Mohave County Supervisor District III
“Congressman @[104329699641957:274:Rep. Paul Gosar] hearing in Kingman” From Congressional Field Hearing on Downwinders, posted by Buster Johnson on 4/14/2014 (6 items) Congressman Paul Gosar, DDS Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher 2
Lake Havasu City, AZ – Supervisor Buster Johnson would like to make the public aware of a proposed piece of legislation known as HB2625 which adds another tax on our already overburdened taxpayers. This proposed legislation made it through the House without any opposition or without one “no” vote and has been passed to the Senate. This “fee” will be added to an already over bloated additional fee schedule on “every fine, penalty and forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for criminal offenses and any civil penalty imposed and collected for a civil traffic violation and fine, penalty or forfeiture for a violation of the motor vehicle statutes, for any local ordinance relating to the stopping, standing or operation of a vehicle for a violation of the game and fish statutes in Title 17”. “It used to be you received a ticket for $65.50 and $65.50 was all you paid. Now if you get a ticket for $250 the additional fees are $243 and it goes up. One of the DUI fees is $4,623 plus the cost of the ticket. Once again, the government has found a way to take monies from you and put the funds to work for other causes” stated Supervisor Johnson. Just a few of the more than 50 allowable fees are medical services enhancement, clean elections, elected officials retirement, law library and law library improvement. This proposed Victims’ Rights Enforcement Fund would add to the two fees already assessed for victims’ rights and victims’ assistance. “In FY13, Supervisor Johnson stated, “over $20 million was collected from taxpayers in 4 categories of additional fees alone.” All of these assessments fall under the category of a “sin tax” and by saying it is for a good cause doesn’t make it right. “I believe individuals should be able to choose the charities and candidates they wish to support,” Johnson stated. “It is not up to the government to decide who you are going to contribute to” Johnson added. ###
“Elks Lodge 2399 held their annual free swim and hotdog day at the Aquatic Center. Also had their Hugs not Drugs booth and info. Familys and cooks had a great time” From Elks Swim Day, posted by Buster Johnson on 5/31/2014 (13 items) Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher 2
From SPECIAL OLYMPICS AREA GAMES, posted by Buster Johnson on 3/15/2014 (18 items) Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher 2
Lake Havasu City, AZ – Supervisor Buster Johnson would like to make the public aware of a new growing trend that has been surfacing more frequently on the internet. “Tech support scams from the outside may look very legit. With these scams, individuals claim to be computer techs associated with well-known companies like Google and Netflix,” Supervisor Johnson stated. In the past few days users of both Netflix and Gmail have reported their accounts being hacked with this particular type of scam. “Tech support scams first surfaced in 2008 and have become one of the most popular types of phishing attacks on the internet today. With over 40 million Netflix users and over 140 million Gmail accounts worldwide, hackers have moved on from attacking small, not well known websites to largely populist ones,” Johnson continued. When it comes to tech support scams like the recent ones reported by Netflix users, individuals are informed that unusual activity has been detected on their account and asked to a call a support line. While users believe they are calling the real support line for Netflix, what they are really calling is a 1-800 number that directs them to a call center in India where hackers are trained to trick users into giving them access to their computer by downloading software aimed at getting rid of the virus they claim has attacked one’s computer system. The scammers will not only steal sensitive files from their computer, but swindle them out of $400 to “fix” the hacking problem. “Our personal computers are becoming the storing house of all our sensitive information. Individuals now a day store mostly everything on their personal computer from banking information to copies of tax returns that contain one’s social security number,” Johnson said. “It is important folks are aware of these types of scams so they don’t fall victim to them,” Johnson continued. If confronted with a similar message when trying to log into one’s Gmail or Netflix account, both companies are urging users to check the web address. In the case of Netflix the user was actually redirected to a website url of www.netflix.afta3.com. If one feels they may have already become victim of such a scam, the following steps should be taken: • Revoke remote access by shutting down your computer. That should cut the remote session and kick them out of your PC. • Scan your computer for malware. The miscreants may have installed password stealers or other Trojans to capture your keystrokes. Use a program such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to quickly identify and remove threats. • Change all your passwords ###
Lake Havasu City, AZ – Supervisor Buster Johnson would like to make the public aware of a severe polio-like illness that has affected at least twenty-five children in California aged two to sixteen. “I have had several individuals inquire if Mohave County has seen any similar cases,” Supervisor Johnson stated. According to Mohave County Public Health Director Patty Mead, Mohave County has so far seen nothing similar to what those in California have experienced. Officials with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) have confirmed that these cases are not polio. All twenty-five children had received the polio vaccination prior to experiencing any symptoms. In all cases, each child suffered some sort of paralysis that affected one or more of their limbs along with respiratory difficulties. Five of the cases have received a thorough examination whereas the other 15-20 have not received a full workup to isolate a cause. Of those five cases, two of the effected children had enterovirus-68 isolated as a possible culprit whereas the other three did not. CDPH officials are stating that these cases may be a non-polio enterovirus, but more investigation is necessary. The CDPH advises that the best way to prevent the spread of any enterovirus is through hand washing and keeping sick children away from others. The Arizona Department of Health Services has not identified any cases in Arizona, but is on heightened alert for reports of unidentified child paralysis and continues to monitor the situation. Supervisor Johnson advises those who may have experienced a situation like this or know someone who has to contact the Mohave County Public Health Department at 928-753-0743. ###
Lake Havasu City, AZ –Supervisor Buster Johnson would like to share with the public the latest figures compiled by Mohave County’s Human Resource Department in regards to the county’s new prescription discount drug program. The National Association of Counties (NACo) Prescription Discount Drug Program was first made available for use by all Mohave County residents just last month. “Since that time participants of the program have saved on average 21.4% on their prescription drugs,” Supervisor Johnson stated. According to the figures, a total of 10 county residents utilized the program during the month of January saving them over $300 on their prescriptions with an average savings of $18.39 per prescription. “This program is a great benefit for residents, and I hope to see more take advantage of it in the future,” Johnson stated. Of the ten participants, a total of 18 prescriptions were submitted through the card with 15 of them seeing a larger discount with NACo’s discount program than with the discount programs offered through pharmacies such as Walgreens. As an example Johnson explained, “A resident without the NACo card would have paid on average $85.92 for a specific prescription. With the NACo card, on average they only ended up paying $67.52,” Johnson explained. The Prescription Discount Drug Program is put on by NACo at no cost to the counties or participants of the program. It can be used by all county residents regardless of age, income or existing health coverage. There is no enrollment form, no membership fee and no restrictions or limits on frequency of use. The card is accepted at most major retail pharmacies, including CVS. For those interested in a free card, one can be obtained at County Supervisor Buster Johnson’s office located at 2001 College Drive or online at: http://www.nacorx.org/ ###
Lake Havasu City, AZ – In what is being called the new Internet of Things (IoT) market, consumers are seeing new internet ready appliances coming out from different manufactures at an extremely fast pace. The International Data Corporation (IDC) expects IoT technology and services spending to generate global revenues of $8.9 trillion by 2020. Supervisor Buster Johnson is concerned that this new technology may lead to more cyber security breaches. “This is getting a little scary with all the things that are becoming subject to hacking,” Supervisor Johnson stated. Johnson, who is one of the First Vice Presidents of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Cyber Security Task Force, has seen the IoT market take off over the past five years with the invention of products such as the Nest and Kwikset’s new Kevo product. “This new technology is going to change our everyday lives. With technology that will let us unlock our front door with our cell phone to refrigerators that keep track of inventory, someday soon nearly every appliance in our homes will come equipped with a computer chip. This new technology may be more convenient but at the same time it leaves us all vulnerable to cyber-attacks,” Johnson explained. The first major cyber-attack to be reported on internet ready appliances occurred late last year. According to researchers at Proofpoint, a provider of cloud-based solutions for threat protection, hackers broke into more than 100,000 everyday consumer gadgets between December 23, 2013 and January 6, 2014, such as home networking routers, connected multi-media centers, televisions, and at least one refrigerator. “Hackers are using these connected appliances as a new way to send malicious emails to enterprises and individuals worldwide,” Johnson stated. One of the newest IoT gadgets on the market today is Kwikset’s new Kevo bluetooth electronic deadbolt lock that can open one’s front door by using an app on the user’s iPhone. “You use to know when someone broke into your home because they would usually kick in the door. With this new technology, an intruder could be in your home and you may never know,” Johnson ended. ###
Phoenix, AZ – The Arizona Association of Counties (AACo) Board of Directors today adopted a resolution encouraging the federal government to honor its financial commitment to federal public land jurisdictions by fully funding the Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. Congress recently adopted the Fiscal Year 2014 federal Omnibus Appropriations Bill and PILT funding was not included. For more than 30 years, the PILT program has compensated counties for the loss of tax revenue associated with certain federal lands. Federal lands are no longer subject to local property tax but are frequently serviced by county governments in the form of roads, emergency management, law enforcement, search and rescue, etc. It was expected that the FY 2014 appropriation would have contained nearly $500 million in federal PILT payments to the nation’s effected counties. This amount would have honored commitments in the current federal fiscal year. AACo staff this week spent time working with the National Association of Counties (NACo) in encouraging members of Congress to include full funding for PILT in the Farm Bill; the most viable remaining legislative vehicle to enact the appropriation. Key congressional leaders continued to negotiate the final components of the legislation and it is anticipated that the Farm Bill will soon be taken up by the full Congress in the coming weeks. To view a copy of AACo’s Resolution on PILT Payments, please click here: http://www.azcounties.org/DocumentCenter/View/488 ###
Lake Havasu City, AZ – Supervisor Buster Johnson has received an updated report from the Department of Economic Security (DES) on the number of recipients receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Payments (SNAP) and Medicaid paid out by tax payer dollars in the Colorado City area. Supervisor Johnson, who has fought for the rights of women and children in Colorado City since taking office in 1997, first notified the public of his concerns regarding this issue back in September. “This new report continues to show that over 90% of the population of Colorado City is receiving supplemental nutrition and medical assistance,” Johnson stated. “Over $400,000 a month in SNAP benefits alone is being paid out for a town with a population of only a little under five thousand,” Johnson continued. The DES figures showed that over $12 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance was paid out from July of 2011 to December of 2013. “For a small town, these numbers continue to be outrageous. While recipients around the state saw their SNAP benefits cut by 5% in November, those in Colorado City don’t seem to be feeling the same hardship,” Johnson said. According to the latest figures, in December of 2013 approximately $428,099 was paid out for SNAP benefits on 529 cases resulting in a total household SNAP benefit of a little over $800 a month. “The average benefit for a household in the state of Arizona is roughly $288. The households in Colorado City are receiving over two times that amount,” Johnson said. During the past 17 years in public office, Supervisor Johnson has continued to see the FLDS “bleed the beast,” a term used by the FLDS prophet to justify the taking of tax payer dollars. “The women and children in Colorado City are not the ones receiving the actual benefits. They have been forced on a strict diet of water and beans by order of the FLDS prophet, Warren Jeffs,” Johnson explained. The figures released to Johnson’s office also show that for that same time period a total of 141,363 medical related appointments were made and paid for with tax payer dollars. While the report does not specify exactly how much money was paid out for medical assistance in the Colorado City area, the number can be estimated by going off the reported average cost of $199 per doctor visit in the United States. “By going off of the $199 per visit number, the amount paid for with tax payer dollars for 2013 alone would have amounted to a total cost of over $11 million,” Johnson ended. ###