Democrats irked at barefaced Republicans, don’t file complaints
Rep. Judy Burges, R-Prescott, and Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, are sworn in as new members during the opening of the Arizona Legislature at the state Capitol Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Phoenix. The House Republican caucus had separate swearing-in ceremonies for masked and barefaced lawmakers. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
A month into the legislative session, nobody has yet filed a formal complaint about lawmakers who deliberately disregard the Covid safety guidelines set up by the House and Senate to ensure the safety of lawmakers, staff and visitors.
But Senate Democrats say that after pleading with Republicans to follow the rules and lodging verbal complaints with Senate leadership, they’re ready to take the next step and file formal complaints.
A lawsuit working its way through the Arizona court system is challenging Arizona Department of Health Services denial of four dispensary licenses in rural Arizona counties, as a Phoenix-based company attempts to fill empty spaces in the cannabis landscape and increase patient access where there currently is none.
The lawsuit pits four LLCs Joshua Tree, Cactus Wren, Saguaro and Desert Tortoise health centers against AZDHS, challenging the denial of applications for dispensary licenses in Apache, Greenlee, La Paz and Santa Cruz counties.
The initial complaint was filed in July 2020 and alleges that AZDHS denied the applications despite a ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court stating the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act requires that ADHS issue registration certificates, and necessarily open the application process, under two distinct circumstances: (1) if the allocation of dispensary certificates is below the one-in-ten ratio [of dispensaries to pharmacies] or (2) a county does not hav
Advertisement: According to the latest report by Dr. Joe Gerald, a University of Arizona professor who creates weekly coronavirus epidemiology reports based on Arizona Department of Health Services data, the week ending Jan. 31 saw a 31% decrease in total COVID-19 cases from the week prior. In Pima County, coronavirus cases saw a 27% decrease the week ending Jan. 17 from the week before, Gerald reports. Data from the Pima County Health Department reflects a similar trend. The first week of January saw Pima County’s highest weekly number of COVID-19 cases at 8,860, while the following week dropped to 7,052 and the third week to 5,260. Week four reported 2,916 cases, but data from the last 4-7 days are still trickling in.
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona has administered more than half of its COVID-19 vaccine supply but is expected to get more than 1 million additional doses soon, health officials said Tuesday.