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CDC on Unsplash

The Pima County Health Department is now offering all three types of COVID-19 boosters to eligible individuals at its health clinics, vaccination PODs and mobile clinics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Oct. 21 approved the boosters after previously authorizing the Pfizer booster. The CDC is also allowing people to choose which booster they receive.

If you completed two doses of Pfizer or Moderna at least six months ago, you are eligible for a booster if you are:

• 65 years or older
• 18+ and live in long-term care settings
• 18+ and have underlying medical conditions
• 18+ and work or live in high-risk settings for exposure to COVID-19

If you initially received a J&J shot, boosters of any vaccine type are recommended for those 18 and older and who were vaccinated at least two months ago.

Find a complete list of Pima County health clinics and mobile sites, with days and hours of operation, at www.pima.gov/covid19vaccine. The vaccine is free, and no ID is required at County sites.

All three vaccine booster types also are widely available at pharmacies. Check on locations and vaccine type available on the Arizona Department of Health Services webpage and at vaccines.gov.

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Nick Youngson |CC BY-SA 3.0 / Alpha Stock Images via Arizona Mirror

Time is running out for Senate Democrats to deliver millions of undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship that their families and advocates nationwide have been clamoring for years, and some business leaders in Arizona are emphasizing the economic benefits of a path to legalization.

In a letter to U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, 32 business leaders, elected officials and heads of nonprofits asked them to ignore the recommendations from the Senate parliamentarian, who twice rejected a plan to include a pathway to citizenship in a budget reconciliation plan.

“It has never been more urgent to achieve immigration reform to boost our economy, address our labor shortage, level the playing field for all workers and to support families,” the letter read. “The urgency is clear, the benefits are undeniable, the legislative vehicle is on the table and there is bipartisan popular support for action. We can not let this opportunity slip away. Our nation can’t afford (that) and neither can Arizona.”

Former Republican state senator Bob Worsley organized the coalition that signed the letter, which includes executives of real estate, construction and retail companies, Mesa Mayor John Giles, and Nogales councilwoman Liza Montiel.

“We have less than a couple of weeks to try to get some immigration reform into reconciliation,” Worsely said. “I’m afraid that, if we don’t get something in there, we are back to square one where we were earlier this year after Biden was elected.”

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Screenshot via Bitchute

Ron Watkins

Five days before Ron Watkins, the notorious MAGA conspiracy theorist who helped spread the violent far-right QAnon conspiracy, posted a video to his Telegram account announcing his candidacy for a rural Arizona congressional district, he registered to vote in Maricopa County. 

Watkins, who is widely believed to have been behind QAnon’s master account, has been making national headlines for his congressional bid in Arizona where he is attempting to unseat Democratic Congressman Tom O’Halleran in a large, rural district that encompasses a large portion of the state. 

However, that district won’t exist in 2022: All of the state’s districts are being redrawn by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, and final decisions won’t be made until the end of the year.

The Arizona Mirror obtained a copy of Watkins’ voter registration information through the state’s public records law. It shows Watkins registered to vote in Maricopa County on Oct. 9, at a condominium in the Biltmore neighborhood of Phoenix. Property records show that the property is owned by Liz Harris, a Republican who lost a bid for the state legislature in 2020 and has since become a leading proponent of false claims that widespread fraud changed the election’s results. 

Harris is also the real estate agent for the property, which was listed for sale in August. Online realty websites show the condominium is priced at about $287,000 and that a sale is pending. It’s unclear if Watkins is purchasing the property.

Harris has been the driving force behind a group of conservatives who have canvassed Maricopa County and other parts of the state to identify alleged voter fraud. But the report she spearheaded based on that door-to-door scouring was rife with errors, including listing areas that had homes on it as vacant lots and lacking other corroborating information. 

But who exactly is Watkins? And how is a man who has spent the past decade living in Japan, China and the Philippines able to run for higher office in Arizona?