WASHINGTON – It took less than a minute, but Arizona’s delegation to the Republican National Convention cast all 57 of its votes Monday for President Donald Trump, part of a suspense-free nomination that kicked off the four-day convention.

Trump got all 2,550 votes, even though only a fraction of that many delegates were actually in the hall in Charlotte, North Carolina. Like the Democratic National Convention last week, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the GOP event this week to stage a nontraditional convention.

But even though they could not be there in person, Arizona delegates expressed enthusiasm Monday for their candidate.

“He took the time to come to Arizona to show that he cared for our state,” said Alberto Gutier, a delegate and sergeant-at-arms for the Arizona Republican Party who was watching the events from home Monday.

The outcome was hardly a surprise: Arizona was one of a number that opted against a Republican presidential primary this year, leaving Trump as the only candidate.

Most delegates focused their comments on law and order, economic issues and, for Arizona delegation Chairman Michael Ward, “miles and miles and miles of big, beautiful wall.”

It took a little more than an hour and a half Monday for the actual roll call of the states that formally nominated Trump, who followed with a speech that went on for almost an hour on everything from election security to COVID-19 to judicial appointments.

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This article is co-published with The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan local newsroom that informs and engages with Texans.

Near the end of a lengthy indictment detailing fraud allegations against Stephen Bannon, former Donald Trump campaign CEO and chief strategist and his associates, federal prosecutors reveal that they intend to seize the assets of a murky nonprofit organization Bannon launched in 2017 to promote “economic nationalism.”

The group is Citizens of the American Republic, a California-based nonprofit that serves as a platform for Bannon’s films and podcasts that promote Trump’s ideology. Throughout the 24-page indictment, the group appears to be referenced as “Non-Profit-1” in a scheme in which Bannon and his partners were allegedly looting a crowdsourced charity, We Build the Wall, for personal gain. The indictment never outright states that “Non-Profit-1” is Citizens of the American Republic, but it describes it as an “organization founded by [Bannon] with the stated purpose of promoting economic nationalism and American sovereignty,” which closely matches the nonprofit’s own stated aims.

The indictment alleges that “Non-Profit-1” received over $1 million through the scheme and funneled part of it to Brian Kolfage, the military veteran who raised money to build a privately funded wall to help Trump block off the southern border.

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

PHOENIX – Nearly 200 tents stand inches apart on the scorching gravel lots, many covered in blankets for an extra layer of relief from the desert sun. Outside, their occupants sit on hot ground or in folding chairs, nearby palm trees providing no shade. Despite 12-foot-square sections painted in the gravel, there is little social distancing for Phoenix’s homeless population.

Created by local officials in late April as a temporary solution for some of the estimated 3,700 unsheltered homeless, the fenced-in lots on the edge of downtown promised round-the-clock security, social distancing and access to water and toilets. But residents complain that hygiene supplies have become scarce, and measures meant to contain the spread of COVID-19 are not enforced.

“We have been, like, ignored,” said Elisheyah, 61. “There’s no safety, nothing to guarantee you can be safe out here.”

Homeless people are one of the most vulnerable populations in the coronavirus pandemic, yet they’re largely invisible victims of the crisis. Very little is known about how they’re faring, in part because the Department of Housing and Urban Development – the main federal agency overseeing programs for them – has not required its national network of providers to gather information on infections or deaths. That’s despite the fact that unlike other high-risk, congregate-living groups, such as nursing home residents and prisoners, homeless people interact more with the general public.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Prescott, joined a chorus of Republicans defending the changes to the Postal Service and accusing Democrats in a sometimes-heated hearing of conspiring to create problems with this fall’s presidential election.

“I want to clear up some obvious political disinformation that the majority is putting out,” Gosar said at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meeting where Republicans defended cost-cutting moves by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

But Democrats said DeJoy’s decisions to remove some mail equipment, cut back on overtime and other changes have directly affected the delivery of mail, which they fear could hamper mail-in balloting this fall.

“Our entire country is experiencing these delays as a result of Mr. DeJoy’s actions,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York, and chairwoman of the committee.

The hearing came two days after the House, in a largely partisan vote, approved the “Delivering for America Act” Saturday 257-150, with the no votes coming from 149 Republicans and one independent member.

Arizona lawmakers followed suit, with all five Democrats in the House voting for the bill and all four Republicans opposing it.

Maloney’s office said the bill would provide the Postal Service with $25 billion “to help weather the coronavirus crisis and returns operations to the way they were before the Postmaster General recently caused nationwide delays in the mail.”

James Christopher Counts lived life on his own terms.

The man was born on July 23, 1958 in Birmingham, Alabama, and bled Bama’s crimson red until the day he passed away, Aug. 23, 2020. He was 62 years old.

Like many southern gentlemen, Jim had a charming personality but could be as ornery as the day was long. More often than not, he was generous and kind to those around him and quick with a joke—usually inappropriate— to lighten a somber mood.

He’s best known for owning Nimbus Brewing Company from 2000 until its closing in 2018.

Jim was the youngest of three siblings who spent their formative years living throughout the country and Europe due to their father being an electrical engineer always on the hunt for the higher paying job. He said it was an exciting childhood but moving nearly every school year left him without close friends. Jim wanted to make sure my brother James and I were spared this fate.
In 1989, my father drove us cross country to take a job in the Old Pueblo. He briefly visited Tucson in the mid 1980s and thought it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever encountered in all his travels. The Sonoran Desert is where he wanted his family to settle down and grow roots.

Jim purchased a Hallmark store in a no-so-great shopping center soon after moving to Tucson. He saw the investment as his chance to be a business owner at 32 years old, while buying into a franchise at a rock bottom price. Within a few short years Jim had moved the card shop to a better area and turned business around. He sold the store for a considerable profit in the late 1990s and soon purchased Nimbus Brewing Company in 2000 after his son, James, gave him a tip it was for sale.

My father didn’t start Nimbus—that honor goes to Nimbus Couzin—but he had a vision of what this city’s brewing culture could be while helping kickstart our local craft beer community.
While Nimbus Brewing Company never made the leap from its warehouse location on 44th Street—political and local opposition to the proposed building’s construction site soured the brewery’s move downtown—Jim did open a satellite restaurant, Nimbus Bistro on Tucson’s old Restaurant Row.

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Record numbers of Americans are receiving unemployment insurance during the pandemic. That’s because of the enormous scale of jobs lost — but also because Congress greatly expanded the number of workers eligible for benefits. For the first time, thanks to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, part-timers, independent contractors and gig workers qualify for unemployment payments. Black workers are overrepresented in these nontraditional positions, which in the past has contributed to making them less likely to receive unemployment payments than other groups.

Yet despite the expansion of eligibility, a smaller percentage of unemployed Black workers are receiving unemployment benefits than white workers during the pandemic, according to national survey data from NORC at the University of Chicago: 13% of jobless Black workers received such payments between April and June, compared with 22% for Hispanic workers and 24% for white workers.

Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake has joined dozens of longtime Republicans in formal support of Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden. In a video aired for the Democratic National Convention, Republicans including Flake, former Ohio governor John Kasich and former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman expressed their concerns over President Trump's performance and behavior in office.

The number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 199,000 as of Tuesday, Aug. 25, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had seen 20,919 of the state’s 199,273 confirmed cases.

With 21 new deaths reported today, a total of 4,792 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, according to the Aug. 25 report.

The number of hospitalized COVID cases remained below 1,000 yesterday. ADHS reported that 999 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state. That number peaked at 3,517 on July 13.

A total of 900 people visited ERs on Aug. 24 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.

A total of 319 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Aug. 24, the lowest that number has been since May 22, when 309 people were in ICU. 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.

City of Tucson offering rental assistance, grants for those affected by pandemic

The City of Tucson has allocated $4.5 million of federal CARES Act funding for an emergency rent and utility assistance program available to city residents.

To be eligible for the financial assistance, participating renters must have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the household income cannot exceed $68,400.

One application will be accepted per household, and each household can receive up to $2,500 to cover up to three months of late or upcoming rent or utility payments that were incurred after March 1, 2020.

All applicants will need to provide copies of their identification, bills, proof of income and other household information. The city’s Housing and Community Development department is partnering with several nonprofit organizations to administer these funds, including Primavera, Interfaith Community Services, Catholic Community Services and the International Rescue Committee.

Representatives from one of these agencies will contact applicants within five days for a phone interview and may ask for additional information. The funds will be sent directly to each applicants’ landlord and/or utility company.

“Keeping Tucsonans safe and healthy in their homes is the most important thing as many of our residents have been greatly impacted financially by this pandemic,” said Housing and Community Development Director Liz Morales in a press release.

The application process is open and renters are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Visit www.tucsonaz.gov/hcd/rent-help to complete an application. If you need assistance or are unable to complete the application online, call (520) 837-5364 or email [email protected].

The city is also setting aside $3 million of CARES Act funding to be distributed to local workers and families that have been negatively impacted by the crisis.

The grant program, named the “We Are One | Somos Unos Resiliency Fund” will focus on individuals and households that have not received any state or federal COVID-19 relief money and whose income does not reach Pima County’s self-sufficiency standard.

The self-sufficiency standard measures how much money an individual or family needs to earn to be able to meet their basic needs with no public or private financial assistance. In 2018, the self-sufficiency standard for a single adult in Pima County was $9.66 per hour or $1,700 per month. For a household with two adults and two young children, the standard was $13.22 per hour for both adults, or $4,711 per month.

The city is partnering with the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona, which will administer the grants and accept applications until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

In addition, the city’s We Are One | Somos Unos Resiliency Fund recently received a $1.25 million donation to provide financial relief for Tucson’s immigrant communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donations, from the Open Society Foundations and an anonymous donor, will provide funds to immigrants living in the City of Tucson and the City of South Tucson. These are people who have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 but are often excluded from federal aid.

The Open Society Foundations is a worldwide philanthropic organization run by billionaire George Soros.

The $1.25 million will be disbursed through grants to those who were not eligible to receive federal CARES Act stimulus checks earlier this year, and who face additional barriers to financial assistance programs, according to a city press release.

“It is unconscionable that many of our fellow Tucsonans do not have access to federal aid despite risking their lives serving as essential workers during this pandemic,” said Mayor Regina Romero in the release. “No one should suffer hardship in the shadows and, unfortunately, that’s the painful reality many immigrants are enduring.”

Tucson council member Lane Santa Cruz said that early in the COVID-19 pandemic advocates from the Immigrant Empowerment Taskforce shared information about how immigrant families were being affected. In the release, Santa Cruz said they were grateful for the donations which will help the city address these economic injustices.

The Sunnyside Foundation has been designated as the administrator of the funds, and details on how to receive aid will be shared on Sept. 1 at www.sunnysidefoundation.org.

“Entire families in our community are being evicted from their homes, losing jobs, and having to decide between buying groceries or paying utility bills,” said Sunnyside Foundation Executive Director Kerri Lopez-Howell in the release. “We are honored to steward these resources and eager to work alongside grassroots community leaders, organizers, and advocates to ensure that those most impacted receive these dollars.”

Rent assistance available for biz closed by Ducey’s executive order

Gov. Doug Ducey's administration and the Local First Arizona Foundation will accept applications for a new grant program that aims to provide $10 million in financial assistance to small businesses across the state.

The Arizona Small Business Rent and Mortgage Relief Grant program will focus on helping local businesses that had to close their operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor’s office is partnering with the foundation in order to facilitate the disbursements.

“The partnership leverages the grantmaking experience and small business expertise of Local First Arizona Foundation, which has already distributed over $2 million in grant funds to small businesses across the state of Arizona, to continue their work of putting small businesses on a path for recovery,” said Local First Communications Manager Maria Lopez in a press release.

The grants will provide up to two months of rent or mortgage payments for small businesses headquartered in Arizona that were directly impacted by the governor’s Executive Order 2020-43, which shuttered gyms, fitness centers, bars, nightclubs, indoor movie theatres, water parks and tubing operators in response to the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state.

Qualifying businesses can receive up to $25,000, and the money will be prioritized for businesses that are struggling the most to meet their financial obligations and do not have access to other financial support, the release states.

In order to be eligible for this grant program, businesses must have been operating in Arizona prior to Jan. 1, 2020; must be directly impacted by the executive order; must be renting or leasing a physical location outside the owner’s personal residence and must be employing fewer than 50 workers.

Each business owner can only apply for one grant. In order to apply, owners are encouraged to provide rent or mortgage statements for June through October, income source information, attestation of cash on hand and/or attestation of good standing with the Arizona Department of Revenue.

The grant program will give preference to businesses that are the primary or sole source of income for its owners.

The application process opened this morning. Interested individuals can fill out an application at www.localfirstaz.com/azsmallbizrent.

Get tested: Pima County has several testing centers

Pima County has three free testing centers with easy-to-schedule appointments—often with same-day availability—and you get results in less than 72 hours.

Centers offering a nasal swab are at the Kino Event Center, 2805 E. Ajo Way, and the Udall Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road. The center at the northside Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road, involves a saliva test designed by ASU.

Schedule an appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.

The centers are also tied into Pima County’s developing contact tracing operation, which aims to be able to identify potential clusters and warn people if they have been in contact with someone who is COVID-positive.

If you’re interested in a test to determine if you’ve already had COVID-19, the UA has expanded a free COVID-19 antibody testing program to include 15 new categories of essential workers considered at high risk for exposure. The antibody test, developed by researchers at UA Health Sciences, determines who has been exposed to and developed an immune response against COVID-19.

In addition to healthcare workers and first responders, the test program is now open to educators, childcare workers, agriculture, grocery and foodservice workers, hospitality employees, solid-waste collection workers, transportation services workers and members of the National Guard. More information and registration for the test is available at covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu.

—with additional reporting from Kathleen B. Kunz, Austin Counts, Jeff Gardner and Tara Foulkrod

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When Pima County Constable Oscar Vasquez arrived to serve a legal notice to Sue Carpenter last Jan. 30 at her home west of Tucson, he climbed out of his car, walked over to her neighbor’s travel trailer, unzipped his pants and took a leak—a performance that was captured on a security cam.

Vasquez then walked up to her neighbor’s door and tried to serve the papers. When the neighbor told Vasquez that Carpenter lived next door, he first insisted that his GPS was telling him he had the right home. When the neighbor finally convinced Vasquez that he needed to go next door, he also warned Vasquez that Carpenter had dogs. Vasquez responded that he was armed with a taser.

Vasquez drove next door but Carpenter wasn’t home, so he drove his truck across her front yard, leaving behind a rut of visible tire tracks, according to a complaint Carpenter filed with the Constable Ethics, Standards & Training Board.

In his response to the complaint, Vasquez apologized for peeing in public. He said it “was not done out of malcontent.” Vasquez just really had to go: “I needed to urgently relieve myself and with the nearest restroom being nine miles away, I immediately relieved myself in order to avoid wetting myself due to being older.”

Vasquez, a Democrat who did not return a phone call from the Weekly, said in his defense that he suffered from a medical condition and was seeking treatment.

The public urination episode was only one of many that have required the Constable Ethics, Standards & Training Board to investigate and reprimand Vasquez in his first term as an elected constable with the job of delivering eviction notices and other legal summons. The string of abuses—including driving county cars at excessive speeds and smashing them up; chasing down a motorist after a near-miss accident at a four-way stop; and a recent failure to take online classes in driving safety and anger management—now has the constable ethics board asking the Pima County Board of Supervisors to suspend Vasquez without pay for at least for 30 days.


The 144-page report compiled as background for supervisors to read reveals an elected official who just can’t stay out of trouble.