More 5G Preemption & Tax Break Bills in #AZHouse (video)

5G tower

This is the last week for House committees to hear House bills and for Senate committees to hear Senate bills. Consequently, the agendas are very long on almost all committees. There is a lot of opportunity on Request to Speak (RTS). The groups like Civic Engagement Beyond Voting, Sierra Club and others do an *amazing* job of telling you what’s going on, and we sincerely appreciate all of your comments and votes on RTS and their hard work.

Unfortunately, because of the sheer volume of BS bills proposed in the Legislature, volunteer groups can’t keep up with everything. 

I have many constituents in Midtown Tucson who are upset with the preemption Bill regarding four and 5G towers that was passed by the legislature in 2017. There are two more telecom industry preemption/tax break bills in the House now. These bills are not on any of the popular distribution lists.

Continue reading More 5G Preemption & Tax Break Bills in #AZHouse (video)

5G Forum Reveals Risks, Concerns Regarding Widespread 4-5G Towers (video)

Map of Current & Proposed Towers

Although I had met with all of the presenters before the 5G Forum on Related Health, Privacy, Preemption and Blight Issues and had a good idea what each of them planned to say, I was blown away by the extensive information that these experts shared.

On my YouTube Channel and below, you can watch the presentations.

  • Dr. Russell Witte, Professor of Medical Imaging (primary), Biomedical Engineering, Optical Sciences, and Neurosurgery at the University of Arizona, addressed radiation, microwaves and health concerns related to 4-5G.
  • Elizabeth Kelley, Executive Director: Electromagnetic Safety Alliance, Inc. gave basic background on 4-5G and talked about policy in other states.
  • Domingo DeGrazia, LD10 representative in the Arizona House and a Certified Information Privacy Profession/US Private Sector, addressed privacy issues and steps that can be taken to protect us from corporations or governments collecting our private data through the “Internet of Things” and using it and/or selling it. Midtown resident
  • Lois Pawlak initially called me about her concerns over the proliferation of 4-5G towers in Midtown Tucson. She talked about neighborhood concerns because of the preemption that was built into HB2365. The map at the top is a Midtown screen shot from the tower placement maps on the City of Tucson’s website here.
  • The question and answer video includes cameo appearances by Ward 6 City Councilman Steve Kozachik and Valeri Marsh, who is affiliated with Scientists for Wired Tech.
Continue reading 5G Forum Reveals Risks, Concerns Regarding Widespread 4-5G Towers (video)

Forum on 5G on Sept 30: Health, Privacy, Preemption & Blight (video)

4g-5g towers

Wi-fi towers abound in the urban areas of Arizona, but with the advent of 5G and the “Internet of things,” expect thousands more.

Access to the Internet is a crucial part of modern life. During the COVID19 pandemic, many of us began living, working, partying, and going to school online. The Internet is an essential service, in my opinion.

With the advent of 5G technology, the “Internet of things” and “Smart Cities”, we are being promised faster connections and more connections. We can already connect our smart phones to security systems, home monitoring, and voice command devices. With 5G, the Internet of Things will explode beyond your current devices to include everyday appliances like refrigerators and services like electric usage that can be monitored not only by the user but also by Corporate America … and potentially the government. If you are concerned about your personal privacy and the privacy of your personal data, the Internet of Things may be a bit too connected for you.

Continue reading Forum on 5G on Sept 30: Health, Privacy, Preemption & Blight (video)

‘Stop Hate for Profit’: Corporations Pressure Facebook with Ad Boycott

big tech

More than 500 corporations are suspending advertising on Facebook because of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s reluctant and minimalist response to calls to end hate speech and misinformation on Facebook. Here’s an excerpt from Mark Zuckerberg: advertisers’ boycott of Facebook will end ‘soon enough’about the Stop Hate for Profit campaign in The Guardian.

Mark Zuckerberg has dismissed the threat of a punishing boycott from major advertisers pressing Facebook to take a stronger stand on hate speech and said they will be back “soon enough”…

“We’re not gonna change our policies or approach on anything because of a threat to a small percent of our revenue, or to any percent of our revenue,” he said, according to the Information.

Zuckerberg says it’s no big deal and won’t hurt the company’s bottom line if corporate advertisers boycott the platform for at least a month. When it comes to hate speech, shouldn’t there be other concerns beyond his bottom line? From the quotes in The Guardian article, Zuckerberg stands firm against his advertisers’ protestations.

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Where Are the COVID19 Wizards to Help Us Re-Imagine Ourselves & Our Future? (video)

Post-COVID19 world

Three and a half months of sheltering in place — with the novel Coronavirus just one chance encounter away — have given us time to perfect our strategies for survival during the current government-created public health crisis and to make plans for a safe, more equitable, more enlightened future.

COVID19 turned the spotlight on the glaring disparities in our social and economic systems. The virus smashed open those broken systems and refused to let us turn away from the inequities of who gets sick, who lives, who dies, who goes broke, who loses their home, and who is forced to work in unsafe conditions. Blacks in the US have the highest death rates from COVID19 across all age groups, followed by Latinos, and with whites trailing behind. Your ZipCode, your income, and your race should not determine your healthcare access or your health outcomes.

On top of this outrage within the health care delivery system, we witness the unnecessary deaths of George Floyd (Minneapolis), Dion Johnson (Phoenix), Rayshard Brooks (Atlanta), Carlos Ingram Lopez (in Tucson) and others at the hands of law enforcement officers and the out-sized police response to the George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests around the country.  Also, don’t get me started about my fears for the widening achievement gap between K-12 students whose parents have a reliable Internet connection and adequate computing power for online learning and the students who don’t.

All of these systems were broken before COVID19.  The pandemic and related system failures tell us we can no longer ignore and enable the structural racism, sexism, and widespread discrimination in our systems and laws.  Excuse my language, but this sh*t’s gotta change. Now is the time to strategize for a better, more equitable, more inclusive future. Where are the wizards to help us re-imagine our country and create the vision?

Continue reading Where Are the COVID19 Wizards to Help Us Re-Imagine Ourselves & Our Future? (video)

Did You Miss the June LD9 Town Hall? Check Out the Videos (video)

LD9 town hall

The Legislative District 9 Team — Senator Victoria Steele and Reps. Randy Friese and Pamela Powers Hannley — held a virtual town hall on Thursday, June 18. In order to avoid being hacked again, this event required preregistration and other precautions. The 100 free tickets went fast. Unfortunately, the security measures created a barrier for some of the attendees. Hopefully, we can create a happy medium with our next online event.

The June town hall followed the same format as previous events. Each of us gave a 10 minute presentation on a specific topic, followed buy a question and answer period. There are four parts to the video series from the June 18 Legislative District 9 Virtual Town Hall on COVID19 in Arizona. In part one, Friese discusses the status of the pandemic and the importance of wearing face masks. In part two, Steele discusses housing challenges, evictions, and police reform. In part three, Powers Hannley discusses the Arizona Department of Education’s plans to open up Arizona’s K-12 schools. Part four is 30 minutes of questions and answers on a variety of topics.

Continue reading Did You Miss the June LD9 Town Hall? Check Out the Videos (video)