Cover Stories
Ballot Bust
Sinema opposes filibuster
Breathe Uneasy
Omicron variant arrives in Pima County
11 Years Later
On a crisp January morning 11 years ago, Tucson experienced a terrible horror when a gunman opened fire at Gabby Giffords’ Congress on Your Corner event, killing six people: U.S. District Court Judge John Roll, congressional staffer Gabe Zimmerman, 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green and retirees Dorothy “Dot” Morris, Phyllis Schneck and Dorwan Stoddard. Thirteen other people…
Nearly 15K New AZ COVID Cases Reported Friday, Jan. 7
Thanks to the fast-spreading Omicron variant, Arizona reported one of its highest single-day COVID-19 case totals on Friday, Jan. 7, with 14,888 new COVID-19 cases across the state. That’s the second-highest number of single-day cases reported since the pandemic began, exceeded only by the 17,234 on Jan. 3, 2021. Here in Pima County, there were…
Biden in Jan. 6 Speech Decries ‘Web of Lies’ Created by Trump About 2020 Election
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday warned of the dangers of a collapse of American democracy, standing in a historic chamber in the U.S. Capitol that was besieged by an angry mob of pro-Trump supporters who attempted to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. “We are in the battle for the soul…
Supreme Court to Lawmakers: Non-Budget Laws Can’t Be in the Budget
As lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey prepare for the start of the 2022 legislative session, the Arizona Supreme Court provided a simple blueprint for how not to craft their budgets. The lesson is simple: Don’t include laws in the state budget that don’t actually have anything to do with the funding in the state budget.…
AZ Health Officials: Unvaccinated More Than 31 Times Likely To Die of COVID-19
A new report released by state health officials found that unvaccinated Arizonans are 31 times more likely to die of COVID-19 and nearly five times more likely to test positive for the virus than their unvaccinated counterparts. “This is a big change from October, when the unvaccinated were 15.2 times more likely to die from…
Maricopa County Rebuts ‘Audit’ Findings, GOP’s Bogus Election Claims
Nearly every claim that Senate President Karen Fann’s so-called audit team made about the 2020 general election was either inaccurate, misleading or patently false, according to a long-awaited rebuttal by Maricopa County. County officials have spent months since the audit team presented its findings in September examining the allegations, which included tens of thousands of…
COVID-19 on Track To Be Leading Cause of Death in Arizona in 2021
WASHINGTON – COVID-19 claimed almost 15,800 lives in Arizona this year, putting it on track to be the leading cause of death in the state in 2021. Official mortality numbers will not be available for months, but the other top causes of death in the state, cancers and heart disease, have each killed around 12,000…
Rep. Tom O’Halleran: Jan. 6 Insurrection “Showed Us the Power that Lies and Division Can Truly Have”
On this day one year ago, I sat on the Floor of the House of Representatives preparing to speak in support of the validity of Arizona’s election results when armed insurrectionists breached the Capitol and staff and members were rushed from the chambers. All around me I saw people running, calling out to friends, and…
The Daily Agenda: Putting The Audit To Rest
It’s probably wishful thinking … All about Hell Week … And a Tennesseean lawmaker we wish lived here instead. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, joined by County Recorder Stephen Richer, went through the Cyber Ninjas’ report beat by beat for more than five hours yesterday, and the county released a 93-page report debunking all…
Vaccine Hesitancy, New Variants Kept COVID-19 Infections From Falling
!function(e,i,n,s){var t=”InfogramEmbeds”,d=e.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(“script”);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=”https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,”infogram-async”); WASHINGTON – Almost two years after the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in Arizona, new infections in the state have reached a “bizarre plateau,” rising from summertime lows in the hundreds to more than 3,100 new cases a day through the fall. And experts said they don’t expect that to…
Audit: Border Patrol Hampered by Outdated Technology, Flawed Evaluation of New Equipment
NOGALES – U.S. Customs and Border Protection is lagging in updated technology and staff needed to secure the 1,954-mile Southwest border with Mexico, according to a February inspector general’s audit by the Department of Homeland Security. Customs and Border Protection has acquired just 28% of the new technology planned for border detections, despite receiving $743 million…
AZ Gets $5.6 Million from Feds To Assist Newly Arrived Afghan Families
The federal government has sent more than $5.6 million to Arizona to help care for families that arrived in the Grand Canyon State after fleeing Afghanistan in 2021 when the nation’s government collapsed in the wake of the U.S. military’s withdrawal. The federal funding is part of a short-term spending bill President Joe Biden signed…
The Daily Agenda: Education Wars Make It to the Legislature
More Ducey money for COVID-19 school closures … The election “audit” news is never-ending … And an unexpected Bruce Willis aside. As students return to classrooms following the winter break, and lawmakers return to the Capitol following their long summers, education is again at the forefront of the political agenda. So far, lawmakers have mostly…
Congressman Raul Grijalva: Jan. 6 Attack on Capitol Was a Calculated Conspiracy to Otherthrow Our Democracy
As we remember January 6th and the dark actions of the mob attack on our nation’s Capitol, we fully realize that this insurrection was a calculated conspiracy to overthrow our democracy. It was a fascist attempt to, by force and lies, overturn a legitimate election. This violent, failed coup was sanctioned by a sitting president,…
A Day at the Dirty T Flea
Tucson’s newest outdoor markets
Gallery of Gourmet: Reinvented bodega fulfills even the most esoteric tastes
Gallery of Food is a cornucopia of about 700 food, beverage and personal care products in a relatively small space. There are unusual fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses, along with specialty coffees, teas, herbs and spices. Owner Kristine Jensen, 60, moved from Boulder to Tucson in 1984, partly because her husband was an avid rock…
Goodbye, Big Jim
Tucson lost a local legend last weekend with the death of “Big Jim” Griffith, a folklorist and author perhaps best known as the founder of Tucson Meet Yourself, the annual gathering that spotlights the music, storytelling and—of course—delicious food of the many cultures that make up our community. Tucson Meet Yourself is a spectacular way…
City Week: Picks of the Week
Editor’s Note: While we are delighted to see Tucsonans once again gathering for fun events, we are also aware that variants are in widespread circulation. Please consider getting vaccinated against COVID if you haven’t yet. The Mercado Flea. Now that the holiday shopping season has drawn to a close, I hope you’ll join me in…
Rising From the Fall: Artist Explores Her Recovery from Domestic Violence in a Show of Paintings at &gallery
Vai Trask was amazed that she lived through it. Trask had earned an undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology and political science from the University of Arizona before heading to Los Angeles to pursue her dream. She wanted to write about music and own a record label. “I was into a lot of hip hop, a…
XOXO: Where To Rock This Week
Feeding the beast within. This week: Mike Zito, Sunfish, TWRP, Luna 13, The Black Market Trust, Green Buddha, Narek Arutyunian & Steven Beck, Mean Streets, Electric Feels anniversary soirée and more. Please be aware: Thanks to the Omicron variant, COVID cases are spiking in Arizona, with more breakthrough cases in people who are vaccinated or…
New Wave
With holiday gatherings now over, health experts are bracing for a new wave of COVID patients as the Delta variant wave begins to subside and the Omicron wave begins to build. More than 7,200 new cases were reported on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Jessica Rigler, an assistant director with Arizona Department…
Special K: Local researchers are exploring whether the drug ketamine can aid in healing psychological wounds
Scott Raikkonen was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder after returning to civilian life. Raikkonen was on active duty for the United States Army for 12 years, working on intelligence operations in Korea and Afghanistan. The transition from military life to civilian life was difficult for him. “You go from this structured…
Expect Delays: Here Is Your 2022 Guide to Tucson-Area Road Projects
As we move into 2022, there are plenty of orange cones and detour signs warning of road construction across the community. The Arizona Department of Transportation will continue long-awaited improvements along Oracle Road, along with multiple freeway projects. The widening of Broadway Boulevard between downtown and Country Club Road is nearly complete, while a new…
