Other movies he has worked on include the Matrix series, visual effects on Star Trek, Starship Troopers, The Empire Strikes Back, Inner Space, Honey I Shrunk the Kids – and a bunch more. Pete just finished writing a book about their work on Nightmare, as well as his work on several other films. It’s available on Amazon starting June 1st - or contact me and I’ll help you find one. I’ve read the draft and can tell you that knowing some of the back-of-house stuff they go through will enhance your enjoyment as you watch any movie you sit through. It’s not as easy as they make it look.
Pete got his start in films by working here in Tucson. In what is today the Tucson Association of Realtors building at Grant and Tucson Blvd., I used to visit him while he was rolling ¾" reel to reel film for KZAZ TV. If you’ve been around, you’ll remember Gene Adelstein, John C. Scott and George Borozan. They ran the place and helped him get started.
Another local film guy with whom I made contact last week is Mark Headley. He’s still active trying to get films back to Tucson. This is a short video of Mark reminding us of the many movies that were shot right here in Tucson. No, they’re not all westerns. If you are at all interested in where we were in films, and how they’re made, both the podcast and Mark’s video will be absorbing. We can get there again – we just need some support from the state so we’re competing on a level playing field.
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Ironhorse Clean Up
Just a quick note of thanks to our wonderful Ironhorse neighborhood group for taking the time, and making the effort to get out and do their part in keeping the area clean last weekend. We know you’ve all got a bunch on your plates, and especially during COVID. Knowing you’re out there helping is a great testimony to your willingness to keep Tucson and your neighborhood a great place to live and thrive.
We at the Ward 6 office are grateful for each of our neighbors, throughout the ward, and throughout the city who do what Ironhorse did – we see it often, and each time we’re grateful.
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Mike Rankin
On June 1st, our city attorney Mike Rankin will become the longest running city attorney in Tucson’s history. Fred Dean served in that role from ‘77 through ‘94. Mike began in June, 2004. He’ll hit 18 years next month and will pass Fred as longest serving.
I’d say we keep his life interesting. There are 7 unique personalities around the M&C table, each with our own brand of advocacy. Mike’s task is to enable us to walk out our passions, but to keep us inside the sidelines. Of note – he was not grey when he started on this path.
I appreciate Mike’s service and his counsel. Especially when he agrees with me. The city and region are well-served by his dedication.
F35s in Vermont
In preparation for this week’s Burlington/F35 film viewing, I listened to an NPR Morning Addition show on the issue. It’s just under 6 minutes. Do Control/click here if you’d like to Listen
USAF Chief of Staff General Charles Brown said the F35 “is a Ferrari. You don’t drive a Ferrari every day. You save it.” That’s good to hear since it costs over $35,000 per hour to fly an F35. They cost over $100M each. Sadly, there are still cyber-security issues with them, they’re difficult to maintain, and over the course of the full program they’re going to cost over a trillion dollars. The USAF has already identified next generation aircraft, even while the F35 is struggling to get off the ground. Senator John McCain called the program a “disgrace”.
When I was first introduced to Jet Line, it was through independent film maker Duane Peterson. He and his partner in that work, Patrick McCormack live in Burlington, Vermont. They live pretty much in the flight path of the F35s that arrived there a few years ago. The film we’re showing during our Zoom event this week is the one they shot – visuals of Burlington with voice mail messages from residents as they share their individual and unique experiences living under the newly arrived aircraft.
This is a Google Earth picture of before and after in Burlington. On the right you see the runway for their airport. To the left of the runway in the top picture you see lots of houses – and in those same sites in the lower picture you see those houses having been abandoned, demolished and now they’re vacant lots.
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Here’s one of those vacant lots. There used to be homes, with families living here. Since the arrival of the F35, the area is no longer habitable.
Join Duane, Patrick and Julie Macuga for a post-film discussion of the Burlington experience. Julie is one of the organizers of Save our Skies VT. It’s relevant to Tucson. DM has been considered for an F35 squadron. We didn’t make the first cut, but they’re still producing the planes and are looking for air bases on which to deploy them.
Here’s the Zoom link for the event. Please share it. I’m looking forward to hearing from our east coast neighbors.
Topic: F35 Jet Line Event
Time: May 27, 2021 06:00 PM Arizona
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Genna Ayup
Last week the court held what’s called a ‘motions hearing’ on Genna’s case. On June 26th, we’ll recognize the 9th anniversary of her killing. Her live-in shot and killed her. No charges were pursued. That is until we got with the family and hired a person to reconstruct the case based on police records. Now it’s back open and the hearing last week was for the attorneys to sort out what will and what will not be admissible when the trial starts.
The first try at the motions hearing by the defense was to get the case dismissed. Of course, that fell flat – as it should have. Other issues are still being considered by the court for admissibility. But the sure news is that on September 21st, Genna will finally get her day in court. The Pinal County attorney’s office is now handling the case.
We’re committed to seeing this through to the end. The family, friends, loved ones and Genna deserve nothing less.
Donations – Migrants and Period Poverty
This week I’m including two donation requests. One is the standing request for those of you who are inclined to assist with the migrant families coming through Casa Alitas. I took part in our bi-weekly meeting with Border Patrol, ICE and several congressional offices Friday morning. There are a few items tied together that could present some real dangers to the families. One is the city of Nogales has instituted a rolling water outage. On a given day some areas of the city will not have potable water. That makes running a shelter difficult. Add to that Mexico having begun a policy where they won’t allow migrants to purchase bus tickets. That means those denied are having to come through more rural and dangerous parts of the border, not the main points of entry. And there’s some vague talk of possibly rescinding what’s called Title 42 – the COVID-related policy that kept most of the asylum-seeking migrants in Mexico. If that ends, and if people either cannot get a bus pass, or there is limited water in Nogales, we’re going to see more and more people at Alitas whose needs are more severe than they are under today’s conditions. Special thanks to the Levine and Coon families this week for their generosity in support of the migrant guests.
Don’t take donations to Alitas. They don’t have time to stop and sort through things. Bring them here to the Ward office, or over to St. Marks church at 3809 E. 3rd. In either case you’ll need to call ahead – St. Marks is 325.1001. For us, just email me and we’ll set up a time to meet. Use steve.kozachik@tucsonaz.gov. It’s still the hygiene products, sunscreen, bottled water, and kids’ toys that are most in need.
The other donation item this week is in partnership with Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva. Her office is spearheading Period Poverty Awareness Week – May 24th through the 28th. The basis is that 1 in 5 low-income women report having had to miss work, school or other events due to a lack of period supplies. We’re helping them collect menstrual products this week. There are other collection locations scattered around the region. You can find them at http://bit.ly/periodpovertypima. When 1 in 4 U.S. women struggle to afford period supplies each year, we know getting involved is simply an issue of equity. My staff and I are happy to support Adelita’s effort in this.
For both of those donation opportunities, contact me at my email address and we’ll arrange for the transfer. And thank you for taking part. So many people have been so deeply supportive of these sorts of requests. It restores faith in peoples’ goodness.
5G Progress
Last week we had a couple more examples of where some advocacy and early communication can make a difference. In two different instances when we asked for a proposed site to be adjusted – both by collocating onto existing street signs – the telecom provider agreed. In both cases it was AT&T, but we’ve had other successes with Verizon.
We also continued meeting with utility company representatives on the formation of our ‘utility infrastructure guide.’ That umbrella catches a lot of raindrops, some of which are directly included in the 5G rollout, and others that our transportation people simply want to bring into some closer scrutiny. The truth is that if we hadn’t had such a poor start to the 5G issue, the manual probably wouldn’t have been considered. But we can’t unwrite recent history, and the FCC and state have put us in this position of defending the rights of residents in whatever ways we can. I appreciate the city manager and our transportation staff for digging into this issue with me.
Please continue to let us know if you see tell-tale signs of a new 5G pole. That’ll be blue staking going on in the right of way, likely near a residential intersection. I shared the ‘let us know’ message with two neighborhoods last week and in each case, they had poles-in-progress to report. We’ve begun work on both.
Finally, last week I mentioned those 5’ tall orange and white PVC posts that are going up alongside these 5G poles. They mark fiber underground. None are permitted by the city. I was assured last week that they’re all coming out and will be replaced by an at-grade medallion. It’s a win. More to come.
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Vaccine Update
The NY Times shared this graph late last week. It shows how far we’ve come since the first of the year in terms of both cases and COVID deaths.
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Nationally, the percentage of COVID tests coming back positive is now less than 3%. It’s the first time we’ve been at that low a level in the past year. Dr. Eric Topol from the Scripps Research Translational Institute reported that San Francisco General Hospital had zero COVID patients last week. I’m sure you remember seeing California hospitals at over-capacity not too long ago. We’re really on a good trend.
But the international disparity in vaccination rates continues to be something we should be concerned with. Our COVID infection rates are drastically down. Those in India and Brazil are spiking. These vaccination data are one reason that’s the case:
Our regional mask wearing guidelines are now eased. If you’re vaccinated, feel free to remove the mask when outdoors, or in public settings with limited numbers of people. Businesses not receiving federal funds continue to have the right to require masks, and the city is requiring them inside of city buildings where there’s public/staff interaction.
The list of colleges and universities requiring vaccination for students when they return to school this fall is now up to over 400. And note the UA is still not one of them. So much for science trumping a concern over tuition dollars. The dots on this map are the schools that have acknowledged the reality of science and are mandating proof of vaccination for students coming into a community this fall. The states shown in red voted for Trump. Those shown in blue voted for Biden. Note the trend.
Arizona voted for Biden - but the Cyber Ninjas are still hard at work trying to rework those data. Our UA president comes to us from two red states, so that may have something to do with our policy-hesitation.
This map shows how Arizona is doing more generally with respect to vaccinations. It wasn’t too long ago that I was reporting single digit vaccination numbers, so this shows some great progress.
And our Pima County count looks like this. We’re doing much better than the rest of the state.
If you’d like to dig more deeply into the national vaccine program, use this link: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/ . The map that pops up on the screen will give you the ability to click on any county in the country to see how they’re doing.
Anyone who is 12 years of age or older can now receive a vaccine in Pima County. There are multiple sites now up and running, and many of them are mobile. Use this link to find a site: www.pima.gov/covid19vaccine. Here’s a list showing where this week’s mobile clinics will be operating. You do not need an advance-appointment.
The Realtime U.S. COVID map still shows Pima County with a ‘very high’ risk level. We rank #44 nationwide, so this is not the time to totally let our guard down. This is week-old data.
Here’s this week’s addition to the infection data I’ve been tracking for Pima County. It went back up over the previous week. Our testing is still in the 8.3% positivity range, and testing numbers are way down.
Total new cases -
April 26th - May 2nd - 459
May 10th - May 16th – 206
May 17th - May 23rd - 333
Last week I mentioned that our region is trending up slightly in terms of community spread. There was good progress in the past week. Here’s a comparison. The goal is to stay below 1.0. The 85719 Zip Code is the UA area.
What the data show is that the virus is clearly still present, but it’s not spreading. Numbers above 1.0 mean there’s active community spread.
So, lots of progress. Keep up the great work.
Wear Orange Day – June 5th
I wrote about Genna’s case up above. Gun violence has been a part of the national and local landscape for so long that we’re numb to reacting anymore. Unless it’s your family, friend or loved one who’s shot.
With the reopening from the pandemic, we’re seeing a renewal of the gun crazed behavior. The Moms Demand Action (MDA) Wear Orange event is as relevant as ever. It’s coming on June 5th. And as is still the norm, it’ll be done by Zoom.
The MDA event will be a day long series of action, reflection and some music. I’m honored to have been asked to be a part of it again this year. The Zoom piece begins at 1pm. You’ll have to register first by reaching out to rene.friedkin@gmail.com. The details of the event are still being finalized, but the importance is written in stone with every new gun violence incident.
As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, a part of this event MDA is collecting books for Emerge Center for Domestic Abuse. These should be new, or close-to-new books for teens, or younger. You can either drop them off or ship them to 4220 E. Cooper, Tucson, 85711, attention Rene Friedkin. Or if you’d like you can email at besmart.tucson@gmail.com and ask for a COVID-safe pickup at your place. You can also reach out to me at steve.kozachik@tucsonaz.gov and I’ll arrange for you to bring them to me here at the Ward office and I’ll be sure to get them to MDA/Emerge.
Plastic Block
Last week I shared a television piece KGUN ran on the plastic block project we’re working on. This week it’s a KOLD story Hannah Tiede aired on the block. She tied it in with the whole zero-waste aim we’ve got. Crushing glass into sand and reusing it was a start. Now looking into turning plastic waste into construction-grade blocks is on the table. Here’s Hannah’s piece.
I’ve already submitted a study session update request for July 7th on this topic. I’ve asked for an implementation plan for the plastic, and an update on the glass reuse and composting projects we’ve given direction to staff to get going. It’s all about finding effective secondary uses for waste as we lead by example moving towards our zero-waste goal.
Tucson City Golf
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During COVID, golf suddenly became one of the few games in town. Rounds played and revenues at some of our courses increased. So did the wear and tear on the facilities. Beginning in June there’s going to be some downtime on the Randolph South, Dell Urich golf course.
Beginning on June 7th both the tees and fairways on Randolph South will be renovated. The process will include stripping the top layer off the fairways and tee boxes and exposing the stolons below. Those will be nurtured into new young turf growth. The entire process is going to take about 6 weeks. So, Dell Urich will be closed from June 7th until near the end of July. When it reopens there will be some cart restrictions to allow the new turf to get established. During the closure Tucson City Golf will also take care of some smaller projects such as weed control, detailing bunkers, cart path renovations, and doing some tree work. In addition, the ‘Monarch’s in the Rough’ project will be advanced. That’s an Audubon project which has as its goal to increase pollinator habitat on golf courses.
Parks Indoor Leisure Classes
Beginning this week registration is happening for several indoor leisure classes that have been on hold due to COVID. The classes will begin on June 6th. Each is subject to size restrictions so register early to grab your spot.
The classes will include activities such as painting, ceramics, and yoga. In each case masks will be required to be worn at all times if you have not been vaccinated. Rooms will be set up so that social distancing can be practiced. And indoor access is only being given to registered participants – one way of controlling the size of the groups. These classes will take place at Randolph, Udall, Donna Liggins, Clements, El Pueblo and El Rio parks.
In addition, some self-directed activities are going to be opening on June 14th. These will be weight rooms and walking tracks. The same COVID health protocols being used for the leisure classes will be in effect for the shared-use facilities. These will take place at the Randolph, Marty Birdman, El Rio, Archer, Cherry Ave., Santa Rosa, Clements, and Donna Liggins centers. The Quincie Douglas center will open after 1pm so our therapeutic rehab classes can take place in the morning.
Participatory Budgeting
Pre-COVID we held many public meetings during which we’d present our proposed budget and then gather input from you on you you’d like to see our limited budget dollars prioritized. Even without the ability to get together in large groups, we still want your thoughts on our budget.
The city has created a new participatory budget tool in English and Spanish . By clicking on either of those links you’ll see a pretty thorough review of our budget amounts, and also be given the chance to assign your own priorities. This input will be one of the ways we’ll gauge how to allocate funds as we wind down our current budget talks.
When you open the link, click on ‘fiscal year tentative budget.’ That site will step you through each department. At the end you’ll be given an opportunity to share your thoughts on how we should be allocating your tax dollars. We hope this tool will be both educational and will give you the chance to let us know what services the city provides that you want to see most heavily funded.
Bungalows on Broadway
In 2006 the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) vote went to the public. It’s our regional 20-year transportation plan. The RTA is a ½ cent sales tax that was hoped to raise $2.1B, about half of which was to fund roadway expansions. Broadway was one of those projects.
The original Broadway proposal was for an 8 lane, 150’ wide roadway, between Euclid and Country Club. The project was sold to the people based on what turned out to be inaccurate traffic projections. Had it gone forward as planned, over 100 historic buildings on the north side of Broadway would have been demolished to make way for the asphalt carrying non-existent cars. Over the course of 3-4 years, many of us urged the project be reduced in width. Finally, it was – not to the extent it could have been, but enough to save most of the buildings that would otherwise have been ruined.
Here’s a great story KGUN’s Craig Smith aired last week. It shows the result of the advocacy that led to reducing the width of the originally planned Broadway widening.
There are 7 bungalows on the north side of Broadway between Cherry and Warren. They sit on the southern edge of Rincon Heights neighborhood. Many of those neighbors took part in the hard work of reducing the width of the project. The result – the bungalows will be saved, and they’ll be repurposed into a series of neighborhood-scale restaurants and other commercial uses.
This is the first of what I hope to be a series of these kinds of creative projects we’re going to see throughout the Sunshine Mile. I know Rocco’s Pizza is a player. So is Lerua’s. And Zemam’s has a cool concept they’re working on. In each case the Rio Nuevo board is active and is working to preserve the businesses, while also preserving the character of the corridor.
In the case of the bungalows, Randi Dorman and Moniqua Lane are partnering to bring the project forward. The M&C must adopt the final touches on the Sunshine Mile overlay, but we’re close – July 7th is my hoped-for target date for that. When we do, each of those local business groups can move ahead with their plans during the hot summer months, being ready for winter visitors in the fall. The Broadway widening project is scheduled to be complete around the end of the year, so all of this timing is good.
Thanks, are in order to the Rio board, Project for Public Spaces for guiding the public outreach on the overlay, Phil Swaim for dedicating his team to the architectural piece, and of course all the residents who took part in objecting to a 150’ wide runway that would end in a 2 lane pinch point into downtown. With that history, here’s the Rio news release they issued last week to announce the bungalow project.
Parklets and Streateries
Close to a year ago, right as we began to see the shutdown of activity due to COVID, we adopted some code changes that allow for restaurants to expand outdoor seating areas. We’ve seen those changes keep many of our local businesses afloat during the pandemic. There has been an increase in demand for outdoor dining opportunities – and for more outdoor gathering spaces. I totally support this concept – and the city is hosting some listening sessions to hear your input on it.
The idea is to streamline the process of providing privately funded and maintained public spaces. Parklets are small spaces where people can socialize outdoors, or just find a quiet space to read and enjoy our newly found opportunity to get back out from inside our homes. Streateries include outdoor dining in the mix. These graphics show what we’re currently focused on.
Coming this week are a few opportunities for you to hear about what’s being considered, and to offer your own input. The first is being done virtually, and then this Friday and Saturday mornings there’ll be an on-site demonstration over by Presta Coffee on 9th Street. Here are the details.
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Public Information Session | Wednesday, May 26, 6-7 PM | Join online | Join by phone: +1 213-293-2303,,717571097#
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Pop-Up Parklet Outreach Event | May 28 & 29, from 7 AM - 12pm | Presta Coffee (501 E 9th St)
COVID has helped us reimagine what work looks like, but it has also helped us get creative with what play can look like. Please consider carving out some time to share your thoughts in the Parklet/Streatery ideas. They’re not just for the downtown area, so come with ideas about expanding these throughout the city.
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
Staff is completing their public outreach updates on ADUs this week. These are the small living quarters that are under consideration. You’ve heard them referred to as ‘Granny Quarters’ - such as this:
The challenge is to find a sweet-spot where we can allow for them without simply opening the door to expanding mini-dorm applications that have had such a negative impact on midtown neighborhoods.
If you’d like to get a summary of what staff has under consideration, use this link:
I’m all in favor of the idea. But the details of how to implement ADUs without creating more problems have yet to be finalized. Your input continues to be an important part of that process.
Harvard Global Health Institute
This week, Colorado is ranked #3 nationally in COVID risk level. I only point that out because they’re our neighbor. Our other neighbors are ranked #18 for Utah, #24 for Nevada, #27 for New Mexico, and #53 for California. I know, there are only 50 states. They’re behind D.C., the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Remember when California was far and away the biggest hot spot in the country? Remember when Arizona led the world? We’re now 32nd nationally. That’s a great amount of progress.
In South America we still have countries with increasing numbers of COVID infections. From just last week, here are two: Brazil and Argentina.
India is still in the news, but their 7-day average started to drop a little last week. Taking their place over in that part of the world is Russia. They’ve reported 5 million cases and over 115,000 deaths since the first of the year.
COVID is not gone, so please stay aware of safety protocols.
Here’s our statewide map. I’ve been sharing these weekly for over a year now. In Pima County we’ve now passed 116,000 COVID cases. Maricopa County is well over a half million COVID cases since this began.
In Pima County we’ve lost over 2,400 friends and loved one’s since this began. When we did the memorial event in Himmel last October, the number was 622. At the time, we planted a flag for each person. Now that field of flags would cover the entire hill we gathered on.
Please keep focused on getting a vaccine and continuing to practice safe habits. We can see the finish line, but we’re not there yet.
For the NY Times data sets, use this link:
The State Department of Health site is at this link: www.azdhs.gov.
Events: Reid Park Zoo Memorial Day Service Discount
Reid Park Zoo is thanking active and retired veterans and their families for their service with discount admission on Memorial Day.
Reid Park Zoo is open for a modified Zoo experience with enhanced health and safety measures. All tickets, including those for Zoo members, must be reserved in advance. To purchase tickets and for more information on how to plan your visit, go to reidparkzoo.org. Thank you for supporting your Zoo, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
 Sincerely,
Steve Kozachik
Council Member, Ward 6
ward6@tucsonaz.gov
City of Tucson Resources
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