Cover Story
Tucson Pride Festival 2020 Goes Virtual
Last month, Tucson Pride announced that their largest annual event—the Tucson Pride Festival—would take place online after much debate from the group’s Board of Directors. In place of the annual Pride Parade and Festival, Tucson Pride will organize an all-day virtual event hosted by Tucson Pride Royalty, Lucinda Holliday and Justin Deeper-Love. On Saturday, Oct.…
Tucson Couple Awarded for Anti-Nuclear Activism
Felice and Jack Cohen-Joppa have dedicated most of their adult lives to the pursuit of a peaceful, nuclear-free world. For nearly 40 years, they have published the Nuclear Resister, a newsletter chronicling the arrests of anti-nuclear war and anti-nuclear power protestors. Through this publication, Felice and Jack educate the public about the arrests of activists…
Trails in Catalinas Reopen After Bighorn Fire
Pima County Parks and Rec continues to reopen outdoor areas in the wake of this summer’s Bighorn Fire, which burned more than 100,000 acres in the Catalina mountains north of Tucson. The trails are open to the burn scar from the fire, so hikers should be aware that hazards still exist. The trailheads that feed into the…
Veteran, War Hero, Defendant, Troll
A ban from Facebook has apparently done little to slow Brian Kolfage, charged last month for defrauding thousands in a “build the wall” effort, and who regularly uses personal attacks and misinformation to sic his online following on perceived detractors. This article is co-published with The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan local newsroom that informs…
Feds cite border-wall safety for Quitobaquito closing; critics see other motives
WASHINGTON – The National Park Service cited public safety concerns for its decision this week to prohibit access to a sacred Tohono O’odham site, a move that comes amid rising tensions between border wall protestors and federal agents. Park service officials said the decision to shut down roads to the Quitobaquito Springs, posted Monday on…
Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Wednesday, Sept. 30: Total Cases Top 218K; Get a Flu shot; County Test Sites Open
With 323 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronaviru s cases reached 218,507 as of Wednesday, Sept. 30, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 25,628 confirmed cases. With 18 new deaths today, a total of 5,650 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 620 deaths…
Napier rejects Democrats’ claim of racist infiltration of police
WASHINGTON – Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier pushed back against claims that white supremacists have infiltrated law enforcement agencies, telling a House committee Tuesday that he has “simply not been exposed” to any evidence of that. Napier said that while “bad actors” may slip through, police share community outrage at the actions of what he…
Will Arizona’s return to high school football turn into recruiting advantage?
PHOENIX – Many high school seniors competing in fall sports have aspirations to play in college. For those in states where sports are on pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that goal might be difficult to reach if they don’t already have offers. But for high school athletes in Arizona, those dreams remain attainable. “We’ve…
The Federal Government Promised Native American Students Computers and Internet. Many Are Still Waiting.
This story was co-published with The Arizona Republic, a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. Aubrie Sloan expected to start sixth grade in a virtual classroom where she would learn from her teacher each day and engage with classmates for the first time since the coronavirus forced her school to close in March. Instead,…
Democrats Bring Attention to Healthcare Ahead of Tonight’s Debate
Jeff Jeans once described himself as a “hardcore conservative Republican.” But after he moved to Arizona and lost his job, he lost the health insurance that came with it. A year later, Jeans lost his voice and was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer. Without the ability to pay for medical expenses on his own,…
USCIS scrambles to resume naturalizations after COVID-19, budget cuts
WASHINGTON – Arizona nursing assistant Perla Macias dreamed of the day when she would be sworn in as a citizen after 15 years living in the U.S. – followed by a big family celebration afterward. She was on the verge of realizing that dream when it was derailed for six months this spring, first by…
Your Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup: Total Cases Top 218K; UA Sees Decline in Cases, Lifts Self-Quarantine Order for Students; Get a Free Coronavirus Test
With 675 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 218,000 as of Tuesday, Sept. 29, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 25,569 of the state’s 218,184 confirmed cases. With nine new deaths today, a total of 5,632 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19,…
Court says House can sue White House over funds diverted to border wall
WASHINGTON – Critics of the Trump administration’s border wall on Monday welcomed a court ruling that breathed new life into a congressional lawsuit challenging the White House’s decision to divert funds to the project from other agencies. The ruling Friday by a panel of a federal circuit court in Washington said President Donald Trump’s decision…
Arizona poverty rate continued fall in 2019, still topped national rate
WASHINGTON – The poverty rate in Arizona fell for the eighth straight year in 2019, to 13.5%, but while advocates welcomed that as “great news” they also cautioned that the state’s economic gains were not shared equally by all Arizonans. Despite the improvements, the Census Bureau numbers show Arizona’s poverty rate remained higher than the…
UA Sees Drop in Positive Tests; Will Lift Two-Week Self-Quarantine but Delay Phase 2 of Reentry
Although the number of positive coronavirus cases on campus is trending downward, the University of Arizona will again delay phase 2 of its reentry plan and remain open only for in-person instruction of essential courses through the week of Oct. 5, UA President Dr. Robert C. Robbins said in a news conference this morning. According…
Action on missing, murdered women legislation caps years of advocacy
WASHINGTON – Native American advocates and victim’s families have worked for years to draw attention to Indian Country’s epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The federal government finally passed legislation that could help do something about it. The House gave final approval this week to two bills, Savanna’s Act and the Not Invisible Act,…
Your Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Monday, Sept. 28: Total Cases Top 217K; County Test Sites Open
With 273 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 217,000 as of Monday, Sept. 28, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 25,445 of the state’s 217,510 confirmed cases. With one new deaths today, a total of 5,623 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19,…
Alone among Democrats, Sinema stays silent on GOP Supreme Court push
WASHINGTON – Almost every Senate Democrat has come out against President Donald Trump’s plan to rush through a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, saying the nomination should wait until after the looming elections. Every Senate Democrat but one – Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. While other Democrats were using language like…
Now Stream This: Miserable but Watchable Times in ‘The Devil All the Time’
Some movies are made to make viewers miserable. It’s what they set out to do, and if done well, cinema geeks such as myself will tip our hats to them. The Devil All the Time is one of those movies. It’s an ugly film—and it’s supposed to be. I understand that a lot of people…
Tucson Musicians Museum Presents 15th Annual ‘Celebration of Music and Culture’
On Saturday, Sept. 26, the Tucson Musicians Museum will host its 15th annual Celebration of Music and Culture online. While this is the first time the fundraiser will be entirely virtual, they’re sticking with the theme of honoring local music figures who have “generously given of their time and talents to the TMM’s Mentorship Program for…
Return to the Classroom: Your Tucson-Area School Districts Roll Out Plans for Hybrid Learning
Thousands of students across Pima County will soon return to their classrooms as local public school districts solidify their plans for new hybrid models of instruction. According to the county health department’s COVID-19 Progress Report, five of the nine health criteria are making “progress” and three have been officially “met.” The progress report tracks local…
Census: Number of Arizonans without health insurance rose again in 2019
WASHINGTON – The number of Arizonans without health insurance jumped to more than 800,000 last year, the third consecutive year of increases for the state, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. The number of uninsured also rose nationwide, but not as sharply as in Arizona. Nationally, the share of people without insurance…
The Beatles, Bruce Dern and Jessica Chastain Headline This Week’s Streaming Films at The Loft Cinema
A documentary on the Beatles trip to India, Jessica Chastain as a hired killer, and ghosts are ready to be watched via The Loft’s weekly streaming films. For more info on what films to stream and how to stream them, click here. While at the site, also check out the popular and ongoing Open Air…
What recent polls can tell us about the Arizona Senate race
PHOENIX – Recent polling data in the Arizona Senate race suggests Democrat Mark Kelly has a large lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally. However, the gap might not be as big as some polls show. A recent poll from Fox News has Kelly 17 points up in the Arizona Senate race. The poll, conducted at…
Your Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Friday, Sept. 25: Total Cases Top 216K; County Test Sites Open
With 518 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 216,000 as of Friday, Sept. 25, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 25,265 of the state’s 216,367 confirmed cases. With 28 new deaths today, a total of 5,587 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19,…
UA Football Season Returns Nov. 6
The Arizona Wildcats 2020-2021 football season is expected to resume on Nov. 6 after the Pac-12 CEO Group voted to bring back fall sports this week. The Pac-12 conference season was originally suspended in early August due to coronavirus concerns. University of Arizona Director of Athletics Dave Heeke applauded the CEO group’s decision. “Arizona Athletics…
COVID-19 not top health concern of voters in Arizona, other battlegrounds
WASHINGTON – COVID-19 may be getting the headlines but it’s not the top health care issue on the minds of voters in a number of battleground states, including Arizona, according to a poll released Thursday. The poll by the Commonwealth Fund found voters in seven of 10 battleground states said they were more likely to…
Official: Disinformation poses threat to Arizona election security
WASHINGTON – Election officials need to be as concerned about voting disinformation as they are about people tampering with ballots themselves, a Maricopa County official said Wednesday during a forum on securing the election. Michael Moore, information security officer for the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, said “voter confidence is paramount,” but he worries that a…
Sinema pushes Wolf on damage from border wall; Wolf cites security
WASHINGTON – Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema confronted the acting head of Homeland Security Wednesday over border wall construction she said has ignored the needs of local communities and bypassed environmental assessment reports. The questions came during a Senate Homeland Security Committee confirmation hearing on the nomination of acting Secretary Chad Wolf – who has been…
Your Southern AZ COVID-19 AM Roundup for Thursday, Sept. 24: Total Cases Close215K; UA Cases Push Pima Numbers Past Benchmark for Safe School Reopenings but Officials Say It’s Only Temporary; County Test Sites Open
With 566 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases closed in on 216,000 as of Thursday, Sept. 24, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 25,140 of the state’s 215,852 confirmed cases. With 34 new deaths today, a total of 5,559 Arizonans had died after…
Given the Boot
At a picnic table outside his cheap hotel room, Emilio Bustamonte reflects on how his life has changed over the last month. “I’ve been a teacher for 23 years and now I’m homeless,” he said. Before Emilio and his family were evicted in August, they lived comfortably. They ate at restaurants whenever they wanted, visited…
Out With Gender, In with Art & Mutual Aid
Willbliss Kim Cass Lim is no stranger to hardship. Some of their earliest memories are walking around in Korea where they spent their early childhood, carrying a trusty water gun, and hearing people refer to them as a little girl. “And I would just be like, ‘Who’s the little girl?’ looking all round,” Kim Cass…
Ready To Reopen
After nearly seven months of pandemic restrictions, downtown restaurateurs are seeing the proverbial light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and are gearing up to reopen on Thursday, Oct. 1. Establishments like Hotel Congress have used the downtime as an opportunity to rethink how they will conduct business in the future as coronavirus lingers…
Editor’s Note: Virtual Pride
Every fall, the local LGBT community gathers for a Pride celebration. (Many communities do this in June, in observance of New York City’s Stonewall riots, but here in Tucson, we wait for cooler weather.) This year’s Pride event will be a virtual one, as a big gathering still doesn’t make a lot of sense with…
The Skinny
Arizona’s Appointed Senator Is Pushing for Trump To Appoint Another Supreme Court Justice, but She’s Losing in the Court of Public Opinion
Cheese Mix
Tucson artist Chesther Rooster calls his lively mixture of R&B, rap, alternative, jazz and electronica “urban soul.” Rooster has teamed up with Jean-Paul Wiegand, also known as “The Overshadow,” to drop a new album, Cheese and the Wiz, which is loaded with diverse sounds and lyrical authenticity. Rooster, 33, and Wiegand, 31, recently began collaborating…
Crashing the Party
Dozens of official actions have been taken against students who violated COVID-19 safety precautions and hosted social gatherings off-campus. The university and the Tucson Police Department administered 20 red tags, 19 citations and 24 Code of Conduct violations last weekend for student parties, according to UA President Robert C. Robbins, who shared the numbers during…
Quick Bites
Sonoran Restaurant Week Cometh Sonoran Restaurant Week is back next month. The 10-day celebration of the best cuisine Southern Arizona has to offer features a three-course prix-fixe experience at one of more than 30 local restaurants to choose from, including numerous City of Gastronomy-certified eateries. The fun begins Oct. 2 through Oct. 11 and will…
High Times
Arizona’s cannabis industry has enjoyed a healthy boost since the COVID pandemic took hold in March, with sales hitting all-time highs two months in a row. Thanks to the “essential business” designation dispensaries enjoyed at the outset of the shutdown, the Arizona cannabis industry has not been adversely affected like other types of businesses in…
