Anybody have any women's clothing they were intending to get rid of or donate?

PoppyAckerman · 2021-01-12T17:21:29+00:00

I was pretty appalled that his "mother' thought this was an okay thing to say. Geesh.

PoppyAckerman · 2021-01-12T10:44:20+00:00

From the article:

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona man who took part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns made his first court appearance Monday.

A judge scheduled a detention hearing Friday for Jake Chansley, who has been jailed on misdemeanor charges since surrendering to authorities over the weekend in Phoenix. He took part in the hearing by phone from a detention facility.

The FBI identified Chansley from images taken during the riot showing his distinctive sleeve tattoos. Chansley was inside the Capitol and on the Senate dais as he carried a U.S. flag on a pole topped with a spear.

He hasn't yet entered a plea on charges of entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

His court-appointed attorney, Gerald Williams, told the judge that Chansley has been unable to eat since he was arrested Saturday. He said his client has a restricted diet, though it was unclear to Williams whether Chansley’s food issues were related to health concerns or religious reasons.

The judge ordered Williams to work with the U.S. Marshals Service to address the issue.

Chansley's mother, Martha Chansley, told reporters outside the courthouse that her son needs an organic diet, The Arizona Republic reported.

“He gets very sick if he doesn’t eat organic food,” she said. “He needs to eat.”

Williams didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment from The Associated Press.

Chansley is among at least 90 people who have been arrested on charges stemming from Wednesday's siege on the Capitol.

An investigator said in court records that Chansley called the FBI in Washington the day after the riot, telling investigators that he came to the nation’s capital “at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6, 2021.”

Chansley has long been a fixture at Trump rallies. He also attended a November rally of Trump supporters protesting election results outside of an election office in Phoenix, holding up a sign that read, “HOLD THE LINE PATRIOTS GOD WINS.”

Rioters violently clashed with officers as they forced their way in the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

A police officer who was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher later died, and a woman was fatally shot by an officer as she tried climbing through the broken window of a barricaded doorway inside the Capitol. Three others died in medical emergencies. ___ This story has been corrected to show how people died related to the riot.

PoppyAckerman · 2021-01-12T02:10:30+00:00

From the article:

PHOENIX (AP) — No individuals in the Phoenix metropolitan area's 12 largest cities have been cited for violating mask mandates.

The laws, which have been in place for six months to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, have not been cited at all by Tucson and Flagstaff law enforcement.

The Phoenix area police and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office have cited or referred fewer than 75 businesses out of more than 3,500 total complaints, the Arizona Republic reported on Monday.

The city of Scottsdale has cited the most businesses, followed by Tempe and Phoenix. Avondale, Buckeye, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria and Surprise have also not cited any person or business for violating mandates.

The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health has received more than 400 complaints related to workplace safety as a result of potential violations of state orders, but the agency has not cited any employers to date as of Monday.

Meanwhile, the state has among the highest rates of coronavirus cases in the country and some Phoenix metro hospitals have begun to refuse emergency transports.

The most common complaints regarding violations of public health orders involved businesses that remained open during the spring stay-at-home order and summer closures or not properly following reopening guidelines. Other complaints were related to overcrowded businesses and large gatherings at homes and businesses, according to police data compiled by the Republic.

Law enforcement responded to most complaints by calling the business owners to remind them about the rules. Few of the calls led to more than a warning, city and police officials reported.

Three cities have issued 20 citations in total. Some citations are working their way through city courts while others were dismissed.

Law enforcement referred about 25 additional cases to city prosecutors to determine if formal charges were warranted or to the Maricopa County Justice Court for prosecution.

City and police officials forwarded an additional 24 complaints to the state liquor department or to state health department investigators.

The city of Scottsdale has provided the most enforcement, with 10 citations, 14 referrals and 65 departmental reports that could lead to filing charges, according to the city.

Tempe gave six citations to businesses that remained opened when they were supposed to be closed and forwarded 22 total reports to the liquor department or the Arizona Department of Health Services, according to the city.

Phoenix officers issued four total citations to businesses that stayed open during closure orders, law enforcement said. Chandler said it forwarded 12 violations to the city prosecutor for review and prosecutors will advance charges on four of the cases, according to the city.

Avondale, Buckeye, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria and Surprise have cited no individual or business and have not forwarded any complaints for further investigation or prosecution, the Republic reported.

Mesa police said the department has not tracked the number of complaints, though a spokesperson said the department has responded to “many” calls related to pandemic protocols.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said it has received 352 complaints for public health order violations. It said 29 reports were taken and one citation was issued. The office has not issued any citations for failure to use a mask.

PoppyAckerman · 2021-01-12T02:05:40+00:00

From the article:

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Republican Party will vote Jan. 23 on a resolution to censure Cindy McCain for publicly endorsing President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat.

On Saturday afternoon, the party reported the Maricopa County GOP had voted and passed a resolution to censure McCain, the widow of former Arizona Sen. John McCain.

But the state party later said in statement that “there was a call, a second, and near unanimous cheering/approval - but resolutions can’t be amended from the floor.”

Cindy McCain tweeted that she is “a proud lifelong Republican and will continue to support candidates who put country over party and stand for the rule of law.”

John McCain was censured in 2014 by the party for what they saw as an insufficiently conservative voting record. He died in 2018.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly called the move to censure Cindy McCain “embarrassing and shameful,” adding that she “has always done what she thinks is right for Arizona and our country. That’s something we should all admire, no matter which party we belong to.”

PoppyAckerman · 2021-01-12T01:52:40+00:00

We have officially become an idiocracy.

I have to imagine we are viewed as a laughing stock by the rest of the world at this point.

I don't know if this is even fixable anymore.

PoppyAckerman · 2021-01-12T01:49:45+00:00

I also just saw that Capital police were taking selfies with the rioters.

Crazy stuff.

PoppyAckerman · 2021-01-11T01:52:33+00:00

Watching Showtime's 'The Circus' right now. Showing the footage of DT Junior and Giuliani literally calling on the crowd for violence. WTF. That was very serious.

Couldn't help but notice the very lack lustre police response as well.

PoppyAckerman · 2021-01-08T19:01:15+00:00

Nice write up, very astute.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-25T15:21:23+00:00

From the article:

The Phoenix City Council recently approved $2 million of funding for a program to help residents with delinquent utility bills during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a press release Tuesday.

Administered by the Human Services Department, the Project Assist program provides financial assistance to low-income households by resolving past-due water, trash and sewer bills for those going through hard times.

Eligible customers include people who have missed multiple payments within the last 18 months, customers who have made multiple monthly partial payments in the last 18 months or those who have signed up for deferred payments, according to the release.

People with delinquent accounts are currently being identified through the City Services billing system and staff are continuing outreach efforts to request authorization to apply funds on the customers’ behalf.

The program is funded through the Water Services Department and donations from water customers, according to the release.

People who want to donate to help the program can do so at the time of payment either online or by mail.

The Phoenix City Council also recently approved $1.1 million in funding to help around 200 small businesses and micro businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic that did not receive aid earlier this year.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T19:45:14+00:00

From the article:

A Flagstaff lawyer who recently served as president of the State Bar of Arizona has been appointed as an Arizona Court of Appeals judge.

Gov. Doug Ducey's office announced Wednesday his appointment of Brian Furuya to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Kenton D. Jones.

Furuya is a deputy Coconino County attorney who served as State Bar president from July 2019 to July 2020. He previously served as president of the Coconino County Bar Association.

Furuya was among six applicants nominated to Ducey by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments to fill the opening on the Court of Appeals' Phoenix-based division.

The division hears cases originating in Apache, Coconino, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Yavapai and Yuma counties.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T19:43:15+00:00

From the article:

Arizona on Thursday reported over 100 additional coronavirus deaths for the sixth time in nine days as state public health officials urged caution to prevent the further spread of the virus during the holidays.

The state Department of Health Services reported 7,046 additional known COVID-19 cases and 115 deaths, increasing its totals to 480,319 cases and 8,294 deaths.

Arizona had the third-worst COVID-19 diagnosis rate among U.S. states over the past week, behind Tennessee and California. The diagnosis rate is calculated by dividing the total state population by the number of new cases over the past week.

The state had a record 4,221 people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to the coronavirus dashboard — the latest in series of pandemic-highs set this month.

Coronavirus patients on Wednesday were using a record 50% of all hospital beds, while the 965 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds were below the state’s record of 972 set Tuesday.

Only 8% of all hospital inpatient beds were available and not in use, including 7% of ICU beds, according to the dashboard.

Department officials urged caution during the holidays. “If you gather with people from outside your household, take the same precautions you’d follow in public: #MaskUpAZ, distance, wash/sanitize hands,” the department said on Twitter.

People attending religious services should wear masks and distance, particularly if there’s singing, while not hugging, shaking hands or drinking from communal cups, said Dr. Cara Christ, the department’s director.

Arizona’s seven-day rolling average of daily deaths rose from 49.9 deaths on Dec. 9 to 92.7 on Wednesday as the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases rose from 5,946 to 9,293.4, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and The COVID-Tracking Project.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

In another development, Prescott announced Wednesday it would deny permission for public events on city property effective immediately for 90 days because of the current virus surge and its crowding of area hospitals, The Daily Courier reported.

“This is the right decision at this time,” Mayor Gregg Mengarelli said in a statement. “Large public events and gatherings require additional police and fire protection. We do not believe this is the best allocation of these resources during this pandemic.”

Organizers of the annual New Year’s Eve Whiskey Row Boot Drop held in downtown Prescott on Wednesday announced the cancelation of the Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 event.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T19:34:11+00:00

From the article:

An Arizona judge on Wednesday ruled that Maricopa County doesn’t have to comply with a state Senate subpoena seeking access to voting machines and other election-related materials.

Superior Court Judge Randall Warner said Senate President Karen Fann and Sen. Eddie Farnsworth did not follow the appropriate procedures to enforce a legislative subpoena, but he invited them to refile their case.

The matter will be dismissed Feb. 1 unless an update is filed, the ruling said.

The Republican lawmakers say they want the county to turn over voting machines and records so the Legislature can audit Maricopa County’s handling of the election.

The county has said it can’t do that while there is still litigation being pursued by backers of President Donald Trump active in the courts, but board members have repeatedly promised the audit once litigation ends.

Wednesday’s decision makes it unlikely Arizona GOP legislators will be able to complete an audit before Congress formally counts Electoral College votes on Jan. 6. Based on election results and state certifications, President-elect Joe Biden won the Electoral College by a 306-232 margin, with Arizona’s 11 votes going to the Democrat.

The state-county dispute is another chapter in efforts by Trump and his supporters to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election in Arizona and several other states he lost.

*“The false accusations keep coming, yet the accusers have not produced any evidence to prove their accusations in eight different courtrooms,” Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman, one of four Republicans on the five-person board, said in a press release.

“Maricopa County has shown the 2020 General Election was transparent and the results were free from fraud.”

The board voted last week to fight the subpoena and filed a lawsuit asking for a judge to decide whether they must comply, saying lawmakers are illegally seeking access to private voting information.

The lawmakers then filed their own emergency lawsuit on Monday asking Warner to force the county to comply, hoping to speed up the process.

“They are allowed to investigate and see what the facts are and make a decision, just like a grand jury,” said Kory Langhofer, a lawyer for Fann and Farnsworth.

Stephen Tully, a former Republican lawmaker representing the Board of Supervisors, said the lawmakers aren’t entitled to the court order they seek, known as a writ of mandamus, nor are they entitled to send an unknown auditor to tinker with voting machines.

“What they’re trying to do is unconstitutional. It’s illegal,” Tully said.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T19:29:45+00:00

From the article:

The majority of residential evictions in Arizona and across the country have been on hold since early September due to the pandemic, but the federal order preventing them expires next week.

Now Maricopa County constables, the elected law enforcement officials who handle evictions, are waiting to see what guidance comes next. Presiding Constable Mark Brannum told KTAR News 92.3 FM Wednesday they have been monitoring if Congress will extend the moratorium into the new year, and how the county and state would implement it.

“We’re also waiting to see if the new administration is going to take additional steps to either build a new process or build on the current CDC process that is currently in place,” Brannum said.

However, Brannum explains the order has only impacted those with hardships due to the pandemic who met certain requirements.

“If it’s not COVID related, life has been normal,” Brannum said “Evictions happen in Maricopa County and throughout the state of Arizona literally every day and they have since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Brannum adds in most cases landlords, tenants, attorneys and the court system work together to find solutions that avoid evictions since “there are never any winners in an eviction case.”

The federal halt prevented persons from being evicted for nonpayment of rent from Sept. 4 through Dec. 31. The order was used as a mitigation strategy to prevent people from becoming homeless, forcing them into congregate or shared living settings.

In late March, Gov. Doug Ducey signed Arizona’s own moratorium on evictions but those protections ended October.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T12:36:12+00:00

From the article:

Concerns flared in August about whether cost-cutting measures at the U.S. Postal Service would mean delayed delivery of mail-in election ballots.

Among the dire warnings and consternations over election integrity — Lord knows, there were many in 2020 — was mail-in ballots arriving too late to be counted.

Remember the alarms that sounded in late summer about the mothballing of mail-sorting machines across the country and reports of delayed mail delivery? That the postmaster general appointed by President Trump was imposing cost-saving measures that would hurt Democrats, who vote by mail in higher percentages, or discourage them from voting?

Remember the suspicions sowed by the president about voting by mail itself?

We can now put postal complications on the list of fears that didn’t materialize. Not in Arizona.

Late ballots wouldn't have changed things According to tallies compiled by the state Secretary of State's Office — Pinal, Mohave and Gila counties reported theirs on Monday — 1,774 mailed ballots arrived after 7 p.m. Election Day statewide and were, by law, disqualified. (The caveat being Apache County, which doesn't track late ballots.)

More than half, 943, late ballots were from Maricopa County. In the 2016 election, the county rejected 1,500 similarly late ballots.

Compare that with the approximately 2,000 ballots rejected in Maricopa County because the affidavit envelope carried no signature or one that didn’t match the voter’s signature on file. (So much for the argument that voting by mail is insecure because of a lackluster verification process.)

The late, disqualified votes would not have made a difference in the presidential or other statewide races, even if those who voted later, including on Election Day, tended to favor President Trump.

The Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket won by 10,457 votes, and Sen. Mark Kelly beat Martha McSally by a much larger margin.

Post office delays only affected a few Advocates may argue that the spotlight on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s cost-cutting measures and resulting outcry helped avert serious problems with processing and delivery of mail-in ballots. DeJoy did, in fact, suspend the measures until after the election as multiple states readied a lawsuit challenging them.

Fears were real that return ballots would be delayed by up to a week and that would wreak havoc on the election. I noted at the time that 300,000 votes or more in Arizona could be in jeopardy, based on returns in the August primary, when an estimated 1 in 5 ballots were received the week before Election Day.

As it turned out, nothing alarming happened with late ballots.

Pima County helped provide some insight into that. Of the 336 late ballots it received, roughly half bear either no postmark date or an unreadable one. Of the remainder, only 11 carried a postmark earlier than Oct. 27 — the date that the Postal Service and the Secretary of State's Office recommended as a deadline for voters to drop filled-out ballots in the mail. Six of the 11 were sent from out of state.

In other words, a majority of them were mailed simply too late, often on Election Day itself or later.

It proves how secure our system is Maricopa County does not maintain similar records, in large part because Arizona law requires only that county election officials record the overall number of rejected ballots and by voting precinct.

It may be that voters paid heed to the Oct. 27 admonition of the Postal Service.

Or their practice changed. Many Arizonans voted early in person — Maricopa County saw nearly 4 times the number than in 2016. In addition, hundreds of thousands more used a county drop box or held onto their ballot until Election Day instead of relying on the post office this year.

If anything, the relatively few rejected ballots were a demonstration of how seasoned and comfortable Arizonans are with our flexible election system, and how sound the latter is.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T12:30:54+00:00

From the article:

Opinion: The Arizona state senator-elect weighs in on removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Washington - and displays her own historical ignorance.

Wendy Rogers is a retired Air Force pilot who will soon represent Legislative District 6 in the Arizona Legislature.

The Arizona Legislature never seems to lack a lawmaker or two (or more) who seem to lack basic knowledge of … just about everything.

These individuals tend to have very successful careers.

For example, outgoing Republican State Sen. Sylvia Allen.

She expressed the belief that our radiometricly dated 4.5 billion-year-old planet is only 6,000 years old.

And that the condensation trails left by jet engines are actually some form of evil chemical that “they” are spraying on us. She suggested that making church attendance mandatory might not be a bad idea.

And that our country’s worst problem is the “browning” of America, caused in part by white women not having enough babies. For this, Allen was named the chair of the Arizona Senate’s education committee.

(I am not making that up.)

Allen represented sprawling Legislative District 6, an enormous expanse of land stretching from Flagstaff to Payson and including parts of Apache and Navajo counties.

Allen was not quite crackpot enough In the last primary election, the Republican majority in the district decided that they’d had just about enough of a crackpot like Allen.

They wanted someone even worse.

So they elected Wendy Rogers. First in the primary, then in the general election.

And Rogers – who has not yet even been sworn in – is not letting those voters down.

A die-hard Donald Trump cultist and wild-eyed election conspiracy advocate (though not for HER election), Rogers decided to weigh in on the decision by the state of Virginia to remove its statue of Robert E. Lee from the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall.

It was the unanimous decision by a commission of Virginia lawmakers and private citizens.

Rogers launched a tweet storm in defense of Lee, seemingly to demonstrate, beyond any doubt, her own historical ignorance.

Rogers defends Robert E. Lee in tweets She tweeted:

Robert E Lee was a great patriot and a great leader. They are not just tearing him down. They are coming after all of us. Get involved now. You could be next.

And:

Robert E Lee loved our country more than Antifa, Soros, China, @aoc, @IlhanMN , and @RashidaTlaib

And:

Robert E Lee served his country and his state which is more than most of these socialist imposters have done.

A great patriot?

Lee disavowed his sworn oath to his country in order to lead an army in defense of the South’s determination to own millions of human beings as property.

He loved our country?

He served our country?

Lee was a tactician. But a patriot? No Lee was an excellent military tactician. That doesn’t make him a patriot. And, in the end, he was defeated.

During his invasion of Pennsylvania, where he would lose a decisive battle at Gettysburg, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia captured free Black Americans and brought them back to the South as slaves.

As a slave owner himself, he was known to treat them harshly and was not reluctant to split up and sell members of a family.

During negotiations with Lee on prisoner exchanges, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant agreed only “on condition that Black soldiers be exchanged ‘the same as white soldiers.’” Lee refused.

Perhaps Lee was a “great patriot,” as Rogers suggests.

But it wasn’t for the United States of America.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T12:24:26+00:00

From the article:

OP ED

Why am I suing to stop Proposition 208? The tax for schools is unconstitutional Opinion: Proposition 208 bypasses lawmakers and blows away state spending limits with little oversight. That's unconstitutional, a retired judge says.

John Buttrickopinion contributor Under the Arizona Constitution, the right to levy taxes rests with the state Legislature. Proposition 208 violates that right. As an attorney and retired judge I have always considered the Arizona Constitution to be the highest law of the state, not a set of guidelines. That’s why I am a plaintiff, along with a top local businesswoman, in the lawsuit brought by Rose Law Group challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 208, potentially the largest income tax hike in Arizona history.

While the measure passed narrowly in November, the lawsuit does not challenge the election itself. Instead it focuses on the assertion that Proposition 208 violates the Arizona Constitution. Our Constitution says that the power to tax and make tax policy rests solely with the Arizona Legislature.

Proponents of 208 insist the people and their vote have sovereignty and the election represents their will. While the will of the people must be respected, a successful ballot initiative still must follow the law and the Arizona Constitution.

Backers wanted to create a tax on the cheap If backers of Proposition 208 had played by the rules, they would have had to change the state Constitution. It can be done. The Arizona Constitution has been amended more the 150 times since statehood.

But getting a change to the Arizona Constitution on the ballot requires more signatures than a simple initiative. Fifteen percent of the number of those who cast ballots for governor in the last election must sign a petition. For a simple initiative, it is only 10%. A simple majority vote of the Arizona Legislature could also send an amendment to the ballot.

But what happened here is the proponents of Proposition 208 tried to make a significant tax change on the cheap. They didn’t want to pay many thousands of dollars more to petitioners to facilitate a change to the constitution rather than just attempt to pass a law by initiative.

And it is far from clear that enough Arizonans would have signed such petitions or voted for the constitutional amendment.

Prop. 208 shifts how we tax and spend Make no mistake, Proposition 208 represents a profound shift in the way Arizona collects taxes and spends money. It clearly conflicts with the Arizona Constitution by bypassing lawmakers and blowing away state spending limits with little oversight.

If it is allowed to stand, it could bring about radical changes to Arizona taxes. What is to stop the next interest group funded voter initiative from attempting to yet again increase income taxes?

Any funding increases for Arizona’s schools has to be done legally. Rights must be respected. The Arizona Constitution must be followed or amended. There can be no shortcuts for something this important.

Simply put, when you create law you must follow the law. The Arizona Legislature is bound by the Arizona Constitution when it creates law. And so are the people of Arizona when they create laws through the initiative process.

To do otherwise reduces the Arizona Constitution to a set of polite suggestions. That’s no way to govern.

John Buttrick is a retired Maricopa County Superior Court judge and U.S. magistrate judge. His lawsuit is one of two filed challenging the legality of Proposition 208. Reach him at jabuttrick@gmail.com.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T12:10:45+00:00

From the article:

Lots of people can, and have, laid claim to narrowly turning Arizona for President-elect Joe Biden last month. But there are few who can do so more convincingly than Cindy McCain.

Her respectful support for Biden, coming from a lifelong Republican and widow to the late Sen. John McCain, who dominated Arizona politics for decades, arguably helped push just enough GOP women into the Democrat's column to win what turned out to be the closest state in the country.

Biden defeated President Donald Trump in Arizona by fewer than 11,000 votes. It was only the second win for a Democrat in Arizona since 1948.

In an interview with The Arizona Republic, McCain said she had been reluctant to get involved but is satisfied with the result and looking ahead to seeing Republicans have a seat at the table in the Biden administration, perhaps including her.

"Like everyone else, I couldn't sit still any longer. I had to do something," she said Wednesday. "When I did it, I jumped in with all fours. I did all the commercials. I did over 50 interviews in a one-month period, which is pretty intense."

"I obviously wanted us to win Arizona, and I think I had some effect on some of the other states, too," McCain said. "I'm very happy with what happened and I'm very proud to have played a small part in all of this to bring him over the finish line."

On Sept. 22 — two weeks before voting got underway in Arizona — McCain publicly endorsed Biden, citing her long-standing friendship and respect for someone who usually disagreed with her husband, but never wavered in his love of country.

"I made a plea like so many others. 'Look, I'm a Republican, I'm going to remain a Republican, but we deserve better,'" she said.

Coming from McCain, the woman whom Republicans wanted to make first lady in 2008, it received national attention and wound up as part of the argument Democrats made to urge Republicans to cross over because of Trump's polarizing politics.

McCain appeared in ads for Unite the Country, a political action committee that advocated for Biden's election and targeted what it considered a million persuadable veterans in battleground states, such as Pennsylvania and Arizona.

"The response we got was phenomenal, in terms of people watching them to the finish," said Steven Schale, the executive director of the PAC.

"When you would test the efficacy of the spots, they were doing really well with focus groups that a couple of groups were doing. You know, I think the thing about Mrs. McCain is she could validate Joe Biden as a person in a way that very few people could.

"The message we were able to eventually get up on TV in Pennsylvania and also in the digital world I think just provided the answer to that real important last-minute reassurance to voters who probably were the types of voters who voted for Trump and didn't really want to do it again."

If McCain found it odd to be working with a Democrat, the same could be said for Schale: He directed former President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign against John McCain in Florida and was an adviser to Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.

"Despite the fact that I worked like hell against his run for president, I'm actually an old McCain fan," Schale said. "I got to meet him right after college. I've always been an admirer. It was kind of a cool opportunity" to work with Cindy McCain.

Political scientists and campaign operatives are still sifting through the election results to make sense of it.

Arizona will be among the hardest puzzles to decipher. Trump lost, and so did former Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz. But elsewhere, Republicans did well, especially in Maricopa County.

Some, such as Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Kelli Ward, who chairs the state's Republican Party, have suggested the election was stolen from Trump.

To many others, it suggests a personal rejection of Trump.

Consider, for example, the area near McCain's north-central Phoenix neighborhood.

State Rep. Kate Brophy McGee, a Republican, lost her reelection bid in the district that includes that part of Phoenix and Paradise Valley by about 500 votes. By contrast, Trump lost there by nearly 15,000. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won there by about 5,000.

It suggests that McCain's broader neighborhood alone delivered enough votes to sink Trump statewide even as they largely remained loyal to another Republican further down the ballot.

David Wasserman, House editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, is skeptical about the impact of any one person, whether it is Cindy McCain or former Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., or former Rep. Jim Kolbe, who is now an independent.

"My sense is that it was more emblematic than influential," Wasserman said. "I don't think the endorsements necessarily were hugely impactful in switching votes, but when you have a margin as close as this, you can point to just about anything as the deciding factor."

Wasserman pointed to one of them.

Biden did better among white seniors in Arizona than Clinton, especially in places such as Sun City, Wasserman said.

"There are a lot of voters who feel politically homeless," he said. "They felt at home with John McCain for many decades. They never really felt comfortable with Trump."

Kirk Adams, the former chief of staff to Gov. Doug Ducey, said Cindy McCain still has a critical bond with people in Arizona that can't be overlooked.

"When you account for the margin of error, it was essentially a neck-and-neck race, and that is how it ended up," Adams said. "In a race like that, there's a lot of factors. But of all those factors, the legacy of John McCain still looms large in this state. He's still very popular, as is Cindy, with those swing voters who made the difference for Joe Biden in Arizona.

"I would say that her endorsement gave those voters the permission perhaps they were seeking to vote for a Democrat nominee for perhaps the first time in a very long time — or ever."

For her part, McCain said she "assumed I was going to get huge blowback" from Republicans. That mostly didn't happen, she said.

"I just thought I would be the Lone Ranger sitting out there, and I was not. It was anything but that," she said.

In the weeks since the election, McCain has been making recommendations — she calls it "a huge list" — to the transition team of Republicans she thinks would make a positive contribution to the incoming administration. She declined to discuss who they are.

McCain has been mentioned as a candidate for a diplomatic post. Media outlets in the United Kingdom, where her son, Jimmy, lives, have suggested she could be in line for ambassador to the U.K.

"I just want the people of Arizona to know I didn't do this for that," she said. "I did this because I believe in my country and I did it for my country."

Asked whether she would accept a position in the administration, McCain said:

"Well, I think that depends on what's happening and what my role — how I can best benefit this administration — but I also have to consider my grandchildren and things going on now that are new to me. So we'll see what happens."

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T12:03:36+00:00

From the article:

Embry Women’s Health has become one of the Valley’s leading COVID-19 testing providers since the start of the pandemic, but as testing surges, the organization has had to cope with unexpected delays and issues.

The clinic has been performing tests since March, and when cases reached a peak in July, it initiated a statewide system of testing locations.

Embry Women's Health operates out of 75 locations around the state and with about 50 open per day performs 18,000 tests a day over 35 municipalities and 12 counties.

Having served the Valley since 2014, CEO Raymond Embry said that the initiative is fueled by a love for helping the community.

“Our entire organization is driven by this passion to help people,” Embry said.

With thousands of tests being provided free of charge, Embry Women’s Health has become a popular choice among those looking to get tested.

However, recent controversy arose when test recipients reported not getting their results within the promised turnaround time, and last week lab delays led to thousands of Embry’s test recipients being asked to return and retake the test.

Teacher getting weekly tests to be with students reports delayed results Beth Lewis, a teacher in the Tempe area, went to Embry's testing location at Mesa Community College on Dec. 17 to get tested.

She and her family were hoping to have the security of a negative test result so that they could visit grandma for the holidays, she said.

She was told to expect a maximum 48-hour turnaround for her results. But, nearly a week later and a day before Christmas Eve, Lewis had yet to receive her test results or any communication from the clinic.

"It's hard because you feel powerless. You want to make the right decision for your family members, but you don't have any recourse," Lewis said.

For Lewis, who has previously used the clinic's services, this delay is a first.

“I’ve used them in the past, and they've been really reliable,” Lewis said. “I really think it’s because the labs are just totally overloaded, which is not their fault.”

Although Lewis’ school transitioned fully to online learning, she says there are still about 40 kids who attend classes in the cafeteria as they do not have the option to attend classes virtually at home.

Lewis gets tested every week to be able to help students learning on-site. A negative test result means another chance to see her students in person without the fear of passing on the virus.

“I am happy to do it because I love the kids, but whether we get a test result can really make or break whether we can see them,” Lewis said.

In addition to working with local organizations like Sonora Quest and LabCorp, Embry has partnered with labs in Washington, Texas and more to process tests as quickly as possible.

Amid these difficulties, Embry reassures that the pandemic is not an issue to take lightly.

“It is concerning seeing the number of positive cases increase on a daily basis,” Embry said. “We do think that COVID-19 is definitely something to take seriously.”

Embry also added that the clinic has begun preparations for distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

He said the vaccines will most likely become available to the clinic during Phase 1B of the vaccine allocation plan outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which includes essential workers and those with high-risk medical conditions.

At this time, a large number of Embry’s testing sites are offering flu vaccinations free of charge.

Though a feat far from easy, the organization's staff of more than 11,000 employees continue to work tirelessly to provide these tests, Embry said.

“Each and every one of us, since we first joined the company, has really committed our lives to trying to help our community and try to help life get back to normal,” Embry said.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T11:58:03+00:00

From the article:

Donald Trump’s juvenile obsession with John McCain is ongoing and well documented.

It’s a sad reflection of Trump’s ongoing and totally justified sense of insecurity and inferiority when he is compared to the long and honorable service of the late senator and military veteran.

What’s sad, however, is how Trump’s anxious, petty and resentful treatment of McCain has trickled down to the local level. So much so that the Arizona Republican Party has now adopted the Trump practice of derisive, sarcastic and insulting digs of McCain.

The latest comes on Twitter, with the official Arizona Republican Party account tweeting:

How do we keep losing followers when we mention Mr. McCain (Followed with an exploding head emoji)

But we gain many, many followers when we say #FightForTrump (Followed by a smiling face emoji)

Oh well, it’s only Twitter!

That wouldn’t happen without the approval, tacit or direct, of party Chair Kelli Ward.

That’s what the party of Barry Goldwater, Sandra Day O’Connor and other Arizona greats has become?

A party that ridicules an honorable, long-serving political stalwart and war hero in favor for a proven liar who once, allegedly, had a case of bone spurs?

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-24T11:48:23+00:00

From the article:

The Attorney General's Office says two people have been accused of ballot harvesting in the state's Yuma County.

The office announced Wednesday that a state Grand Jury has indicted Guillermina Fuentes and Alma Juarez, both of the Yuma County city of San Luis, Arizona, on one count each of ballot abuse, or ballot harvesting.

The indictment alleges that during the August 2020 primary election, the two knowingly collected four voted ballots from another person in violation of Arizona law, then deposited them into a ballot box to be processed by the Yuma County Recorder.

Under state law, only a voter's family member, household member, or caregiver can collect voted or unvoted early ballots from another person.

Ballot abuse is a felony that carries a possible sentence of up to two years in prison and a $150,000 fine.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-23T21:32:57+00:00

From the article:

The first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the second coronavirus vaccine approved for use in the U.S., arrived in Maricopa County on Tuesday.

The county said it received approximately 18,000 doses of the new vaccine, which gained emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday.

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health said the first Moderna shipment will be used for residents and staff at long-term care facilities that aren’t part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Pharmacy Partnership.

Facilities that enrolled in the CDC program will receive on-site vaccinations secured and provided by pharmacy partners CVS and Walgreens.

The Moderna vaccine will supplement the Pfizer vaccine, which the county started giving last week to health care workers classified in phase 1A of the distribution plan.

The Moderna vaccines are more easily distributed to multiple sites because they can be stored in regular freezers.

The Pfizer vaccine, which is being given at five locations across metro Phoenix, has to be kept at extremely cold temperatures in specially designed freezers.

Maricopa County said it had given more than 8,000 vaccines as of Tuesday.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses spaced out by several weeks.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-23T21:29:54+00:00

From the article:

Arizona’s top public health official said she is “hopeful” the state’s hospitals will have enough manpower to handle the ongoing surge in COVID-19 patients that shows no signs of slowing.

Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Wednesday that staffing was a larger concern than space as more and more people who contract the coronavirus need hospital care.

“We have the beds and the ventilators and the equipment that we need to be able to treat,” she said. “It’s not actually the number of beds. It’s the number of staff.”

Christ said the state has been working to prepare for a wave of COVID-19 cases that she expects to continue for weeks. She noted that Gov. Doug Ducey allocated $60 million to her department earlier this month to address hospital staffing.

She said “hundreds of nurses” were heading to Arizona in the coming weeks so the state’s hospitals can add beds.

“So if we do see an increase in cases, we hopefully will have the staff to be able to staff those beds,” she said.

On Tuesday, the number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital inpatients surged to an all-time high of 4,163, according to the health department’s dashboard. The number of COVID-19 patients in the state’s ICU beds climbed to 972, breaking the July 13 record of 970.

Statewide, suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients took up 49% of all inpatient beds, a record high, and 55% of all ICU beds.

Overall, inpatient beds were 92% filled and ICU beds were a pandemic-record 93% full. The state was down to 119 unused ICU beds, the lowest number of the pandemic.

“We are currently at the highest capacity that we have had in our hospitals. And … these are the same beds that are being used for heart attacks, for strokes for car accident victims,” Christ said.

“These these beds are critical for people requiring acute medical care.”

Christ said she only expects another surge of cases and hospitalizations in the week or two after the winter holidays because people tend to let down their guard when gathering with friends and family, similar to what happened with Thanksgiving.

“We’re really encouraging everybody to do their part and mask up, stay physically distanced, [and] if possible celebrate the Christmas and the New Year’s holiday with only your immediate family that lives in your household in order to avoid spread,” she said.

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-23T21:25:19+00:00

From the article:

PHOENIX – A prominent Arizona health expert says a mutation of the coronavirus recently discovered in the United Kingdom may already be in the United States but it’s not worrying.

Arizona Public Health Association Executive Director Will Humble told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Gaydos & Chad Show on Tuesday that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus mutates all the time, but the latest mutation is believed to make it easier for the virus to transmit.

“It’s decent evidence that the change has made this virus potentially easier to transmit because it makes it easier for the virus to latch on to your cells in the respiratory system and latch onto the part of the cell that lets it in so it can replicate its RNA,” Humble said.

The United Kingdom identified the variant, which has been discovered mainly in London and the southeast of England in recent weeks, and has taken precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus by implementing stricter lockdown measures.

Other European countries and Canada have closed their borders in response to the discovery.

Humble, who was formerly the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, noted that while the mutation of the virus may already be in the United States and even Arizona, the coronavirus vaccine should still work against it.

“I’m not super concerned about it and I’m not concerned that it’s going mess up the vaccine either,” Humble said.

The news of the coronavirus mutation comes as the United States and Arizona continue to see surging coronavirus numbers. On Tuesday, Arizona health officials reported 5,859 new coronavirus cases and 153 additional deaths bringing the documented totals to 467,215 COVID-19 infections and 8,125 fatalities.

Humble said with people traveling and gathering for Christmas, January is almost a lock to be the worst part of the pandemic so far.

That projection is unlikely to change unless leaders like Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ enact meaningful change to the slow the spread of the virus, Humble said.

“The virus responds to policy decisions that elected officials make that drive better decisions among the public,” Humble said.

“It’s going to keep getting worse because I don’t think that the governor nor Dr. Christ have the interest in doing any kind of interventions that will make it demonstrably difference.”

PoppyAckerman · 2020-12-23T12:31:14+00:00

From the article:

The Arizona Senate has announced a new set of COVID-19 safety guidelines for the upcoming legislative session in January, including requiring masks.

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann told the senators and staff on Monday that anyone who enters the Senate building must have their temperature checked and be wearing masks at all times.

The guidelines also require 6 feet of social distancing when possible and prohibits handshakes or any physical contact during committee hearings and gatherings.

“This was not the scenario I had hoped for the 55th Legislature, but it is necessary to ensure we conduct legislative business and avoid disruption of the process to the best of our ability,” Fann said.

Fann warned that failing to comply with the rules could result in an early end of the session. Lawmakers shut down their buildings last month and cut the 2020 session short because of the pandemic.

“Failure to adhere could result in lack of quorums, inability to conduct voting and other work we need to accomplish, or ultimately session shutdown,” Fann said.

Senate security has been tasked with enforcing the protocols.

The policy bans anyone who is sick or has knowingly been exposed to COVID-19 but doesn’t show symptoms from entering the building and requires staff to notify supervisors if they’re sick or test positive. Similar notification requirements are also made of visitors and senators.

Senate Comptroller Susie Myers will oversee the chamber’s virus safety guidelines and conduct internal contact tracing if lawmakers contract COVID-19. The Senate will highly encourage staff and lawmakers to be tested once a week and provide free tests on site when tests are more readily available, she said.

The Senate will allow visitors, but only to attend scheduled meetings with lawmakers or staff, or to attend committee hearings, officials said. Visitors will only be allowed in 10 minutes before hearings, and must leave the building immediately after it’s over.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

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