Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega has refused to allow Rio Verde citizens to use canal space to transport their water, effectively forcing them to go without, pay thousands in water bills, or leave their homes.
The Scottsdale canal route would be the short-term solution to save Rio Verde residents time and money until a proposed long-term solution, a stump pipe, can be worked out. In the meantime, Rio Verde residents must be frugal with what water they can obtain. Some have come to rely upon rainwater — a nonviable solution come summer. The trucks that reliably delivered affordable water for years are now expensive: per their 2021 drought plan, Scottsdale prohibited water haulers from taking water from its tanks, forcing truckers to trek through the Valley in search of water. Rio Verde residents face water bills of around $1,000.
During a House Natural Resources, Energy, & Water Committee meeting last week, Rio Verde’s representative, State Rep. Alex Kolodin (R-LD03), questioned Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) Director Tom Buschatzke about Rio Verde residents’ predicament. Kolodin shared that EPCOR, a utility company, had offered to route water to the residents via a stump pipe, but in the meantime must transport it by truck.
Buschatzke said that, to his understanding, Scottsdale cut Rio Verdes’ water access off for preservation efforts. He said ADWR was willing to help as much as they could in obtaining groundwater for those residents via a stump pipe.
“[The city of Scottsdale] thought because of what’s happening on the river with those supplies, they needed to take that action to protect their customers and their own city,” said Buschatzke. “[Rio Verde residents] don’t have groundwater of their own to access, and that’s a big part of the problem.”
Kolodin asked why water purchased and transported from the Harquahala Valley wasn’t a viable idea. Buschatzke responded that EPCOR wasn’t eligible to use that water since they’re a private company, and because that water was considered a “non-groundwater source” under the law.
Kolodin told AZ Free News that EPCOR has had to undertake the costly endeavor of transporting the water by truck because the city of Scottsdale refused to allow access to their canal. Kolodin remarked that he doesn’t understand Ortega’s resistance to helping these communities, which he said was well within Ortega’s ability.
“I get why the city of Scottsdale doesn’t want to give them their water. I don’t understand why the city won’t let them transport other water through their canal until EPCOR can build the stump pipe,” said Kolodin. “I get it. You’re the mayor of Scottsdale, you want to circle the wagons. Why not let them move their water through your canal? That’s pure twisting their arm.”
Kolodin also questioned why Ortega wouldn’t opt to rent canal space for two years. He claimed that Ortega wasn’t happy that Rio Verde residents haven’t set up a water regulation structure yet continue to develop land, chalking it up to a “liberal agenda” of Ortega’s. Ortega was a longtime Democrat before becoming an independent.
“To me, that’s a sign of Mayor Ortega’s liberal agenda. He cares so much about forcing these people into groundwater regulation that he’s willing to hurt thousands of people just to teach them a lesson,” said Kolodin. “He wants to impose his liberal agenda on water regulation on them. He doesn’t like that they don’t live with a governmental structure. In his mind everyone should be regulated.”
Scottsdale has pushed its own citizens to reduce water usage due to the worsening drought over the past few years. The Bureau of Reclamation reclassified the Colorado River’s drought status worsened from Tier 1 last January to Tier 2a. While this would normally mean the city remains in Stage One of its Drought Management Plan issued 2021, the city warned residents that it was anticipating cuts from the federal government. In this first stage, the city issues recommendations and potentially restrictions, as well as shutting down or restricting commercial and residential fill stations.
Time is running out for these Rio Verde residents. In the meantime, Kolodin has busied himself arranging meetings between Rio Verde residents, EPCOR, Scottsdale City Council, the Arizona Corporation Commission, and even Freeport-McMoran for potential solutions.
Few others who speak publicly on the issue seem to empathize with the Rio Verde citizens’ plight. The Arizona State University (ASU) director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy, Sarah Porter, indicated to The New York Times that the homeowners bore some burden for their struggles since they bought an unincorporated area.
“It’s a cautionary tale for home buyers,” said Porter. “We can’t just protect every single person who buys a parcel and builds a home. There isn’t enough money or water.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
In the final six days before Election Day, young pro-life activists are deploying in Mesa and Scottsdale to mobilize voters.
That impacts State Senate Districts 4 and 9, both swing districts. District 4 candidates are Republican Nancy Barto and Democrat Christine Marsh. District 9 candidates are Republican Robert Scantlebury and Democrat Eva Burch.
Behind the grassroots activists is Students for Life Action (SFLA), the political action committee (PAC) arm of the Students for Life (SFL) nonprofit. SFLA stated in a press release that their goal in Arizona is to inform voters about the abortion lobby’s endorsed candidates and Senator Mark Kelly’s record on abortion.
SFLA comes into play weeks after it was revealed that Kelly campaign staffers were likely telling voters that the senator is pro-life for months. Kelly supports abortion.
SFLA also deployed groups into 10 other states: Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Washington. Notably, one SFLA captain, 18-year-old Kaitlyn Ruch, is the Republican candidate for the Montana House.
Arizona won’t enforce its ban on abortion until next year. In response to the agreement with Attorney General Mark Brnovich last week, Planned Parenthood resumed abortion services throughout the state (with the exception of a Tucson clinic, which continued operations prior to the agreement).
Even if the state’s abortion ban goes into effect, there’s no guarantee of uniform enforcement. The cities of Tucson and Phoenix both passed resolutions effectively decriminalizing abortions. Pima County Attorney Laura Conover also pledged to not prosecute violations of abortion law.
The upcoming election will further determine the fate of the state’s abortion law. Democratic Maricopa County Attorney candidate Julie Gunnigle pledged to disregard state bans and restrictions on abortion.
“I will #NotNowNotEver prosecute people or their providers for performing abortions or undergoing an abortion procedure,” tweeted Gunnigle last month.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs supports elective abortions without any restrictions, even up to birth.
Hobbs told CNN on Wednesday that she would veto any new legislation further restricting abortion in the state.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
In a few short weeks, around 200 children will commit to an education that tends to stand out in this day and age: a “Christian, constitutional, classical” one.
These students of the new private school, Tipping Point Academy (TPA), are just a fraction of the thousands upended or seeking alternatives following public schools’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic: a demographic projected to increase due to the state’s recent and historic universalization of its school choice program, Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs).
TPA was launched last March by Great State Alliance (GSA), a nonprofit advocating for constitutional liberty since the summer of 2020 when that organization launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
AZ Free News interviewed TPA Founder Jeremy Wood. He was unabashed about God being the core of TPA’s foundations and vision.
“We are working from the presupposition that the word of God is the roadmap for life and living,” he explained. “The Bible is God’s word and truth. It offers knowledge and wisdom and everything you need to be successful in life. Our classes are all taught from a Biblical worldview. Everything we teach is taught from that perspective. We believe that God created the world. He created science, math, astronomy, and the stars, and He made the world to work as a perfect mechanism.”
Wood clarified that core academics and God aren’t mutually exclusive. He explained that TPA operates from Christian premises rather than a secular one. Meaning: TPA offers a classical education that encompasses the likes of Socratic dialogue and natural law and excludes modern, controversial approaches like Critical Race Theory (CRT), Culturally Responsive Education (CRE), Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). Their version of education includes approaches like “The Noah Plan,” which incorporates the Bible in every subject.
“That’s the difference: the word of God is the foundation of our instruction. That’s not separate from our academics. We’re teaching the kids all the same academics they’re learning in public schools,” said Wood. “Our curriculum isn’t vastly different. It’s more of a philosophical approach for how we apply the methodology of teaching. We apply the principled approach which is based on teaching kids on how to become learners and critical thinkers.”
Wood said that TPA initially started as a desire to provide a better education for his own children. Then, he said that he recognized that education was a frontline in defending liberty, and his desire expanded to offering a better education to his community.
“The government was forcing these shutdowns and mandates, so we decided to stand up and create a solution that was faith-based and protective of our rights to assemble, to meet without fear of needing to shut down, or implement mask policies, or some other weird draconian measures to create barriers between us,” said Wood.
According to Wood, TPA uses a mastery learning model for teaching. Students must master content in each subject, which are “set up like mini dissertations” that require students to compile their research and writing to complete a notebook, or “mini thesis.” Additionally, TPA prioritizes hands-on, project-based learning. Wood cited an example of TPA students learning to apply for a job, use functional math, develop business plans, manage a business, run sales, and market products and services through the campus cafe.
“TPA is about creating critical thinkers,” stated Wood.
Another unique aspect about TPA: they expect parental involvement, almost to the point of a requirement. Wood emphasized that fathers were the key figures that TPA prioritizes for incorporation, but noted that anyone is open to serve through work like administrative support or classroom management. Parents are required to undergo a background check, just like all TPA staff.
“We’re not going to allow you to be a non-present parent. We expect volunteering,” said Wood. “We believe it’s our duty to partner with the parents. If you’re not going to be involved in volunteering, we’ll just tell you right now we don’t think you’re a fit for our school. If we were in it for the money, we’d be telling people everything they wanted to hear to get them in the door. We’re pretty clear on our methodology to keep like-minded people in our community.”
In just over a year of its existence, TPA has already experienced pushback from the establishment educational community.
Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ) has been one of the first to target TPA. The anti-school choice organization’s director, Beth Lewis, characterized the private school as a money-grabbing scheme developed in response to the universalization of ESAs.
At $8,500 annually, TPA’s tuition falls below the average private school cost. Average tuition for private schooling in Arizona is nearly $10,300.
TPA’s enrollment ranges between 180 to 200 students, totaling between $1.5 and $1.7 million accrued from tuition. If every parent utilized the $7,000 maximum from the state’s ESA Program, that reduces tuition to $1,500 — which may be paid down for just over $100 on a monthly basis. Interested parents may also qualify for a TPA scholarship.
Wood responded that taxpayer dollars for education should be accessible to all taxpayers — regardless of their beliefs.
“Those are our taxpayer dollars as well. People are welcome to have their opinion. They don’t have to send their kids to our school,” said Wood. “We shouldn’t be discriminated against just because we want our kids to learn about our heritage, our values, our God, as well as the academics.”
Wood added that he hasn’t drawn “one penny” from his nonprofit for compensation. Rather, he said that he sacrificed his own business to launch TPA. The Wood family now lives well within their means, he says, to allow TPA to flourish.
“I think there’s the perception that we don’t want taxpayer dollars going to religion. Well, we’re taxpayers as well, so if this is what we believe we should have a right to allocate our dollars to the education of our choice,” said Wood. “I’m not doing this for a platform. I’m not doing this for fame or money. We’re just trying to create a solution for our families and families that think like us.”
From the very beginning, Wood said that the TPA team relied on God to provide. He shared that they prayed without ceasing for their ideal location where the school sits currently: the site of a former church. By the time Wood discovered the site, it was already under contract to become a multifamily residence. Yet he said they prayed, and three weeks later the property fell out of escrow. Wood then sent a letter to the property owners, explaining his reason for buying. The owners agreed, selling the property at a generous price that Wood described as “essentially the cost of the dirt.” They closed within 30 days on the deal, enabling the TPA team to prepare the location for this past school year.
“We came across a campus in the Northeast Valley, and we believed God was going to deliver this property for us. We didn’t know how,” said Wood. “It was a small, humble beginning.”
TPA’s enrollment is filling up this year but, according to Wood, the main reason that some parents say they can’t enroll their student is due to finances. He expressed hope that increasing awareness of the ESA Program expansion will remedy that issue.
Wood shared that some parents also prefer the frugality of charter schools. He touched on an issue reported by AZ Free News: since charter schools exist within the realm of public schools, they’re under stricter government regulation and susceptible to incidents that occur in public education.
“There’s a perception that they could jump to the charter school path, that there’s a little more autonomy there. People don’t understand a charter school is still a public school,” said Wood. “They’re still under the regulatory thumb of the state government in terms of health requirements. If the government starts pushing for mask or vaccine mandates, or hindering any medical freedoms, the charter schools are still going to have to comply with that.”
TPA will teach all grades, K-12, but enrollment is only open up to the 9th grade at present. The school plans to integrate its current students into high school before opening up its high school classrooms for enrollment.
TPA also launched a feeder school, or “K-prep,” enrolling under 20 children. Wood said their goal is to launch 100 schools over the next decade.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Nearly five months ago, a group of mothers publicized a Google Drive dossier on them and other parents perceived as political enemies, compiled by the father of their Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) board president, Jann-Michael Greenburg. The trove of political opposition research leaked by SUSD mother Amanda Wray quickly made international news, and became known as the “Greenburg Files,” or “Greenburg Dossier.” Jann-Michael’s father, Mark Greenburg, didn’t shy away from the uproar that ensued.
In January, Greenburg filed an initial complaint in the Maricopa County Superior Court against the Wrays for defamation, as well as violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Several weeks later, Greenburg amended his complaint to only sue for CFAA violations, striking all claims of defamation. Reporting on his lawsuit was featured in one place: the Arizona Republic, behind a subscriber-only paywall. In response, the Wrays issued a motion to dismiss, claiming that Greenburg had ulterior motives aligned with SLAPP behavior: “strategic lawsuits against public participation” to silence free speech.
A status conference is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:30 am. A scheduling conference is also scheduled for May 19 at 3 pm. The requested relief totals nearly $10,000.
Greenburg is represented by attorney Christopher Rapp of Ryan Rapp Underwood & Pacheco. Amanda and Daniel Wray are represented by John Wilenchik of Wilenchik & Bartness and acclaimed GOP chairwoman and attorney Harmeet Dhillon with her law group. Judge Joan Sinclair is listed as hearing the case.
Greenburg’s lawsuit characterized Amanda Wray as a “political operative,” pointing to the private Facebook group she organized, “SUSD-CAN,” short for “Scottsdale Unified School District Community Action Network,” a parent and community advocacy group concerning SUSD issues like masking, vaccinations, LGBTQ+, and critical race theory (CRT). He alleged that Wray stole his private information and documents by accessing the dossier, and that she doxxed him by publishing and discussing his home address, license plate, and Paycheck Protection Program loan information on the Facebook group page.
The lawsuit explained that Greenburg shared access to his server, or Google account on which the dossier was located, with three other individuals, one of whom he identified as his son, Jann-Michael. Greenburg insisted that the Google Drive dossier was otherwise password protected. He claimed that inadvertent public access to the dossier was granted through a setting unknown to him at the time enabling third parties to access the server without a password: the use of the Google Drive’s URL. Jann-Michael inadvertently shared that URL with SUSD parents in an emailed response to defamation accusations by including 13 screenshots of public Facebook comments stored within the dossier, one of which included the URL.
“The situation was the equivalent of Plaintiff’s son accidentally disclosing his username and password,” read the complaint.
Wray was accused of intentionally breaching the Google Drive dossier by using a third party to create a hyperlink with the inadvertently-shared URL. Greenburg also accused Wray of copying, deleting, adding, reorganizing, and renaming files on his server. He estimated that she caused him a loss amounting to at least $5,000.
The Wrays’ motion to dismiss insisted that Greenburg failed to state a claim in which relief can be granted. They rejected claims that the Google Drive in question was made private, noting that Jann-Michael shared a publicly accessible URL that only needed to be typed into a web address bar to be accessed. They added that Daniel couldn’t be roped into the lawsuit because claims of “ratify[ing]” Amanda’s access to the dossier weren’t proof of liability.
“Amanda cannot be liable for criminal ‘computer hacking’ just for clicking a hyperlink created by a third party (who is not a party to this action) to the URL for Greenburg’s Google Drive that Greenburg’s son published for anyone to see and use,” read the motion to dismiss.
In a follow-up reply to Greenburg’s response to their motion to dismiss, the Wrays’ attorneys again questioned his motives for suing after challenging the truthfulness of his claims. They characterized his lawsuit as a continuation of the dossier.
“This lawsuit is the latest, and hopefully last, chapter in Greenburg’s unlawful harassment and intimidation campaign against Ms. Wray and SUSD parents in retaliation for their advocacy regarding the SUSD school board,” wrote the Wrays’ attorneys. “[T]his lawsuit was brought to deter or prevent Ms. Wray from exercising her constitutional rights and right to petition [and] intended to harass and/or cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation[.]”
In mid-February, a third-party forensic investigation carried out by Loehrs Forensics determined that neither the SUSD email server or four personal computers issued by SUSD were used to create, access, modify, or share the Google Drive folder containing the dossier.
Law enforcement cleared the Greenburgs of any wrongdoing. Scottsdale Police Department (SPD) determined in December the dossier didn’t violate any laws because it contained open source and public documents only. Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate nonetheless, positing that Jann-Michael may have conspired to wield his power over parents. AZ Free News inquired with Brnovich’s office if any DOJ investigation ever took place. They didn’t respond by press time.
As AZ Free News reported, Jann-Michael admitted to having a history of sharing computers with his family members. He was also listed as one of the individuals who had editing access to the dossier.
The SUSD board voted to demote Jann-Michael from president to regular board member last November.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Arizona House Government and Elections Committee approved State Representative Jake Hoffman’s (R-Queen Creek) bill to split Maricopa County into four separate counties. The four new counties would be Maricopa, encompassing central Phoenix, Tempe, and Tolleson; Mogollon, encompassing north Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Cave Creek; O’odham, encompassing Buckeye, Peoria, and Surprise; and Hohokam, encompassing Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler. If signed into law, the current Maricopa County officials would continue jurisdictional operations until boards of supervisors could be established in those three counties. The committee approved the bill along party lines, meaning it barely passed with a 7-6 majority.
Hoffman stated during committee that this would be a fairer representation of current Maricopa County residents, and that any attempts to characterize this bill as a response to a dispute over the 2020 election results was a conspiracy theory. Arizona House Democrats insisted otherwise.
Gubernatorial candidate Steve Gaynor testified during committee that Maricopa County threatened to overtake Arizona the way that similarly-dominant counties in other states have, such as Los Angeles County, California.
“The two largest counties by population in the country, Los Angeles and Cook, are examples of what Maricopa will likely become if action is not taken,” Gaynor testified. “Their governments are wasteful and unresponsive to citizen needs, and they are unpleasant places to live.”
Los Angeles County has a population of over 10 million, while the second-largest county, San Diego County, has over 3.3 million. Similarly, Maricopa County is by far the largest county in Arizona at around 4.5 million residents. The next-largest county, Pima County, doesn’t come close in terms of population count: a little over 1 million. The federal government estimated Arizona’s total population last summer to be around 7.3 million citizens, meaning Maricopa County contains around 62 percent of the state’s population.
Considering the size of its constituency, Maricopa County has only five supervisors, and one of other county officials like sheriff, secretary, and recorder. By comparison, Greenlee County, the least-populous county at under 10,000 residents, has just two less supervisors and the same number of other county-wide officials.
President Joe Biden eked out a victory in Arizona thanks to Maricopa County, earning over 10,400 more votes in the state than former President Donald Trump. Biden won just over 50 percent of the vote in Maricopa County, or over 1.04 million votes, while Trump won over 48 percent of the vote, or 995,000.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.