March 12, 2021

News roundup: Arizona clean energy faces legislative hurdle, schools prep for reopening

Recent coverage impacting Southern Arizona, March 12.

Arizona COVID-19 cases: 7 days

Map shows COVID-19 cases and case rates over the week preceding the last update.

Credit: Nick O'Gara/AZPM. Sources: The New York Times, based on reports from state and local health agencies, Census Bureau. Case reports do not correspond to day of test.

Cases 831,832 | Deaths 16,519

On Friday, March 12, Arizona reported 1,367 and 55 additional deaths.


Arizona move toward 100% clean energy faces challenge from legislature

The Buzz

Bills moving through the Arizona legislature would limit the power of the Arizona Corporation Commission to set standards for renewable energy use by utilities. This comes as the commission is considering a measure that would require state-regulated utilities to get 100% of their power from carbon-free sources by 2050.

This week, The Buzz host Christopher Conover talks with the chair of the corporation commission and others about the measures to limit the move toward more renewable energy in Arizona.

Listen to the full episode here.


Schools prep for reopen, easing COVID restrictions, eviction prevention

Arizona 360

Following Gov. Ducey’s executive order to lift capacity restrictions on some businesses, we hear from Tucson Metro Chamber President Amber Smith about what that means for restaurants and bars in the city.

Tony Paniagua reports on how some school districts in Tucson are managing hybrid instruction. Lorraine Rivera also speaks to TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo about how his district is preparing to welcome back students this month. Arizona Senate Education Committee Chairman and Republican State Senator Paul Boyer also weighs in on the issue.

An eviction moratorium is scheduled to expire at the end of March and utility companies resuming service disconnections. Mackenzie Pish, program manager of the University of Arizona College of Law’s Innovation for Justice program, explains what this will mean for communities hit hard by the pandemic.

Watch the full episode here.


Four cases of UK variant detected in Pima County

AZPM

The rapidly-spreading UK variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Pima County.

The county's health director, Doctor Theresa Cullen, says four cases have been detected out of people diagnosed with COVID-19 about three to four weeks ago.

The delay is due to the time needed for genetic sequencing.

Cullen also noted that COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen slightly in the last few days in the county, even as the number of new cases is dropping. She says it's too early to tell if there's any reason for the pattern.

Learn more here.


Tucson city budget town hall: infrastructure and mobility

AZPM

The City of Tucson is preparing its budget for the next fiscal year, and it invited residents Thursday night to share what types of infrastructure and mobility projects they'd like to see prioritized in that budget.

This virtual town hall is one of four city officials have organized over the next month. Presenters spoke about streets and mass transit; IT infrastructure and smart technologies; and park infrastructure and mobility.

Diana Alarcon, the director of the department of transportation and mobility for the city, discussed mass transit, smart technologies, carbon neutrality, and answered residents' questions about local construction projects and how to request speed bumps in their neighborhoods.

Learn more here.


Congresswoman Kirkpatrick not running again

AZPM

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick announced Friday morning that she will not seek a sixth term in office in 2022.

Her decision may have caught some by surprise, but the southern Arizona Democrat told AZPM it has been on her mind for a while.

Kirkpatrick is serving her second term representing southern Arizona’s Second Congressional District but served three terms representing the Flagstaff area before moving to Tucson. She also served in the Arizona legislature.

Learn more here.


Arizona Dreamers hopeful for change as new in-state bill lands in the House

AZPM

The Arizona House will consider a bill that could pave the way to give all Arizona high school graduates access to in-state tuition, regardless of immigration status.

Roughly 2000 people graduating from Arizona high schools each year are undocumented, according to a poll by the Migration Policy Institute in 2019.

Accessing some of post-graduation opportunities is more complicated for undocumented people because of a law approved by Arizona voters more than a decade ago called Proposition 300, a far-reaching ballot initiative that blocked non-citizens from receiving publicly-funded services like child care assistance, adult education — and in-state tuition.

Learn more here.


State looks to use inmates to help fight wildfires

AZPM

Wildland fires in Arizona burned 900,000 acres in Arizona in 2020. A bill signed into law aims to help reduce that number.

Senate Bill 1442 allows the use of inmate labor to help clear forests of debris in order to reduce wildfire danger.

“More than 700 inmates will have the opportunity to manage fire-prone vegetation, gain experience with tools, and work together as a team,” said Ducey on a call with the media.

Learn more here.


Arizona reports 1,367 new COVID-19 cases, 55 more deaths

AP

PHOENIX — Arizona is reporting 1,367 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 55 more deaths. The latest figures reported Friday by the state Department of Health Services come after Arizona had three days of daily case numbers under 1,000.

The state’s pandemic totals now stand at 831,832 cases and 16,519 deaths. The number of hospitalizations for the virus also continues to decrease.

As of Thursday, 831 patients were in the hospital for COVID-19. Of those, 236 occupied the ICU. The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested.

Learn more here.


Navajo Nation reports 13 more COVID-19 cases, 1 more death

AP

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation on Wednesday reported 13 additional COVID-19 cases and one more death from the virus as a downward trend in infections and hospitalizations continues.

The latest numbers pushed the tribe’s totals to 29,900 confirmed cases and 1,205 known deaths since the pandemic began a year ago.

The Navajo Department of Health identified eight communities with uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 on Tuesday. That compares with 75 communities having an uncontrolled spread of the virus in January.

A daily curfew from 9 a.m. to 5 a.m. and a mask mandate remain in effect for residents of the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Learn more here.


Navajo Nation to allow 'soft reopening' of some businesses

AP

WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation officials cited a declining number of new COVID-19 cases and other improving conditions as they announced a new public health order that will allow some businesses to reopen under certain restrictions. That includes the tribe's four casinos.

However, officials said a separate new health order will keep the daily curfew for residents of the tribe’s reservation from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. in effect. Both orders will take effect Monday.

Officials cited testing availability, hospital capacity and contact tracing in addition to the decrease in new cases as factors in the transition to a status allowing some businesses to reopen under restrictions that include capacity limits.

Learn more here.


The Navajo Nation Took A Hard Stance Against COVID-19; Experts Say It Worked

Fronteras Desk

COVID-19 has wrought unfathomable devastation on the Navajo Nation.

The reservation, which stretches from northern Arizona into Utah and New Mexico, has about 170,000 residents. One out of every 140 of them has died of the virus over the past year. That rate of death is three times higher than Arizona’s. It’s higher than that of any U.S. state or any country in the world.

But a year into the pandemic, the Navajo Nation has managed a dramatic turnaround in its outbreak and is now outpacing Arizona in administering vaccines.

Learn more here.


Arizona Republican Party chair sued over party election

AP

PHOENIX — Two candidates for the Arizona Republican Party’s executive committee who lost their January elections are suing state party Chair Kelly Ward to force an audit of the results.

The lawsuit filed Friday in Maricopa County Superior Court by William Beard and Sandra Dowling also names the state party.

The lawsuit says there were concerns about ballot security and overall confusion after Jan. 23 state party elections. Dowling was initially declared a winner of one at-large executive committee post before it was announced that she actually had lost.

Ward had no immediate comment.

Learn more here.


Senate votes to raise Arizona's low unemployment pay

AP

PHOENIX — The Arizona Senate has voted to raise Arizona’s super-low $240 maximum weekly unemployment benefit to $320.

Thursday's 25-4 vote came just over two weeks after the House passed a competing version raising the pay to $300 a week.

Republican Sen. President Karen Fann’s proposal puts the raise in effect this summer, while the House would boost pay next January. The major differences are that Fann's plan cuts benefits from 26 to 22 weeks when unemployment is low and contains a second pay raise to $400 when the unemployment trust fund is full again.

Both raise employer premiums.

Learn more here.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona