Good evening
And welcome to another edition of the BAK Sunday Open Thread. We specialize in news and views from around Southern Arizona but welcome contributions from anywhere in the state. After all, Baja Arizona is a state-of-mind, even if you don’t live here.
First a tune
The Labor Day Picnic
We went to the Pima Area Labor Federation's annual picnic on Monday. I really like this event and we go every year. It’s a great chance to meet people, to find out who’s organizing for what and to pick up tons of buttons and campaign literature.
About every union in the state had a table along with left-leaning political parties and campaigns. Even the Communist Party was there. I ran into State Senator Andrea Dalessandro at the Democratic Party table, many of you will remember her from Netroots Nation in Phoenix. The Grijalva Campaign had a table although I didn’t see Raúl. The Heinz Campaign did not have a table, but I did see Dr. Matt. We talked a bit about healthcare, he assured me that Obamacare is not going to blow up in 2017. He also said that we could have the Medicare system administering the ACA tomorrow if Congress would allow it. The folks from AZ Healthy Working Families had a table. They finally have a number, their minimum wage proposition will be on the ballot in November as Prop. 206. I support Prop. 206 as does Dr. Heinz. A group called Todo Pa’Delante had a table. They’re from the Southside Workers Center and they’re working with the Arizona César Chávez Holiday Coalition to make César Chávez Day a national holiday. I got a couple of buttons from them and the idea for tonight’s tune. They’ll be having a fundraising dinner on Sept. 24 with food and live music hosted by ‘Neto Portillo Junior. Tickets are $35/plate, email them at southsidecentro@gmail.com if you’re interested.
Now the news
Blue Cross has decided to stay in Pinal County, so Obamacare folks there will have at least one insurer to choose from. Phoenix Health Plans Inc. is pulling out of Maricopa County, leaving people there with only one option. Republican CD-1 candidate Paul Babeu could be in trouble with the FBI regarding forfeited money and a charitable foundation and D-M is on a short list of bases to get a drone unit. The Standing Rock protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline is drawing tribal members from all over the country, including Arizona ☛ Arizona Daily Star. Representatives of the San Carlos Apache, the Tohono O’odham and the Pascua Yaqui tribes will travel to North Dakota. Raúl Grijalva says he’s going as is classical guitarist Gabriel Ayala. Ayala will play a fundraising gig on Sept. 16, information at the link.
Trump’s Border Wall
Sharmini Peries of The Real News Network interviewed Baja resident Todd Miller about the border fence. Here’s that segment:
OK …
That’s all I got for this edition. Feel free to tip, rec and drop a comment if you’ve got something to share. Anybody out there ?