Tuesday, September 1, 2020
In an attempt to reduce the number of in-person visits to Motor Vehicle Departments, Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order today deferring requirements to renew standard driver licenses.
If your license has an expiration date through Dec. 31, 2020, renewal requirements have been extended by one year.
According to the Governor's office, under this Executive Order, all Arizona police as well as state government agencies, county and municipal governments, and election officials will accept Arizona driver licenses with expiration dates between March 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020, as valid identification for any purposes for which unexpired driver license cards would otherwise be accepted.
This follows Ducey's executive order in March, which delayed expiration dates on Arizona driver licenses for six months.
Arizona drivers may see their updated driver license expiration date at AZMVDNow.gov. Drivers have the option to order a duplicate license with the updated expiration date.
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.
HOUSTON — On an afternoon in mid-June, Analleli Solis was walking home from her brother’s house just down the street when she noticed someone she didn’t know retreating from the front door of her modest brick home.
Solis approached the woman, who handed her an envelope.
Inside was a lawsuit from Oportun Inc., a personal loan company Solis had turned to for years when she and her husband didn’t have enough cash to cover rent, fix their cars or take a vacation.
Now, the company was suing Solis to recoup some of that money, demanding $4,196.23 including fees and interest.
Solis’ shock quickly gave way to anger. Three months earlier, after she missed a few of her $130 bimonthly payments, she said she called Oportun to tell the company she had lost her jobs as a hotel housekeeper and fast food worker because of the coronavirus pandemic and needed some relief.
The 43-year-old mother of three expected the company would understand.
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.
Millions of Americans who are struggling to put food on the table may discover a new item in government-funded relief packages of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and meat: a letter signed by President Donald Trump.
The message, printed on White House letterhead in both English and Spanish, touts the administration’s response to the coronavirus, including aid provided through the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, a U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative to buy fresh food and ship it to needy families.
The letter is reminiscent of Trump’s effort to put his signature on stimulus checks and send a signed letter to millions of recipients. It’s the latest example of the president blurring his official duties with his reelection campaign, most prominently by hosting Trump’s acceptance speech for the Republican nomination last week on the White House lawn.
Democratic lawmakers have gone so far as to say the USDA letter violates the federal Hatch Act. The law prohibits government officials from using their positions or taxpayer resources to engage in electioneering. Though the president himself is exempt, the ban applies to White House staff and agencies such as the USDA.
“Using a federal relief program to distribute a self-promoting letter from the President to American families just three months before the presidential election is inappropriate and a violation of federal law,” argued 49 House Democrats led by Marcia Fudge of Ohio in an August 14 letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, requesting information about the purpose and process behind Trump’s letter. “A public health crisis is not an opportunity for the administration to promote its own political interests. Likewise, a federal food assistance program should not be used as a tool for the President to exploit taxpayer dollars for his re-election campaign.”
PHOENIX – The small office building, nestled just off the road near a medical office and appliance store, looks more like a house where a quiet family might live. The only signs of activity are the cars in the small parking lot out front.
Most passersby likely have no idea what goes on behind the dark purple door; an intercom doorbell ensures that only those who belong are allowed in. There are no signs outside, only inside, such as “You Matter” and “Happy Thoughts.”
Bulletin boards are brightened by slips of neon-colored paper with phone numbers to Planned Parenthood and shelters for homeless youth. There are nearly 10 work spaces, each with a computer, a landline and a chair.
On a Friday night early last spring, Madison Marks, 20, sits in one of the chairs waiting for the phone to ring. The part-time Starbucks barista, who’s dressed in black and rocks blonde streaks through her short brown hair, picks up when a 15-year-old calls to share the troubles that led her to seek help from a stranger.
Marks stops her at one point and asks the requisite question: “On a scale of one to 10, one being you’re OK and 10 being you’d kill yourself right now, how are you feeling?”
WASHINGTON – American Airlines’ announcement that it could let go up to 19,000 workers on Oct. 1 has left the airline’s roughly 10,000 employees in Arizona worried, but hopeful the state can avoid the worst of the cuts.
The airline has not specified which regions of the country will see the cuts – which American executives said would not be needed if the federal government passes a new round of relief funding.
That has one local union “blasting out all over Facebook” to get members to press their representatives for a deal.
“I think some think that a second stimulus will come,” said Pat Rezler, assistant general chairman of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, 141st District. “But some are hesitant on believing that.
“People are worried,” Rezler added.
It is unclear how many jobs, if any, American will cut at the airline’s hub in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. An airline spokesperson said a regional breakdown of the job cuts is not yet available.
In a letter to employees last week, American Chairman and CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom announced plans to either furlough or permanently lay off 19,000 U.S. employees on Oct. 1 if Congress fails to pass a new round of stimulus to support the airline industry.
Pima County had seen 21,286 of the state’s 202,342 confirmed cases.
A total of 5,044 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 576 deaths in Pima County, according to the Sept. 1 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases continues to decline. ADHS reported that as of Aug. 31, 729 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the lowest that number has been since May 10, when 717 COVID patients were hospitalized. That number peaked at 3,517 on July 13.
A total of 832 people visited ERs on Aug. 31 with COVID symptoms, the lowest that number has been since June 7, when 815 people visited ERs 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 253 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Aug. 31, the lowest that number has been since April 9, when 248 people were in ICU. The number of COVID patients 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.
Ducey: Get a Flu Shot
Gov. Doug Ducey and public health experts are asking Arizonans to get a flu shot to help keep hospital capacity low and available for those with COVID.
So Gov. Doug Ducey and public health experts are asking you to roll up your sleeve and get a flu shot to help keep hospital capacity low and available for those with COVID.
The governor said the Arizona Department of Health Services will be implementing an aggressive plan of action during this flu season by distributing the vaccination for free to all Arizonans through doctor’s offices, pharmacies, local health departments and community healthcare centers statewide.
“We don’t want cost to be something that gets in the way of this,” Gov. Ducey said during Monday’s press conference. “If you are uninsured or underinsured we want you to get a flu shot and it’s the best thing you can do to add more help to our situation in Arizona.”
Gov. Ducey said the overlap with COVID produces greater challenges than a typical flu season and preventing the flu is more important than ever. More than 4,000 people were hospitalized with flu symptoms in Arizona last year and roughly 700 people die from the illness each year, according to the governor.
The state will reimburse Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System providers offering free flu shots to AHCCCS members, while giving AHCCCS members a $10 gift card for their troubles after they've been vaccinated, said Gov. Ducey. The governor announced he is also allowing certified pharmacists the ability to administer the vaccine to AHCCCS-enrolled children.
“These actions have led to a 50 percent increase of flu shot administration rates in other states,” Gov. Ducey said. “We’re confident they’ll make a big difference in Arizona as well.”
Certain COVID-19 testing sites will also offer flu shots to those getting tested for coronavirus in starting in September, said Gov. Ducey. The Arizona Department of Health Services will expand online resources to help the public find free vaccine distribution locations as well as help businesses set up their own flu shot clinics for employees, according to the governor.
“I want to emphasize Arizona’s most important partner in this fight is you, the people of Arizona” Gov. Ducey said. “You’ve made a big difference in where we are today and you could make a huge difference in where we’ll be tomorrow going forward.”
Friday, August 28, 2020
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.
Thursday, August 27, 2020
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.
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.
