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OPINION
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Open App Markets Act would solve problems
Editor:
I am glad that the Open App Markets Act is finally starting to move in Congress, with a mark-up of the act scheduled for later this month.
Many people don’t realize just how unfairly Apple and Google treat the people who develop apps for their app stores. They require the app developers use their (Apple and Google’s) payment system for in-app purchases, raking 30% off the top of any payment. This makes it extremely hard for the app developer to make a profit or often even to recoup their costs to develop the app, and often these charges are passed directly on to the customer.
The big tech companies promote their apps above those of others as well as make it extremely difficult for the developers to communicate directly with their users. Add to this the often confusing rules for having an app approved, especially if they have their own app they want to market, and you end up with an almost monopolistic environment.
The Open App Markets Act would solve many of these problems. Our delegation in Washington needs to actively support this bill and help level the playing field. The stifled innovation and high costs of the current system make us, the end users, the losers.
Jonathan Miller Buckeye
Becoming an independent
Editor:
President Biden’s policies are more popular than him. Successfully steering us back toward normalcy apparently isn’t enough.
He took office amid a violent insurgency, deadly pandemic and crashed economy. His accomplishments include passage of the American Rescue Plan; rapid vaccination of anyone who wants it; restoration of us as a world leader; rapid movement of freight off wharves; unemployment at its lowest since 1969; passage of the infrastructure bill so roads, bridges, plumbing and electrical grids can be repaired; and broadband internet made available to all. One problem is “big lie” advocates continuing to poison the air.
Liz and Dick Cheney were the only Republicans at the Jan. 6 memorial. In his words, “It’s not a leadership that resembles any of the folks I knew when I was here.”
Insurrectionists interpret intellectual arguments party leaders use to justify boycott of investigating the insurrection to be a go-ahead green light, and this is dangerous.
Divided into warring tribes, we may lose the exceptional way of life that makes this nation the envy of the world. There’s a reason 1 out of every 3 Arizonans now identifies as independent.
Dr. John Bradley Avondale
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Senator needs to stress RX drug pricing reform
BY REP. CESAR CHAVEZ
Public support for prescription drug pricing reform has hit an alltime high; however, since popular policies to bring down the cost of basic medications have gained ground across the country, the pharmaceutical industry has made it its top priority to stymie reform efforts.
Yet, drug companies have hired an army of high-powered lobbyists and spent billions of dollars to resist regulation; Democrats in Washington, D.C., still have the chance to pass major prescription drug pricing reform legislation.
Rising prescription drug prices isn’t a new issue for Arizonans, but recent reports of price-gouging practices affecting life-saving medications, like insulin, and news about greedy drug executives like “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, have sparked a public outcry for change. In Arizona, the call for fair prescription drug prices is nearly unanimous — 90% of Arizonans support key policies like Medicare negotiation and capping outof-pocket spending on medications.
However, despite the popular push to pass regulations and enforce transparency measures, drug companies have managed to delay reform efforts with a multibillion-dollar lobbying apparatus with the sole goal of pushing misinformation and gumming up the works in Washington.
The unscrupulous tactics used by the pharmaceutical industry to preserve shady business practices have recently attracted public attention, but drug companies have leveraged their lobbying power to influence political decisions made in D.C. for decades. A 2020 observational study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that from 1998 to 2018 the pharmaceutical industry spent $4.7 billion a year — more than any other industry — to resist efforts to regulate drug companies.
Now, because legislation to crack down on practices like price gouging and pay-for-delay schemes is gaining steam in Washington and around the country, the pharmaceutical industry has turned up the dial on its lobbying efforts. The number of registered lobbyists employed by pharmaceutical companies, NGOs and PACs has ballooned to 1616, or about three lobbyists for every member of Congress. By the end of 2021, a watchdog group reported that lobbying expenditures for the pharmaceutical industry totaled more than $266 million.
Fortunately, we have elected officials in Washington willing to stand up to the pharmaceutical industry. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has emerged as a leading voice in Congress on the issue of prescription drug pricing reform — last November, Sen. Sinema reached a deal with a diverse Democratic caucus to endorse key policies to dramatically reduce the cost of prescription drugs and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
However, despite all the effort that Sen. Sinema has put into passing prescription drug pricing reform, there’s still work to be done before these policies can get to the Oval Office.
While Sen. Sinema has become a serious power player in Congress, she still needs our support and encouragement to deliver on the reforms Arizonans need. Sen. Sinema, on behalf of every Arizonan, we need you to keep up the pressure for prescription drug pricing reform.
Rep. Cesar Chavez has represented Arizona’s 29th Legislative District since 2017. Legislative District 29 encompasses the Hispanic minority population in Arizona. Chavez immigrated to Arizona at the age of 3.
WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | JANUARY 26, 2022
West-MEC produces next generation of experts
BY GREG DONOVAN, SUPERINTENDENT
Western Maricopa Education Center
Arizona’s current drought is coming up on 15 years and has surpassed the worst drought in more than 110 years of official recordkeeping. Arizona’s water reservoirs are severely depleted, and according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly 99% of Arizona is in some sort of drought.
So, what does this mean for Arizonans and what can be done to prevent this? The U.S. EPA and other federal agencies, state agencies and industry continue to diligently research future resolutions. Still, part of the solution must be providing education focused on environmentalism and conservationism and opening up career opportunities for students who are passionate about improving and protecting Arizona’s water supply.
Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC), a career technical education public school district for high school and adult students, offers a highly sought-after, hands-on environmental sustainability program that prepares students with laboratory and technical knowledge for entry-level water services positions with some of the largest companies in the state.
West-MEC students are learning how to solve complex problems pertaining to the water cycle, water and wastewater treatment and could be the key to protecting and preserving Arizona’s future water supply.
Instructor Rickie Timmons, an industry professional with more than 40 years’ experience in the nuclear power space, says students closely study local and statewide environmental issues to understand the core problems that the drought is presenting to the Southwestern United States.
The long-term drought was slightly alleviated thanks to an above-average monsoon season for many portions of the state, but the fact is it took thousands of years to fill the aquifers in the Southwest, and there is simply not enough rain in this region to make up for the rate that locals are using water.
Timmons notes that it will take a diverse pool of innovative people like our emerging West-MEC students to find workable solutions to these types of problems, adding, “Looking at one potential problem, such as climate change, is a very small view of a variety of issues facing the environment — consider plastic trash, overpopulation, loss of good soil to grow an adequate food supply. The world changes, as do the people in it, so our prevention measures and solutions should, too.”
Take last summer, when, for the first time in history, a water shortage was declared on the Colorado River, which is a major source of water for Arizona. The New York Times reported that the shortage will reduce Arizona’s supply of water, delivered by a system of canals and pumping stations called the Central Arizona Project, by about 512,000 acre-feet.
Adaptation to future water stresses in Arizona will be difficult and costly and will affect numerous industries, including tourism, high-tech manufacturing, agriculture and ranching. The hands-on education West-MEC students receive is imperative. It improves decision making, increases adaptation and mitigation capacities, and empowers them to explore future sustainable practices.
The leaders of tomorrow are WestMEC’s Environmental Sustainability Program students of today. As they continue their education, we can all do our part by encouraging our youth to use natural resources like water more wisely, volunteer for environmentally focused community events, and think about what future generations may experience because of continued climate changes.
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WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | JANUARY 26, 2022
OPINION I’m resolving to give up cussing this year
BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ
West Valley View Columnist
My New Year’s resolution made it a startling four days before I lapsed. The occasion was a hooked golf drive that hit a cart path and ricocheted out of bounds. My response was something like, “Are you #@%^&* kidding me. $#%^$” So much for eliminating profanity.
The truth is, I’ve always had something of a situational potty mouth. As a former talk radio host, I learned early on that speaking in public requires some degree of subtlety. You can get away with the occasional “damn” — provided the Lord’s name is not in front of that mild cussword — but you can only say the major offenders one time, after which the big bosses will summon you and you’ll be unemployed.
For the most part, I only curse around my closest guy friends, while playing golf, or when signing my federal tax returns. Still, as a gentleman of a certain age who appreciates words, I’ve been determined for a long while to clean up my act. Especially after happening across a Wall Street Journal piece headlined, “We’re Cursing More. Blame the #%$ Pandemic.”
As the story put it: “Pandemic stress, the melding of personal and professional spheres, and an exhausted slide toward casualness are making many of us swear more. ‘It is a perfect swearing storm,’” said Michael Adams, a linguist at Indiana University Bloomington.”
According to the Journal, CleanSpeak’s profanity-filtering software, used by companies to moderate online communities and discussion forums, has experienced a 300% increase in filtered profanity over the last year and a half.
As someone who does multiple Zoom meetings a week, I can vouch for that. And it’s somewhat predictable: In an environment where people resemble the cast of the old “Hollywood Squares” sitting in little digital boxes and most of us are wearing sweatpants, Lululemon garb or a dress shirt and manties, it’s only natural for the occasional “f bomb” to make its way into what was once polite conversation.
Or, as one of my friends described it, “Why wouldn’t you say bull***t in the middle of yet another bull***t meeting.”
Growing up on the playgrounds of Queens, New York, swearing was a way of fitting in. Later, on the basketball court and in the gym, it was an expression of machismo — surely frowned upon in today’s woke culture. Fast forward another decade, to professional life, and the occasional curse word was an act of rebellion, a verbal statement that one understood the rules of the workplace but remained unafraid of bending them.
The thing is, I’m not much for going along with the crowd. So if everyone’s cursing, I’d like to stop. But that’s tougher than it sounds.
In 2009, Richard Stephens, a researcher at Keele University in the U.K., tested 67 students by having them stick their arms in freezing water meanwhile swearing like a sailor. The result?
“People withstood a moderately to strongly painful stimulus for significantly longer if they repeated a swear word rather than a non-swear word,” Stephens wrote.
“Swearing also lowered pain perception and was accompanied by increased heart rate. We interpret these data as indicating that swearing … actually produces a hypoalgesic (pain lessening) effect.”
Who knew? And swearing is way cheaper than Tylenol.
Despite the biological and social reasons for cursing, I’m going to stick with this year’s resolution, even if my perfect record isn’t intact. Part of it is wanting to seem more sophisticated as I get older.
The other reason is, for once I’d like to actually succeed at keeping a resolution. Toning down my penchant for profanity feels somewhat doable. Especially compared to my other option for a resolution.
No way am I going on another $%^&# low-carb diet this year.
David Leibowitz has called the Valley home since 1995. Contact david@leibowitzsolo.com
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■ ARIZONA AREA RESIDENTS CASH IN: It’s hard to tell how much these unsearched Vault Bags loaded with rarely seen Gov’t issued coins that everyone will be trying to get could be worth someday. That’s because each Vault Bag is known to contain nearly 3 pounds of Gov’t issued coins some dating back to the 1800’s including all those shown in today’s publication. In addition, after each bag is loaded with over 200 rarely seen coins, each verified to meet a minimum collector grade of very good or above, the dates and mint marks are never searched to determine collector values. So you better believe at just $980 these unsearched Vault Bags are a real steal. Rarely seen United States coins up for grabs in Arizona -zip codes determine who gets them
Unsearched Vault Bags loaded with rarely seen U.S. Gov’t issued coins some dating back to the 1800’s and worth up to 50 times their face value are actually being handed over to residents who find their zip code below and beat the 48 hour order deadline
AZ RESIDENTS: IF YOU FIND THE FIRST THREE DIGITS OF YOUR ZIP CODE BELOW. CALL: 1-800-869-3164 UV32451
850 852 853 855 856 857 859 860 863 864 865
“The vaults at Federated Mint are going empty,” said Laura A. Lynne, Director of Coin and Currency for Federated Mint.
That’s because a decision by Federated Mint to release rarely seen U.S. Gov’t issued coins, some worth up to 50 times their face value, means unsearched Vault Bags loaded with U. S. Gov’t issued coins dating back to the 1800’s are now being handed over to U.S. residents who find the first three digits of your zip code listed in today’s publication.
“But don’t thank the Government. As Director of Coin and Currency for Federated Mint, I get paid to inform and educate the general public regarding U.S. coins. Ever since the decision by Federated Mint to release rarely seen Gov’t issued coins to the general public — I’m being asked how much are the unsearched Vault Bags worth? The answer is, there’s no way to tell. Coin values always fluctuate and there are never any guarantees, but we do know this. Each unsearched bag weighs nearly 3 pounds and is known to contain rarely seen Morgan Silver Dollars and these coins alone could be worth $40 - $325 in collector value each according to The Official Red Book, a Guide Book of United States Coins. So there’s no telling what you’ll find until you search through all the coins. But you better believe at just $980 these unsearched Vault Bags are a steal, “said Lynne.
“These are not ordinary coins you find in your pocket change. These are rarely seen silver, scarce, collectible and non-circulating U.S. coins dating back to the 1800’s so we won’t be surprised if thousands of U.S. residents claim as many as they can get their hands on. That’s because after the bags were loaded with nearly 3 pounds of Gov’t issued coins, each verified to meet a
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ISSUED COINS SEALED IN EACH BAG:
Silver Morgan Dollar 1878-1921
Silver Liberty Head Silver Liberty Head 1892-1915
Silver Walking Liberty Silver Walking Liberty 1916-1947
Silver Peace Dollar 1921-1935
Silver Ben Franklin 1948-1963 ■ UNSEARCHED: Pictured above are the unsearched Vault Bags being handed over to Arizona residents who call the National Toll-Free Hotline before the 48-hour deadline ends. And here’s the best part. Each Vault Bag is loaded with over 200 Gov’t issued coins, including all the coins pictured in today’s publication, some dating back to the 1800’s and worth up to 50 times their face value. Each coin is verified to meet a minimum collector grade of very good or above before the bags are securely sealed and the dates and mint marks are never searched by Federated Mint to determine collector value. If you find your zip code listed, call 1-800-869-3164 EXT.UV32451 immediately.
(Continued from previous page) minimum collector grade quality of very good or above, the dates and mint marks were never searched to determine collector values and the bags were securely sealed. That means there’s no telling what you’ll find until you search all the coins,” said Lynne.
The only thing U.S. residents who find their zip code printed in today’s publication need to do is call the National Toll-Free Hotline before the 48hour deadline ends.
This is very important. After the Vault Bags were loaded with over 200 Gov’t issued coins, each verified to meet a minimum collector grade quality of very good or above, the dates and mint marks were never searched to determine collector values. The Vault Bag fee has been set for $1,500 for residents who miss the 48-hour deadline, but for those U.S. residents who beat the 48-hour deadline the Vault Bag fee is just $980 as long as they call the National Toll-Free Hotline before the deadline ends.
“Remember this, we cannot stop collectors from buying up all the unsearched bags of coins they can get in this special advertising announcement. And you better believe with each bag being loaded with nearly 3 pounds of Gov’t issued coins we’re guessing they’re going to go quick,” said Lynne.
The phone lines will be ringing off the hook beginning at precisely 8:30 a.m. this morning. That’s because each unsearched Vault Bag is loaded with the rarely seen coins pictured left and highly sought after collector coins dating clear back to the 1800’s including iconic Morgan Silver Dollars, a historic Peace Silver Dollar, stunning Silver Walking Liberty Half Dollars, the collectible Silver Eisenhower Dollars, spectacular Silver Liberty Head Half and Quarter Dollars, rarely seen Silver Franklin Half Dollars, high demand President Kennedy Silver Half Dollars, beautiful Silver Standing Liberty Quarter Dollars, American Bicentennial Quarters, rare Liberty V Nickels, one cent Historic Wheat Coins including 1943 “Steel Cents”, one of the beautiful Winged Liberty Head Dimes, scarce Indian Head one cent U.S. coins and the last ever minted Buffalo Nickels.
“With all these collectible Gov’t Issued coins up for grabs we’re going to do our best to answer all the calls,” said Lynne.
Thousands of U.S. residents stand to miss the deadline to claim the U.S. Gov’t issued coins. That means U.S. residents who find the first three digits of your zip code listed in today’s publication can claim the unsearched bags of money for themselves and keep all the U.S. Gov’t issued coins found inside.
If you find your zip code listed, call 1-800-869-3164 EXT.UV32451 immediately. Just be sure to call before the deadline ends 48 hours from today’s publication date. ■
FEDERATED MINT, LLC IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE U.S. MINT, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, A BANK OR ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY. IF FOR ANY REASON WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM SHIPMENT YOU ARE DISSATISFIED, RETURN THE PRODUCT FOR A REFUND LESS SHIPPING AND RETURN POSTAGE. THIS SAME OFFER MAY BE MADE AVAILABLE AT A LATER DATE OR IN A DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION. OH RESIDENTS ADD 6.5% SALES TAX. FEDERATED MINT, PO BOX 1200, MASSILLON, OH 44648 ©2021 FEDERATED MINT
