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“To stave off change, Jacobs and her allies asserted a proprietary right to control their neighborhood. It belonged, they argued, to those that were already there, and it should be up to them to decide who would get to join them…A nation that had grown diverse and prosperous by allowing people to choose their communities would instead empower communities to choose their people.”

- Excerpt from Stuck author Yoni Appelbaum in the Atlantic ([link removed])


It was another long week at the legislature, with final committee hearings wrapping up in the House. By the end of those exhausting 12-hour days, I think everyone at the Capitol felt a huge sigh of relief.

I am excited to say that four policies I have been working on made it out of committees unanimously. Three of these policies are solutions to problems we identified in the health care space that have lead to massive abuse of patient care and medical insurance fraud. The fourth bill I was proud to work on alongside a constituent in the property lien space. I was not alone in successes this week as twenty three other Democrat bills made it out of committees. It is refreshing that this session has brought an uptick in the bipartisan alignment on a number of ideas ranging from education, finance, healthcare, disability access, and more.

(And for those keeping score at home, I held my bill that would allow tenants to decide to have their rent reported for credit purposes. I wanted to make sure that the correct tenant protections were in place before moving forward. The commerce Chair has agreed to hear it in a future committee as a topic of discussion.)

Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee was...interesting. The week wrapped up with testimony on chem trails, climate change denialism, and the ability to request a new utility provider if yours has DEI policies that hurt your feelings. As my colleague Rep. Mathis stated, we have officially seen it all in that committee.

Ag to Urban water legislation returned with HB 2298 ([link removed]) . This proposal seeks to incentivize reductions in groundwater pumping by encouraging farmers in some Active Management Area to convert their groundwater rights into credits that can be used to establish an assured water supply to build new homes. While the concept is promising, key details in this bill like the portability and volume of the credits fail to guarantee water savings. It was vetoed last year by the Governor and passed out of committee on party lines this week. I am working deeper on this policy to find a way to balance the best outcome to transition away from high water uses while ensuring we maintain sustainable allocations of this critical resource.

Science and Technology hosted a robust discussion on the urgency to address our state’s cybersecurity need. HB 2736 ([link removed]) establishes a five-year pilot program to bolster Arizona’s cybersecurity by upgrading critical state IT systems. This is aimed to modernize the state’s cybersecurity infrastructure and protect its sensitive data from emerging cyber threats. In explaining my vote in support of the bill, I made comments to the fact that our nation and our state are facing the biggest security risks we have ever faced - in human form of hostile citizens overtaking databases and payment systems that they have no idea how to manage, putting everyone’s private information at risk.

On the constituent front, more alarming news to share as mass layoffs in the VA healthcare space leave gaping holes in care for veterans. A concentration of these layoffs were in the radiology space, a group of physicians that read upwards of 30,000 scans a week for veterans.

I was also alerted that a key grant to fund a public school program in my district, and two others, was arbitrarily canceled four days ago by the desperate-oligarchs-gutting-everything group. This $16M three-year grant was allocated to three Arizona public schools to help grow and retain teachers and school leaders serving high-need student populations. “Our best teachers will feel a drop in pay, and we will be losing our good educators for our kids because Trump canceled this grant that we already received, contracted for, and have been relying on,” states Osborn School District Governing Board Member Ed Hermes.

Robbing our children of quality education and leaving veterans to face unacceptable delays in care will ultimately come at a greater cost to society. If you are experiencing a hardship from the cutting and gutting happening at the federal level please email me. We are collecting stories so that we can amplify and advocate to fight back against this hostile takeover.

With kindness,

Sarah
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** Hope in Ukraine
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This week, the president spread lies in an attempt to rewrite the history of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—a shameless effort to curry favor with tyrannical oligarchs that insults both global intelligence and those directly affected by the conflict.

In our district, one family’s story embodies resilience in the face of adversity. On February 4, 2022, a young man’s life in Ukraine was upended when Russian forces invaded the country he called home. Within weeks, he transformed personal tragedy into action by founding a grassroots nonprofit—the Blue Star Sunflower Project. What began as a local response initiative has since grown into a multinational aid organization that not only delivers critical relief and care but also employs drone technology to safely detect and neutralize land mines left behind by Russian invaders.

While he defends the community he loves in Ukraine, his parents provide unwavering support from Arizona. Recently, they reunited for the first time since the war began—a moment that must have been filled with profound emotional joy. If the state of the world has you looking for the helpers, this is them. This family stands as a powerful example of courage and compassion.

Their work relies entirely on community-sourced information and support. Learn more about their mission and consider joining the effort—be a part of the “many hands pushing the rock” toward a better future.

Blue Star Sunflower Project ([link removed])


** Novel Notions
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Did you know that once upon a time, Americans celebrated a massive “Moving Day,” when families would pack up and relocate together? Or that you could buy a pre-fabricated house from a Sears catalog for just $1,900? In today’s world, both realities seem almost unimaginable. In Stuck, the author Yoni Appelbaum examines America’s storied past of boundless movement—and how rising housing costs stymied by over regulated zoning policies have now stalled that freedom.

Stuck is a historical narrative that takes us back to a time when housing mobility was a chance to chase opportunity, starkly contrasting with today's stagnant housing landscape and anti-growth mentality. Appelbaum lays bare how outdated, overly burdensome zoning regulations and neighborhood pushback have worsened economic mobility, deepened inequality, and created pockets of wealthy areas surrounded by low-income ones. His incisive analysis shows that policies meant to preserve local character are, in fact, suffocating progress and locking people out. Although I have only just begun the book, Stuck challenges us to rethink urban planning and reclaim the freedom to build a more inclusive future where new neighbors are welcomed, not feared.

We are planning a book club event on Stuck and - fingers crossed - working to bring the author for it

.

Stay tuned for details and sign up for the book club to receive updates!

Book Club Sign Up (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Book%20Club%20Interest&body=Yes%2C%20I'd%20like%20information%20on%20the%20first%20book%20club%20event!)


** Community Corner
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Urban Phoenix Project, which has been advocating for urbanism in the desert since 2011, hosted a quarterly street clean up this weekend.

Over a dozen neighbors showed up to pick up trash and beautify the streets along 3rd avenue. Cleaning the streets is just another way they are committed to making urban Phoenix a great place to walk, bike, or take transit.

Urban Phoenix Project ([link removed])


** And Spring Means Home Tour Season!
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Beautiful day soaking up the fun at the Coronado Neighborhood Home Tour.

Only one more to go in the Encanto-Palmcroft neighborhood on March 16th.

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