Kyler Van Vliet – Pima Post

Catherine Ripley: The Newest Member on PCC’s Board of Governors

24Apr

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Features, Politics

Catherine Ripley: The Newest Member on PCC’s Board of Governors

Pima Community College Governing Board member Catherine Ripley By Kyler Van Vliet Catherine Ripley has spent her life traversing the world working as a U.S. diplomat, counter-terrorism strategist, professor and – for a few months – as a bassist. This January, Ripley started her new career as a member of the Pima Community College Board of Governors, representing District 1 in Arizona. She won the general election last November in 2020 against Ethan Orr with a campaign focused on increasing enrollment through formal partnerships with local High Schools, the JTED Program and the Earn to Learn Programs. Like most universities and colleges, Pima’s enrollment rate is down. According to The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, college enrollment declined ...

23Apr

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Business

Electric Cars on Campus

A fully electric Dodge Firebird (Kyler Van Vliet) By Kyler Van Vliet On Wednesday, the Tucson Electric Vehicle Association (TEVA) held an electric vehicle car show to bring awareness to Earth Day and a bigger car show being held on Saturday, April 24. The event, held in the parking lot of Pima’s Downtown Campus, had several electric vehicles on display including an electric-converted Pontiac Firebird, a Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt and various Tesla Models — all personal vehicles of event volunteers. One person at the event was TEVA’s public relations and outreach representative Jerry Asher, also known as EV Jerry. EV Jerry was kind enough to give me a hands-on demonstration of what an electric vehicle is all about and gave me a quick ride around in his 2017 Tesla Model X.&nbs...

3Mar

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Opinion

Opinion: Migrants Abandoned in Yuma

Photo by Donald Giannatti By Kyler Van Vliet Custom and Border Protection holding facilities have been at maximum capacity since April of last year and now migrants are being released into Yuma County. Due to a rise in border apprehensions combined with social distancing guidelines that don't allow for as many people to be held in one particular space, CBP has released a group of 20 people into the neighboring community of San Luis. Several more similarly sized groups were let out in subsequent days. Yuma County is not new to sheltering released migrants. Two years ago, Yuma saw the release of 5,700 migrants into the county of about 215,000 people over a three-month period. Two years ago however, there was a non-profit shelter for people to stay at. That sole temporary shelter in the ar...

Teaching Seven Year Olds Over the Internet: How Hard Could It Be?

23Feb

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Features

Teaching Seven Year Olds Over the Internet: How Hard Could It Be?

By Kyler Van Vliet Remote learning has proven to be a real learning curve for both the college student and professor, but perhaps the true struggle lies with the job of trying to manage the education of 22 six and seven year-olds. Jana Schubert of Blenman Elementary School is a first-grade teacher who has been adapting to remote learning since the fourth quarter of the 2019-20 school year. Schubert, 58, spent the bulk of her 21-year career teaching at White Elementary before moving to Blenman two years ago. For the past year, her and her peers have been on the frontlines of educating elementary students through remote learning, guiding curriculum from home. Schubert stressed how difficult the year has been for not only herself and the staff, but also for the students. She said that ...

Embezzlement in Sierra Vista Leaves Small Businesses with a Hefty Bill to Pay

10Feb

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

News

Embezzlement in Sierra Vista Leaves Small Businesses with a Hefty Bill to Pay

By Kyler Van Vliet Embezzlement is defined by Merrian-Webster Dictionary as “to appropriate (something, such as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use.” The most notable embezzlement cases that people think of are the Ponzi-schemes that were carried out by Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford who would take money from new investors to pay out old investor’s “returns”, subsequently embezzling money before paying off their previous investors. Both are currently serving a combined sentence of 260 years behind bars after stealing a grand total of 58 billion dollars. However, a study conducted by specialist insurer Hiscox in 2017 on embezzlement in America showed that small and mid-sized companies (fewer than 500 employees) are disproportionately victimized, making up 6...

Proposal Would Cut Costs on Speeding in Arizona

31Jan

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

News

Proposal Would Cut Costs on Speeding in Arizona

Photo by Taylor Beach By Kyler Van Vliet Sen. David Gowan (R- District 14) proposed a bill that would save Arizonans money and save them from higher car insurance premiums. Gowan proposed SB 1127 on the 12th, a bill that he designed to help both the citizens of Arizona and its police officers. One of the key aspects of the proposed bill is if a driver is speeding up-to 10 mph over in 55, 65 or 75 zone then you can be cited for the offense of “waste of a finite resource” instead of a speeding citation. This comes as good news as the offense of “waste of a finite resource” carries a fine of $15, whereas fines for a speeding ticket start at $250 for going 10 mph over the speed limit and raise by $50 for every additional 5 mph over. The bill also adds that the state Department of Transpor...

8Dec

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

The NBA tests positive

Photo by Keith Allison By Kyler Van Vliet Last week, the NBA stated that 48 players have tested positive for COVID-19. With the season coming to a start later in December, the NBA tested 546 of its players between Nov. 24 and 30 after players returned to their respective team markets. 9% of the players tested positive. However, in the league’s preseason guidance to teams sent late last week, they made it clear that some positive test results were to be expected. Any player with a confirmed positive test is isolated until cleared by rules established by the league and National Basketball Players Association, in accordance with CDC guidance. The league's health and safety protocols for this season say that anyone with a positive test in this ‘pre-camp phase’, “must receive medical clear...

24Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Making sense of the Suns draft

Photo by Alexander Jonesi By Kyler Van Vliet The 2020 NBA draft has come and gone. Besides the league consensus top three picks in Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball, there were no other standout draftees, thus leaving teams uneasy in who to draft. Many drafted simply based off of player interviews, such as the Chicago Bulls picking college benchman Patrick Williams at pick 4. The Phoenix Suns were one of many teams that left fans confused based off their first round draft pick, drafting big man Jalen Smith from Maryland. Smith, 20, played two seasons for the Terrapins, averaging 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. I too was confused by the pick as I was certain they would draft a guard like Kira Lewis who would have been a great scorer off the bench and cou...

Before the sun sets on his career, Chris Paul will try to elevate Phoenix

21Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

News, Sports

Before the sun sets on his career, Chris Paul will try to elevate Phoenix

Photo by Tim Shelby By: Kyler Van Vliet With the NBA off-season shortened up to fit the altered 2021 season timeline, the trade moratorium was lifted this Monday on November 16. Many teams were quick to jump all in and start flipping assets in order to elevate their teams, and the Phoenix Suns were not late to the ball. The Suns traded for the Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul. The trade consisted of the Suns sending Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., two other young players and a future first-round pick to the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder. After reestablishing himself as one of the best point guards in the league this past season it was no surprise that his former team, the Thunder, were going to capitalize on other team’s desire to acquire Paul via trade. Before the moratorium wa...

12Nov

By Pima Post Editorial TeamNo Comments

Sports

Devin Booker wants out of Phoenix?

Photo by Keith Allison By Kyler Van Vliet With the NBA finals coming to a close in October and the 2021 NBA season aiming at a late December start, it leaves fans with a fairly short offseason window to fantasize about unrealistic trade inquisitions and drool over the latest rumors surrounding the league. The latest rumor involvesDevin Booker, shooting guard for the Phoenix Suns.. On November 3rd, Ryen Russillo appeared on the Bill Simmons Podcast and stated that Booker wanted out of Phoenix. “The worst-kept secret in the league is Booker already wants out of there,” said Russillo. But does he really? Booker just came off of his best season with the Suns after ending the season with a record of 34-39 and going 8-0 in the NBA bubble, almost securing them a playoff berth. The Suns thems...