Arizona’s schools chief is literally turning his back to antisemitism.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Department of Education posted a picture on “X” of Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne at a recent Board of Regents meeting with the caption, “Superintendent Horne will not tolerate antisemitism. When protestors started speaking in support of a terrorist organization at the Arizona Board of Regents meeting, he turned his back to hatred.”
Superintendent Horne will not tolerate antisemitism. When protestors started speaking in support of a terrorist organization at the Arizona Board of Regents meeting, he turned his back to hatred. pic.twitter.com/s2DTM6DSF5
This gesture from Horne follows a recent press conference he hosted to “denounce antisemitic and anti-American materials provided by two organizations at a high school club event that made Jewish students feel unsafe.” The high school where this action occurred at was Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale.
Horne minced no words in alerting the public to the dangers to students by the presence of these materials at this school – or any school in the state, saying, “The materials presented to these students were profoundly antisemitic in particular and anti-American, in nature. Some of the material states that ‘Palestinians have been subject to killings, torture, rape, abuse, and more for over 75 years.’ This is a ‘blood libel’ similar to the blood libels used in the Middle Ages to get people to go out and kill random Jewish people.”
In an interview with a national outlet, Horne explained why this issue has been so important to take a stand on, saying, “All of my extended family were killed in the Holocaust. So I grew up with just my parents and my sister. No grandparents, no nieces and nephews, no uncles or aunts. They were all killed. So when I see signs of antisemitism developing in the United States, you can imagine it’s something that affects me personally.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Energy executives overseeing Arizona’s utility companies stand to gain financially for adherence to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria — namely, whether they stay on track to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050.
According to Arizona Public Service’s (APS) holding company Pinnacle West (PNW) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report last year, they link 20 percent of compensation based on Clean Energy Commitment performance — specifically, the total number of “clean megawatts installed” over a period of three years.
Altogether, PNW’s seven executives made about $21.5 million last year.
PNW’s Clean Energy Commitment is to achieve a resource mix of 65 percent clean energy (45 percent of that coming from renewable energy) by 2030, end APS coal-fired generation by 2031, and ultimately transition completely to carbon-free electricity and eradicate all carbon emissions by 2050.
PNW’s progress on its Clean Energy Commitment has earned it a top-100 ranking with Energy Intelligence since 2019. In 2005, the company had achieved 24 percent clean energy; since 2019, they have maintained 50 percent clean energy. The company projects that they will reach 65 percent clean energy by 2030.
As part of their commitment, APS plans to add at least 2,500 megawatts of clean energy technologies such as solar and storage by 2025. In their 2022 SEC report, PNW projected the addition of 210 megawatts of utility-scale solar energy, 238 megawatts of wind energy, and 341 megawatts of energy storage. They also reported that APS had 2,400 megawatts of renewable capacity at present and over one million solar panels across their 10 grid-scale solar plants.
PNW reports that APS has been integrating ESG practices for nearly 30 years, but have undertaken extra steps in recent years to prioritize it. Their entire board “dedicates a significant amount of time to ESG matters,” and the company formed a Sustainability department to integrate ESG into everyday APS work and an ESG Executive Council to guide the company’s ESG pathway. That latter entity, the council, measures and reports on Clean Energy Commitment actions.
The company also tasked multiple committees to advance ESG: “Environmental” is handled by the Nuclear and Operating Committee, “Social” is handled by both Corporate Governance and Public Responsibility as well as Human Resources Committees, and “Governance” is handled by the Corporate Governance and Public Responsibility Committee.
The Corporate Governance and Public Responsibility Committee also reviews ESG trends that may impact the company. Earlier this year, PNW amended the committee’s charter to include oversight of climate change-related issues and strategies for response.
As for the Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and UNS Energy Corporation (UNS), their owner, Fortis, offers an ESG-related financial incentive of 10 percent for its executives. Fortis executives made over $4.5 million last year.
The ESG incentive is part of Fortis’ “sustainability and people performance,” factored for the first time last year. It carries a 40 percent performance pay incentive; in addition to ESG leadership, it includes the weighting factors of safety (10 percent); diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) (10 percent); and reliability (10 percent).
This year, Fortis raised the ESG incentive to 15 percent, and added climate and emissions priorities as well as a DEI objective.
Similar to PNW, Fortis has a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions goal, which includes a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and a 75 percent reduction by 2035. They established a Governance and Sustainability Committee to oversee their emissions reduction goals.
Fortis has planned additions of 3,500 megawatts of wind, solar, and storage energy expansions through 2035. In doing so, Fortis projected by 2032 that TEP will achieve a coal-free generation mix and eliminate the use of surface water-generated power and groundwater use by 70 percent. Additionally, TEP is scheduled to have more than 40 percent of its power derived from wind, solar, and battery storage by 2030, and then over 60 percent by 2033.
Last year, Fortis amended its $1.3 billion revolving credit facility to become a sustainability-linked loan; meaning, its pricing adjustments are now linked to goals related to carbon emissions and board diversity.
Both APS and TEP are part of the California Independent System Operator (ISO) Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), established in 2014. The WEIM allows participants to buy and sell renewable energy power based on need, and offers visibility of neighboring grids. If one utility has excess hydroelectric, solar, or wind power, the ISO will deliver that energy where needed elsewhere.
APS entered the WEIM in 2016, and TEP entered in 2022. Also members are the Salt River Project (SRP), joined in 2020, and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Desert Southwest Region, joined in 2023.
As reported earlier this month, the world’s largest globalist investors are now backing the ESG push across Arizona’s utility companies.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) gained a significant victory this week over Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
On Monday, the AZGOP announced that the ‘Patriot Party’ “failed to secure enough valid signatures to qualify for the 2024 ballot,” crediting the “unwavering dedication of over 50 volunteers who…meticulously reviewed over 37,000 signatures by hand.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AZGOP Succeeds in Upholding Integrity of the Petition Signing Process
In that communication, the AZGOP explained that the “Liberal Democrat Adrian Fontes quietly and drastically changed his procedures on political party petition filings and denied observer access and public records requests by the Arizona Republican Party.” According to the AZGOP, this occurred when Secretary Fontes allegedly failed “to notify the political parties with ballot access that an appointment had been made by the ‘Patriot Party’ to file signatures on their Petition for Political Party recognition.”
In their release, the AZGOP asserted that Fontes’ actions with the ‘Patriot Party’ filing was “a big departure from what (he) did when ‘No Labels’ filed,” adding that the Secretary’s motivation in running his office is “to help the Democrat Party and hamper (Arizona Republicans).”
The AZGOP outlined the process by which Secretary Fontes “conducted the No Labels filing,” which included the following steps:
The Democrat, Republican, and Libertarian parties of Arizona were informed about the filing appointment ahead of time.
All three recognized political parties were permitted to have observers present for the entire intake and SOS scanning of petitions with full observer coverage for chain of custody transition.
The scans of the petitions, as filed, prior to SOS processing, were made available the morning after filing through a secure fileshare provided by SOS.
The fileshare to which counties upload their processed samples was made available to all recognized political parties so that they could follow the filing process throughout.
As the release concluded, the AZGOP demanded that Secretary Fontes “restore the long history of impartiality that existed in the SOS’s office under Secretary Reagan, Secretary Bennett, Secretary Brewer and others.” The party asked for the Secretary of State’s Office to “fulfill (their) public records requests in a timely manner and maintain a fair and unbiased process for all filings made in (the) office.”
The AZGOP threatened Fontes with litigation if he were to “move to validate (the ‘Patriot Party’) as (an actual party) regardless in a partisan effort to hamper the Republican Party. That threat appears to be neutralized thanks to the State Republican Party’s hard work to go through the signatures itself.
With the saga of the petition signatures moving to the rearview window, the AZGOP is focusing on an extremely important election season in 2024, boasting of a “grassroots army of over 5,500 precinct committeemen in Arizona, combined with an additional 20,000 party volunteers.” The AZGOP noted that Arizona Republicans are “united in our mission to register more voters, champion family values, strengthen the economy, and advocate for better educational outcomes and parental choice.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Just as with the rest of the activist community, school board members are taking sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) Governing Board member Patti Serrano helped organize the appearance of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), the only Palestinian-American in Congress, scheduled for last Friday at Arizona State University (ASU). The event has since been canceled. In an email obtained by AZ Free News, Serrano notified Arizona Palestine Network subscribers of the Tlaib event.
Serrano sent the email in her capacity as the East Valley coordinator for Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and as a co-sponsor of Tlaib’s “Palestine is an American Issue.”
The bottom of Serrano’s email identified other affiliated groups behind the canceled event: Arizona Palestine Network; Palestine Community Center of Arizona; Council on American Islamic Relations of Arizona; Jewish Voice for Peace – Tucson; Students for Justice for Palestine (SJP) at ASU; Arizona Palestinian Solidarity Alliance; Arizona Democratic Party Progressive Council; National Lawyers Guild at ASU; Central Arizona National Lawyers Guild Attorney Chapter; and Middle Eastern Law Students Association at ASU.
Since ASU rejected Tlaib’s appearance on campus, student and community activists convened to protest, claiming freedom of speech was denied. In a statement, ASU said that the event was organized by groups not affiliated with the university and outside university policies and procedures, and therefore not permissible.
“Organizers of events using ASU facilities must be properly registered with ASU and must meet all university requirements for crowd management, parking, security, and insurance. In addition, the events must be produced in a way which minimizes disruption to academic and other activities on campus,” said ASU. “The event featuring Congresswoman Tlaib was planned and produced by groups not affiliated with ASU and was organized outside of ASU policies and procedures. Accordingly, that event will not take place today on the ASU Tempe campus.”
Tlaib didn’t issue any public statements following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Only after Israel issued a response to Hamas in Gaza did Tlaib call upon the Biden administration to advocate for a cease-fire. Tlaib also introduced a resolution facilitating a cease-fire.
The Biden Administration is failing in its duty to protect all civilian and American lives in Gaza.
Tlaib was censured for her repeated endorsement of the controversial slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” largely understood to be a call for the eradication of Israel from the land.
From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate. My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity.
In addition to PDA, Serrano also served as an academic research project director for ASU.
Upon becoming a CUSD governing board member earlier this year, Serrano took her oath of office not on the Bible but on “Life is a Banquet,” a book containing the sexual awakening and explicit fantasies of a fictional 17-year-old and his peers, written by ASU Professor and Drag Story Hour Arizona co-founder David Boyles.
Serrano has led a number of widely-reported protests against elected leaders to advocate for various progressive issues over the years.
In 2021, Serrano was one of the activists that rallied, marched, and sat in on the office of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) to demand an end to the filibuster.
In 2020, Serrano helped organize a protest outside the Arizona Republican Party headquarters demanding greater government action to counter COVID-19, such as mask mandates.
In 2018, Serrano went to former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake’s Washington, D.C. office to demand he oppose the confirmation of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, based on the sexual assault allegations.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
In addition to being found at fault for the notorious homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix known as “The Zone,” the city of Phoenix must also pay over $221,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney issued the order for attorney’s fees on Monday. This latest order followed his September ruling which determined that city of Phoenix officials had not only failed to abate the public nuisance known as The Zone but had maintained it.
“The City of Phoenix shall maintain its public property in the Zone in a condition free of: (a) tents and other makeshift structures in the public rights of way; (b) biohazardous materials including human feces and urine, drug paraphernalia, and other trash; (c) individuals committing offenses against the public order. The Court will employ a reasonableness standard to future allegations of violation of (b) and/or (c). The Court does not intend this order to create a private cause of action for every non-pervasive violation of subsection (b) and/or (c). Further, the Court will require evidence of a substantive, good faith attempt to address any future violations of this order with the City before seeking court involvement.”
As reported previously, the city cleaned up The Zone several days in advance of the court-ordered deadline. This resulted in an over 82 percent success rate in admittance of the area’s homeless into shelters. The city also installed signs prohibiting encampments and other criminal activities around the area that formerly housed The Zone.
Blaney’s September ruling found the city to be at complete fault for The Zone. Blaney declared that the city had displayed an utter disregard for law-abiding citizens and tolerated crime by the homeless.
“The City’s refusal to meaningfully enforce statutes and ordinances in the Zone has created a classic siren song to certain individuals that are enticed at their peril by the Zone’s drugs, sex, and lack of societal rules.”
Additionally, Blaney found that the city intentionally stopped or materially reduced enforcement of laws in The Zone, as well as transported the homeless using taxpayer-funded “courtesy rides” from police officers and community organizations.
All in all, Blaney found unequivocally the city to blame for the increase in violent and organized crimes such as assaults and murders, drug usage and sales, public defecation and urination, rape and prostitution, and property damage and theft. City officials admitted to decriminalizing these behaviors.
A home for sale in the middle of the ‘zone’. The zone is in Phoenix Arizona and extends for several blocks. Everyone talks about the rights of the homeless. We need to balance that with the rights of all others. Homeowners and business owners also have rights and deserve better pic.twitter.com/n0VjLRJ6W5
Despite what city officials have indicated, it is unknown how many of the homeless population in Phoenix are homeless by choice. City representatives admitted that determinations of involuntary homelessness have been based on self reporting, not investigatory efforts into that individual’s case. They also admitted to being stumped by “service resistant” homeless: those who refused services like shelter because they didn’t want to adhere to any rules imposed, such as leaving behind contrabands like drugs or weapons. About 20 percent of homeless were “service resistant” according to a survey.
Despite the mass encampment cleanup, some community members have noted that homelessness persists in the area.
I just drive thru there today. Even tho they cleared the tents, it’s still hundreds of homeless in the zone area. If you are in the Phoenix area and want to help out, dm me. If you want to donate, the cashapp link is at the bottom of the flyer. Give thanks by giving back 🤲🏾📈 pic.twitter.com/GKLJpRC3dW
The Tucson Border Sector continues to be a hotspot for illegal immigration.
This past week, the U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent for the Tucson Border Sector, John R. Modlin, posted his weekly review of stats, showing the efforts of the men and women working under him.
Chief Modlin highlighted the following from his border sector that week:
14,300 Apprehensions
300 lbs of Fentanyl
183 Federal Criminal Cases
33 Rescues
15 Human Smuggling Events
7 Narcotics Events
2 Firearms Seized
Week in Review…
– 14,300 Apprehensions – 300 lbs. of Fentanyl – 183 Federal Criminal Cases – 33 Rescues – 15 Human Smuggling Events – 7 Narcotics Events – 2 Firearms Seized #HonorFirstpic.twitter.com/rnfi7kxbWQ
The Tucson Border Sector continues to be one of the nation’s busiest regions, keeping agents on their toes as they seek to restore some semblance of order on the ground. In the first month of Fiscal Year 2024, October, this sector reported over 55,000 encounters of illegal immigrants, which was a 140.8% increase over the previous year’s numbers that month (22,938). Tucson Sector Officials recorded almost 374,000 arrests during the recently completed fiscal year.
These numbers, already significantly high for a sliver of the U.S.-Mexico border, do not represent the number of ‘gotaways’ escaping detection and making their way around the interior of America’s homeland. Nor do these figures fill in another major gap of the border crisis, which is the rampant drug smuggling that occurs all throughout the border – but especially in the Tucson sector. Drug cartels and smugglers occupy the time of border agents with thousands of arrests per day, while running drugs and ‘gotaways’ through other unmanned corridors. These dangerous factors of the porous border continue to haunt law enforcement at all levels as they attempt to do everything they can to protect innocent men, women, and children from harm.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
