A6
WEATHER/OBITUARY/STATE
HERALD/REVIEW
WEATHER
Lawmakers move to change election laws
5-DAY FORECAST FOR SIERRA VISTA TODAY
TONIGHT
BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
FRIDAY
Sunny with a warm breeze
A moonlit sky
High 78°
Low 48°
RealFeel: 78°
RealFeel: 48°
RealFeel: 90°/53°
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Mostly cloudy
Sunshine; windy in the afternoon
Partly sunny; breezy in the p.m.
80°
52°
77°
RealFeel: 81°/49°
Mostly sunny and pleasant
79°
48°
53°
73°
RealFeel: 77°/44°
45°
RealFeel: 74°/42°
The patented AccuWeather.com RealFeel Temperature® is an exclusive index of the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure, and elevation on the human body. Shown are the highest and lowest values for each day.
REGIONAL WEATHER Snowflake 67/30
Prescott 67/32 Wickenburg 78/47
St. Johns 70/29 Show Low 63/27
Payson 67/42 Phoenix 86/59
Globe 76/45
Reserve 70/32
Coolidge 84/50 Gila Bend 84/59
Ajo 82/52
Safford 85/45
Casa Grande 85/50 Tucson 87/52 Sells 84/51
Nogales 82/44
Silver City 73/41
Willcox 80/44
Lordsburg 79/43 Tombstone 79/46
Benson 81/46
Green Valley 84/48
Bisbee Sierra Vista 78/44 78/48 Douglas Cananea 82/44 78/42
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
UV INDEX TODAY
ALMANAC
Sierra Vista through 6 p.m. yesterday. (Readings from Sierra Vista Fire Dept.)
Precipitation (in inches) 24 hours through 6 p.m. yest. Rainfall past seven days 24-hour rainfall last year Total rainfall year to date Total rainfall last year to date Normal rainfall year to date Diff. from normal y-t-d Diff. from normal last y-t-d
0.00” 0.02” 0.00” 2.53” 1.37” 2.22” +0.31” -0.85”
Temperature: High Low
78° 50°
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015
8am 10am Noon 2pm 4pm The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. 0-2 Low; 3-5 Moderate; 6-7 High; 8-10 Very High; 11+ Extreme
SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight
6:09 a.m. 6:41 p.m.
Full
Last
New
First
Apr 4
Apr 11
Apr 18
Apr 25
ARIZONA CITIES City
Today Fri. Hi Lo W Hi Lo W
City
Today Fri. Hi Lo W Hi Lo W
Casa Grande Flagstaff Globe Grand Canyon Green Valley Holbrook Kingman L. Havasu City Mesa Nogales
85 58 76 58 84 70 69 83 84 82
Phoenix Prescott Safford Sedona Show Low Superior Tombstone Tucson Window Rock Yuma
86 67 85 69 63 78 79 87 66 85
50 25 45 19 48 29 37 57 54 44
s s s s s s s s s s
85 57 76 56 84 65 73 84 85 83
51 24 49 19 52 32 38 53 55 48
s s s s s s s s s s
59 32 45 42 27 44 46 52 23 60
s s s s s s s s s s
87 69 83 69 60 78 79 86 60 87
59 35 51 46 35 45 51 54 23 57
s s s s s s s s s s
U.S. / MEXICO WEATHER TODAY
Showers T-storms Rain Flurries Snow Ice
Cold Warm Stationary
Shown are today’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Forecast high/low temperatures are given for selected cities.
NATIONAL CITIES City
Today Fri. Hi Lo W Hi Lo W
City
Today Fri. Hi Lo W Hi Lo W
Albuquerque Anchorage Atlanta Atlantic City Austin Baltimore Billings Bismarck Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Charlotte, NC Cheyenne Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Dallas Dayton Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Helena Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City
74 48 75 60 84 67 49 45 54 76 74 72 37 65 70 67 86 68 39 70 67 84 46 84 84 68 79 72
Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Orlando Philadelphia Pittsburgh Portland, ME Portland, OR Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego San Francisco San Juan, PR Santa Fe Seattle Tampa Washington, DC
74 81 77 82 62 63 80 83 60 84 66 84 65 66 45 56 55 73 74 51 85 72 68 85 69 54 84 70
City
Today Fri. Hi Lo W Hi Lo W
City
Today Fri. Hi Lo W Hi Lo W
Acapulco Athens Baghdad Beijing Berlin Cairo Dhahran Hong Kong Istanbul Jerusalem Kabul Kuwait City London Madrid
86 62 80 54 45 82 82 80 55 65 60 86 49 73
Mexico City Moscow Nassau New Delhi Paris Rio de Janeiro Rome Seoul Singapore Sydney Taipei Tokyo Toronto Vancouver
77 44 82 92 53 81 63 67 89 83 87 61 63 53
41 29 59 50 63 56 31 18 45 63 58 60 24 44 55 45 65 52 22 40 42 55 27 71 69 51 60 42
pc s c s pc s sh c pc s pc pc sn t t sh pc t r pc sh pc sh pc pc t pc t
66 44 81 68 81 71 56 52 60 84 70 81 44 48 64 54 74 60 47 55 56 77 54 84 85 56 85 57
41 26 50 52 50 49 36 25 46 62 45 56 22 27 33 28 45 31 28 32 28 50 31 72 55 30 59 31
s s pc t c t pc s r s r pc pc r r r c r pc c r pc pc pc pc r s c
WORLD CITIES
75 49 58 42 33 63 64 73 45 54 42 64 45 44
pc s s sh pc pc s pc r pc r s c s
88 66 82 63 47 78 85 80 56 69 64 88 54 73
75 49 60 43 31 56 64 73 42 49 38 65 42 48
pc s pc pc pc s s pc pc pc pc pc r pc
THURSDAY APRIL 2, 2015
50 66 58 70 40 30 62 67 52 53 37 64 54 50 41 39 30 43 54 31 66 61 49 74 28 41 67 60
53 32 70 71 45 71 46 43 79 65 71 55 37 41
s t s s pc s c pc s t pc pc s t pc pc s s t c pc pc s sh pc pc pc s
pc c s t r r s r t sh pc pc r sh
74 75 87 83 46 46 76 84 63 65 54 88 70 59 59 55 66 76 58 57 83 84 67 84 62 52 84 74
78 37 83 88 54 81 63 63 90 71 87 70 58 51
51 42 58 70 27 30 40 60 44 38 31 64 50 32 40 39 38 45 34 37 54 61 50 73 31 39 67 49
49 28 71 67 42 71 49 45 79 64 71 57 27 38
s t s s pc pc t s sh pc pc s t r pc r s s r s c s s pc s r s t
pc sn s t sh pc pc pc t sh pc pc c r
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice
PHOENIX — Republican lawmakers moved Wednesday to try to shut off public funds for candidates even as they agreed to let privately financed contenders take more money, criminalize collection of early ballots and erect new hurdles against voters proposing their own laws. On largely party-line votes the House voted to: Ask voters to repeal a 1998 initiative which allows — but does not require — candidates for statewide and legislative office to get public funds for their campaigns if they do not take private donations; Let those who have the money contribute up to $5,000 to candidates, 25 percent more than for the 2014 election and nearly 12 times as much as in 2012; Re qu i r e jud ge s to void petition drives if circulators and signers do not strictly comply with every element of election laws; Make it a felony for special interests — but not political candidates — to pick up early ballots from voters. The four votes got the attention of Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, who opposed each measure. “We need to step back for a moment and look at the message that this Legislature is sending to the residents of Arizona,” he said. Yet Clark said the Republican-controlled Legislature failed to enact a ny mea ni ngf u l li mit s on “d a rk money” or require better disclosure of who is funding special interest groups that run essentially anonymous campaigns to elect or defeat candidates. The measure on public funding, SCR 1001, is based on the contention by foes of public financing that voters are having second thoughts
about the system. Funding for the prog ra m comes l a rgely from a surcharge on civ i l , c r i m i n a l a nd traffic fines. Business-backed groups, who traditionally have provided donations to candidates, were unable to defeat the 1998. And repeated legal challenges to the measure faltered except for one: The U.S. Supreme Court did void a provision giving publicly financed candidates matching funds when their privately funded foes spend more. But the measure is worded in a way that might tilt the scales. It does not simply ask that the system be repealed. Instead it proposes to divert the funds now being collected for campaigns and instead give those dollars — about $ 8.5 million in the most recent budget year — in state aid to education, a move that opponents said forces voters to choose be tween politicians and school children. The measure, which already has been approved by the Senate, requires a final House vote before being placed on the 2016 ballot. W hi le public funding may go away, HB 2415 would give candidates that want priv at e d o n at io n s t h e chance to get more from any individual. Until 2012 the limit was $440 for legislative candidates and $912 for those seeking statewide office. That year lawmakers boosted the cap to $4,000 for anyone. HB 2415, which now goes to the governor, raises that figure to $ 5,000. And it even allows candidates who are in debt from their last campaign to go back to donors and seek more to pay off that debt. Ja me s M a n ley, a n attorney for the Goldwater Institute, told lawmakers during hear-
SESSION: Gowan didn’t give date FROM PAGE A1 “We are moving rapidly,” Biggs said. “Both sides are committed to wrapping it up as soon as possible.” House Speaker David Gowan didn’t commit to an adjournment date, saying only “soon.” The remaining bills include a series of election overhaul and school voucher measures along wit h G ov. Doug Ducey’s request for a new inspector general who would report directly to him and be tasked with i nve st i gat i n g wa ste, f r aud a nd abu s e o f public resources. Ducey said in January that he wanted the post but didn’t reveal specifics until two weeks ago. The bill has been hung up over disagreements about t he scope and power of the office. Ducey initially wanted to appoint the person with no Senate confirmation and be solely responsible for the actions
of the office. Attor ney G enera l Mark Brnovich would be bypassed in the process, drawing criticism from him, and it could keep much of its work secret. T he gover nor ’s office has been working on language to address t ho s e c onc er n s a nd it cou ld be u nvei led Wed nesday. T he bi l l mu st p a s s b ot h t he Senate and House before adjournment or it will have to wait until next year. The Legislature passed a $9.1 billion budget bill on March 7 and it was signed days later by Ducey. Biggs said it was time for lawmakers to go home. “I think Mark Twain once said no one’s safe while the Legislature’s in session — I do think there are some meritorious aspects to that,” Biggs said. “We’ve done the people’s business, we’ve had a chance to vet the bills, let’s get done and get out of here.”
ON THIS DATE Today is Thursday, April 2. On this date in 1819, Mormon missionary Jacob Hamblin, who was also in charge of colonization along the Little Colorado River and served as guide to Maj. John Wesley Powell over the Lee’s Ferry route, was born in Ohio. On this date in 1919, at 10 a.m., the first car ever to climb Sentinel Peak in Tucson, started its trek upward. The car sustained one blown tire. The headlights were left on to prove the feat to residents, and the car was parked on the peak for two days so people could climb up and see it for themselves. On this date in 1927, Cochise and Graham County cattlemen ordered their crews to ride armed and to shoot when necessary to prevent rustling. On this date in 1933, Gov. Benjamin B. Moeur unveiled a monument on the Arizona-New Mexico state line dedicating the Geronimo Trail from Douglas to Cloverdale, N.M. ASSOCIATED PRESS
ings that the legislation “increases everyone’s ability to participate by raising everyone’s contribution limits.” Clark, however, derided the 25 percent increase. “We’ve not had that kind of inf lation, thus creating an advantage for people who have greater access to money,” Clark said. Separately, the House gave final approval to changes in laws governing voter petition drives. Current law generally requires that citizen initiatives and recalls comply only “substantially” with state election laws. Courts have concluded that if they can ascertain the intent of petition circu lators and signers, they err on the side of letting the issue go to the ballot. What that also has meant, though, is judges have refused to void petitions in situations where a signer, when inserting the date, has put in the wrong year. And they also gave the go-ahead to a vote on a tax measure where the printed version of the petition differed from the electronic version prefiled with the Secretary of State’s Office. HB 2407, which now goes to the governor, would require courts to quash petition drives where there was not “strict compliance” with election laws. Foes said that means technical violations could thwart the will of hundreds of thousands of people who have signed petitions to put an issue before voters or recall an elected official. The House approval of the measure on “ballot harvesting” comes amid contentions by Republicans that the process is ripe for fraud.
Close to 80 percent of all votes in statewide elections a re through early ballots, mailed to individuals who say they want to get the election documents ahead of time through the mail. In general, most are filled out and mailed back in postage-free envelopes. But various groups go door-to-door ahead of the election, sometimes after it’s too late to mail and arrive on time, to see if voters still have their early ballots, offering to hand-drop them at polling places. Sen. Don Shooter, RYuma, said he has heard tales of groups putting those ballots into a microwave with a bowl of water, steaming them open, and discarding the ballots when votes did not go the way they wanted. But Shooter conceded he had no proof, nor was anyone ever charged. SB 1339 would make it a felony to pick up anyone else’s bal lot. There would be exceptions for family members, caregivers — and candidates themselves. During Wednesday’s d e b at e , R e p . Vi n c e Leach, R-Tucson, cited various findings of voter fraud found by the U.S. Department of Justice. Rep. Lela Alston, DPhoenix, offered a proposal she said would deal with concerns of fraud. It would allow people to give their ballots to anyone after signing an affidavit. But Rep. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu Cit y, said t hat sti l l doesn’t deal with the possibility of a candidate going to a nursing home and talking patients with dementia into filling out their ballots a certain way.
Michael Frank Molina Sr. July 2, 1960 — March 28, 2015
Michael Frank Molina Sr. was born July 2, 1960, in Tombstone, Ariz. His life was taken on March 28, 2015, at his home in Bisbee, Ariz. Michael is survived by his son, Michael Frank Molina Jr., Bisbee, Ariz.; ex-wife, Dolores (Connie) Molina, Bisbee, Ariz.; daughter, Jennifer (Bobby) King, Tombstone, Ariz.; daughter, Tiffany Montiel (Danny), Tombstone, Ariz.; father, Frank (Maria) Molina, Tombstone, Ariz.; mother, Adelina (Larry) Witte, Sierra Vista, Ariz.; brother, Fred (Leslie) Molina, Winnemucca, Nev.; brother, Anthony Molina (Jennifer), Tombstone, Ariz.; sister, Melanie Johnson, Sierra Vista, Ariz.; sister, Marlene Saracino (Hugo), Winnemucca, Nev.; Paula Smith, Hereford, Ariz.; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and Buster. Everyone who was part of Michael’s life knew that he lived and loved life to the fullest. From all of us you left behind we have a large void in our hearts, not a day will go by without thinking of you. Michael, you will be deeply missed. We love you. A memorial service will be held Friday, April 3, 2015, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Alex Espinosa Funeral Home in Bisbee, Ariz., 1094 W. Highway 92, Bisbee. A burial service will be held Saturday, April 4, 2015, at 1 p.m., at the Tombstone Cemetery in Tombstone, Ariz., with a pot luck reception to follow at the Legion in Tombstone from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations for the headstone can be made at Wells Fargo to the Michael Molina Memorial routing number 122105278, account number 3942363114.
SIERRA VISTA
Sierra Vista Advertising/Editorial . . . . . . . . (520) 458-9440 Sierra Vista Circulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (520) 458-9440 Bisbee Advertising /Circulation . . . . . . . . . . (520)432-2231 (USPC 496-020 and UPSC 0569--40) Published daily, including holidays 102 Fab Avenue, Sierra Vista AZ 85635. Editorial, Advertising, Business and Circulation offices: 102 Fab Avenue, Sierra Vista AZ 85635 12 Main Street, Bisbee AZ 85603 Periodicals postage paid at Sierra Vista AZ 85635 Postmaster: Send address changes to Sierra Vista Herald, 102 Fab Avenue, Sierra Vista AZ 85635 If you missed your paper, call: (520) 458-9440 in Sierra Vista or (520) 432-2231 in Bisbee Entire contents copyrighted April 2, 2015, by Sierra Vista Herald, Inc. No materials in this issue may be reproduced in any manner without expressed written permission of the publishers. Sierra Vista Herald, Vol. 60, No. 177; Bisbee Daily Review, Vol. 116, No. 350.