Meet Lily and Marin – Girl Scout Troop 217
TPD Sergeant Jen Turner’s girl scout troop put together a video that will make you smile. And that gives you some things to think about when you take your pooch out on walks in the desert, river washes, or even around your neighborhood. Watch this short video featuring Lily and Marin from Girl Scout Troop 217. https://youtu.be/RRRxWTehdfk
The ladies also put these flyers together, capturing what you saw in the video. It’s great to see young people engaged with positive projects such as this. And it’s great to see parents like Jen engaged with their kids in equally positive ways.
 
Benedictine Plant Sale
Throughout the whole Benedictine rezoning process, we’ve observed lots of changes on the grounds. We held multiple public meetings in the sanctuary before the rezoning began. We housed over 20,000 Central American migrants in the sleeping quarters as the construction documents were being prepared. And as all of that was happening, many of you visited the orchards and greenscape on the grounds that once surrounded the building. I’m sure many will remember this image of the wonderful plant sanctuary the nuns nurtured.
 KaimasPrior to the start of construction, my chief of staff Ann and I met with representatives from the folks at Mission Gardens, took stock of what was growing on the site, and through a donation from Kaimas Foundation that Ann is affiliated with, the Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace was able to salvage cuttings, seeds and in some cases whole plants from the site. They’ve done their own nurturing, and now the former Benedictine plants are mature enough to be shared more widely with the community.
On Saturday, October 9th, from 4 pm until 6 pm, Mission Garden will host the Benedictine Monastery Plant Sale. They’ll have music, wine, readings by local authors, and the opportunity to get some history to take home and grow on your own. The plants include avacado’s, pomegranate, apricot, fig, and others.
 Not only is this a chance to glean your own piece of the Benedictine history, but it’s also a fundraising event for the work going on at Mission Garden. Mission Garden is located out west of the freeway at 946 W. Mission Lane. When you visit, plan on taking some extra time to stroll around the gardens to see the preservation work the volunteer staff has been doing out there. It’s a treasure that’s worth the trip. And the Benedictine plants are an added bonus at this event.
And a big thanks to Alison Hughes for sharing her home and hospitality with a nice dinner party for me and Kevin Dahl last weekend. One added source of enjoyment was this Monarch who showed up to take part.
The recent rains have been such a nice relief. The butterfly arrivals are just one added benefit.
Vaccine Update
Last week I took part in the Arizona Daily Star candidate endorsement interview. Too much of the event was centered around this group – the ‘prove to me masks and vaccines work’ crowd.
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Comments were made to the effect that people should be able to make their own decisions on which laws to abide by. Seat belts, helmets, robbing a Circle K – vaccine mandates. It got pretty absurd, so when I was asked by some guy why we don’t ‘test everybody, and not just people who are unvaccinated,’ I didn’t feel the tenor of the question was really one in which the guy was searching for an answer – it was clearly more in the spirit of the sign in the picture. My reply was that vaccinated people shed less of the virus than unvaccinated – and I left it at that.
The city now has a vaccine mandate in place. Once our legal challenge is out of the way, we’ll move ahead with the discipline tied to the mandate for those who choose to remain unvaccinated. And workplace conditions such as regular testing and wearing a mask may be a part of the drill for any city worker who opts to remain unvaccinated.
As for testing, the CDC recommends people who are fully vaccinated be tested 3-5 days after they have been exposed to someone suspected or confirmed with COVID. I doubt the guy who asked the question really wanted to hear that, but I’ll share it here in the calm of the newsletter. If you’re not vaccinated, the CDC wants you tested immediately after exposure. They also say “people not fully vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine who have been asked or referred to get testing by their school, workplace, or health care provider” are to be tested. That’s what the city is going to do once the A.G.’s challenge is done away with.
Well over 90% of the serious hospital COVID cases are made up of unvaccinated people. The data are clear. If you’re unvaccinated, you are 4x more likely to be infected, 10x more likely to be hospitalized, and 11x more likely to die from COVID vs. those people who have been vaccinated. That’s not ‘left-wing media’ stuff – it's science, data, and real.
This chart shows a comparison between the U.S. and other countries that are still doing ramped-up COVID testing. Our testing rates have dropped significantly. The chart shows a clear correlation between the drop-off in testing and COVID deaths. There is an undeniable value to continued testing. And our unvaccinated employees will be involved with that, regardless of whether or not they sign a form claiming some religious or medical reason to avoid vaccination. I suspect the guy who asked the question during the forum will be included in that group.
 Closer to home, in Pima County, they’re seeing over 10% positivity rates in the diagnostic testing being done for COVID. Up in Maricopa County, according to data on the AZDHS website, the rate is over 13%. That’s just people who came in to be tested. Here’s our Pima County trend line for percent positive, over time:
 So that brings us back to vaccinations. Our employees can skip all the testing and masking if they join the vast majority of city workers who have been vaccinated. How do we compare countywide with Maricopa County, where the COVID numbers are still higher than ours?
 Science denial doesn’t make it real.
Statewide we’re below the national average in the percent of people who have been vaccinated. This chart shows the % of eligible Arizona residents who have received at least one shot. We’re at 59%. That’s 5% below the average. Yavapai County is at 39%, and Mohave County is at 35%. If there’s any question as to why this is taking so long to beat, it’s that we continue to provide the virus available hosts to infect – and spread.
The Pima County Health Department folks are making a long list of mobile vaccination sites available this week. No cost/no appointment needed.
 And this is their list of standing points of vaccine distribution.
 Go to the Pima County Health site if you want to find the list of pharmacies that’ll give you a dose or if you’re a veteran looking to be vaccinated. Use this link - www.pima.gov/covid19vaccine.
Last week the CDC recommended masking for students in our schools. They based that on the infection data, much of which I share in the newsletter each week. The CDC study recommended “universal indoor masking by students, staff members, faculty and visitors in kindergarten through grade 12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.” The legal fight continues between Ducey and public health experts.
Data and Risk Level
With all of that as background, this ‘hot spot’ map of the world still shows the U.S. as being among the worst. Keep in mind, though, that many of the developing countries that aren’t color-coded aren’t necessarily doing well. It’s just that they’re not reporting data. We know the vaccination rates in many of those countries is very low, so the infection rates will be correspondingly high once the data can be collected. But we have no excuse – other than vaccine avoidance.
 Here’s the current risk level map. Remember, it’s for unvaccinated people. In Arizona, the only 3 counties that are not in the ‘extremely high risk’ category are Pima, Apache, and Coconino. Unsurprisingly, they’re also the 3 Arizona counties with the highest vaccination rates; Pima at 57%, Coconino at 67%, and Apache at 70% of all residents fully vaccinated. And those are all still in the ‘very high’ risk level. Also worth noting is that for the past month+, Nebraska had not been reporting data. Now we see they are again, and the entire state looks very much like Arizona’s risk levels.
  The Pima County trend didn’t move much in the past week. Last week I had this graphic in the newsletter:
And here’s the current count. It’s a slight improvement, but both are still in the very high-risk category, which calls for even vaccinated people to wear masks when in confined areas.
Last week the NY Times’ 14-day trend for Arizona showed a 17% drop in new case counts. That decline slowed somewhat this week:
 I’ve been tracking the Pima County weekly counts for a couple of months. They rose, dropped a little, headed back in the wrong direction for a couple of weeks, and seem to have settled in at just over 1,700 new cases. That’s consistent with the trend we’re seeing in the other numbers I’m sharing. Labor Day was September 6th, so now we should start seeing the impacts of that weekend’s activities, plus the resumption of school. As you’ll see in the ‘spread rate’ graph below, the numbers for around campus are still in the 1.35 to 1.40 range, and last week they bumped up a little in Pima County generally once again. The message is that we should not at all let down our guard.
Week of 7/26 - 827 new cases
Week of 8/2 - 1,301 new cases
Week of 8/9 - 1,570 new cases
Week of 8/16 - 1,737 new cases
Week of 8/23 - 1,963 new cases
Week of 8/30 - 2,025 new cases
Week of 9/6 - 1,720 new cases
Week of 9/13 - 1,877 new cases
Week of 9/20 - 1,728 new cases
During the first week in June, we had 130 new cases.
We got an update on the transmission rate from the UA folks last week. The infection rate for the 85719 zip code – around the UA – stayed about the same as the prior week and is still higher than Pima County generally or the state overall. The data since the start of September shows the plateau Dr. Garcia predicted at too high a level.
 You can find the most current data at this site: https://covid19.arizona.edu/dashboard.
And circling back to the vaccines, thanks to Jill for sharing the information about CVS announcing they’ve got Pfizer boosters now available at 111 Arizona locations. They recommend that eligible people make an appointment at their website: CVS.com.
These are boosters for people who took the Pfizer vaccine initially, are 65 years or older, or who are younger and have certain underlying medical conditions. Check their website to see if you qualify. They say the booster should come 6 months after your 2nd vaccination was given. And they say this is only for people who took Pfizer for their first round of the vaccinations.
PFAS and the Air Force
Last week we received a letter from the Air Force giving us an update on what they’re up to with regard to PFAS contamination. The report was specific to the areas out by our TARP treatment facility by Tucson International Airport. I’ve already shared with city staff that the information in their letter is not, in my opinion, good news.
The letter starts out nicely enough with the DOD affirming that they are “committed to protecting human health on and around active and former DAF (Department of the Air Force) installations.” As a part of the ‘partnership,’ they’ve conducted testing of groundwater monitoring wells downstream from military bases. In our case, they’ve found evidence of PFAS at “levels detected (that) warrant investigation.” We know that. The levels we found were so extreme that we had to shut down our TARP treatment plant to avoid the filters becoming overly-saturated with the contaminants.
The DAF is looking for contamination at levels above 70 parts per trillion (ppt.) Tucson Water shuts down wells when we find levels at or above 18ppt. So from the start, our tolerance levels are much different. The DAF has said their testing of the wells should be done by November of this year. If (when) they find private wells are affected, they’re committed to providing bottled water to anyone impacted. Clearly, that’s not a solution. And that’s another reason I found their letter disappointing.
The TARP treatment plant was installed to take care of TCE contamination. One component of the plant is carbon filters, used to filter out hydrogen peroxide before the water is served to the public. Fortunately, it also filters out PFAS. But the levels of PFAS coming into the facility have been overwhelming the filters, so we became concerned that the water coming out of the plant would not be at the non-detect levels we’re after. The plant serves about 10% of the Tucson Water customers in the city limits. All the rest of us are getting Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project. Once each year, we shut the TARP down for regular maintenance. That takes about a month. During that month, we are serving that 10% of our customer's groundwater from our central well field. I hope regular readers will see the problem I’m pointing out.
CAP water saves our need to serve groundwater. The PFAS contamination is a threat to our central well field groundwater. As long as we’re not serving it, we have time to work with the DOD on containing their PFAS plume. A drought has been declared for the Colorado. Predictions are that within 4-5 years, we might be forced to begin serving groundwater at some level due to shortages on the River. And as I point out above, we’re already doing that for about a month each year to that limited number of customers while the TARP facility is being serviced.
I’m glad the DOD has PFAS on their radar screen. It needs to be an immediate issue for them, though, and not one they’re comfortable studying for years. The plume is moving faster than their process, and we already use groundwater intermittently during the year. Bottled water is not an acceptable ‘solution.’
New Variant
In the past couple of weeks, there has been some light media coverage of a new variant that’s beginning to warrant watching. You may recall a Kentucky nursing home where a staffer inadvertently infected 45 of their residents. That happened a couple of months ago. The COVID strain is called R1. It began in Japan and has now been credited for over 10,000 infections in the U.S. It’s in 47 states.
The CDC still has this classified as a variant of interest. That means they’re watching it. Early reports suggest it might not be responsive to our current vaccines. Many health care professionals have warned that the longer we fail to reach herd immunity through widespread vaccinations, the ability of the virus to mutate into forms our vaccines are not able to address grows. Right now, it is not known how R1 and our vaccines interact. I’ll keep an eye on it and share more when it comes out. You can Google R1 variant and see the latest news on it.
Free Green Waste Disposal
Each holiday season, our Environmental Services team sets up Christmas Tree treecycle sites around the city. In response to the recent monsoons, they’ve set up several sites people can use now – to dispose of excess green waste you may be trimming/pulling/chopping from your property. You don’t have to let it pile up until the next Brush & Bulky hits your neighborhood.
The sites that have been designated include:
- Golf Links Sports Park (2400 S. Craycroft)
- Tucson Rodeo Grounds (3rd Ave, north of Irvington)
- Purple Heart Park (10050 E. Rita Rd)
- Randolph Golf Course (600 S. Alvernon – SE corner of the parking lot)
- Joaquin Murrieta Park (1400 N. Silverbell)
These sites are right now scheduled to be up and running until October 20th. It’s all free and intended to help us all work together to trim back what mother nature has left us from the wonderful rain we’ve enjoyed this summer.
I’m very grateful to our Environmental Services team for partnering throughout the city on this effort.
Community Resource Fair
Another partnership is coming on Wednesday, October 6th. We’re partnering with the Ward 3 staff and several community groups to bring a resource fair to midtown. The primary focus is on eviction prevention, but once the event got into the planning stages, we thought we might as well toss out a wider net and provide information on a variety of topics.
The Supreme Court caused the CDC eviction moratorium to expire on August 26th. But resources are available that will benefit both residents and landlords. Come to the resource fair on the 6th and learn how you can take part in those benefits. In addition, we’ll have booths set up for expungement of pot convictions, the Pima Animal Care Center will be on-site, Literacy Connects will have the information you’ll want to get ahold of, the county health folks will be administering free vaccines, and a bunch more.
Please pass the word around if you know people who can benefit from any of those services. It’s kind of a one-stop shopping opportunity, and all of what’s being offered is free.
 RTA Update
The review of our participation in the RTA began with their most recent meeting. On the agenda, finally, was a public discussion of one of the primary issues we as a governing body are concerned with. That is whether continuing our involvement with the RTA as one vote out of 9 makes sense. Frankly, unless they’ve already got votes lined up with small jurisdictions, the county should also be clamoring for some larger voting representation on the RTA, and related groups with PAG. We and the county have the same voting authority as, say, South Tucson does.
Ahead of their meeting, we unanimously passed this motion:
I move to direct the City Attorney to report to M&C within 60 days with information on the legal applicability of pursuing the MAG model of governance, including proportional voting and veto power, for PAG, RTA, and RTA Next. And I direct staff to report back within 60 days with an update on funding for the remaining City of Tucson RTA projects and governance concerns raised today. Finally, I move that, unless otherwise directed by subsequent Mayor and Council action, that the City of Tucson withdraw its participation in RTA Next on February 1, 2022.
One of the members of the RTA committee is a former English teacher. Based on the wording of the motion, he evidently felt Regina should be prepared to announce during their very first public meeting on the topic of weighted voting exactly the outcome we envision by February 1st. He should understand that the vote we took was necessary to get the RTA to even engage on the topic. The mayor has been asking for this agenda item for months. It wasn’t until the week following our vote that it finally appeared on the RTA agenda. Expecting to know what the finish line of the conversation is when the exchange of information has just begun was both unrealistic and smacked of grandstanding for the others around the table. I’m glad to see the discussion begin. Let’s see where it goes.
It was ironic that on their agenda last week was an item that really makes the point of how one-jurisdiction, one-vote needs a new look. The PAG Regional Council took a vote on whether to approve their Title VI plan. That plan addresses two primary areas; one, how PAG complies with the 1964 Civil Rights Act as it manages federally funded projects, and the 1994 Executive Order on environmental justice. The City of Tucson residents comprises by far the largest population center in the region that’s impacted by those issues. And the sole dissenting vote on moving the plan forward last week was the city vote coming from mayor Romero. It’s an example of disenfranchising the people most affected by the item being adopted. And it came on the same day the RTA members took issue with any form of weighted voting.
An item that’s on our own agenda next week is rather ironically timed with the conversation about city interests and our participation in the next RTA. There’s a proposed 1st Avenue Improvement Project. It runs from Grant Road north to River Road. In the initial 2006 RTA package, the voters approved a 6 lane roadway with a $71M RTA commitment. But here’s what they’ve learned. The traffic projections the 2006 vote was based on are not being realized. This chart shows traffic counts do not justify the 6 lane expansion.
 If any of this sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because it’s exactly the same conversation/argument we had over the 2006 voter-approved Broadway expansion. Those traffic counts didn’t materialize either, and yet we were told the $76M project had to move ahead.
Next Tuesday, we’re being asked to approve a 4 lane version of the 1st Avenue project. It’ll include complete sidewalks, bike lanes, upgraded intersections and signaling, landscaping – every one of which I, along with hundreds of community members, were calling for on Broadway.
On Broadway, we also saw renderings like this – showing what various cross-widths could look like. But the proposed 8 lanes/150’ starting point was held up consistently as our starting point for the design. When we finally reached a 125’ Broadway, it was still too wide, did not included a dedicated transit lane, took out too many businesses, reduced the tax base the RTA relies on, and was held out as the final option or the county was going to remove $25M in funding it had committed. Now we’re being asked by the cash-strapped RTA to do what they would not allow on Broadway; that is, a community-based discussion about the redesign, saving money, and actually building something that reflected how transit corridors are being used.
 I will be surprised if the M&C do not approve the 4 lane 1st Avenue option. It makes as much sense as Broadway being skinnied up did. If we do, the city will engage with the RTA to get their input. How does this intersect with some of the issues we’ve raised with regard to our participation in RTA Next? It's an example of the flexibility that has been lacking. We seem to have achieved it as the RTA searches for ways to fully fund the remaining City of Tucson projects.
Zoo Expansion
We are close to finalizing a plan for the zoo expansion. After M&C voted to reject the option that had been presented and approved by M&C for the past few years, staff has met with the zoo folks and come up with a new plan that I think will satisfy the groups involved. It removes hardscape, preserves the investment made in the new entryway, and it pre-positions the zoo for further expansion that will similarly absorb more of what is now paved areas and buildings. Here’s a graphic depiction showing the general area being targeted for the Pathway to Asia expansion.
 Yes, it’s the same parking lot that I was told could not work when we were originally looking at options. And yes, it will involve spending over $8M that was not included in the ‘Barnum’ option. Had this option been offered, to begin with, about $2.5M of that $8M would not have been wasted. It went into design and prep work by contractors and staff in the original site. Those lost dollars will always bother me, but for the longer-term plans related to the zoo and Reid Park, this is the way to go.
The new expansion will include adding over 150 new trees and relocating the current parking spaces to what is now the FM yard north of the Edith Ball recreational center. I know overflow parking has long been an issue for Colonia Solana residents. This plan will keep the parking situation pretty much as it has been historically.
Staff is planning on sharing an update with the stakeholders who’ve formed to review the project. There are some contracts yet to be finalized, and costs are not to exceed the M&C authorized $5.5M. My suspicion is that we may well see the budget busted once design costs start coming in. My suspicion is also that this will be the direction the expansion will go. I’m fine with it, and it should have been more thoroughly studied prior to putting the M&C and the community through a very divisive process early this year.
Ward 6 Expungement Clinic
Based on the success of the first expungement clinic we co-hosted with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML,) we’re doing another. This time we’ve also got Prime Leaf dispensary working to help spread the word. The key is to get the word out to people who have existing convictions on their record for small amounts of pot. Incorporated in the Arizona recreational use law is the opportunity to have those convictions cleared from your record.
The clinic will be held on Saturday, October 9th, here at the ward office. NORML will have legal assistance here who’ll walk you through the process of petitioning to get your record cleared. It’s all free, and we’ll be here for you from11 am until 3 pm on that day. To take part, please bring as much information as you can on the violation you’re getting expunged so the NORML team can get your paperwork started efficiently.
 If you were dealing kilo’s back in the day, this clinic isn’t for you. If you were busted for a couple of ounces, some plants, or paraphernalia, you can get that taken from your criminal record. I hope to see you on the 9th. This can open new doors for you that are closed with this stuff on your record.
Garden District – Good news and some not-so-good news
Garden District Porch Fest
The good news is coming this Sunday the Garden District neighbors invite you to join in strolling through their neighborhood and enjoy some music, food, and events for the kids. After having to concede Porch Fest to COVID last year, the 2021 edition is on.
 There will be music on 6 different porches scattered through the neighborhood. I’ll be at 1833 N. Desmond from 3 pm until 4:30. I’m grateful to Larry and Carol for sharing their yard for the event. There will be 5 other porches in the area with a band/musician, and one porch will be solely dedicated to kid things. In addition, you’ll find a variety of multi-cultural offerings, so come prepared to do a little walking, talking, and singing along.
We’re all getting back out into circulation. Sunday should be a fun way to re-explore people in 3D – together, safely.
...and also in Garden District
A part of the 5G cell pole work is setting up the construction site ahead of the digging. Unfortunately, the barricade companies doing the work have shown a disregard for the landscaping – not only in Garden but in other neighborhoods around midtown. If you see this sort of irresponsible ‘deployment’ of signs and barricades, please let us know here at the Ward office. In this case, the transportation folks will be reaching out to the vendor after the work to replace vegetation that isn’t salvageable.
 And a note to you workers doing the deployment – care a little. Thanks.
Harvard Global Health Institute
Looking at the national Harvard maps, we can see patchy slight improvement nationally in the past week. Since the prior week showed a nearly all red risk level, the change is incremental. But what we’re not seeing yet is significant reversals of the COVID virus risk rate.
If we’re at a plateau, it’s high into the risk levels. This is the map I had in last week’s newsletter from the Harvard Global Health folks:
 And one week later, it looks like this. Above I shared maps I pull each week from NY Times data. I finish with the Harvard Global Health Institute maps for comparison purposes. It’s about sourcing information from multiple areas as validation. What’s validated is the whole country is in the grip of COVID.
 Last week Harvard had Pima County’s new cases per 100,000 population at 25.3, and our 7 day moving average for new cases was 264. We were in the Orange risk level – slightly better than Red. This week they have us moved back into the Red risk level.
 Arizona, on a statewide basis, improved very incrementally. We moved from 37 new cases per 100,000 down to 34, and the 7-day average dropped from 273 to 249. All of that’s good news. What’s not yet reflected is the full impact of school reopening, the return of UA students, and the activities we saw over Labor Day weekend.
I’m hopeful that we’ll get lucky and continue seeing the good trend. And I know I join lots of public health people who are watching closely.
You can check what’s going on in your home county by hovering your cursor over it on the Harvard map. Use this link to access it:
https://globalepidemics.org/key-metrics-for-covid-suppression/
COVID has killed over 650,000 people in the U.S. alone. In March of last year, someone predicting that would have been ignored. People who remain unvaccinated are still ignoring that reality.
COVID kills 19x more people than the flu. Please get your flu vaccination, get your COVID vaccination, wear a mask, and watch out for the misinformation that’s being spread.
Here’s this week’s statewide COVID map.
 Sincerely,
Steve Kozachik
Council Member, Ward 6
ward6@tucsonaz.gov
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