Friday, July 31, 2020
Editor’s Note: Coronavirus has devastated Native American communities and put a spotlight on some long-standing problems in Indian Country that have made this pandemic that much worse. But at the grassroots level, everyday heroes have stepped up to help.
PHOENIX – When the sun is up, he’s up and ready to hit the road by 8. Flatbed trucks are loaded with brimming barrels of water, and the teams take off – up and down the burnt orange washboard roads that crisscross the Navajo Nation Reservation.
Zoel Zohnnie grew up on a ranch in these vast lands, knowing what it’s like to live without running water, knowing what it means to drive for miles to fill up at a community water station and then haul it back home.
“For some families, it’s a whole day of leaving home, waiting in line, coming back, unloading,” he said. “Just to drink water and have water for living.”
PHOENIX – When the sun is up, he’s up and ready to hit the road by 8. Flatbed trucks are loaded with brimming barrels of water, and the teams take off – up and down the burnt orange washboard roads that crisscross the Navajo Nation Reservation.
Zoel Zohnnie grew up on a ranch in these vast lands, knowing what it’s like to live without running water, knowing what it means to drive for miles to fill up at a community water station and then haul it back home.
“For some families, it’s a whole day of leaving home, waiting in line, coming back, unloading,” he said. “Just to drink water and have water for living.”
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 174,000 as of Friday, July 31, after the state reported 3,212 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 16,167 of the state's 174,010 confirmed cases.
A total of 3,694 people have died after contracting the virus, including 459 in Pima County.
Maricopa County had 117,293 of the state's cases.
Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report a slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 2,302 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on July 13. That’s the lowest number of hospitalized COViD patients since June 23, when 2,270 people were in hospital beds.
A total of 1,195 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, the lowest that number has dipped since July 28, when 1,225 people sought help in ERs for COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 719 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 3, when XXX COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
TRAILING IN POLLS, TRUMP SAYS HE WASN'T SERIOUS ABOUT ASKING FOR DELAY IN ELECTION
As he trails Democrat Joe Biden in the polls, President Donald Trump yesterday said he wasn’t really serious about delaying the election, although he expressed concern that allowing people to mail in ballots during a pandemic would lead to massive fraud and lawsuits that could linger in the courts for years.
“Do I want to see a day change?” Trump said during his daily coronavirus briefing. “No. But I don’t want to see a crooked election.”
Trump had started the day with a tweet asking if the election should be delayed.
Pima County had seen 16,167 of the state's 174,010 confirmed cases.
A total of 3,694 people have died after contracting the virus, including 459 in Pima County.
Maricopa County had 117,293 of the state's cases.
Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report a slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 2,302 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on July 13. That’s the lowest number of hospitalized COViD patients since June 23, when 2,270 people were in hospital beds.
A total of 1,195 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, the lowest that number has dipped since July 28, when 1,225 people sought help in ERs for COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 719 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 3, when XXX COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
TRAILING IN POLLS, TRUMP SAYS HE WASN'T SERIOUS ABOUT ASKING FOR DELAY IN ELECTION
As he trails Democrat Joe Biden in the polls, President Donald Trump yesterday said he wasn’t really serious about delaying the election, although he expressed concern that allowing people to mail in ballots during a pandemic would lead to massive fraud and lawsuits that could linger in the courts for years.
“Do I want to see a day change?” Trump said during his daily coronavirus briefing. “No. But I don’t want to see a crooked election.”
Trump had started the day with a tweet asking if the election should be delayed.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Gebrish Weldemariam, who was laid off by an airline catering company that later received government aid, with his family outside their Virginia home. (Dee Dwyer for ProPublica)
This spring, as the coronavirus spread and international travel bans grounded flights, Gebrish Weldemariam got a layoff letter from his airline catering job at Dulles International Airport.
He’d been working as a driver making more than $18 per hour for Flying Food Group, ferrying in-flight meals between the company’s kitchen and gated planes waiting on the tarmac. Between overtime at the airport and a part-time job driving buses on the side, Weldemariam felt that times were good. Last fall, with his wife expecting a fourth child, the family bought a house not far from the airport, allowing him to be nearby to help care for his oldest son, who has Down syndrome and needs constant attention.
“I have kids. I have a mortgage. I have two car loans,” Weldemariam said. “That’s why I work hard.”
Flying Food Group told him only that when business picks up, it would call him. Now, even with boosted unemployment benefits, he said he makes $600 less than a typical week when he was working. He’s worried he won’t be able to cover all of his monthly bills.
Flying Food didn’t just lay off Weldemariam. The Chicago-based company, one of the largest airline caterers in the country, has pink slipped more than 2,000 other workers since March. The cuts left the vast majority of its workforce out of a job at facilities in California, Chicago, Virginia and the New York City area, according to the union UNITE HERE, which represents Flying Food workers. Then in June, the Flying Food was approved to receive $85 million from the Trump administration from a pandemic relief program that was intended to preserve those very jobs.
Today, the Pima County Department of Transportation announced that the Mount Lemmon Highway will reopen beginning Saturday, Aug. 1. This announcement comes only two weeks after the Pima County Sheriff's Department said mountain access would be cut off until November. But a coordinated repair effort between the PCSD, the Department of Transportation and the Coronado National Forest Service is making the road safe for public access.
Since the Bighorn Fire dwindled through early and mid July, transportation workers have replaced more than 250 burnt guardrail posts, and aim to double that number.
According to the DoT, repair work will continue next week, including the repair and replacement of nearly 1,700 feet of guardrail. Speed reductions and lane restrictions will remain in place in areas where repair work continues. A closure order for lands managed by the Coronado National Forest in Mount Lemmon and the Upper Sabino Canyon remains in effect for public safety. The closure is in place because "the hazards to public health and safety are still present. The closure order is subject to change and the Coronado National Forest regularly assesses the conditions on the ground."
The reopening will allow vehicle access on Mount Lemmon Highway to Summerhaven and Ski Valley. Limited parking is available in these areas. Once parking areas become full, PCSD will control access until enough vehicles leave and allow for additional visitors to drive up the mountain.
Information on road closures can be found here.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 170,000 as of Wednesday, July 29, after the state reported 2,525 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 15,884 of the state's 170,798 confirmed cases.
A total of 3,626 people have died after contracting the virus, including 450 in Pima County.
Maricopa County had 114,852 of the state's cases.
Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report a slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 2,348 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on July 13. That’s the lowest number of hospitalized COViD patients since June 24, when 2,453 people were in hospital beds.
A total of 1,315 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, an increase since July 27 when 1,158 sought help from symptoms at the ER. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 758 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 3, when 796 COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
TRAILING IN POLLS, TRUMP ASKS FOR DELAY IN NOVEMBER ELECTION
As he trails in the polls to Democrat Joe Biden, President Donald Trump this morning called for a delay in the November election.
“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” Trump said on Twitter this morning. “It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
Trump has no authority to delay the election as the date is set by Congress and elections are run by states.
In other national news, 2012 GOP Republican candidate Herman Cain has died after contracting coronavirus. Cain was photographed at a June Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, without a mask shortly before he was diagnosed with the virus.
Pima County had seen 15,884 of the state's 170,798 confirmed cases.
A total of 3,626 people have died after contracting the virus, including 450 in Pima County.
Maricopa County had 114,852 of the state's cases.
Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report a slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 2,348 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on July 13. That’s the lowest number of hospitalized COViD patients since June 24, when 2,453 people were in hospital beds.
A total of 1,315 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, an increase since July 27 when 1,158 sought help from symptoms at the ER. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 758 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 3, when 796 COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
TRAILING IN POLLS, TRUMP ASKS FOR DELAY IN NOVEMBER ELECTION
As he trails in the polls to Democrat Joe Biden, President Donald Trump this morning called for a delay in the November election.
“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” Trump said on Twitter this morning. “It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
Trump has no authority to delay the election as the date is set by Congress and elections are run by states.
In other national news, 2012 GOP Republican candidate Herman Cain has died after contracting coronavirus. Cain was photographed at a June Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, without a mask shortly before he was diagnosed with the virus.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 168,000 as of Wednesday, July 29, after the state reported 2,339 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 15,601 of the state's 168,273 confirmed cases.
A total of 3,454 people have died after contracting the virus, including 431 in Pima County.
Maricopa County had 113,148 of the state's cases.
Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report a slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 2,424 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on July 13. That’s the lowest number of hospitalized COViD patients since June 24, when 2,453 people were in hospital beds.
A total of 1,225 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, a slight increase from yesterday's low when 1,158 people sought help in ERs for COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 800 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 4, when 821 COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
HUCKELBERRY: UNSAFE TO OPEN SCHOOLS IN AUGUST
Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry yesterday said schools should not reopen for in-person instruction on Aug. 17, based on the county’s current data on COVID-19 community spread.
Huckelberry sent a letter to all Pima County public school superintendents on Tuesday, July 28, to follow up on Gov. Doug Ducey’s recent executive order, which directed all county health departments to work with local school districts to determine when it is safe to return to school campuses.
“Clearly, County public health agencies with real-time information and data regarding the pandemic are in the best position to offer public health advice regarding school activities related to managing the spread of COVID-19,” Huckelberry wrote.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Click here to read their biggest stories as soon as they’re published.
Federal authorities are using a new tactic in their battle against protesters in Portland, Oregon: arrest them on offenses as minor as “failing to obey” an order to get off a sidewalk on federal property — and then tell them they can’t protest anymore as a condition for release from jail.
Legal experts describe the move as a blatant violation of the constitutional right to free assembly, but at least 12 protesters arrested in recent weeks have been specifically barred from attending protests or demonstrations as they await trials on federal misdemeanor charges.
“Defendant may not attend any other protests, rallies, assemblies or public gathering in the state of Oregon,” states one “Order Setting Conditions of Release” for an accused protester, alongside other conditions such as appearing for court dates. The orders are signed by federal magistrate judges.
For other defendants, the restricted area is limited to Portland, where clashes between protesters and federal troops have grown increasingly violent in recent weeks. In at least two cases, there are no geographic restrictions; one release document instructs, “Do not participate in any protests, demonstrations, rallies, assemblies while this case is pending.”
Protesters who have agreed to stay away from further demonstrations say they felt forced to accept those terms to get out of jail.
Federal authorities are using a new tactic in their battle against protesters in Portland, Oregon: arrest them on offenses as minor as “failing to obey” an order to get off a sidewalk on federal property — and then tell them they can’t protest anymore as a condition for release from jail.
Legal experts describe the move as a blatant violation of the constitutional right to free assembly, but at least 12 protesters arrested in recent weeks have been specifically barred from attending protests or demonstrations as they await trials on federal misdemeanor charges.
“Defendant may not attend any other protests, rallies, assemblies or public gathering in the state of Oregon,” states one “Order Setting Conditions of Release” for an accused protester, alongside other conditions such as appearing for court dates. The orders are signed by federal magistrate judges.
For other defendants, the restricted area is limited to Portland, where clashes between protesters and federal troops have grown increasingly violent in recent weeks. In at least two cases, there are no geographic restrictions; one release document instructs, “Do not participate in any protests, demonstrations, rallies, assemblies while this case is pending.”
Protesters who have agreed to stay away from further demonstrations say they felt forced to accept those terms to get out of jail.
Monday, July 27, 2020
When he announced an extension Thursday of his order closing bars, gyms, movie theaters and more, Gov. Doug Ducey acknowledged that “businesses and employees have sacrificed” as the state fights the spread of COVID-19.
But some of those businesses are tired of sacrificing.
A lawsuit filed with the Arizona Supreme Court by 50 owners of 44 bars claims Ducey’s order, first filed June 29, is unconstitutional. The bars in the suit come from cities around the state, including Chandler, Mesa, Phoenix, Prescott, Sedona and Tucson, among others.
“They’re all complying with the order,” said Ilan Wurman, the attorney representing the bar owners. “But the reality is that if this goes on for much longer, some of them will just have to open up and risk the enforcement authorities.”
Wurman, an associate professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, claims in his filing that the closure order is unconstitutional because it is unevenly applied and it denies bar owners their due process. He also claims that only the Legislature has the power to issue the order and that laws cannot be subject to “the whims of one man.”
But some of those businesses are tired of sacrificing.
A lawsuit filed with the Arizona Supreme Court by 50 owners of 44 bars claims Ducey’s order, first filed June 29, is unconstitutional. The bars in the suit come from cities around the state, including Chandler, Mesa, Phoenix, Prescott, Sedona and Tucson, among others.
“They’re all complying with the order,” said Ilan Wurman, the attorney representing the bar owners. “But the reality is that if this goes on for much longer, some of them will just have to open up and risk the enforcement authorities.”
Wurman, an associate professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, claims in his filing that the closure order is unconstitutional because it is unevenly applied and it denies bar owners their due process. He also claims that only the Legislature has the power to issue the order and that laws cannot be subject to “the whims of one man.”
Friday, July 24, 2020
PHOENIX – The WNBA and NBA have allowed players to choose a variety of social justice messages they would like on the back of their jerseys once regular season basketball resumes.
Play Ball! Diamondbacks Start Season Tucson Tonight, FC Tucson Is Back on Soccer Field Sunday The Phoenix Mercury will be honoring the life of Breonna Taylor by showcasing her name on the back of every player’s uniform when their season begins Saturday against the L.A. Sparks in Bradenton, Fla., the team announced.
And the Suns’ Deandre Ayton told the media on a Zoom webinar call on Thursday that he plans to have the messaging “respect us” on the back of his jersey.
Taylor was a 26-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by police when Louisville officers came into her apartment abruptly on March 13 while using a no-knock warrant to search for drugs during a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment and the warrant was made in connection with a suspect who did not share the apartment with Taylor in any way.
Play Ball! Diamondbacks Start Season Tucson Tonight, FC Tucson Is Back on Soccer Field Sunday The Phoenix Mercury will be honoring the life of Breonna Taylor by showcasing her name on the back of every player’s uniform when their season begins Saturday against the L.A. Sparks in Bradenton, Fla., the team announced.
And the Suns’ Deandre Ayton told the media on a Zoom webinar call on Thursday that he plans to have the messaging “respect us” on the back of his jersey.
Taylor was a 26-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by police when Louisville officers came into her apartment abruptly on March 13 while using a no-knock warrant to search for drugs during a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment and the warrant was made in connection with a suspect who did not share the apartment with Taylor in any way.
PHOENIX – Gyms, bars, nightclubs and more will remain closed past next week as the state continues to fight a disease that is “highly contagious and in every part of the state,” Gov. Doug Ducey said Thursday.
But even as he urged people to stay home and practice safe hygiene, Ducey declined to require the use of masks statewide, instead unveiling an advertising campaign, “Tougher than COVID,” that urges people to wear masks voluntarily.
“I’d ask you to continue to be vigilant,” Ducey said. “Whether you’re in Phoenix or Tucson or a rural area, the virus is still present.”
The comments came in a wide-ranging news conference in which the governor tried to walk a tightrope between touting improvements in the state’s number of COVID-19 cases and warning residents that the virus still presents a threat and people need to brace for what Ducey called a new normal.
They also came the same day that the state crossed the 3,000 threshold for deaths. The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 84 deaths Thursday to bring the total for the state to 3,063.
“There’s no victory lap today, there’s no celebration,” said Ducey, who extended condolences to the thousands of Arizona families who have lost a loved one to the disease.
But even as he urged people to stay home and practice safe hygiene, Ducey declined to require the use of masks statewide, instead unveiling an advertising campaign, “Tougher than COVID,” that urges people to wear masks voluntarily.
“I’d ask you to continue to be vigilant,” Ducey said. “Whether you’re in Phoenix or Tucson or a rural area, the virus is still present.”
The comments came in a wide-ranging news conference in which the governor tried to walk a tightrope between touting improvements in the state’s number of COVID-19 cases and warning residents that the virus still presents a threat and people need to brace for what Ducey called a new normal.
They also came the same day that the state crossed the 3,000 threshold for deaths. The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 84 deaths Thursday to bring the total for the state to 3,063.
“There’s no victory lap today, there’s no celebration,” said Ducey, who extended condolences to the thousands of Arizona families who have lost a loved one to the disease.
