It is an example of typical government-speak: “The Office of Management and Budget today announced the 2020 Standards for Delineating Core Based Statistical Areas.”
But the OMB’s July 13 announcement was something several Arizona cities were anxiously awaiting, because the 2020 Standards could have disqualified them from qualify as a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). And that would have meant losing their advantage over other towns and cities when applying for federal funding for healthcare, housing, infrastructure, and transportation projects.
Since 2010, at least 50,000 residents must live in the core city to obtain federal recognition a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), even if it is more of a mini-metro area. In Arizona, there are seven designated MSAs: Flagstaff, Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Prescott, Sierra Vista-Douglas, Tucson, and Yuma.
However, every 10 years the OMB recommends changes to its standards, and earlier this year a federal interagency committee suggested a major change for the 2020 Standards – doubling a MSA’s minimum core city population to 100,000. That would have resulted in Flagstaff, Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Prescott, and Sierra Vista-Douglas losing their MSA status.
And along with the loss of the MSA designation would have been one of those cities’ key qualifier for federally funded Community Development Block Grants and USDA Rural Development Grants. Flagstaff receives nearly $600,000 a year just in CDB grants, while Prescott and Sierra Vista have been the recipients of more than $200,000 in annual CDB grants.
The Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee received letters of opposition from the cities of Flagstaff and Prescott among more than 700 other public comments about the significant change in MSA criteria. In the end, the committee submitted a revised recommendation to stick with the 50,000 population threshold.
Mignonne Hollis says the MSA designation ensures communities like Flagstaff and Sierra Vista-Douglas can advocate for their needs by giving them a seat “at many tables.”
Hollis serves as executive director of the Sierra Vista-based Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation and of the Aerospace Arizona Association, is past president of the Arizona Association for Economic Development, and is a member of the International Association for Economic Development.
She was one of the first in Cochise County to sound the alarm on the devastating affect a 100,000 core population prerequisite would have had on the Sierra Vista – Douglas.
“This funding is vital to bring investment in our local communities and spur on economic development,” Hollis said of the opportunities available to a MSA. “In addition to funding decisions at the federal level, the loss of a MSA designation could also negatively impact a community’s ability to attract and retain businesses and top-talent employees.”
While good news for Arizona communities this year, the OMB’s July 13 announcement provided a heads-up that a MSA threshold change will likely be incorporated in 2030.
“Recognizing the committee’s concern that MSA thresholds have not kept pace with population growth, OMB will work with the Standards Review Committee to conduct research and stakeholder outreach to inform the 2030 standards update,” the announcement said.
There has also been bi-partisan federal legislation introduced by Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, and South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a Republican, to look into how MSA core city population thresholds are determined in the future.
Thousands of people came from across the state to hear from President Donald Trump on Saturday. The former president delivered a fiery speech at the Turning Point Action conference in Phoenix.
During the rally dedicated to election integrity, Trump introduced many members of the Arizona State Senate and thanked them for agreeing to pursue an audit of the Maricopa County 2020 General Election.
“We will fight for truth, transparency and accountability, and we will not stop until we have restored out American birthright of honest, free and fair elections,” said Trump. “We’re gathered here in Phoenix to show our support for election integrity and for the brave and unyielding conservative warriors in the Arizona state Senate.”
“Why wouldn’t somebody want election integrity? Why wouldn’t they want to know? And I would be very happy – won’t happen – but I would be very happy if they did it and everything was perfect. But you’re not going to find that,” said the former president.
Trump got around to the subject of the Democrats, who he said are moving the country in a socialist direction through their spending, support for Critical Race Theory, and “Marxists” like Black Lives Matter who “are seizing power and destroying everything we hold dear as Americans. It’s happening, and I said it was going to happen.”
“They dismantled the rule of law, censor speech, take over the free press, imprison political opponents,” said Trump pivoting back to the 2020 election. “You see that’s happening all over; look at what I’ve been through for years – and, of course, hold fake phony elections.”
The announcement last week by officials of Ben & Jerry’s that the ice cream company would stop selling its products in the Israeli-controlled West Bank at the end of 2022 prompted Gov. Doug Ducey to call the move “discrimination.”
Ducey added that “Arizona stands with Israel” and said the state “will not do business with a company that boycotts Israel.” He also reminded Arizonans that as governor has twice signed legislation in an attempt to make sure the State does not contract with entities engaging in boycotts of Israel. It is unclear how much money was spent annually by state agencies on Ben & Jerry’s products before and after the legislation.
The decision by Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s came after pro-Palestinian activists worked to garner support within the United States for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) efforts involving companies which do business in Israeli or in West Bank communities which Palestinians claim a right to.
The Anti-Defamation League calls BDS efforts anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and bigoted.
Ben & Jerry’s has not announced any plans to step selling its products in any other areas of Israel, although a factory in southern Israel is reportedly slated for closure despite not being near occupied or disputed territory.
Both Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid criticized the decision by Ben & Jerry’s. And in New York, the board of directors of a grocery chain recently voted to cut off all promotional activities involving Ben & Jerry’s products.
Avi Kaner, co-owner of Morton Williams Supermarkets, said the objective of “extremists” within Ben & Jerry’s “is very, very selective boycotts specifically against the Jewish people,” particularly those who live in Jewish communities within disputed territories.
“Who is Ben & Jerry’s to say that little Jewish girls cannot have ice cream in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem?” Kaner said.
Earlier this year several students at Arizona State University (ASU) sought to pass a resolution in support of BDS efforts. The president of the ASU Undergraduate Student Government declined to put the matter on a meeting agenda.
For the second time this year, Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt have authored a “friend-of-the-court” brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a challenge to the constitutionally of a New York state law which severely restricts who can obtain a concealed carry permit.
On Tuesday, Brnovich, Schmitt, and the attorneys general of 24 other states joined in urging the justices to declare New York’s subjective-issue firearm license process as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The case is New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Corlett.
Forty-two states, including Arizona, have objective-issue systems where a concealed carry permit is issued to an individual who meets a certain set of objective criteria such as a background check, a mental health records review, fingerprinting, knowledge of applicable laws, and firearms training.
However, New Yorkers who want a concealed carry permit must demonstrate to a state worker some type of “special need” for self-protection outside their home that is greater than the average citizen. In effect, the law serves as a de facto ban on most New Yorkers who want to exercise their right to protect themselves when away from home.
The 26 signors of the brief believe they have “a unique perspective that should aid the Court in weighing the value and importance of the rights implicated by the questions presented.” In particular, they cite empirical evidence that legal concealed carry holders are significantly less likely than the general public to commit a crime.
In addition, a 2013 National Research Council study is cited, showing that crime victims who resist with a gun are less likely to suffer serious injury than victims who resist in other ways or who offer no resistance at all.
“Those who obtain firearms-carry permits are, and remain, overwhelmingly more law-abiding than the general population. That conclusion makes perfect sense, as permit holders must typically pass background and other checks prior to being issued a license under state regimes,” the brief argues.
Brnovich issued a statement after the brief was filed Tuesday.
“Law-abiding citizens should not require the consent of faceless bureaucrats to exercise their right to keep and bear arms. New York cannot override the Second Amendment or the natural right of self-preservation,” Brnovich said, adding he will continue to vigorously protect the constitutional rights of all Americans.
According to the attorney general’s office, Arizona implemented a licensed concealed carry regime in 1994. That year, the state experienced 10.5 murders per 100,000 people compared to the nationwide rate of 9 murders per 100,000.
Then in 2010, Arizona implemented a right-to-carry for all law-abiding citizens, even without a license. By 2016, Arizona’s murder rate was 5.5 per 100,000, even though more guns were being lawfully carried in the state.
Joining Arizona and Missouri are the state attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The July 20 brief follows one filed in February in which the 26 attorneys general argued why the U.S. Supreme Court should take up the case. The Justices announced in April that they will take up the case in its next term which starts Oct. 4, 2021.
The New York case, however, is not the only Second Amendment challenge Brnovich’s office has been involved with this year.
In April, he co-authored an amicus brief signed by nearly the attorneys general from nearly two dozen states urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the Second Amendment by declaring California’s law limiting magazine capacities as unconstitutional.
Then in May, Brnovich led another multi-state coalition in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a New Jersey law which limits magazine capacities and requires gun owners to surrender to law enforcement certain magazines which are legal in 43 other states.
And last month, Brnovich led a coalition of 22 states in writing a brief to the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in an effort to strike down a three-decade-old California law that bans popular rifles, even when kept in the home for self-defense.
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.
