Friday, February 5, 2021
Thursday, February 4, 2021
WASHINGTON – Six Arizona mayors were among hundreds who urged Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief bill that includes $350 billion in aid for state and local governments who say they are on the front lines of the crisis.
Republicans in the House and Senate have said they want to approve COVID-19 relief but pushed back against what Rep. David Schweikert, R-Fountain Hills, called the “stunning amounts of money” in the bill – including the money for local governments.
But Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, one of 402 who signed on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors' letter last week, said the money is needed for cities and states who he called “the foot soldiers” of the fight against the pandemic.
“We are on the ground with all of the fallout and effects of the pandemic. Our number one role as a city is to be sure that there are no gaps in service,” Ortega said. Along with Ortega, mayors of Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Mesa and Glendale also signed the letter.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero has proposed replacing Council Member Paul Durham with former Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich, who served three terms on the council between 2005 and 2017, when she decided against seeking reelection.
Durham announced earlier this week that he would resign on March 1 rather than complete the final year of his term. Durham took a leave of absence from the council in September to care for his husband, who is suffering from terminal cancer.
Romero has called a special meeting of the council on March 1 to appoint someone to finish out the remainder of Durham's term.
“Karin has previously been elected by the residents of Ward 3, knows the neighborhoods, understands city government, and can step into the role without a learning curve, which is particularly valuable during these unprecedented times,” said Romero in a prepared statement. “Council Member Durham and I believe Karin is the best choice, and we wanted to propose this early ahead of the March 1 special meeting to help ensure a smooth transition and avoid uncertainty. I also believe that we should not appoint someone who is running for the Ward 3 seat to avoid the perception of tipping the scale for any one candidate.”
Durham said he was on board with the plan.
"I support the nomination of Karin Uhlich to serve the remainder of my term,” Durham said. “Karin knows the issues facing Ward 3, and will be able to step in and work with my staff to ensure the continuity of services. It has been an honor to serve the residents of Ward 3, and I know they will be in good hands with Karin.”
Uhlich moved out of Ward 3 during her final term in office, but she told The Weekly on Wednesday that she has since moved back into the ward.
Uhlich said she would not seek election to the Ward 3 seat later this year.
Juan Padres, who ran against Pima County Supervisor in 2020, has said he is interested in running for the seat later this year.
WASHINGTON – Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the 2020 elections “challenged our democracy in ways we’ve never seen before” but that officials still managed to deliver a safe, secure election with record-breaking turnout in the midst of a pandemic.
Hobbs, speaking as part of a panel of election officials Tuesday, also blasted what she called “election extremists” in Arizona and other states who she said “are working overtime to make voting more difficult.”
“Some of these lawmakers are trying to rehash the debunked theories about the 2020 election as an excuse to limit access to voting and it’s shameful,” Hobbs said during a conference hosted by the Voter Protection Project.
Hobbs had particular disdain for a bill in the Arizona House that would allow the Legislature to reverse the secretary of state’s certification of presidential election results, a move she said would make “a vote for president meaningless.”
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Foster was living out of his car when he contracted COVID-19. The 67-year-old knew he faced higher risks of death or severe outcomes during the pandemic because of his chronic heart and bladder conditions, but for Foster and thousands of other homeless people across the Southwest, it’s been hard to protect against the virus.
“I try to keep my stuff clean and neat, but it is very hard to do,” Foster said.
Foster survived the illness with the aid of health services provided by Phoenix-based nonprofit Circle the City and became the first patient in the organization’s care to receive the COVID-19 vaccine back on Jan. 21.
Foster is part of a small segment of the homeless population in the Southwest who have begun getting the vaccine, but organizations serving the homeless elsewhere are facing challenges in inoculating the at-risk populations they serve.
In Los Angeles, providers are eagerly awaiting news of when vaccines will be available – and they face a steep challenge.
Recent data suggests there are more than 66,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County, and there were more than 7,400 homeless people in Maricopa County in a count from last January. Many of these individuals are at high risk of catching COVID-19 because of unsanitary living conditions.
With that many individuals to account for, it poses a major logistical question as to how to most effectively and efficiently vaccinate such a large, high-risk population.
In the past two weeks, Circle the City has received 400 doses of the Moderna vaccine to distribute among its four locations in Maricopa County, according to community liaison Marty Hames.
Monday, February 1, 2021
Tucson City Councilman Paul Durham, who was first elected in 2017, is resigning from the job.
Durham's last day in office will be March 1.
Durham had previously taken a leave of absence from the council job in September to focus on caring for his husband, Philippe, who has been suffering from cancer, but he had returned to the job.
Mayor Regina Romero thanked Durham for his service on the council.
"Paul has been a dedicated advocate for the residents of Ward 3 and has truly exemplified what it means to be a public servant," Romero said in a prepared statement. "I am grateful for his leadership on issues ranging from climate action to affordable housing and will miss his voice on the council. I know this must have been an incredibly difficult decision to make, and I ask our community to join me in thanking him for his service to Tucsonans and respecting his privacy at this time."
The City Council will appoint someone to fill Durham's seat through the remainder of the year.
A primary election for the Ward 3 seat was already set for August 2021, with the general election to follow in November.
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s order that the Justice Department stop contracting with private prisons could eventually affect thousands of inmates – but not the roughly 3,000 immigrants being held in private facilities in Arizona.
Biden said Tuesday that his executive order is part of an effort to promote racial equity and is needed to “stop corporations from profiteering off of incarcerating” people in facilities that he said are less humane and less safe.
But the order only applies to the Justice Department, which contracts with private firms to operate 12 prisons housing about 14,000 inmates nationwide. It does not affect Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts with companies that hold immigrants awaiting hearings or deportation.
ICE’s Phoenix field office has contracts to hold immigrants at four facilities in Arizona: the Central Arizona and Eloy detention centers and the Florence and La Palma correctional centers, all run by CoreCivic Inc. The average daily detainee population for those units combined was 3,070 at the end of fiscal 2020, according to ICE data.
