WASHINGTON Congress has passed the Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act after its inclusion in the appropriations package that included $1.4 trillion for federal spending and nearly $900 billion for COVID-19 relief.
The act was championed by Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ben McAdams, who wrote a joint letter to House and Senate leaders in October and facilitated calls between House leadership and Gov. Gary Herbert urging for its passage.
After its passage in the Senate in June, Gov. Herbert released a statement applauding the efforts. This agreement is the result of more than 15 years of good faith work between Utah leaders, the U.S. Department of Interior, and the Navajo Nation. It will create clean drinking water projects for our Navajo friends and certainty for Utah s future water needs. My sincere thanks to Senator Romney and President Nez for their great work. I look forward to seeing it considered soon by the House of Representatives, said Herbert.
Navajo Nation seeing a flattening of the curve in COVID-19 cases
President Jonathan Nez says his people gave up a lot to save lives.
and last updated 2020-12-22 20:52:46-05
NAVAJO NATION â With the coming of the Winter Solstice that marks the changing of seasons, there is a glimmer of hope in the fight against COVID-19 in one of the hardest-hit communities in Arizona.
The Navajo Nation is celebrating a small victory after seeing their COVID-19 curve flattening during the second deadly wave of the pandemic that has hit the Navajo Nation hard.
The Navajo Nation s COVID-19 dashboard reflects more than 21,000 cases and 748 deaths since the pandemic began. While sobering, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez says it also shows that all of the strict measures his community has been following since March 2020 have been working. This includes a mask mandate, strict hygiene measures, stay at home orders, and the toughest one for so many families was mandatory lockdowns that have cl
Governor Herbert released the following statement:
“I’m elated to see Congress pass this historic agreement between the state of Utah and the Navajo Nation. This agreement represents more than 15 years of good faith work between our governments. It will mean critical drinking water infrastructure for residents of the Navajo Nation and certainty for Utah’s water supply as our state continues growing.
I am especially grateful for the persistence and hard work of Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer, Representatives Rob Bishop and Ben McAdams, Senator Romney, and Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt, all of whom were critical to the bill’s success. Today is a great day for our state and for the thousands of tribal residents whose daily lives will be transformed by access to safe drinking water.”
Sen. Mark Kelly on Friday announced key hires to his official team, aides who have worked with his wife, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and other well-known Arizona hands.
As his offices in Arizona and Washington, D.C., begin to take shape, Kelly, D-Ariz., also released the first of his weekly schedules on his Senate website Friday, marking his early efforts to fulfill his campaign pledge of informing Arizonans who he is meeting with and how he is spending his time.
Jennifer Cox, who managed Kelly’s campaign and previously worked as Giffords deputy chief of staff, will serve as Kelly’s chief of staff. Luis Heredia, executive director of the Arizona Education Association who previously served as Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego’s district director, will serve as Kelly’s state director.
By Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press
Middle and high school students will learn remotely indefinitely in New Mexico while the freeze on limited K-3 and special education programs will end sooner in January than education officials previously said.
The minority of elementary schools that have opened hybrid learning programs can resume on Jan. 18. K-3 and special education students can return to a 5:1 student-teacher ratio earlier that month.
In back-to-back presentations to the Legislature and members of the media Friday, the Public Education Department says it is engaging more absentee students and accounting for more of the 12,000 students it had reported as “missing” from public school rolls.