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OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 9, 2022
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How the nation has failed with COVID-19 BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
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f there’s one thing that continues to surprise me about the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not the death toll of 831,000 and rising, or that we’re approaching Year Three of the presence of the virus in our lives. It’s how poorly we as a nation have handled this public health emergency. When you grow up believing that you live in an exceptional country – a “shining city on a hill,” to borrow a phrase Ronald Reagan borrowed – it’s tough to see that country put in no better than a solid Dplus performance. Graded generously. Where have we gone wrong, you ask? I’d cite three major areas of failure: Scientific, journalistic and political. The scientific community performed amazing work creating effective vaccines against COVID-19 at warp speed. Where they’ve fumbled is not at the research
level, but where nerds stereotypically stumble – communicating with the rest of us. Some of this is to be expected; science is an evolutionary process, forever reexamining, rethinking. Scientists change their minds constantly, especially studying a virus that itself mutates by the day. But with COVID-19, the mind-changes have been so many and so radical, vast swaths of the nation seemed to have simply tuned out. The early days of the pandemic feel quaint now, as does the initial Centers For Disease Control mask guidance from the spring 2020. “If you are NOT sick,” the CDC told us, “You do not need to wear a facemask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a facemask).” We’ve traveled a long, twisty road since then. And thousands of news reporters have squawked about it every step of the way. It’s not the local hacks I have much of a problem with, but more the national
networks and their style of mixing fact and bloviation. CNN, Fox, MSNBC and their ilk have treated a public health emergency like Election Night or a war, bouncing between factual reportage and commentary, until even a sophisticated viewer can’t tell the difference. Then there’s the politicization of the pandemic, using party ID as the metric of truth-telling. To be an independent American watching cable news in 2022 is to be stupefied by how everything – even the basic decision to get a vaccination or wear a mask – is politics today. Speaking of politics, remember President Trump’s ludicrous “15 days to slow the spread” campaign? That was about 666 days ago. Then we had President Biden’s June 2021 “month of action” that was going to launch a “summer of freedom.” Old Joe was positively giddy come Independence Day, delivering news the nation had nearly reached the goal of 70 percent of adults with at least one vac-
cination. “This is one of the greatest achievements in American history, and you, the American people, made it happen,” the President claimed. “We are emerging from one of the darkest years in our nation’s history into a summer of hope and joy.” I guess summer was nice, at least in comparison to Biden’s recent description of how Omicron would create “a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated – for themselves, their families and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm.” Except now it seems maybe science has changed its mind on Omicron, which you may or may not have and which may or may not kill you. Except the CDC changed its mind on quarantines, shifting from 10 days to five for those with infections. Except you can’t tell if you’re infected because no home COVID-19 tests are in stock at the drugstore and the news says waits are eternal at testing centers. Of course the news also says … blah, blah, blah. Like I said, a solid grade of D-plus.■
struction activity in this area early in 2022; and, we anticipate the work in this area to be completed two years earlier than much of the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project - in 2022 rather than in 2024. ADOT saw value for our customers in working to complete construction on eastbound I-10 between Baseline Road and Chandler Boulevard early in the project. So, we worked with the developer team that is designing and building the project to make it happen. We recognized the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project will be highly impactful in other areas of I-10, the US 60 (Superstition Freeway) and State Route 143. Completing this stretch two years before the remainder of the project is one
way we’re striving to reduce those impacts for at least some motorists in the 11-mile project area. The primary work along eastbound I-10 between Baseline Road and Chandler Boulevard is widening on the outside to provide another travel lane. Crews will work behind the concrete barrier, limiting the need for restrictions or closures that impact drivers. In terms of highway construction, it is relatively “easy” work; yet the payoff for thousands of motorists is tremendous. Our work south of Baseline Road also includes widening the Guadalupe Road bridge over east and westbound I-10 and improving the Sun Circle Trail crossing for pedestrians, bicyclists and equestrians.
I encourage you to stay up to date on progress of the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project at i10BroadwayCurve. com and #StayAheadOfTheCurve. While you’re there, you can subscribe to receive traffic alerts and project updates by email and learn more about our free project app, The Curve - another valuable resource as construction ramps up. Thank you all for your patience as we continue to deliver on our commitment to maintaining and improving Arizona’s freeways. In the end, our projects aim to ensure that every one of us gets where we need to be through safe, efficient and reliable transportation. Happy New Year! John Halikowski is the drector of the Arizona Department of Transportation. ■
ADOT chief forecasts early end to some I-10 work BY JOHN HALIKOWSKI Tribune Guest Writer
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he New Year is upon us. It’s a time when many of us set new goals and are optimistic about achieving them. As I look ahead into 2022, I think about all the project goals we at the Arizona Department of Transportation have as we continue to improve our state’s transportation system. It’s always nice to start off a new year with good news, and here’s some for motorists who travel eastbound on Interstate 10, between Baseline Road and Chandler Boulevard. Expect to see a significant uptick in con-
Share Your Thoughts: Send your letters on local issues to: pmaryniak@timespublications.com
