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☆ Affordable housing is the best way to prevent heat-related deaths, Phoenix's chief heat officer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Phoenix's chief heat officer says more affordable housing will prevent heat-associated deaths. "It can be a little shocking," Hondula, director of the city's office of heat response and mitigation, told Insider. All these factors led Phoenix in 2021 to establish the country's first publicly funded heat office, with Hondula at the helm. Gallego told Insider in a statement that she and other city staff are working daily to address this issue. Hondula, for his part, said the heat office needs to be the biggest advocate for investments in affordable housing and homelessness services inside City Hall.

☆ Arizona Fight Over Half-Cent Sales Tax Threatens Semiconductor Expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Eliza Collins | Photographs Ash Ponders For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PHOENIX—A fight in Arizona over a half-cent sales tax that funded much of the highway system is creating a rift between some Republicans and the business community and threatening to impede the operation of a major semiconductor project. The four-decade-old tax funds most transportation and infrastructure projects in Maricopa County, which gained more residents than any other in the U.S. last year. The tax is set to finish at the end of 2025 unless state lawmakers approve a plan to renew it that would go before voters on next year’s ballot.

☆ Top Fox News anchor says the company has banned coverage of the Dominion lawsuit that revealed how Tucker Carlson and other Fox stars privately dismissed election conspiracy theories while peddling th
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Internal messages show how Fox News anchors privately mocked 2020 election conspiracy theories. Dominion, an elections technology company, filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News in March 2021, accusing the media company of spreading conspiracy theories that claimed Dominion helped rig the 2020 election results. "It's dangerously insane these conspiracy theories," Fox reporter Lucas Tomlinson said to Bret Baier, host of Special Report. A search through FoxNews.com turns up zero recent stories regarding the Dominion lawsuit. "That is an actual threat to democracy and it points up the core problem which is we're not really very serious about democracy if we're using electronic voting machines," Carlson said.

This is their third trip to the NFL title game in four years and Kansas City fans can be heard throughout Phoenix singing the "tomahawk chop" chant. It is a jarring contrast to the displays of Native American culture and pride that Super Bowl hosts have invited to participate in the days leading up to the game. Chiefs fans are all but assured to perform the "tomahawk chop" cheer loudly in the minutes before kickoff, as they did prior to the game in their previous two Super Bowl appearances. And it's tone deaf," said Rhonda LeValdo, an Acoma Pueblo journalist who founded the Not in our Honor coalition in 2005, to advocate against the use of Native American imagery in sports. "I don't even understand what you guys are saying and you have the Chiefs logo and you guys are doing the chop."

☆ Their Super Bowl game plan: Rescue leftover food and serve it to those in need
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Regina Anderson, executive director of Food Recovery Network, is coordinating a campaign to rescue leftover food on game day. The Super Bowl is as much an annual food event as it is the biggest sporting event of the year. But while food is an essential part of Super Bowl celebrations, food wastage doesn’t have to be. In 2020, just before the United States was plunged into a pandemic, FRN did just that by organizing its first Super Bowl food rescue effort. Food Recovery Network collected close to 2,000 pounds of leftover food from the Players Tailgate Event at last year's Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

☆ Blackstone is stepping up evictions of hundreds of tenants across the US as a top exec vows 'cash-flow growth'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's back to business as usual: An exec said he had confidence in the firm's "cash-flow growth." About one-fifth of those holdings are tied up in an investment vehicle known as the Blackstone Real Estate Investment Trust, or BREIT. Blackstone's real-estate portfolio is outperforming competitorsThe news of Blackstone's increasing eviction efforts came days after the company announced its fourth-quarter earnings. For example, what Blackstone calls its "opportunistic" real-estate portfolio appreciated by more than 7% during 2022 in one of the most challenging markets in recent memory. The firm's core real-estate portfolio gained more than 10% in value during 2022.

☆ Mike Lindell says he wants to work with the RNC to run an election crimes unit — after getting only 4 votes for RNC chair
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Lindell wants to work with the RNC to set up an "election crimes unit." "Later in the week, we're setting up the election crime unit, Steve. "Well, when you work with me, it's election crime, not a weak word like election integrity. It's called the election crime," Lindell said. It's unclear what Lindell's proposed election crime unit would do.

The new rules adopted by both GOP-led chambers effectively shield members and their staff from public records requests, making investigations into any potential wrongdoing far more difficult. The exemptions from public records laws and the ability to destroy emails after 90 days apply to both chambers. Because the chambers adopted the changes via rule changes, not legislation, Republicans were able to bypass the need for Democratic Gov. Legislatures having the ability to shield themselves from public records laws is not unheard of. Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma and Massachusetts also have laws in place effectively exempting state legislators from public records requests, according to record request nonprofit MuckRock, though it remains exceedingly common for lawmakers in states where such exemptions don't explicitly exist to avoid complying with public records laws.

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego announced Monday he will run for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat currently held by centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December to become an independent. In his statement Monday, Gallego said: “The problem isn’t that Senator Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party — it’s that she’s abandoned Arizona. Karrin Taylor Robson, who narrowly lost to Lake in the 2022 primary after spending $20 million of her family’s money, is seriously considering a Senate run, a source close to her said. And Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff, is also considering a Senate run in 2024, said an Arizona Republican source. A Gallego adviser said he's prepared for a two-way race if Sinema steps aside or a three-way race if she chooses to run.

☆ As water dries up in Arizona community, residents use rainwater to flush toilets and plastic plates to avoid dishwashing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Deon J. Hampton | Deon J. Hampton Is A National Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Another 200 homeowners in Rio Verde get water from wells on their property that are running dry, forcing them to periodically rely on water haulers, as well, residents said this week. The municipal utility Scottsdale Water decided to cut off Rio Verde Foothills to reduce its consumption as drought persists throughout the West. Arizona relies on water from the diminishing Colorado River, which supplies water to about 40 million people in several states. The utility informed Rio Verde Foothills in November 2021 that its water would be cut off starting this year. Scottsdale’s conservation efforts have left nearby residents of Rio Verde Foothills without enough water for basic necessities, such as doing laundry and washing dishes.

☆ Arizona suburb sues the city of Scottsdale for cutting off its water supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A saguaro-cactus lined road where new homes are being built in in Rio Verde Foothills, Arizona, on January 7, 2023. An Arizona suburb has filed a lawsuit against the city of Scottsdale after the city cut off the community from its municipal water supply amid extreme drought conditions and declining water levels in the Colorado River. In the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court, residents in the unincorporated community of Rio Verde Foothills are seeking an injunction against Scottsdale to force the city to resume water services. The dispute comes after the federal government last year announced unprecedented water cuts in Arizona due to water shortages along the Colorado River. Earlier this month, hundreds of homes outside of Scottsdale could no longer access water from the city, leaving residents with no reliable source of water.

☆ Second caregiver is arrested after the disappearance of a 4-year-old Oklahoma girl
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A second person was arrested in connection with the disappearance of a 4-year-old girl in Oklahoma, authorities announced Friday. He is waiting for extradition to Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a Facebook post. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation via FacebookAlysia Adams was arrested by the Grady County Sheriff’s Office on two counts of child neglect, the state bureau said. The agency said Thursday that Athena's sister was found outside Alysia Adams' home. The girl is in state protective custody and did not require medical care when she was found, agency spokesperson Brook Arbeitman said.

Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs is taking the state’s child protective services agency in a radically different direction in the wake of a ProPublica-NBC News investigation into the racial disparities that have plagued the child welfare system here. This week, Hobbs, a Democrat, announced that she has selected Matthew Stewart, a Black community advocate, as the new head of Arizona’s Department of Child Safety. Arizona’s child welfare system has long disproportionately investigated Black families. After leaving DCS, Stewart formed the community organization Our Sister Our Brother, which has fought the department for more equitable treatment of Black and also low-income parents. Child welfare experts in the state and families affected by the system praised Stewart’s selection, though some wondered how much change he could bring about even in DCS’ top position.

☆ Arizona Democrat Mayes narrowly wins attorney general race after recount
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Democrat Kris Mayes on Thursday narrowly won the fight to become Arizona's next attorney general after a recount, defeating Republican Abraham Hamadeh by just 280 votes in one of the tightest races in the state's history. The race had gone to an automatic recount after the November midterm election, as required by state law, because the vote differential between the two candidates was within half a percentage point. The battle to become Arizona's next attorney general had smashed fundraising records in the midterm elections, with election experts having said that the normally backwater contest had potentially big implications for U.S. democracy. Mayes welcomed the outcome of her race in a statement released after the recount results were announced. Hamadeh, one of a string of Trump-aligned Republican candidates who lost battleground state races in the midterm elections, said on Twitter he was weighing legal options.

☆ Arizona judge rejects Katie Hobbs' request to sanction election denier Kari Lake
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

An Arizona judge on Tuesday rejected Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs’s request to sanction defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her failed effort to overturn the state’s election results. The suit was rejected by the Superior Court in Maricopa County on Saturday. Hobbs had asked the court to award her over $600,000 to compensate for fees and expenses accrued in defending against Lake’s lawsuit. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson said in Tuesday’s ruling that Lake’s claims in the lawsuit were not groundless. The lawsuit had targeted Hobbs, who is currently Arizona’s secretary of state and becomes governor next week, along with top officials in Maricopa County.

☆ Arizona judge rejects governor-elect's request to sanction election denier Lake
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jim UrquhartDec 27 (Reuters) - An Arizona judge on Tuesday rejected Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs's request to sanction defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her failed effort to overturn the state's election results. The suit was rejected by the Superior Court in Maricopa County on Saturday. On Monday, Hobbs and Maricopa County deputy attorney asked the court to sanction Lake and her attorneys, alleging that Lake had filed a "groundless" lawsuit for a "frivolous pursuit." Hobbs had asked the court to award her over $600,000 to compensate for fees and expenses accrued in defending against Lake's lawsuit. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson said in Tuesday's ruling that Lake's claims in the lawsuit were not groundless.

☆ Katie Hobbs seeks sanctions against Kari Lake after Arizona judge dismisses election challenge lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The request for sanctions against Lake and her legal team comes after an Arizona judge denied her bid to reverse the results of the November election in a two-day trial. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson denied Lake’s challenge after the trial in a 10-page ruling Saturday. He said the court did not find clear and convincing evidence of misconduct that would have changed the election results. Thompson also noted that the defendants had stated their intention to seek sanctions against Lake, and ordered them to file a motion for sanctions by Monday morning. “But she has not simply failed to publicly acknowledge the election results.

☆ Arizona governor-elect asks court to sanction election denier Lake
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 26 (Reuters) - Arizona's Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs asked a court on Monday to sanction defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her failed effort to overturn the state's election results. Hobbs joined a motion by Maricopa County for sanctions on Lake and her attorneys in which the county's deputy attorney Thomas P. Liddy wrote Lake filed a "groundless" lawsuit for a "frivolous pursuit," court documents showed. Her suit claimed "hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election" in Maricopa, the state's most populous county. In a separate court filing, Hobbs also asked the Superior Court in Maricopa County to award her over $600,000 to compensate for fees and expenses accrued in defending against Lake's lawsuit. Lake was one of the most prominent of the Trump-aligned Republican candidates who lost battleground state races in the midterm elections.

☆ Kari Lake loses suit over her defeat in Arizona governor’s race
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

In a decision Saturday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, who was appointed by then-Republican Gov. While most of the other election deniers around the country conceded after losing their races in November, Lake has not. Lawyers for Lake focused on problems with ballot printers at some polling places in Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters. The defective printers produced ballots that were too light to be read by the on-site tabulators at polling places. Earlier on Friday, another judge dismissed Republican Abraham Hamadeh’s challenge of results in his race against Democrat Kris Mayes for Arizona attorney general.

☆ Arizona judge dismisses election denier Kari Lake's bid to overturn vote results
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 24 (Reuters) - An Arizona judge on Saturday rejected defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's effort to overturn the results of her election loss in the state's governor race. Lake was one of the most high-profile Republican candidates in the midterm elections to embrace former Republican President Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud in 2020. Her lawsuit targeted Lake's Democratic opponent, Governor-elect Katie Hobbs, currently Arizona's secretary of state, along with top officials in Maricopa County. The suit claimed "hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election" in Maricopa, the state's most populous county. Lake, a former television news anchor, was one of a string of Trump-aligned Republican candidates who lost battleground state races in the midterm elections.

☆ Kari Lake’s Claims of Election Misconduct Rejected by Arizona Judge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | Eliza Collins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kari Lake previously had submitted other claims related to the election outcome, but those were also dismissed. An Arizona judge rejected the remainder of Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake ‘s claims of election misconduct, saying she failed to prove the allegations that ballots weren’t counted correctly and mishandled in the state’s most populous county. Every witness brought before the court “was asked about any personal knowledge of both intentional misconduct and intentional misconduct directed to impact the 2022 General Election. Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct,” Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson wrote in the ruling. Mr. Thompson was appointed to the bench by former GOP Gov.

☆ Kari Lake loses lawsuit over her defeat in Arizona governor’s race
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Republican candidate for Arizona Governor Kari Lake speaks at the Republican Party of Arizona's 2022 U.S. midterm elections night rally in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S., November 8, 2022. In a decision Saturday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, who was appointed by then-Republican Gov. While most of the other election deniers around the country conceded after losing their races in November, Lake has not. The defective printers produced ballots that were too light to be read by the on-site tabulators at polling places. Earlier on Friday, another judge dismissed Republican Abraham Hamadeh's challenge of results in his race against Democrat Kris Mayes for Arizona attorney general.

☆ The Michigan lawyer pushing Trump’s voter-fraud fictions in U.S. court
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

Lambert started in her home state of Michigan, joining four lawsuits on behalf of Trump supporters. As Trump zeroed in on vote-rigging allegations in Michigan, Lambert emailed the White House, according to her July 2021 video interview with two right-wing websites. Cotton and Penrose also were involved in examining breached voting machines in Michigan for DePerno and Lambert, according to the Michigan attorney general investigation. In the process, the commissioners were accused of flouting a court order by allowing a forensics company to inspect county voting equipment. In August 2021, a federal judge reprimanded Lambert, Powell and seven other lawyers who joined the failed lawsuit seeking to overturn Michigan’s vote after Trump’s 2020 defeat.

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Republican Kari Lake, who lost her bid last month to become Arizona’s governor, were in court Wednesday arguing that the election was invalid and should be overturned. Lake lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes in the Nov. 8 election. A central tenet of her gubernatorial campaign was endorsing former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Marc Elias, an election attorney whose firm is representing Hobbs, said on Twitter that Lake had little chance of prevailing under the law. “Proving intentional wrongdoing and that it affected the outcome of the election will be impossible for Lake,” Elias wrote.

☆ Ex-academic forges a new career denying Trump's 2020 election loss
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

“The war is just getting started,” Clements told his 100,000 Telegram followers on Nov. 16. His rise in the movement began in January 2021, when a dispute with his employer, New Mexico State University, over the U.S. Capitol riot went public. ‘I will not take the jab’Clements’ swift rise in election-denier circles caused a stir at New Mexico State, where he continued to teach. Flynn co-founded the America Project, a well-capitalized right-wing group that has financed lawsuits and campaigns challenging the 2020 election results and the integrity of U.S. voting systems. One of their roles is to certify election results, which until the Trump era was typically a rubber-stamp formality.

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