10
NEWS
DUCEY from page 8
nology jobs and NXP Semiconductor’s new fabrication plan in Chandler, Ducey said: “Arizona will emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever with the East Valley leading the way.” He highlighted some of his legislative priorities, giving first place in his list to the issue of providing COVID-related liability protection for businesses “so a statewide emergency doesn’t line the pockets of trial attorneys with frivolous lawsuits.” On other agenda items, he said, “We intend to work on broadband expansion, greater access to telemedicine, better roads and bridges, and, of course, continuing to be a global leader on water innovation. “We want better equipment and training for law enforcement officers, criminal justice reform home and guarding
GILBERT SUN NEWS | JANUARY 31, 2021
against wildfires so that we stay on guard against that ever-present risk.” During a question-and-answer session that followed his brief prepared remarks, the governor said Arizona’s “biggest challenge right now is getting enough vaccine from the federal government” but that he anticipated the state would climb quickly out of the pandemic’s economic blowback. That’s especially true, he added, since “when the pandemic hit…Arizona had 45 states behind it in terms of economic growth and personal income rising. Today, through the recession and through the pandemic, Arizona remains top five.” When asked about the pandemic’s impact on education, Ducey again reiterated his increasing insistence that classrooms be open, stating “this online learning, this digital learning has not been good for our
young people.” “We need to get our kids back in the classroom,” Ducey said. “The Centers for Disease Control says it’s the safest place that the child can be.” He noted that while the COVID’s impact has been measured in many ways, “what we aren’t measuring are the numbers around addiction and alcoholism and depression and isolation and suicide. These are all very real issues and the best way to deal with them is to get our kids back in school.” Though he noted that education is “our top line in spending and investment,” Ducey did not mention any specifics of his budget proposal – particularly the difference in per-pupil reimbursement to school districts for in-class learners and virtual learners, which is costing some districts millions of dollars.
The State Senate Republican Caucus earlier last week said it will push to equalize that reimbursement rate for one year . Ducey also was asked about how he expected to get along with President Biden. “He will be my third president as governor,” Ducey replied. “I’ve worked with Democrats before in the White House . That said, we’re going to be focused on what’s in Arizona’s best interests. My boss is right here in the state. It’s the people that I have to work with.” He also maintained that the bipartisan rancor in Washington, D.C., is not reflected in the State Capitol and that “over 90 percent of the legislation that we passed over the last six years has been bipartisan.”
Poitier name elevates Mesa ASU building’s cachet BY JIM WALSH GSN Staff Writer
L
ong before the dedication of Mesa’s long-awaited Arizona State University building last week, the new film school and technology facility had become a magnet for bringing new businesses downtown. Now, it has a name as well: The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, honoring the first Black man and Afro-Bahamian actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor (for his 1963 performance in “Lilies of the Field”) and the oldest living recipient of that Oscar. Poitier’s moniker will only enhance Mesa’s already high credibility in leveraging the ASU campus into a job generator, Mayor John Giles said. “We are already getting economic benefits from the ASU building,’’ Giles said. “ASU gives a lot of confidence to people that it is a wise investment to come downtown.’’ A trailblazing actor who starred in several films highlighting the evils of racism, Poitier, 93, starred in numerous noteworthy films, including “Raisin in the Sun” (1961), “Guess Who’s Coming
Sidney Poitier to Dinner” and “In the Heat of the Night” (both 1967). Giles said he is thrilled the film school is being named after Poitier, underscoring Mesa’s diversity. Kiana Marie Sears, president of the East Valley NAACP and a Mesa Public Schools Governing Board member, also applauded ASU’s move. “I think this is an amazing thing ASU is doing,’’ Sears said. “I think he’s a very historic and iconic person,’’ serving as an ambassador for civil rights at the height of the movement in the 1960s. “He’s the symbol of someone who built
Construction is already underway for the new ASU building in downtown Mesa, which will have a large screen on an exterior wall for people to watch films made by students. (City of Mesa)
bridges,’’ Sears said. Shortly after his election as mayor in 2014, Giles said he met with ASU President Michael Crow and sought to lure the university to downtown Mesa, hoping for a transformation similar to what it did in downtown Phoenix. Giles said Crow told him that Metro Light Rail is the key factor, allowing students to move easily and cheaply between ASU’s main Tempe campus and
any new Mesa facility – just as students do today between the Tempe and Phoenix campuses. Giles said the city and ASU are anticipating that additional facilities beyond the $63.5 million building now under construction will be built. Giles said Crow told him, “when we come to your downtown, we will change
see ASU page 16