Gov. Doug Ducey has extended Arizona's stay-at-home order through May 15, telling everyone to avoid unnecessary trips. But he is also allowing retail shops, salons and restaurants to reopen before that, so it's more of a maybe-stay-at-home order at this point.
Everyone has their own personal level of acceptable risk, so I'm sure there are plenty of people who will be back at the barber and sitting down for a dinner, even if it means wearing a mask and being served by someone in a mask. But keep in mind that the virus continues to circulate and while cases haven't spiraled out of control in Arizona, easing the stay-at-home order will likely mean the number of people who get infected will rise. Me, I'm gonna wait a few weeks and see how things go before I rush back to the mall.
Elsewhere in the book, we look at the how the outbreak is going to hammer the budgets of the state, the City of Tucson, Pima County and the University of Arizona, among others. The federal government has already sunk another $2 trillion in just a few months in an effort to sustain the economy through the pandemic and will undoubtedly be spending more; how much of that will be in the form of aid to the states remains to be seen.
We've also got a roundup of last week's COVID-19 news that we covered online; a look at some restaurant owners who actually got the loans from the Paycheck Protection Program; an analysis of a lawsuit filed against the largest marijuana dispensary operation in the state; and our usual cartoons, horoscopes, questions and answers about sex and other fun diversions in our pages. And, of course, since our paper is a bit thinner these days, you'll find more breaking news at TucsonWeekly.com
Stay healthy and stay well!
— Jim Nintzel Executive Editor
