Ducey Banks $7 Million, EPA OKs Half-Baked Pollution Plan: Here’s Your News Today

Gov. Doug Ducey’s plan to downsize his family’s living quarters was finalized earlier this week, moving into a ranch 8,300 square feet smaller than their mansion in Paradise Valley. The move that will bring in nearly $7 million in profits for Ducey. 

Arizona is one of only four states that does not have an official governor’s mansion. A log cabin in Prescott, known as the Old Governor’s Mansion, was built in 1864 and used as the Territorial Governor’s residence until the territorial capital moved to Tucson in 1867.

Court sides with EPA on pollution plan

Federal courts ruled in favor of two environmental groups that claim the Environmental Protection Agency approved an inadequate plan to regulate Arizona’s air pollution.

The lawsuit, which was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Environmental Health of Atlanta, Georgia, accused the EPA of approving the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s clean air plan even though it failed to meet the standards set in the Clean Air Act. The groups claimed the state agency’s proposal did not adequately address how they would regulate Arizona’s air pollution sources.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division, sided with the environmental groups, and ordered that a new plan be made that meets standards set within the Clean Air Act.

The EPA has until June 2021 to roll out its plan to reduce Arizona’s pollution. 

Immigration Checks by Phoenix Police Get Failing Grade

A legal change in how local police forces coordinate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency has resulted in over 6,000 immigration checks by Phoenix Police Department since 2017.

The state’s immigration laws now require local law enforcement to contact federal agents when someone suspected of being in the country unlawfully. Police records obtained by the Arizona Republic reveal the majority of people stopped by police were found to be in the country legally. Only 467 people, less than eight percent, were arrested by ICE for suspicion of illegal entry into the U.S.

Of those arrested, 309 people were proven to be undocumented.