Wednesday, December 9, 2020
With more than 4,400 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 382,000 as of Wednesday, Dec. 9, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which reported 957 new cases today, has seen 47,570 of the state’s 382,601 confirmed cases.
With 23 new deaths reported today, a total of 7,081 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 746 deaths in Pima County, according to the Dec. 9 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide continues to soar upward as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly, putting stress on Arizona’s hospitals and closing in on numbers not seen since July peaks. ADHS reported that as of Dec. 8, 3,287 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the highest that number has been since July 16. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13; it hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27.
A total of 1,978 people visited emergency rooms on Dec. 8 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.
A total of 766 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Dec. 8, the highest that number has been since July 28. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13 and hit a subsequent low of 114 on Sept. 22.
Judy Rich, president and CEO of Tucson Medical Center, warned the Tucson City Council last week that local hospitals are near or at capacity.
“I believe stricter measures, like the ones we used earlier this year, are the only path to avert the impending crisis,” Rich told the council. “I recognize that the City might not have the legal authority to mandate such actions, but it should be the position of the City to advocate to state leadership that it is required to prevent unnecessary loss of life and illness.”
Pima County has seen a dramatic rise in cases in recent weeks, according to a Dec. 4 report from the Pima County Health Department. (Numbers in this report are subject to revision.) For the week ending Nov. 7, 2,119 cases were reported; for the week ending Nov. 14, 2,578 cases were reported; and for the week ending Nov. 21, 3,313 cases were reported.
COVID-related deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 but are on the rise. There were six in the week ending Oct. 24; 10 in the week ending Oct. 31 and five in the week ending Nov. 7.
Hospitalization admission peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals, but those numbers have been on the rise in recent weeks. In the week ending Nov. 7, 90 people were admitted; in the week ending Nov. 14, 127 people were admitted; and in the week ending Nov. 21, 139 people were admitted.
A curfew in the city of Tucson from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. continues through Dec. 23.
On Nov. 23, the Pima County Health Department announced a voluntary overnight curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day until Dec. 31—but it’s not enforceable.
As part of the amended curfew agreement among the city’s council members, if Pima County changes their voluntary curfew time, Tucson’s curfew time will follow suit.
The curfew prohibits everyone from being in public places with the following exceptions:
- Emergency response personnel
- Traveling to and from work
- Attending religious services
- Caring for a family member
- Seeking medical care
- Fleeing dangerous circumstances
- Traveling to perform or receive essential functions
- Homeless persons
City Attorney Mike Rankin specified traveling to essential businesses such as grocery, home goods and hardware stores is allowed. Travel to restaurants for consumption off-premises is also allowed by means of take out, delivery, curbside and drive-thru food orders.
“The curfew does not order the closure of any business at any particular time, instead, what it does is it regulates when people can be in public places, which includes traveling on the public streets,” Rankin said at last week’s council’s meeting. “It does not, as presented, prevent people from traveling to or from any essential activity or essential functions, even during the curfew hours.”
Offenders of the curfew will be subject to a civil infraction that holds a fine of up to $300.
Get tested: Pima County has free COVID testing
Pima County offers a number of testing centers around town.
You’ll have a nasal swab test at the Kino Event Center (2805 E. Ajo Way) the Udall Center (7200 E. Tanque Verde Road) and downtown (88 E. Broadway).
The center at the northside Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road, involves a saliva test designed by ASU.
In addition, the Pima County Health Department, Pima Community College and Arizona State University have partnered to create new drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites at three Pima Community College locations. At the drive-thru sites, COVID-19 testing will be offered through spit samples instead of nasal canal swabs. Each site will conduct testing from 9 a.m. to noon, and registration is required in advance. Only patients 5 years or older can be tested.
Schedule an appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.
The University of Arizona’s antibody testing has been opened to all Arizonans as the state attempts to get a handle on how many people have been exposed to COVID-19 but were asymptomatic or otherwise did not get a test while they were ill. To sign up for testing, visit https://covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu/home.
—with additional reporting from Austin Counts, Jeff Gardner, Nicole Ludden and Mike Truelsen
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
PHOENIX – It’s been a quiet day on Zoom for Kylie Boyd and Alexandra Shilen. Occasionally, some student volunteers pop into their online room to check in or ask a brief question, then pop back out to hit the phones.
On this fall afternoon, Boyd and Shilen are overseeing 13 volunteers who are calling residents in four Arizona counties to ask questions about COVID-19.
The group is executing two functions that health experts say are essential to preventing the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and eventually ending the pandemic: contacting people who have tested positive for the disease and tracking down anyone who may have been exposed.
Boyd and Shilen are coordinators for the SAFER team at the University of Arizona. For 15 years, the Student Aid for Field Epidemiology Response program has trained students to investigate public health crises.
Team members used to track local outbreaks of foodborne illnesses and monitor flu cases. Now they’re tackling a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million people across the globe.
“In the beginning, it was like 10 cases … and then it was 100, and then it was 200. And then you really started to feel the growing pains,” said Erika Austhof, an UA epidemiologist who leads SAFER’s call center.
Case investigations and contact tracing are key to fighting COVID-19. Investigations involve calling individuals who have tested positive to gather information about their illness, travel history and recent close contacts. Contact tracing is when exposed individuals are alerted and given guidance about how to get tested and potential self-isolation.
SAFER does both, and it’s just one of a slew of groups nationwide helping underfunded public health agencies with what has become a colossal effort. Since January, more than 14 million people in the U.S. have been infected.
Kristen Pogreba-Brown, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Arizona who leads SAFER, said volunteers who stepped up in the early days of the pandemic were vital in getting the work off the ground.
“We were just kind of running around with our hair on fire … and just having people say, ‘Tell me what you need help with,’ ‘We can help make phone calls,’ ‘I can help do this’ – that was extremely important in the very beginning,” Pogreba-Brown said.
In April, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security estimated that at least 100,000 new contact tracers would be needed in the U.S. to meet the demand caused by rising COVID-19 cases. But funding that many contact tracers would take billions of dollars.
Monday, December 7, 2020
PHOENIX – Research from Arizona and beyond suggests the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can spread erratically, making some infected people “superspreaders” and others dead ends for transmission.
This can create clusters or “micro-hotspots” – neighborhoods, schools, towns or other small geographic areas where the virus runs rampant – even while communities next door remain relatively unscathed. These concentrated outbreaks aren’t included in the Arizona Department of Health Service’s COVID-19 data dashboard, which breaks down cases by county.
Dr. Peter Plantes, an internal medicine specialist, works with hc1, a health care data analysis company that recently launched a COVID-19 dashboard explaining the dynamics of the pandemic in new detail.
The company partners with more than 20,000 labs across the U.S. that quickly share the results of COVID-19 tests, along with the patient’s address. The firm then calculates the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests by city and, in some cases, neighborhood. Plantes said the patient information they receive from labs is subject to privacy laws.
For example, the platform’s Maryvale east zone in Phoenix, which is bounded by 27th and 59th avenues and Interstate 10 and Camelback Road, showed a percent positivity of more than 29% over the past week. That rate is nearly double the recent positivity rate for Maricopa County, and is second only to the Yuma zone for highest in the state.
Conversely, the Tempe north zone just 10 miles away had a positivity rate of about 11% over the same time period – the lowest of all zones across Arizona.
WASHINGTON – Arizona health officials said they expect to get the first of more than 380,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 15 and will begin vaccinating health care workers and first responders shortly thereafter.
Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ made that announcement Friday, as the state submitted its plans for vaccine distribution to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for approval.
Under that plan, hundreds of approved providers could begin vaccinating Arizonans, with health care workers and long-term care residents first. Christ said priority groups should be vaccinated by the end of February, and that anyone in the state who wants the two-dose vaccination should have received it by late summer or early fall.
Christ called the vaccine a “light at the end of the tunnel” during a dark time for the state: Confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths are surging in Arizona, with the health department reporting more than 11,000 new cases in the last two days alone. Overall cases in the state stood at 352,101 Friday, when COVID-19 related deaths reached 6,885.
It’s part of a national surge that has brought confirmed cases to just over 14 million, with 275,386 deaths as of Friday, according to the CDC.
In the face of the growing pandemic, the Trump administration in May kicked off Operation Warp Speed, with the goal of “delivering safe and effective vaccine doses to the American people beginning January 2021.”
That effort paid off late last month when two pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and Moderna, submitted paperwork for final Food and Drug Administration approval of their versions of COVID-19 vaccines that are at least 94% effective. Pfizer’s version could be approved as soon as Dec. 10, with Moderna’s OK expected a week later.
Once approved, the drugs will go to the CDC, which will allocate it to the states for distribution every week. Under the complex distribution plan outlined Friday by Christ, the doses will go directly to the health providers who will deliver the vaccine, bypassing state and local health departments.
Arizona will be told each week how many doses to expect, and it will allot those by county, based on the percentage of county residents in a priority group. The counties will then tell the state how many doses to send, and where, and the state will relay that information to the CDC distributor.
“The CDC distributor will ship the vaccine directly to the providers that are approved to receive an allocation,” Christ said. “So, the state and local health departments will not receive that vaccine or serve as a middle man in the distribution chain.”
The CDC early on said first responders and health care workers should get priority for vaccination, followed by at-risk groups such as the elderly. Arizona’s plan mirrors those guidelines, with the first phase targeting three groups ahead of the general population.
Phase 1A includes health care personnel, frontline workers and long-term care residents and staff. Phase 1B covers essential workers such as teachers, police and emergency response staff, as well as utility, food and public transport workers, and state and local government employees.
Phase 1C is defined as people at high risk of contracting a severe case of COVID-19, including those 65 and older and adults in congregate settings, such as prisons. The general population is Phase 2.
There are currently 359 approved providers to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in Arizona, Christ said, with applications pending from more than 1,000. And providers said they are eager to get started.
“As soon as it gets approved, I believe we will have the vaccine in our hands very quickly,” said Dr. Janice Johnston, medical director and co-founder of Redirect Health, one of the approved providers.
It has several clinics in Arizona where it will store and administer the vaccine. Johnston said Redirect Health responded to the department’s call for providers, “went through their screening process, and were approved to be one of the providers once they do become available for the deep-freeze version of the vaccine.”
David Berg, chairman of the board and co-founder of Redirect Health, emphasized the need for coordination between clinics, counties and the state to make the distribution and administration of vaccines as seamless as possible.
“The state will give us guidance on who the groups are and what they would like us to do,” Berg said. “And I think it is important that everybody follows the state guidance so that we can do this is a very coordinated way.”
As more vaccine providers are approved in the state, they will be listed on the CDC’s Vaccine Finder once doses are available, according to an AZDHS spokesperson.
Christ said she expects “hundreds of millions of doses” to be available for the general public in March or April, with vaccinations complete several months thereafter.
Gov. Doug Ducey this week signed an executive order requiring insurance companies to cover the entire cost of COVID-19 vaccinations for all Arizonans.
“The vaccine should be free for anyone who needs it,” Ducey said Wednesday. “This is a global pandemic and the vaccine shouldn’t cost Arizonans a penny.”
Christ referenced that order Friday when she said the COVID-19 vaccine will be considered “in network” for all state-regulated insurance companies.
“Everyone who wants to get one, will get one,” she said.
Friday, December 4, 2020
PHOENIX – More than half of young adults 18 to 29 now live at home – the highest rate since the end of the Great Depression 80 years ago – and researchers say many were motivated by the pandemic.
Many families already were multigenerational before the pandemic began in March, causing widespread job losses and deep economic disruption. In February, about 47% of young adults lived with their parents, but by July, that number jumped to an all-time high of 52%, according to Pew Research Center.
Keysia Colenburg, 27, was a full-time flight attendant living in Utah before COVID-19 began to spread, but she took a leave of absence and moved back home as travel bans and a drastic downturn in tourism crippled air travel.
“No matter how secure you think you are with your life and how settled in you think you are, one little thing can change it all,” said Colenburg, who’s among the 18% of young adults who have had to move back home to Surprise due to financial reasons.
The 52% of young adults living at home is the highest number since the end of the Great Depression, but researchers don’t know the true percentage during the Depression, which began in fall 1929.
Thursday, December 3, 2020
With more than 5,400 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 346,000 as of Thursday, Dec. 3, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which reported 569 new cases today, has seen 41,882 of the state’s 346,421 confirmed cases.
With 82 new deaths reported yesterday, a total of 6,821 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 717 deaths in Pima County, according to the Dec. 3 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide continues to climb upward as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly, putting stress on Arizona’s hospitals. ADHS reported that as of Dec. 1, 2,743 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the highest that number has been since July 24 That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13; it hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27.
A total of 1,774 people visited emergency rooms on Dec. 2 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.
A total of 642 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Dec. 2, the highest that number has been since Aug. 1. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13 and hit a subsequent low of 114 on Sept. 22.
Judy Rich, president and CEO of Tucson Medical Center, told the Tucson City Council this week that local hospitals are near or at capacity.
“I believe stricter measures, like the ones we used earlier this year, are the only path to avert the impending crisis,” Rich told the council. “I recognize that the City might not have the legal authority to mandate such actions, but it should be the position of the City to advocate to state leadership that it is required to prevent unnecessary loss of life and illness.”
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,452 cases, according to a Nov. 25 report from the Pima County Health Department. (Numbers in this report are subject to revision.)
Pima County is seeing a dramatic rise in cases in recent weeks. For the week ending Oct. 31, 1,348 cases were reported; for the week ending Nov. 7, 2,119 cases were reported; and for the week ending Nov. 14, 2,578 cases were reported; for the week ending Nov. 21, 3,313 cases were reported.
COVID-related deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 but are on the rise. There were three deaths in the week ending Oct 10, one in week ending Oct. 17, six in the week ending Oct. 24; 10 in the week ending Oct. 31 and five in the week ending Nov. 7.
Hospitalization admission peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals, but those numbers have been on the rise in recent weeks. In the week ending Oct. 31, 66 people were admitted; in the week ending Nov. 7, 90 people were admitted; in the week ending Nov. 14, 127 people were admitted; and in the week ending Nov. 21, 139 people were admitted.
Tucson City Council enacts 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew
Ducey says he doesn’t support stricter restrictions for Arizonans but provides more funding for hospitals, restaurants
Gov. Doug Ducey revealed a batch of new COVID-19 safety measures at a press conference yesterday as coronavirus cases rise to higher levels than Arizona saw in its summer surge.
Many healthcare workers and experts have called for increased statewide mitigation, but the measures Ducey introduced yesterday fail to completely meet their demands.
More than 155 Arizona physicians, health professionals and educators called upon the governor to instate a statewide mask mandate and prohibit indoor gatherings at venues where crowds of people can gather indoors in an appeal letter today.
Eight leaders from the state’s hospital systems wrote a letter to Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ Tuesday pleading for statewide COVID-19 mitigation policies such as a ban on indoor dining and establishing a curfew.
On Monday, experts from the COVID-19 modeling team at the University of Arizona called for a shelter-in-place order and mask mandate to slow the spread of the virus.
Instead, Ducey issued executive orders allowing restaurants to utilize public right-of-ways to expand outdoor dining while giving them $1.2 million to do so and requiring public events with over 50 attendees to enforce mitigation strategies.
The governor also implemented an executive order to ensure when a COVID-19 vaccine arrives, it will be free of charge to those who take it.
Ducey also announced an additional $60 million in funding to increase hospital staffing—an addition to the $25 million in funds for staffing announced Nov. 18, which Ducey said brought 300 additional health care workers into the state.
Ducey said the new influx of funds will provide funding for 500 nurses through January.
“It will ensure our hospitals can care for those who need it and that the existing staff in our hospitals are properly compensated for their dedication and commitment,” Ducey said.
Arizona faces alarming COVID-19 numbers; Ducey criticizes Tucson’s curfew
At the press conference, Christ shared Arizona has reported 340,979 COVID-19 cases and 6,739 coronavirus deaths to date. Key metrics such as case counts, percent positivity and ICU and inpatient hospital bed usage are all trending upward.
Last week, the state had a coronavirus percent positivity of 15%, and Christ said this number is expected to increase this week.
Despite the alarming metrics and calls from healthcare experts from across the state, Ducey declined to mandate masks statewide, and claimed, “Independent sources have Arizona’s mask usage rate at 91%.”
“There’s almost nowhere you can go in the state of Arizona and no part of our economy that you can participate in without wearing a mask,” the governor said.
Ducey made clear he is adamantly opposed to statewide shutdowns or stay-at-home orders.
“Some have called for additional mitigation measures, shutdowns of entire industries, and curfews on our citizens,” he said. “I believe we should instead focus on accountability and enforcing the rules we have in place now and taking a targeted approach to ensure we all participate in the safety precautions we know work.”
The governor criticized the curfew Tucson’s city council passed last night and refuted claims from Mayor Regina Romero that she hasn’t been able to communicate with the governor since March.
“I disagree with the [curfew], I don’t think it’s the right approach... We believe that if we continue the mitigation steps that we’ve laid out, and there will be enforcement around those mitigation steps, those would be the best things that we could do to continue to slow the spread,” Ducey said. “If mayor Romero wants to talk, she knows where to find me, and every time she’s reached out she gets a call back.”
Arizona could receive COVID-19 vaccines by mid-December
Ducey called news of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines reporting 95% effectiveness “incredible news” and said Arizona will have access to the vaccines by mid to late December.
According to Christ, the number of vaccines Arizona receives by the end of December could be in the “hundreds of thousands.”
The governor said he visited with insurance company leaders yesterday who agreed the vaccine should be free to those who need it. Today, Ducey issued an executive order ensuring the vaccine is free and said Christ will reveal the state’s complete vaccination plan later this week.
Ducey said teachers will be at the front of the list when the vaccine arrives.
“I’ve asked [Christ] to prioritize teachers as among the first individuals in the state who will receive the vaccine. We want our schools open and our teachers protected,” Ducey said. “Teachers are essential to our state, so under our plan, they will be prioritized along with our healthcare works, doctors, nurses, hospital staff, long-term care, and of course our most vulnerable, and critical law enforcement officers.”
Christ said Arizona will likely receive weekly allocations of vaccines based on the state’s population.
“We’ll be working with our county health departments to get that out...that first priority group, those healthcare workers and long term care facilities, we will be working with the healthcare systems to ensure they can get their employees vaccinated.”
Arizona’s health department director said the state will set up sites for essential workers to receive the vaccine.
“We will also be setting up sites, though they may be industry-specific, as we get into those essential workers,” Christ said. “So there will be locations where either people can go, or if the business is big enough, we may go to them and vaccinate them.”
The Pfizer vaccine has to be kept in temperatures of negative 70 degrees Celsius, while Moderna’s vaccine must be kept frozen at negative 20 degrees Celsius.
Christ said the federal government will directly ship Pfizer’s vaccines directly to their intended locations in rechargeable storage containers to maintain the temperature.
Moderna’s vaccine can be stored in regular refrigeration or freezer spaces and will arrive “a week or two” after Pfizer’s, according to Christ.
“Those will likely be the vaccines that will be prioritized for the rural areas since they don’t have such stringent temperature requirements,” she said.
Ducey said Arizonans won’t be mandated to take the vaccine but will be encouraged to do so through “a public service announcement” and “public education.”
“Much like masks, we want to see the maximum level of compliance,” he said. “These vaccinations are our road back to a normal life, a safe life where we are protected and our loved ones are protected.”
Ducey issues executive order to aid restaurants
The governor announced an executive order allowing restaurants to extend their outdoor dining areas to public sidewalks and right-of-ways.
Ducey also announced a partnership with the Arizona Restaurant Association to create $1.2 million in funds “to help small Arizona-owned and operated businesses buy heaters, barriers, outdoor furniture and other supplies in order to move operations outside.”
“This allows our local restaurants to expand outdoor dining and create additional space for people to dine out safely while still following all the health and safety requirements,” he said.
Executive order on public gatherings
Ducey also announced an executive order for local jurisdictions to announce public gatherings of more than 50 people and to post details of the event’s COVID-19 mitigation strategies on the jurisdiction’s website.
“These should include an agreement by the hosts that they will implement these mitigation strategies and that they will be enforced by the organizers and local law enforcement,” Ducey said.
Dr. Christ said the health department has responded to more than 2,800 unique complaints about establishments violating public health guidelines such as mask-wearing and social distancing, and that 90% of the cases have been resolved.
Ducey announced a revised policy today that when a business receives two substantiated claims, it will be given a warning and the opportunity to comply. If the business does not comply, they will face closure.
Christ urged Arizonans to alert the state health department of issues of noncompliance at azhealth.gov/compliancecovid-19 or by calling the Arizona COVID-19 hotline at 1-844-542-8201.
“Our businesses have done a great job and it’s not right and it’s not fair to those that are playing by the rules for others to openly ignore them,” Ducey said. “The outliers are few and far between, but we need fairness and an even playing field.”
However, despite the requests of many medical workers across the state, Ducey will not impose a statewide lockdown. Instead, the financial security of the state is on the governor’s mind.
“I hear the very loud calls from folks yelling lockdowns, and I just don’t think it’s the right policy. I think that we have put aggressive mitigation out there, we know that we can slow the spread, but when you say the word lockdown, you’re talking about shutting down entire industries, closing classrooms, bankrupting small businesses,” Ducey said. “I don’t think the right answer is to throw hundreds of thousands out of work before the holidays to slow the spread, because I don’t think it will slow the spread.”
Get tested: Pima County opening new sites alongside existing spots for free COVID testing
Pima County offers a number of testing centers around town.
You’ll have a nasal swab test at the Kino Event Center (2805 E. Ajo Way) the Udall Center (7200 E. Tanque Verde Road) and downtown (88 E. Broadway).
The center at the northside Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road, involves a saliva test designed by ASU.
In addition, the Pima County Health Department, Pima Community College and Arizona State University have partnered to create new drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites at three Pima Community College locations. At the drive-thru sites, COVID-19 testing will be offered through spit samples instead of nasal canal swabs. Each site will conduct testing from 9 a.m. to noon, and registration is required in advance. Only patients 5 years or older can be tested.
Schedule an appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.
The University of Arizona’s antibody testing has been opened to all Arizonans as the state attempts to get a handle on how many people have been exposed to COVID-19 but were asymptomatic or otherwise did not get a test while they were ill. To sign up for testing, visit https://covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu/home.
—with additional reporting from Austin Counts, Jeff Gardner, Nicole Ludden and Mike Truelsen
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
PHOENIX – Recreational use of marijuana will soon be legal in Arizona, thanks to Proposition 207’s easy passage, but economic and logistical hurdles remain before Arizonans will feel the effects.
The measure – approved by more than 60% of voters in unofficial results from Nov. 3 – decriminalizes recreational marijuana use and possession for those 21 or older; allows minor, nonviolent marijuana offenders to petition to have their criminal records expunged; and imposes an excise tax to support underfunded programs across the state.
Once the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office certifies the proposition, which is expected to happen in December, the use and possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana will be legal except in public spaces. Despite the law’s passage, however, marijuana possession, distribution and use remain federal crimes.
Dispensaries and growers, which have become a familiar presence in Arizona since voters narrowly approved marijuana for medical use in 2010, will have to wait for state approval to sell marijuana for recreational uses. Application for state licenses is expected to open in January, and organizers of Proposition 207 are predicting an April 5 launch for recreational sales.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of very curious people that want to walk into the dispensary because they weren’t able to do that before,” said Raul Molina, chief operations officer at the Mint Dispensary in Tempe.
Clearing criminal records
A key element of Proposition 207 is the opportunity to expunge a criminal record, which can impede employment, nullify the right to vote and harm reputations.
Proposition 207 is the first voter measure in Arizona that offers expungement, according to Jared Keenan, a senior staff attorney at American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona. But the process may differ in each of Arizona’s 15 counties, depending on the population and whether the county attorney supported the measure.
Prosecutors can petition against moves to expunge records. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has not given a stance on expungement but has announced it will immediately drop all pending and unfiled charges of marijuana possession based on “the will of the voters.”
Currently, Keenan said, all marijuana convictions are felonies, which means convicts could lose their right to vote, their access to public housing and food assistance, and their eligibility for federal student loans. A criminal record also makes it harder to get a job.
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
PHOENIX – After a disrupted 2019-20 season that ended in a bubble at Walt Disney World, the Phoenix Suns have undergone an offseason makeover that they hope will build on their surprising 8-0 run in Orlando that followed the COVID-19 interruption.
The Suns pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire perennial All-Star point guard Chris Paul. They made a splash in free agency, signing big man Jae Crowder. They opened a new practice facility, the $45-million Verizon 5G Performance Center.
They even broke out new NBA City Edition alternative “The Valley” jerseys.
And earlier this month, the National Basketball Players Association and the NBA agreed to start a shortened and condensed 72-game schedule on Dec. 22.
The new-look Suns are set to start this week in a one-on-one bubble setting at the practice facility, with group workouts beginning Dec. 4, according to General Manager James Jones, who spoke with reporters in a Zoom media conference Monday.
Jones anticipates a challenging season amid the continuing spread of COVID-19, but believes the team can prosper if time is properly managed. Among other challenges, he said the 72-game season will be played in a shorter span, requiring more back-to-back games.
“We look forward to this week, where our guys can be on the court – one coach, one player,” he said. “(And) try to get ourselves back into game rhythm and shape, and then we’ll build up to our five-on-five group activities heading into next week.”
Jones said he feels good about what the club has added to its roster, and is confident new key players will fit right into a group that includes All-Star guard Devin Booker and center Deandre Ayton, who was the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and figures to benefit from the arrival of the 35-year-old Paul.
“I’m excited for them because this is a competitive environment, I’m looking forward to watching our guys compete. I know that we did some things this summer, as far as improving the team,” Jones said.
“Just adding guys to the team is never, and has never been, the goal. The goal for us is winning, the goal for us is … creating a playoff atmosphere and bringing a playoff approach to every single game.”
After the changes, the Suns are now regarded as a playoff contender. They have not appeared in the postseason since 2010 when they lost in the Western Conference finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers went on to win the NBA championship that season, and they won again last season. But the Lakers, Eastern Conference champion Miami and every other NBA team are faced with one of the shortest offseasons in NBA history, with only a seven-week break for the two finals teams.
Important matters like salaries, COVID-19 testing, and other health and safety issues are still being negotiated. James said Monday that he isn’t privy to discussions regarding vaccinating players for COVID-19, and hasn’t heard that taking a vaccine will be mandatory.
Providing athletes with a vaccine, once one is available, and with a healthy environment is a priority for James as the Suns prepare to tip off the preseason with a pair of games in Utah Dec. 12-13.
“The guys aren’t obligated to take it,” James said of a vaccine. “We will do whatever we can to make sure that we keep our guys healthy and safe, and administer it if we can for those who want it.
“Our best course of action is to continue to adhere to the NBA’s protocols, to isolate as much as we can, maintain distance. We will still have to interact with other teams and players. The hope is that, collectively as a league, we can keep this thing under control and try to mitigate the damage that will come from the positive test that eventually will happen.”
According to the Associated Press, the NBA saw revenues drop by 10% last season because of the pandemic, coming in $1.5-billion short of revenue projections.
The upcoming season is likely to have challenges as well.
Although the Suns have not yet made an official statement saying they will not allow any fans during their games, the Los Angeles Lakers and others have announced that they will not allow fans to attend games until further notice, noting the importance of health and safety for their fans, and working together in hopes to bring them back.
“We appreciate your continued support and look forward to coming together, when it is safe to do so, to celebrate the raising of our banner and the quest for another NBA championship,” the Lakers said in an announcement.
The NBA’s goal is to complete the 2020-21 season before the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to start July 23rd, allowing them to return to their regular season in October.
Monday, November 30, 2020
WASHINGTON – Activists worry that the Trump administration has fast-tracked the final environmental impact statement for the massive Resolution Copper mine, a project planned for lands near Superior that are claimed as sacred by the San Carlos Apache.
Opponents became alarmed when the U.S. Forest Service’s schedules of proposed action, which said the environmental statement would be completed by December 2021, suddenly shifted this year to a finishing date of this December, before President Donald Trump leaves office.
“A lot of alarm bells went off when we saw this,” said Randy Serraglio, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center For Biological Diversity. “We realized … they’re just rushing this through to get it done, while Donald Trump is still president.”
But officials with the Forest Service and Resolution Copper mine insist nothing is being fast-tracked.
Ivan Knudsen, a Forest Service spokesman, said more than “30,000 submittals received during the public and tribal comment periods” were cataloged since the last draft of the environmental impact statement was published in August 2019. He stressed that the timeline adjustment from 2021 to 2020 does “not reflect an acceleration of the … process” and that federal and local appraisals are being conducted.
“Once completed, they will be reviewed by the regional appraiser, and after they are accepted, made available to the public for review,” said Knudsen.
