Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from Dec. 30-Jan. 1
Jan 1, 2023, 6:00 PM
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs added more people to her administration, an Arizona Court of Appeals ruled doctors can’t be prosecuted under the 1864 near-total abortion ban and Secretary of State-elect Fontes called the recount discrepancy “really problematic.”
Here are some of the biggest stories that headlined the Arizona news cycle over the holiday weekend.
Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs names 4 public safety cabinet members
Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs continued to add to her administration on Thursday, as she announced four members of her public safety cabinet.
Lt. Colonel Dana Allmond will head the Department of Veterans’ Services.
Allmond graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1994 and has more than 2 decades of active duty service experience. She ran for a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives in the Nov. 8 election but fell short.
Arizona court rules doctors can’t be prosecuted under 1864 near-total ban
An Arizona Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the new 15-week abortion ban is the law statewide and doctors cannot be prosecuted under the near-total ban that dates back to 1864.
The three-judge panel unanimously ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood Arizona.
The court said doctors can’t be prosecuted for for a felony for performing abortions because other Arizona laws passed over the years allow them to perform the procedure, though non-doctors are still subject to be charged under the old law.
Secretary of State-elect Fontes calls recount discrepancy ‘really problematic’
Arizona’s next chief elections officer said it was “really problematic” that one county’s recount added hundreds of votes to its initial tally.
“The single-digit differences are not unusual, but … it’s really problematic to see the number of ballots in Pinal County that were not tabulated,” Secretary of State-elect Adrian Fontes told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Gaydos and Chad Show on Thursday, hours after the recount results from three Nov. 8 general election races were released by a state judge.
Police seek suspect after 9 injured in shooting at Phoenix business
Police are looking for a suspect involved in a shooting that left nine people injured at a business in Phoenix on Saturday, authorities said.
Officers responded to the scene near 19th Avenue and Indian School Road around 4 a.m. and found victims suffering from gunshot wounds, the Phoenix Police Department said in a press release.
After authorities took several victims to local hospitals they learned other victims had been driven to hospitals before police arrived.
Man dies in New Year’s car crash involving alleged drunk driver
A man died early Sunday after a woman impaired at almost three times the legal limit caused multiple vehicle accidents in Surprise, authorities said.
Chalsey Brown, 29, was arrested and booked into Fourth Avenue Jail on numerous charges, including manslaughter and DUI over .150, the Surprise Police Department said in a press release.
Officers responded to a report of a crash involving three vehicles around 1:56 a.m. near Bell Road and Bullard Avenue and found Brown refusing to get out of her wrecked car.
