OPINION

Opinion TheFoothillsFocus.com | @TheFoothills.Focus /TheFoothillsFocus For more opinions visit thefoothillsfocus.com

AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN Shortages abound due to the COVID-19 pandemic

BY JUDY BLUHM

Foothills Focus Columnist

Last year we had no toilet paper or hand sanitizer. This year we have no houses. Oh, and let’s not forget we are running out of chicken wings, lumber, microchips and chlorine for pools. This summer, “experts” are predicting we might have shortages of gasoline and bacon. It’s almost too much to comprehend. So the world might end up in a pretty darn perilous situation if we have a bacon shortage! If people were hoarding toilet paper last year, there could be fist fights in the grocery store aisles when our beloved bacon becomes scarce! Limit the number of packs we can buy? I doubt that will work. It could be mayhem in the market.

Are we supposed to stock up? Not exactly sure how we do that if we are planning summer trips and there is no gasoline at the pumps. Evidently, one of the reasons for this potential “shortage” is that there are 50% fewer fuel tanker drivers this year than last year. Many had to find new work when we were all sitting at home. Now we are back to traveling, and the truck drivers are gone! Come back! We need to go to the beach this summer and cannot drive there without gasoline.

Chicken wings are another story. The labor shortages and closures of poultry plants due to COVID-19 have caused many restaurants to have to either slash the wings from the menu or make them as expensive as gold nuggets. What are we to do? The pain is real for many folks in the food industry and lovers of these spicy, delectable chicken bites that are perfect for dipping. Americans consume 2.8 billion chicken wings a year! That would be an average of 18,000 wings in a person’s lifetime. Yikes, how will we cope if the shortage continues?

Want to rent a car? Plan wisely. They are out there, just not in great numbers. Many car rental companies sold off their fleets during COVID-19 travel restrictions. Now folks going to Maui are renting U-Haul trucks to drive around the island because $200 a day is more cost effective than trying to snag a car rental at $700 a day. That’s right, go on vacation and rent a truck to see the island. We cannot make this stuff up!

And lumber prices are through the roof (no pun intended). The increase in home prices due to the skyrocketing cost of lumber (up 236% since last year) means that you might be spending $40,000 more to build your house. I saw an ad on Facebook that showed two huge boards and several peel poles that a guy is willing to “trade” for a new red or yellow Corvette. He went on to say, “No lowball offers — I know what I have.” Yes, it is our new reality, and we must learn to survive. And maybe go without.

My husband, Doug, says I worry too much. Good advice. Hmm, I do have 25 bottles of hand sanitizer and 70 rolls of toilet paper. If anyone wants to trade me for some bacon, drop me a line.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local realtor. Have a story or a comment? Email her at jusy@judybluhm.com.

THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | MAY 12, 2021

For Arizona’s senators, ‘D.C.’ means ‘decide carefully’

BY JD HAYWORTH

Foothills Focus Columnist

Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly have boldly gone where few Arizonans from their party have gone before.

Their joint membership in the “World’s Most Exclusive Club” marks the first time since 1953 that the Grand Canyon State has been represented in the Senate by a pair of Democrats.

Sen. Sinema’s unconventional fashion choices began a buzz upon her arrival, but she followed a conventional political path to the Upper Chamber.

That’s not the case for her new Arizona colleague.

Like John Glenn and Jack Schmitt before him, Mark Kelly’s path to the Senate was “out of this world;” to stay there, history’s third astronaut-turned-senator must continue to defy political gravity.

It won’t be easy.

Elected last November to complete the unfinished term of the late John McCain, Kelly must again face the voters in 2022. Unsurprisingly, Arizona Republicans have made the recovery of that Senate seat their top priority. Businessman Jim Lamon has already thrown his hat in the ring, and more GOP candidates are expected to announce soon.

Adding to Kelly’s challenge is the audacious overreach of his fellow Democrats in the House. Nancy Pelosi’s narrow majority has passed bills that would cost trillions, change election law to make vote-by-mail mandatory, and run counter to the Constitution.

Even though our founding document calls for the creation of a seat of government for the United States in Article I, Section 8, Clause 17; a “District not exceeding 10 miles square…” established by “Cession of particular states and the acceptance of Congress…” and that Maryland and Virginia ceded the land for the creation of Washington, D.C., which was founded in July 1790, last month House Democrats passed H.R. 51 — a bill for D.C. Statehood.

All 216 votes in favor of the measure came from Democrats — underscoring the partisan power play. The legislation would change the name from District of Columbia to Douglass Commonwealth, and more significantly, add two dependable Democrat votes in the Senate.

But the two Arizona Democrat votes in the Senate are not certain to be cast in favor of D.C. statehood. Sens. Sinema and Kelly have not sponsored the bill, and based on the findings of a new poll, they would both be wise to vote against it, should it come to the Senate floor.

A survey of 400 likely Arizona voters was conducted late last month by McLaughlin & Associates for the U.S. Justice Foundation (USJF). It found that a majority of Arizona voters, 50%, oppose D.C. statehood; only 42% support it.

Full disclosure, this columnist chairs USJF’s Advisory Committee.

Moreover, 77% of the respondents were aware of the House passage of the bill by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her narrow Democrat majority, and the partisan implications of the legislation once signed into law.

When reviewing and discussing the effects that D.C. statehood would bring, the opposition of Arizona voters increased to almost 60%, a decisive majority.

Meantime, one senate Democrat has taken a decisive and public stance against statehood for Washington, D.C. Joe Manchin of West Virginia will oppose the legislation.

Recall that Sens. Manchin and Sinema worked together earlier this year to oppose removal of the filibuster from the Senate Rules. Will we see a similar alliance for denying D.C. statehood? And might that duo become a trio with the addition of Kelly?

If so, Mark Kelly could claim the mantle of John McCain, describing himself as a “principled pragmatist,” and making a midcourse correction common in spaceflight, and not unheard of in public office. If not, the third astronaut-turned-senator could see his political mission grounded early.

VOTE NOW!

BESTOF 2021

Our reader poll is designed to let YOU tell us about your favorite people, places, shops, restaurants and things to do in Anthem, Carefree, Cave Creek and North Phoenix PEOPLE | PLACES | SHOPS | RESTAURANTS | THINGS TO DO

Vote at TheFoothillsFocus.com Tetsell Team

Your Neighborhood Realtors® serving all of Anthem and the North Valley! Discover the possibilities!

Dick 480.227.6578 dick@tetsellaz.com Jill 480.203.9066 Jtetsell@gmail.com www.tetsellteam.com

THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | MAY 12, 2021

Hunting should be a two-way street

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Foothills Focus Columnist

Every so often on Facebook or Instagram, I see that one of my friends has gone hunting, successfully killing this or that forest creature. There are smiles all around as the hunter strikes a pose beside a mule deer, turkey, or javelina. All involved — except the animal — seem inordinately proud of the conquest, which always leaves me feeling a bit curious.

As in, why such obvious pride? I mean, isn’t hunting sort of a one-sided competition, given that the predator typically has some sort of weapon, like a high-powered rifle, whereas the best a white-tailed deer can manage for weaponry is a set of antlers?

Then I remind myself what I have known for a long time: Some folks simply enjoy killing things a little bit more than the rest of us.

I was reminded again recently when the National Park Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department offered 12 hunters the chance to cull bison from a herd of 500 that have roamed the North Rim of the Grand Canyon since the early 1900s. The bison apparently have been raising all kinds of hell up there, trampling ancient ruins, contaminating watering holes and leaving Budweiser cans and pork rinds bags everywhere.

Kidding about that last part. But I’m not kidding when I say that more than 45,000 hunters applied online during the 48 hours the agencies were taking digital hunting applications.

As Matt Mallery of Flagstaff told the Associated Press: “It needs to happen for management purposes. And if it’s going to be somebody, it may as well be me.”

Which is exactly the opposite of my own logic when it comes to killing animals: If it’s going to be somebody, it doesn’t have to be me.

I have no moral objection to hunting. I ate a burger for dinner last night and I have no affinity for, say, javelina, which tend to destroy things I like, like golf courses and small dogs. I wasn’t traumatized by the murder of Bambi’s mommy as a kid. And I’m not afraid of guns, which I’ve fired on many occasions. It’s the beaming pride I don’t get – relishing taking an animal’s life.

Listen to James Vasko, one of those 45,000 applicants, explaining himself to the AP: “I just thought it would be a cool experience,” said the 27-year-old, who works in real estate and farms in Nebraska. “I’m an avid fisher, hunter. Going to the Grand Canyon to hunt bison would be absolutely awesome.”

Would it really? Male bison weigh up to 2,000 pounds and can stand 6 feet tall. They have poor eyesight and run at speeds up to 35 mph. That makes these bulls slightly larger than my parents’ 1972 Volkswagen Beetle, a 50-horsepower behemoth that topped out at about 75 mph. While no one ever riddled that car with bullets, it wouldn’t have been a difficult shot, especially armed with a Browning BAR Mark II Safari rifle featuring the Ballistic Optimizing Shooting System and using belted magnum big game cartridges and a telescopic site.

My hunter friends love to refer to hunting as a sport. They cite rules like “fair chase,” which Game and Fish defines as the “ethical, sportsmanlike and lawful pursuit and taking of free-range wildlife in a manner that does not give a hunter or an angler improper or unfair advantage over such wildlife.”

Personally, I prefer not to sugarcoat things. Just be honest and admit it: You like killing things. You can try to even up the hunt all you want, but let’s be real: Shooting a 2,000-pound bison will be a sport as soon as the bison can fire back. THE “10% SAVINGS RIGHT FROM THE START” POLICY

THE “10% SAVINGS

RIGHT FROM THE Ready to save right away on your auto insurance?

START” POLICYCombine affordable coverage from American Family Insurance with our free KnowYourDrive® program, and you’ll instantly get 10% off* — plus you could qualify for a free Travel Peace of Mind package* with Ready to save right away on your auto insurance? Combine a ordable coverage from American Ready to save right away on your auto insurance? emergency roadside service, rental reimbursement and more. Show off your safe driving habits and you Family Insurance with our free KnowYourDrive® program, and you’ll instantly get 10% o * — plus you could qualify for a free Travel Peace of Mind package* with emergency roadside service, rental

Combine affordable coverage from American Family could earn up to 20% off! reimbursement and more. Show o your safe driving habits and you could earn up to 20% o ! Insurance with our free KnowYourDrive® program, Contact me today to see how much you could save. Contact me today to see how much you could save. and you’ll instantly get 10% off* — plus you could qualify for a free Travel Peace of Mind package* with emergency roadside service, rental reimbursement and more. Show off your safe driving habits and you could earn up to 20% off!

Contact me today to see how much you could save.

John Kovach, Agent Bus: (623) 551-7900 3715 W Anthem Way Ste 112 Anthem, AZ 85086 jkovach@amfam.com jkovach@amfam.com

*Discounts may vary by state and company underwriting the auto policy. Discounts may not apply to all coverages on an auto policy. Eligibility and approval standards for the Travel Peace of Mind Package apply for each vehicle.

John Kovach, Agent Bus: (623) 551-7900 American Family Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. & its Operating Companies 6000 American Parkway, Madison, WI 53783 ©2020 018661 – 8/20 – 13805202 3715 W Anthem Way Ste 112 Anthem, AZ 85086