The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 170,000 as of Wednesday, July 29, after the state reported 2,525 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had seen 15,884 of the state's 170,798 confirmed cases.

A total of 3,626 people have died after contracting the virus, including 450 in Pima County.

Maricopa County had 114,852 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 2,348 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 24, when 2,453 people were in hospital beds.

A total of 1,315 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, an increase since July 27 when 1,158 sought help from symptoms at the ER. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.

A total of 758 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 3, when 796 COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.

TRAILING IN POLLS, TRUMP ASKS FOR DELAY IN NOVEMBER ELECTION

As he trails in the polls to Democrat Joe Biden, President Donald Trump this morning called for a delay in the November election.

“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” Trump said on Twitter this morning. “It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”

Trump has no authority to delay the election as the date is set by Congress and elections are run by states.

In other national news, 2012 GOP Republican candidate Herman Cain has died after contracting coronavirus. Cain was photographed at a June Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, without a mask shortly before he was diagnosed with the virus.

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ICYMI, here's what we covered today.

• The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 168,000 as of Wednesday, July 29, after the state reported 2,339 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
• The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film and Television’s 15th annual I Dream In Widescreen student film festival faced several challenges this year due to COVID-19. However, these complications turned the showcase into an online festival, allowing more viewers to see the student films than ever before.
• A candidate for Pima County Attorney returned a campaign contribution from a Tucson man awaiting trial for manslaughter after the Tucson Weekly discovered the donation on the candidate’s recently submitted 2020 pre-primary campaign finance report.
• The Trump administration said Tuesday it will stop accepting new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications and will limit DACA renewals to one year while it undertakes a “full reconsideration” of the Obama-era policy.
• Thousands of gallons of wasted milk. Unpredictable, zigzagging prices. Abrupt dips and surges in demand. The past four months have been a roller coaster for Arizona dairy farms, as the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way some of their biggest clients did business.

PHOENIX – Thousands of gallons of wasted milk. Unpredictable, zigzagging prices. Abrupt dips and surges in demand.

The past four months have been a roller coaster for Arizona dairy farms, as the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way some of their biggest clients did business.

The ride isn’t over yet: Arizona is a COVID-19 hotspot, meaning impacts on school and restaurant operations – and their dairy needs – remain uncertain.

Food banks find themselves overwhelmed with community demand, yet some struggle to safely store and distribute the flood of milk being donated.

And beyond Arizona’s borders, foreign dairy markets continue to evolve.

“In 46 years, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Keith Murfield, chief executive officer of United Dairymen of Arizona.

The market value for dairy products made in Arizona exceeds $762 million and is one of the top five agricultural commodities for the state, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority.

PHOENIX – The Trump administration said Tuesday it will stop accepting new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications and will limit DACA renewals to one year while it undertakes a “full reconsideration” of the Obama-era policy.

The Department of Homeland Security announcement comes one month after the Supreme Court rejected the administration’s previous efforts to end the deferred deportation policy, and critics called Tuesday’s action little more than a ruse to kill the program again.

“This is another example of the actions that the Trump administration is taking to ensure thousands of Dreamers are living a life of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety,” said Reyna Montoya, CEO and founder of Aliento, as well as a DACA recipient.

But Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a memo to agency heads that the pause is needed so the department can “take action to thoughtfully consider the future of the DACA policy, including whether to fully rescind the program.”

In the memo, Wolf announced three immediate changes to DACA: new applications will be rejected and filing fees refunded, renewed applications will only be good for one year instead of the current two, and advance parole – which lets DACA recipients leave and re-enter the country – will be rejected without “exceptional circumstances.”

Under DACA, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children could apply for a deferral of deportation if they had a clean record, were working or in school and met other criteria. DACA recipients could get driver’s licenses and work authorizations, allowing many who knew no country but U.S. to come out of the shadows, supporters said.

A candidate for Pima County Attorney returned a campaign contribution from a Tucson man awaiting trial for manslaughter after the Tucson Weekly discovered the donation on the candidate’s recently submitted 2020 pre-primary campaign finance report.

Laura Conover refunded a $250 donation made to her campaign by Ronald Corbin Jr., who is accused of shooting his girlfriend in the head in front of their 3-year-old child in 2012. Charges were filed six years later after a grand jury found cause to indict Corbin in 2018.

Conover said she was unaware of the contribution due to her campaign being short staffed and having limited resources. She insists the contribution isn’t an issue that should be reported.

“I receive dozens of contributions a day from complete strangers here in our community, including modest contributions from laborers, and thank goodness, because grassroots contributions keep me in the race while the heart of the Republican party pumps so much money into my opponent's coffers. ” Conover wrote in an emailed response upon learning about Corbin’s contribution.

In next week's Democratic primary, Conover, a defense attorney who has never worked as a prosecutor, is facing two prosecutors from the Pima County Attorney's Office: Jonathan Mosher and Mark Deibolt. Mosher, who was a registered Republican until 2014, has received a number of contributions from Republicans, including auto dealer Jim Click, who has encouraged people to support Mosher. No Republican is in the race so the primary will likely determine who will take over the office that current Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall has held since she was first elected in 1996. LaWall has endorsed Mosher.

Within an hour after being contacted by Tucson Weekly yesterday, Conover verified the contribution did in fact come from Corbin along with two donations from one of Corbin’s relatives totaling $250. She refunded the money yesterday.

"After being informed as to who Mr. Corbin is, I sent word to Ms. Ayup's family with my heartfelt sentiments and word that I had returned the contribution,” Conover wrote in a second email after refunding the campaign donations.

In June 2012, Corbin shot his girlfriend in front of the couple’s child after he had been drinking at Maloney’s on 4th. Corbin maintains the shooting was an accident and happened while trying to change the grip of his pistol.

Originally, the Tucson Police Department arrested Corbin on one count of manslaughter for the death of 27-year-old Genna Ayup. However, the accused was later released after prosecutors from Barbara LaWall’s office decided not to file charges citing lack of evidence.

Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik hired private investigator and former Pima County Sheriff’s Department sergeant Weaver J. Barkman to look into the case after Ayup's mother, Toni Solheid, told her story to the councilman. Barkman found several problems with TPD’s original investigation.

“We hired a P.I. and he comes back and said he thought it was Murder One,” Kozachik said. “All we can do at this point is to actually have the trail.”

Kozachik not only takes issue with the Corbin family’s contribution, but also several donations coming from the defendant’s attorneys Laura Udall and Lance Wood because he believes it could delay the trial again should Conover win the Aug. 4 primary.

“This is nothing but a contrived effort by Corbin and his defense team to get this case in front of a new county attorney who would have to say 'My office can’t prosecute because these people donated to my campaign,'” Kozachik said. “If she wins, she’ll have to ask for a change of venue or start all over again and Genna’s family gets screwed.”

In an emailed response, Corbin’s attorney, Lance Wood, said he believes his client was exercising his rights as a free citizen.

“Mr. Corbin is presumed innocent,” Wood wrote. “Mr. Corbin has the right to vote, and the right to participate in the political process.”

Corbin’s trial is set to take place in March 2021.

The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film and Television’s 15th annual I Dream In Widescreen student film festival faced several challenges this year due to COVID-19. However, these complications turned the showcase into an online festival, allowing more viewers to see the student films than ever before.

 

Originally planned to be hosted at the Fox Theatre, I Dream In Widescreen will be held on Aug. 8th and 9th on Youtube live.

 

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona climbed past 168,000 as of Wednesday, July 29, after the state reported 2,339 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had seen 15,601 of the state's 168,273 confirmed cases.

A total of 3,454 people have died after contracting the virus, including 431 in Pima County.

Maricopa County had 113,148 of the state's cases.

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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 2,424 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 24, when 2,453 people were in hospital beds.

A total of 1,225 people visited ERs yesterday with COVID symptoms, a slight increase from yesterday's low when 1,158 people sought help in ERs for COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.

A total of 800 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, the lowest number since July 4, when 821 COVID patients were in ICU. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.

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HUCKELBERRY: UNSAFE TO OPEN SCHOOLS IN AUGUST

Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry yesterday said schools should not reopen for in-person instruction on Aug. 17, based on the county’s current data on COVID-19 community spread.

Huckelberry sent a letter to all Pima County public school superintendents on Tuesday, July 28, to follow up on Gov. Doug Ducey’s recent executive order, which directed all county health departments to work with local school districts to determine when it is safe to return to school campuses.

“Clearly, County public health agencies with real-time information and data regarding the pandemic are in the best position to offer public health advice regarding school activities related to managing the spread of COVID-19,” Huckelberry wrote.