On Tuesday a groundbreaking occurred for Tucson’s first forthcoming $6.8 million “medical respite center” exclusively for the homeless. Medical respite centers are short-term residences and caregiving locations for the homeless that are ill or injured enough to warrant assistance but not hospitalization.
As of mid-March, the initiative raised just under $3.5 million. Major funders include the Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation, St. Joseph Catholic Healthcare Endowment Fund, Connie Hillman Foundation, Southwest Catholic Health Network, Ginny L. Clements and Tom Rogers, O’Rielly Family Foundation, Del E. Webb Foundation, Jim and Vicki Click, William and Mary Ross Foundation, Margaret E. Mooney Foundation, PetSmart Charities, Union Pacific, Raskob Foundation, and the Sundt Foundation.
In September, AZ Free News reported that an undisclosed number of Haitian illegal immigrants and refugees were bussed or flown into Tucson. CCS ran a shelter in Tucson called Casas Alitas.
Also behind the medical respite center is El Rio Health Center, a dental and medical center that receives federal funds from Health and Human Services (HHS) and is has federal status under the Federal Public Health Service (PHS).
According to the Tucson Housing and Community Development, there were an estimated 1,660 homeless people on any given night in Pima County in 2020. Those experiencing chronic homelessness in the county were estimated to be around 380.
Tucson is plagued with a homelessness crisis currently. Councilman Steve Kozachik said that the current number of homeless people are beyond past trends. Those rising numbers correspond with an increase in homeless deaths, as reported by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office.
In a statement to KGUN9, Kozachik said that he was attempting to convince the rest of the council to establish controlled encampments to counteract the masses of temporary encampments occurring naturally where the homeless congregate and settle.
“I think the rest of the council simply does not like the optics, and they believe allowing an encampment to exist constitutes a failure,” said Kozachik. “I have a different perspective. Squeezing the balloon and moving people around from camp-to-camp week to week is the failure.”
Controlled encampments have begun to pop up in the major cities experiencing homelessness crises in other states, such as Denver, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Denver launched its first controlled encampment last November. In April, the city and county asked federal appeals judges to rescind court-ordered standards on homeless encampment cleanups intended to preserve public health and safety.
Albuquerque hasn’t established controlled encampments yet, but it’s likely they will soon. Their city council is looking to amend its zoning code to allow for encampments managed mostly by churches or nonprofits: tents with facilities like restrooms called “safe outdoor spaces.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Tucson will require proof of vaccination for individuals wishing to serve as election workers for the upcoming special election in May. According to emails obtained by AZ Free News, individuals are required to bring their COVID-19 vaccination cards along with their social security cards and contact information if they would like to be a paid election worker.
Multiple studies on the demographics of the vaccinated show that the majority of vaccinated individuals self-identify as Democrats. As of press time, the FDA has authorized three booster shot brands for the COVID-19 vaccine: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen-Johnson & Johnson. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines’ protection wanes after five months, while the Johnson & Johnson version wanes after two months.
In less than a year after the FDA initially approved the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccine, some have received as many as three additional boosters on top of their initial shot. On Tuesday, Pfizer-BioNTech petitioned the FDA to approve a fourth booster. Full FDA approval of one of the vaccine brands, Pfizer-BioNTech, came at the end of August — about seven months ago.
The May 22 special election will have voters determine whether to approve Proposition 411, introduced by Mayor Regina Romero and the city council, to authorize a 10-year extension of a half-cent sales tax for travel infrastructure.
AZ Free News reached out to the city of Tucson for comment, and to ask whether they would grant exemptions to individuals who can’t get the COVID-19 vaccine. They didn’t respond by press time.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Pima County is backing an event celebrating illegal immigrants and advocating to equip them with taxpayer-funded legal defense. Pima County Attorney’s Office has sponsored the event, as well as Pima County Board of Supervisor Adelita Grijalva’s special staff assistant, Marjava Ramirez, while Tucson Mayor Regina Romero announced her support for the event on Thursday. In addition to their sponsorship, the county attorney’s office will offer information about marijuana expungement and gun locks at the event.
The “We Are Home Celebration” will begin with several hours of voter outreach for a ballot initiative to allow illegal immigrants access to public defenders for their deportation cases, also known as “universal representation”. This portion of the event will be led by PIMA County Justice For All – Justicia Para Todos. They need at least 75,000 signatures by next summer to appear on the 2022 ballot. Currently, they have around 6,000 signatures.
According to campaign manager for the ballot initiative, Martha Reyes, illegal immigrants often lack the funds for adequate representation, raising the likelihood of their deportation.
“We want to establish a legal office for undocumented folks in deportation proceedings. These are typically poor people who don’t have money to get a lawyer,” Reyes said. “They’re people who have been here for years, and the only thing they want is a better life and a better future for their kids. A simple [traffic] stop can change their whole lives.”
The ballot initiative has attracted the attention of some of Hollywood’s elite. Last month, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the director made famous by his Broadway hit, “Hamilton,” donated $25,000 to the ballot initiative.
Other sponsors for the event include Mi Familia Vota, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, Tucson Jobs with Justice, LUCHA – Living United for Change in Arizona, Arizona Center for Empowerment, International Painters Union Local 86, Corazon Arizona, AzCOSH, Moms Clean Air Force, Arizona Dream Act Coalition ADAC, Care in Action US, Jahmar International, and Healthcare Rising Arizona.
In addition to Romero, several other elected officials and tribal leaders have also endorsed the initiative. Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-03) and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02); State Representative Andres Cano (D-Tucson); Tucson City Councilmembers Lane Santa Cruz, Paul Cunningham, Paul Durham, and Richard Fimbres; Pima County Supervisor and Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Board Member Sadie Shaw; Pascua Yaqui Tribe Chairman Robert Valencia; and Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris.
The government-backed event will take place Saturday at Mission Manor Park, from 9 am to 3 pm. The event will also offer free COVID-19 vaccinations and immigration services.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com
The City of Tucson has placed its controversial employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate on hold after Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Tuesday that the city acted unlawfully last month when it passed an ordinance allowing for a five-day unpaid suspension of employees who do not provide proof of vaccination.
“Until we have a better understanding of our legal position in relation to today’s report, I have instructed staff to pause on the implementation of the policy,” Tucson City Manager Mike Ortega said after the attorney general issued his legal opinion on Tucson City Ordinance 11869 which took effect Aug. 20.
Brnovich’s opinion also noted that if the ordinance is not repealed within 30 days, he will advise State Treasurer Kimberly Lee to withhold millions of dollars from the city’s portion of state shared revenues until the city comes into compliance. He also said Tucson city officials could face potential liability claims from employees affected by the ordinance.
“Our office determined today that Tucson’s vaccine mandate is illegal, and the city could be held liable for attempting to force employees to take it against their beliefs,” Brnovich said. “COVID-19 vaccinations should be a choice, not a government mandate.”
A March 2021 report by the Arizona League of Cities and Towns estimated Tucson’s FY2021-2022 shared revenues at more than $175 million.
It is unclear whether simply putting enforcement of the ordinance on hold is sufficient for compliance with the attorney general’s 30 day deadline. Mayor Regina Romero said on Tuesday the city is reviewing its options and that she and the council “will need to provide direction as to how we proceed from here.”
Brnovich’s legal opinion came in response to an inquiry from Sen. Kelly Townsend about whether Tucson’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees violated state law, particularly Senate Bill 1824 which prohibits the state and any cities, towns, and counties from implementing such a mandate.
Although SB1824 does not take effect until Sept. 29, Gov. Doug Ducey used his statutory emergency powers to issue Executive Order 2021-18 earlier this year to prohibit mandated COVID-19 related vaccinations for state, city, and county employees.
After Brnovich’s announcement, Townsend (R-LD16 called on Tucson Mayor Regina Romero to formally end the city’s ordinance, which applied to not only current employees but applicants as well.
“It is imperative that we not only respect the rule of law, but that we not allow our fear of a virus to run roughshod over the rights of the citizens of Arizona,” Townsend. “I wish to thank the Attorney General for his response and I encourage every elected official and bureaucrat to remember that it is the people of this State that employ us and whom we answer to, not the other way around.”
But Townsend did not stop there, calling on Tucson city employees to pursue legal action due to the ordinance.
“I further encourage those who were forced into taking a COVID-19 vaccine against their will in order to maintain employment to seek damages and to hold [Romero] fully accountable for this illegal act.”
It is unclear whether any Tucson employees have been disciplined with suspension, or whether ongoing refusals have subjected employee to more severe discipline, such as termination.
Private businesses are exempt from the provisions of Ducey’s executive order and SB1824. However, last month Brnovich issued a legal opinion making it clear such COVID-19 vaccination mandates must allow for religious and medical exemptions for employees.
That legal opinion was also issued in response to a request from Townsend.
Tucson’s vaccine mandate may be the end of a career for many first responders. The city now requires that all of its employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine by Tuesday – also the deadline for all religious and medical exemption applications. If not, city employees face penalties such as unpaid suspension and are excluded from certain benefits such as leave. The council plans to convene again on September 9 to determine whether they’ll make refusal of the vaccine a fireable offense; this decision is contingent on the amount of employees who get vaccinated.
The vaccine mandate impacts first responders the most. According to city data, firefighters and police officers have the lowest vaccination rates among city employees. City data also notes that these first responders collectively answered nearly 435,000 calls in 2020 – even with stay at home orders and mandated closures.
One legal challenge to the vaccine mandate has already been shot down. Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Gordon denied a request from the Tucson Police Officers Association (TPOA) for a restraining order against the city policy. Gordon said that TPOA and those who testified failed to show that they would suffer irreparable harm from the mandate.
Tucson City Council asserts that strict measures should be taken for those who don’t get vaccinated – even termination. Councilman Steve Kozachik suggested that the city fire all employees who don’t become fully vaccinated by the end of September.
“If left to me, I’d set a date [or] a deadline and terminate anyone who doesn’t get vaccinated,” stated Kozachik. “The ordinance should say ‘get vaccinated by September 25 – fully vaccinated – or you forfeit your employment as a city worker.’”
Tucson’s mandate comes as health officials are urging booster doses of the vaccine, following reports of more breakthrough cases and a spike in the Delta variant.
In an executive order published two weeks ago, Governor Doug Ducey clarified that vaccine mandates were outlawed by statute. The governor noted that any violations of this law would be considered a class 3 misdemeanor and subject to legal action.
In relation to Ducey’s remarks on the legality of vaccine mandates, Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced last week that his office was investigating Tucson’s vaccine mandate.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) published an opinion last month arguing that emergency use authorization-only vaccines could be mandated.
State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) told AZ Free News that this mandate was a politicized move that threatens public safety. The representative assured that the state legislature would mete out proper justice if Tucson doesn’t retract its mandate.
“Tucson has gone full communist with its latest threat to fire employees who make the individual choice to hold off on taking the COVID vaccine at this time,” stated Hoffman. “The fact that Tucson’s partisan politics would sacrifice public safety to promote an unlawful, anti-science, forced vaccination policy is a bridge too far. If the far-left politicians in Tucson refuse to follow the law, the legislature will have no choice but to address their lawlessness come January.”
Similarly, Alex Kolodin, the attorney for the biology teacher suing Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) for its mask mandate, said that Tucson’s mandate is a means of catching the President’s attention.
“Firing first responders during the public health emergency just so that they can suck up to Joe Biden by flouting the law seems like a really bad move,” assessed Kolodin.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
