by Terri Jo Neff | Aug 28, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
One Arizona produce company has resolved a reparation order issued last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in favor of a seller, while two other companies have yet to make payment.
According to the USDA, Rio Rico-based Lorex Produce LLC has satisfied a $48,826 reparation order issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) in February 2020 involving unpaid produce transactions with a Florida seller. As a result, Lorex Produce can continue operating in the produce industry upon applying for and being issued a license under PACA.
In addition, company officials Francisco Alejandro Lopez Rodriguez and Enok Aristiga Ayala may now be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee.
The USDA’s PACA Division is part of the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service. It provides an options for handling disputes involving contractual obligations in the buying and selling of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables produce transactions.
The USDA is authorized to suspend a PACA license -or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business- for failure to pay a reparations award. The agency can also prohibit sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors or major stockholders of any sanctioned company from being employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without securing USDA approval.
Last week’s announcement that Lorex Produce has fully satisfied its PACA order leaves two other Arizona companies on the reparation list.
Perfect Harvest Inc., operating in Nogales, was sanctioned last year for failing to pay a $243,240 reparation award in favor of an in-state seller. As of the issuance date of the order, Jorge A. Mercado was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business. He may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without securing USDA approval.
The other company, Arizona Lemons LLC, operated out of Phoenix. It is the subject of a $16,776 reparation award in favor of a Minnesota seller who was not paid. Company officials Martha E. Bombela and Jose R. Partida may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without securing USDA approval.
When the USDA announced its sanctions against Lorex Produce last year, the agency noted it “continues to enforce the prompt and full payment for produce while protecting the rights of sellers and buyers in the marketplace.” In the past three years, more than 3,600 claims were resolved involving more than $104 million.
by Corinne Murdock | Aug 28, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
A mother recently discovered that her sixth grader’s teacher slipped a politicized jab at Governor Doug Ducey’s opposition to school mask mandates into a homework assignment. Cocopah Middle School Language Arts teacher Susan Mulhern included a question asking students to check the grammar of a sentence asking when Ducey would impose K-12 mask mandates statewide. The question is reproduced below:
“What THREE rules would correct the following two sentences’ errors: ‘When will governor Ducey mandate the use of masks in schools?’ inquired william. I think it is time to begin that at cherokee elementary school.”
Just one of the politically charged questions on a homework assignment from Cocopah Middle School Language Arts teacher Susan Mulhern.
To clarify, Cherokee Elementary School had nothing to do with the assignment. The mother of the student, Joanna Lawson, explained to AZ Free News that Mulhern had only happened to mention the other elementary school in the homework question.
“[The statement] doesn’t reflect all of the beliefs of the students or their families. It’s no place for politics or personal opinion, and it creates divisiveness,” observed Lawson.
Lawson told AZ Free News that this homework assignment was just one of several issues they’d experienced.
Last week, Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) forced Lawson’s son to quarantine after being listed as a “close contact” with an infected student. This occurred prior to SUSD instituting its mask mandate. After missing four full days of instruction, Mulhern’s first response when Lawson’s son returned to class was to email Lawson that her son was “falling behind.”
The Language Arts teacher also claimed that Lawson’s son hadn’t turned in a certain assignment. Lawson responded with proof that they had – and received no response from Mulhern. Instead, Mulhern reportedly singled Lawson’s son out in class the day he’d returned from the forced quarantine.
“He came home that same night and burst into tears. He told me that she’d singled him out in class for falling behind,” recounted Lawson. “He feels this pressure, and what’s worse, it triggers a lot of what is happening during the COVID lockdown and when we were trying to do this stuff from home.”
Lawson’s son also recounted how Mulhern told students that day that they needed to mask up because “coronavirus lives in your nose.”
Lawson, a single mother, described to AZ Free News how school has become a looming burden for their family. She explained that the four days of in-person education lost has a ripple effect on the rest of her son’s education.
“Not only is he behind those four full days of instruction – then he’s behind on a quiz, a project. It compounds, and I’m feeling the weight of all of that here,” explained Lawson. “I’m also trying to divide my attention between a fourth grader and sixth grader between working, while making dinner, while doing laundry, and all of the things that we’re doing as parents. It’s really disheartening.”
Lawson explained that her family is new to this school this year, and wasn’t aware of the district’s quarantining policies. According to Lawson, Mulhern told her that students were expected to keep up with their schoolwork during forced quarantines if they weren’t “actually sick.”
All of these incidents in the first few weeks back to school has Lawson questioning whether her family will continue to be part of SUSD. She told AZ Free News that the public schools they’ve experienced are nothing like what she’d experienced growing up.
“This has me really doubting whether I should keep my sons in [SUSD],” said Lawson. “They’re the ones at the end of all of this that will suffer. This does not feel the same as the elementary school I went to as a girl.”
It appears from Mulhern’s summer reading assignments that politicized educational material isn’t a new endeavor for her.
One of the assigned course readings, “The Perfect Shot” by Elaine Marie Alphin, is a murder mystery that grapples with social justice issues like racial profiling and systemic racism. The syllabus’ synopsis emphasizes that one of the protagonist’s Black peers was arrested only because he was Black, and hints that the justice system is unfair to minorities.
“Someone murdered Brian’s girlfriend, Amanda. The police think it was her father. Brian isn’t so sure. But everyone he knows is telling him to move on, get over it, focus on the present. Focus on basketball. Focus on hitting the perfect shot. Brian hopes that the system will work for Amanda and her father. An innocent man couldn’t be wrongly convicted, could he? But then Brian does a school project on Leo Frank, a Jewish man lynched decades ago for the murder of a teenage girl – a murder he didn’t commit. Worse still, Brian’s teammate Julius gets arrested for nothing more than being a black kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. Brian can’t deny any longer that the system is flawed. As Amanda’s father goes on trial, Brian admits to himself that he knows something that could break the case.”
Another assigned reading, “If a Tree Falls During Lunch Period” by Gennifer Choldenko, pointedly criticizes the whiteness of the protagonist’s new school, and the lack of diversity because everyone there looks white.
A third assigned reading, “Crossing the Wire” by Gary Hobbs, glorifies illegal immigrants and border crossings.
Lawson said that the district has responded to her concerns about the homework assignment. On Monday, Cocopah Middle School Principal Nick Noonan promised to meet with Lawson to discuss the issue.
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 | Aug 28, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
As if the last 17 months haven’t been complicated enough, the Arizona Department of Revenue announced Thursday that some taxpayers who received income in 2020 from the $12.5 billion paid out by the state for unemployment insurance benefits and pandemic unemployment assistance may be eligible for a tax refund.
The refund can be obtained by filing an Arizona Form 140X amended return. But that is where the simple part ends.
The possibility of a refund affects those Arizonans who received unemployment payments in 2020 and filed their state income tax return on or before March 11, 2021. That’s the date the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed by President Joe Biden, making up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits exempt from federal income taxes in 2020.
Gov. Doug Ducey later signed legislation which mirrored the federal exemption, meaning many Arizonans with 2020 unemployment income likely filed a state tax return under the old tax code.
ADOR could have created a computer program to identify the affected taxpayers who filed on or before March 11 and send them a notification. Instead, the burden is on Arizonans to navigate a maze of “if this, then that” instructions from ADOR in order to obtain a refund.
To start with, the Arizona Form 140X cannot be filed unless the taxpayer’s 2020 federal tax return has been amended first. The IRS is already doing that for some taxpayers and even sending an adjustment notice with a refund check. Everyone else is responsible for preparing and filing an amended federal return.
Either way, Arizonans eligible for a refund due to overpaying taxes on their 2020 unemployment benefits must wait for the IRS to confirm the federal return has been adjusted. And then they have to ask the IRS for a “transcript” after the amended federal return is processed.
Once that is done, a taxpayer can complete the Arizona Form 140X. However, it cannot be e-filed through ADOR’s website; it must be printed out and mailed in.
On the upside, Arizonans have four years to amend their state income tax return to claim a refund for overpayment of unemployment income. An amended 2020 return filed in 2022, however, could trigger the need for an amended return in 2021.
Most Arizona residents will be able to complete the Arizona Form 140X by following simplified instructions provided at https://azdor.gov. However, part-year residents and nonresidents must follow the full instructions for Form 140X.
by AZ Free News | Aug 27, 2021 | News
By AZ Free News |
Governor Doug Ducey today named Don Herrington, a 21-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Health Services, to succeed Dr. Cara Christ and oversee the frontline health care workers who have spearheaded the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Governor and Herrington together named Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, to serve as the senior advisor on public health emergency preparedness and lead a statewide effort to boost vaccine and public health awareness in Arizona.
“Arizona couldn’t have two more dedicated, knowledgeable and experienced public health professionals at the helm of the Department of Health Services,” Governor Ducey said. “With Don directing day-to-day operations and Dr. Carmona marshalling our resources to defeat this virus and get Arizonans vaccinated, I’m confident we just got a lot closer to putting the pandemic behind us.”
Herrington currently serves as the department’s Deputy Director for Planning and Operations. In this role he oversees policy development, hiring professional and support staff and the department’s budget.
“I am grateful for Governor Ducey’s confidence in my abilities to lead ADHS,” said Herrington. “We have an extraordinary group of individuals at the department and I’m honored to lead this team. I look forward to promoting and protecting the health of everyone who calls Arizona home.”
Prior to serving as Deputy Director, Herrington served as Assistant Director of Public Health Preparedness and Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Control Services. He served on numerous councils, commissions and committees on behalf of the Director of ADHS, including Chair of the Arizona Sanitarians’ Council, Chair of the Arizona Infection Prevention and Control Advisory Committee, and as one of five voting members of the Arizona Emergency Response Commission.
“Don’s leadership at ADHS and depth of knowledge of the department’s core functions make him well suited to serve as interim director,” Governor Ducey said. “Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Dr. Christ for her extraordinary service and leadership, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Don has big shoes to fill, but I know that he’s up for the challenge.”
Dr. Carmona is a longtime Tucson resident who served as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States from 2002 to 2006. He is the Distinguished Professor of Public Health at University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and most recently served as the director of the University of Arizona COVID Response Team.
“I am honored Governor Ducey is entrusting me with this position,” said Dr. Carmona. “We have made a tremendous amount of progress but we still have much to do. There is no doubt in my mind that we are on the right track and that the single best way to crush COVID is with the vaccine and public health mitigation strategies. I’m eager to take on the challenge. COVID is the common enemy and all of us need to work together to defeat it. The state’s response to this global health emergency has been top-notch, and I look forward to building on Dr. Christ and her team’s success.”
by Corinne Murdock | Aug 27, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
On Thursday, Attorney General Mark Bnrovich determined that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) were in violation of the law for ignoring the State Senate’s subpoena for the ongoing election audit.
Brnovich stated that MCBOS was notified that it must comply with the law. If the election officials still refuse within 30 days, the Arizona Treasurer will withhold state revenue from the county. According to county officials, that would total nearly $700 million.
MCBOS has refused to comply with the Senate’s latest subpoena for reports, findings, and other documents concerning any breaches to the voter registration server, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office systems, or any other aspect of the Maricopa County elections systems within six months of the general election; all ballot envelopes; all user names, passwords, pins, and/or security keys or tokens required to access or otherwise related to any and all ballot tabulation devices; all Maricopa County registered voter records to date and all change histories; routers; and splunk logs, network logs, net flows, or similar data.
MCBOS objected on multiple grounds to the Senate’s subpoena. They argued that the subpoena was unlawful because it was issued when the Senate was out of session; they weren’t given adequate notice; it was overly broad and unduly burdensome; it included records already in the Senate’s custody and control, records the election officials aren’t in possession of, records protected by attorney-client privilege, and records that may not lawfully be produced; wasn’t backed by a Senate vote or Arizona Senate Committee.
The election officials also argued that this subpoena was an abuse of power, or designed merely to harass, and was already mooted by the Senate’s actions.
Brnovich disagreed, concurring with a previous opinion held by the Maricopa County Superior Court.
“Our courts have spoken. The rule of law must be followed,” said Brnovich.
The issue will now go before the Arizona Supreme Court.
The attorney general’s full report is available here.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by AZ Free News | Aug 27, 2021 | News
Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff through August 30, 2021 in honor of the U.S. service members killed during the terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The governor encouraged his fellow Arizonans to participate in this tribute.
“Today is a tragic day for our nation. I am sending my deepest condolences and prayers to the loved ones of the U.S. forces killed and wounded in today’s terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. I am horrified by this attack on our brave service members as well as other innocent civilians in the area.
“Arizona joins all Americans in condemning this attack in the strongest possible terms. There are no words to express the depth of Americans’ sorrow and anger for this loss of life.
“As we mourn the dead, we must also recognize the context for this terrible attack. American troops have fought, bled and died in Afghanistan for two decades to keep this country from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists. We are now seeing in real time how the recent action to withdraw from Afghanistan has made America and the world less safe.”
