WASHINGTON – Most Republicans watched President Donald Trump’s acceptance speech from their couches Thursday but Gov. Doug Ducey watched from the South Lawn of the White House.

The invitation for Ducey and his wife to be on hand for the speech is just the latest example of Ducey’s increasingly cozy relationship with the administration. Thursday’s visit was Ducey’s second trip to the White House this month and at least his third this year, while Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have made repeated trips to Arizona in recent months.

“We’ve had a tremendous relationship,” Trump said during a Ducey visit earlier this month, “You’ve done a fantastic job. We’re very proud of you.”

The feeling is apparently mutual.

“Gov. Ducey is honored to be invited to the White House for this historic occasion and to support President Trump,” Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak said Thursday. “The governor is very grateful for the leadership of President Trump and Vice President Pence, especially their support of Arizona through this pandemic.”

One analyst said it just makes sense for the governor to have a good relationship with the president.

“It’s an honor to be invited to see history … I applaud the governor for doing that,” said Jason Rose, a Republican political consultant in Arizona. “No secret that this governor has enjoyed a good working relationship with the president, and especially with the vice president.”

But another noted that Trump needs Arizona, which is widely expected to be a battleground state in this fall’s elections, and that “photo ops with the governor is one way to get on the news at night.”

It’s probably fair to say that Linda Ronstadt is the most-impressive Tucsonan ever born here. And, with his passing late Thursday evening, it’s undeniable that Lute Olson is the most-impressive Tucsonan to have lived and died here. Olson had been in failing health after suffering multiple strokes. He was 85.

There is no way to overstate what Olson did for the University of Arizona, its basketball program, the city of Tucson, and the state of Arizona. He was a towering basketball god, recognizable worldwide for his physical stature, his steely presence on the sidelines, and, most notably, for his perfectly coiffed silver hair. Through work ethic and excellence, he brought status and pride to the community and he was absolutely beloved for his efforts. In a country with several huge metropolises in which an urban sport like basketball can flourish, it’s remarkable that the three meccas of the collegiate sport are Durham, North Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; and Tucson, Arizona.

Even more than a decade after he stepped down, when a kid in Ivory Coast or Costa Rica, Budapest or Singapore picks up a basketball, they know about Arizona. It’s a legacy well-earned and one cherished by Tucsonans.

Olson took a circuitous route to Arizona after starting his coaching career as a high-school coach in Southern California. It’s rare, but not totally unheard of, for a prep coach to make the leap to a major-college job. He started out coaching high school ball in Minnesota, the state in which he had graduated from Augsburg College. While at Augsburg, he played four years of football and basketball (going by “Luke” Olson). His senior year, he even played a season of baseball and was named the school’s athlete of the year.

The number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 200,000 as of Friday, Aug. 28, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had seen 21,072 of the state’s 200,658 confirmed cases.

With 49 new deaths reported today, a total of 4,978 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, according to the Aug. 28 report.

The number of hospitalized COVID cases continues to decline. ADHS reported that as of Aug. 27, 809 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the lowest that number has been since May 22, when 784 people were hospitalized. That number peaked at 3,517 on July 13.

A total of 922 people visited ERs on Aug. 27 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7 and has bounced between 900 and 1,100 for most of August.

A total of 272 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Aug. 27. That number has been cut in half since the beginning of August. The number in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.

In Pima County, the week-by-week counting of cases peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,398 cases, according to an Aug. 26 report from the Pima County Health Department. Those numbers have dropped with Pima County requiring the wearing of masks in public but they have bumped upward recent weeks, with 804 cases in the week ending Aug. 8 and 930 cases in the week ending Aug. 15. (Not all recent cases may have been reported.)

Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to 35 for the week ending Aug. 8 and 15 for the week ending Aug. 15.

Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 247 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals. For the week ending Aug. 15, 63 COVID patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals.

State hits benchmark allowing shuttered biz to reopen

Arizona reached certain benchmarks allowing for the reopening of Indoor gyms, movie theaters, bars serving food, water parks and tubing operations in Pima and Maricopa counties.

State metrics reached the “moderate” COVID-19 transmission category yesterday.

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New York is allowing residents from five states—including Arizona— to visit the Tri-State region without needing to quarantine for 14 days after arriving.

Alaska, Deleware, Montana and Maryland were also taken off New York's COVID-19 travel advisory by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last Tuesday. Guam, however, was added to the list.

"New York State is moving forward in the face of a continuing crisis throughout the nation and around the world," Cuomo said. 'We've gone from one of the nation's worst infection rates to one of its best and have an infection rate below one percent for the 11th straight day, but that's no excuse for getting complacent as we add two more states to our travel advisory."

Under the advisory, travelers from areas with a positive COVID test rate above 10 percent of 100,000 people over a seven-day average must submit a form with their travel information and quarantine for two-weeks upon arrival or face a $2,000 fine. While bordering states New Jersey and Connecticut have the same travel restrictions in place, they do not have the stiff monetary penalty.

The advisory applies those who travel by plane, bus, train or boat. The restrictions do not apply for those traveling through the Tri-State region for business reasons.

Gov. Cuomo first implemented the travel advisory restrictions to New York on June 25. 


  

WASHINGTON – Lezmond Mitchell on Wednesday became the first Native American in modern history to be executed by the federal government over the objections of a tribal government for a crime committed between Native Americans on tribal land.

Mitchell, a Navajo convicted of the 2001 murders of a Navajo woman and her granddaughter, was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m. in the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, the Justice Department said. The execution started at 6 p.m. after last-minute appeals to the courts and the White House failed.

The execution had been strenuously opposed by the Navajo Nation, which normally must allow an execution of a tribal member. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer said in a statement Wednesday that, “Our collective voice was ignored.”

“We don’t expect federal officials to understand our strongly held traditions of clan relationship, keeping harmony in our communities, and holding life sacred,” their statement said. “What we do expect, no, what we demand, is respect for our People, for our Tribal Nation, and we will not be pushed aside any longer.”

Mitchell’s attorneys called the execution another chapter in the federal government’s “long history of injustices against Native American people.”

I’m two episodes in, and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on yet with this nutty show, but I sure do like it.

From the creative minds of Misha Green and Jordan Peele comes this twisty, screwy and scary series that mixes 1950s racism in America with Lovecraftian horror. Atticus (Jonathan Majors), a Black veteran returning from war, goes on a search for his missing father with his uncle (Courtney B. Vance) and childhood friend (Jurnee Smollett, my new favorite actress).

Their search leads them to Lovecraft Country, a southern region rife with racism (like H.P. Lovecraft himself) and, as you find out in the end of episode one, crazy beasts right out of a Lovecraft story. It’s an insane mix; one moment people are dancing to the blues in a crowded southern street, and the next they are fighting crazed vampiric monsters in a secluded cabin.

Again, I’m only two episodes in (the series releases one show a week on HBO Max) so this could all go downhill from here, but I don’t think so. The show has that “message with the madness” vibe that Peele provided with Get Out. It looks terrific, from its period settings to its excellent monster effects.

And it is very well acted, with Majors, Smollett and Vance providing excellent leads, and some other stars who I won’t spoil.

HBO and HBO Max specifically are proving to be a sweet streaming venture. I’ll take this moment here to also endorse An American Pickle, starring two Seth Rogens. Very much worth your time, and HBO Max is proving to be worth the money.

The number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 200,000 as of Thursday, Aug. 27, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had seen 21,001 of the state’s 200,139 confirmed cases.

With 33 new deaths reported today, a total of 4,929 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, according to the Aug. 27 report.

The number of hospitalized COVID cases continues to decline. ADHS reported that as of Aug. 26, 895 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the lowest that number has been since May 25, when 818 people were hospitalized. That number peaked at 3,517 on July 13.

A total of 1,019 people visited ERs on Aug. 26 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7 and has bounced between 900 and 1,100 for most of August.

A total of 311 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Aug. 26. That number has been cut in half since the beginning of August. The number in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.

In Pima County, the week-by-week counting of cases peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,398 cases, according to an Aug. 19 report from the Pima County Health Department. Those numbers have dropped with Pima County requiring the wearing of masks in public but they have plateaued in recent weeks, with 832 cases in the week ending Aug. 8 and 819 cases in the week ending Aug. 15. (Not all recent cases may have been reported.)

Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to 19 for the week ending Aug. 8.

Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 247 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals. For the week ending Aug. 8, 88 COVID patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals.

State hitting benchmark to allow shuttered biz to reopen

State officials expect Arizona to hit certain benchmarks allowing for the reopening of Indoor gyms, movie theaters, bars serving food, water parks and tubing operations in Pima, Maricopa and Pinal counties.

State metrics are expected to reach the “moderate” COVID-19 transmission category today.

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