Guests - Jason Rockwell, Joel Strabala, Laurie Moore, Timothy Keller
Tucson's Bomb Squad Expert Discusses Los Angeles Tragedy
The Dangers of Bomb Squad Work
Jason Rockwell, retired sergeant from the Pima County Sheriff's Department, joined the show to discuss the recent tragedy in Los Angeles where three sheriff's deputies were killed in an explosion. Rockwell served 23 years with PCSD and was the bomb squad supervisor from 2018 to 2023.
"I think we all had more questions than answers on Friday," Rockwell said regarding the LA incident. "The first reaction was just shock."
The bomb squad community is a tight-knit group of approximately 3,000 bomb technicians across the United States who work closely together. The three deputies who died left behind a total of 16 children between them - one had seven children, one had three, and one had six.
While details are still emerging, Rockwell explained that the explosive device appeared to have been recovered from a previous incident in Santa Monica and was being transported when it detonated at the sheriff's facility. Reports suggest it may have been either grenade bodies or a pipe bomb.
"If it's an improvised type thing," Rockwell clarified, "everyone's seen, if it was indeed a grenade... I've seen people improvise those to try to turn them into basically an improvised grenade. That's where I make that distinction or similarity to a pipe bomb, which is essentially the same thing. You fill a container full of an energetic material to improvise a fragmented explosive device like a grenade."
Bomb Squad Operations in Southern Arizona
The training for bomb technicians is extensive and specialized. The three deputies who died had a combined 74 years of experience with the LA Sheriff's Department. Rockwell had previously visited the exact facility where the explosion occurred and noted that the squad was "highly respected" and "very proficient."
In Pima County, the bomb squad responds to a wide variety of calls. "A lot of times we did recoveries where relatives have passed away and maybe they had brought something home when they were in the Korean War," Rockwell explained. Sometimes people create improvised devices with "nefarious intent," while others make them out of curiosity after seeing something online.
When asked about how many explosive devices he handled during his career, Rockwell said, "Over the years, I mean, I don't have a number for it, but dozens and dozens of stuff just over the last couple of years that we had to dispose of, whether it's commercial explosives, coordinated with military to recover military ordinance or some type of improvised device."
Disposal methods vary based on the situation. Sometimes the explosive must be handled where it's found if it's not safe to move. Bomb technicians often use other explosives to neutralize explosives, along with energetic tools to disrupt them or remote high-strength cutters for items like pipe bombs.
"All of those do carry some inherent risk," Rockwell noted. "Even though they are considered the best practices, there's still always a potential. As you mentioned before, the job, this discipline is inherently dangerous."
Multi-Agency Collaboration
Southern Arizona has multiple bomb squads that work together. In addition to the Pima County Sheriff's Department, there's the Tucson Police Department and Arizona Department of Public Safety. Federal partners include the FBI and ATF.
"The bomb squad community is very tight-knit," Rockwell emphasized. "Every accredited bomb squad has to be certified. The FBI is now kind of the parent agency that accredits and certifies bomb techs."
When a significant call comes in, the squads message each other to share information and offer input based on similar experiences. This collaboration ensures that the expertise of all agencies can be brought to bear on dangerous situations.
The investigation into the Los Angeles incident is being led by the FBI, working closely with the ATF. "The FBI does have a very proficient and experienced evidence response team and post-blast investigators," Rockwell explained. "In fact, that's usually who teaches most of the classes that public safety bomb techs go to."
Rockwell cautioned against rushing to judgment about what happened in LA. "We want that fax when we got to give the investigation time and information that's going to come out."
Life After Retirement: Continuing to Protect Officers
After retiring from the Pima County Sheriff's Department, Rockwell now works for a private company that makes equipment utilized by bomb squads. This allows him to continue using his expertise to help keep officers safe.
"I was very fortunate to get this position," Rockwell said. "I actually still get to travel around and see more of these bomb squads, even more so than when I was an active bomb tech."
In his current role, Rockwell travels to bomb squads and military UED (Unexploded Explosive Device) units throughout the country, providing training and networking opportunities. He also noted that in Pima County, the bomb squad worked closely with Davis-Monthan Air Force Base's military UED group.
Election Updates in Pima County
Special Congressional Election Progress
Joel Strabala provided an update on the Congressional District 7 special election. He and other election officials recently participated in the Hand Count audit required by state law after each election.
"After each election, a certain percentage of ballots are hand counted to confirm to the public and to the elections officials that the machines are scanning and tabulating the votes correctly," Strabala explained. The audit confirmed that the machines were tabulating votes correctly in Pima County.
The CD7 special election primary is nearing completion, with only about 70 conditional, provisional, and ballots being cured left to tabulate. After Pima County tabulates these final votes, they will certify their vote count and submit it to the Secretary of State.
Despite the relatively quick turnaround time of under a week, the Secretary of State will not certify the election until July 28th. Strabala speculated this might be due to the need to collate results from six counties.
In the general election for the CD7 special election, scheduled for September 23rd, Adelita Grijalva (Democrat) will face Daniel Butieraz (Republican). The district has approximately 111,000 Democrats and 56,000 Republicans, with independents numbering in the 50,000-70,000 range.
Tucson City Elections
Ballots have already been mailed out for the Tucson city elections, which are 100% mail-in only. The actual election day is August 5th, and there will be four voting centers available: one at the city clerk's office at 800 East 12th Street, and one in each of the three wards conducting the election (wards three, five, and six).
In ward five, two Democrats, Jesse Lugo and Sadie Shaw, are competing. The outcome of this primary could potentially decide the final winner if there are no Libertarian or Green candidates in the general election.
In ward six, four Democrats are running against Jay Tocoff, the only Republican. In ward three, J.L. Janet Wittenbraker is running against Kevin Dahl.
The general election for Tucson city races will be held on November 4th and will also be 100% mail-in ballot. Seven vote centers will be open on election day for the general election. Unlike the primary, all Tucson residents can vote for candidates in all three wards in the general election.
Treballa concluded with a call to action: "If you're independent and want change, vote for the Republican candidate in wards 3 and 6. And if you're a Republican, we need assistance in turning out the vote and getting people to vote, Republicans and independents."
TUSD Facing Enrollment Declines as Vouchers Expand
Laurie Moore joined the discussion to talk about education issues in Tucson. According to a report from KGUN, Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is facing financial challenges as approximately 4,000 students have used vouchers to attend private schools or homeschool instead of TUSD.
"Arizona is leading the way with that voucher program and other states are doing the same thing," Moore noted. "Arizona I think is somewhat unique because I believe we're dead last as far as academics goes."
Winn suggested that if 4,000 students are leaving the district, "that may have more to do with your school system than with the parents or the Department of Education."
Moore agreed, pointing out that TUSD is "top heavy with administrators that do I don't know what. They're going to have to readjust and reevaluate, but the money that goes with the kids goes with the kids."
Moore also shared her experience visiting Mariana schools to see firsthand whether they had implemented "woke" curricula. "I actually wanted to go to a high school because I thought, 'Oh, if there's any place I can catch DEI or woke stuff on campus.' But just sitting in the parking lot waiting to go in, I just saw the cutest kids you can imagine. They were dressed appropriately."
Inside the school, Moore observed, "Everybody was working. Everybody was quiet. Everybody was well-behaved. Everybody was engaged. I mean, really, if anybody wants to see a model program, TUSD ought to head up there."
Winn concluded that TUSD's loss of students and corresponding funds is simply "the marketplace. If you don't deliver on the promise of education, then kids aren't going to go there."
America's Diabetes Crisis: A Conversation with Tim Keller
The Scope of the Problem
Tim Keller, chairman and founder of U.S. Diabetes Care, joined the show to discuss the diabetes epidemic in America. With 36 years of experience in the medical industry, Keller provided insights into both the causes of diabetes and potential solutions.
According to official statistics, there are 93 million pre-diabetics and 39 million diabetic adults in the U.S., but Keller believes these numbers are underestimated. "I think 2.5 of 4 Americans are diabetic. I think we got teenagers, youth, and middle adults walking around with diabetes and don't even know they have it."
Diabetes is caused by insulin resistance, which Keller attributes to modern diets filled with processed foods, dyes, chemicals, refined fats and sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenized wheat. "All of these processed poisons is what I call them, that we were consuming in the inner aisles of the stores and fast foods and sodas—it's just made America very unhealthy."
Insulin resistance can remain dormant in muscle cells for 10-15 years before developing into full-blown type 2 diabetes. Keller also noted a concerning trend of people suddenly developing type 1 diabetes with no family history, which he speculates might be related to COVID-19 or vaccines.
Types of Diabetes Explained
Keller explained the different types of diabetes:
Type 1 Diabetes: The pancreas doesn't produce insulin, requiring injectable insulin for survival.
Type 2 Diabetes: Caused by insulin resistance where cells can't upload sugar from the liver into muscle because they're clogged with "intercellular fat," pushing sugar back into the bloodstream and creating high blood sugar (hyperglycemia).
Type 3 Diabetes: A newer classification related to vascular dementia and Alzheimer's, caused by sugar in the brain.
Gestational Diabetes: Occurs during pregnancy but can sometimes lead to type 2 diabetes after pregnancy.
Keller disagrees with the concept of "pre-diabetes," stating: "I say you're not pre-pregnant. Either you have diabetes or you don't. I don't like this whole 5.6 to 7.0 is a pre-diabetic. That just gives the doctor more opportunity to prescribe more drugs."
Reversing Diabetes Through Lifestyle Changes
U.S. Diabetes Care focuses on education rather than medication. Working with Dr. Daniel Castro, who has a secondary degree from Loma Linda in lifestyle medicine, Keller developed an educational platform teaching that diabetes is a curable disease.
"Through education, he learned that diabetes is a curable disease. Type 2, anyway, Type 2, Type 3, anyway," Keller explained. Their educational series includes topics like the truth about diabetes, refined fats and foods, brain health, and oxidative stress.
Keller shared his personal experience with diabetes. Diagnosed at 37 with an A1C of 11.7 and fasting blood sugar of 484, his doctor prescribed seven different medications and told him he'd likely be on them for life. Unwilling to accept this prognosis, Keller researched alternatives and changed his lifestyle.
"I reversed my diabetes within two months," Keller stated. "Before, my car turned into McDonald's on its own. I drove by, just went in there, drive through. But I haven't had Diet Coke, pop, sweet tea, fast food in 15 years."
Keller emphasized the seriousness of untreated diabetes: "If you don't take care of your diabetes, it will take care of you. What do you want to die from? Because it's all coming. Blindness, stroke, heart attack, amputation, kidney failure, renal dialysis."
Comprehensive Approach to Diabetes Care
U.S. Diabetes Care takes a comprehensive approach to managing diabetes. They conduct extensive testing beyond standard protocols, including insulin sensitivity tests, brain scans, and vital scans that check for peripheral pulses, blood pressure, blood flow, neuropathy, and cardiovascular issues.
"We're doing a real thorough test on everybody because we want a good baseline," Keller explained. "And then we take that baseline and we're like, look, you have all these things going on."
The center claims a 90% reversal rate for diabetes among patients who fully follow their program. Even those who don't follow it completely still see improvements. Keller emphasized that while changing lifestyle isn't easy, it's "a lot easier than what the end game is for diabetes."
For more information, Keller directed listeners to usdiabetescare.com, where they can learn about the program, view testimonials, and access their educational app available on Apple and Android platforms. The program is CDC and ADA certified and licensed in all 50 states.