Weekend wrap-up: Biggest local stories from Father’s Day weekend
Jun 17, 2018, 7:32 PM
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
PHOENIX — The issue of separating families at the border and a series of violent incidents involving Mesa police have dominated local news recently.
Here are the biggest stories from Father’s Day weekend, both in Arizona and across the nation.
Two groups of young people aim to shake up Arizona’s voter rolls
Fed up with a lack of action on measures to crack down on gun violence, two groups made up mostly of young people are out to change Arizona’s voter rolls by registering thousands of young voters this summer.
NextGen Arizona and March for Our Lives announced Thursday they are registering new voters and seeking politicians sympathetic to their cause.
The groups said they are launching a Knock-A-Thon to register voters, with a goal of knocking on 6,000 Arizona doors in one week.
Here is the timeline of Mesa officers’ recent use-of-force incidents
The Mesa Police Department has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks, with seven officers having been put on paid leave after multiple videos surfaced of them allegedly assaulting suspects during arrest.
Here is a timeline of use-of-force incidents involving Mesa officers, in chronological order of when the arrests were made.
Study flags Phoenix as hot spot for potential measles outbreak
A new study flagged the Phoenix area as a hot spot for potential outbreaks of diseases like measles that can be prevented by vaccines.
The research focused on the 18 states, including Arizona, that allow parents to opt their kids out of vaccinations for personal or philosophical beliefs.
“Our study found there’s a high risk of breakthrough childhood infections, especially measles, in about a dozen cities, mostly on the western part of the country,” Dr. Peter Hotez, co-author of the study, told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “Phoenix, Maricopa County seem to have risen to the top of the study.”
Phoenix activists condemn policy of splitting kids, parents at border
Valley pastor is denouncing the Trump administration’s policy of separating families caught trying to cross the border.
“We must stand up and say that these actions affecting families are wrong,” said Ken Heintzelman, a pastor at Shadow Rock United Church of Christ in Phoenix.
“This attack on families is an attack on who we are as human beings, as a community,” he said.
Other speakers noted many of the families being separated are fleeing dangerous conditions in Central America and are seeking asylum in the United States.
Judge says ousted Arizona lawmaker Don Shooter can stay on ballot
A judge dismissed a lawsuit that tried to get disgraced Arizona lawmaker Don Shooter off the ballot for a state Senate run for living outside the district.
Shooter was expelled from the House of Representatives for a pattern of sexual harassment in February.
He turned in enough signatures to get his name on the ballot for the Republican primary for the Senate seat in Legislative District 13, which covers parts of Yuma to areas west of Phoenix.
Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix reopens after year-long closure
The main public library in Phoenix reopened Saturday after being closed for nearly a year due to damage caused by a pipe that broke during a monsoon storm.
The Burton Barr Central Library reopened to the public at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.
The reopening of the library will come with a day’s worth of events, from a magician for the children to crafts for the adults. It will also focus on services, programs and resources that will be offered to the community.
Rainless streak continues for Phoenix after trace amount at Sky Harbor
The streak of no rain in the Valley will officially continue, as only trace amounts were detected at Sky Harbor Airport on Saturday.
Despite showers around the outer parts of the Valley and most of the state, the streak of no rain will continue on, and is now up to 97 days.
The staggering figure still remains below last fall’s streak of 103 days, and well behind the 160-day dry spell in 1972, which is the longest in Arizona history.
Study finds Arizona among worst states for working dads
Arizona has its fair share of perks, but being a working dad in the state may not be one of them.
At least not according to a new study by WalletHub, which analyzed every state and the District of Colombia to find the one that is best for working dads..
The study ranked Arizona as the 39th best state for working dads, with 46 points for economic and social well-being, 29 for work-life balance, 38 for child care, and 32 for health.
However, it found the Grand Canyon state to be one of the worst for the percentage of kids aged 0 to 17 with dads present living in poverty, ranking Arizona No. 50 overall out of 51.
Meghan McCain opens up about her relationship with her father
Before Father’s Day, Meghan McCain opened up to People about her relationship with her father, Ariz. Sen. John McCain.
“I have a beautiful feeling about our relationship,” she said to the outlet.
The two do “normal stuff together” including bird-watching, watching cowboy movies and eating a chili dish Meghan makes with her husband.
“I’ve been trying to figure out how he did it, because I don’t have any regrets or any sadness or anything, except a really wonderful, beautiful feeling about our relationship and his role as my father,” she said.
How much do Arizonans spoil their fathers? There’s a ranking for that
You can’t quantify how much you love a father.
That is, unless you run the Up4Robotics site, which did exactly that.
To see which state spoils its dads the most, Up4Robotics used Google search data of people searing inquiries such as Father’s Day ideas, gifts, and “what to buy for Father’s Day.”
Sen. Jeff Flake seeking info on separation of asylum-seeking families
U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) sent a letter to the heads of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary about the procedures and protocols surrounding the separation of immigrant families lawfully seeking asylum.
In the letter to Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Secretary Alex Azar, Flake and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) requested information whether children are separated from their parents when families seek asylum at a legal port of entry, how many children have been separated from their families while seeking asylum and how long those separations last.
Flake and Collins also sought information on the policy or “legal theory” that justifies those separations, whether the separations are meant to deter people from seeking asylum, the procedures for processing asylum applications, whether there are procedures to reunite families and whether there are training protocols for those who deal with separated children.
Video shows Border Patrol car hitting man on Tohono O’odham Nation
A video has recently made the rounds on the internet of a Border Patrol vehicle appearing to hit and run over a man on the Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona.
The 37-second video starts with the cameraman running across a dirt road that the vehicle starts to drive on. The vehicle then continues driving in the man’s direction at a decent rate of speed.
The car can be seen knocking down the man and continues to drive away as the man says the license plate of the vehicle aloud.
“They just ran me over, bro,” the man could be heard saying to a person off-camera.
It appears the car could have driven around the man if need be, and the man does not appear to say or make any type of threat toward the officer.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mark Carlson contributed to this report.