texas Rangers later revealed that the pair were drug traffickers.
AZ Free News asked Romero for comment on Evans’ sacrifice. She didn’t respond.
Romero issued the statement alongside Brownsville, Texas Mayor Trey Mendez.
The Biden administration pledged to end Title 42 on May 23, but reports retrieved from several attorney generals in court filings revealed that they were rescinding the policy immediately. On Monday, a federal judge ordered the Biden administration to keep Title 42 in place.
BREAKING: I am so proud of the lawyers from our office who just got a Temporary Restraining Order to keep Title 42 in place. We will continue to fight the Biden administration's open border policies.
On Monday, a federal judge ordered the Biden administration to continue executing Title 42, a Trump-era policy allowing for expedited deportations and asylum processing.
Louisiana Western District Court Judge Robert Summerhays, a Trump-appointed judge and native of Fort Worth, Texas, issued the temporary restraining order (TRO). According to the conference minutes, the attorney generals engaged in the case will negotiate with the Biden administration on how to continue implementation of Title 42.
BREAKING: I am so proud of the lawyers from our office who just got a Temporary Restraining Order to keep Title 42 in place. We will continue to fight the Biden administration's open border policies.
The TRO was the latest development in Brnovich’s lawsuit against the Biden administration for ending Title 42 at all, in what Brnovich characterized as “the worst border crisis in history.” Per monthly and annual reports from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Brnovich’s assessment appears accurate.
Brnovich led two other states, Louisiana and Missouri, in filing the lawsuit.
In a press release, Brnovich thanked Summerhays for keeping Title 42 in place.
“The Biden administration cannot continue in flagrant disregard for existing laws and required administrative procedures,” remarked Brnovich.
In some reports, the case is filed as Arizona v. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, et al., but federal court records list the case as Louisiana, et al. v. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The case number is 6:22-cv-00885.
The Biden administration promised to end Title 42 come May 23. However, the attorney generals learned through court filings provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the policy was being terminated prematurely.
The next hearing on that lawsuit is scheduled for May 13.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A local high school has enforced its district mask mandate relentlessly but students dropped their masks to participate in the “Day of Silence,” or “DOS,” a day of action for LGBTQ acceptance. Pre-pandemic, students participated by taping their mouths shut. This year was no different for some, according to reports received by AZ Free News.
Last Friday, the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Club at Betty H. Fairfax High School within the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) organized a slew of activities to commemorate students taking a vow of silence for the purported silencing that the LGBTQ+ community faces. The club handed out rainbow lanyards with DOS informational cards, rainbow stickers, and rainbow masks. There were several large tables set up outside with posters, and they encouraged students to participate in either of the two “solidarity circles” during lunch: students standing or walking in a circle holding hands.
AZ Free News reached out to PXU for comment. They didn’t respond by press time.
DOS and the GSA clubs, also identified by a number of other names such as “Genders & Sexualities Alliance” or “Queer-Straight Alliance” at other schools, are the brainchild of Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), an activist organization focusing on minors’ sexualization. GLSEN has expressed repeatedly that they never advocated for duct tape wearing for DOS, but acknowledged that it was a popular outward expression of the vow of silence.
Current students weren’t the only ones subject to GSA exposure that week. Several days prior to the DOS protest, Betty H. Fairfax High School welcomed future freshmen with a GSA booth, among others.
Several months before these events, the club passed out pronoun pins for students and faculty to wear on their lanyards.
Former Arizona Attorney General and Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Tom Horne said in a statement to AZ Free News that Arizona students’ SAT scores were above the national average but declined after he left office. Horne characterized the GSA club events like Day of Silence as diversions that hurt academic outcomes.
“This is because leadership has neglected the necessary emphasis on academics, with harmful diversions, such as critical race theory, or, as in this case, A day of silence, which interferes with learning,” said Horne. “Schools need to be teaching the academics and not promoting racially divisive critical race theory, or other similar diversions such as the day of silence. The exception for the mask mandate shows runaway hypocrisy. My heroes are teachers who love their subjects, and focus on teaching them, rather than those who see their role as pushing ideological agendas.”
Betty H. Fairfax High School GSA has led the charge on LGBTQ popularity and acceptance in the district for years. In 2018, they won the GSA of the Year award.
Then in 2019, the woman who started the GSA club, Dayna Monroe, won GSA Sponsor of the Year. Monroe explained in an interview on receiving the award that her efforts caused district-wide policy changes. Her students nicknamed her “Mommy Monroe,” with one female student likening Monroe to a “therapist” figure.
“Mrs. Monroe, I consider her my school mom. She’s someone I can trust,” testified another female student.
Monroe has taught in schools for 20 years, with a decade spent in PXU.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
