40 days of pollution alerts
Ten out of the first 12 days of August had an ozone air-quality index of 101 or higher.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality on Friday issued an advisory about air pollution in Maricopa County for the 40th straight day.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality on Friday issued its 40th straight day of air-pollution alerts for Maricopa County.
ADEQ then issued an ozone health watch for today and an ozone high-pollution advisory for Sunday.
A statement from the Maricopa County Air Quality Department attributed the consecutive days of air-pollution alerts to a stricter federal ozone health standard and high temperatures reacting with pollutants.
In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency lowered the acceptable amounts of ground-level ozone from 75 parts per million to 70 parts per million.
This was done as a revision to the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards to protect more vulnerable populations, such as children and people with asthma, according to an EPA fact sheet on the changes.
Monsoon storms are helpful in reducing the amount of ozone pollutants in the air, but when the storms develop later in the evening they have less of an impact on ozone levels, according to the Maricopa County Air Quality Department email.
The ADEQ uses an Air Quality Index to help residents plan their outdoor activities in response to different levels of pollutants.
When the ozone index reaches 101 or above, sensitive groups — such as people with lung disease, older adults, children and teenagers — are advised to reduce heavy or prolonged outdoor activities.
Ten out of the 12 first days of August had an ozone air-quality index of 101 or higher.
State and local air-quality departments and Valley Metro have issued the following tips and resources for reducing ozone pollution:
❚ Drive as little as possible, carpool, use public transit or telecommute.
❚ Refuel your vehicle after dark.
❚ Avoid waiting in long drivethrough lines, for example, at coffee shops, fast-food restaurants or banks – park your car and go inside.
❚ Visit valleymetro.org and ShareTheRide.com to plan a transit trip or find a carpool or vanpool.
But charges of racism and other forms of bigotry have plagued the group for years, making headlines as the organization’s influence has spread.
A 2017 piece in The New Yorker, for instance, featured an interview with a former Turning Point staffer who described herself as a rare minority hire and alleged the organization was “rife” with racial tension.
The piece referenced screenshots of a conversation with a former field director for the group, who wrote: “I hate black people. Like f--- them all ... I hate blacks. End of story.” Turning Point repudiated the director’s remarks, and she resigned.
The organization also came under fire late last year for a Twitter interaction with writer Adam Weinstein, in which the group mocked “having a guy named Weinstein criticize young people for wanting fewer hands in their pockets.” The post was criticized as anti-Semitic.
Turning Point later deleted the tweet, saying the comment referred to disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein and apologizing to “anyone who read the tweet as derogatory.”
Media reports indicate at least three other staffers have resigned or been let go following racist or otherwise bigoted tweets, prompting sharp criticism from other conservatives.
Candace Owens, Turning Point’s communications director, said she has not seen any evidence of a discriminatory environment during her time with the group.
She said the questionable tweets were uncovered by Turning Point antagonists who went through years of posts and focused on comments former staffers made as teenagers.
“We’ve been under attack, and people are trying to present all conservatives as racist,” she said, adding that white supremacists don’t promote black people to leadership positions. Owens is African-American.
The event Ducey attended last Friday celebrated the opening of Turning Point USA’s new Phoenix headquarters.
Photos shared on social media indicate Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas was also present, as were U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelli Ward.
“I talked about Arizona being the home of Barry Goldwater, and Barry Goldwater being really the beginning of what became Ronald Reagan and the modern conservative cause,” Ducey told reporters Thursday.
“You know, understanding that a low tax base and light regulations contribute to economic growth and allow people to climb the ladder in the country,” he said. “To me, these are things that we need to get back out and make the case on.”
Ducey said that “oftentimes, in a lot of the rooms I go into on the political trail, I can be the youngest person by a decade.”
“To see a room where I was the oldest person and there were high school kids and college kids that were enthusiastic about these same ideas that have motivated and animated my time in public life was very exciting,” he said.