Arizona
Humane Society of Southern Arizona suspends CEO & COO over small animal controversy
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Humane Society of Southern Arizona says its board has suspended the CEO and COO over the handling of 318 small animals sent their way by San Diego’s Humane Society in August.
ABC 10News has been on top of the story since concerned animal lovers reached out to our newsroom with their concerns. They were puzzled because they couldn’t find any information about the animals’ whereabouts; they were neither listed on the HSSA website nor taken in by well-known rescue organizations in Arizona.
In two interviews, HSSA CEO Steve Farley told ABC 10News the animals were sent to a private rescue organization, which he claimed successfully adopted out around 250 of the animals to forever homes. Protests formed in Tucson as animal advocates demanded more clear answers.
Spokespeople for multiple organizations in both states, including SDHS, said the scenario of an anonymous rescue quickly finding homes for so many animals was not plausible. SDHS is now threatening legal action against HSSA in order to force them to reveal where the animals went.
However, HSSA still did not say exactly where the rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and rats ended up in the statement it sent to ABC 10News Saturday night.
“As people who care deeply about animals, we understand well the significant interest in ensuring the animals are OK,” a portion of HSSA’s statement read. “While this private group does not maintain adoption records in the manner that a large organization like HSSA does, we are looking for all the information available, formal or not.”
HSSA’s board says it hired a third-party investigator to investigate the situation.
“The board presently has no evidence indicating any animal was harmed,” the statement says.
The private group sent 63 of the animals back to HSSA, according to the board. ABC 10News has learned most of those animals have since been taken in by rescue organizations in San Diego, Arizona, and Las Vegas.
Twenty-four guinea pigs came to Wee Companions, a rescue group in University City.
The guinea pigs are going through a quarantine process and will be put up for adoption soon, according to Wee Companions President Fanella Speece.
CONTINUING COVERAGE:
Arizona
Post-holiday rush has Arizona shoppers returning gifts, spending holiday cash
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Christmas is over, but the stores and malls are busy one day later—shoppers either returning gifts that weren’t quite right or spending some of that holiday cash.
“A lot of the stores we went to, you had to wait in lines just to get from one store to the other,” said Jeannie Mac. “It was pretty busy.”
When you think of holiday shopping, you often think of items flying off the shelves.
“There are a lot of discounts at target, 50% off all decorations. You’d be surprised. The shelves are a little empty,” said shopper Joseph Caruana.
But the day after Christmas, many of those items end up back in-store. This year, returns are expected to add up to 17% of all merchandise sales, according to a recent report by the National Retail Federation. It’s about $890 billion in returned unneeded or unwanted gifts.
However, not everyone was there for returns or exchanges.
“Everyone enjoyed the presents, so didn’t have to return anything, thankfully,” said Max Miely.
Many people Arizona’s Family spoke with were mainly there looking to spend their holiday money, including Jenn Neild, who was visiting from Canada.
“We’re just looking around for some post Christmas deals, Boxing Day deals,” she said.
Boxing Day is traditionally a holiday similar to Black Friday, celebrated in the U.K. and Canada.
It was a good opportunity for shoppers who came out ready to use their holiday gift cards or, in other cases, to claim their Christmas gifts.
“We just went to go get my cousins ear pierced for her Christmas present and we’re going to be shopping for pajamas and different things,” said Morgan Uperesa, another shopper.
Because Dec. 26 and Dec. 27 are historically the busiest days for returns, the Better Business Bureau advises you to bring any receipts to the store.
If you don’t have one, they say you should know the rules on returns without it.
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Arizona
Cardinals RB James Conner Gets Encouraging Update
ARIZONA — Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon says the progress of running back James Conner has been “good” this week as the team prepares to battle the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17.
Gannon, however, wouldn’t elaborate more on Conner and didn’t reveal if he’d play in Saturday night’s primetime battle.
Conner is dealing with a knee injury suffered in the second half of Week 16’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, a 36-30 overtime defeat that saw Arizona’s postseason dreams officially end.
Conner was a limited participant in the two prior practice days for Arizona and if he is again the same for Thursday, it’s likely he’ll officially be ruled questionable when the injury report drops later today.
“We’ll see how he goes throughout the week. I know he wants to play, so we’ll do what’s best for him first and then what’s best for the team,” Gannon said of Conner earlier this week.
Once again, Conner has been one of Arizona’s top players throughout the course of the season, once again eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark as the engine of the Cardinals’ offense.
The ink just dried on Conner’s two-year extension to stay in Arizona, as the running back was set to test the free agent market before the Cardinals re-signed him earlier in the year.
If he can go, Conner hopes to help play the role of spoiler in Los Angeles, as the Rams can win the NFC West with a victory over Arizona and a little help.
Arizona
Report of shots fired at Phoenix Sky Harbor prompts heavy police presence
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Gunshots reportedly rang out at Terminal 4 of Phoenix Sky Harbor on Christmas night.
Airport officials tell Arizona’s Family that police responded to reports of gunfire around 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday.
One security checkpoint and the PHX Sky Train was temporarily closed as part of the investigation, however the areas have since reopened.
At this time, police have not confirmed if anyone is injured or if anyone has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
Arizona’s Family has a crew on scene. Check back for updates
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Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
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