Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller has a new employee!

County sources tell The Weekly that Lori Hunnicutt, the woman behind the online Arizona Daily Independent, is going to work for Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller.

Hunnicutt, who regularly publishes glowing articles about Miller and attacks on Miller’s political enemies, filled out paperwork this week for the new job.

Hunnicutt did not respond to an email asking if she would continue in her role as as an editor and publisher of ADI (which has been called the “Ally Defense Initiative” around county offices for some time) while drawing a county paycheck.

A collection of emails from former staffers unearthed by the Tucson Sentinel showed that Hunnicutt would run stories by Miller’s office before publishing them.

Miller has employed dozens of staffers in her six years in office, as her management style often drives away workers. As one of them told us after leaving the office: “She’s a horrible manager. She doesn’t know how to ask people to do things in a professional manner. It’s just kind of bark, bark, bark.”

This article appears in Jul 5-11, 2018.

Getting hassled by The Man Mild-mannered reporter

6 replies on “New Job, Same Boss? ADI Honcho Lori Hunnicutt Going To Work for Pima County Supe Ally Miller”

  1. The Weakly strikes again! I read the linked lengthy old Sentinel hit piece and, contrary to Nintzel’s assertion about the Arizona Daily Independent, for which I sometimes write, running stories by the supervisor, the only — repeat ONLY — thing resembling that in the Sentinel piece is an emailed question about whether or not something was filed with the FBI. Now, perhaps Mr. Nintzel takes what the Pima Powers-That-Be say as gospel and doesn’t check on whether they might be true or not, but I always thought responsible journalists asked those questions.

    But then, those whose loyalty is to the Pima Power Structure and not the facts, would never question the County Administrator, even when contrary facts are right in their face. Such as — Is there a cover-up of the World View balloon explosion report? I asked some questions and made this report to the Supervisors based on the answers:
    AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PIMA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
    IS THERE A COVER-UP OF THE WORLD VIEW EXPLOSION REPORT??

    On December 19, 2017, a hydrogen balloon exploded at the World View Spaceport built by Pima County taxpayers at a cost of $20 million. The explosion was made public by the Arizona Daily Independent on December 20 with an online video.

    On December 22 Star columnist Tim Steller reported that World View officials told him that final results, recommendations and corrective actions, if necessary would be available in about 45 days. That would have been mid-February.

    On February 8 County Administrator Charles Huckelberry sent the BOS a memo describing the damage as superficial even though windows and ceiling tiles a mile away were broken. He announced that World View had commissioned an independent investigation led by NASA retiree Wayne Hale, stating that the County would be a participant to verify the independence of the investigation. His assistant, John Voorhees, would represent the County.

    Attached to that memo were damage reports from Pima County Facilities Management, Swaim Associates and Schneider Structural Engineers with photographs taken on December 22 and January 3 respectively. Knowledgeable observers reviewed those and said the damage was more than superficial.

    On June 13, working on a news story for the six-month anniversary of the explosion I attempted to contact Wayne Hale, World View and John Voorhees for updates. Hales assistant, Yvith Murphy, refusing to comment as to whether the report was done, said, I have no clue where its at. World View did not respond to three emails.

    Voorhees, reached by phone on June 15, told us the investigation has been concluded, that a Draft Report had been completed; that the county was reviewing the draft. He called it a slow-moving ballgame, that the county, as landlords, we have to be deliberate and careful. He said the report would be given to elected officials in another month or so, after review and then it would become a public document.

    That is a substantially different process than set out in the County Administrators February 8 memo, in which he said the report would be made available to Pima County for our information and comment.

    The process, as it is unfolding, looks like a draft was sent to the County as long as four months ago, revisions were proposed, and there is a continuing back and forth, a slow-moving ball game to secretly revise the document, a negotiations of the content to make everyone look good. That smacks of cover-up, not independent investigation, of the public being kept in the dark, of this Board of Supervisors being deliberately sidelined.

    Its worth remembering that it was not the break-in at Watergate that forced a president out of office and his minions into prison, it was the cover-up. That the BOS has been kept out of the loop is indefensible.

    The County Administrator needs to immediately provide you the original draft report along with the report as it stands now and any revisions made in-between. A public comparison should be made. If there are significant differences beyond information and comment then this Board must act.

    If there are no differences, and the delay and secrecy are somehow bureaucratic inertia, I will appear before you again to apologize. But well need to see the documents first.

    The late John Hunnicutt, founder of the Arizona Daily Independent, had as his credo,

    The truth is neither liberal nor conservative it is the truth.

    Truth is all we ask for today.

    Sincerely,

    Albert V. Lannon

    July 3, 2018

  2. P.S. Ms. Hunnicutt’s husband, John, died suddenly just three weeks ago. Kind of cruel to attack a new widow. But that’s the Weakly and their cronies.

  3. ^ ^ ^ #LyingAlly fan boy ^ ^ ^
    Angling to be her next hire?
    Being published in the ADI is a prerequisite.
    Checks the half-wit box, too.

  5. Dear Kenneth: 1) I didn’t say ADI was the only one reporting the World View balloon explosion, but that it was the first. Others followed. 2) The $15 million is in the form of a loan, borrowed money; the county estimates that it will cost $20 million when the interest is added. Their numbers, not mine.

    Won’t that promised money to come to Pima County depend somewhat on the company’s reputation? If there is a cover-up of the explosion and its damage., then I suspect all bets are off.

    And She’sGottaGo: Half a wit is better than no wit at all. Interesting that neither commenter has anything to say about the evidence of a possible cover-up. And all those likes and dislikes — are you saying you like the idea of a cover-up and don’t like it being exposed? Are you afraid of the truth?

  6. Hardly shocking that the half-wit has missed the point of this post.

    At long last, #LyingAlly has publicly proclaimed her special relationship with the person responsible for buffoon blog known as the ADI by putting her on the Pima County payroll.

    Where, oh where does this leave their pathological, half-wit flying monkey?

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