by Corinne Murdock | Dec 14, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Following an advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on youth mental health, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) encouraged educators to expand social-emotional learning (SEL) implementation. SEL encompasses a wide swath of subjects, including the controversial Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) and Critical Race Theory (CRT), to educate children on handling emotionally-charged issues while building social and self-awareness. SEL often centers around identity, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs.
ADE suggested their free online SEL Course as a means of fulfilling Murthy’s suggestion for educators to create a positive, safe, and affirming school environment. Their course focuses on equity, cultural responsiveness, and trauma sensitive practices. ADE also suggested the PAX Good Behavior Game, only granting free access to teachers and schools.
Citing Murthy, ADE insinuated that the mental health decline in youth would become the next crisis after the pandemic if left unchecked. ADE also asserted that schools are ideal partners for parents in addressing youth social and emotional wellness.
“Educators and school professionals are uniquely positioned to partner with families to best support student social, emotional, and academic wellbeing in our classrooms and schools,” stated the department. “[ADE] encourages school communities to read the latest Surgeon General Advisory to understand the position of young people better and implement the recommendations offered in the advisory.”
Although Murthy’s advisory pressed the importance of reversing the decline in youth mental health, he did also admit that the government lacked knowledge on the long-term impact of the pandemic on children’s mental wellness. In fact, Murthy further admitted that some youths actually “thrived” during the pandemic, reporting increased sleep and family quality time, less academic stress and bullying, and improved schedule flexibility and coping skills.
“Many young people are resilient, able to bounce back from difficult experiences such as stress, adversity, and trauma,” wrote Murthy. “Although the pandemic’s long-term impact on children and young people is not fully understood, there is some cause for optimism. According to more than 50 years of research, increase in distress symptoms are common during disasters, but most people cope well and do not go on to develop mental health disorders. Several measures of distress that increased early in the pandemic appear to have returned to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2020. Some other measures of wellbeing, such as rates of life satisfaction and loneliness, remained largely unchanged throughout the first year of the pandemic. And while data on youth suicide rates are limited, early evidence does not show significant increases.”
SEL hasn’t been the only controversial educational approach supported by ADE. Earlier this year, ADE advertised $5,000 teacher grants through the Pulitzer Center for those who would implement the 1619 Project. Simultaneously, the latest ADE statewide assessment results revealed that students are failing in English and math.
Although controversial among local parents and community members, SEL doesn’t appear to cause issues at the state level.
Governor Doug Ducey supported SEL expansion recently. In August, Ducey announced that a portion of the $65 million for learning programs would go to SEL. The controversial method received $1.6 million out of $20.1 million American Rescue Plan dollars.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobb nominated a Phoenix elementary school teacher for a national youth leadership award for her classroom activism rooted in and related to SEL.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 13, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) reportedly violated the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a law to dissuade insider trading, according to a compliance analysis from Insider. The report added that the senator either offered proof of payment or a resolution of applicable fines, totaling $1,000. None of Kelly’s staffers were reported in violation of the STOCK Act.
Kelly’s spokesman Jacob Peters assured Insider that the senator was committed to constituents, not special interests. He didn’t offer an explanation on the specific violation.
“Senator Kelly is transparent and accountable to Arizonans, not corporate special interests, which is why he is the only Senator who has taken the collective steps of placing his assets in qualified blind trusts, regularly posting his official Senate schedule on his Senate website, and refusing corporate PAC contributions to his campaign,” stated Peters.
In April, Kelly exercised a stock option in a company designing a supersonic aircraft called Boom Technology (previously called Boom Aerospace, also known as Boom Supersonic). In recent years, the company partnered with China to aid in development. Kelly didn’t file the disclosure until August: four months later. The STOCK Act requires legislators to disclose these actions within 30 days of notification or 45 days of transaction.
Kelly wasn’t alone in his violations, and far from the worst nationally; Insider reported at least 48 other congressmen and 182 congressional staffers also violated the STOCK Act. These findings came from “Conflicted Congress,” a review of adherence to the STOCK Act.
Insider ranked legislators’ compliance with the STOCK Act by marking them green, indicating good compliance; yellow, indicating borderline noncompliance; and red, indicating serious noncompliance and potential ethical issues. Kelly was marked yellow, along with Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-03). The remainder of Arizona’s senators and representatives were marked green.
Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) were the only two senators marked red. Tuberville’s profile cataloged 132 STOCK Act violations totaling $894,000 at least, but no staffer violations; the senator claimed that he paid applicable fines but didn’t provide proof. Feinstein’s profile cataloged one STOCK Act violation totaling over $15,000 at least; like Tuberville, Feinstein claimed that she paid applicable fines but didn’t provide proof. Three of Feinstein’s staffers also violated the STOCK Act.
Those Republican representatives marked red were: Pat Fallon (TX-04), with 118 violations totaling over $9.11 million; Lance Gooden (TX-05), with 12 violations totaling over $60,000; Kevin Hern (OK-01), with 25 violations totaling over $1.07 million; Blake Moore (UT-01), with 76 violations totaling $76,000 and one staffer violation; Chris Jacobs (NY-27), with 12 violations totaling $356,000 and one staffer violation; Dan Meuser (PA-09) with 36 violations totaling over $120,000; Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), with 728 violations totaling $728,000.
Those Democratic representatives marked red were: Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), with eight violations totaling over $11,000 and one staffer violation; Susie Lee (NV-03), with over 200 violations totaling at least $267,000; Tom Suozzi (NY-03) with approximately 300 violations totaling at least $3.2 million; Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), with 145 violations totaling at least $845,000; and Kim Schrier (WA-08) with one violation totaling over $500,000.
Some of the representatives and senators provided explanations or general comments for their Insider profile on these STOCK Act violations.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Dec 13, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Many Arizona small businesses were forced to shutter under Gov. Doug Ducey’s various pandemic executive orders, never to reopen. But after Michael Pollack learned his six-screen Pollack Cinemas in Tempe had to close in March 2020, he decided to use the time to renovate the business, which finally had its long anticipated reopening last week.
Pollack has achieved great success as a commercial and industrial real estate investor in Arizona, California, and Nevada. But he told AZ Free News that owning Pollack Cinemas “is more of a labor of love.”
Before Arizonans heard of COVID-19, the projectors at Pollack Cinemas had been running seven days and nights a week for several years. But indoor movie theaters and other “non-essential” businesses were suddenly closed down for several months. What could have been a curse became an opportunity, says Pollack, who was on hand Dec. 10 when the projectors were turned back on and movie-goers ponied up $3.50 for a ticket, the same price as the last decade
Yet despite the modernization, Pollack insists the discount theater’s motto remains the same – that quality is never compromised for price.
“Our mission has always been to provide our customers with a unique experience that starts at the front door.,” Pollack said. “At the heart of our theater is our vision to bring families together for a movie at a price everyone can afford.”
During the closure, Pollack and his wife Cheryl oversaw renovations that involved every aspect of their business located at McClintock Drive and Elliot Road. Many of the changes, such as touchless fixtures throughout the restrooms and 1,300 all new seats with an easier-to-sanitize leatherlike covering, were influenced by COVID-19.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to be as safe as possible,” Pollack said.
There are also new ceilings throughout the six theaters as well as new flooring and new contemporary lighting. But other upgrades, including an upgraded sound system, a redesigned concession stand, and 16 holograms located throughout the lobby, were about providing a high quality experience for audiences.
“The truth is it was a complete makeover,” Pollack says, one that would not have had as good of an outcome without the efforts of several Arizona contractors, including Shamrock Electric and Merestone Event Production. “Everything has been extremely well received.”
According to the Independent Cinema Alliance, its segment of the movie industry was responsible for $3 billion in annual sales pre-pandemic. That represented nearly 20 percent of the North American box office.
For now, Pollack Cinemas will show movies Friday through Sunday, with the family-friendly “Elf” returning for its annual holiday run. The other days are set aside for the six theaters to be rented out for meetings and special events, including one theater which seats nearly 290 people and can be easily transformed to host small concerts.
Pollack isn’t expecting to have sell-out audiences anytime soon. He understands it will take time to get movie-goers back into the habit of going out again.
“There are loyal movie-goers out there,” Pollack says, adding that he hopes to draw in new guests, particularly those only used to watching movies on little screens. “Pollack Cinemas has always offered a very cool, unique experience. No matter how big your home screen is, it’s not the same experience as you get at a movie theater. I look forward to sharing it with as many people as we can.”
On Dec. 17, there will be a special early screening of the biopic “American Underdog” about former Arizona Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner. It will be joined by several other movies, including Guillermo del Toro’s highly anticipated suspense / thriller “Nightmare Alley” with its all-star of Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, David Strathairn, Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, Ron Perlman, and Mary Steenburgen.
Pollack says he expects to offer online ticket purchasing later this month as well as reserved seating. More information about Pollack Cinemas and showtimes are available at https://www.pollacktempecinemas.com
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 12, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
The Phoenix chapter of a national activist group attempting to implement more LGBTQ and social justice-oriented curriculum in K-12 schools, Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), urged teachers to introduce controversial materials “under the radar” by incorporating them to personal classroom libraries. Even if teachers were caught, they were advised to just continue with their efforts after apologizing.
The advice came from a featured guest speaker and fellow activist who identified himself only as “Rex,” a high school teacher for over 16 years and co-sponsor of a high school GSA which he and his students call by an alternative name: “Student Alliance For Equality,” or “S.A.F.E.” club.
“It’s not hard and you [teachers] can do it. I guess I want to say you can do it under the radar without drawing attention to yourself. I would encourage you to try. If you get slapped down, you get slapped down, and you apologize and you move forward,” said the teacher. “It can be done. You need to be ready for some pushback. But I submit to you that the kids are ready, they’re willing and they’re open. It’s the adults that are struggling and stiff-arming and passing all the laws.”
The teacher went on to give a presentation on incorporating “inclusive curriculum” into K-12 classrooms alongside GLSEN Phoenix board member Andi Young. In addition to her activism, Young is seeking a master’s degree in social work from Arizona State University (ASU).
The Protect Arizona Children Coalition (PACC) first discovered this admission from GLSEN Phoenix. PACC President Lisa Fink told AZ Free News that their mission is to stop the push for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in K-12 schools.
GLSEN Phoenix’s advice to teachers came about a month after its co-founder and National Board Member, Dr. Madelaine Adelman, informed teachers and community members that their organization is attempting to become a statewide presence — “GLSEN Arizona.” Adelman alluded that GLSEN would venture into lobbying by establishing a presence in areas like the state capitol.
Adelman, an ASU associate professor of justice and social inquiry, expressed confidence in GLSEN Phoenix’s ability to grow into a statewide organization, citing their working relationship with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA).
“We already have a relationship with the Arizona Department of Education. We’re part of their task forces,” said . “We have a relationship with the Arizona School Boards Association and we work in coalition with them on different kinds of issues.”
ADE cites GLSEN heavily as a key reference for a variety of needs: student assistance, school or district policymaking, professional development, and parent training.
ASBA has featured GLSEN as an educator for its members — in 2019, GLSEN presented its research on the state of LGBTQ student experiences in K-12 schools during an ASBA series on equity. On Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s Gender Support page, GLSEN and ASBA are listed side by side as educational resources.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Dec 11, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
When the five members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) meet on Monday, they will discuss their differing opinions on what the new boundaries should be for Arizona’s 30 legislative districts and 9 congressional districts for the next decade.
Arizona’s current district boundaries in use since 2011 include seven legislative districts and two congressional districts with a Hispanic-majority population. The AIRC has looked at dozens of public-proposed maps, as well as draft maps proposed by the commissioners.
Yet despite the U.S. Census showing more Latinos were added to Arizona’s population than any other demographic, the number of Hispanic-majority districts is likely to not change. And that, according to AIRC observers, is due to the efforts—and political influence—of the Arizona Latino Coalition for Fair Redistricting.
But the Coalition does not appear to be interested solely in amplifying the political power of Arizona’s Hispanic population. Instead, it appears to only be interested in the segment of that population who are presumed be Democrats.
In fact, the group’s Statewide co-chairs—Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo and Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva—are both Democrats, as are the five regional co-chairs.
The Coalition also appears to be receiving strategic advice from DJ Quinlan, who worked closely with the AIRC’s Democratic members during the 2011 redistricting effort. Quinlan, a former top official of the Arizona Democratic Party, has admitted to an association with the Arizona Latino Coalition for Fair Redistricting.
Critics say the Coalition’s interest comes at the price of ignoring an increasingly vocal and involved group—conservative Hispanics. And those conservatives are calling out the hypocrisy of folks like Gallardo and Grijalva for appearing to speak for all Latinos.
“Hispanics are the fastest growing part of the Republican Party and make up quite a large segment of Independent voters as well,” Steve Montenegro told AZ Free News. “The idea that all Hispanics vote the same way is both stupid and inherently racist.”
Originally from El Salvador, Montenegro has long been a voice for conservative values and for the elimination of race-based policies. He served nearly 10 years in the Arizona House and Senate, rising to the position of House Majority Leader.
Montenegro says the fact is more minority Republicans are getting elected from a variety of districts, including majority white districts.
“Most voters don’t care about race, and it is time for our mapmaking process to remove race and ethnicity from the process, and stop grouping Americans and Arizonans on the basis of the color of our skin,” he said.
Montengro and others point to the Arizona Latino Coalition for Fair Redistricting’s initial advocacy for creating an 8th legislative district with a predominantly Hispanic population. But the group’s proposal was unceremoniously dropped.
Critics say the reason the group dumped the idea is that with so many Hispanic voters leaning to the Right, the Democratic Party leadership feared spreading Hispanic population centers among eight instead of seven legislative districts would have benefited conservative candidates instead.
“The [redistricting] process is driven by partisan goals masquerading as concerns about racial groups or communities of interest,” says Montenegro. “So the Left uses Hispanics when helpful to create Democrat districts and then suddenly no longer cares about Hispanics when it negatively impacts the number of Democrat districts they can draw. They made that obvious when the so-called Latino Coalition suddenly stopped caring about drawing more Latino districts.”
The shift away from creating an 8th Hispanic-majority legislative district also caught the attention of Sergio Arellano, who served on the Latinos for Trump coalition.
“It is incumbent on us to call out the hypocrisy and lack of authenticity of Latino groups claiming to represent us all,” says Arellano, a Veteran, a businessman, and a Latino community leader who strives to support conservative candidates and causes. “For far too long, we have allowed others to speak for a demographic as if it is a monolith.”
And although it appears the new legislative district maps will be intentionally drawn to avoid an 8th Hispanic-majority district, Arellano insists he would have embraced the opportunity provided by such a district.
“It would be an incredible experiment to have had that additional district because that would become the catalyst that tears down the narrative about Latinos being Democratic; it would serve as a platform to prove once and for all who has the best interest of the community and state at heart,” he says. “Personally, it would be a dream come true to have the opportunity to run in an all-out Hispanic district against the racist liberal Democratic Party nominees.”
The same concerns have been raised with the Arizona Latino Coalition for Fair Redistricting’s involvement in how the state’s nine Congressional districts are configured.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the new CD maps must have at least two majority Latino districts to avoid reducing the current minority status. The Coalition noted in a letter to the AIRC in October of its interest ensuring the Congressional districts were formed to “protect and enhance majority Latino districts, helping to ensure that Latino voters have the ability to elect a candidate of their choice.”
And again, the Coalition considered proposing another Hispanic-majority Congressional district “due to the growth of the Latino population in Arizona.” The group did not pursue the idea, however, in order to preserve “the voting strength of the community.”
Yet some of the draft maps submitted to the AIRC by interested parties were able to maintain two Hispanic-majority districts while splitting up some predominantly Hispanic population centers or aligning smaller Hispanic communities with traditionally Republican areas that were in closer physical proximity.
Those maps were quickly discarded, which critics contend was due to ensuring Democrats did not end up in a more competitive race. And Montenegro believes some of the Democrats involved in the redistricting effort are actually using the Voting Rights Act to undermine the political interests of conservative Hispanic voters.
“The idea that you draw a district filled with Hispanics who will then elect a Hispanic and be happy because they’re represented by a Hispanic is dumb,” he says. “The left will tell them to smile and be happy because of the ethnicity of their representation, but only actual racists care about that as opposed to the votes and ideology of their representative.”
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 11, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock
Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema voted against a resolution to nullify President Joe Biden’s mandate that businesses with 100 or more employees get vaccinated for COVID-19 or implement weekly testing.
The only Democrats to vote for the resolution were Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT). The resolution was sponsored by Senator Mike Braun (R-IN). As AZ Free News reported, it was based on the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which establishes that the House and Senate together may overturn a federal regulation without presidential approval.
The two senators didn’t address their vote against stopping Biden’s vaccine mandate, one that aligned with a majority of their party. A day after that vote, Sinema said that she encouraged all Arizonans to get vaccinated quickly in a post announcing COVID-19 vaccinations through the Phoenix Veterans Affairs (VA).
“We strongly encourage all veterans — and all eligible Arizonans — to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” wrote Sinema.
At the end of October, Kelly asserted that the goal was to “beat” COVID-19 through higher vaccination rates.
“Our mission is to beat this virus. The science and data are clear. Vaccines save lives,” wrote Kelly. “Higher vaccination rates = Mission Success.”
Around that same time, Sinema posted a similar affirmation of the necessity to vaccinate most, if not all, Arizonans.
“Glad to see the continued progress toward returning to normal. We’re encouraging all eligible Arizonans to get the vaccine for our continued health and economic recovery,” wrote Sinema.
Sinema followed up with an urge to vaccinate as many American youths as possible.
“The sooner young Arizonans get vaccinated, the sooner our schools can fully return to safe and effective in-person learning. We strongly encourage all Arizona families to get vaccinated as soon as vaccines are available,” wrote Sinema.
Big COVID-19 Pharma hasn’t spent much on Kelly directly, but they have invested in Sinema.
Pfizer spent over $1 million on Democratic congressional candidates and nearly $860,200 on Republican congressional candidates in the 2020 election. They didn’t donate to Kelly’s campaign directly, but they did donate $10,000 to an affiliated PAC, “BOLD,” which donated $3,000 to Kelly. In fact, Pfizer donated $7,500 to Kelly’s Republican opponent Martha McSally. Pfizer did donate $2,500 to Sinema and $5,000 to her PAC, “Getting Stuff Done.”
Pfizer spent under $360,000 on Republican House candidates versus $288,000 on Democratic House candidates, and $190,386 on Republican Senate candidates versus $75,300 on Democratic Senate candidates. The company did spend more on Democratic campaign committees than Republican ones, by around $22,000.
Johnson & Johnson had similar donation patterns: they didn’t donate to Kelly, but they did donate $4,500 to Sinema. They also donated $10,000 to BOLD.
Johnson & Johnson also donated more to Republicans overall in the 2019-2020 election cycle: $160,500 to Republican committees versus $121,000 to Democratic committees, $214,500 to Republican House candidates versus $211,750 to Democratic House candidates, $67,000 to Republican Senate candidates versus $47,500 to Democratic Senate candidates. The same was true when it came to governors’ associations: the Republican Governors Association received $105,000 compared to $55,000 for the Democratic Governors Association.
Committees for the Republican and Democratic committees for the House and Senate all received $30,000. The company gave $10,000 each to the Democratic and Republican Parties of Arizona ahead of the 2020 election.
Moderna stated as recently as June that they don’t plan on endorsing a political action committee (PAC), and that they wouldn’t engage in partisan donorship for candidates.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
