Republicans Advance Bill Banning Descriptions of Sex, Homosexuality in Arizona Schools
Republicans on Tuesday backed a bill that would ban books like “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “1984” and “The Great Gatsby” from Arizona schools because they contain frank descriptions of sex and sexuality, and that critics say would effectively make it illegal to teach about homosexuality. The legislation bans schools from teaching or…
The Daily Agenda: Those Who Can’t Teach
Banning books is cool again … Everyone wants to be a fake elector … And because of term limits, nobody remembers the law of unintended consequences. In Arizona’s latest attempt to find any adult bodies to put in front of classrooms of 30-plus screaming children, the State Board of Education this week rolled back regulations on substitute…
Pima Supes Vote To Expand COVID Testing
The Pima County Board of Supervisors passed a plan to increase COVID testing availability during their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 18. The Board unanimously voted to increase PCR testing in Pima County with an additional 1,000 tests per day through Paradigm Laboratories. “I am concerned with our PCR testing site at the airport,” Supervisor Sharon…
Sen. Mark Kelly Says He Will Support Changes to Filibuster Rules for Voting-Rights Legislation
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly announced today that he supports changing the Senate’s filibuster rules to pass changes to federal law to protect election rights. Last week, his fellow Arizona senator, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, said she would not support such a change to the filibuster rules. She and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia are facing…
The Daily Agenda: Pity the Staffers
Inconvenient rules can be changed … We speculate that the speculation will continue … And that mean ol’ Howie is asking questions again. After a choppy opening week and the long weekend, the Arizona Legislature got into full swing yesterday, and already COVID-19 is a problem. As committees cranked through bills (including a contentious first vote on once…
Online orders for free at-home COVID tests to begin Jan. 19
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday launched a new website for Americans to request up to four free COVID-19 tests per household. The administration is buying 1 billion at-home rapid COVID-19 tests, and Americans will be able to begin ordering the tests online on Jan. 19 at COVIDtests.gov. This is part of the administration’s effort…
The Daily Agenda: Budgets Are Subject To Change
We’re salty about desalination … Welcome back to Arizona 2020 … Is six mentions a lot or a little? Gov. Doug Ducey unveiled a $14.3 billion budget proposal on Friday that spreads money across so many priorities that it’s bound to start a lot of little fights at the Capitol. But for his last hurrah, the budget…
Pima County Works To Reduce Overrepresentation of Native Americans in its Jails
PHOENIX – Selso Villegas knows the criminal justice system well. His daughter has battled a drug addiction for years, so for the past decade, he has cared for his grandchildren, including two grandsons who have been incarcerated. But as an American Indian, Villegas and his family face additional hurdles. “We were conquered and we were…
Ducey Budget Would Spend $14.25 Billion Next Year
Gov. Doug Ducey’s final budget proposal calls for $14.25 billion in spending for the 2023 fiscal year that includes nearly $1.4 billion in new spending, the bulk of which will be one-time spending on K-12 education, water infrastructure, beefing up the state’s rainy day fund and expanding Interstate 10. About $364 million of that new…
Nativist Republicans Call on Ducey To Militarize the Border To Stop an “Invasion”
A nativist former top Trump White House official on Wednesday exhorted Gov. Doug Ducey to use Arizona’s National Guard to turn immigrants back at the border. Ken Cuccinelli, a top United States Citizenship and Immigration Services official in Donald Trump’s administration, said Ducey has the constitutional ability to direct national guardsmen to remove those crossing…
Republican Wants All AZ Cell Phones and Tablets To Have an Anti-Porn Filter
A Republican lawmaker wants to bar the sale of any computer, smartphone or tablet in Arizona if it doesn’t include a filter that would block children from accessing “harmful content,” and would hold them criminally liable if they fail to do so. The legislation from Rep. Michelle Udall, R-Mesa, also would allow parents to sue…
Rising COVID Cases Pushing Healthcare System to the Brink
Arizona reported 18,783 COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the latest in a surge of infections that experts say is stressing a state health care system that is “not well suited” to take on more cases. The state has been averaging almost 12,000 new cases a day since Jan. 1, according to data from the Arizona Department of…
AZ COVID Death Toll Tops 25K
More than 25,000 Arizona have now died after contracting COVID-19. The virus has killed 25,002 people as of today, including 3,273 in Pima County, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. The grim milestone came one day after the state reported a record 18,783 new cases of COVID-19 as the Omicron variant continues to…
The Daily Agenda: It’s Gonna Be a MAGA Weekend
That’s not how the law works, senator … It’s like we’re time traveling … And wow, those fines add up fast. Programming note: We have a guest column coming to your inboxes on Friday, but the Daily Agenda won’t publish on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We’ll be back with the Daily Agenda…
Dynamic Duo: A Pair of Shows at the Tucson Museum of Art Explore Radically Different Art Forms
If you ever wanted to test your taste in art, get yourself down to the Tucson Museum of Art. The curators have spiced the place up with two radically different art forms on view at the same time but in different galleries. Olivier Mosset, a Swiss-born artist now in his 70s who has lived…
