Phoenix, Ariz. — On Thursday, July 11, 2024, Chispa AZ will host a press briefing to share findings from a recent poll of over 500 Latiné voters from across Arizona. Experts predict that nearly a quarter of voters in Arizona this November will be Latiné. These same voters are disproportionately impacted by rising heat, the high cost of electricity, and polluted air, which is why the poll uniquely examines their perceptions of clean energy and the current makeup of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). This poll, conducted by Embold Research, is the first of its kind this election cycle in Arizona. On the call, Chispa AZ will also announce plans for a six-figure bilingual investment in advertising to raise awareness about the ACC and the harmful actions they have taken this year. Chispa AZ will host two webinars: the first will be in Spanish at 10 a.m. MST and the second will be in English at 11 a.m. MST. Press and partners are invited to attend either webinar by RSVPing through the links below. An RSVP is required to attend. Registered attendees will receive an embargoed copy of the key takeaways from the poll before the webinar. WHAT: English- and Spanish-language briefings on the findings of a new poll examining the views of Latiné voters in Arizona on energy, utilities, and the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC)WHEN: Thursday, July 11, 2024
PIMA COUNTY, July 11, 2024 – Pima County is partnering with employers in education and the public sector on a job fair on Thursday, July 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kino Event Center, 2805 E. Ajo Way.Pima County will have the following departments represented: Parks & Recreation, Juvenile Court, Clerk of the Courts, Health, Public Defense Services, Office of Digital Inclusion, Assessor, and Community Resources & Workforce Development, among others.Other employers expected to attend include: SunTran, Pima Community College, Sahuarita Unified School District, Tucson Police Department, Tucson Unified School District, Oro Valley Police Department, Vail School District and Customs and Border Protection.Hugh Giblin said he’d been looking for another position for a while before deciding to attend a County job fair. Now employed as a business systems analyst with Pima County’s Information Technology Department, Giblin is glad he didn’t pass on the job fair.“I thought, ‘Well, OK, let’s go and talk to real humans. And in the end, I feel like I landed in the right company and the right department doing the right job.”Many of the departments that are hiring will have staff members on hand to answer questions.The County will have computers available for job seekers to apply on-site.Applicants can explore all Pima County job openings online or call 520-724-8028 and ask for recruitment.Giblin calls Pima County “the right fit” for him. “It was kind of the Goldilocks solution. Neither too big nor too small.”
PIMA COUNTY, July 11, 2024 – The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality (PDEQ) is issuing a Dust Action Day for particulate matter air pollution today for the Tucson metropolitan area. Last night, a dust storm came from northern Mexico, just south of New Mexico, and may be slow to clear out. Expected levels of course (PM10) and fine (PM2.5) particulate matter are expected to be in the moderate range today.
Those who are most likely to be sensitive to dust pollution include children, older adults, and people with heart or lung diseases. Sensitive individuals should reduce their level of exertion when outside today. Breathing small particles can irritate the respiratory system and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases.Actions to reduce dust pollution:
Eliminate fireplace and wood stove use.
Avoid burning leaves, trash, and other materials.
Avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment.
Avoid using leaf blowers.
Avoid using off-highway vehicles (OHVs).
Do not exceed 25 miles per hour while driving on dirt roads.
PDEQ’s Clean Air Program educates Pima County residents about the potential health effects associated with elevated levels of air pollution and promotes actions to reduce air pollution.PDEQ monitors air pollution in our region at 16 air quality monitoring sites. Real-time air pollution levels are available online at the PDEQ website.To receive Air Pollution Action Day advisories, sign up here.To receive Arizona Department of Environmental Quality air quality forecasts, sign up here.
PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief urging a federal court to reject a challenge to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Discriminatory Effects Rule. The homeowners insurance industry is challenging the rule, which under the Fair Housing Act, says insurers and other parties are liable for housing practices that may appear neutral but in reality are discriminatory and have a “disparate impact” on certain populations.“Now more than ever, it’s vital that we push back on any discriminatory housing practices. Whether it’s lenders, insurers or price-fixing schemes – there is no excuse or place for these unfair practices in Arizona, or across our nation,” said Attorney General Mayes.Courts have long recognized the Fair Housing Act prohibits housing practices that, while not overtly discriminatory, have a disparate impact on individuals based on race, national origin or other protected characteristics. However, a trade association representing property and casualty insurance companies sued to have HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule declared invalid as it applies to homeowner’s insurers. The insurers argued that HUD should have granted a blanket exemption to the rule and its failure to do so makes the rule invalid for multiple reasons, including because many states require insurers to rely only on market-based factors in making underwriting decisions.
Attorney General Mayes and the coalition filed their brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing that disparate-impact liability is a critical tool to fight housing discrimination, which is a major and ongoing cause of widespread residential segregation. Attorney General Mayes and the attorneys general explain the law in many states already imposes disparate-impact liability on entities in the housing industry, so the insurers are wrong to invoke state law as a basis for their requested exemption.
Arizona’s fair housing laws are substantially similar to the federal laws that underpin HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule. Studies of housing in Arizona reveal that, even now, Arizonans are disparately impacted by a legacy of discriminatory housing practices, like restrictive covenants and lending practices. The Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division combats housing discrimination where it is found. HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule is an essential tool in the Attorney General’s attempts to end unfair housing practices.
Joining Mayes, Raoul and Schwalb in filing the brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington.
Attorney General Mayes and the coalition filed their brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing that disparate-impact liability is a critical tool to fight housing discrimination, which is a major and ongoing cause of widespread residential segregation. Attorney General Mayes and the attorneys general explain the law in many states already imposes disparate-impact liability on entities in the housing industry, so the insurers are wrong to invoke state law as a basis for their requested exemption. Arizona’s fair housing laws are substantially similar to the federal laws that underpin HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule. Studies of housing in Arizona reveal that, even now, Arizonans are disparately impacted by a legacy of discriminatory housing practices, like restrictive covenants and lending practices. The Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division combats housing discrimination where it is found. HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule is an essential tool in the Attorney General’s attempts to end unfair housing practices. Joining Mayes, Raoul and Schwalb in filing the brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington.
Chispa Arizona released a poll Thursday showing that Latino voters in Arizona have low confidence in the Corporation Commission and announced the launch of a six-figure campaign to “raise awareness about the ACC and its harmful actions.” Of the more than 500 Latino voters surveyed, only 8% said the commission is taking the state in the right direction. However, 65% of the voters surveyed said they aren’t familiar with the commission. According to the poll conducted by Embold Research, those surveyed took issue with recent votes to increase APS rates and potential increased fees for solar energy production. Additionally, 75% of those surveyed said Arizona should move to clean energy. Chispa, an environmental advocacy group focused on Latino communities, plans to use ad-buys, billboards and mailers to help educate those voters about what the commission does and its recent votes that impact Latinos. Chispa currently has $200,000 budgeted for the campaign, but says that number could increase as the campaign will last “as long as the ACC is making bad decisions.” Vianey Olivarria, executive director of Chispa, said during a press call that the group commissioned the poll because Latinos are expected to make up a quarter of voters in Arizona this year, and Latino communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change. “Voters should know that they get to choose who oversees our public utilities and who gets to decide what rates we pay,” Olivarria said in a statement Thursday. “The ACC is costing Latiné voters our health, our utility bills, and the chance to a future with clean energy.”
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner found Richer can pursue discovery on Lake’s wealth and degree of culpability in line with the amount of punitive damages and seek “evidence of how the false statements were disseminated, to how many people, and to what groups of people” for establishing general damages. Warner added that “(i)f, after a reasonable search, Lake does not have such information, the Court will permit Richer to obtain it from other Defendants,” referencing Lake’s campaign committee, Kari Lake for Arizona, and legal fund, Save Arizona Fund. He directed Richer to provide a specific list of documents and mandated a response from Lake on whether the documents had been searched for, produced or had any objections to the request and asked for a memo from both parties specifying any remaining discovery disputes by August 9. Outside of Lake, Richer subpoenaed Merissa Hamilton and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, among others. Richer filed a motion to compel compliance with his subpoena to Hamilton, who claims to have more than 100,000 pages of responsive documents but “unilaterally chose to print hardcopies.” In the filing, Richer’s attorney, Daniel Maynard, wrote Hamilton “refuses to produce anything unless Richer pays her $32,345.50 in costs associated with her decision to hit print.”
An open AG investigation into the Dept. of Education’s allowance of ESA purchases without curriculum was prompted, in part, by public reporting, according to the AG’s office. The Solicitor General’s office put ADE on notice of potential violations of state law on July 1. On July 3, Ward confirmed to the AG’s office that it would no longer be allowing the purchase of supplemental materials or textbooks without proper curriculum documentation, contrary to guidance written in the ESA Parent Handbook, and sent out a notice to ESA account holders the same day. Ward noted the department would be working with the SBE to enact any changes to handbook language if necessary. Sean Ross, executive director of the State Board of Education, said he just received notice from ADE about the need for potential change, adding the board is working with the department to learn more about any potential change. Ross said if the change to the ESA handbook is required, the department will bring the revision before the Board for approval at a future meeting. On Wednesday, Toma responded to the exchange between ADE and the AG’s office and advised Horne to “scrutinize” legal analysis by Mayes and “reject her interpretations of law that would lead to absurd results.” Doug Nick, spokesman for ADE, confirmed the department had received Toma’s letter, though declined to comment further. According to a statement, the AG’s office has not been in communication with the department since the initial letter on July 1 and had yet to greenlight ESA director John Ward’s request for a deadline extension to respond with data. Ward asked for 60 days as opposed to the AG’s initially requested 30 day deadline.
Petersen and Toma reinforced their request to stay district court proceedings while the two seek to get out of a motion to compel discovery from the two at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Justin Smith, attorney for the legislative leaders, argued the situation now differs from an earlier ruling from the Ninth Circuit in a voting law case, where the two were made to sit for depositions. Smith claimed the Ninth Circuit failed to properly consider case law warding against depositions against high-ranking officials and inquiry into the motives of state legislatures. The two claim they are still susceptible to harm if made to sit for a deposition, given the “intrusion of the deposition itself.” Smith wrote, “The non-sequitur that the Legislative Leaders somehow ‘undertook the burden’ by intervening … does not mean the Legislative Leaders are free from irreparable harm by sitting for a deposition.”
PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief urging a federal court to reject a challenge to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Discriminatory Effects Rule. The homeowners insurance industry is challenging the rule, which under the Fair Housing Act, says insurers and other parties are liable for housing practices that may appear neutral but in reality are discriminatory and have a “disparate impact” on certain populations.“Now more than ever, it’s vital that we push back on any discriminatory housing practices. Whether it’s lenders, insurers or price-fixing schemes – there is no excuse or place for these unfair practices in Arizona, or across our nation,” said Attorney General Mayes.Courts have long recognized the Fair Housing Act prohibits housing practices that, while not overtly discriminatory, have a disparate impact on individuals based on race, national origin or other protected characteristics. However, a trade association representing property and casualty insurance companies sued to have HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule declared invalid as it applies to homeowner’s insurers. The insurers argued that HUD should have granted a blanket exemption to the rule and its failure to do so makes the rule invalid for multiple reasons, including because many states require insurers to rely only on market-based factors in making underwriting decisions.Attorney General Mayes and the coalition filed their brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing that disparate-impact liability is a critical tool to fight housing discrimination, which is a major and ongoing cause of widespread residential segregation. Attorney General Mayes and the attorneys general explain the law in many states already imposes disparate-impact liability on entities in the housing industry, so the insurers are wrong to invoke state law as a basis for their requested exemption. Arizona’s fair housing laws are substantially similar to the federal laws that underpin HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule. Studies of housing in Arizona reveal that, even now, Arizonans are disparately impacted by a legacy of discriminatory housing practices, like restrictive covenants and lending practices. The Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division combats housing discrimination where it is found. HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule is an essential tool in the Attorney General’s attempts to end unfair housing practices. Joining Mayes, Raoul and Schwalb in filing the brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington.
Attorney General Mayes and the coalition filed their brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing that disparate-impact liability is a critical tool to fight housing discrimination, which is a major and ongoing cause of widespread residential segregation. Attorney General Mayes and the attorneys general explain the law in many states already imposes disparate-impact liability on entities in the housing industry, so the insurers are wrong to invoke state law as a basis for their requested exemption. Arizona’s fair housing laws are substantially similar to the federal laws that underpin HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule. Studies of housing in Arizona reveal that, even now, Arizonans are disparately impacted by a legacy of discriminatory housing practices, like restrictive covenants and lending practices. The Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division combats housing discrimination where it is found. HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule is an essential tool in the Attorney General’s attempts to end unfair housing practices. Joining Mayes, Raoul and Schwalb in filing the brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington.
PIMA COUNTY, July 11, 2024 – The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality (PDEQ) is issuing a Dust Action Day for particulate matter air pollution today for the Tucson metropolitan area. Last night, a dust storm came from northern Mexico, just south of New Mexico, and may be slow to clear out. Expected levels of course (PM10) and fine (PM2.5) particulate matter are expected to be in the moderate range today.
Those who are most likely to be sensitive to dust pollution include children, older adults, and people with heart or lung diseases. Sensitive individuals should reduce their level of exertion when outside today. Breathing small particles can irritate the respiratory system and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases.Actions to reduce dust pollution:
Eliminate fireplace and wood stove use.
Avoid burning leaves, trash, and other materials.
Avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment.
Avoid using leaf blowers.
Avoid using off-highway vehicles (OHVs).
Do not exceed 25 miles per hour while driving on dirt roads.
PDEQ’s Clean Air Program educates Pima County residents about the potential health effects associated with elevated levels of air pollution and promotes actions to reduce air pollution.PDEQ monitors air pollution in our region at 16 air quality monitoring sites. Real-time air pollution levels are available online at the PDEQ website.To receive Air Pollution Action Day advisories, sign up here.To receive Arizona Department of Environmental Quality air quality forecasts, sign up here.
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