Arizona COVID-19 cases: 7 days
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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