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Bill to provide more Arizona State Hospital oversight gutted after veto threat

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Bill to provide more Arizona State Hospital oversight gutted after veto threat


PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Gov. Katie Hobbs has gutted an effort to address the increasing violence at the Arizona State Hospital. The hospital is home to some of the sickest patients in the state’s mental health system. Arizona’s Family has reported not only on the high number of assaults happening inside but also patient suicides and even a homicide.

Right now, the hospital is both run and regulated by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Part of a bill would have removed the hospital from DHS control and given it its own five-person independent governing board to look into the root causes of some of the issues happening there.

But lawmakers stripped that portion of Senate Bill 1710 after Hobbs threatened to veto it. So now it has a different guideline and does not include the piece addressing more direct oversight. The bill had a lot of bipartisan support as it made its way through the Legislature. It first passed through the Senate 27-2. The House Health and Human Committee then unanimously passed it.

Because of the concerns from the governor, an amendment was made to the bill on the House floor. Rep. Steve Montenegro, a Republican from Litchfield Park, introduced the amendment. “I sponsored the amendment to SB1710 at the request of the bill sponsor, Senator Gowan, to reflect what was negotiated by the Senate with Governor Hobbs’ office to prevent a veto,” he said in a statement.

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A former employee at the Arizona State Hospital, or ASH, was hopeful for change after they were assaulted while working. They left the field they were passionate about because of this incident. “It’s very disheartening, very concerning, and very sad,” they said. “The hospital is not run properly and hasn’t been for a very long time.”

Digging through reports, Arizona’s Family found this person wasn’t alone. Over the last six years, there have been more than 500 assaults each year. ASH defines assaults are unwanted touching or other physical contact. Last year, more than 800 assaults were reported. That’s more than two a day.

Will Humble is the former director of DHS. He says the hospital needed to be removed from DHS control for better oversight. He was frustrated to hear that part of the bill was gutted. “We are going to have the same governance structure, nothing has changed. You still have the fox watching the henhouse for who knows how long,” Humble said. “There have been a few suicides, one homicide, some escapes right here at the hospital. Then you have the DHS licensing team going out and saying no deficiencies noted. That isn’t right.”

Annual reports from the last six years reveal there have been more than 500 assaults each year. Last year, that number spiked to 841 assaults.

Here is what the bill will do. Right now, to receive a court order for mental health treatment, you have to have a petition filed by two physicians. Now, in rural counties with 500,000 people or less, it’s a little different. You can submit a petition for treatment from a physician and either one physician assistant or a psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner. Bill sponsor Sen. David Gowan, a Republican from Sierra Vista, says this will help while the state deals with a shortage of physicians.

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“Sadly I’m afraid we’ve lost an opportunity here,” Humble said. The Governor’s Office says the original bill would have been an unfunded mandate that would have increased costs without achieving her goals. They added she will be putting $3.5 million into next year’s budget to increase security there. “I think we are all very disappointed and it’s extremely concerning. I don’t know how many more people have to die,” the former employee said.

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Arizona

Arizona lawmakers demand answers over Phoenix immigration court arrests

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Arizona lawmakers demand answers over Phoenix immigration court arrests


PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Some Arizona lawmakers are demanding answers on what has been happening outside a Phoenix immigration court recently.

On Wednesday, four Arizona Democrats sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons. It came from Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, as well as Reps. Yassamin Ansari and Greg Stanton.

The letter comes after tense protests last week. For two days straight, ICE agents were at Phoenix immigration court, arresting people there for routine hearings and putting them into vans. That second day turned chaotic with protestors and officers getting physical.

“That pattern of dismissal and detainment kind of slowed down towards the end of the week, but unfortunately, today we did see more people detained at the immigration court,” said state Sen. Analise Ortiz, a Democrat from the West Valley.

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She has been showing up to immigration court to support migrants at their hearings, and says ICE was there again on Wednesday, but it was different this time. “People were actually being told they could leave the courthouse, so they were driving off of the property and then being stopped and detained down the street. Someone relayed to me that a toddler was detained. This is just horrible, and this is inhumane,” said Ortiz.

The letter poses three main questions, with the first being how many people has ICE arrested and detained at an immigration court during the week of May 19 and how many have been placed in expedited removal?

The second asks for copies of all guidance and written directives associated with this recent ICE action, and the third asks how ICE is complying with requirements for screening individuals for fear of persecution.

The letter also says the Democratic lawmakers believe tactics like this make the immigration process less fair and efficient and undermine the Trump administration’s goal of targeting criminals who are public safety threats.

“A lot of these individuals who are in deportation proceedings (or) immigration proceedings, they don’t have a criminal history,” said immigration attorney Sheree Wright with IBF Law Group.

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She has been volunteering to advise migrants at their hearings. “When it comes to safety, these are not criminals,” said Wright.

Arizona’s Family also spoke to a former Phoenix-based ICE agent who was in the field for 22 years. He wanted to remain anonymous.

The former agent said arrests like the ones at the immigration court are not new. He also said they are safer for the public, the officers, and the detainees because there is a screening process at places like court buildings. According to the former officer, when they detain someone, they often go through what is called “custody redetermination” to see if the migrant should continue with their immigration proceedings or be placed in expedited removal.

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Takeaways From Arizona State Baseball Tournament Draw

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Takeaways From Arizona State Baseball Tournament Draw


The Arizona State baseball program is officially tournament bound.

The Sun Devils – coached by fourth-year head coach and program alum Willie Bloomquist – were officially selected to be the three seed in the Los Angeles regional on Monday morning.

With that, the selection ended several days of nervous waiting after the program sputtered to end the season.

Ultimately, the rough finish is in the rearview mirror now and the Sun Devils are looking to make the most of this chance – here are three takeaways for the weekend ahead:

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This one is obvious – the Sun Devils are in a region with the host in 15th seeded UCLA, the second region seed in UC Irvine, and Mountain West champs Fresno State.

UCLA and UC Irvine are battle-tested over the entirety of the season, while Fresno State has picked up play as of late despite only putting together a 31-29 campaign to this point.

The region will be a challenge for the Sun Devils, but it isn’t insurmountable…

The Sun Devils have the talent to win the region – and UC Irvine’s recent run of opponents leaves reason to be concerned that the Anteaters aren’t currently conditioned to compete with power four competition despite having proven they can defeat high level programs this season.

UCLA also is one of the lower national seeds that received the opportunity to host a regional – it doesn’t seem insurmountable for the Sun Devils – who boasted the best offense across the entire Big 12 – to capture some magic once again and make a serious run.

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It feels as if a win in the opening matchup with UC Irvine is a must however, which brings the last takeaway into the fray.

This Arizona State baseball team truly has the ceiling of a College World Series squad – but also the floor of a squad that goes winless in the tournament.

While it would be unlikely for the Sun Devils to drop an elimination game to (presumably) Fresno State, a fifth loss in as many games could potentially prove to be too much for a team that entered the season with so much promise.

The opening game of the Sun Devils’ tournament experience is set for Friday night at 6 P.M. Arizona time – the game is set to be broadcast on ESPNU.

Read more about the best-case scenario for ASU in the upcoming tournament here, and listen to the recent podcast covering the ultimate selection the Sun Devils received here.

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Arizona Diamondbacks honoring first responders

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Arizona Diamondbacks honoring first responders


On May 27, Arizona’s MLB team took time to honor the men and women who help keep communities safe with a First Responders Appreciation Night at Chase Field. FOX 10’s Megan Plain has more, from Downtown Phoenix.

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