by Corinne Murdock | Dec 21, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Flagstaff City Council will consider requiring all single occupancy public restrooms to be gender-neutral. Affected restrooms would be those in city-owned buildings designed for one person, a family, or assisted use.
If enacted, the affected restrooms would be required to have “nongendered signage.” Instead, signs would read: “gender neutral,” “all gender,” or “restroom” without reference to a specific gender.
The Commission on Diversity Awareness characterized the change as equitable and ensuring safety for “gender non-conforming persons.” The commission also urged the council to recommend gender-neutral restrooms for all others not owned by the city.
The proposed push for gender-neutral restrooms arose out of the city’s application of the Municipal Equality Index: a metric designed by the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ activist and lobbying group in the country. The index measures from 0 to 100 the inclusivity of laws, policies, and services within five categories: non-discrimination laws, municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ equality.
Flagstaff scored 88 out of 100. They lost points in areas related to housing, health care, conversion therapy, youth bullying prevention, general resources, and all-gender facilities.
Some private facilities took the step toward gender-neutral accommodations years ago. The Flagstaff YMCA changed its single occupancy restrooms into gender-neutral ones in 2016 after a young transgender male lodged a complaint. The operations director received Northern Arizona University (NAU) LGBTQIA’s Ally of the Year award. The director reported that the sign change impacted the transgender male so profoundly that the parents cried over it. NAU established gender-neutral restrooms in 2015.
The site refugerestrooms.org lists the location of gender-neutral restrooms on Flagstaff and nationwide. The restroom locator service also comes in the form of an app.
The city commission discussed the policy proposal on Tuesday.
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 21, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Fully vaccinated and boosted Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly caught COVID-19 a day after insisting during last Wednesday’s Senate hearing that masks don’t offer much protection against the virus on planes. Kelly’s spokespersons reported his symptoms as minimal.
“I think the case is very strong that masks don’t add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment,” said Kelly. “It’s very safe and high-quality compared to any other indoor setting.”
Planes rely on a filtration system that the Defense Department reported as making the risk of transmission low.
Surgical and cloth masks have limited potential for preventing aerosolized COVID-19 particles from potentially being breathed in or out by the wearer. Breathing and talking emit particles about the size of 1 micron. COVID-19 alone tends to be around .1 microns in size, ranging from as small as .06 microns to .14 microns; surgical masks can filter out particles sized at 2.5 microns or greater. Their greatest effect is to block larger respiratory droplets containing COVID-19, such as those within coughs or sneezes that are typically 5 microns or bigger.
N95 masks may provide greater efficacy because they’re rated to filter out 95 percent of particles sized .3 microns or greater.
Following the hearing, Kelly released a statement reiterating his support for the federal mandate for masks on planes.
Kelly tested negative for the virus multiple times prior to the hearing.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby sat on either side of Kelly at the hearing. Spokespersons for both companies confirmed that both CEOs tested negative on Friday.
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 20, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Recent IRS filings revealed that Arizona received nearly $5.17 million during the 2020 election from the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), pumped with over $350 million from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to funnel into election offices nationwide. The Zuckerberg funds were intended to provide COVID-19 relief; in large part, they funded controversial election methods like ballot drop-boxes. The Capital Research Center (CRC) first announced the CTCL IRS filings.
The CTCL numbers concurred with AZ Free News reporting earlier this year on CRC data, which reported that CTCL spent just over $5 million in Arizona. In fact, the CRC estimate turned out to be slightly lower.
According to the IRS filings, CTCL’s biggest grant was Maricopa County at over $1.84 million. The runner-up grant amounted to over $950,400 awarded to Pima County. Several counties received slightly under or over half a million each: Navajo County received over $593,700, Apache County received nearly $589,700, Coconino County received over $524,500, and Pinal County received over $472,500.
Yuma County still received a six-figure grant: over $180,700. La Paz County was the odd man out with a $17,500 grant.
President Joe Biden won the following counties funded by CTCL grants: Maricopa (50.3 percent), Apache (66.2 percent), Coconino (60.9 percent), Pima (58.6 percent). Biden also won Santa Cruz (67.2 percent), which had no CTCL grants.
Pima County Supervisors Ally Miller and Steve Christy voted against certifying the 2020 election over the Zuckerberg grants, as Miller explained in an opinion piece published in the Arizona Daily Independent last month. The supervisors didn’t believe the grant money was helping to secure the election.
Of those counties he won, Biden flipped Maricopa from the 2016 election — which Hillary Clinton lost by over four points. He also earned about four percent more of the votes than Clinton in the counties they both won.
Biden lost the following counties funded by CTCL grants: Navajo (45.2 percent), Pinal (40.6 percent), and La Paz (30 percent). However, he lost by a smaller margin than Clinton did, gaining an average of two more points in both counties.
CRC’s reported grants varied slightly from those given in the filings: they reported learning of nearly $3 million to Maricopa County, over $806,000 to Pinal County, nearly $614,700 to Coconino County, and over $593,200 to Apache County. Their estimate of La Paz County’s grant was accurate. CRC didn’t have data on the grants awarded to Navajo, Yuma, or Pima counties.
AZ Free News reached out to Maricopa County about the grant total discrepancy. They didn’t respond by press time.
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 20, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Passengers flying Avelo Airlines in and out of Tucson International Airport via Los Angeles’s Hollywood Burbank Airport can now utilize the TSA PreCheck expedited screening program, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday.
Avelo Airlines is known for its non-stop flights to smaller airport destinations which support access to wine regions, national parks, and cultural centers. The company describes itself as “the go-to airline for the outdoor purist, wine enthusiast, skier, nature lover, or anyone who wants smoother travel that saves money.”
In addition to Tucson, the airline also offers several flights from Hollywood Burbank Airport to northern California and the northwest U.S. Additional routes fly into Salt Lake City as well as Fort Collins / Loveland in Colorado.
Avelo’s acceptance into the TSA PreCheck program brings the total number of participating domestic and international carriers to more than 80.
TSA PreCheck is an expedited screening program which enables low-risk, eligible U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and U.S. lawful permanent residents departing from a U.S. airport to enjoy an efficient security screening experience. The cost is $85 for five years; TSA PreCheck is available at no cost for U.S. Armed Forces service members, including those serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, Reserves, and National Guard.
Approved TSA PreCheck travelers can avoid removing shoes, belts, liquids, food items, laptops and light jackets. The TSA reports that 94 percent of TSA PreCheck members waited less than five minutes to clear security at more than 200 U.S. airports in November 2021.
Avelo also has a base at southern Connecticut’s Tweed-New Haven Airport which serves several vacation destinations across Florida. More information about Avelo’s flights in and out of Tucson and its other routes can be found on the company’s website https://www.aveloair.com/destinations
Airline passengers who are members of other Department of Homeland Security Trusted Traveler Programs such as Global Entry, NEXUS and SENTRI may be eligible for TSA PreCheck screening. To find the program that best suits your travel needs, use the DHS traveler comparison online tool at https://ttp.dhs.gov/
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 20, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
The flood of illegal immigrants hasn’t slowed down in President Joe Biden’s border crisis, and it looks like it won’t anytime soon. According to Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) latest report, over 173,600 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the border in November — up nearly 5.5 percent from the previous month. The Office of Field Operations (OFO) accounted for much of that jump, reporting a 40 percent surge.
The majority of the fiscal year 2021 surge comes from single adults: nearly 64 percent. Less than 28 percent are family unit apprehensions (FMUA), and less than 8.5 percent are unaccompanied children (UC).
On Thursday, Border Patrol (BP) Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin showcased one of their latest catches: three illegal immigrants stuffed in the trunk of a sedan.
As AZ Free News reported, Modlin has consistently documented the reality of border apprehensions.
Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) criticized the Biden Administration for their continued lack of resolve over the border crisis. Gosar pointed out that more illegal immigrants crossed the border in the last three months than in all of former President Donald Trump’s final year in office.
“Mr. Biden’s open border policies are an open invitation to criminals and drug cartels to cross into our country unchecked,” said Gosar. “The crisis has reached a new level and Yuma, Arizona in my district is ground zero, as hundreds of illegal aliens cross into Yuma daily and even more are staging along the border waiting to simply walk across. Yuma is under siege because Mr. Biden and Border Czar Kamala Harris are nowhere to be found. The first priority of the President of the United States is to protect the people of America. Sadly, Joe Biden puts Americans last and he has lost the trust of its citizens.”
Amid the ongoing crisis, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected efforts to grant amnesty to up to 7 million illegal immigrants through the $2 trillion budget reconciliation bill. Based on Senate rules and nearly two centuries of precedent, MacDonough determined that the amnesty effort wouldn’t be permissible; reconciliation concerns spending and revenue, though Democrats have attempted to argue that immigration relates to those two subjects. That was the third proposal on illegal immigrant amnesty brought before MacDonough, which would have allowed those here illegally since at least 2010 to apply for up to two five-year work permits.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the ruling “deeply disappointing.” Psaki stated that their administration would continue working to secure amnesty.
“The decision by the parliamentarian is deeply disappointing and relegates millions to an uncertain and frightening future,” said Psaki. “Ultimately, it’s time for Congress to stop kicking the can down the road and finally provide certainty and stability to these groups, and make other badly needed reforms to our outdated immigration system.”
Conversely, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) applauded MacDonough’s opinion. FAIR President Dan Stein criticized Democrats’ attempts to abuse the reconciliation process.
“For the third time, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough rejected attempts by Senate Democrats to use the budget reconciliation process to enact a sweeping amnesty for as many as 7 million illegal aliens. FAIR applauds Ms. MacDonough for her integrity and ensuring that longstanding rules of the Senate were not subverted to achieve partisan political ends,” stated Stein. “Sadly, Senate Democrats, who hold the majority in that body solely because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote, have made repeated attempts to use budget reconciliation to make an end run around normal legislative procedures. We hope that this, her third rejection of these tactics, will finally put an end to their efforts to abuse the process in order to reward illegal aliens.”
Governor Doug Ducey has been working with Border Patrol to strengthen enforcement. Earlier this month, he announced the Arizona National Guard would provide 24 personnel, six vehicles, four ATVs, and one helicopter to support the Department of Public Safety, as well as additional tactical assistance in hotspots.
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 20, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Federally regulated banks across the United States have about 100 days to get familiar with a new rule that requires the reporting of cyberattacks and other computer security incidents to regulators within 36 hours and “as soon as possible” to customers if the incident might materially affect operations for at least four hours.
The rule announced by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (Fed), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) last month takes effect April 1. It applies to banking organizations such as national banks, federal savings associations, state member banks, U.S. operations of foreign banking organizations, federal branches and agencies of foreign banks, and U.S. bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies.
Under the new rule, reportable cyber incidents are those causing “actual harm” with respect to the availability, confidentiality, or integrity of a banking organization’s information system or the information that the system processes, stores or transmits. As a result, notification will not be required if an incident only threatens to cause a harm.
A banking organization’s service providers are also subject to the rule, which will now require notification by a service provider to the banking organization of incidents which has caused “or is reasonably likely to cause” a service interruption of four or more hours.
Federal banking officials concede the new reporting requirement won’t stop cyberattacks on the nation’s banks. It won’t even serve as a speed bump in such criminal activity.
What it will do, according to industry newsletter Banking Exchange, is give regulators and federal law enforcement officials a better chance of tracking attacks, identifying patterns, and ensuring local bank executives are doing their part to protect customer data and assets.
Some types of computer incidents involve new account or wire fraud, account penetration or takeovers, and malicious attacks such as ransomware. The disruption or degradation of a banking organization’s operations which would pose a threat to the country’s financial stability will also trigger the new reporting regulation.
OneSpan, a cybersecurity company specializing in banking, recently released its Global Financial Regulations Report which notes the main challenges for banking organization are reducing or preventing cyberattacks, safeguarding sensitive internal and customer data, and keeping up with changes in consumer privacy laws and industry rules.
The new banking regulation emphasizes material disruptions such as denial-of-service (DOS) attacks or data hacking incursions which limit or shutdown a banking organization’s operations regardless of whether customer information is compromised. However, some cyberattacks may also be subject to supplementary reporting under other federal or state laws.
Instructions will be sent to all regulated banks in early 2022 on when and how to process a notification.
