Tucson Salvage columnist Brian Smith returns to our pages with a profile of Eric Ivey, an Air Force vet who now makes his living trapping varmints and pests. It's hardly an easy gig, especially as our temps increase, but Ivey does it with little complaint. He's humane about it, too, trapping the animals and relocating them rather than killing them. Well, except for the gophers. Find the details starting on Page 8.
Elsewhere in the book this week: I write about the latest on the local response to the pandemic on Page 6; staff reporter Austin Counts looks at the battle over Pima County's emergency regulations for restaurants as they reopen their dining rooms on Page 7, as well as the Arizona Supreme Court's decision that backers of initiative campaigns will not have access to the state's E-Qual system to gather electronic signatures, despite the risks of gathering petitions during an outbreak on Page 10; and Cannabis 520 columnist Nick Meyers remembers marijuana advocate Mikel Weisser on Page 13.
You'll also find a roundup of the latest COVID-19 news on page 4. You'll find details on those stories at
TucsonWeekly.com, where our editorial staff—Logan Burtch-Buus, Jeff Gardner, Kathleen Kunz and Tara Foulkrod—are bringing the latest on the outbreak and other news on a daily basis. Unfortunately, as you have noticed if you've picked up our print edition, it's quite a bit slimmer than it was before the outbreak arrived. Our newspaper depends on bringing the community together—and right now, that's the kind of thing we should only being doing in a metaphorical fashion. But our team is more committed than ever to bringing you the news you need—and if that's something you value, please consider a contribution to keep our journalism strong in these challenging times. It's not tax-deductible but every penny goes to keeping our staff on the job. Send a check to Tucson Weekly, 7225 N. Mona Lisa Road suite 125, or click the donate button in the upper right-hand corner at TucsonWeekly.com. Thanks for your consideration and huge gratitude to those of you who have already made a donation.
— Jim Nintzel Executive Editor
Hear Nintz talk about the latest on the outbreak at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday mornings on The Frank Show on KPLX, 96.1 FM
