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Happy to be home: Armed with championship on resume, Budenholzer excited to guide Suns

Fri, 17 May 2024 23:25:53 +0000

May 17, 2024

Happy to be home: Armed with championship on resume, Budenholzer excited to guide Suns

PHOENIX – It was an emotional Friday afternoon for new Phoenix Suns coach Mike Budenholzer. The Holbrook native returned to his home state and received a special welcome. Budenholzer’s 94-year-old father, Vince Budenholzer, was in attendance to watch his son be introduced by legendary Suns broadcaster Al McCoy as the 22nd head coach in the organization’s history. Budenholzer, 53, played for his father at Holbrook High School. He also rooted for the Suns growing up, watching legends such as the late Paul Westphal, and listening to McCoy call the game, all of which made the day even more memorable. “I would coach this team if it was on the moon,” Budenholzer said. “I would coach this team if it was in Alaska, if these players were in Denmark … I would go anywhere to coach this team. I’m excited about the roster, I’m excited about everything.” Budenholzer wasn’t brought in because of the Arizona ties but because of his ability to coach at the highest level, with a resume that shows it. Over his time in the NBA, Budenholzer has a .604 career winning percentage, winning 484 games in that span. He is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year winner in 2015 and 2019. But most importantly, he brought Milwaukee its third NBA championship, ending a 50-year title drought for the organization. The Suns face a similar drought to Milwaukee, although they aren’t looking to win another championship, but rather their first one in the franchise’s 55-year history. Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones knows what the franchise is after. The last season came with much disappointment after he helped assemble a roster that included Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. The group never jelled, finishing with a 49-33 record before getting swept by Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs. It led to the dismissal of coach Frank Vogel after just one season. “We feel like, as a coach and as management and players, you want to have a chance to compete for championships, and that is what we have here in Phoenix,” Budenholzer said. “That’s what I’m excited about is competing for championships.” The 2021 championship for Budenholzer and the Bucks came over a Phoenix Suns team that looks far different from today. Notable players such as Deandre Ayton, Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Cam Payne have all been traded. In fact, the only Suns player left from that group is Devin Booker. “I’m excited about working with this roster and these players,” Budenholzer said. “We have great players and with great players come great expectations. I think to embrace that and understand how important it is what we are doing everyday. How are we getting better everyday? I think that will put us in a position to realize our potential.” While much of the Suns roster next year is still to be determined, it will unquestionably be headlined by the big three of Booker, Durant and Beal. Budenholzer is no stranger to working with superstars, having coached and been around Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Giannis Antetokounmpo. “The most important thing with all the great players, but to be honest with you with every player on our roster, is to build a relationship with them,” Budenholzer said. “Show them you care about them genuinely, that you care about their feelings, you care about things that go on in their life, and you care about making them the best basketball player they can become. I think the great ones want to get better, they aren’t happy with where they are, they want to get better.” The Suns as a whole were definitely not happy with where they were at the end of this season. Although the star power and the roster seemed to be all put together, there was still something missing. Budenholzer and Jones share a similar philosophy about the game, playing fast and pressing. But most importantly in the coaching search, Jones saw something else in Budenholzer that stood out. “We moved quickly to Bud just because when you look at our roster and what our roster needs, he fits it,” Jones said. “I’m a competitive guy. We talked about this throughout the process. Bud must have said ‘compete’ 95 times in two minutes. But compete at everything, compete in practice, compete with each other, against each other. Compete against your opponent, but more importantly, compete with yourself. And I thought that was an area of a team that needed to be better.” The addition of Budenholzer is a move Jones is hoping will bring a new side to a team and city that has long awaited an NBA championship. “Talking about championships is kind of meaningless,” Budenholzer said. “At the end of the day, talk is cheap, what you do everyday is powerful. And so as I talk to our players, I talk to our ownership, our front office, everybody, what are we doing everyday to be our best? That is what it’s gonna take to win championships in Phoenix.”

Spring training treasures: Exploring the intersection of baseball and card collecting in Arizona

Fri, 17 May 2024 16:55:11 +0000

May 17, 2024

Spring training treasures: Exploring the intersection of baseball and card collecting in Arizona

Sporting a greener future: U.S. arenas, stadiums tackle carbon footprint to score environmental wins

Thu, 16 May 2024 15:00:58 +0000

May 16, 2024

Sporting a greener future: U.S. arenas, stadiums tackle carbon footprint to score environmental wins

PHOENIX – In the sports world, the word “green” is taking on a new meaning beyond just the color of uniforms or fields. As environmental concerns grow, the sports industry is going greener by embracing sustainable practices and technologies to reduce its massive carbon footprint. Leading this charge are newer state-of-the-art venues designed with sustainability in mind. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, which opened in 2017, was the first to earn the highest (platinum) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification by scoring 88 out of 110 points on the green building rating system. LEED functions as a green building rating system that includes four distinct levels of certification – certified, silver, gold and platinum. To reach platinum certification, a venue must earn 80 out of 110 points on the LEED scorecard through innovative and sustainable building design. [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2022/05/04/arizona-among-leading-charge-sports-sustainability/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/02-17-22-ASU-Sustainability-Trash-Cans-6-800x500-1.jpg" headline="The green boom: Sustainability becomes priority for Arizona sports teams, organizations"] Mercedes-Benz Stadium diverts over 90% of all waste. The stadium also features a unique solar panel design that generates 1.6 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy per year, reducing electricity use by 29%. “I think it’s amazing for the Atlanta community to be able to come cheer on their favorite team while also seeing how you can build a green stadium and coexist with the environment,” said Dawn Brown, senior manager of stadium tours, education programs and sustainability at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “We always want to educate the fans about what it means to do the right thing.” However, Mercedes-Benz’s success in sustainability may not have come to fruition without the guidance of the Green Sports Alliance – a nonprofit organization established 14 years ago that works with teams and sports venues to help create sustainability within their operations and design developments. “We are stronger together than we are alone, and we need to accelerate change as we know,” said Roger McClendon, executive director of the Green Sports Alliance. “It's about sharing resources and leaving what we call playing for the next generation, leaving this world and earth a better place than where we found it.” [caption id="attachment_231818" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] As an eco-friendly sports venue, Climate Pledge Arena utilizes recycled rainwater to create NHL-quality ice for home games of the Seattle Kraken. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)[/caption] Climate Pledge Arena is another facility making the Green Sports Alliance proud since opening in 2021 as the home of the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Storm. The arena has quite literally made a name for itself from the very beginning. “I want to give a huge thanks to the arena’s naming rights partner, Amazon,” said Kristen Fulmer, head of sustainability at Oak View Group. “The building could have been called Amazon Arena but was instead named after Amazon’s sustainability initiative, Climate Pledge.” The arena is the first to achieve the International Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon Certification by fully neutralizing its operational and embodied carbon emissions. Powered by 100% renewable energy with no natural gas, the arena cooks food using eclectic grills and uses recycled rainwater to make NHL ice for Kraken home games. “They are trying to make sustainability fun,” Fulmer said. “They are doing a lot of things to engage fans, such as giving someone a public transportation pass for every event ticket they have.” While new construction leads the way, older iconic venues are also stepping up their eco-efforts Kansas City’s GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which will host 2026 World Cup matches, is among the host stadiums refining its sustainability practices. While the 52-year-old stadium showcases strong practices, including a nearly 90% waste diversion and a community garden to provide food to the local food bank, it’s a new ball game for one of the largest sports tournaments in the world. “With the World Cup coming to Arrowhead Stadium, FIFA is requiring the LEED Silver Certification,” said Brandon Hamilton, the vice president of stadium operations and facilities for the Kansas City Chiefs. “Our plan right now is to put out an RFP for an environmental consultant. Once we do that, our goal is to be prepared to meet the FIFA requirements by 2026.” [caption id="attachment_231819" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] As GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium prepares to host 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, it is pursuing LEED Silver certification by implementing eco-friendly operations. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)[/caption] Even the motorsports industry, once considered a massive polluter, is cleaning up its act. NASCAR vehicles can emit around 120,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per race, while Formula One cars release nearly 256,000 tons of carbon dioxide per season. While NASCAR and Formula 1 have no plans yet to ditch gas-powered cars, Formula E has pioneered all-electric racing. In the meantime, F1 teams like McLaren are innovating with recycled carbon fiber materials that reduce environmental impact without compromising performance. “We had a great example last year where data led us to look at what we need to do, and recycled carbon fiber is an amazing testbed for innovation,” said Kim Wilson, director of sustainability at McLaren Racing. “We pioneered that in the United States Grand Prix last year, and it’s been a really important proof point for us seeing that you can have more sustainable materials in your car that don’t have an impact on performance.” NASCAR too is consulting multiple options with new sustainability initiatives, most recently at Talladega. “We piloted a can collection system for the first time at this racetrack,” said Riley Nelson, head of sustainability at NASCAR. “It was a really successful first pilot for us and Talladega. It doesn't make it a pain or something that detracts from the race experience but actually enhances the experience throughout the weekend.” However, the road to sustainable sports is not without its speed bumps. The upfront costs of green construction and operations can be massive, with some critics questioning if higher ticket prices are worth it. There are also operational hurdles like securing adequate renewable energy sources and buy-in from fans accustomed to traditional event experiences. Yet most experts insist the sports world must embrace sustainability not just for economic reasons, but for the very future of the games themselves which are threatened by climate change impacts like rising temperatures, drought, flooding and more.

From niche to norm: Sports betting’s relentless expansion grips Arizona and the nation

Wed, 15 May 2024 17:31:38 +0000

May 15, 2024

From niche to norm: Sports betting’s relentless expansion grips Arizona and the nation

PHOENIX – As Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of sports betting legalization in America due to the landmark 2018 Supreme Court decision that paved the way for states to legalize sports betting, the industry has become an unmissable part of mainstream sports. It’s harder than ever to watch or attend a sporting event without either placing a wager or seeing some form of marketing for sports betting companies. Sports betting handle, a term for how much total money is wagered, and total revenue reach record highs every year. Americans across the country wagered a record $119.84 billion on sports betting in 2023, a 27.5% increase from 2022, according to the American Gaming Association. The total revenue was $10.92 billion, a 44.5% increase. A key contribution to last year’s numbers was new markets legalizing sports betting. North Carolina recently became the 38th state, along with Washington, D.C., to feature live and legal sports betting markets and the 30th state to offer mobile sports betting, according to the American Gaming Association. More than two-thirds of American adults live in those markets. Sports betting has also become a growing source of tax revenue for many states, according to the United States Census Bureau. [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/01/12/ncaa-convention-phoenix-college-athletes-social-media/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240110_150814.jpg" headline="NCAA president: Social media harassment of college athletes a growing problem because of sports gambling"] With sports betting now an integral part of sports and growing every year, the question begs: will the growth ever stop? It might be easy to say that the rapid rate of sports betting’s growth will eventually stop, but no time soon. With sports gambling legalized in 38 states, 12 states that could change course in the future but not anytime soon. However, Missouri, Oklahoma and Minnesota have pending legislation. “This is something that has to be passed by state legislature,” said Christopher Boan, the lead writer at BetArizona.com and an expert in the sports gambling industry. “The holdouts, at this point, aren’t moving quickly.” California and Texas – two states that haven’t legalized sports betting – are the biggest dominos waiting to fall. The nation’s two most populous states have tried, and failed, to legalize sports betting, and progress has stalled. With 15 teams from the four major professional sports leagues located in California and eight in Texas, the eventual legalization of sports betting would have massive ramifications on the sports betting industry and the professional sports leagues. “It’ll continue to churn on a little bit as we wait for those big market states to decide what they want to do with sports betting, and once those guys launch, we do this all over again and it’s going to be the new gold rush,” Boan said. “When and if California and Texas ever move on sports betting, that will be the next big frontier.” New York’s success could give insight into how big legalization in California and Texas could be. New York has the second largest sports betting handle after only launching online sports betting in early 2022 and is projected to pass New Jersey by 2025. The sports betting industry thrives on new markets. Six states legalized sports betting in 2023, including one of the biggest national markets in Florida, but North Carolina is likely to be the only state to launch this year. Despite the lack of new sports betting markets, the existing ones will continue to mature, which factors into growth as much as new markets. Arizona, which legalized sports betting in April 2021 and launched in September 2021, is a prime example. [caption id="attachment_231808" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Fans place bets at the FanDuel Sportsbook inside Footprint Center as sports betting has become embedded into the live game experience at professional sports venues. (File photo by Wesley Johnson/Cronkite News)[/caption] “No new industry hits the ground running at full capacity, and event wagering is really no different,” said Arizona Department of Gaming public information officer Dayne O’Brien. “The industry has seen that steady growth since inception, and it will continue as it fully develops.” The state’s three largest monthly handles were from Nov. 2023 to Jan. 2024, with totals hovering near $700 million a month, according to the Arizona Department of Gaming. Nine of the last 12 months saw increased handles over the same month of the previous year. Arizona’s total handle is $15,060,277,705, the ninth largest of any state and more than some states that launched sports betting before 2021. Arizona’s continuous growth is in part due to the amount of online operators the state allows. “The enabling legislation allowed for a maximum of 20 event wagering licenses in the state, which was 10 reserved for Arizona tribes and 10 reserved for an owner of an Arizona professional sports team or franchise,” O’Brien said. “In addition, there are 10 limited wagering licenses available, and those are more reserved for race track and closures and OTB’s, which are additional wagering facilities.” The industry is dominated by online wagers. It’s far easier to place a bet on a phone than going to an in-person location and allows for more bets, and Arizona is no different. Only about $8 million from January’s $706 million handle was wagered at retail locations. Arizona currently has 17 online operators with sports betting apps, including the recently launched ESPN BET, and 17 retail sportsbooks in Arizona. Although the online handle makes up almost all of the total handle share, the in-person locations offer their own experience that the sportsbooks try to capitalize on, according to Boan. “People like going to sporting events, the same way they like going to sports bars, and this is just an opportunity to capture as much of that audience as they can,” Boan said. “Plus the older audience that’s maybe more reticent to spend their money on a mobile sports book is more comfortable with the retail option.” The age of sports bettors is also a key factor in the past and future industry growth. Like most industries, younger audiences are the target demographic for sports betting companies. Sports bettors between the ages of 18-34 made up 38% of the market, according to the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association. While older bettors might be more reluctant to bet online, it’s the preferred method for younger generations, which leads to more bets. The younger audience will only keep growing. Every year, more people turn legal betting age. Additionally, 63% of sports bettors make more than $50,000 in salary a year, so while new bettors reaching legal betting age are less likely to have disposable income to place bets, more will reach an age where they have an income to bet with as the industry and markets mature. Compared to the rates at which older people stop betting, these trends are happening faster. [caption id="attachment_231807" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The bright lights and screens of the FanDuel Sportsbook attract fans inside Footprint Center, offering a unique sports betting atmosphere just steps away from the court. (File photo by James Franks/Cronkite News)[/caption] As the number of young people who get access to the risky industry of sports betting rises, so too does the concern about the problems that gambling poses. As sports betting revenue grows, states are allocating more funding toward prevention, treatment, and education programs for problem gambling. In Arizona, a portion of the tax revenue from sports betting is earmarked for the Division of Problem Gambling and its resources. This includes counseling services, a 24/7 helpline, and awareness campaigns targeted at high-risk groups like college students. The industry is also making greater efforts to increase security and ID verification, partnering with advocacy groups such as the National Council on Problem Gambling and improving self-regulation tools that allow users to set limits on their gambling behavior. “We know that young people are very tech-savvy, they have their phones with them, and with the new legalization across the nation, it’s something that is very viable any place, anywhere, anytime,” said Elise Mikkelsen, division of problem gambling director with the Arizona Department of Gaming. “We do have concerns about that, and the younger folks are people that we’re targeting with our resources.” Sports betting problems aren’t exclusive to fans, as professional sports leagues are running into more problems with athletes after immersing themselves in the sports betting industry. The NFL is in a partnership with FanDuel, DraftKings and Caesars Entertainment, and last year’s NBA collective bargaining agreement allowed players to buy into sportsbooks under specific conditions. While recent problems have surfaced in professional sports that resulted in the NBA banning Jontay Porter and MLB star Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter facing federal charges, leagues will not shy away from sports betting anytime soon. [caption id="attachment_231806" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The FanDuel Sportsbook signage is prominently displayed outside Footprint Center. Sports betting partnerships have become the norm for professional sports teams. (File photo by Susan Wong/Cronkite News)[/caption] In Arizona, sports betting companies have taken advantage of pro sports collaborations. The Cardinals were the first NFL team to open a retail sportsbook in their stadium with the BetMGM Sportsbook at State Farm Stadium. FanDuel opened a sportsbook at the Phoenix Suns’ Footprint Center, as did Caesars at the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field. This year marked the debut of DraftKings’ sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale during the Phoenix Open. Those partnered operators and teams have to follow regulations given by the Arizona Department of Gaming. Six years ago, the Suns and FanDuel implementing rules on how they advertise sports betting to their fans was fiction, and now it is the norm for today’s sports. “If one of those entities is correlated to one of the sports books here at the Department of Gaming, then there are rules and regulations in place regarding how they can advertise, language that they need to utilize, rules that are in place for them that they must follow,” Mikkelsen said. With sports betting now deeply woven into the fabric of professional and collegiate sports, there appears to be no turning back from this transformation of the fan experience. The once niche activity has become a part of how sports are consumed and marketed in the modern era across America. And as lucrative new markets like California and Texas potentially open up, the surge in younger bettors and professional leagues further embracing gambling partnerships and integrations, all signs point to the sports betting boom showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon across the nation.

Rapid rise in syphilis hits Native Americans in the Southwest hardest

Tue, 14 May 2024 16:57:51 +0000

May 14, 2024

Rapid rise in syphilis hits Native Americans in the Southwest hardest

From her base in Gallup, New Mexico, Melissa Wyaco supervises about two dozen public health nurses who crisscross the sprawling Navajo Nation searching for patients who have tested positive for or been exposed to a disease once nearly eradicated in the U.S.: syphilis. Infection rates in this region of the Southwest — the 27,000-square-mile reservation encompasses parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah — are among the nation’s highest. And Wyaco, who is from Zuni Pueblo (about 40 miles south of Gallup) and is the nurse consultant for the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, says the numbers are far worse than anything she has seen in her 30-year nursing career. Syphilis infections nationwide have climbed rapidly in recent years, reaching a 70-year high in 2022, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That rise comes amid a shortage of penicillin, the most effective treatment. Simultaneously, congenital syphilis —passed from a pregnant person to a baby — has similarly spun out of control. Untreated, congenital syphilis can cause bone deformities, severe anemia, jaundice, meningitis, and even death. In 2022, the CDC recorded 231 stillbirths and 51 infant deaths caused by syphilis, out of 3,761 congenital syphilis cases reported that year. [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/05/09/indigenous-advocates-work-combat-fake-sober-living-homes-arizona/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/soberhomestruck-1024.jpg" headline="Indigenous advocates work to combat fake sober living homes in Arizona"] And while infections have risen across the U.S., no demographic has been hit harder than Native Americans. CDC data released in January shows that the rate of congenital syphilis among American Indians and Alaska Natives was triple the rate for African Americans and nearly 12 times the rate for white babies in 2022. “This is a disease we thought we were going to eradicate not that long ago, because we have a treatment that works really well,” said Meghan Curry O’Connell, a member of the Cherokee Nation and chief public health officer at the Great Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board, who is based in South Dakota. Instead, the rate of congenital syphilis infections among Native Americans (644.7 cases per 100,000 people in 2022) is now comparable to the rate for the entire U.S. population in 1941 (651.1) — before doctors began using penicillin to cure syphilis. (The rate fell to 6.6 nationally in 1983.) O’Connell said that’s why the Great Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board and tribal leaders from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa have asked federal Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to declare a public health emergency in their states. A declaration would expand staffing, funding and access to contact tracing data across their region. “Syphilis is deadly to babies. It’s highly infectious, and it causes very severe outcomes,” O’Connell said. “We need to have people doing boots-on-the-ground work” right now. In 2022, New Mexico reported the highest rate of congenital syphilis among states. Primary and secondary syphilis infections, which are not passed to infants, were highest in South Dakota, which had the second-highest rate of congenital syphilis in 2022. And South Dakota's numbers were highest among the state’s large Native population. In an October news release, the New Mexico Department of Health noted that the state had “reported a 660% increase in cases of congenital syphilis over the past five years.” A year earlier, in 2017, New Mexico reported only one case — but by 2020, that number had risen to 43, then to 76 in 2022. Starting in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic made things worse. [caption id="attachment_231777" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Gallup Indian Medical Center is a hospital in Gallup, New Mexico, which is near the Navajo Nation and Zuni Pueblo. (Photo by Cecilia Nowell for KFF Health News)[/caption] “Public health across the country got almost 95% diverted to doing COVID care,” said Jonathan Iralu, the Indian Health Service chief clinical consultant for infectious diseases, who is based at the Gallup Indian Medical Center. “This was a really hard-hit area.” At one point early in the pandemic, the Navajo Nation reported the highest COVID rate in the country. Iralu suspects patients with symptoms of syphilis may have avoided seeing a doctor for fear of catching COVID. That said, he doesn’t think it’s fair to blame the pandemic for the high rates of syphilis, or the high rates of women passing infections to their babies during pregnancy, that continue four years later. Native Americans are more likely to live in rural areas, far from hospital obstetric units, than any other racial or ethnic group. As a result, many do not receive prenatal care until later in pregnancy, if at all. That often means providers cannot test and treat patients for syphilis before delivery. In New Mexico, 23% of patients did not receive prenatal care until the fifth month of pregnancy or later, or received fewer than half the appropriate number of visits for the infant’s gestational age in 2023. The national average is below 16%. Inadequate prenatal care is especially risky for Native Americans, who have a greater chance than other ethnic groups of passing on a syphilis infection if they become pregnant. That’s because, among Native communities, syphilis infections are just as common in women as in men. In every other ethnic group, men are at least twice as likely to contract syphilis, largely because men who have sex with men are more susceptible to infection. [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/05/06/sage-memorial-hospital-navajo-nation-new-facility-improve-health-care/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sage-memorial-hospital-005.jpg" headline="Sage Memorial Hospital constructs new facility to improve Navajo Nation health care"] O’Connell said it’s not clear why women in Native communities are disproportionately affected by syphilis. “The Navajo Nation is a maternal health desert,” said Amanda Singer, a Diné (Navajo) doula and lactation counselor in Arizona who is also executive director of the Navajo Breastfeeding Coalition/Diné Doula Collective. On some parts of the reservation, patients have to drive more than 100 miles to reach obstetric services. “There’s a really high number of pregnant women who don’t get prenatal care throughout the whole pregnancy, “ Singer said. She said that’s due not only to a lack of services but also to a mistrust of health care providers who don’t understand Native culture. Some also worry that providers might report patients who use illicit substances during their pregnancies to the police or child welfare. But it’s also because of a shrinking network of facilities: Two of the Navajo area’s labor and delivery wards have closed in the past decade. According to a recent report, more than half of U.S. rural hospitals no longer offer labor and delivery services. Singer and the other doulas in her network believe New Mexico and Arizona could combat the syphilis epidemic by expanding access to prenatal care in rural Indigenous communities. Singer imagines a system in which midwives, doulas, and lactation counselors are able to travel to families and offer prenatal care “in their own home.” O’Connell added that data-sharing arrangements between tribes and state, federal and IHS offices vary widely across the country, but have posed an additional challenge to tackling the epidemic in some Native communities, including her own. Her Tribal Epidemiology Center is fighting to access South Dakota’s state data. In the Navajo Nation and surrounding area, Iralu said, IHS infectious disease doctors meet with tribal officials every month, and he recommends that all IHS service areas have regular meetings of state, tribal, and IHS providers and public health nurses to ensure every pregnant person in those areas has been tested and treated. [caption id="attachment_231778" align="alignnone" width="1024"] These public health nurses with the Navajo Area Indian Health Service can test and treat patients for syphilis at home. Syphilis infection rates in the Navajo Nation are among the nation’s highest. (Photo courtesy Navajo Area Indian Health Service)[/caption] IHS now recommends all patients be tested for syphilis yearly, and tests pregnant patients three times. It also expanded rapid and express testing and started offering DoxyPEP, an antibiotic that transgender women and men who have sex with men can take up to 72 hours after sex and that has been shown to reduce syphilis transmission by 87%. But perhaps the most significant change IHS has made is offering testing and treatment in the field. Today, the public health nurses Wyaco supervises can test and treat patients for syphilis at home — something she couldn’t do when she was one of them just three years ago. “Why not bring the penicillin to the patient instead of trying to drag the patient in to the penicillin?” said Iralu. It’s not a tactic IHS uses for every patient, but it’s been effective in treating those who might pass an infection on to a partner or baby. Iralu expects to see an expansion in street medicine in urban areas and van outreach in rural areas, in coming years, bringing more testing to communities — as well as an effort to put tests in patients’ hands through vending machines and the mail. “This is a radical departure from our past,” he said. “But I think that’s the wave of the future.” KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Shaun Griswold for questions: [email protected]. Follow Source New Mexico on Facebook and Twitter.

Read On Arizona and partners provide youth reading education to support fight pandemic literacy loss

Tue, 14 May 2024 16:55:34 +0000

May 14, 2024

Read On Arizona and partners provide youth reading education to support fight pandemic literacy loss

PHOENIX – Child literacy is at the forefront for many Arizona educators, as English Language Arts and reading comprehension prepare students for adulthood and future careers. However, recent research suggests that third grade students struggle with reading comprehension. According to the Center for the Future of Arizona’s education progress meter, which collects and analyzes data from the Arizona Department of Education, just 41% of Arizona third graders scored “proficient” or “highly proficient” across state assessment tests in 2023. That was 5 percentage points lower than pre-COVID-19 numbers and far short of the goal of 72% of third graders getting a passing grade in reading by 2030 that Arizona school districts are aiming for. Organizations like Read On Arizona focus on reading development for children of all ages. Terri Clark is the Arizona literacy director for the organization, and she explained the mission. “Read On is a collaborative that is really focused on helping everyone – programs, schools, families that are all interested in improving early literacy outcomes – and making sure all kids reach their full reading potential. We partner with a number of entities – schools, but also community organizations – that are working on summer learning or out-of-school-time learning,” Clark said. “We have a strategic focus on improving school readiness – so focusing on those early years, making sure that kids get the opportunities and early learning experiences that are going to set them up well for entering kindergarten – and then, what happens in those K-to-third-grade years so that they are identified early if they need any special interventions,” Clark said. “We’ve identified partners across the state that are doing their part, but no one partner can do it all is our thinking.” [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="Rhttps://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2023/01/26/volunteers-help-tempe-kids-with-reading-skills/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/page-turners.png" headline="Volunteers help Tempe kids with reading skills"] Read On has partnerships with multiple cities, including Phoenix and Tempe, and has “Read On Communities” that work with local organizations in these cities, among others. Read On also partners with other organizations, one of which is the AARP Foundation Experience Corps. Nicole Burner, the supervisor in the Tempe’s Office of Education, Career, & Family Services, is also a community lead for Read On Tempe. She explained how the group creates a support network that brings together multiple literacy-focused programs in the community. These include the Triple P Positive Parenting Program, which helps parents establish good reading habits with their children; the Tempe PRE preschool program and the city's Helping Us Grow book club, which provided 5,000 books to more than 1,000 children in Tempe in the last year; and the AARP Foundation program, which coordinates volunteer tutors. “All together, the four programs provide a continuum of support … helping students with their families, with their parents' support from the jump,” Burner said. “So, we either provide resources with books or parenting classes to help guide them on how to utilize, say, just 30 minutes of their time or manage behaviors or how to pick up a book and read it.” Burner said that Read On Tempe works with school districts, which refer students who score below the reading benchmark at the beginning of the school year. Going forward, Burner hopes that continued community-wide collaboration spells positive results for children. Burner said the HUG program is especially impactful for low-income communities as it provides literacy kits and books for families because “if you only have a few dollars, you’re not going to buy a book. You’re going to buy food or something that’s a necessity.” “We thought it would be really nice to start them from the beginning. Give them books or give them alphabet magnets, … basically (for them) to know that they’re supported,” Burner said.

A plumbing issue at Lake Powell dam could mean big trouble for Western water

Mon, 13 May 2024 17:05:34 +0000

May 13, 2024

A plumbing issue at Lake Powell dam could mean big trouble for Western water

Conservation groups are calling for changes to the management of Lake Powell, the nation’s second largest reservoir, after the discovery of damaged plumbing within the dam that holds it back. The damage is to Glen Canyon Dam’s “river outlet works,” a critical set of small tubes near the bottom of the dam that were originally intended to release excess water when the reservoir is nearing full capacity. The reservoir is currently only 32% full, beleaguered by climate change and steady demand. Water experts think the river outlet works may soon become the only way to pass water from Lake Powell, situated in far northern Arizona, to the Colorado River on the other side. But they worry that damage to those tubes could impede the ability to use them regularly. It’s the latest twist in the saga of Glen Canyon Dam, which has been at the center of recent concern about the shrinking Colorado River, even before news of the damaged pipes came to light. Water experts fear Lake Powell could drop so low that water would be unable to pass through hydropower turbines that generate electricity for about 5 million people across seven states. If it falls even lower, water would be unable to pass through the dam at all, keeping it out of the Grand Canyon just downstream of Lake Powell. The threat of that reality has led advocacy groups to sound the alarm. “I think it's really important for people to recognize how much of a threat this is to our water delivery system,” said Eric Balken, executive director of the Glen Canyon Institute. “This is a really big infrastructure problem, and it has a big impact on how water is managed throughout this whole basin.” [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/04/24/central-arizona-project-address-water-supply-issues/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/conflictvista-1024.jpg" headline="How city of Phoenix, CAP are addressing water supply issues"] The recent damage to the outlet works is the product of a process called “cavitation.” It happens when small air bubbles in the water pop while passing through the dam’s plumbing. That implosion is strong enough to create shock waves that tear away small chunks of protective coating on the insides of pipes. In recent years, the outlet works has been used to release temporary bursts of water designed to boost ecosystems in the Grand Canyon. The cavitation damage was discovered during inspections of the pipes after a series of those planned water bursts in April 2023. In an informational webinar last month, Reclamation officials explained the damage and said it was not the result of one specific event, but has occurred over time. Nick Williams, Upper Colorado River power manager for the Bureau of Reclamation said cavitation damage is more likely when reservoir levels are low. The river outlet works can still carry water, but will require repairs – such as a fresh coating of epoxy that is scheduled for either later this year or early 2025.

Legal risk and harm to fish

Even with a fully functioning river outlet works system, those pipes are only capable of carrying a relatively small amount of water. If the outlet works become the only means of passing water through the dam, the Colorado River’s Upper Basin states – Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Utah – could fail to meet a longstanding legal obligation to pass a certain amount of water to their downstream neighbors each year. The Colorado River Compact, a 1922 legal agreement that forms the foundation of modern water management in the arid West, requires the Upper Basin to pass 7.5 million acre-feet of water to the Lower Basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada each year. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to fill one acre of land to a depth of one foot. One acre-foot generally provides enough water for one to two households for a year. Lake Powell is often described as the Colorado River’s “savings account,” where the Upper Basin states stash water to make sure there’s always enough to meet their legal requirement to send some downstream. Then, the Lower Basin stores those water deliveries in Lake Mead, its “checking account.” Lake Mead is the nation’s largest reservoir and holds water that will eventually flow to cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles, as well as sprawling farm fields in California and Arizona. Conservation groups have cited the limited capacity of the outlet works in previous calls to change the way Lake Powell is managed. The recent damage, they said, could make the outlet works unusable, only worsening the challenge of keeping water flowing downstream from Lake Powell. [caption id="attachment_217440" align="alignnone" width="1024"]The Glen Canyon Dam holds back Lake Powell. As the lake's level has fallen to historic lows, some worry that wear on infrastructure inside the dam that was designed to cope with high water levels in the lake, could impede flow of the Colorado River. (Photo by Alex Hager/KUNC)[/caption] “If you lose your job, you don't go out and buy yourself an elaborate dinner, justifying it by saying, ‘I still have money in my checking account,’” said Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council. “You go, ‘Wow, I lost my income. I better look at my expense budget and see if it's time to tighten my belt.’ The Colorado River Basin has not yet learned to do that.” In recent years, Lake Powell has barely stayed high enough for water to pass through hydropower turbines. That’s the result of a shell game by water managers, who have shuffled water into Lake Powell from upstream reservoirs on an emergency basis. Damage to the outlet works also raises concern about invasive fish entering a section of the Colorado River that flows through the Grand Canyon. Dropping water levels have allowed invasive smallmouth bass to swim through to the other side, where they can eat native humpback chub, a species protected by the Endangered Species Act. Recently, federal water managers released plans to help protect those at-risk chubs. Those plans partially hinge on the ability to release cold water through the river outlet works and into the Grand Canyon. Wildlife advocates criticized those plans even before the news of damage to the river outlet works, which could further jeopardize native fish conservation efforts.

Fixes for the future

The seven states that use the Colorado River are currently caught in a standoff about how to cut back on water demand. They are currently negotiating a new set of rules for sharing the river, designed to replace the current guidelines that expire in 2026—but are stuck at an ideological impasse. [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/02/20/chub-snub-advocates-question-plan-to-protect-threatened-colorado-river-fish/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/chubfish-1024.jpg" headline="Chub snub?: Advocates question plan to protect threatened Colorado River fish"] That new set of rules could theoretically introduce a long-term plan for managing the West’s major reservoirs sustainably, allowing water managers to move on from a patchwork of emergency measures that have only temporarily staved off problems at Glen Canyon Dam. Balken, with the nonprofit Glen Canyon Institute, said policymakers should consider major changes to how the dam is operated. “If we're going to update this river system to be climate resilient, and if we're going to upgrade our infrastructure to deal with what climate change is handing us, we really have to take a hard look at bypassing Glen Canyon Dam,” Balken said. In March, Upper Basin and Lower Basin states each released competing plans for post-2026 river management. Later a coalition of environmental nonprofits released their own. A group of tribes that use the Colorado River has issued a set of principles it hopes will be incorporated into future water management. The Biden administration is urging states to find compromise before the end of 2024, in hopes of averting complications that could be brought on by a change in presidential administration after the November election. - This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUNC and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.

Border sheriffs see more ‘load car’ drivers, teens paid to smuggle migrants

Mon, 13 May 2024 17:00:37 +0000

May 13, 2024

Border sheriffs see more ‘load car’ drivers, teens paid to smuggle migrants

WASHINGTON - It's a "scary" trend that border county officials say is getting scarier: Mexican cartels paying teenagers from throughout the country to smuggle illegal migrants across the state as "load car" drivers. "We've had them from every state in the lower 48 down here," said Robert Watkins, commander of the Cochise County Sheriff's Office patrol and special operations division. "We have 1,500 smugglers coming into Cochise County a month to transport people." Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot says the trend has "been going on since 2020, and it's just increased as you've seen more and more people coming across (the border)." Wilmot said cartels will post on social media platforms offering teens thousands of dollars for every migrant they pick up at the southern border and take to Phoenix or Tucson. Watkins said this process is a significant shift in how smuggling is conducted. Cartels are singling out kids, he said, because "the federal government does not prosecute people under the age of 18 for trafficking or narcotics." He also believes that cartels are targeting teens who live in poorer communities. [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/04/10/tribal-leaders-seeking-solutions-to-cartel-crime-say-they-mostly-got-talk/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/cartelstight-1024.jpg" headline="Tribal leaders sought solutions to cartel crime, say they mostly got talk"] "The cartels are actually setting up what's called geofences around schools and in impoverished communities around the country," Watkins said. "They're flooding social media with these smuggling posts. So, if you think about it, what 15-year-old kid would not drive three hours to make $10,000?" Load car driving has led to hundreds of incidents in Cochise County alone, with sometimes deadly consequences. As part of the operation, cartels encourage teens to speed away from law enforcement, and those speeds sometimes reach "well over 120 miles an hour through populated areas," Watkins said. It was during such an incident that Wanda Sitoski, 65, was killed in 2021 when police said a load car driver ran a red light as part of a smuggling operation in Sierra Vista. Police charged then-16-year-old Felix Mendez, a Mesa resident, with first-degree murder in the incident. Mendez is currently in jail awaiting trial and recently rejected a plea deal that would have sentenced him to jail for nearly 25 years. Wilmot said this issue is particularly difficult to solve because most of the recruiting takes place on social media. This means any solution would require an increased level of cooperation from social media companies to combat the "pretty brazen" tactics used by smugglers. "We have our intel units that are trying to work with the social media companies to pay more attention to this kind of stuff because it's going to be up to social media monitoring this type of activity," Wilmot said. Repeated requests for comment from TikTok, Meta, ES Social Media Management and other companies and associations were not returned. But Watkins agreed with Wilmot, saying social media can expose teens "to every degree of evil in the world." "The cartel would not be able to bring people to the border from the South to smuggle, and the cartel could not use our youth as Uber drivers and have them come down here to pick up these migrants and transport them throughout the country," Watkins said.

Border shelters stave off ‘homelessness on steroids,’ but funding worries remain

Fri, 10 May 2024 19:08:57 +0000

May 10, 2024

Border shelters stave off ‘homelessness on steroids,’ but funding worries remain

TUCSON - A Customs and Border Protection van pulls to the side door of an industrial building. Two federal agents get out and open the van's rear doors, revealing metal, barred gates that read "Inmate Transport." The first face to emerge from the van’s dark interior is a young girl wearing pink pants and a beaming smile. A man steps out next and carries her, and her juice box, toward the entrance of the shelter where asylum seekers get food, clothes, and a temporary shelter after being processed by CBP and released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention. [su_pullquote]CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy. The story here has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions should run the correction found here.[/su_pullquote] The scene is repeated daily at the Casa Alitas shelter in Tucson where hundreds - sometimes thousands - of asylum seekers, many of them young children, are dropped off with little more than the clothes on their backs. Without shelters like this, migrants would just be released on the streets and Tucson would experience "homelessness on steroids," one Pima County official has said. "He would’ve been on the streets," Casa Alitas Director Diego Lopez said on a recent morning, pointing to a young boy in a group of others in the shelter. "Any child here in this room that is above the age of 3 would’ve been on the streets in Tucson. … If we had no resources or space, they would have been dropped off at the Greyhound bus station." That situation came perilously close to becoming reality this spring, when political infighting in Washington nearly let funding lapse for FEMA’s Shelter and Services program, which funds services for migrants who are awaiting their immigration hearings. [related-story-right box-title="Related story" link="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/03/28/senators-told-of-alarming-level-of-drone-incursions-at-southern-border/" image="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/dronesroof-1024.jpg" headline="Senators told of 'alarming' level of drone incursions at southern border"] The program got a last-minute reprieve when Congress passed a $1.2 trillion budget in late March that included $650 million for the shelter program - $55 million of which went to programs in Arizona. Lopez called congressional approval of the funding a "pinch me I'm dreaming" moment. But that quickly gave way to concerns that they came so close to losing funding, and fears that they will face the same situation when this round of funds runs out. "I'm still processing the information, but at the same time I know I have to work with the team to direct the ships and make sure that we prepare ourselves so … the blow, if this happens again, it's less for us," he said. Even when the funding was approved, there were weeks of uncertainty over how much Pima County would get. County Administrator Jan Lesher said in March that if the county got $12 million, as it did last year, that would only fund services for about three months. In April, the county learned it would get $21.8 million - enough to "sustain sheltering operations through the remainder of 2024, depending on the fluctuation in border crossings," she said. Pima County's allocation was the largest in the state. Other funding went to Maricopa County, which will get $11.6 million, and the nongovernmental organization World Hunger Ecumenical Arizona Task Force, which will receive $21.1 million for operations in Maricopa and Yuma counties. Pima County directly funds nonprofits like Catholic Community Services, which runs Casa Alitas, for direct services. But it also used $6.2 million in federal and state funds last year to purchase the 60,000-square-foot building on Drexel Road where Casa Alitas operates the largest of its three shelters. That purchase included funding from the state’s Border Security Fund and from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Even though Pima County will get significantly more than it did last year, it comes at a time when demand is significantly higher. "We've had lines outside the building for families to wait in tents because the need was so high," said Lopez, adding that the organization receives as many as 1,800 asylum seekers daily across all its shelter locations. [masterslider id="315"] RK Kelly, the director of Pima County Grants Management and Innovation, said in a March interview that the cost of providing food, shelter, and transportation to asylum seekers in Pima, Cochise, and Santa Cruz counties had been about $1 million a week since September, when border crossings were surging. When encounters in the Tucson sector reached an all-time high in December, Casa Alitas served 32,898 asylum seekers, more than 11,000 of whom were children. In March, they assisted 12,034 people and more than half were children. Lesher said in a letter to county officials in February that the program has "prevented a humanitarian crisis from occurring daily" that would be caused by "having hundreds of people with limited resources and English-language skills released onto city streets every day." Without federal funding, Lopez said, Casa Alitas would have to close down the large Tucson shelter and a smaller Nogales location, and limit intakes to only 140 asylum seekers a day. The stress has eased somewhat, with the shelter was receiving about 500 people a day in April, but Lopez said the rapid fluctuations in intake cause the organization to burn through money faster, making it difficult to plan for what is needed. "When the numbers fluctuate so high, the burn rate goes exponentially higher," he said. "That's one of the challenges, I think, that we faced before … we had the burn rate go up, the numbers go from what we projected at about 750 people a day to 1,500 people a day, so we had to adjust a lot of strategies and plans." [caption id="attachment_231731" align="alignright" width="350"]Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said the federal Shelter and Service Program, which almost lost funding this year, had "prevented a humanitarian crisis from occurring daily." (Photo by Lillie Boudreaux/Cronkite News)[/caption] When funding was in doubt, Casa Alitas prepared for a complete shutdown of sheltering and transportation assistance systems, telling more than 30 staff members to begin looking for new jobs and looking to rely on volunteers to keep services afloat. Kasey Fry, the volunteer coordinator for Casa Alitas, said there are currently more than 200 volunteers who help make travel arrangements, do laundry, serve food, organize donations and help with children's activities. "It was a concern," Fry said of the possible shutdown. "Luckily, me and like the other volunteer coordinator, were left out of that … I think with the intention that if we lost all our, almost all of our staff, we would rely extra heavily on volunteers." "I was a skeptic, I really thought the funding wasn't going to pass. I was very surprised and grateful that it passed but yeah, it happened at the very last minute," she said. "We were preparing to basically lose this building and downsize into our welcome center." Even with renewed federal funding now secured, Lopez said he is still considering closing the other locations to make that funding last longer. But that could present more challenges if numbers increase again in the following days, weeks or months. After processing migrants, CBP releases them with orders to appear for their asylum hearings - which can take years. In the meantime, asylum seekers are often taken to shelters where they wait for buses to take them to Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix for flights to their final destinations - most often California, New York, Texas, Florida and Georgia, Lopez said. Half of the migrants that Casa Alitas receives are dropped off by CBP agents directly, others are bused from Santa Cruz and Cochise counties through a state-run program. https://youtu.be/SaOkHTnkCs0?si=4K6h7T9DDwT1RSlZ

(Video by Roxanne De La Rosa/Cronkite News)

When they feared the loss of federal funds, Pima County in February proposed dropoff locations other than the Greyhound station, including the Pima Fairgrounds or the Mission Facility outside the county jail. But those proposals would not have kept pace with the number of migrants being released from detention daily and would have cost local taxpayers at least $125,000 a month. Lesher rejected the alternatives, saying the county has "done all we can for five years." "It is severely frustrating and disappointing that we are in this situation," Lesher's February letter said. "This is a crisis of the federal government's making due to the failure to pass sensible border and immigration reform and to provide the necessary funding to local jurisdictions forced to deal with the deleterious effects of federal border policy." Supervisor Steve Christy said in an April Board of Supervisors meetings that Lesher's decision to get out of what he called the "aslyum-seeking business" was "refreshing." “Now would be a perfect time where we can start to wean ourself off this addiction of enabling and that we can search for ways that Pima county can extricate itself from this terrible addiction of providing asylum for migrants coming into this county," said Christy, a Republican. [caption id="attachment_231734" align="alignright" width="350"]A shelf full of donated men's donated shoes, just some of the goods and clothes thatCasa Alitas in Tucson has on hand for migrants in need. (Photo by Lillie Boudreaux/Cronkite News)[/caption] He said he worries they will end up in this situation again, panicked about the possible loss of federal funding for a program he said "we shouldn’t be doing." "The effort doesn't need to be helped with more funding, it needs to be helped with government intervention at the border before the migrants even step foot in this county," Christy said. Supervisor Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat, pushed back, saying that without "comprehensive immigration reform that nobody has wanted to touch for decades – we're going to continue to have the situation." "Whether we're providing this service through Casa Alitas or not, people are going to come," Grijalva said. "All we're doing is helping them to get to their final destination and not have that be in a prolonged stay in Pima County, which would then become a major issue for all of us." At its main Tucson shelter, Casa Alitas has more than 600 beds for individuals and families, a storage room filled with donated shoes and clothing, intake areas, and a cafeteria where volunteers pour coffee and serve food for migrants waiting to head to their final destinations. The nonprofit also runs a welcome center in Nogales. Lopez said his biggest concern about a loss of funding was the potential "human suffering" of migrants who would be left on the streets without resources and the impact on Tucson. "If you're having people dropped off who haven't eaten, who have no phone charge, have no language, no cultural background, I think the challenges of going to local businesses, using the restrooms and so forth, safety concerns is just exponentially higher and the cost to the communities will grow," Lopez said. [caption id="attachment_231722" align="alignnone" width="1024"]A young boy gets off the bus at Casa Alitas shelter in Tucson, for asylum seekers who have been released after being processed by federal officials. (Photo by Lillie Boudreaux/Cronkite News)[/caption] "And that's not only here in Tucson. That will be in Nogales, Douglas, and for sure Phoenix will have to deal with some of those consequences," he said. Whether the shelter service is funded or not, Lopez said he does not expect demand to ease, as living conditions and safety concerns in migrants' home countries lead more to seek asylum in the United States. "I wish people understood, none of the people who we are serving at Casa Alitas are 'illegals' as some will say, they're all processed asylum seekers. They're going through the asylum process,” he said. He said they come from many different countries but share a desire to be free, to "just be a person and be recognized as a person. I think a lot of times we take for granted those values that we have in this country and think that it's shared across the globe.”

‘Time has a beginning, middle and end:’ Expert says telling time provides life skills

Fri, 10 May 2024 14:00:22 +0000

May 10, 2024

‘Time has a beginning, middle and end:’ Expert says telling time provides life skills

PHOENIX – If asked to check the time, one might check their phone or a digital clock – but, what about the old-school analog clock? As the world continues to move further into a digital era, some might ask: Is reading an analog clock even a necessary skill anymore? Lowell Elementary School Principal Dana Ramos thinks it is. She said reading an analog clock is still a part of the state curriculum for second or third graders, so students should be proficient. “I think it's still a skill that students have to have because they still may run into an analog clock somewhere, and it's important for them to be able to have that skill even if they don't utilize it every single day,” Ramos said. She acknowledged simply teaching it isn’t enough without consistent application. Without “the real-world practice of using them,” the skill may be fading. “Adults have cell phones, and there's a digital clock on their cell phone. Many classrooms have digital clocks instead of analog clocks,” Ramos said. “Not all, we do have some analog clocks here at Lowell.” But, despite the lost practice, a shift to digital clocks makes sense for those like Bothwell Piason, an Arizona State University grad student, who said he never reads analog clocks anymore.

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“I mean it’s unnecessary to use those things anymore,” Piason said when stopped by a reporter and asked if he could read the time on her analog watch on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. As it turns out, the skill may not be so unnecessary, according to Leslie Josel, the founder of Order Out of Chaos, a coaching firm specializing in time management. “The only way that you can ever learn to manage time is you have to be able to see it,” Josel said. Josel created an award-winning academic paper planner with a design that helps students manage their workload and plan their homework time, according to her website. “People think time is invisible. I don't think time is invisible,” Josel said. “Time is very three-dimensional. Time has a beginning, middle and end. Time has a past. Time has a future.” For students who might have trouble getting started on a task, she said seeing an analog clock allows them to visualize when they will be done, which helps them pace themselves. “It allows you to see done, and most of us, when we can't see done, we can't begin,” Josel said. Josel recommends keeping an analog clock in every room because she said seeing it is one of the most effective ways to manage time. RipLey-Simone Kennebrew and Naomi DuBovis contributed to this story.