Cherokee Trail of Tears just one of many forced removals of Eastern tribes to Oklahoma
WASHINGTON – The Trail of Tears, the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation to Oklahoma, was one of the most inhumane policies in American history – but it wasn’t an isolated incident. In 1831, nearly 16,000 members of the Cherokee Nation were forced under armed guard to leave their native lands in the southeastern United…
Report: ‘Child care deserts’ hit poor, rural Arizona families hardest
WASHINGTON – Arizona has 304,180 infants and toddlers who need child care but only 234,270 slots to accommodate them, with poor and rural families most likely to be left out, a recent study said. Arizona child care advocates said they were not surprised by the numbers in the Bipartisan Policy Center study, which they said…
Most Local School Districts Enter 2021 with Remote Learning Models, For Now
For Arizona’s students, 2020’s winter break is over, but the alarming spread of COVID-19 remains. As a result, students are returning to school this January predominantly in remote online models. The Arizona Department of Health Services is recommending all counties in the state commit to virtual learning for students to attend classes online with some…
IRS: Many Won’t Receive Stimulus Right Away; Need To Claim When Filing 2020 Taxes
As the second round of Economic Stimulus Payments begins hitting bank accounts and mailboxes nationwide during the first week of 2021, many Americans will have to wait until they file their 2020 tax return to claim their cash. Funds officially became available on Monday, Jan. 4, with some taxpayers receiving their payment the week prior.…
Essential Workers, Adults Over 75 May Qualify for COVID-19 Vaccinations Next Week
As early as next week, the groups of essential workers and those older than 75 included in the next phase of Pima County’s vaccine distribution plan may have access to the COVID-19 vaccine, the Pima County Health Department announced at a press conference yesterday. Pima County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia said the county…
Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Wednesday, Jan 6: 7200+ New cases, 127 New Deaths; Total Cases Close in on 575K; Hospital Pressure Higher Than Ever; Pima County Remains Under Curfew; Test Sites Open
With more than 7,200 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases closed in on 575,000 as of Wednesday, Jan 6, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County, which reported 659 new cases today, has seen 76,243 of the state’s 574,680 confirmed cases. A total of 9,444 Arizonans…
Trump moves aside in at least one part of Washington – souvenir shops
WASHINGTON – For two months since the election, President Donald Trump has challenged the election of President-elect Joe Biden, but there is no question that in some parts of Washington it will soon be time for Trump to go. The Trump key chains, that is. And Trump mugs. And T-shirts and posters and finger puppets…
Farmers switch irrigation to save water, keep the Colorado River from growing saltier
PAONIA, Colorado – A.J. Carrillo farms 18 acres near Hotchkiss, Colorado, in the high desert of the Western Slope about an hour southeast of Grand Junction. When he irrigates his peach orchard, water gushes from big white plastic pipes at the top of the plot and takes half a day to trickle down to the…
‘Barrio Books’ opens inside Hotel McCoy
Hotel McCoy, Tucson’s own “art hotel,” is continuing its goal of supporting local creators with the announcement of Barrio Books — a brick and mortar bookstore now open in the hotel. Barrio Books, which opened Saturday, Jan. 2, aims to promote cultural representation for all ages with books in English and Spanish. The bookstore was…
Balancing act: Olympic athletes try to ramp up training, avoid injury after COVID-19 delay
PHOENIX – Arizona State swim coach Bob Bowman has faced many challenges throughout a nearly 35-year-long coaching career, a portion of it guiding Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian. However, Bowman never had to navigate the postponement of the Olympic Games and all of the potential ramifications of the delay. Welcome to sports in the COVID-19…
Board of Supervisors Delays Vote to Approve Huckelberry’s Request for $13,000 Raise for Two Weeks
In two weeks, the Pima County Board of Supervisors will discuss renewing County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry’s contract and whether or not they will grant him the $13,000 raise he’s asked for. The board was slated to vote on the top administrator’s contract at its first meeting of the year this morning, but voted to delay…
Movie Roundup: Reviews of Clooney’s The Midnight Sky and Pixar’s Soul
REVIEW: The Midnight Sky Still showing at Harkins Tucson while streaming on Netflix George Clooney’s latest directorial effort, The Midnight Sky, has been taking a bit of a drubbing from the critics. Well, actually, it’s pulling about a 52% on the Rottentomatoes meter, so that’s right down the middle. I’m going to come down on…
Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Tuesday, Jan 5: AZ Has Highest Rate of Transmission in the World; 253 New COVID Deaths Today, 5900+ New Cases; Hospital Pressure Higher Than Ever; Pima County Remains Under Curfew; Test Sites Open
With more than 5,900 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 567,000 as of Tuesday, Jan 5, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County, which reported 621 new cases today, has seen 75,584 of the state’s 567,474 confirmed cases. A total of 9,317 Arizonans have died…
Study: Post-9/11 vets more likely to be employed, and in steadier jobs
WASHINGTON – Post-9/11 veterans are not only more likely to be employed than the general population, they are also more likely to be in jobs that are immune to recession, according to a recent report by the Census Bureau. The Census study, released in November, said the unemployment rate for the nation’s 3 million post-9/11 veterans…
Fronimo’s Greek Cafe Closing on Jan. 14
After 25 years of serving specialty Greek dishes with a casual style, Fronimo’s on Speedway is closing their doors. Thanks to shifting their business to take-out only, Fronimo’s was able to survive nearly a year of pandemic difficulties. Ultimately, owners George and Tracy Fronimakis cited their landlord “astronomically” raising their rent as the reason for their…
New Year, Same Virus: COVID-19 Continues To Surge in Pima County
In Pima County, the entire month of December saw nearly 40% of the total number of COVID-19 cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a memorandum from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. Furthermore, a new public health advisory issued by the county’s health department revealed one out of every 1,000 Pima County residents…
Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Monday, Jan 4: 5100+ New Cases Today; Hospitals See Record Number of Patients; Pima County Remains Under Curfew; Test Sites Open
With more than 5,100 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 561,000 as of Monday, Jan 4, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County, which reported 855 new cases today, has seen 74,963 of the state’s 561,542 confirmed cases. A total of 9,064 Arizonans have died…
Not the ‘blue wave’ they hoped for, but Democrats made gains in 2020
WASHINGTON – For years, Democrats have argued that Arizona was about to turn blue, and this year they came closer than they had in decades, winning the presidential race and unseating an incumbent Republican senator. Close, but not the “blue wave” Democrats had been hoping for. While they grabbed the top two races on the ballot,…
Second round of Economic Impact Payments being distributed
The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department announced the second round of Economic Impact Payments are in the process of being distributed to millions of Americans who received a first round of payments last spring. Individuals are eligible for $600 and married couples who file a joint return will receive $1,200. In addition,…
Tucson writers’ screenplay is being adapted into a feature film
Tucson Weekly columnist Brian Smith’s article about the late guitarist Doug Hopkins, co-founder of the Tempe rock band Gin Blossoms, is being turned into a feature film. Smith originally wrote the article for the Detroit Metro Times in 2007, before he and his wife Maggie turned it into a screenplay titled “Lost Horizons.” The film…
County orders property owner to return water service to his tenants
The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality hand-delivered an abatement order to a northwest-side apartment complex owner for causing a public health nuisance to the complex’s tenants by shutting off the water supply. The county ordered GR Partners Casas Adobes to restore potable water service within 24 hours of receiving the notice or PDEQ will…
Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Thursday, Dec. 31: 7,700+ new cases, 146 deaths; 1 of every 1000 Pima County residents dead from virus; Hospitals facing overload; Pima County under curfew; The vaccine is here
With more than 7,718 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases now stands higher than 520,000 as of Thursday, Dec. 31, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County, which reported 1,085 new cases today, has seen 69,522 of the state’s 520,207 confirmed cases. A total of 8,864…
Danehy: The year may have been awful but at least we had some great television to watch
We can probably agree that 2020 was the worst year for a lot of things, including movies. I usually go to a couple movies per month, but this year, the last two movies I saw were this horrible Ben Affleck movie that I thought was going to be about basketball but instead turned out to…
Editor’s Note: Wrapping Up the Year From Hell
Sure, if you’re a major online retailer, this has been a great year (except for all those complaints from employees about PPE, ventilation in the warehouses and the generally crappy working conditions). But most of us have had a really lousy 2020. Too many people remain out of work, too many kids are doing their…
The Year in Weed: In case your memory is hazy, this was the big cannabis news in 2020
You could say the year 2020 sucked donkey balls overall, and not many people would disagree. Between a global pandemic destroying families and small businesses, an uncaring and unorganized federal government that completely botched the response to the outbreak, and a Cheeto-colored wannabe dictator who (as of our print deadline, anyway) seems determined to remain…
One Sick Year: It takes more than a pandemic to get people to stop acting like idiots
Leo Banks
Sure, COVID-19 captured the headlines, but that didn’t stop the Weekly from clipping so many other stories just so we could once again bring the achievements of so many dubious actors. With a salute to the gang at Esquire, we bring you our own year-end wrap-up.
