by Corinne Murdock | Nov 8, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake challenged Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs to push back on a mainstream media warning of election hacking.
On Monday, the day before Election Day, Politico issued an article warning that hackers impose “real risks” to election equipment such as voting machines. They prefaced their warning with the disclosure that claims of voting machine hacks from the 2020 presidential election were invalid.
The Politico article stated that there were six potential threats to elections, five of which were related to cybersecurity: misinformation/disinformation, election office and campaign website crashers, campaign social media hijackers, voter registration database hackers, voter harassers, and wireless modem hackers.
Only that last potential threat, the wireless modem hackers, could compromise election results by tampering with unofficial vote data, voting machine processing, or computer tallying. Politico assured readers that this type of cyberattack would be less likely to occur because it’s more difficult and time-consuming. Discovery of this type of cyberattack would only occur through paper ballot analysis and post-election audits.
Tensions over Hobbs’ role overseeing the election as secretary of state in a highly contested race have grown over the last few weeks. Last Tuesday, Lake hired one of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers from the 2020 election lawsuits.
As TIME reported, two former secretaries of state advised that Hobbs should grant election oversight to other officials. However, Hobbs’ office told TIME that she wouldn’t do so.
Richard Mahoney, a Democrat, suggested that Attorney General Mark Brnovich or Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer assist Hobbs.
“I think it would be wise if the secretary of state seconded responsibility for ministerial oversight to either the attorney general or the Maricopa County recorder,” said Mahoney.
Ken Bennett, a Republican, suggested others within her office assume control.
“She should recuse herself from the official acts that she would normally perform as secretary and let a deputy secretary or somebody else take care of those,” said Bennett.
The latest polling favors Lake over Hobbs. According to FiveThirtyEight’s summary, Lake leads Hobbs by over two points.
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 | Nov 7, 2022 | Economy, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
The struggle to fill job openings continues for mom-and-pop enterprises and other small businesses across the country, according to a report issued Thursday by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
“The labor shortage remains a challenging problem for small business owners,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said of the group’s Jobs Report for October. “Because of staffing shortages, small business owners are less able to take full advantage of current sales opportunities and continue to make business adjustments to compensate,”
The Jobs Report is a monthly, national snapshot of the small-business-owning membership of NFIB in 9 industries — agriculture, construction, finance, manufacturing, professional, retail, services, transportation, and wholesale.
The October 2022 report released Nov. 3 shows that:
- 23 percent of owners report labor quality as their top business problem, second only to inflation;
- 61 percent of owners reported hiring—or trying to hire—in October;
- Of those hiring or trying to hire, 90 percent of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the open positions;
- 40 percent of owners have openings for skilled workers while 22 percent are seeking unskilled labor;
- Transportation (68 percent) and Construction (63 percent) had the most difficulty in October filling job openings.
There are several programs available to Arizona small businesses to assist with hiring issues. One is the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration. There are 10 SBDC Centers in Arizona served through the local community college districts.
Another is Arizona@Work sponsored by the Arizona Commerce Authority and Arizona Department of Economic Security.
by Corinne Murdock | Oct 28, 2022 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Parents attempting to call the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) helpline for the school choice program are met with an automated voice that rejects their call due to “excessive call volume” and promptly hangs up.
No indication of wait times, and no promise of a call back.
It’s just another day of Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program administration under ADE Superintendent Kathy Hoffman, who hasn’t exactly been shy about her disdain for school choice programs. Hoffman proclaims loudly and often that the ESA Program lacks accountability and remains dysfunctional, even well over three years into her administration.
AZ Free News asked ADE about the ESA Program helpline. They didn’t respond by press time.
Christine Accurso, one of the ESA parents on the frontlines advocating for universal school choice, criticized the ADE for taking in an additional $2.2 million to hire 26 new workers this summer, yet still can’t manage the universal school choice program.
Last month on her reelection campaign trail, Hoffman insisted that universal school choice doesn’t help children with unique learning needs. She declared that it was a “taxpayer-funded coupon for the wealthy.” She then advocated for voters to sign an initiative to refer universal school choice to the 2024 ballot.
Hoffman has fought consistently to eradicate the ESA Program.
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 | Oct 21, 2022 | Economy, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Six U.S.-based global banking firms which participate in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices that seek to restrict investment in companies engaged in fossil fuel-related activities are under investigation by 19 states, it was announced this week.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and 18 other state attorneys general served civil investigative demands against Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo related to each company’s involvement with the United Nations’ Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). The demands act as legally enforceable subpoenas.
NZBA-member banks have promised to set emissions reduction targets in their lending and investment portfolios to reach net zero by 2050. It is one example of ESG practices which have come under scrutiny for prioritizing policy initiatives ahead of sound investment strategies.
In the case of the NZBA initiative, it could lead to some farmers, oil leasing companies, suppliers, and other businesses connected with fossil-fuel production being unable to get loans or find investors from the six banking firms and their affiliates, according to Brnovich’s office.
“American banks should never put political agendas ahead of the secure retirement of their clients,” Brnovich said in announcing Arizona’s involvement in the investigation. “These financial institutions are entrusted with protecting a different type of green.”
Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas are the leadership states on the NZBA investigation. Some of the 10 interrogatories included in the civil investigative demands served on the six banking firms seek information on:
- All divisions, groups, offices, or business segments whose responsibilities relate or used to relate to membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance or to ESG Integration Practices, and identify all executives, directors, officers, managers, supervisors, or other leaders of each division, group, office, or business segment;
- Each Global Climate Initiative with which the firm is affiliated and an explanation of the reasons for choosing to join such Global Climate Initiatives;
- Who made the decision to join each Initiative, including any involvement or input from the Board of Directors, investors, or Covered Companies;
- All involvement in each Global Climate Initiative, including dates as well as “any promises, pledges, or other commitments” made by each company;
- A detailed description of the company’s involvement with the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, including identities of all individuals who have represented the company within the NZBA.
In August, Brnovich joined Arizona in a 21-state coalition in commenting on a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rule that would add requirements for investment funds which consider ESG factors in their investment decisions. The proposed SEC rule was seen by the states as an attempt to transform the agency from a “federal regulator of securities into a regulator of social ills.”
The same month, Arizona was one of 19 states which sent a letter that put investment firm BlackRock on notice that its actions on a variety of governance objectives may violate multiple state laws by using “the hard-earned money of our states’ citizens to circumvent the best possible return on investment.”
BlackRock, which oversees some pension funds in those states, has been engaging in a “quixotic climate agenda” that appeared to be sacrificing pensioners’ retirements instead of focusing solely on financial return.
“Fiduciary duty is not lip service. BlackRock has an obligation to act in the sole financial interest of its clients,” the Aug. 4 letter stated. “Given our responsibilities to the citizens of our states, we must seek clarification on BlackRock’s actions that appear to have been motivated by interests other than maximizing financial return.”
And in November 2021, Brnovich announced a review of Climate Action 100+ and its investment company members which manage trillions of dollars in assets. This was prompted by concerns that the firms will put their ESG goals ahead of well-established fiduciary duties.
This could include inappropriate pressure and anticompetitive conduct against the members’ own clients and customers who do not comply with the ESG practices of Climate Action 100+, according to the attorney general’s office.
by Corinne Murdock | Oct 18, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Thomas Freeland, an Arizona World War II veteran, finally received the honors due to him decades ago.
Freeland, a Merchant Marine veteran, received the Congressional Gold Medal late last month. It’s one of the highest honors an individual may receive, accounting for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Rep. Andy Biggs’ veteran services director, Lee Huff, told AZ Free News that Freeland’s entire family was present to witness him receive the medal. Huff and Department of Disabled American Veterans Commander Carl Fortner presented Freeland with the medal.
“When it was presented to him, he just teared up and could not speak,” said Huff. “He had his entire family at the event. Huge family, beautiful family.”
The delay came, in part, due to the fact that World War II-era merchant mariners were denied veteran status until 1988.
Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the bravery and sacrifice of those merchant mariners for undertaking the most “difficult and dangerous transportation job ever undertaken,” they were denied military benefits and other accolades.
While serving as general, President Dwight Eisenhower also commended the work of the merchant mariners.
“[E]very man in this Allied command is quick to express his admiration for the loyalty, courage, and fortitude of the officers and men of the Merchant Marine,” stated Eisenhower. “We count upon their efficiency and their utter devotion to duty as we do our own; they have never failed us.”
It wasn’t until 2020 that Congress passed the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act, empowering leadership to award those veterans for their service. Over 9,500 merchant mariners lost their lives in that war.
“The feats and accomplishments of the Merchant Marine are deserving of broader public recognition. The United States will be forever grateful and indebted to these merchant mariners for their effective, reliable, and courageous transport of goods and resources in enemy territory throughout theaters of every variety in World War II. The goods and resources transported by the Merchant Marine saved thousands of lives and enabled the Allied Powers to claim victory in World War II. The Congressional Gold Medal would be an appropriate way to shed further light on the service of the merchant mariners in World War II and the instrumental role they played in winning that war. Many students of the Merchant Marine Academy lost their lives as they sailed through enemy-controlled waters or unloaded cargo in overseas combat areas, and, as a result, the United States Merchant Marine Academy is the only institution among the five Federal academies to be authorized to carry a battle standard as part of its color guard.”
Freeland joins two other Arizona veterans who received the Congressional Gold Medal recently. In May, two women from the 6888th Central Post Directory Battalion, or “Six-Triple-Eight” battalion, were awarded the honor for clearing years of backlogged mail, ensuring that loved ones’ letters made it to those serving overseas during World War II.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
