• Slug: CN2Go.
• Runtime: 5:56.
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THIS IS YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2GO BRIEFING.

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I’M Emily Mai ( go to story )

Abortion Advocates sue for old band (Autriya/Reader)

ABORTION ADVOCATES FILED A LAWSUIT ON TUESDAY TO BLOCK AN OLD ARIZONA ABORTION LAW THAT CRIMINALIZES NEARLY ALL ABORTIONS IN THE STATE. THEY ARGUE THAT LAWS PASSED BY THE STATE AFTER ROE V. WADE SHOULD TAKE PRECEDENCE AND ABORTIONS SHOULD BE ALLOWED UNTIL 15 WEEKS INTO A PREGNANCY.

THE LAWSUIT RESEMBLES THE SAME ARGUMENTS MADE BY ARIZONA’S PLANNED PARENTHOOD LAST MONTH. THEIR EFFORTS FAILED TO PERSUADE A TUCSON JUDGE TO KEEP THE 50-YEAR-OLD INJUNCTION IN PLACE. INSTEAD, THE JUDGE ECHOED THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S WORDS THAT THE INJUNCTION SHOULD BE LIFTED NOW THAT ROE HAS BEEN OVERTURNED.

A PHOENIX ABORTION DOCTOR AND THE ARIZONA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION FILED THE LAWSUIT THAT SAYS NEWER ABORTION LAWS, INCLUDING THE 15-WEEK BAN THAT THE GOVERNOR SIGNED INTO LAW IN MARCH, SHOULD BE THE LAWS PRACTICED BY ABORTION CLINICS.

Good Samaritan Bill (Emily/Reader)

ARIZONA COULD HAVE AS MANY AS 100,000 ABANDONED MINES, MANY LEACHING TOXIC MINERALS INTO THE STATE’S WATERWAYS. BUT STATE ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICIALS SAID CLEANUP HAS BEEN HAMPERED BY THE FEAR OF LITIGATION.

UNDER CURRENT LAW NEW OWNERS OR— ANYONE WHO WANTS TO CLEAN UP A SITE— COULD LEGALLY BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES.

A NEW FEDERAL “GOOD SAMARITAN” LAW IS CURRENTLY BEING PROPOSED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. THE BILL WOULD ALLOW ORGANIZATIONS TO STEP IN AND CLEAN UP LONG-ABANDONED MINES WITHOUT FEAR OF THE LEGAL LIABILITY THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ATTACHED TO THEIR NOW-ABSENT OWNERS.

UNDER THE FEDERAL LEGISLATION, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY COULD GRANT UP TO 15 “GOOD SAMARITAN” PERMITS FOR CLEANUP OF MINES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE REMEDIATION WOULD HAVE TO MEET ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY STANDARDS, BUT THE PEOPLE DOING THE CLEANUP WOULD NOT ASSUME THE LIABILITY OF THE ORIGINAL OWNERS.

St. Mary’s Food Bank (Kenny/Super Spot)

HOST INTRO:
THE LONGEST-RUNNING FOOD BANK LOCATED HERE IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA, FACES AN UNPRECEDENTED DIFFICULTY IN FEEDING ARIZONANS. CRONKITE NEWS’ KENNY RASMUSSEN (ras-MUH-son) REPORTS ON THE REASONS WHY.

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ST. MARY’S FOOD BANK HAS BEEN OFFERING FOOD TO THOSE IN NEED FOR OVER 50 YEARS. IN THE WAKE OF RISING COSTS, MORE ARIZONANS ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY FOR NECESSITIES. THIS NEED IS FILLED IN PART BY ST. MARY’S, WHICH GIVES NEEDY FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS BOXES OF FOOD TO HELP THEM GET BY. 56-YEAR-OLD RAYMOND GONZALES HAS GOTTEN HELP OCCASIONALLY FROM ST. MARY’S OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. .

0:26-0;32
“I got rent, medical bills, and then I’m short so I come over here.”

HOWEVER, GONZALES IS QUICK TO MENTION THAT IN THE PAST YEAR HE HAS ONLY HAD TO VISIT ST. MARY’S FOR FOOD TWICE. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY ARIZONANS REQUIRE MORE FREQUENT HELP.

THIS IS ALL DUE TO INFLATION; WHICH HITS THOSE ON FIXED INCOMES ESPECIALLY HARD. THE FOOD BANK’S DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, JERRY BROWN EXPLAINS.

1:55-2:19
“People who are on fixed incomes and can’t afford when things jump up, they have to come up with some other way to supplement their income, and it’s either another job or another way to make some money or go to the food bank and get some of your food from the food bank and then use that money that you would normally use towards food to pay some of your other bills.”

BROWN SAYS IN ITS 55 YEARS, ST. MARY’S HAS NOT SERVED 150,000 FAMILIES IN A MONTH UNTIL THIS AUGUST. THAT’S EVEN DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC.

2:22-2:45
And right now we’re seeing over 900 families a day come to this one location, we have hundreds of locations around the valley, and all the way up into the up into Flagstaff and Prescott and our service area is salt river everything north. But just at this one location, you’re going to see 1000 families, we saw over 1000 families come on Friday.

THE FOOD BANK HAS HAD TO GET CREATIVE WITH HOW TO ALLOCATE RESOURCES. BROWN SAYS ST. MARY’S IS EXPANDING HOURS SO PEOPLE CAN COME LATER AND THEY’RE EXPANDING DELIVERY SERVICES.

4:14-4:42
we even use DoorDash to take some foods to take food to some families who don’t have the ability to come to the food bank. I mean, if you’re coming here for 30 $45 worth of food, it’s going to take you half tank, a quart taking gas just to wait in line and drive around here when you have a 2535 45 minute wait with your air conditioner on when it’s 105 degrees outside so you really need this food when you come here.

ST. MARY’S GETS ASSISTANCE FROM DONORS, THOUGH BROWN QUESTIONS HOW GENEROUS THEY’LL BE IN THE MIDST OF RISING COSTS.

BUT HE SAYS EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS AND THAT A ONE-DOLLAR DONATION CAN FEED AS MANY AS SEVEN PEOPLE.

KENNY RASMUSSEN, CRONKITE NEWS

HOST OUTRO:

VOLUNTEER NUMBERS ARE SLOWLY RETURNING TO PRE-PANDEMIC NUMBERS. SOME VOLUNTEERS ARE BEING ASKED TO WORK AN EXTRA HALF HOUR BEYOND THEIR TYPICAL TWO-HOUR SHIFT.

Snow plow naming contest (Autriya/Reader)

ARIZONA’S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAS 200 SNOWPLOWS…AND SOME OF THEM ARE IN NEED OF A NAME. ADOT’S “NAME A SNOWPLOW CONTEST” IS OPEN TO ARIZONANS OF ALL AGES THROUGH OCTOBER 13TH.

AFTER THAT DATE, ADOT WILL CHOOSE 10-15 OF THE BEST SUBMISSIONS FOR THE PUBLIC TO VOTE ON. THE TOP THREE NAMES WITH THE MOST VOTES WILL BE PAINTED ON THE DRIVER’S SIDE OF THE SNOW PLOWS.

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WE HAD HELP TODAY FROM EMILEE MIRANDA AND KENNY RASMUSSEN. SPECIAL THANKS TO AUTRIYA MANESHNI WHO PRODUCED OUR SHOW. . (list everyone who contributed for the show including the producer credit as well)

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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 EMILY MAI .

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