|
Karin’s Ward 3 News and Updates
Friday, March 5, 2021
News and Updates
Pet of the Week
Ward 3 Neighborhood Association/Coalition Meetings
Ward 3 Events
City Wide Events
Did You Know?
|
|
Hello fellow Ward 3 residents, I am grateful to be able to return to serve as your Ward 3 Council Member, and I am thrilled that the Ward 3 staff has agreed to continue its service as well. Former Council Member Paul Durham assembled an exceptional, devoted team. The staff has gathered the following information for you this week, and we're always glad to hear your feedback and concerns as we seek to do our best together for our city.
I know Paul Durham will be missed. He devoted much of his time and energy to improving the lives of Ward 3 residents. To thank him, a serenade will be held Sunday outside the Tucson House. The gathering is as much a sendoff for Paul as it is to thank the 400-plus Tucson House residents, many of them elders, for their resiliency and strength during this past year of the pandemic. The event will be COVID safe and it will be streamed live at 11 am on our Ward 3 Facebook page.
In this week’s newsletter, my team and I have an update on Pima County’s COVID vaccination efforts, tips on effective ways to water your outdoor plants and trees, and we share with you the much-appreciated efforts of Tucson Clean and Beautiful for its tree planting event last weekend in the Sugar Hill neighborhood. Taken together this vital information – COVID vaccinations, and tree planting and irrigation – share a common theme: our sustainability. As a community, as Ward 3 neighbors and as individual residents, we have the opportunities and responsibilities to do what we can, as much as we can and to do more to make our neighborhoods healthy, strong and beautiful.
Thank you,
Karin
|
|
Trees For Tucson In Sugar Hill
Mansfield Park was buzzing with green activities Saturday. Sugar Hill neighbors, volunteers with Trees for Tucson and sustainable gardening students were at the regional park enhancing its beauty and adding critical desert plants and trees. The new natural additions will go a long ways in improving lives and the environment.
Simply put, it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
"The tree planting event in Sugar Hill was a success,” said Sergio Avila, president of the Ward 3 Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association. “Neighbors, volunteers, City of Tucson representatives and local organizations came together to expand green areas, create shade to mitigate the effects of climate change, and more importantly, work together as a community. I'm happy with the results, and look forward to new opportunities to grow together.”
|
While trees were put into the ground at various homes, 18 students from the Sonoran Permaculture Guild, lead by their instructor Leona Davis, a Sugar Hill resident, installed a series of rainwater harvesting basins and planted four native desert trees and 20 pollinator plants in the southeast corner of Mansfield Park. The gardeners at the Mansfield Community Garden had expressed interest in planting vegetation in the corner to reduce the summer’s “heat island effect” of the asphalt pathway of the garden. Leona said that the project fulfills a part of the original 2011 plan for the community garden.
Your neighborhood can plant trees as well. “By doing so, neighbors can build a greener future and support the Mayor's Tucson Million Trees initiative,” said Katie Gannon, executive director of Tucson Clean and Beautiful, the parent organization of Trees for Tucson.
On many weekends, volunteers with the urban forestry program can be seen in the city’s neighborhoods planting trees on front yards and in the right of way, adjacent to the street. Last weekend the volunteers were in Menlo Park and on Saturday they will be in Barrio Hollywood, both Ward 1 neighborhoods on the west side. And you don’t have to be from the neighborhood where the planting is done. Volunteers from around the city lend a hand with the shovels and spades.
At Mansfield 42 volunteers put into the ground 38 new desert shade trees at 19 Sugar Hill homes, all in about two hours. “Thanks to Sugar Hill neighbors and leaders and all the wonderful volunteers who helped plant the future,” Katie said.
But wait! There was more. A special crew of Youth Tree Leaders pruned and shaped up trees along the Sugar Hill Greenway under the supervision of one of Trees for Tucson's arborists. Proper pruning of young trees is incredibly important to tree health, Katie added.
Interested in desert shade trees for your neighborhood? Contact our friends at Trees for Tucson: tft@treesfortucson.org. Trees for Tucson is now organizing neighborhood tree planting events for the fall planting season which starts in October. In support of Mayor Romero's Tucson Million Trees initiative, TFT is working with heat vulnerable neighborhoods with less than 10% tree canopy, offering each household up to two free low water-use shade trees, to be planted with volunteers.
|
|
|
Water Information and News
If you’re like most people who have a few plants and trees firmly rooted in your yard, you probably run a water hose and turn on the spigot. Or you pour water from a can. But even if your plants and trees look alive, have you ever thought if they are getting sufficient water or maybe too much?
Like most people, you probably don’t know the answers to those questions on how to properly irrigate your garden in the challenging Sonoran Desert.
But our friends at Tucson Water know the answers or can direct to experts who have great tips on how to properly water your in-the-ground plants and trees. And to make it a tad easier to understand, here are two nifty images that will help you stay organized and on schedule.
The times listed above are for drip irrigation. Of course, if you don’t have a drip irrigation system in place, a very slow drip from the water hose should do the trick. But the keys are to be consistent throughout the year and make sure the water gets to the root zone of your plants. Check out our Monthly Watering Guidelines below for more detailed watering recommendations for specific plant and soil types.
More tips:
- Large trees need more water and should be watered longer to reach deeper roots (3 feet). Shrubs should be watered to 2 feet deep.
- Avoid watering from 11am – 4pm when evaporation is highest. Earlier in the morning or in the evening is best.
- If you have an irrigation system do a manual run of your system once per month and walk it to look for leaks and stuck valves.
Speaking of water, here’s an important reminder for Tucson water customers struggling to pay the monthly water bill. Tucson Water will resume shutting off water accounts for nonpayment beginning March 15. If you or you know someone who is in financial hardship, there is more than $1 million in bill assistance for COVID-related financial hardship.
Tucson Water is urging customers with delinquent accounts to take the following actions:
- Check your utility services statement to ensure you are current on your bill
- Check your mail for any notices from Tucson Water, which will be mailing notices to all delinquent customers
- Make payments by visiting https://tucsonaz.gov/PayUtility or calling 520-791-3242
- Visit https://tucsonaz.gov/UtilityBillsHelp or call 520-791-3253 to see if you qualify for COVID-related utility assistance for water, sewer, and trash services
- Visit https://pima.gov/UtilityBillsHelp for information on all COVID assistance available in the region
.
|
|
|
UA Statewide POD and Other COVID News
This week we saw a lot of vaccine doses getting into the arms of southern Arizonans. The UA Point of Distribution (POD) received 16,380 doses. Even with this high supply going to the UA, the Pima County Health Department received 24,000 doses. These supply levels will need to be maintained for Arizona to outpace the UK variant.
The UA POD site is now running from 10 am to 10 pm, 7 days a week. Appointments at the UA have filled quickly. The State is releasing a few weeks of appointments at a time so they can adjust for changes in vaccine supply. All eligible people can create a state account now at podvaccine.azdhs.gov, so they are ready to make an appointment when they are again available. Those without computer access can call 1-844-542-8201 for assistance or to make an appointment.
Earlier this week, ADHS announced that individuals age 55-64 and frontline essential workers are now eligible for the vaccine via State-run PODs. Pima County Health Department is still only scheduling appointments for individuals in the following categories:
- People aged 65 years and older
- Long-Term Care Staff and Residents
- Protective Services Workers
- Teachers / Educators / Child Care Workers
If you are in one of these categories, you can register with Pima County to get an appointment by visiting here or calling (520) 222-0119 (TMC or TCC PODs) or (833) 509-0908 (Banner). Assuming vaccine supplies stay at or increase above current levels, then Pima County will be able to open up appointments for frontline workers and adults with high-risk conditions more quickly. Stay tuned and watch the PCHD website for future updates.
|
|
Ward 3 Neighborhood Series
A big thank you to everyone who has participated in our Neighborhood Series. Our final session of the initial series was this week. We really enjoyed putting on these sessions, learning, and being able to interact with everyone.
You can view all the sessions on the Ward 3 YouTube page. Also, if you have participated in a session please be on the lookout for a survey to offer your feedback.
Season Two!
Building and the success of Season One, we are happy to announce we have two more information sessions are planned.
Season Two: Session 1: Green Stormwater Infrastructure. In these session Tucson Clean and Beautiful will present on neighborhood scale water harvesting. This meeting take place Thursday, March 18th at 5:30pm.
Season Two: Session 2: Neighborhood Traffic Calming. This session will feature members from the Department of Transportation and Mobility and others to present information on possible options on Neighborhood Traffic Calming. This meeting will take place Thursday, April 1st at 5:30pm.
You may register now at the links below:
Stormwater
Traffic Calming
|
|
Ready, Set, Rec!
The City has kicked off our new mobile recreation program, titled “Ready, Set, Rec!” We are excited to bring this free of charge mobile recreation program to our parks.
Right now the Ward 3 van is scheduled for parks in the Ward during the week as well as the weekends. Here’s a peek at the current schedule:
3/6 11 am-1 pm Rio Vista Park
3/10 4 pm-6 pm Amphi Park
3/12 3 pm-5 pm Limberlost Park
3/13 11 am-1 pm La Madera Park
3/17 4 pm-6 pm Juhan Park
3/19 3 pm-5 pm McCormick Park
3/20 10 am-12 pm Columbus Park
3/24 4 pm-6 pm Manuel Valenzuela Alvarez Park
You can find the schedule with the parks listed here.
As the program is launched the intention is gather information about locations and preferred activities and grow the program.
|
|
|
Guero
Meet Guero, star member of the 'Best in Ears Club'! Guero is a sweet guy who is a little overwhelmed about this shelter living business. In his evaluation, staff said he was nervous but tolerated other dogs greeting him and was friendly with the handlers. He gave good greetings and corrected appropriately when he needed space. He was a bit anxious but friendly and warms up quickly. Guero is not a fan of small dogs. Maybe he's worried about competition in the ears club? Whatever the reason, no small critters in his future home please! In one of Guero's previous homes he was kept outdoors and he let us know that he would really like to move on up into the nice warm (or air cooled) house he has been dreaming of. He did well with kids he knew but might need to take his time with meeting new ones. His family reported that he was housetrained. "I met this sweet boy for the first time today. He was a bit shy but met me at the kennel door, leashed up well and was ready to go. He really enjoyed our walk, smelling all the smells. And his ears are fantastic! Can't wait to get to know him a little better." - PACC volunteer
For more information about this animal, visit the Pima Animal Care Center - Tucson website.
|
|
|
Ward 3 Neighborhood Association/Coalition Meetings |
|
Alvernon Grant Initiative
Tuesday
March 9
6 pm
Zoom
If you would like to attend the January Zoom AGI meeting, send an email to paloverdena@gmail.com by Tuesday, February 9, at noon.
|
|
Ward 3 Events
Vita at Ward 3 Council Office
Did you know that if you made $66,000 or less last year, you do not have to pay to file your taxes? Starting on February 1st, United Way of Tucson's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program can help you file for free. Mindful of the COVID-19 pandemic, United Way is teaming up with www.GetYourRefund.org to provide free, online, one-on-one tax assistance from real, live IRS-certified tax preparers. VITA tax preparation saves taxpayers an average of $250 per return. The program helps taxpayers access all tax credits for which they are eligible – including the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
There are three ways you can get your taxes done for free:
-GetYourRefund.org – taxpayers can connect with VITA volunteers online
-In-Person Assistance – limited in-person assistance is available at select sites
-DIY Self-Prep Software – online services for those who feel confident in filing on their own Click here for more information.
If you do not have access to the internet you can call 520-837-4231 to talk to VITA volunteers by phone. Be sure to leave your name and a good contact number so that they can reach out to assist you.
|
|
|
Volunteer to De-Litter the Santa Cruz River #notinmyriver
Sunday
March 7
9-11 am
Santa Cruz River Heritage Project
Between 22nd St/29th St
Join the trash cleanup and buffelgrass pulling event for Sunday, March 7th. Focus will be on the area around the Santa Cruz River Heritage Project's outfall, working to make space for native plants that will be seeded later in the month.
|
|
Sustainable Housing in Tucson: Past, Present, and Future
Tuesday
March 9
6-8 pm
Join virtually. The Zoom link is at here.
At the March Sustainable Tucson monthly meeting, Tucson architect Bob Vint and local sustainable building advocate David Eisenberg will explore some of the local traditional designs, materials, and building systems, as well as current and future challenges and opportunities for our buildings here in the age of climate change. This will include a look at the form and performance of historic building approaches in the Southwest, problems with our existing housing stock, and some technical insights about building performance, material choices, climate impacts, and rehabilitation strategies.
|
|
Call to Artists: Large Mural Opportunity Along the Rillito Wash and Bike Path
Budget: $75,000
Deadline: March 8, 2021 Apply here
Three soil retaining walls have recently been completed on the north bank of the Rillito River near the Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club.
Artists whose work involves optical illusions are strongly encouraged to apply, given the substantial dimensions and distance for viewing. There is also a strong interest in artist teams.
|
|
|
|
|
|