Serena Gabriel heals with ambience on ‘Inanna’s Dream’
A new collaboration between two Tucson musicians serves as a welcome reprieve from the lingering summer. Inanna’s Dream by Tucsonan Serena Gabriel was composed as an “ambient sonic odyssey,” drifting between the worlds of new age, drone and electronic music. Inanna’s Dream is the premiere release on the Soundquest Music label, formed by local ambient…
ICE Deported a Woman Who Accused Guards of Sexual Assault While the Feds Were Still Investigating the Incident
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. This article is co-published with The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan local newsroom that informs and engages with Texans. Sign up for The Brief weekly to get up to speed on their essential coverage of…
“Cover Up”: House Democrats Subpoena Documents That NLRB Refused to Share in Ethics Investigation
A committee chair is ratcheting up a fight over an investigation into potential conflicts of interests in the NLRB’s repeated efforts to undo an Obama-era rule that expanded liability for corporations like McDonald’s. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. House…
Arizona nonprofits boost aid to help refugees deal with the pandemic
PHOENIX – Refugees living in Arizona are struggling to navigate the impacts of COVID-19. In response, nonprofit organizations boosted assistance programs after they noticed more refugees losing their jobs or having their hours cut. Families say they also are struggling with complicated government aid applications written in a language in which they may not be…
State Pushes Flu Vaccinations To Avert Flu-and-COVID-19 ‘Perfect Storm’
WASHINGTON – Just more than two in five Arizona adults got a flu shot last year, a number state officials are desperate to improve on before the onset of both influenza and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this fall. State officials late last month announced plans to increase Medicaid funding for flu shots, let some pharmacists…
TEP Continues Suspension of Service Disconnection Through 2020
Tucson Electric Power will continue to suspend service disconnections and late fees for nonpayment till the end of 2020 in an effort to help those affected by the pandemic. The disconnection moratorium, approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission, was slated to end on Oct. 15. “We know that many families and small businesses are facing…
DNC, Biden Campaign Roll Out Online Guide to Voting by Mail
With President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr spreading lies, disinformation and confusion about voting by mail, it’s more important than ever to understand how it works. In Arizona, we’ve been voting by mail for more than a quarter century, with roughly eight out of 10 Arizonans embracing the convenience of early ballots in…
Your Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Wednesday, Sept. 16: Total Cases Close in on 210K; Get a Flu Shot; County Test Sites Open
With 695 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases closed in on 210,000 as of Wednesday, Sept. 16, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 22,887 of the state’s 209,907 confirmed cases. A total of 5,371 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 602 deaths…
Tucson Meet Yourself 2020 to Include Virtual and In-Person Events
Although the pandemic continues to upend festivities, you won’t have to attend Tucson Meet Yourself exclusively through a computer screen. The Southwest Folklife Alliance recently announced that TMY 2020 will take place through the whole month of October, with dozens of online events and a handful of socially distanced, in-person events. TMY 2020 includes food to-go, pre-recorded…
Arson Suspected at Putney’s Bar
The storage shed of Putney’s Pitstop Sports Bar and Grill, located at 6090 N Oracle Rd, was set ablaze in a suspected arson fire in the early hours of Tuesday. Owner Fernando Gomez said his security cameras show a male wearing a black hood and COVID mask pouring gasoline on the business’ storage-shed and then…
No Tricks, Pre-Packaged Treats: Health Department Announces Halloween Recommendations
It’s hardly a surprise to learn that going door-to-door with all your neighbors and collecting candy from communal bowls is a bad idea during a pandemic. The Pima County Health Department today announced recommendations for how to safely enjoy Halloween during COVID-19. They continue to advise against large gatherings in favor of drive-thru events and…
Amphi School District Discussing Hybrid Reopening Tonight
The Amphitheater School District board will review a reopening proposal during their meeting at 6 p.m. today, Sept. 15. The proposal includes reopening school sites on Oct. 12 for a new hybrid in-person and online learning model for their K-12 students. “The hybrid model consists of students being divided into cohorts with only certain cohorts…
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration
Wildfires rage in the West. Hurricanes batter the East. Droughts and floods wreak damage throughout the nation. Life has become increasingly untenable in the hardest-hit areas, but if the people there move, where will everyone go? August besieged California with a heat unseen in generations. A surge in air conditioning broke the state’s electrical grid,…
System could help tribal members past – one – voter registration hurdle
WASHINGTON – Advocates said a new policy that lets Arizona residents without traditional street addresses register to vote online is not perfect – but it’s a vast improvement over the old process. “It’s critical,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said of the change this month by the Arizona Secretary of State’s office. “This is a…
Your Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Tuesday, Sept. 15: Total Cases Surpass 209K; UA Urges Students To Self-Quarantine as Campus Cases Rise; Get a Flu Shot; County Test Sites Open
With 484 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases surpassed 209,000 as of Tuesday, Sept. 15, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 22,643 of the state’s 209,209 confirmed cases. A total of 5,344 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 601 deaths in Pima…
As polls show him trailing in Arizona, Trump stops in Phoenix to woo Latino voters
PHOENIX – With polls showing him trailing in the state, President Donald Trump stopped in Phoenix on Monday to woo a key demographic that could make or break the November election and determine whether Arizona flips from red to blue: Hispanic voters. His appearance at a Latinos for Trump roundtable at Arizona Grand Resort &…
Late county supervisor Richard Elías will receive posthumous award from Mexican Consulate
Today the Pima County government announced that late District 5 Supervisor Richard Elías will receive a posthumous award from the Consulate of Mexico in Tucson. The Othli Award—which will be given to Elías’ family on Friday, Sept. 18—is described as the “highest award granted by the Mexican government to community members in the U.S. who…
Emails Show the Meatpacking Industry Drafted an Executive Order to Keep Plants Open
Hundreds of emails offer a rare look at the meat industry’s influence and access to the highest levels of government. The draft was submitted a week before Trump’s executive order, which bore striking similarities. In late April, as COVID-19 raced through meatpacking plants sickening and killing workers, President Donald Trump issued a controversial executive order aimed…
America Is About to Lose Its 200,000th Life to Coronavirus. How Many More Have to Die?
As an editor, I’ve long had mixed feelings about the journalistic tradition of marking particular chronological or numerical milestones. No one wanted to avoid the “Sept. 11: One Year Later” package — and I was eager to do it given the six previous years I’d spent directing global coverage of al-Qaida — but the annual…
In “Last-Ditch Effort,” UA and Pima County Health Department Recommend Two-Week Quarantine for Students in High-Transmissibility Area
University of Arizona President Dr. Robert Robbins and Pima County Public Health Director Dr. Theresa Cullen today announced they are recommending a 14-day quarantine for students living on and off campus within a geographical boundary they have identified as showing high transmission of the novel coronavirus. Robbins said this is a “last ditch” effort to…
Your Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Monday, Sept. 14: Total Cases Close in on 208K; Outbreaks Around the UA; Get a Flu Shot; County Test Sites Open
With 213 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases closed in on 208,000 as of Monday, Sept. 14, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 22,511 of the state’s 207,725 confirmed cases. A total of 5,322 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 602 deaths…
Critics: Feds reopened tribal schools without asking or advising tribes
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers and tribal leaders berated the Bureau of Indian Education on Thursday for a school reopening plan that prioritizes in-person learning, despite tribes’ opposition to the plan in the face of COVID-19 health concerns. When the BIE released its “Return to Learn!” plan in late August, it was “in effect doubling down on…
City Councilman Paul Durham Takes Leave of Absence from Ward 3 Job
In a Sept. 11 letter, Ward 3 councilman Paul Durham announced his plans to temporarily step down from his duties effective immediately. Dear Colleagues, I write to inform you that I will step back from my duties on a temporary basis starting immediately. I do so in order to recover from a recent injury and…
Cox, Comcast to help Amphi families pay for internet
Families in the Amphitheater Public School District who can’t afford internet service will soon get some help, thanks to a new program. The Amphi Foundation, in partnership with Cox and Comcast, will pay for at least six months of free internet for those who qualify. Participating households will receive internet service speeds of up to…
Coconino official joins plea for continued federal support of rural counties
WASHINGTON – Coconino County Supervisor Liz Archuleta urged federal officials Wednesday to honor their commitments to fund rural counties, where increased demand for services from COVID-19 comes “at a time when we are stretched very thin to provide them.” Archuleta joined other county officials from across the country on a National Association of Counties call…
The Climate Crisis Is Happening Right Now. Just Look at California’s Weekend.
Record high temperatures. Record fires. Record smoke. ProPublica reporter Elizabeth Weil spoke to former California Gov. Jerry Brown about the state’s converging apocalypses. Two weeks ago, after freak lightning strikes torched Northern California but before the inferno of Labor Day weekend had begun, a friend called to talk, like you do when the world is…
Report: Arizona had highest ‘housing loss’ rate; more evictions coming
WASHINGTON – Arizona had the highest rate of “housing loss” in the nation, according to a new national study, and that was before what experts called a “tsunami of evictions” that is expected to hit this fall. The report by New America Foundation looked at evictions and foreclosures by county across the country and found Arizona…
Rick Perry’s Ukrainian Dream
When the then-energy secretary accidentally helped lead the president into impeachment, he was simultaneously trying to help his friends cash in on a big gas deal. This story is co-published with Time and WNYC. Rick Perry came to Washington looking for a deal, and less than two months into his tenure as energy secretary, he…
Historic 4th Avenue Coalition Hosting Virtual Community Forum About Future of the Independent Biz Corridor
With the summer heat gradually reducing, foot traffic would normally be increasing in the downtown and Fourth Avenue areas. But rather than preparing for the usual influx of customers, the Historic 4th Avenue Coalition is working to reimagine the future of the independent business corridor. The Historic 4th Avenue Coalition is hosting a virtual community forum…
TUSD Will Begin Hybrid Learning in October If Downward COVID-19 Trends Continue
Last night, the board of Tucson’s largest public school district voted to move forward with a hybrid learning model on Monday, Oct. 19, if Pima County’s downward COVID-19 data trends continue. The Tucson Unified School District has been teaching the majority of its student body through remote learning since March, when in-person classes were canceled…
Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Thursday, Sept. 10: Total cases Top 207K; Pima County Death Toll Reaches 600; Spike in Cases at UA; Get a Flu shot; County Test Sites Open
With 461 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 207,000 as of Thursday, Sept. 10, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 22,140 of the state’s 207,002 confirmed cases. A total of 5,273 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 600 deaths in Pima…
Aiming High
The people behind Tucson’s Prime Leaf dispensary believe it’s time to change the way people think about cannabis. “When we say we want to change the world, we fucking mean it,” said Brian Warde, co-owner and CEO of Prime Leaf. “We have our brand, but we really want to educate.” The dispensary, which has been…
Six Months Later
It’s been six months since March 9, when local officials including Tucson Mayor Regina Romero held a press conference, warning that the virus had arrived and residents of Pima County should prepare for a bad flu season and frequently wash their hands. Within days, Romero had a much more urgent message: Something very bad was…
Tucson Salvage
In my last Tucson Salvage column (Aug. 22), I used multiple times the uncensored n-word in a voice not my own to quote hatred directed at a woman I was profiling. In the wake of protest and support of that, I am truly sorry to have triggered trauma in some Black readers. I must thank those…
