Arizona Republicans advance bill requiring voter identification for dropoff ballots

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THIS IS YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2GO BRIEFING.

(Bring up music briefly and duck below and out )

I’M Kirsten Dorman(  go to story ) 

HEADLINE 1 Bill Would Require Early Voters to Show ID 

SUMMARY: The Arizona GOP approved legislation that would require voters to show identification when they drop off a mail ballot at a polling place.

ARIZONA REPUBLICANS ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH LEGISLATION THAT WOULD REQUIRE VOTERS TO SHOW THEIR I-D WHEN DROPPING OFF THEIR BALLOT AT THE ELECTION POLLS. 

THE HOUSE GOVERNMENT AND ELECTION COMMITTEE APPROVED THE MEASURE ON WEDNESDAY AS A MOVE TO ENHANCE VOTER SECURITY…DEMOCRATS ARE CALLING THIS BILL POINTLESS AND A TACTIC TO SUPPRESS VOTERS. 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ARIZONA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES, JENNIFER MARSON OPPOSES THE MEASURE. 

SHE SAYS PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION WOULD INCREASE WAIT TIMES AND CREATE LONG LINES.

HEADLINE 2 – AZ Senate Passes Bill on Transgender Student Athletes 

SUMMARY: The Arizona State Senate passed the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” but it will have to pass through the state House before it can make it to Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk.

THE ARIZONA SENATE VOTED IN FAVOR OF A BILL THAT WOULD PREVENT TRANSGENDER WOMEN AND GIRLS FROM PARTICIPATING ON SPORTS TEAMS THAT ALIGN WITH THEIR GENDER IDENTITY.

IF IT BECOMES LAW, THE BILL WILL PREVENT TRANSGENDER WOMEN AND GIRLS FROM PLAYING ON TEAMS IT DESCRIBES AS BEING DESIGNATED FOR ‘FEMALES,’ ‘WOMEN’ OR ‘GIRLS.’ 

THE SAME RESTRICTIONS WOULD NOT APPLY TO TEAMS DESIGNATED AS ‘CO-ED’ OR FOR ‘MALES.’

THE RULE WOULD APPLY TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS WHOSE TEAMS COMPETE AGAINST A PUBLIC SCHOOL.

THE BILL, DUBBED THE “SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS ACT,” WILL NEXT GO TO THE STATE HOUSE WHERE THE G-O-P HOLDS THE MAJORITY OF SEATS.

HEADLINE 3 – Affordable housing development for 200 families in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe is underway

SUMMARY: Of the more than 1,000 families in the Pascua Yaqui tribe on a waitlist for affordable housing, 200 of them will not have much longer to wait, thanks to ongoing development.

HOST INTRO

IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA, A NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IS UNDERWAY FOR THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE. 

CRONKITE NEWS REPORTER MADISON THOMAS EXPLAINS HOW THE DEVELOPMENT COULD CHANGE LIVES 

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MORE THAN 1,000 FAMILIES IN THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE ARE ON A WAITLIST FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. THAT’S  ACCORDING TO KEITH GREGORY. HE’S THE TRIBE’S HOUSING DIRECTOR. BUT FOR 200 FAMILIES THE WAIT WILL SOON BE OVER.

<KEITH GREGORY/DIRECTOR OF HOUSING>

“What we’re trying to do has never been done before, anywhere in tribal housing. The first of the project, the phase we are working on right now, is literally the largest tax credit project ever done in the United States on tribal land.”

GREGORY SAYS THE TRIBE APPLIED FOR THE TAX CREDITS THROUGH THE STATE’S DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING. THE PROJECT RECEIVED ROUGHLY 15 MILLION DOLLARS THROUGH TAX CREDITS SOLD TO INVESTORS. 

<KEITH GREGORY/DIRECTOR OF HOUSING, PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE >

“The tax credit program is authorized by the federal government. They allocate dollars to the states that then are allocated to individual projects.”

THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY EXPECTS TO COMPLETE THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROJECT BY THE END OF THE YEAR. 

THE NEXT PHASE WILL INCLUDE TWENTY-SEVEN UNITS AND A THIRD PHASE IS CURRENTLY IN DESIGN. GREGORY SAYS THEY ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING THE COMMUNITY WITH THE RESOURCES THEY NEED.

<KIETH GREGORY/DIRECTOR OF HOUSING>

“Housing is more than just buildings. It’s an opportunity to help people reach their own goals.”

TENANTS WILL HAVE THE OPTION TO BUY THE HOME AT A REDUCED RATE AFTER RENTING HOMES FOR 15 YEARS. GREGORY SAYS THIS ALLOWS FAMILIES TO START BUILDING GENERATIONAL WEALTH FROM THE HOME’S EQUITY. 

MADISON THOMAS, CRONKITE NEWS

HEADLINE 4: Traffic noise driver behind legislation to create a sound wall in Phoenix neighborhood (Molly Hudson) 

Summary: A bill in the AZ Senate would allocate money to build a sound barrier wall along the newly widened part of the 101 and one neighborhood. ADOT has denied the request to build that barrier. But  many veterans and elderly folks with disabilities who struggle with PTSD live in this neighborhood and struggle with the loud noises that come from the freeway. 

HOST INTRO

TRAFFIC NOISE CAN BE ANNOYING, BUT FOR SOME IT GOES BEYOND BEING A NUISANCE.. CRONKITE NEWS REPORTER MOLLY HUDSON WENT TO ONE NEIGHBORHOOD IN PHOENIX WHERE THE TRAFFIC NOISE IS ACTUALLY CAUSING HEALTH PROBLEMS.. AND SPURRING LEGISLATION.

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*Nat pop of traffic noise* 

THIS IS THE NOISE THAT RESIDENT WIN CHARLES LIVES WITH ON A DAILY BASIS. 

<sot WIN CHARLES/RESIDENT/runs :07 hits xx-xx >

“There’s eight lanes of traffic going constantly 24/7.” 

WIN LIVES AT LUNA AZUL A RESIDENCE FOR ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES RIGHT ON THE FRONTAGE ROAD AT 16TH STREET AND THE 101. 

WIN HAS CEREBRAL PALSY A NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION tHAT IMPACTS HER IN A LOT OF WAYS .. INCLUDING NEEDING TO USE A WHEELCHAIR. 

*Nat pop of the sounds* 

AND THE CONSTANT NOISE 

<sot WIN CHARLES/RESIDENT/runs :07 hits xx-xx >

“It is making my cerebral palsy worse, and I hate to say it but it is. 

IT HAS EVEN WOKEN HER UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT… 

<sot WIN CHARLES/RESIDENT/runs :07 hits xx-xx >

“It’s anger, it’s really anger because people don’t understand unless I teach them, which I do on a daily basis, what cerebral palsy is.” 

BUT WHAT FRUSTRATES HER EVEN MORE IS THE SOUND BARRIER ACROSS THE STREET. 

<Stand Up – MOLLY HUDSON/REPORTER, CRONKITE NEWS/runs :10 hits xx-xx >

“Win lives on this corner where she says the sound is unbearable and there is no sound barrier … but taking a few steps across the street the quiet desert is protected by a sound wall”

SENATOR PAUL BOYER HOPES TO ADDRESS THE     

NEED FOR A SOUND BARRIER WITH HIS NEWLY INTRODUCED BILL … 

<sot – SEN. PAUL BOYER/LEGISLATIVE DIS. 22/runs :10 hits xx-xx >

“It directs the Arizona Department of Transportation to build a sound barrier.” 

BOYER SAID ADOT REPORTS THAT THE SOUND LEVEL IN THIS AREA WAS POINT ONE DECIBELS BELOW THE MINIMUM FOR A SOUND BARRIER…  

AND WHILE THE NOISE LEVEL MAY NOT MEET ADOT MINIMUM.. IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO RESIDENTS LIKE WIN WHO IS PART OF A COLLECTIVE FIGHTING FOR THE NEW LAW.
BOYER HOPES HIS BILL WILL GIVE RESIDENTS THE RELIEF THEY NEED. 

<sot – SEN. PAUL BOYER/LEGISLATIVE DIS. 22/runs :10 hits xx-xx >

“We wouldn’t accept this if this was our backyard, and we shouldn’t expect these residents to have to deal with this ridiculous noise every single evening and during the day as well.” 

FOR WIN WHO HAS TO PLAY MUSIC TO FALL ASLEEP 

*NAT POP* 

SHE SAYS THE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD IS IMPACTED BY THE NOISE 

<sot WIN CHARLES/RESIDENT/runs :07 hits xx-xx >

“The neighbors here… children can hear it, the vets can hear it, the neighbors behind us can hear it, we can hear it, like so amazingly, and it irritates me.” 

HOST OUTRO: 

THAT WAS MOLLY HUDSON REPORTING. SHE REACHED OUT TO THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. BUT THEY DO NOT COMMENT ON PENDING LEGISLATION. 

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WE HAD HELP TODAY FROM  MOLLY HUDSON, MADISON THOMAS, AND Alexandra Mora Medina                   

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YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STORIES YOU HEARD IN TODAY’S NEWS UPDATE, BY GOING TO CRONKITENEWS-DOT-AZPBS-DOT-ORG. 

THAT’S ALL FOR YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2 GO. I’M  Kirsten Dorman

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