by AZ Free News | Jul 20, 2021 | News
PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey today selected Bob Herbold, whose foundation provides scholarships to higher education students, and Jessica Pacheco, an active member of the community with years of leadership experience, to fill recent vacancies on the Arizona Board of Regents.
“Bob and Jessica are both actively involved in communities throughout Arizona, and they have vast experience in public service and leadership roles,” said Governor Ducey. “I’m grateful for their commitment to serving Arizona’s students, universities and taxpayers. I know they will be excellent additions to the Board of Regents.”
The selection of Herbold and Pacheco will fill vacancies made by Kathryn Hackett King and Karrin Taylor Robson, who ended their terms early to pursue other opportunities.
Herbold is the President of The Herbold Foundation, which provides scholarships to master’s and PhD students in the areas of engineering and computer science at several universities. He is the Managing Director of The Herbold Group and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
In 1994, Herbold joined Microsoft as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, retiring in 2001. During his tenure in that position, he was responsible for finance, corporate marketing, market research, manufacturing and distribution, information systems, human resources, and public relations. From 2001 to 2003, Herbold worked half-time for Microsoft as Executive Vice President assisting in customer, industry, and government issues.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Herbold spent 26 years at The Procter & Gamble Company. In his last 5 years with P&G, he served as senior Vice President of Marketing and Information Services. In that role, he was responsible for the company’s worldwide marketing/brand management operations as well as all marketing related services such as media and retail promotion programs. He was also responsible for the worldwide information technology and market research organizations.
Herbold also has extensive experience as a corporate board member, having served on the boards of directors of Agilent Technologies, Neptune Orient Shipping Lines, Weyerhaeuser and many others over the past 20 years.
Herbold has a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati and both a master’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in computer science from Case Western Reserve University. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from the Case Western Reserve University, the University of Cincinnati and the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
“I’m honored to be selected to join the Board of Regents by Governor Ducey,” said Herbold. “Arizona’s universities do an excellent job in serving students, maintaining talented educators and engaging with their communities — and I look forward to helping the Board of Regents to build on this continued success.”
Pacheco, currently is a managing partner at Horizon Strategies where she leads local engagement and policy strategies. She has extensive private sector experience and for over 22 years held various executive positions in a Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, including Vice President of Corporate Development and External Communications, Vice President of External Communications, and Vice President of State and Local Affairs.
Pacheco’s primary responsibilities at Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, the parent company of Arizona Public Service Company, included state and local engagement strategies, policy strategy, reputation and brand management, external and customer communications, economic development within the utility service territory and developing and expanding business opportunities within the unregulated entities under the parent umbrella.
Pacheco serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Arizona-Mexico Commission and serves on the Executive Committee for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. She is active as a director with a number of other community and business organizations. Pacheco is a past chair of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce Foundation, past director for the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board and Maricopa Community College Foundation Board and is past chair of the Border Trade Alliance Board.
Pacheco earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. She has taught a seminar at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business on utility engagement in public policy and campaign management. She is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program and the Nuclear Reactor Technology Course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
by Terri Jo Neff | Jul 20, 2021 | Education, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
In a partial victory for 20 state attorneys general, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) backtracked on Monday on plans that would have prioritized $5 million in grant funds for American history and civics lessons that focus on the issue of racial marginalization.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich was among those who signed a letter sent in May to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona expressing “deep concerns” with proposed changes to how American history and civics instruction programs would be taught in K-12 schools across the country.
DOE had announced in April that some of the agency’s grant funding for history and civics instruction would be prioritized for programs which reflect “the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students into teaching and learning.” That plan, however, received a large backlash.
A notice on July 19 in the Federal Register states DOE will consider grant proposals which “promote new and existing evidence-based strategies to encourage innovative American history, civics and government, and geography instruction” including those which address “systemic marginalization, biases, inequities, and discriminatory policy and practice in American history.”
But DOE has promised to not give such proposals an automatic advantage or competitive edge over other history and civics instruction grant requests. The application period opened Monday.
“The Department recognizes the value of supporting teaching and learning that reflects the rich diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students,” Cardona wrote on the DOE website. “As every parent knows, when students can make personal connections to their learning experiences, there are greater opportunities for them to stay engaged in their education and see pathways for their own futures.”
The Federal Register notice marks a major change by DOE exactly two months after Brnovich and several colleagues complained to Cardona that the grant priorities announced in April were a “thinly veiled attempt” to promote the controversial teachings of the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory (CRT).
The 1619 Project’s focus on America’s history is changed from 1776 to 1619 when the first Africans arrived at what was Colonial Virginia one year before the arrival of Pilgrims near Plymouth Rock. CRT views or interprets American history and civics primarily through the narrow prism of race.
The attorneys general argued to Cardona that DOE’s promotion of CRT and the 1619 Project and ideologies would be endorsing the teaching of a warped, factually deficient view of American history. Their letter asked that the proposed priorities not be adopted or that DOE make clear that grants may not be used to fund projects which characterize the United States as irredeemably racist or founded on principles of racism instead of principles of equality.
DOE’s notice in the National Register did not go as far as the attorneys general wanted, but it is seen as a partial victory which guarantees grant applications for for history and civics lessons which veer substantially from traditional lessons will not have an advantage.
by AZ Free News | Jul 19, 2021 | News
On Friday, Governor Doug Ducey called on Arizona’s congressional delegation to urge the Biden-Harris administration not to lift Title 42 border protections. In his letter to delegation members, the Governor expressed Arizona’s grave concern about reports the Biden administration plans to roll back Title 42 border protections imminently.
“I am writing to you today to share details of the impact this dangerous and misguided idea would have on Arizona and to request your assistance on behalf of the people of Arizona in urging the Biden administration to maintain these critical protections,” the Governor wrote to Arizona’s two U.S. Senators and nine U.S. Representatives.
The Governor’s letter to the delegation comes after he urged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle P. Walensky on Tuesday not to lift Title 42.
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“Lifting Title 42 now would prohibit the vast majority of those expulsions and result in hundreds of thousands of additional migrants entering the United States and being permitted to stay, without a plan to test or vaccinate those that may spread not just COVID-19 but also the numerous variants that are beginning to spread throughout the world and are deadlier than COVID-19 itself,” Governor Ducey states in the letter. “It is clear that the Biden administration does not have a plan, the resources, the facilities, or indeed the ability to deal with the unaccompanied minors and families currently being permitted to cross.”
Governor Ducey recently signed into law more than $55 million in funding for the Arizona National Guard border mission and assistance for local law enforcement with border security operations. Governor Ducey and Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked all U.S. governors to send available law enforcement resources to Arizona and Texas to assist with border security efforts. Governor Ducey and 19 fellow governors also wrote a letter calling on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to reverse their destructive policies that have created the crisis at the southern border.
***
Dear Members of Arizona’s Congressional Delegation,
This week I sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky expressing Arizona’s grave concern about reports the Biden administration plans to roll back Title 42 border protections imminently. I am writing to you today to share details of the impact this dangerous and misguided idea would have on Arizona and to request your assistance on behalf of the people of Arizona in urging the Biden administration to maintain these critical protections.
Should the Biden administration choose to end these protections, they would be causing nothing short of a catastrophic surge of both illegal immigration and COVID-19 disease along our southern border. As Arizona continues to deal with the man-made crisis at our border, ending Title 42 will threaten the health and safety of not only Arizonans, but all Americans, and our already broken border will explode, overwhelming border patrol, law enforcement, non-profits and health care professionals. By lifting this policy, the Biden administration will be responsible for not only exacerbating our border crisis, but in effect, proactively and knowingly importing COVID-19 variants into the United States, starting in border states like Arizona.
Under Title 42, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may prohibit the entry of individuals into the country when “there is a serious danger of the introduction of a communicable disease into the United States.” Since the implementation of the Title 42 order, we have all seen that other countries — especially those south of the United States — have had difficulty in managing the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to struggle with testing and vaccination of those in their countries.
Title 42 has ensured that the risk posed by migration to the United States of those to our southern border is mitigated to protect our citizens. In March, April, and May of this year alone, Title 42 has allowed Customs and Border Protection to swiftly expel over 329,000 individuals who had crossed into the United States without legal authorization to do so. Lifting Title 42 now would prohibit the vast majority of those expulsions and result in hundreds of thousands of additional migrants entering the United States and being permitted to stay, without a plan to test or vaccinate those that may spread not just COVID-19 but also the numerous variants that are beginning to spread throughout the world and are deadlier than COVID-19 itself.
It is clear that the Biden administration does not have a plan, the resources, the facilities, or indeed the ability to deal with the unaccompanied minors and families currently being permitted to cross. In fact, the administration has resorted to using hotels and motels with little monitoring to house these unaccompanied minors and families due to the lack of infrastructure available to support such an influx of migrants. Adding hundreds of thousands of single adults will only exacerbate the problem.
The Biden administration has stated that “now is not the time for migrants to come to the US Border,” but revoking Title 42 is tantamount to issuing a cordial invitation and will certainly be used as such in communications by the cartels and human smugglers that entice people in Central America to make the dangerous journey north in order to turn a profit. These organizations have very little concern for the well-being of those being trafficked let alone those in the United States.
An open-borders strategy is never wise, but it is an even worse idea right now, as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb in many countries south of our border. Title 42 is one of the only measures remaining in place which allows not only the federal authorities but also state and local public health professionals to maintain public health that they have worked so hard for over the past 17 months of this pandemic. To continue to ensure the safety and security that we have achieved in this country following the COVID-19 outbreak, our borders cannot withstand a surge in migration that the lifting of Title 42 will cause.
With legal travel still limited between the United States, Mexico and Canada due to the pandemic, and the administration continuing to advocate for federal, state and local restrictions on schools and private businesses, lifting Title 42 would be nothing short of outrageous and an insult to all Americans who have been forced to deal with these restrictions.
I am strongly urging the Biden administration to keep the Title 42 order in place until all other COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and the United States has some assurances that those countries to our south have implemented strategies to protect against its spread.
I respectfully request your assistance and advocacy on this critical matter. Thank you for your consideration of these issues and please let our office know if there is anything we can do to assist as you are representing our state in Washington D.C.
Sincerely,
Douglas A. Ducey
Governor
State of Arizona
by Terri Jo Neff | Jul 19, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released June 2021 operational statistics for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last week, and it shows undocumented migrants are still seeking entry -legally and illegally- along the Southwest Border at an overwhelming rate.
According to CBP, there were 188,829 encounters in June 2021 with persons attempting entry along the Southwest Border. June’s total was a 5 percent increase over May 2021, which in turn had one of the highest encounter totals in nearly two years.
But CBP says more than one-third of the persons who attempted entry in June had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months. That means the number of people who had first-time encounters with CBP in June was 123,838.
CBP suspects the large number of expulsions during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the unusually high number of migrants making multiple border crossing attempts.
The majority of all June encounters resulted in a Title 42 expulsion, according to a July 16 statement by CBP. Migrant single adults continue to make up the majority of encounters along the Southwest Border, with nearly 105,000 individuals being expelled.
Encounters with family units (at least one adult with at least one child) increased by 25 percent in June 2021, up to 55,805 from 44,746 in May. However, CBP says this was well below the all-time peak of 88,587 family units in May 2019.
Unfortunately, CBP says the number of encounters along the Southwest Border with unaccompanied children increased to 15,253 in June 2021 from 14,137 in May 2021. The good news is that the average time in CBP custody for unaccompanied children fell from 133 hours on March 29 to 28 hours on June 30.
“This sustained progress is a result of the steps DHS took to reengineer processes and mobilize personnel Department-wide, including designating FEMA to lead a whole of government effort to assist the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),” according to the July 16 statement. “This support has included establishing temporary facilities that provide safe, sanitary, and secure environments for unaccompanied children as well as continued support from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to efficiently and effectively verify claimed sponsors to support the reunification process.”
The number of distress calls and medical emergencies that CBP responded to also increased in June as smugglers were more likely to abandon migrants who fell behind due to the summer heat.
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“Although CBP does everything it can to locate and rescue individuals who are lost or distressed, the bottom line is this: the terrain along the border is extreme, the summer heat is severe, and the miles of desert migrants must hike after crossing the border in many areas are unforgiving,” according to CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, CBP conducted 9,500 rescues nationwide, the vast majority along the Southwest Border. The agency continues to expand its technological capabilities, and has deployed 120 rescue beacons which are equipped with lights and signage visible from a distance.
Rescues are also facilitated through 2,165 placards CBP has deployed in remote areas throughout the Southwest Border. The placards inform migrants to call 911 and are uniquely numbered to provide rescuers with location coordinates.
CBP is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our nation’s borders at and between official ports of entry. The agency is also charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.
In April, President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus to head CBP and its 60,000 employees. As of press time the U.S. Senate has not been asked by the White House to move forward with a confirmation hearing.
by Terri Jo Neff | Jul 19, 2021 | Economy, Education, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Arizona’s three public universities produced more degrees in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 than in any previous year, but the state continues to lag the national average for the number of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree, according to a report issued by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR).
The ABOR’s recent College Completion Report shows graduates at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and University of Arizona earned a combined 47,531 degrees for FY2020. That represents a 29 percent increase over the last five years and includes 33,973 bachelor’s degrees, of which 21,425 were earned by Arizona resident students.
The report also shows all three universities significantly increased bachelor’s degrees in key STEM fields in FY2020, producing a combined 9,295 bachelor’s degrees, a 61.7 percent increase over the last five years. The universities also awarded substantially more bachelor’s degrees in health fields in 2020 – conferring 2,879 degrees, a 46.6 percent increase over the last five years.
At the same time, students earned 6,086 bachelor’s degrees in Business, far exceeding any other field of study. However, the ABOR report shows there was a decline in bachelor’s degrees awarded in Education by Arizona’s three public universities at only 1,586. There were also declines in the Agriculture & Agriculture Operations degree program as well as Foreign Languages & Linguistics program.
However, Architecture & Related Sciences saw an unexpectedly strong increase at a time when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting the job market for the industry is expected to grow only one percent from 2019 to 2029.
Despite the upbeat focus of the ABOR report, U.S. Census records show only 29 percent of Arizonans hold a bachelor’s degree or more, far short of the national average of 35 percent.
In response, the regents are kicking off the “New Economy Initiative” which seeks to raise Arizona’s competitiveness by increasing educational attainment, “leading to increased prosperity for individuals and Arizona.”
The business plan of the ABOR’s $120 million New Economy Initiative is designed, according to the regents’ website, “to enhance Arizona’s competitiveness with strategic investments in areas of strength at our three public universities. This targeted approach to workforce development in high-value industries will yield a positive return on state investment.”
The website shows the funding includes $46 million for ASU to be used in part to design and launch “the largest center for engineering education and research in the United States” and to grow enrollments to more than 25,000. It also seeks to make metro Phoenix “the leading center for engineer talent production in America.”
NAU has been allocated $22 million to “provide talent in high demand fields with an emphasis on health care programs in regional locations, including mental and behavioral health, to address the state’s needs as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Meanwhile, UofA would receive $32 million through the New Economy Initiative to enhance medical professional and researcher training, to enhance capacity for students’ careers in national security, space technology, and planetary defense; and to develop Arizona’s only School of Mining into “a world-class leader in mining for the 21st century.”
Other highlights from the ABOR’s FY2020 College Completion Report include the fact a combined 13,558 graduate degrees were conferred in the same period, which represented a record number of master’s (11,387) and doctoral (2,171) degrees.
The most master’s degrees were in the fields of business management, education, engineering, health professions, and public administration, while the greatest numbers of doctoral degrees were in the fields of education, engineering, health, legal professions, and physical sciences.
by Terri Jo Neff | Jul 18, 2021 | Economy, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Last week Gov. Doug Ducey announced he was spending $101 million of federal funds to launch the Visit Arizona Initiative in order to increase tourism spending, bolster job creation, and accelerate economic recovery in the state through marketing, event and attraction support, and outdoor recreation revitalization.
“Tourism is essential for Arizona’s booming economy and job growth,” said Governor Ducey. “Thousands of Arizonans who work in the tourism industry were displaced due to the pandemic. Now that our economy is strong, jobs are readily available and visitors are coming to our beautiful state, we are making sure employment opportunities continue to grow for hard workers across Arizona,” the Governor said.
But many communities and businesses which heavily rely on tourism are not sitting back waiting on state officials. That is especially true in Tombstone located in central Cochise County.
Tombstone’s numerous small businesses were decimated by last year’s COVID-19 lockdowns, social distancing requirements, and travel restrictions which prevented any semblance of a 2021 winter tourist season. As a result, business owners are ramping up event promotions and advertising, and have started collaborating on new events, including several not directly focused on the city’s Old West history.
“We certainly welcome any support Governor Ducey can provide, but those of us in Tombstone cannot wait weeks or months for state agencies to decide how to give out the money and who gets it,” said one longtime business owner. “It’s imperative we take steps now to ensure our survival.”
For years the big attractions in Tombstone have been Helldorado Days (first held in 1929), Vigilante Days, and Wyatt Earp Days. But after baby-boomers visit once, there’s not much to bring them back again. “And we see younger people are not all that keen on watching show, they want activity.”
So new events are being offered to garner not only traditional tourists, but also long-weekenders from New Mexico and California, day-trippers, and local residents.
One of those event coordinators is Sherry Rudd, co-owner of the Tombstone Mustachery. Rudd created Doc Holli-Days in August 2017 with movie star Val Kilmer (of the movie Tombstone) as grand marshal. More than 10,000 people descended on the city, known by locals as the Town To Tough To Die.
Actors Dennis Quaid was grand marshal in 2018 and Michael Biehn held the honor in 2019. COVID-19 tried to kill off Doc Holli-Days 2020 but Rudd held a scaled down event with westerns actors Buck Taylor and Peter Sherayko as featured guests, even though the parade activity has been dropped.
This year Rudd is bringing in country crooner Aaron Tippin for Doc Holli-Days on Aug. 14 and 15. Tippin will put on a concert at Old Tombstone Western Theme Park, and comedian Josh Pray is also making an appearance over the weekend.
Rudd, also known as Mrs. Tombstone 2020, is promoting other concerts at Old Tombstone Western Theme Park, including Dukes of Hazzard star Tom Wopat, the Bellamy Brothers, and John Anderson. She also organized a book-signing event earlier this year with Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb which drew hundreds of attendees from as far as Las Cruces, New Mexico.
But events require a lot of support. One of Tombstone’s biggest fans is the family which owns Arlene’s Gallery, an upscale jewelry and art store that opened on historic Allen Street more than four decades.
Over the years the business has grown to include Arlene’s Southwest Trading Company, Arlene’s Southwest Silver & Gold, and the Branding Iron, which sells authentic western wear. All of which have sponsored various events including Doc Holli-Days.
Store owner Adam Klein, whose mother founded the business, appeared on a Tucson news show to promote Vigilante Days, while also showcasing some of the store’s one-of-a-kind jewelry. Klein also produced a 15-second commercial that can be easily shared via social media to draw attention to both Tombstone’s Old West history and the stores’ offerings.
Klein has also launched an updated website which allows online sales and ensures tourists who come to Tombstone know what the stores offer.
“Many of the visitors who come to Arlene’s remark that they didn’t expect to find the Tombstone shopping district so vibrant—or to include artwork and jewelry,” according to the website. “We take this sentiment to heart, filling our shops with a diverse selection of unexpected items you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.”
Business owners, local politicians, and chambers of commerce in other southern Arizona communities are also recognizing the need to think outside the box.
In nearby Sierra Vista, a city councilwoman worked for several months with Rep. Gail Griffin to have the city declared the Hummingbird Capital of Arizona. The governor signed the legislation in May, triggering several national news mentions of the tourism opportunities in the area.
On July 24, the seven of the wineries and vineyards in the Sonoita-Elgin area are participating in a Harvestfest & Grape Stomp. The event, which has been heavily advertised in Maricopa County, has sold out of VIP tickets but still has about 200 general admission tickets available.
Meanwhile, the Tubac Chamber of Commerce is promoting the November 2021 Tubac Art & Wine Fiesta and is already publicizing the February 2022 Tubac Festival of the Arts, one of the southwest’s longest running art shows. Advertisements for Tubac’s many events are hitting cities far from Santa Cruz County.
