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(Music)
HOST: This is CN2Go…
(Bring up music briefly and duck below and out )
HOST: I’M Amber Victoria Singer. Today on the show, a rally for crime survivors, a bill combating voter fraud and a report on why the number of Black Major League Baseball players is declining. But first…
KABOOM!
VOICE TRACK: For many people, playgrounds are an iconic part of being a kid. But not every child has equal access to a safe place to play. Up until last week, fifth through eighth graders at Loma Linda didn’t have a playground. There was a soccer field and a basketball court, but the playground on the opposite side of campus was reserved for younger students.
IYANA MOORE: “Every kid should have access to quality play spaces close to where they live and where they learn,”
VOICE TRACK: That’s Iyana Moore, associate director of strategic communications at Kaboom, a nonprofit that wants to end play space inequity.
IYANA MOORE: “The important part of that is that they should also feel a sense of belonging and a level of safety in these spaces.”
VOICE TRACK: The nonprofit doesn’t just drop in and build whatever playground they think is best. They ask students to draw their dream playground. Fifth grader Daniel Chiago’s design was incorporated into the build.
DANIEL CHIAGO: “I like drawing designs because my dad, he is an architect, so he designs the buildings, but then I got excited because my class was like, ‘That is so cool!’ And then before I knew it, I turned in my paper in to the principal, and then we got a meeting after school where we voted on the parts that should be on the playground.”
VOICE TRACK: The closest playground to the school is about two miles away, across State Route 51. According to Kaboom, kids in lower income neighborhoods or communities of color are less likely to have a safe place to play. The organization chose Loma Linda Elementary because of its distance from a good playground and its higher number of students of color.
The school’s principal applied for a playground grant last year. Once it was accepted, Kaboom connected Loma Linda with community business partner Fairytale Brownies. Kaboom matched the amount of money the business raised, which in this case was over fifty-thousand dollars.
Fairytale Brownies co-founder Eileen Spitalny said she has a special connection with playgrounds.
EILEEN SPITALNY: “My partner and I met on the playground in kindergarten… and he’s still one of my best friends to this day… So it’s just, yeah… Free play opens kids’ imagination and creativity that doesn’t happen in the classroom. Some kids just learn and adapt better out there, you know, getting all their energy out.”
VOICE TRACK: Following the months-long planning process, it only took one day for over 100 volunteers to actually assemble to playground. It’s blue and gray – colors the kids chose – and has a slide, a rock climbing wall and a zipline. This Monday marked the first day that students got to play on the playground they designed.
The interviews for this story were conducted by Cronkite reporter Lauren Kobley… For Cronkite News in Phoenix, I’m Amber Victoria Singer.
HB 2612
HOST: Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice held their second annual rally at Arizona’s State Capitol on Monday. Cronkite reporter Roxanne De La Rosa spoke with a representative about advocating for victims and survivors of violence.
VOICE TRACK: Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice is an organization that assists victims and family members affected by violence. The group hopes to receive legislative support to build a full-service trauma center. House Bill 2612 seeks funding for this initiative. Democratic Representative Jennifer Longdon was left paralyzed after being a victim of random gunfire nearly 20 years ago. She supports the bill.
REP. JENNIFER LONGDON: “The medical community stanched my wounds and stabilized my spinal cord injury and then sent me home to figure the rest of it out. And the rest of it turns out to be the hard part. How to move through this world, how to exist in this world…”
VOICE TRACK: According to advocates, everyone has their individual experience with trauma and grief but with the right resources and support systems in place victims and families can find a path to healing. Bill 2612 is on the way to the House floor. In Phoenix … Roxanne De La Rosa… Cronkite News…
HB 2691
HOST: Combating voter fraud is a hot topic among republicans, especially in Arizona. Cronkite reporter Kenny Rassmusen has more on a bill that could combat voter fraud…
VOICE TRACK: Claims of voter fraud and a lack of confidence in elections are fueling the introduction of a number of election-related bills at the state Legislature.
(Introducing the bill/nat sound bit at the end)
VOICE TRACK: One bill that passed the Municipal Oversight Committee was House Bill 2691, a chain-of-custody bill that would punish voter fraud and carefully monitor the ballots… The bill would limit where ballot boxes are placed, limit hours to weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and require each ballot box to be carefully monitored… Representative Justin Heap, who introduced the bill, says it would restore voter confidence and explained how this would work under the bill.
REP. JUSTIN HEAP: “Some people are concerned about the voting machines, some people are concerned about the precincts, tabulation centers. Mine simply deals with chain of custody and how we track where the ballots are sent and how they’re tabulated.”
VOICE TRACK: There was pushback from the Arizona Association of Counties. Jen Marson, the executive director, spoke against the bill saying the bill’s proposed tight chain of custody is unnecessary.
JEN MARSON: “A lot of this we already do, right? And more seals, and additional chain of custody is not our issue at all. For us the issue is the devil in the details.”
VOICE TRACK: Marson also opposed the use of words like “voting location supervisor” which she said is not a used term as well as “voting irregularities”
JEN MARSON: “We definitely would prefer a definition of ‘voting irregularities.’ Having served as a poll worker and a troubleshooter, there’s a myriad of things that can happen. Are all of them considered voting irregularities? I can give you examples.”
VOICE TRACK: Marson, despite not favoring the bill as it was written, liked the idea of voting transportation records. She said if the bill is changed the counties may support it.
VOICE TRACK: No Democrats on the committee voted for the bill… Representative Laura Terech specifically criticized House Republicans for not discussing the bill with Democrats prior to the conference.
REP. LAURA TERECH: “For this bill and future measures, I would encourage anyone sitting across from me on the dais, to reach out to the Democratic members on this committee in advance.”
VOICE TRACK: Despite pushback, the bill passed out of committee and now makes its way past the majority and minority caucuses, appearing to be currently eligible for further consideration… Kenny Rasmussen, Cronkite News.
BLACK MLB PLAYERS
HOST: In the early 1990s, Black baseball players made up roughly 18 percent of all major leaguers. Now, only seven percent of the league is Black. Cronkite Sports reporter Jake Brown found out what caused the shift.
VOICE TRACK: MLB used to be headlined by Black ballplayers such as Hall of Famers Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr. and Cy Young Award winners CC Sabathia and David Price… Since then, Black participation in Major League Baseball has dwindled due to the changes in the inner cities and suburbs. Baseball is also an expensive sport to play and there are considerable disparities between the average net worth of Black and white families.
Outfielder Billy Hamilton is a member of Player’s Alliance. The organization goes into Black communities and introduces opportunities to young Black ballplayers.
BILLY HAMILTON: “You gotta want it and have the desire to do it, and us just playing every single day and continue to try and be great, and just showing these guys that it’s a possibility to be at the next level.”
VOICE TRACK: The goal, according to Hamilton, is to help the kids to understand that there is a future for them in baseball… All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson says he feels special to be a part of the seven percent of African American players in the Major Leagues.
TIM ANDERSON: :To be a part of a low percentage, it means a lot. I’m just gonna keep going, keep putting on, representing and being the best version of myself unapologetically and continue to have fun.”
VOICE TRACK: Anderson says the best way for MLB to attract more black players is to find the players that are marketable.
TIM ANDERSON: “You had those players in the ’80s and ’90s that was cool, rocking hats backwards, being real cool, chains out. They bring something different to the game. They bring some cool, bring some swag, bring some personality and just making the game better as a whole.”
VOICE TRACK: According to Hamilton MLB actively markets itself to the black community.
BILLY HAMILTON: “They look and see the percentage that there is in professional baseball and now if I play football or basketball I have a better chance. MLB does their job.”
VOICE TRACK: You can learn more about the Players Alliance at playersalliance-dot-org… I’m Jake Brown, Cronkite Sports…
(bring up music under very last track and post up in the clear for a couple of seconds and duck below)
HOST: This week’s edition of CN2Go was hosted and produced by me, Amber Victoria Singer. We had help from Lauren Kobley, Roxanne De La Rosa, Alyssa Muñoz, Kenny Rassmusen and Jake Brown.
(Bring up music and duck below)
HOST: You can learn more about the stories you heard today by going to Cronkitenews-dot-A-A-P-B-S-dot-org…
Once again, I’m Amber Victoria Singer, and that’s all for CN2Go.
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