Congratulations to former Ward 3 staff for their new positions with the City of Tucson
Sarah Launius was recently hired as the inaugural Community Safety, Health & Wellness program director.
Sarah, who was the Chief of Staff to Council Members Paul Durham and Karin Uhlich here at Ward 3, will work closely with the Tucson Police Department, Tucson Fire Department, 911 Communications, Housing, Planning & Development, Code Enforcement, Courts, community organizations, and members of the community to execute the Mayor's vision for community safety, health, and wellness.
Ernesto Portillo is the new Public Information Officer for the city’s Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). As a former Arizona Daily Star journalist, Ernesto brings nearly 40 years of journalism experience to the recently created position. He previously served as an Aide to former Ward 3 City Council Members Paul Durham and Karin Uhlich. Ernesto’s work at HCD will focus on community engagement, coordinating the department's public outreach and publicizing HCD's extensive work.
Please join me in congratulating both for their new roles. The City of Tucson is fortunate that their considerable talents will continue to benefit us all!
-Kevin
City/County Collaboration
It’s our third week as the ward three team and we’ve been meeting and greeting with various departments within the city. One invitation that came from outside the city was from County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva inviting us to meet with her team. Supervisor Grijalva represents District 5 which encompasses a big portion of Tucson and parts of ward 3. While many of your calls and concerns can be addressed by the ward staff, others require collaboration with the county. In the past, the Ward 3 Council office has collaborated with Pima County staff on homelessness, street and code enforcement issues. Recently, Kristin Woodall from our office did a site visit to a mobile home park that was dealing with code enforcement issues with County Parcels surrounding their park.
We appreciate the efforts of the District 5 team in strengthening the relationship between city and county and look forward to working together for the benefit of Tucsonans.
You can find more information about Supervisor Adelita and District 5 at www.adelitasgrijalva.com
Volunteers Sought for Lend A Hand
Lend A Hand (LAH) is a local nonprofit that serves 12 Ward 3 neighborhoods, all located in the area surrounded by Oracle, Elm, Country Club and the Rillito River. Their clients are elderly or disabled and live the neighborhoods within those boundaries. Many have no family in town and they need a helping hand.
Right now, LAH has approximately 120 clients and 60+ trained volunteers (not all volunteers are active). Jim, the LAH Coordinator, maintained statistics on rides and errands provided by the volunteers for LAH clients. Here's what he found for the period from April 1 to December 31, 2021:
• There were almost 1200 requests for rides & errands from 80 different clients • 77% of the requests were provided by 10 volunteers • 37 volunteers provided all the ride & errand requests
Lend A Hand is looking for volunteers who can provide rides and do errands for their clients.
This is a great way to meet some amazing people, hear some fantastic stories, and become very close to some of the people Lend A Hand volunteers assist.
If you would like to "pay it forward", consider becoming a LAH volunteer. The beauty is that you can do as little or as much as you have time for. You pick who, when, and where you are willing to drive.
Lend A Hand also has other programs which you can check out on their website here.
Take the "One Water 2100 Master Plan" Survey
The "One Water 2100 Master Plan" will guide Tucson Water’s decision-making related to water resources, capital investments, financial planning, and conservation practices over the next 80 years. You can help by taking a short survey here.
Public involvement is a key component of the planning process to ensure the communities and stakeholders served by Tucson Water have a voice in the management of our water resources.
Tucson Water
Blood Crisis
This month The American Red Cross issued a “Blood Crisis” for the first time in its 141 year history. While seasonal blood shortages are not uncommon in the US, there are several compounding factors that make this shortage a full-blown crisis. Covid is obviously one of those major factors. Add to that the winter weather, supply chain issues, staffing challenges, and holidays, and we have reached the lowest national blood inventories in more than a decade. This means that, at times, as much as one-quarter of hospital blood needs are not being met.
And much like with the pandemic, the big problem is that these shortages are not just short-term, but long-lasting. The Red Cross repots having historically low levels of blood supply for the last 4 months.
The good news is that we can all help get the blood supply back up to functional levels by donating. Here are some of the locations around Tucson taking blood donations on a regular basis:
Broadway Blood Donation Center (7139 E. Broadway Blvd., 85710)
Foothills Blood Donation Center (7354 N. La Cholla Blvd, 85741)
Congregation Anshei Israel (5550 E. 5th Street, 85711)
American Red Cross Chapter (2916 E. Broadway Blvd., 85716)
Tucson Public Works Building (201 N. Stone Ave, 85701)
The best way to help is to go to www.Redcrossblood.org where you can put in your zip code, and it will give you the locations and operating times of donation centers near you. You can make an appointment that best fits your schedule.
In addition, if you are interested in hosting blood drive, you can click on the “Hosting a Blood Drive” tab. Lastly, The American Red Cross is always looking for volunteers, so if you can donate your time, the website allows you to sign up for that as well. Let’s come together and make sure that the blood needs of our community get met.
Council Member Dahl demonstrating to our future generation how easy it is to plant a tree
To plan your own neighborhood planting event, or to add some reasonably priced shade trees to your own property, visit: https://tucsoncleanandbeautiful.org/
Ward 3 Neighborhood and Coalition Meetings
Rillito Bend Saturday January 22 9-11 am
Workday at Rio Vista Natural Resource Park Meet at the Labyrinth entrance on Cactus Blvd.
Ft Lowell/Country Club Safety Meeting Monday January 24 6-7 pm zoom
Keeling Monday January 24 7-8 pm zoom
Central Segment Safety Coalition Tuesday January 25 6-7 pm zoom
Jefferson Park Wednesday January 26 6-7 pm zoom
Ward 3 Events
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The Ward 3 office is currently closed to the public. Staff will answer phone messages, emails and requests for meetings by the next working day. Leave your message at 520-791-4711 or email at ward3@tucsonaz.gov. |
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