Valley Fire along Beeline contained

Valley Fire Final

May 22, 2015: 7:00 p.m.

Location:

§  Mesa Ranger District, Tonto National Forest

§  State Route 87 (Beeline Highway), near Round Valley

§  Approximately 21 miles northeast of Phoenix

Start Date:  May 21, 2015, reported at approximately 12:30 p.m.

Size:  approximately 11 acres

Cause:  human caused, under investigation

Percent Contained:  100%

Firefighters spent the day making sure there were no hot spots, and have declared the fire contained and controlled.

Is There a Difference Between GOP Clowns?

Jeb Bush speaking at the Iowa Republican Party's Lincoln Dinner on Saturday May 16th. (photo: Scott Galindez/RSN)

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

24 May 15

readersupportednews.org

ith the Republican field heading for a train wreck when the debates begin late this summer, I have a solution. Draw straws. Yup, just draw straws. Well, not for all of them – there a few who are polling in the top tier, or are different enough from the others that they should definitely get a spot in the debates. The rest are so similar that they only need to send one or two to the debates to represent the rest of them.

So who is different enough to warrant a spot in the debates? Here is my list.

Jeb Bush

Jeb’s immigration and Common Core positions set him apart from the other clowns because his positions are outside the GOP mainstream on those issues. That’s where his uniqueness ends. On foreign policy he sounds like his brother: “Peace through Strength.” I guess when your foreign policy advisers are the same as your father and brother had, it’s hard to come up with something new. Jeb is on life support in Iowa but is doing much better in other early primary states. He has already bowed out of the straw poll. Maybe he’ll volunteer to sit out the Iowa debate. He may be able to buy the nomination, but I don’t think it will be as easy as in the past. His one advantage is that there are not many other candidates fighting for the support of his wing of the party, just Chris Christie, while it’s crowded for the right wing of the party.

Scott Walker

To be honest, if he weren’t polling so well he would be in the line to draw straws. I don’t see any difference between him and the rest of the Republicans running for president. He is the clear frontrunner right now in Iowa. He’s from neighboring Wisconsin, and a hero to the anti-union GOP voter. He is the Koch brothers’ boy and has succeeded at turning Wisconsin into an ALEC model state. Walker is a walking gaffe waiting to happen. I think it will be fun to let him into the debates. In the past, candidates like Walker who were popular with the conservatives early would fade as their money dried up. Walker will not have that problem. The Koch brothers will provide a lifeline for their boy.

Carly Fiorina

On the issues, Fiorina should stand in line with the other candidates, but since she is the only woman in the race on the Republican side, she gets a spot. She does have the same qualifications as George W. Bush when it comes to running a business; they both know how to run them into the ground. So a Fiorina presidency could leave the economy in just as bad a shape as the last Bush presidency. She is scoring points with Republican voters as she spends all of her time bashing Hillary Clinton. I’m not sure what she would do if Hillary Clinton lost the Democratic nomination. Seems to me the whole rationale for her campaign would go away along with Clinton.

Dr. Ben Carson

He is a brain surgeon, so I guess he is the smart one in the field. I hate to tell him though, politics is not like brain surgery. You can’t experiment on one person without affecting everyone else. I am not just giving him the spot because he is black. He is also not as dogmatic as the others. He ends up coming down the same on the issues as the other Republican candidates, but he takes a different path to get there. I think it is because he is not a career politician. For that reason I think he has something unique to bring to the table.

Rand Paul

Rand Paul appeals to young people because he is right on civil liberties and on some foreign policy issues. Make no mistake though, on economic policy he is Republican through and through.There is not a social program he wouldn’t cut, including Social Security and Medicare. It is his stance against the Patriot Act and most wars that separates him from the rest and gets him a spot in the debates.While it is tempting to support him, he would be a disaster for the poor and elderly in America. Think twice before supporting him based on a few issues.

The Field

This doesn’t address how we decide which Latino gets into the debates. How about Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz play Rock Paper Scissors for the 6th spot and the rest draw straws for the 7th? Seven seems manageable, but then there is Chris Christie, the more moderate — wait, why is he more moderate? Common Core? Jeb has that covered. Praising Obama right before the 2012 election? They will never forgive him for that one. So we can just leave him out of the debate. That will save a lot of room on the stage. Before you say anything, I’m fat too, so I can tell fat jokes.

Back to the field. In horse racing a bunch of horses are grouped together in what they call the field. If you bet on the field and any of them win, you win. So my idea to trim down the size of the field for the Republican debates is to bunch the candidates who are really the same into one group and have them draw straws to see who represents them in the debates. The field would consist of Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Lyndsey Graham, et al. They’d better hope Graham is not the one with the short straw or he might make them all look nuts like he did at the Lincoln Dinner. But remembering the rest of them from the dinner, they’re all nuts, and he probably represents the whole clown car very well. Graham actually said that if you even think about joining ISIS he will call a drone and kill you. I’m not kidding ...

So there we have it: Jeb, Rand, Ben, Carly, Scott, Marco or Ted, and one from the field. I also have some ground rules to make the debate more challenging to them.

They should not be allowed to mention Obama, Hillary Clinton, or Islamo-fascists.

Hmmmm, this might not be doable – there will be dead air every time Carly Fiorina is asked a question. What if Ted Cruz wins Rock Paper Scissors? He wouldn’t be able to say he would repeal Obamacare: more dead air. Never mind, I guess that rule won’t work. After all, none of these candidates have any new ideas. Their candidacies are nothing more than attacks on Obama, Hillary, and Muslims.

But what do we do with The Donald? You know what? Despite a few minor differences on a few issues, they are really all the same … Let them all draw straws, and the short straw gets the nomination. They are going to agree on everything in the debates anyway.

---

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

Good news for AZ87 motorists as construction ends

All traffic restrictions lifted as ADOT nears completion of safety improvement project north of Sunflower


PHOENIX — Just in time for the busy Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Arizona Department of Transportation lifted all traffic restrictions along State Route 87 today, Thursday, May 21 as the agency nears completion of a safety improvement project approximately 10 miles north of Sunflower near the Maricopa/Gila County line.

Since construction started in October, motorists traveling between Phoenix and Payson have encountered a series of traffic restrictions related to a $6.2 million project to reconstruct an existing curve to make it easier for vehicles to navigate through at milepost 227, as well as building a new northbound truck escape ramp at milepost 228.

In addition to all four lanes (two in each direction) being reopened through the work zone, all wide load restrictions were removed permanently as well.

The project also includes slope excavation and reconstruction, drainage improvements, new signage and new concrete barrier installation.

The new runaway truck escape ramp will offer an opportunity for out-of-control trucks, which may have inoperable brakes, to safely exit the highway and come to a controlled stop. The truck escape ramp is scheduled to open next month, but there will not be an impact to the traveling public as the remaining work on that project will be completed away from the four-lane highway.

Beginning Tuesday, May 26, drivers may encounter intermittent lane restrictions in both directions for miscellaneous work through the end of June.

ADOT works to inform the public about planned highway restrictions, but there is a possibility that unscheduled closures or restrictions may occur. Weather can also affect a project schedule. To stay up to date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at az511.gov or call 5-1-1.

Valley Fire off Beeline reaches 11 acres

Valley Fire

State Route 87, 20 miles northeast of Phoenix

PHOENIX, May 22, 2015—For Immediate Release.

Fire Facts

Date reported: May 22, 2015 11:34am	Name: Valley Fire
Location: 33,47.154 x 111,29.574 Round Valley, 20 miles northeast of Phoenix on State Route 87	Resources committed: 4 engines 1 – 20 person Hotshot Crew 1 helicopter
Cause: Human caused – under investigation	Aircraft 1 Air attack 1 retardant drop
Size: 11 acres
Containment:

Update: Forward rate of progress stopped.

Biker-Brawl Suspects Only Slightly Outnumber Republican Presidential Candidates

Credit PHOTOGRAPH BY MCLENNAN COUNTRY SHERIFF’S OFFICE VIA AP

WACO (The Borowitz Report) – Suspects in the recent biker brawl in Waco, Texas, only slightly outnumber the 2016 Republican Presidential candidates, leading some voters to have difficulty distinguishing between the two groups, a new poll shows.

According to the poll, voters who were presented the names of a biker-brawl suspect and a Republican Presidential candidate correctly identified both only thirty per cent of the time.

For example, fifty-seven per cent of voters erroneously identified the former Texas Governor Rick Perry as a member of the Bandidos motorcycle gang, while forty-one per cent believed he belonged to the Cossacks.

Adding to voters’ confusion, the biker brawlers and G.O.P. candidates have identical views on a host of issues, such as gun rights and whether they would feel comfortable attending a gay wedding.

While the number of biker-brawl suspects stands at a hundred and seventy, if current trends continue, the Republican field could blow past that number by early summer, possibly deepening voters’ confusion.

But, in one positive sign for the Republicans, they notched a higher approval rating than the Waco suspects, five per cent to three.

LA biggest city yet to approve $15 minimum wage

Supporters applaud during the minimum wage increase vote as the Los Angeles City Council votes to raise the minimum wage in the city to $15 an hour by 2020. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes )

The city follows Seattle and San Francisco, with New York and Washington D.C. potentially on its heels -- and nobody knows for sure what happens next.

By Lydia DePillis May 19 at 6:20 PM
Campaign for America's Future
ourfuture.org

The Los Angeles City Council voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to raise the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, up from the current $9 an hour, making the city the largest in the country to set a target that has gone from almost absurdly ambitious to mainstream in the span of a few years.

The bill, which will need to clear a final vote, passed by a margin of 14-1. It comes in the wake of similar measures in Seattle and San Francisco, and as cities including New York and Washington D.C. consider raising their minimum wages to $15 as well.

All of the $15 minimum wages enacted thus far will be phased in over time -- Los Angeles's would start by stepping up to $10.50 by July 1 of 2016, and give businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 25 employees an extra year to comply.

The Council's vote is another victory for a coalition composed of labor unions, immigrant groups, community activists, and newly elected council members who seven months ago pushed through a $15.37 minimum wage for workers at large hotels. That move put those hotels in the position of arguing that the higher minimum should apply to all of the city's 3.88 million people.

Various economists have studied the effects of the higher minimum wage, disagreeing on what the impact will be.

One analysis commissioned by mayor Eric Garcetti of an earlier, similar proposal -- to boost the minimum to $15.25 by 2019 -- found that 542,000 workers would receive a raise, taking into account the ripple effects on those who already make more than that amount. The average wage would increase by 20.4 percent, said researchers from the University of California-Berkeley, with the largest increases in the food service, healthcare, retail, administrative and waste management services. The study anticipated minimal job losses, with a decrease of only 0.2 percent of the employment base by 2019 (which would likely be cancelled out by 2.5 percent annual job growth in the city). Overall verdict: The higher wage would have more positive than negative effects.

 
Higher income earners are eating up more of the pie in Los Angeles. (Economic Roundtable)
 

Then there's the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, which funded a study in 2013 that looked at the impact of a $15 minimum. That analysis sets the proposal against the backdrop of the city's mounting income inequality, and argues that low income workers would quickly reinvest all of the $7.6 billion extra in wages they could receive with a higher wage floor. It would also have a positive impact on public finances, adding $152 million per year to the city's coffers, the study found.

The story is a little different when you ask the Chamber of Commerce, which ordered up an analysis of a plan to raise the minimum to $13.25 an hour. The business group highlighted Los Angeles City's position within a larger metropolitan area, which allows the higher wage to benefit people who commute into the city to work while paying taxes elsewhere. Businesses might choose to locate in the suburbs to avoid pricier labor. All in all, they forecasted that even that smaller increase would kill between 70,000 and 140,000 jobs over the next five years, with one-third of the losses impacting workers under the age of 25.

Those are the fears driving Mitchell Englander, the one councilmember to vote against the new minimum wage. He's a former police officer, and is running for L.A. County supervisor in 2016.

“There is no question in my mind that better pay for workers would provide myriad benefits,” Englander said, according to CBS Los Angeles. “I am not, however, convinced that a unilateral minimum wage increase serves the intended purpose and may, worse, have unintended consequences such as job loss, reduction in working hours, or make it impossible for entire industries to do business in the City of Los Angeles.”

Employers did negotiate one major concession, avoiding a proposed requirement that they offer 12 days of paid leave as well -- although that idea might come back before the end of the year.

US Finally Admits Fracking Causes Earthquakes

A man works to clear up bricks that fell from his in-laws' home in Oklahoma in 2011. Earthquake frequency rose from 20 in 2009 to 585 in 2014. (photo: Sue Ogrocki/AP)

By Heather Smith, Guardian UK

readersupportednews.org

US Geological Survey backpedals on previous research on wastewater fracking-induced earthquakes that have shaken eight states in last seven years

s the US Geological Survey confirmed on Thursday, in the last seven years, geologically staid parts of the US have seen earthquakes like they haven’t seen for millions of years. And they were triggered by drilling for oil and gas.

The drilling – or rather, the process of injecting water deep underground – has been triggering earthquakes in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.

The most obvious question is: what took you so long, USGS? Over those seven years, other scientists have speculated about whether this rise in earthquakes has anything to do with the injection wells used by the fracking industry to dispose of the water used in the process.

For the most part, the report does not pin the blame on fracking itself – pumping large volumes of water, sand and chemicals into rock formations in order to free oil or gas – but rather on the associated process of injecting wastewater deep underground using injection wells.

The rise of fracking after 2005’s Energy Policy Act slightly preceded and coincided with the rise in earthquakes.

Oklahoma averaged a handful of earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater from 1975 to 2008.

Then, in 2009, it had 20.

In 2011, the number of earthquakes in the state rose to over 60, and Oklahoma was hit by its largest earthquake in recorded history – magnitude 5.7. Immediately after the quake Katie Keranan, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Oklahoma, partnered with scientists from the USGS and Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory to install two dozen seismometers in Prague.

Within a year, Keranan had data that indicated that the pressure from injecting water deep beneath the earth had snapped three fault planes, one after the other.

Not long after, in 2012, an injection well was linked to quakes in Youngstown, Ohio.

The state’s governor issued an executive order requiring operators to conduct seismic studies before the state would issue well permits.

In that same year, David J Hayes, deputy secretary of the US Department of the Interior, wrote a public letter stating that USGS research showed that there were no conclusive examples that wastewater injection triggered major earthquakes, even when it happened near a known fault.

The USGS report published on Thursday does provide such examples.

Not every well triggers an earthquake. In fact, a relatively small number of wells seem to have caused the majority of earthquakes, according to a report led by Keranan, which found that out of the thousands of disposal wells in the central US, just four them induced 20% of the seismicity from 2008 to 2013 in the central US.

In September of 2013, the Society of Petroleum Engineers held an unprecedented meeting on “injection-induced seismicity”, though they did not invite the press or the public. The number of earthquakes in Oklahoma reached 103 in 2013.

In November of last year, the USGS and the Oklahoma Geological Survey co-hosted a workshop that included about 150 participants from academia, industry and government – the result of that meeting is the report that was released this week.

That year, 2014, the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma reached 585 in one year.

Compared to earlier statements, the USGS report is a sharp turnaround from its previous stance. But it’s still a relatively mild document – one that advises more research, rather than specific actions. The work of clarifying connections between injection wells and earthquakes has been left to people such as Keranan, who left Oklahoma shortly after the Oklahoma Geological Survey published a rejection of a study she had placed in geology, which linked the quakes to nearby disposal wells.