Friday, July 31, 2020
Editor’s Note: Coronavirus has devastated Native American communities and put a spotlight on some long-standing problems in Indian Country that have made this pandemic that much worse. But at the grassroots level, everyday heroes have stepped up to help.
PHOENIX – When the sun is up, he’s up and ready to hit the road by 8. Flatbed trucks are loaded with brimming barrels of water, and the teams take off – up and down the burnt orange washboard roads that crisscross the Navajo Nation Reservation.
Zoel Zohnnie grew up on a ranch in these vast lands, knowing what it’s like to live without running water, knowing what it means to drive for miles to fill up at a community water station and then haul it back home.
“For some families, it’s a whole day of leaving home, waiting in line, coming back, unloading,” he said. “Just to drink water and have water for living.”
PHOENIX – When the sun is up, he’s up and ready to hit the road by 8. Flatbed trucks are loaded with brimming barrels of water, and the teams take off – up and down the burnt orange washboard roads that crisscross the Navajo Nation Reservation.
Zoel Zohnnie grew up on a ranch in these vast lands, knowing what it’s like to live without running water, knowing what it means to drive for miles to fill up at a community water station and then haul it back home.
“For some families, it’s a whole day of leaving home, waiting in line, coming back, unloading,” he said. “Just to drink water and have water for living.”
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 174,000 as of Friday, July 31, after the state reported 3,212 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 16,167 of the state's 174,010 confirmed cases.
A total of 3,694 people have died after contracting the virus, including 459 in Pima County.
Maricopa County had 117,293 of the state's cases.
Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report a slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 2,302 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on July 13. That’s the lowest number of hospitalized COViD patients since June 23, when 2,270 people were in hospital beds.
A total of 1,195 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, the lowest that number has dipped since July 28, when 1,225 people sought help in ERs for COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 719 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 3, when XXX COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
TRAILING IN POLLS, TRUMP SAYS HE WASN'T SERIOUS ABOUT ASKING FOR DELAY IN ELECTION
As he trails Democrat Joe Biden in the polls, President Donald Trump yesterday said he wasn’t really serious about delaying the election, although he expressed concern that allowing people to mail in ballots during a pandemic would lead to massive fraud and lawsuits that could linger in the courts for years.
“Do I want to see a day change?” Trump said during his daily coronavirus briefing. “No. But I don’t want to see a crooked election.”
Trump had started the day with a tweet asking if the election should be delayed.
Pima County had seen 16,167 of the state's 174,010 confirmed cases.
A total of 3,694 people have died after contracting the virus, including 459 in Pima County.
Maricopa County had 117,293 of the state's cases.
Hospitals remain under pressure, although they report a slight decrease in the number of Arizonans hospitalized with COVID-19-related symptoms. The report shows that 2,302 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, down from a peak of 3,517 on July 13. That’s the lowest number of hospitalized COViD patients since June 23, when 2,270 people were in hospital beds.
A total of 1,195 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, the lowest that number has dipped since July 28, when 1,225 people sought help in ERs for COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 719 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 3, when XXX COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
TRAILING IN POLLS, TRUMP SAYS HE WASN'T SERIOUS ABOUT ASKING FOR DELAY IN ELECTION
As he trails Democrat Joe Biden in the polls, President Donald Trump yesterday said he wasn’t really serious about delaying the election, although he expressed concern that allowing people to mail in ballots during a pandemic would lead to massive fraud and lawsuits that could linger in the courts for years.
“Do I want to see a day change?” Trump said during his daily coronavirus briefing. “No. But I don’t want to see a crooked election.”
Trump had started the day with a tweet asking if the election should be delayed.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Gebrish Weldemariam, who was laid off by an airline catering company that later received government aid, with his family outside their Virginia home. (Dee Dwyer for ProPublica)
This spring, as the coronavirus spread and international travel bans grounded flights, Gebrish Weldemariam got a layoff letter from his airline catering job at Dulles International Airport.
He’d been working as a driver making more than $18 per hour for Flying Food Group, ferrying in-flight meals between the company’s kitchen and gated planes waiting on the tarmac. Between overtime at the airport and a part-time job driving buses on the side, Weldemariam felt that times were good. Last fall, with his wife expecting a fourth child, the family bought a house not far from the airport, allowing him to be nearby to help care for his oldest son, who has Down syndrome and needs constant attention.
“I have kids. I have a mortgage. I have two car loans,” Weldemariam said. “That’s why I work hard.”
Flying Food Group told him only that when business picks up, it would call him. Now, even with boosted unemployment benefits, he said he makes $600 less than a typical week when he was working. He’s worried he won’t be able to cover all of his monthly bills.
Flying Food didn’t just lay off Weldemariam. The Chicago-based company, one of the largest airline caterers in the country, has pink slipped more than 2,000 other workers since March. The cuts left the vast majority of its workforce out of a job at facilities in California, Chicago, Virginia and the New York City area, according to the union UNITE HERE, which represents Flying Food workers. Then in June, the Flying Food was approved to receive $85 million from the Trump administration from a pandemic relief program that was intended to preserve those very jobs.
The Marana Unified School District governing board today unanimously approved a plan to teach all grade levels remotely when school instruction begins Wednesday, Aug. 5.
MUSD Superintendent Dan Streeter said the district is working with the state Department of Education, the Pima County Health Department, Marana Health Center and other entities to ensure they are adequately prepared to begin the school year.
“Each of the superintendents throughout the county have been meeting with Dr. Cullen and Dr. Garcia and talking about what are those metrics that the governor referenced that make sense for a safe reopening in Pima County,” Streeter told the governing board.
Earlier this week, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry indicated that he, Health Department Direct Dr. Theresa Cullen and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia believe school cannot resume in-person before Labor Day, Sept. 7, at the earliest.
While the district’s plan is remote learning-focused, Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive order for reopening schools specifies that each district must have an open learning center by Aug. 17 for “at-risk” students who need a place to go during the day. Special needs students will also have individualized schedules that may differ from the majority of the student body.
MHC Healthcare has been advising the district on what the proper protocols should be if positive COVID-19 cases are present on an MUSD campus, what contact tracing will look like and what the appropriate sanitary and face mask policies should be.
MUSD has also been working with Corgan, a national architectural firm, to perform “journey mapping.” Streeter said this will help the district identify each school’s high traffic areas, frequently touched areas, where hand sanitizer dispenser and handwashing stations should be established, and the best options for classroom layouts with physical distancing.
MUSD Superintendent Dan Streeter said the district is working with the state Department of Education, the Pima County Health Department, Marana Health Center and other entities to ensure they are adequately prepared to begin the school year.
“Each of the superintendents throughout the county have been meeting with Dr. Cullen and Dr. Garcia and talking about what are those metrics that the governor referenced that make sense for a safe reopening in Pima County,” Streeter told the governing board.
Earlier this week, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry indicated that he, Health Department Direct Dr. Theresa Cullen and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia believe school cannot resume in-person before Labor Day, Sept. 7, at the earliest.
While the district’s plan is remote learning-focused, Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive order for reopening schools specifies that each district must have an open learning center by Aug. 17 for “at-risk” students who need a place to go during the day. Special needs students will also have individualized schedules that may differ from the majority of the student body.
MHC Healthcare has been advising the district on what the proper protocols should be if positive COVID-19 cases are present on an MUSD campus, what contact tracing will look like and what the appropriate sanitary and face mask policies should be.
MUSD has also been working with Corgan, a national architectural firm, to perform “journey mapping.” Streeter said this will help the district identify each school’s high traffic areas, frequently touched areas, where hand sanitizer dispenser and handwashing stations should be established, and the best options for classroom layouts with physical distancing.
The latest film in The Loft Cinema's virtual screening series follows the work of the attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union. The Fight examines the struggle for civil rights when "a migrant mother is separated from her child, when a transgender soldier is at risk to lose his career, when reproductive rights and basic voting rights are under attack" and more. The Fight releases digitally July 31.
Immediately following the film, there will be a pre-recorded discussion between producer Kerry Washington and the ACLU lawyers featured in the film. This conversation is exclusive to Virtual Cinema engagements.
Directed by Eli B. Despres, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, The Fight comes from the same cinema team behind 2016's political documentary about Anthony Weiner’s campaign for Mayor of New York City.
The Loft's streaming releases series splits the revenue with the film’s distributor 50/50 and helps support The Loft in a time of mass theater closure. You can watch The Fight for 48 hours after you purchase an e-ticket, and can watch on your mobile device, computer, and other streaming devices.
Today, the Pima County Department of Transportation announced that the Mount Lemmon Highway will reopen beginning Saturday, Aug. 1. This announcement comes only two weeks after the Pima County Sheriff's Department said mountain access would be cut off until November. But a coordinated repair effort between the PCSD, the Department of Transportation and the Coronado National Forest Service is making the road safe for public access.
Since the Bighorn Fire dwindled through early and mid July, transportation workers have replaced more than 250 burnt guardrail posts, and aim to double that number.
According to the DoT, repair work will continue next week, including the repair and replacement of nearly 1,700 feet of guardrail. Speed reductions and lane restrictions will remain in place in areas where repair work continues. A closure order for lands managed by the Coronado National Forest in Mount Lemmon and the Upper Sabino Canyon remains in effect for public safety. The closure is in place because "the hazards to public health and safety are still present. The closure order is subject to change and the Coronado National Forest regularly assesses the conditions on the ground."
The reopening will allow vehicle access on Mount Lemmon Highway to Summerhaven and Ski Valley. Limited parking is available in these areas. Once parking areas become full, PCSD will control access until enough vehicles leave and allow for additional visitors to drive up the mountain.
Information on road closures can be found here.
Dave Franco, brother of James, makes his directorial debut, based on a screenplay he co-wrote, with The Rental, a serviceable slasher film that shows the novice director can do a solid job creating a creepy vibe.
The film isn’t anything all that original, and you won’t feel any major sense of surprise when the story ends. You might, however, refrain from ever renting a vacation home on the Oregon coast anytime soon.
Charlie and Michelle (Dan Stevens and Alison Brie) are looking to get away for the weekend. They rent a fancy house and bring along Charlie’s brother, Josh (Jeremy Allen White) and girlfriend, Mina (Sheila Vand) for company. After an awkward meeting with the caretaker (Toby Huss, who is amassing a decent horror film resume with this and last year’s Halloween), the weekend gets off to a pleasant enough start. Then the drugs come out, and bad things happen. When Mina discovers a camera in the shower, justified paranoia reigns, followed by bodies piling up.
Credit Franco for keeping you guessing as to who is creating the bloody mayhem. The resolution i
irked me at first, but it’s growing on me. The performances put the film over the top, as does the effective score by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians. They definitely use sound to keep you on edge.
It’s a promising debut for Franco that, while owing a lot to past film’s like Luke Wilson’s Vacancy, manages enough coolness to warrant a rental if you are a horror aficionado.
Available for rental on iTunes, Amazon Prime, etc.
PHOENIX – Named for the biblical figure Joshua by Mormon pioneers who saw its outstretched limbs as a guide to their westward travels, the Joshua tree is an enduring icon of the Southwest.
In tiny Yucca Valley, California, the spiny succulents that once guided pioneers through the Mojave Desert still adorn the landscape, but as climate change threatens their future, residents are increasingly at odds over their preservation.
Some in the town of roughly 20,000 say that by listing the Joshua tree – which actually is a yucca – as threatened, new restrictions will negatively affect the town’s economy, while others view the protections as necessary to ensure the survival of Yucca brevifolia, which is native to the Mojave Desert.
In October, Brendan Cummings, the conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a petition to have the western Joshua tree listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.
In tiny Yucca Valley, California, the spiny succulents that once guided pioneers through the Mojave Desert still adorn the landscape, but as climate change threatens their future, residents are increasingly at odds over their preservation.
Some in the town of roughly 20,000 say that by listing the Joshua tree – which actually is a yucca – as threatened, new restrictions will negatively affect the town’s economy, while others view the protections as necessary to ensure the survival of Yucca brevifolia, which is native to the Mojave Desert.
In October, Brendan Cummings, the conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity, filed a petition to have the western Joshua tree listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.
BAJO CHIQUITO, Panama – Billowing dust trailed the van as it barreled down a dirt road. In the back seat, Faustin Dieumes held his pregnant wife, running the remnants of a damp napkin over
her face. Her body was limp and one of her palms laid face up in her lap. The couple had gone two days without food or water before she collapsed.
This road is one of two ways out of Bajo Chiquito, the first stop migrants come to beyond the Darién Gap – the 60-mile stretch of jungle at Panama’s southern border with Colombia and one of the most dangerous places in the world. Familiar themes echo in migrant stories of crossing the Darién: flash floods, wild animals, thieves, smugglers and infection are among the threats that come with the jungle’s diverse terrain of rocks, rivers and thick vegetation.
Medical attention can be critical for migrants on the other side of the jungle, but few doctors and limited supplies in Bajo Chiquito force some to wait until their conditions worsen before continuing north.
The need for health care is even more pressing for Dieumes’ wife, Mircagnard Janvier, and other pregnant women who reach the camp on an almost daily basis, carrying with them the well-being of two lives.
This road is one of two ways out of Bajo Chiquito, the first stop migrants come to beyond the Darién Gap – the 60-mile stretch of jungle at Panama’s southern border with Colombia and one of the most dangerous places in the world. Familiar themes echo in migrant stories of crossing the Darién: flash floods, wild animals, thieves, smugglers and infection are among the threats that come with the jungle’s diverse terrain of rocks, rivers and thick vegetation.
Medical attention can be critical for migrants on the other side of the jungle, but few doctors and limited supplies in Bajo Chiquito force some to wait until their conditions worsen before continuing north.
The need for health care is even more pressing for Dieumes’ wife, Mircagnard Janvier, and other pregnant women who reach the camp on an almost daily basis, carrying with them the well-being of two lives.
An Open Letter To Governor Doug Ducey and David Hines, Head of the Arizona Interscholastic Association:
There are few things more important to a high-school athlete that his/her senior season. It is the culmination of years of preparation and it generates memories that last a lifetime. But now, due to a coronavirus pandemic that hasn’t been properly addressed throughout this country, untold numbers of Arizona’s high-school athletes are in real danger of suffering the same fate as the Spring athletes in the Class of 2020—the cancellation of sports and a gaping hole in their high-school experience.
There were ideas floated about flip-flopping Fall sports (football, volleyball, and others) with Spring sports (softball, baseball, track & field), with the thinking being that the latter are almost completely non-contact and would be safer while the pandemic was still active (or raging, as the case may be). This didn’t sit well with baseball coaches, whose players already lost last season and stood a good chance of losing the 2020-21 season, as well, should there be another flare-up. Some football coaches have signed a petition, asking that their seasons be moved.
There’s a better solution: Just move everything back.
Spend the next couple months starting the educational process, with the focus on getting kids back into school when it is safe to do so (for both students and teachers). Assume that science will come to the rescue with a vaccine late in this calendar year (and that there are enough people who aren’t crazy anti-vaxxers); it should be safe to start preparing for sports sometime after Thanksgiving.
There are few things more important to a high-school athlete that his/her senior season. It is the culmination of years of preparation and it generates memories that last a lifetime. But now, due to a coronavirus pandemic that hasn’t been properly addressed throughout this country, untold numbers of Arizona’s high-school athletes are in real danger of suffering the same fate as the Spring athletes in the Class of 2020—the cancellation of sports and a gaping hole in their high-school experience.
There were ideas floated about flip-flopping Fall sports (football, volleyball, and others) with Spring sports (softball, baseball, track & field), with the thinking being that the latter are almost completely non-contact and would be safer while the pandemic was still active (or raging, as the case may be). This didn’t sit well with baseball coaches, whose players already lost last season and stood a good chance of losing the 2020-21 season, as well, should there be another flare-up. Some football coaches have signed a petition, asking that their seasons be moved.
There’s a better solution: Just move everything back.
Spend the next couple months starting the educational process, with the focus on getting kids back into school when it is safe to do so (for both students and teachers). Assume that science will come to the rescue with a vaccine late in this calendar year (and that there are enough people who aren’t crazy anti-vaxxers); it should be safe to start preparing for sports sometime after Thanksgiving.
