February 20, 2019

Showdown over water bill averted, clearing way for Arizona to finish Colorado River deal

Proposed water legislation that might have upended Arizona’s Colorado River drought plan was set aside by a leading Republican lawmaker following a day of tense debate.

The dispute over the bill pitted House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who introduced the measure on behalf of a group of farmers and ranchers, against the Gila River Indian Community, whose leader threatened to pull out of the drought deal if the bill went forward.

Bowers’ decision to yank the bill from consideration on Tuesday appears to clear the path for Arizona to take a series of steps to finish its piece of the Drought Contingency Plan, which involves taking less water out of Lake Mead to prevent the reservoir from falling to critically low levels.

But even with what had seemed a difficult snag now somewhat smoothed over, Arizona still needs to finish a list of about a dozen water agreements to make its piece of the Colorado River deal work. And Arizona’s top water managers said they expect completing those deals will take longer than a March 4 deadline set by the federal government.

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2019/02/19/arizona-water-dispute-heats-up-threatening-derail-drought-plan/2910994002/

February 20, 2019

House panel approves bill to quash political activity in classrooms

The president of the state’s largest teachers’ union warned a House committee Monday of a potential Red for Ed resurgence if they advanced a contentious bill from Rep. Kelly Townsend last night, which they did.

Townsend’s House Bill 2015, which opponents view as retaliation for last year’s strike, would prohibit school district employees from using school resources to espouse a political or religious ideology or face a fine of up to $5,000. Democrats and opponents argued the bill would have a chilling effect on teachers without solving an existing problem.

The House Education approved the bill 8-5 along party lines, just hours after teachers in West Virginia, who inspired last year’s strike in Arizona, decided to walk out of their classrooms again starting today in protest of a Republican bill viewed as retaliatory.

Arizona Education Association President Joe Thomas cautioned the committee before they voted on Townsend’s proposal.

Read more: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/02/19/house-panel-approves-bill-to-quash-political-activity-in-classrooms/

February 20, 2019

Bill would make Section 8 and other assistance not count as rent

A bill under consideration at the Capitol could give landlords the ability to evict tenants who pay their rents with assistance from non-profits, churches and the federal government’s Section 8 housing voucher program.

Rep. Ben Toma, R-Peoria, said he introduced House Bill 2358 at the request of the Arizona Multihousing Association, a trade group for large rental properties.

During a House Commerce Committee hearing last week, Toma said the bill is a response to a Maricopa County Superior Court ruling from last year.

The crux of the ruling was that if a landlord accepts a rental housing voucher payment that counts as partial payment, a tenant is protected under Arizona law from eviction.

Read more: https://www.azmirror.com/2019/02/19/bill-would-make-section-8-and-other-assistance-not-count-as-rent/

February 19, 2019

Now there's a $50 million plan to save Utah's famous Bonneville Salt Flats, but will it work?

A century ago, industrial potash mining and land-speed racing emerged at nearly the same time and the same place in the United States: Utah’s gleaming white wonderland known as the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Both activities flourished on the playa’s saline chemistry, which yields valuable minerals and a hard, level crust stretching for miles and miles, an ideal stage to push souped-up wheeled machines to the limit.

During the intervening decades, however, millions of tons of salt have leached southward from what became a world-famous raceway into evaporative ponds used to extract potassium chloride. The salty surface that supports the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway is now so thin and soft in places it no longer can be used to set records and soon could become unsafe for fast driving altogether.

But a potential solution is the works that the racing community and federal land managers believe could thicken the crust, thereby preserving an important ecological piece of the nation’s cultural history and heritage.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2019/02/17/now-theres-m-plan-save/

February 19, 2019

Salt Lake City police locate man who 'messed with the wrong queers' when he punched a gay man in a

Salt Lake City police locate man who ‘messed with the wrong queers’ when he punched a gay man in a video gone viral


Salt Lake City police have located the man captured on video hitting another man after asking if he was gay.

The assault is shown in an eight-second video posted to Twitter on Sunday by Sal Trejo. It quickly spread, catching the attention of the community, elected leaders and the news media.

“He just messed with the wrong queers,” Trejo said. “We knew that we would be able to find him because we have the resources and we have the support of the great community here in Salt Lake City.”

The assault took place on the sidewalk near 327 S. Main St. about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. The video starts with the suspect asking, “Are you gay, though?”

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/02/18/salt-lake-city-gay-man/

February 19, 2019

Congress members want federal investigation into students' missing money at Argosy University

Source: WFLA.com

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) - A growing crisis at Argosy University has taken another turn. At least four members of Congress, including two local members, are calling on a federal investigation to find out what happened to millions of dollars in missing federal aid money.

Students are struggling to pay their bills after an estimated $13 million in federal aid went missing. The school's accreditation is on the line.

Congressman Charile Crist calls the situation troubling and possibly criminal.

"It's called stealing. It's an old-fashioned term," Crist said. "And if that's what's discovered, than there ought to be criminal actions taken against the wrong-doers."

Read more: https://www.wfla.com/8-on-your-side/better-call-behnken/congress-members-want-federal-investigation-into-students-missing-money-at-argosy-university/1792100908

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Note: I used the WFLA coverage since it was published nine hours ago.

Additional coverage from USA Today via the Arizona Republic:
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/02/18/argosy-university-students-wont-get-more-financial-aid-department-education/2908386002/

February 19, 2019

Democrat Eva Putzova mounting primary challenge to Rep. Tom O'Halleran

A former Flagstaff city councilwoman and Slovakian immigrant is focusing on the need for immigration reform as she mounts a Democratic primary challenge to Rep. Tom O'Halleran in Arizona's 1st Congressional District.

Eva Putzova, 41, came to the United States from Slovakia in 2000 and became a U.S. citizen in 2007.

It took that long, Putzova said, because of a broken immigration system that she says sets applicants up to fail.

“I saw a lot of disrespect, especially for people of color, during the procedures,” Putzova said. “I saw how officers treated people who came from Mexico and Central America, it was a lot of disrespect. And I think we are better than that.”

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/02/18/democrat-eva-putzova-mounting-primary-challenge-rep-tom-ohalleran/2849788002/

February 19, 2019

Arizona has $1 billion surplus, but likely won't be restoring benefits for poor families

Four years ago, when lawmakers voted to make Arizona the strictest state in the nation for welfare benefits, their rationale was financial.

The state was facing a $1 billion budget deficit, they said, and cuts had to be made.

This year, the state has projected a $1 billion surplus. And the more than 11,000 children whose families receive welfare benefits represent only a fraction of those living in poverty.

But Democrats' efforts to return aid to Arizona's poorest households to pre-Recession levels — or at least relax current limits — appear to be a nonstarter with Republican lawmakers, who have declined to give the bills public hearings in the Legislature.

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/02/18/arizona-welfare-benefits-likely-stay-same-despite-budget-surplus/2843404002/

February 19, 2019

$10M Claim Blames Ducey, State for Uber Self-Driving Crash That Killed Woman

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey failed to keep roads safe with his free-wheeling autonomous vehicle rules, says a $10 million claim against the state by the family of the woman killed by an Uber self-driving car last March.

The claim was filed on September 18, 2018, but released this week to Phoenix New Times under public records law.

Elaine Herzberg, a sometimes-homeless, 49-year-old woman with a drug problem, died on March 18 after an Uber Volvo XC90 in autonomous mode slammed into her at about 10 p.m. on Mill Avenue just south of Curry Road.

Lawyer Richard Gulbrandsen, who prepared the notice of claim on behalf of Herzberg's husband, Rolf Ziemann, and her daughter, Christine Wood, declined comment on Wednesday. Ziemann and Wood, who are each demanding $5 million from the state, settled with Uber for an unreleased amount of money last year.

Read more: https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/claim-ducey-state-blamed-uber-self-driving-death-unsafe-policy-11205678

February 19, 2019

University of Arizona prof sues state over denial of health-care coverage to transgender employees

TUCSON – A transgender University of Arizona professor has sued the state over financial access to surgery his doctor said is medically necessary.

Russell Toomey last month filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tucson on behalf of state employees and their dependents. The suit, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Arizona, says the state’s exclusion violates transgender employees’ constitutional and civil rights.

Toomey, an associate professor of family studies and human development at UA, said it’s also a matter of finances and fairness.

“Knowing that my state discriminates based on my gender is never a good feeling,” said Toomey, whose doctor told him he needs a hysterectomy to treat his gender dysphoria. “Mentally, it’s just anxiety producing knowing that I have this part of my body that doesn’t feel authentic to me.”

Read more: https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2019/02/18/ua-professor-sues-state-over-denial-of-health-care-coverage-to-transgender-employees/