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COVID-19 cases grow at Arizona jail with largest concentration of U.S. Marshals detainees in nation
A private facility in Florence, Arizona that houses more than 3,000 defendants awaiting federal court proceedings is grappling with an outbreak of COVID-19 where at least 20 jail staff and detainees have tested positive since the facility’s first confirmed case in late April. Close to two hundred more detainees are in isolation or quarantine due to exposure to the virus, according to Arizona U.S. Marshal David Gonzales.
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COVID-19 cases grow at Arizona jail with largest concentration of U.S. Marshals detainees in nation
A private facility in Florence, Arizona that houses more than 3,000 defendants awaiting federal court proceedings is grappling with an outbreak of COVID-19 where at least 20 jail staff and detainees have tested positive since the facility’s first confirmed case in late April. Close to two hundred more detainees are in isolation or quarantine due to exposure to the virus, according to Arizona U.S. Marshal David Gonzales.
COVID-19 cases surge among American Airlines ramp employees at Sky Harbor
At least 70 American Airlines ground crew workers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport have tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 27, including four that required hospitalization. The numbers are expected to climb as individuals from the 1,000-member “below the wing” crews continue getting tested.
La Palma cases increase after ICE assured judge of no suspected cases
Three days after ICE officials claimed in court filings that there were no longer any active or suspected COVID-19 cases in an Eloy, Arizona immigration detention facility, four more detainees there tested positive for the virus. The surge in cases at the La Palma Correctional Center contradicts the agency’s court claims, and calls into question the efficacy of ICE’s tactics for limiting the spread of COVID-19 in facilities holding more than 32,000 immigrants across the U.S.
ICE tactics to limit spread of COVID-19 in detention centers stir controversy
As ICE tries to contain the Coronavirus within its immigrant detention facilities, those inside fear the virus could already be spreading. The federal agency’s practices of grouping together detainees who may have been exposed to the virus, known as “cohorting,” is stirring controversy.
Sick and Alone
Most of America’s county jails escape lawsuits seeking reforms for inmates with serious mental illness. Now Arizona’s Cochise County has joined hundreds of other small counties innovating ways to keep people with serious mental illness out of their jails. But it comes too late for Adrian Perez, who has spent the past 13 years cycling in and out of jail, and solitary confinement, which only makes him sicker.
Babies born exposed to opioids grew fivefold in ten years in Arizona
In 2016, the last complete year for which data is available, 790 Arizonans died of an opioid overdose. The drugs’ spread has been several times more dramatic for a small and vulnerable population: pregnant mothers and newborns. The number of infants born with opioid withdrawal symptoms in Arizona has increased almost five-fold during roughly the same period.
Impacts to health, livelihood continue 1 year after toxic mine spill in Mexico
On Aug. 6, 2014, nearly 11 million gallons of a copper sulfate acid solution poured into the Bacanuchi and Sonora Rivers from the Buenavista del Cobre copper mine, which is owned by Grupo México. The spill impacted an area almost 200 miles along the Sonora River Basin, which is home to more than 22,000 people.
Data show suicides using guns double the number of murders
Americans are twice as likely to die from turning guns on themselves as they are to be murdered with one. Now, gun shops and ranges are joining up with prevention specialists to try to prevent suicides. A national News21 analysis of 2012 data found 18,602 firearm suicides in 44 states compared with about 9,655 firearm homicides in 49 states.
Arizona upends school procurement laws in effort to cool cozy relationships with builders
Included in the $10.4 billion budget passed by Arizona lawmakers and signed by Gov. Doug Ducey last week are massive changes to how public schools will be allowed to hire builders for large construction projects, as well as harsh new penalties for malfeasance that occurs during the selection process.
Candidate claims support of dead voters in attempt to get public campaign funding
In early March, Democratic legislative candidate Larry Herrera filed 255 signatures to qualify for public campaign funding. Among them was a form signed on Feb. 3, 2018, by Bernadine Barbara Misiak. Except Misiak died in November 2016.
Arizona poised for hefty 2018 election spending
There were no statewide or legislative elections in 2017, but the year marked the most prolific campaign fundraising year since the state began keeping the records in an electronic database, setting up the 2018 election for massive political spending.
Ducey campaign double reports $1.1 million in contributions
Campaign finance reports summarizing the money raised and spent by Arizona political committees during 2017 show more than $1 million in contributions that have been double-reported because of how money raised by Gov. Doug Ducey’s joint fundraising committee has been reported.
Law enforcement predicts seizures won’t be curbed by new reforms
Despite being hailed as a landmark series of reforms by proponents, Arizona law enforcement officials say changes enacted this year to Arizona’s civil asset forfeiture program won’t do much to curb the ability of police to seize cash and property from those they suspect of breaking the law.
Legislature taking up major civil asset forfeiture reforms
Following a yearlong AZCIR investigation finding lax oversight of a program that allowed Arizona law enforcement agencies to seize $200 million from people suspected of committing crimes – spending half on general operations, the Arizona Legislature is considering a measure that would fundamentally alter how police agencies take a private citizen’s money or property.
Arizona asset seizures net $200M in past five years
Civil asset forfeiture laws let Arizona police seize tens of millions of dollars in cash and property each year, even if suspected criminals aren’t convicted, and with little oversight of how the proceeds are spent.
Crystal’s Cage
Her mother romanced a prison guard. Then a detective. One gave Crystal life. The other helped dig the 3-year-old’s grave. This is the story of her brief existence and the cold case investigation into her murder, as told through nearly two decades of police reports and court testimony.
Despite 2016 law, Salt River horses remain unmanaged
Despite 2016 law, Salt River horses remain unmanaged, are not part of the natural ecosystem of the Salt River or even the American Southwest, but an invasive species, that, according to wildlife experts and scientists, is causing catastrophic harm to the Salt River’s natural ecosystem.
Border wall proposal threatens delicate wildlife habitats
President Trump wants to stop illegal immigration with a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, but experts agree it would harm the ecology of one of the most biodiverse regions of North America.
Navajo Generating Station coal plant shutdown looms, Arizona Navajo and Hopi tribes look for economic solutions
For decades, fossil fuel was the most important economic driver for Arizona’s Navajos and Hopis. Now, even that is threatening to disappear.
Impacts to health, livelihood continue 1 year after toxic mine spill in Mexico
On Aug. 6, 2014, nearly 11 million gallons of a copper sulfate acid solution poured into the Bacanuchi and Sonora Rivers from the Buenavista del Cobre copper mine, which is owned by Grupo México. The spill impacted an area almost 200 miles along the Sonora River Basin, which is home to more than 22,000 people.
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Emails reveal close ties between construction firms, top school officials
Emails obtained by AZCIR from four school districts show the depth of the relationships construction company executives have cultivated with school district administrators.
GOP legislature sending more money to ‘freedom schools,’ despite existing surplus
Amid a teacher strike over K-12 funding that has closed hundreds of schools, Arizona lawmakers are sending $7.5 million to so-called “freedom schools” designed to teach conservative values. Since 2016, $12 million has been directed to the schools, which still have $9.8 million on hand.
Few Joe Arpaio immigrant victims claim unlawful detention compensation
Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio defied a federal court order by allowing his deputies to nab scores of immigrants. President Donald Trump pardoned him. Now the immigrant victims are eligible for compensation. But where are they?
As teachers rally for higher pay, Arizona’s tax code exempts $13.5B from collection
Arizona teachers have demanded pay raises, but Gov. Doug Ducey and GOP lawmakers have balked at the proposal, claiming that the state cannot afford them.
Candidate claims support of dead voters in attempt to get public campaign funding
In early March, Democratic legislative candidate Larry Herrera filed 255 signatures to qualify for public campaign funding. Among them was a form signed on Feb. 3, 2018, by Bernadine Barbara Misiak. Except Misiak died in November 2016.
Arizona poised for hefty 2018 election spending
There were no statewide or legislative elections in 2017, but the year marked the most prolific campaign fundraising year since the state began keeping the records in an electronic database, setting up the 2018 election for massive political spending.
Ducey campaign double reports $1.1 million in contributions
Campaign finance reports summarizing the money raised and spent by Arizona political committees during 2017 show more than $1 million in contributions that have been double-reported because of how money raised by Gov. Doug Ducey’s joint fundraising committee has been reported.
Builders bankroll school bond campaigns, dominate construction contracts
A small group of companies dominate the K-12 design and construction sector. The same companies also largely finance the campaigns aimed at persuading the public to approve bond and override proposals to fund the projects, even funding a “dark money” group to conceal the support.
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