Blue Light Recognition
Last week you may have heard President Trump tested positive for COVID-19. He spent a little more than a day in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. When he arrived back at the White House, true to form, he tweeted out this message: "Don't be afraid of COVID. Don't let it dominate your life."
This week's blue light recognition is once again to the health care workers who have stood alongside our loved ones - over 210,000 of them – while they passed away due to COVID. Those workers have been our surrogate family, holding the hand of our mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters while they breathed their last. Don't be afraid.
I've read multiple comments from medical experts who are concerned that Trump's comment will give his supporters a false sense of complacency. The same one that existed during the coming-out party for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett:
|
Don't strain your eyes – you won't find any masks. And since that photo was issued, a total of 27 people who attended the ceremony have tested positive.
The behavior at that ceremony was irresponsible. The comment from the President was both irresponsible and insensitive. We at the Ward 6 office extend our deepest gratitude to health care workers who have placed their lives on the line in support of our friends and loved ones.
Election Security
During the first Presidential 'debate', Trump suggested that his supporters' show up' at polling places to make sure there was no fraud occurring. The dog whistle was audible, and this group arrived at the Pima County Recorder's east side early voting site last week:
To be very clear, this is outside of the 75' limit on electioneering at polling places, and there is nothing illegal about what's happening. The group you see gathered outside the bus is not social distancing, and they're not masked-up, but no intimidation took place, and the County correctly left it alone.
I asked the County elections people last week if any thought is being given to added security at polling locations during the upcoming election. In fact, a meeting was held, and security is one of the issues being addressed. I've received calls and emails from people who simply want to vote and not be harassed during the process. Please be assured that the Pima County elections board is engaged with law enforcement in each of the respective jurisdictions in the County and is putting together a plan to ensure everybody has free and unfettered access to their polling location. As has been the case previously, F. Ann Rodriguez's group at the Recorder's office will conduct a full, free, and fair election in Pima County.
New County COVID Test Portal
Last week, Dr. Cullen from Pima County was invited to be a guest at the UA COVID briefing. During the event, she remarked, "Cases at the UA have a tidal wave effect on the community." The truth of that statement is borne out in the data shown in the new Pima County Health COVID portal.
As I mentioned, during their weekly briefing last week, UA President Robbins had the County's Dr. Cullen on. She promoted the site and confirmed that the information contained on it validates the concerns I've had over off-campus private student apartments and COVID spread. She indicated there are hot spots surrounding campus. That's what led to identifying the census tract you see in blue in this map being used as the perimeter for the recent 14 day' voluntary shelter in place' request.
During that same briefing, President Robbins said one mistake he has made was in not requiring all students be tested for coronavirus prior to returning to classes. He's considering doing that before they come back after the winter break. Why not now? And again in 3 weeks so we know we're not putting sick kids onto planes to fly home for the holidays?
From this map, provided by Pima County Health, we know some of the infections are coming from on-campus Greek houses:
|
 And this graphic shows the trend reflected in that one-week report:
These sites are not a part of the on-campus mandatory testing program that was instituted prior to the start of the fall semester. They could be now, along with other private congregate student housing sites.
Six of the Greek houses canceled their scheduled County-driven testing, citing a desire to avoid isolating if they tested positive. That's what we heard from the students living in the high rises, too. In response, the County shared this statement with the UA:
 The joint TPD/UAPD task force issued 3 Red Tags and 5 citations for unruly gatherings last week. During his weekly press briefing, UA President Robbins shared this graphic showing the off-campus activity they were aware of:
And on Saturday afternoon, I called in an additional party that resulted in 2 citations and another Red Tag. That one should be in their totals during their briefing this week.
As our Pima County Health Department partners said, 'social behaviors may contribute to rapid infection spread.' If you are aware of large partying, please call 911, the UA party hotline @ 282.3649, and let us know at the Ward 6 office at 791.4601 and by emailing me directly at steve.kozachik@tucsonaz.gov.
Local Tucson
I've got two Local Tucson items this week – one is our 'Slow Streets' yard sign program, and the other is sending out congratulations to the staff, students, and parents at JB Wright school for their recent recognition.
I've written about the Slow Streets program before. Now our Transportation folks are ready to begin delivering yard signs you can post to help get the safety word out in your neighborhood. There's a catch – you've got to read this pledge and agree to it (honor system.)
|
The signs say "slow down – drive like you live here" and are available in both English and Spanish. Click this link, and you can sign up for delivery of some signs.
We're grateful to our Transportation Director Diana Alarcon for supporting this program, and Traffic Engineering Safety Manager, Blake Olofson, for spearheading the distribution program.
And a big congratulations to Principal Deanna Campos, her staff, students, and their parents from John B. Wright school for receiving an A+ rating from the District. The award was given for School Safety (fits with our Slow Streets program) and facilities. I've been on their site numerous times and can attest to the hard work they've all invested in keeping the place safe and presentable.
Only 4 schools in all of TUSD were given the A+ award. We're proud of the JB Wright team for being one of them.
Ward Redistricting
Every 4 years, we do a redraw of the 6 Ward boundaries. The purpose is to be sure they're approximately equally balanced in terms of the number of constituents included in each. It's that time again, and we have a Redistricting Committee appointed that has been working with the City Clerk's office and coming up with some options. There will be a public meeting with that Committee so they can share their early thoughts.
My appointee to the Committee is former Mayor Rothschild. I felt he'd be in a great position to help mentor the other members of the group on how this process has worked in the past, and perhaps shed some light on the importance of balancing the boundaries in ways that are consistent with State law and that still reflect the flavor of our local community. I believe that's, in fact, happening.
The meeting will take place on Monday, October 12th, at 5 pm. It's a remote, online meeting that you can join by clicking this link:
If you would like to call in from a phone, use the number: +1 213-293-2303 Conference ID: 730 011 724#
To see the options they're considering before the meeting, go to this site, and it'll take you through what they've looked at and some of the direction they're honing in on. Any new boundaries will not go into effect until after the upcoming 2020 election. You can provide your input by sending it by email to cityclerk@tucsonaz.gov.
Palo Verde Neighborhood Annual Meeting
Most of the neighborhood meetings we're involved with these days are being held virtually. Palo Verde is doing a limited-attendance, socially distanced, masked annual meeting on Thursday, October 15th, over at the Emmanuel Church – just north of Pima on Alvernon.
Each year the PVNA uses the raffle they hold during the annual meeting as their sole neighborhood fundraiser. Even if you're not a member of the neighborhood, you can buy raffle tickets to both support them and to support some of the local businesses that are struggling to stay up and running in the area. Some of those include Pottery Blow Out, Coffee Times, Culinary Dropout, Kingfisher – well, you can see a larger partial list in this graphic:
 If you're out and about on the 15th, stop by for some grab-n-go goodies and thank the board leadership for their work in putting this event together. During these days, when so much is done by staring into a computer monitor, just seeing people in 3D is a nice change – done safely.
Ward 3 Shred-It Event
Bennett Bernal is a former council aide from Ward 3. He's also the recently re-elected Pima County Constable representing that area. Bennett is teaming up with the Ward 3 staff and hosting a Shred-It event over at Jacobs Park. It's an opportunity for you to safely get rid of paperwork that has been overstuffing some of your file folders but is sensitive enough that you don't want to just dump it in the trash.
They're asking for a $5 donation for the shredding. All the proceeds will be going to support the great work Lend a Hand is involved with. Lend a Hand is the group of a dozen midtown neighborhoods whose volunteer efforts go to support seniors and their desire to remain in their own homes. This is the same group I helped with a fundraiser held in the Benedictine sanctuary last year. Thankfully they're still out doing the important work of keeping seniors independent, despite COVID and the added challenges that are presenting to fundraising and volunteering.
The event is a drive-through, and they ask that you wear a mask when transferring your paper goods to the people staffing the event. It'll be held on Saturday, October 17th, from 8 am until 10 am. Jacobs Park is located at 3300 N. Fairview. Your involvement is a win-win, for you and for Lend a Hand.
|
Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona
And at the front end of the life cycle, diapers. The Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona is out gathering donations to support the young families struggling to balance work and child-rearing during COVID. It's a tough balance in normal times, and even more so now.
There are several drop-off locations scattered around town. You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diaperbanksouthernaz. If you're like me and don't do social media, here's a listing of where you can go to drop off new, clean, unopened diapers to help out young families:
UPS locations at 1830 E. Broadway, 2004 E. Irvington, and 6890 E. Sunrise
Jim Click locations at 800 W. Auto Mall Drive, 850 W. Auto Mall Drive, 775 W. Wetmore, 6244 E. 22nd, 1301 S. Wilmot, and 6420 E. 22nd.
Holmes Tuttle Ford at 660 W. Auto Mall Drive
MIXfm at 7280 E. Rosewood
Two Men and a Truck at 3773 W. Ina@ Thornydale
And Richard Fimbres' office at 4300 S. Park
If you'd rather avoid the driving and make a monetary donation, just go to www.diaperbank.org, and you'll find the links. Either way, it's great to have groups supporting both young families and seniors. We're all a part of the fabric that makes us a community.
TEP Transmission Line Project
Last week, as advertised, TEP reduced their proposed transmission line routes down to 6. They had been considering over a dozen but based on public input, and I suppose their own internal cost considerations, they've cut back to what is essentially a Campbell Avenue approach to Banner UMC. With a few tweaks that will affect the ends of the route, this is the general idea now:
Their public online meeting held last Tuesday was interrupted by technical issues. This link will take you to the PowerPoint they wanted to present during that session. It includes the process this has gone through and how they've arrived at the Campbell corridor alignment decision.
One new item that was also announced during the Tuesday meeting was that TEP will go ahead with their presentation to the Corporation Commission prior to coming to the M&C for approval of the design issues related to the North substation. That's the one at Banner. I shared with one of the TEP reps that the decision to get the ACC to approve, then come to us after the fact leaves me with the sense that the M&C voice in the decision is nearly a moot point. With that in mind, I've requested this study session for November 4th:
It's on the 4th, not the 3rd. November 3rd is finally election day. And there are 3 seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission that will be filled. It's not one of the higher-profile positions on the ballot, but this issue demonstrates why that should not be the case.
I wrote the study session agenda request before knowing they had concluded on the Campbell route. That leaves each of the issues I note in the agenda request still worthy of discussion. Maybe even more so. Visit the project website at www.tep.com, click on 'projects' at the top of the page and follow it to Kino to DeMoss-Petrie.
Southwest Gas
Since the pandemic hit, SW Gas has put a hold on all service disconnections that are due to non-payment. I've written about rent payment extensions, noting that the amounts due are not disappearing, but in fact, are piling up. The same is true of the SWG payments. The bills people are skipping are still going to be due in whatever amount is accruing during these past several months.
SW Gas has some assistance options they want their customers to be aware of, so the eventual bill isn't overwhelming. They've got some flexible payment plans, income-qualified rate assistance, low-income ratepayer help for people who've lost work due to COVID, and other programs. In total, they've got over $1M in financial assistance programs.
In the same way that I suggested you talk to your landlord about payment options, I'm also suggesting you reach out to SWG if you're in need of some help with their bill. Give them a call at 877.860.6020, and select 'option 3.' All of the payment extensions are going to end. It's much better to get a game plan in place now than to wait for the extension to be terminated, and you're scrambling for solutions.
And doing the same by being proactive if you've missed any Tucson Water payments is also a good idea. Keep all of these lines of communication open.
Midtown COVID
The new Pima County COVID portal allows you to pull up data by zip code. The most infected area of town by that measure is around the UA, 85719.
During his briefing last week, UA President Robbins said, "where I made a mistake was that I didn't test all students." And "we've gotta test everybody who wants to come back in January." I say, 'why wait?'
I open these newsletters with the reminder to get a flu shot. President Robbins also said he'd like to mandate a flu vaccine before people work or attend classes at the UA. Let's do both – flu and COVID testing.
The data shown on the Pima County portal isn't complete until we compel testing of all students as a condition of their doing coursework. It's great that the on-campus voluntary testing numbers are under control. But there's a piece of the picture we need more clarity on. Especially before people start to disburse for the holidays.
 |
|
Campus isn't the only hot spot in the County. The south side has the number 2 and 3 most infections, by zip code. We need to continue focusing on testing wherever we know the problems exist. All of our residents matter, and allowing some to continue spreading the virus is irresponsible. |
Be Kind: COVID Memorial
This week's Be Kind mention is for all of you who took part in the COVID memorial week-long event at Himmel Park. We removed the flags this morning, and any photos that people had left in memory of a loved one we will keep here at the Ward 6 office for a while in case you'd like to come and reclaim it.
We began the week with 627 fatalities due to COVID in Pima County. By the end of the week, we had added another 6 flags to commemorate 6 more deaths from the virus. Here are a few closing images from Himmel - photo credit to my bride:
|
  Remember what each of those photos and flags represents – somebody with family members who are right this moment grieving the loss of their life since March from coronavirus.
Great thanks to the Kaimas Foundation for making the memorial possible. I hear the President say we shouldn't worry about COVID. I see students refuse to be tested. I see super-spreader events taking place by people who think these deaths are some sort of hoax. Over the past 6 months, these losses have become data for the nightly news. In fact, they're people who were, and are loved, and who are missed.
We're not through this yet. Thanks to all of you who are continuing to follow the CDC and Pima County Health guidelines and who are trying to keep this community safe.
PFLAG Tucson
Since the start of COVID, we've seen the impact on our local businesses. The State shelter in place impacted them all. With the improvement in coronavirus numbers, many have begun to reopen on reduced service levels. Please continue to support them, even if only with take-out orders.
All of our non-profits have also suffered through these past several months. One of them, PFLAG, has announced that it's closing the Tucson Chapter. We at the Ward 6 office are sad they've had to take this step.
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays have used the Ward 6 office for its monthly meetings since I was first elected in 2009. We've also hosted many of their awards ceremonies. COVID has made it difficult for them to continue meeting, and as it became more and more difficult for the group to retain leadership, they've closed up shop.
The work in support of the LGBT community continues through both Alliance Fund LGBTQ+, the Southern Arizona Aids Foundation, and the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance. On a personal note, I'm sorry PFLAG has closed. They're a great group, and we'll miss seeing them when we reopen. Please continue your support of this cause through these other agencies. You can find them at www.alliancefund.org, www.saaf.org, and www.sagatucson.org.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
This week's Emerge Domestic Violence item focuses on how we socialize boys. You have heard, and maybe even have had it said to you that 'big boys don't cry.' Guess what. They do. And sending the message to 'man up' may also be sending a message that feelings don't matter. That can lead to objectifying others, including those who may become victims of abuse.
Boys to Men is a group that is mentoring young guys in our community as they mature into manhood. They're taking aim at that whole notion of devaluing feelings and glorifying force. Boys to Men is active in 17 schools in the region, as well as out at the County Juvenile Detention Center. Their nearly 60 trained adults are mentoring around 200 teenaged boys. For many of the kids, it'll be the only place in their life where they're allowed to let down their guard and express their true feelings without being shamed.
On October 25th, 26th, and 28th, Boys to Men Tucson is going to partner with Emerge and the UA to host a forum whose target is to create better alternatives for teen boys. It's going to be an interactive event, and you are invited to participate. The overarching theme is building respect for others, regardless of gender or any other characteristic we use to 'define' others.
Use this link to get more information on the forum.
It's just one example of the larger conversation we must have if we're going to get ahold of domestic abuse and embrace the Angela Davis quote, "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept."
If you know of someone who may be being victimized by domestic abuse, please call the Emerge hotline at 795.4266. You can find their website at www.emergecenter.org.
Halloween Activities
The countdown continues for the costume contest. I hope you're all planning on fun ways to dress up the kids and pets. Remember, these photos will be forever around for you to remember both the challenges of 2020 and show how you were able to find some joy in the midst of the junk.
Send us your entries on or right after Halloween, and we'll choose winners and get you the prizes. We have 42 registered neighborhood associations in Ward 6, and so far, I haven't heard from any of them that they're promoting and encouraging trick or treating on the 31st. It's good to hear that people are staying safe this time around.
New, unopened treats can be donated to the Community Food Bank, and they can serve as a post-Halloween distribution site.
 And even if you don't enter, I'm enjoying including examples each week in the newsletter. The goal is fun. We can help with that without spreading the virus.
Sustainable Tucson Virtual Meeting
Last month, the M&C adopted a Resolution declaring a climate emergency. It'll be the precursor to each of the climate-related actions we take. Those will involve a wide variety of initiatives: recycling changes, transit, continued solar expansion, tree planting, complete streets design, composting at the landfill, and more.
This week, Sustainable Tucson will be talking about the Resolution and how you can be a part of climate-friendly work. The effort to roll back manmade climate impacts cannot be solely a function of government actions. Sustainable Tucson will look at things we might be doing at the City level, and also how Tucsonans can do your part as well.
The meeting will begin at 6 pm on Tuesday, October 13th. Here's the link to participate:
They will also be talking more about the Tucson for the World activity Sustainable Tucson is supporting. It's small teams of residents working on sustainable projects that will be presented to the larger group when they're ready for prime time. Learn more at this link: https://www.meetup.com/Tucson-For-the-World/events/272545367/
|
What's Happening in Colleges and Universities Across the Country?
I've mentioned in previous newsletters that the financial impacts of COVID on colleges and universities have been significant. Ithaca will cut 130 faculty jobs and is also considering the elimination of entire departments after seeing a large enrollment decrease this fall. They've already cut 167 staff positions and are looking for ways to reduce $30M from their budget. The UA is facing a $250M budget shortfall and has already reduced staffing by numbers similar to what Ithaca is reporting.
Active Minds conducted a poll of over 2,000 college students and found that over 75% of them report mental health has worsened since the start of the pandemic. You can see the full poll results here: a new Active Minds poll
It was good to see that much of the support they're receiving is coming from other students. And I'd add, from their pets! Many are feeling disconnected, and the uncertainty this whole year has thrown into our lives is also a cause for mental health issues. If you know people who are exhibiting signs of depression, please don't ignore it and pass it off as a phase. Show support, and offer to connect them with help. The UA Campus Health number is 621.9202.
NPR reported last week that in a survey they conducted among colleges that enroll more than 5,000 students and are operating in-person classes, only a quarter of them are doing surveillance testing of students. That's testing both symptomatic and asymptomatic students. That same analysis shows that more than two-thirds of those same colleges "have no clear testing plan or are testing only students who are at risk." The NPR conclusion is that we do not know the true number of college students who are being affected by COVID. And that's exactly my point in requesting the UA test all students, both on and off-campus. We can't know what we don't test to find out. It would be a nice nugget to have in mind before we send them back home after Thanksgiving.
U Washington has had a new outbreak among fraternities and sororities. As of last weekend, they had 144 cases spread among 11 Greek houses at the Seattle campus. It's the second outbreak in the UW Greek system since June.
Syracuse U has banned groups of more than 5 people on campus. They've also 'paused' all University-sponsored social activities, with the exception of classes and athletics. They had a surge in on-campus COVID cases and linked at least 45 of them to recently held off-campus parties. It's what UA President Robbins has expressed concern over.
The White House coronavirus task force has recommended that 3 Idaho Universities take all of their classes back online. That's for the U of Idaho, Boise State U, and Brigham Young U – Idaho. They have 23 counties in Idaho that are in the CDC red zone for infections. Latah County is home to the U of Idaho. Their positivity rate for 18-24 year old's is 80.7%. That's what you get when you begin testing everybody, and not excluding those who don't want the inconvenience of isolating.
And Florida State U President John Thrasher tested positive for coronavirus last week. This tweet announcing it also indicates his wife also tested positive. Last weekend it was reported that the Notre Dame President tested positive – he's John Jenkins, seated in the middle of the crowd at the announcement ceremony for Amy Barrett in the photo I opened the newsletter with. Thrasher and his wife found the virus in a less publicly ignorant manner.
 This is a drive-by photo taken of a sign in an Arkansas service station window from W6 friend Dave:
I must admit that I was surprised to learn even Arkansas has adopted that as a State law. Quite a contrast to Florida's total reopening that I shared last week. And similarly a contrast to Arizona's approach.
In Pima County if you see a business that's not complying with COVID rules you can report it here and their Consumer Health Food Safety team will look into it. For out of control parties, call 911, the UA COVID party hotline at 282.3649, or email to redtag@tucsonaz.gov.
Harvard and Pima County Trends
By way of reminder, here's the Harvard Global risk level assessment.
 The Harvard metrics have both Pima County and the State in the yellow. This graph shows how far we've come since the middle of summer:
What we do not need is for peoples' behavior to cause the virus to regain it's foothold and send that graph back up. We've seen it happen in States all over the Country, so let's not let down our guard and set ourselves back.
Thank you for all of the sacrificing you've made. We're not done, and things aren't "normal," but together we've made a lot of progress.
COVID Raw Data
In the Be Kind section above I commented that we've gotten to the point where the people behind the data are lost on us. That's of course not true to the families who have lost loved ones, so as I continue to give these updates on the number of cases and deaths, keep the human piece these data represent in mind. This is Statewide as of Sunday evening.
 And for Pima County:
I know the Statewide total is at least 2 too low. They failed to add 2 fatalities we experienced between Saturday and Sunday in Pima County. It's yet another example of how difficult it is to track these data and have confidence in their accuracy.
Statewide we're still testing 10.1% positive. In Pima County, that's 7.7%. And in Pima County, that 7.7% does not include students living off-campus who refuse to test.
Here's your weekly update on the Statewide COVID numbers, by County. From last week's newsletter:
 And here are the numbers from AZDHS as of last weekend:
And for your own research – these links:
For the NY Times data sets, use this link:
The State Department of Health site is at this link: www.azdhs.gov.
And here's the UA daily update link. www.covid.arizona.edu. When it opens, click 'See Latest Updates', and it'll take you to a screen with the updated data.
Sincerely,
Steve Kozachik
Council Member, Ward 6
ward6@tucsonaz.gov
City of Tucson Resources
|
