Date: 10/03/2022
Topics in This Issue:
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Migrant Needs
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TPD Toys for Tots Giveaway
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Atrocities in Kabul, Afghanistan
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Plastic Blocks
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Water Security
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Straw Purchases
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Temporary Housing for Pets
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Reid Park Baseball
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Ready, Set, Rec Van
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Downtown Small Business Grant Opportunity
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Domestic Violence Awareness Month
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Juneteenth City Holiday
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Infill Incentive District
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Cox Service Outages
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Welcome Midway Village Neighborhood
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Transit Fare Survey
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PCOA Health and Aging Survey
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COVID
Migrant Needs
The city is now back in the hotel business – for migrants who have been processed through CBP and the Casa Alitas shelter. We’re handling overflow and the reality is that the recent surges in people arriving at the border means we may be doing this for a while. Right now, it’s largely people from Venezuela, Cuba, and Guatemala. But there are of course lots of other people who are in flight from life-threatening conditions and are here looking for asylum. That process will play itself out in its own time. Our task is to get them connected with next of kin or sponsors. That means they’re here for a very brief period of time. The staff at Alitas and the city hotel gets the families supplied with clothes, food, and travel needs. Here’s what we are collecting at the Ward 6 office:
New and unopened underwear (men’s and women’s and children’s,) new socks, personal hygiene products. That’s shampoo, sunscreen, lotion, toothpaste, feminine products, soap – that sort of thing. New children’s toys.
NO CLOTHING PLEASE. Just the items listed. We’re located at 3202 E. 1st Street – across Speedway from the Loft. Our office is open until 1pm every weekday. We appreciate the responsiveness of the community each time I try to turn on the donation spigot again.
TPD Toys for Tots Giveaway
On the topic of taking care of those in need, TPD is partnering with Toys for Tots and will be hosting a toy giveaway on Saturday, October 22nd. The event will run from 9am until 2pm out at the Geico parking area – 3050 S. Martin Luther King Jr Way. There will be over 15,000 toys being distributed. Most are appropriate for kids who range in age up to about 14 years old, but everyone is welcome to show up and get some of the goodies. You do not need to register in advance.
We at the Ward 6 office are grateful to TPD and our partners with Toys for Tots and Geico for working together and bringing this event to the community.
Atrocities in Kabul, Afghanistan
Last Thursday the news had a 30-second snippet on an explosion that took place in an educational facility near Kabul. The report ended with the disclaimer that ‘nobody has claimed responsibility.’ It’s obvious who’s responsible. The Taliban are in control, they’ve openly threatened girls’ schools, and they’ve blown them up before – they don’t need to send an official mea culpa in order to be immediately implicated.
A contact of mine who ran educational institutions in Afghanistan and encouraged women’s education reached out to me on Friday morning our time. Here’s a picture of the inside of the school before the blast. You can see it’s jam-packed with students, nearly all of whom are women.
In the aftermath of the bombing...
My friend tells me at least 30 young women were killed in the suicide bombing. This is the same guy I was working with in an effort to try to get women educators from this school out of the country and to safety here. Our system for bringing people from Afghanistan is non-functional. Our message is for them to escape to a 3rd country by way of human smugglers, and then start a lengthy and expensive process through our embassy. It’s not a reasonable message. You can see the result.
Plastic Blocks
We have another new partner in the plastic program. The folks over at the Assistance League do some amazing work in support of families in need throughout the community. Check out their store that’s located at 1307 N. Alvernon. The place is run completely by volunteers – the merchandise you see in the thrift store is all donated and all of the proceeds go to support their programs.
This is their board chair Monica and board member Monique – and me. We’re bubble wrapped together to symbolize the Ward 6 office’s support for their work, and for the League’s support of our plastic program. As I said to them during a recent visit – everything they do is about creating a zero-waste stream. The plastic tie-in is a natural.
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The programs they run include donating books, school supplies, toys, toiletries for Tucson students, and ‘survivor kits’ for victims of sexual, emotional, and physical assault. They’re donating school supplies to students in 20 different schools throughout the region. People moving into transitional housing receive a welcome basket (laundry basket) full of brand-new linens and other household goods. Truly if you want to help those in need, and if you’ve got household things, clothing, books, or pretty much anything you might have around that needs a new home, you can donate them to the Assistance League. Their website is worth checking at www.ALTucson.org.
We’re proud to have them as a new plastic partner. Give us a call if you’ve got a business or non-profit that would like to join in our zero-waste work.
Over the weekend KXCI took part in the Pride Parade downtown. Nate Kappler from Kappcon loaned them some ByBlock to help them with their float. Here’s a photo showing that these blocks have many and varied uses. You’ll start seeing them pop up all over town.
Here are some examples of how the blocks are being used in other cities. There are both indoor and outdoor applications.
We’re over 10 tons of plastic having been collected in the Ward 6 roll-off. Last week out at Tank’s they began ‘baling’ what you’ve been bringing over. Here’s what a bale looks like. This one weighs just over 1,300 lbs. We are well on our way to filling a truck and sending it over to ByFusion to get some blocks produced.
We’ll be filling up a semi and sending this over to ByFusion in California. They’ll go through what we send and do an analysis of how much contamination is being put into the bin with the plastic. I cannot stress too much that the level of contamination is a key factor in how this program moves forward. Please self-police and keep non-plastics out of the roll-off. It not only reduces the amount of material we can use in making the blocks, but it costs money to manually separate out the contaminants.
We all recognize the environmental benefits of doing this project. But I mentioned the financial costs. We’re talking with ByFusion, Tank’s, and other business partners about how this program is going to evolve. The city is of course not in this to make money – but the others included in this large partnership are not non-profits. This will have to make both environmental (box checked) and business sense when we move it forward. You are a part of helping with that by ensuring what goes into the bin is only what belongs there. I’ve mentioned before that we’re the first in Arizona doing this. In fact, I’ve learned that there are mayors and councils in Lynchburg, Virginia, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Chicago, and around Southern California who are watching what we do – sort of seeing how we can make this work so they can learn from our efforts. That’s lots of eyes watching how we form this model partnership. So, when I make the point about contaminants, that’s a significant piece of how this either works, or it doesn’t. If it works here, our example will be replicated elsewhere – and that will only amplify the environmental benefits.
Here’s our current progress report. We began this on August 1st. On October 1st we have passed the 10-ton mark. That’s well ahead of what I had anticipated, and it shows how you’ve bought into the program. I know having a single drop-off point in the region is not the most convenient so please know that all of us who are taking part in this pilot phase appreciate the extra effort you invest in showing how much the program is valued.
The people who have signed up for the program are giving us their zip codes. This map shows that every zip code in the region is represented as being a participant in the program. On Sunday I was hauling into the Ward 6 building bags that people dropped by our back door because the roll-off was packed full. A guy from the Tucson Mountain Association came by, dropped his own plastic off and gave me a hand pulling the material into the building. It’s a total community team effort. Again, thank you.
Here’s the link to sign up for updates on the program. It will also help us keep the zip code information growing and up to date.
https://www.byfusion.com/pilot-program/
Keep your non-recyclable plastic coming. The driveway area by the roll off turns into a steady stream of cars. We appreciate you taking the time to come by and do the drops. We’re still giving away clear bags – come grab some if you’d like. We’re open until 1pm every weekday.
Water Security
The military continues to include a specification in the firefighting foam they buy that includes PFAS. They’re of course the largest user and so that spec drives what the market makes available. For the past couple of years, I’ve been advocating that Tucson Fire look at what’s being used all over Europe – foams that do not have PFAS added. One challenge is that domestic firefighting operations can’t just buy and use products that haven’t been approved for use in the U.S. by the EPA. Until last week, that was our challenge. I’m pleased to share though that TFD has now begun the process of changing out all of their Class B firefighting foam to a product that is UL-listed and Green Screen certified as being completely free from PFAS.
Getting to this point involved TFD conducting multiple tests to assure the product performs in a way that protects our personnel and the public. They tested several products and have landed on a product known as MuniGreen. It’s the same firefighting foam that’s now being used by NYFD.
Right now, TFD is making the changes on all of the onboard tanks on the pumper trucks. There’s of course a rinsing process – yes, that water is being captured and not simply dumped down the drain like the DOD has been doing out on base. The disposal of the old foam is going to cost roughly $60K. We at the Ward 6 office join TFD leadership in thanking the city manager and our budget folks for accommodating that ‘surprise’ to the budget. The goal of being PFAS-free in our operations is certainly worth that upcharge.
The litigation against 3M and other product manufacturers continues. Our work with the DOD on getting them to fund the clean-up efforts is also ongoing. And federal legislation seems to finally be loosening up some cash to help us defray the costs for testing, containment, treatment, and replacing our lost capacity. I don’t believe there’s a single more important issue for this region than assuring our water supply is clean. The change by TFD is an important step in that direction.
Straw Purchases
A ‘straw purchase’ of a weapon is when one person buys a gun for another person, and that other person is a prohibited possessor. It’s a federal offense, but if the most recent settlement/sentencing of a major straw purchaser is any indication, violators aren’t particularly intimidated by the threat of conviction.
Jorge Zuniga-Aguilera is a 23-year-old Arizona guy. He was arrested for illegally buying at least 82 firearms from more than a dozen stores in the state and then illegally reselling the weapons. One has been linked to a murder that was committed in Mexico. Mr. Aguilera was just sentenced to 27 months in prison. His original indictment was for 38 counts of false statements. Prosecutors agreed to settle for a single count as a part of the plea agreement.
This isn’t an old case that I’m dredging up to make a point. Mr. Aguilera made the straw purchases from 15-gun stores in Arizona – some in Tucson – between September, 2020 and June, 2021. We see the effects of gun violence in the news pretty much every day. In a recent city council study session, I said that we need a law, the police, and a court system all working together to get our arms around criminal activity like this. In far too many examples like this, we’re still lacking a court system that takes gun death as seriously as it should.
A guy I’ve known for several years who works on the Pima County Public Health commission has asked me to meet with him and the owner of a local gun store to talk about straw purchases. I’ve of course agreed and am hopeful that this meeting will be the start of a process by which the pro-gun and gun-control sides can begin to work together on crafting laws addressing straw sales more effectively. We’ll still need a court that does its part. More to come on this item.
Temporary Housing for Pets
I write a lot about the housing crisis. It’s real and it’s affecting thousands of people right here in our own community. Many of the families and individuals who are housing insecure also have a pet. Those of you who have owned a dog or a cat know they’re family. In situations where someone is losing their home, the pet is often lost in the conversation of options. The Pima Alliance for Animal Welfare (PAAW) is trying to address the need.
PAAW is hosting a community event on Wednesday, October 26th to talk about how we can help with temporary housing for pets while their owners are securing their own permanent residences. The meeting will be held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona offices – 5049 E. Broadway. They’ll begin at 5:30pm. You can see the details in the flyer shown below.
In order for them to plan on how many materials to have on hand for the meeting, they’re asking you to register in advance. Please use this link to do that:
RSVP: https://cfsaz.org/paaw-community-meeting/
Those of you who follow this newsletter know that I’m a big critter fan. If you have the ability to help with this sort of foster option, please take part in the PAAW planning meeting.
Reid Park Baseball
This is an aerial of the Reid Park baseball complex. The 4 baseball fields you see grouped together are called ‘the quad.’ They’re used by adult leagues, some high school tournaments, the Korean League comes annually and rents the quad, and other groups from time to time throughout the year do the same.
 The quad is unique in that it’s the only facility in the city where multiple teams can share a common site, rotate from game to game without traveling across town, and conduct tournament-style events on full-sized fields. There are hotels in the area, restaurants, and of course all the other amenities that Reid Park has to offer.
Our parks staff has been conducting a Reid Park reimagining survey for quite some time now. I’ve had the survey in a couple of newsletters, and there has been community outreach through several other means. The two meetings held to talk about the quad have been poorly attended. It’s important for the baseball community to take part if indeed preserving the quad has value.
Parks staff is hosting one more quad-related public meeting. It’ll be both in-person and virtual. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 4th at 5:30pm at 900 S. Randolph Way – the parks administration building. The link to join virtually is here:
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 279 358 257 337 Passcode: tMLrZG
The meeting room is rather small so please don’t bring your whole roster to the meeting. It’d be helpful for them to know what to expect so please RSVP to Greg.Jackson@tucsonaz.gov to confirm your in-person attendance.
I do continue to encourage you to take the online survey by clicking on the following link: https://stories.opengov.com/tucsonaz/published/QMU_Csil6. You are welcome to forward the survey link to everyone in your organization.
Ready, Set, Rec Van
A final parks-related item is this month’s RSR van schedule for Ward 6. We appreciate Sierra Boyer for staying on top of this from month to month. Many of you have shared with us how much you enjoy the activities associated with the van. If you haven’t had the chance, stop by one of these locations and see what they have to offer. It has activities appropriate for all ages.
Downtown Small Business Grant Opportunity
Our partners at the YWCA are administering a grant opportunity for small local businesses that are located in the Rio Nuevo District. Most of those will fall within the downtown area, but the district actually runs all the way out to Wilmot. Here’s the map:
These are one-time grants that will be for up to $50K to qualifying applicants, with up to $100K available to businesses able to identify a greater need. The money is from our federal CARES dollars and is intended to assist local businesses that were negatively impacted by COVID. There are several eligibility criteria tied to our using these funds. Those include the following:
For more information please contact: Project Manager Stephanie Soto, ssoto@ywcatucson.org.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
It’s October and that means I’ll be working with Emerge again on reminding you of how domestic abuse is a real and constant issue within our community. The folks over at Emerge are doing this 24/7 throughout the year. Our part in awareness building during October is a small piece of a very large and important topic.
Throughout the month Emerge will be working with community partners presenting a series of events all aimed at bringing to light various pieces of the domestic violence issue. You can find the full calendar of events here.
The partners include our own Ward 6 friends across the street at the Loft. On Saturday, October 22nd from 8am until 6pm they’ll be hosting a stuff the bus event. They’re asking that people donate supplies they’ll distribute to people who are coming out of abusive situations and are beginning that new chapter in their life. There’s a ‘wish list’ they’d like you to consider. To access it, Click here and to make it easier for people to take part, there’s a virtual Stuff the Bus that you can take part in. Either way, the donations will help make an abuse survivor and that person’s children just a little happier.
Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 20th for Wear Purple Day – a day you wear something purple as a way of showing your solidarity with victims and survivors of domestic abuse. And the first themed event will take place on Wednesday, October 12th at 11am. The event is titled “For the Love of Black Children.” The facilitated community conversation will focus on the experience of Black mothers and how they navigate the impacts of racism on their children – and how that whole dynamic can be an isolating factor in abusive relationships. The event will take place at the Dunbar Auditorium – 325 W. 2nd. Click here to register.
The Emerge hotline is up and running 24/7. Please use it for yourself or others you know of who are, or may be in abusive relationships. The number is 520.795.4266.
Juneteenth City Holiday
On Tuesday of last week, I joined my colleagues on the city council in voting to recognize June 19th as an official paid city holiday. We’ll work it out so that if the 19th falls on a weekend, the actual time off will happen the following Monday. So, what’s the significance of June 19th?
Last June, President Biden made Juneteenth a paid federal holiday. Juneteenth – June 19th – has been commemorated by Black Americans since the late 1800’s. It’s also known as emancipation day, freedom day, Black independence day – Juneteenth is very simply the celebration of when Union Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed enslaved African Americans of the end of the civil war, and of their freedom. That’s worth celebrating even today.
The events of the past few years have certainly made it clear that we’ve got a long way to go. And the city council voting to recognize the 19th as a paid day off to further the education of our past, present and set the stage for a more inclusive future is very simply the right thing to do.
Since Biden made it a federal holiday in June, 24 states and the District of Columbia have joined in making it a paid day off. Arizona is not one of those. At our M&C meeting I predicted that Arizona will one day join the others in recognizing Juneteenth as a statewide holiday. Sadly, with MLK Day it took boycotts by big name bands and the NFL yanking the 1993 Super Bowl from Phoenix before the voters took control and approved Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Arizona. It’s no small irony that the recent court ruling in Arizona on abortion rewound the state clock back to the late 1800’s. The M&C just took one giant leap back to the future.
Infill Incentive District
Our planning team is working on updates to the downtown Infill Incentive District, (IID.) Click that link for a full description of the IID and of the process we’re following for the update. It’s due to sunset in January, 2023 so this update process is on a short fuse.
The IID is a series of policies that relate to zoning, design features, development incentives, housing and more. The District is a clearly defined geographic region within which certain development rules vary from existing zoning conditions as a way of incentivizing the kinds of development we hoped to see in the downtown core. Hundreds of millions of dollars of investment have been the result.
The current discussion is on how we tweak what we have, and whether or not to change the boundaries. Please take a few minutes to explore the site and give your input. Even though the current IID has been a huge economic success, any piece of legislation can stand a re-look from time to time. That’s where we are with the IID. There will be an in-person meeting on Tuesday, 10/11 at 5:30pm to talk about changes. That will be followed up with a zoom meeting on Thursday, 10/13 at 9am. You need to register for whichever one you’d like to participate in. You can do that by clicking the “Public Engagement” link on the top information bar on the website.
For more information regarding the public meetings, please contact Daniel Bursuck at 520-837-4984 or daniel.bursuck@tucsonaz.gov.
Cox Service Outages
Over the course of the past week my bride and I have been experiencing service outages related to our Cox contract. That’s both internet and television. It’s really annoying. It’s not as if the service is particularly inexpensive, so I made a series of calls explaining that things weren’t the best on the home front.
During a neighborhood meeting the issue of Cox outages was raised by one other neighbor – then another, and another. And by email I was asked by a constituent who lives in another part of Ward 6 what was going on. Here’s the scoop. It appears to be resolved.
According to Cox the recent outages were the result of a security attack on their system. The attacks were occurring over a series of days and when they isolated the attack to one IP subnet it put a strain on others – sort of an I.T. domino effect that ended up causing the problem to mushroom. They’ve got things under control now and have blocks in place to prevent this particular attacker from getting into their system. No customer personal information was obtained – the purpose of the attack wasn’t to get peoples’ information. It was to disrupt Cox’ service.
If you had this happen you can request a refund for lost service time through their customer service call center at 1.866.867.7644, or through the link below. Type in Live Agent and it’ll help you bypass some of the questions Oliver the bot will be asking. You’ll need your account holder’s name, phone number and PIN. Count on it taking some time, even with the “live agent” bot.
Contact Cox Residential – Cox Customer Support & Help
A friend got an email alleging it was from Cox saying a ‘friend had referred her to Cox – claim your prepaid Master Card now.” Do not click on any links in emails like that. I’ve asked Cox and they say it might be how the attackers are gaining access to the system. Here’s my “conversation” with the bot:
Cox isn’t alone. I got a letter from Radiology Ltd last week letting me know they had a breach into their system. The city alerted our employees last week that we did too. Be careful with the information technology space.
Welcome Midway Village Neighborhood
Within the boundary of Ward 6 we’ve got roughly 42 registered neighborhood associations. Several more neighborhoods are in the process of working with our office to either form for the first time, or to resurrect an association that was once functioning. Midway Village is in that process right now.
Midway is bounded by Columbus to Swan and Speedway to E 5th St. We’re working with them on a Green Stormwater Infrastructure project. As a way to get neighbors reconnected, they’re hosting a neighborhood plant and seed swap – very similar to what Rincon Heights did last week. The event will take place on Saturday, October 8th from 8am until 10am, and it’ll be held on the site we’re considering for the GSI project. Please see the information on the location in the flyer – and if you’d like to connect with them about their newly re-forming association, you can email myneighborhood1929@gmail.com.
Transit Fares
The Sun Tran folks are still collecting survey input related to the current free transit policy. They’re asking for input from people regardless of whether or not they use public transportation. We’ve had a free fare policy in effect since the beginning of COVID and are scheduled to talk about its future in October.
You can use this link to share your thoughts. We appreciate you taking the time to be a part of the conversation. If you’ve got questions about the survey you can contact Luz Navarrete at 520.206.8881. She’s the Community Outreach Manager for Sun Tran.
🌐surveymonkey.com/r/SunTranFares
PCOA Health and Aging Survey
Another survey opportunity is being offered by our partners at the Pima Council on Aging (PCOA.) This one isn’t just an online survey but is a series of hosted events, plus one zoom meeting. It’s a part of their community needs assessment related to seniors.
The in-person meetings will be held at a variety of locations – intentionally scattered around the city in order to make them convenient. Here’s a list of the dates/times and locations for those meetings:
Tuesday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-noon: Armory Park Senior Center, Multipurpose Room, 222 S. Fifth Ave.
Wednesday, Oct. 5, 9:30-11:30 a.m.: El Rio Neighborhood Center, Multipurpose Room One, 1390 W. Speedway
Wednesday, Oct. 12, noon-2 p.m.: El Pueblo Center, Senior Center Multipurpose Room, 101 W. Irvington Road
Monday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m.-noon: Pima County Parks & Recreation Ajo Community Center, Multipurpose Room, 290 W. Fifth Street, Ajo
Tuesday, Oct. 18, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Morris K. Udall Center, Senior Center Multipurpose Room, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road
The Zoom meeting will be held on Thursday, October 27th from 3pm until 5pm. The link and sign in information is here:
https://pcoa-org.zoom.us/j/83300907016
Meeting ID: 83300907016 or by phone: +1 719 359 4580 US
We at the Ward 6 office appreciate the work PCOA does on behalf of seniors out in the community. This survey is an opportunity for them to hear from you, so their work is directed towards the needs identified by you – the people who are in fact being served.
COVID
This past summer there were over 40,000 deaths from COVID in the U.S. This data from the Seattle area demonstrates how important boosters are when mitigating the severity of COVID. This kind of data has mattered to most people throughout COVID. For the ‘fake news’ crowd it’s just background noise until they’re infected and hospitalized.
In Pima County we’ve now reached 4,000 COVID deaths. Both the statewide new infection numbers and those for Pima County remained pretty close to what they were a week prior. I don’t agree with the president. COVID is not over yet. Please consider your vaccination status.
Right now, Texas and the District of Columbia are the only 2 areas where the flu infection rate is listed as ‘high.’ Flu shots are right now available at all major pharmacies. Anybody who is around others who are in vulnerable categories should really take their own vaccination status seriously. But you already know that, and most have acted on it.
Here’s the statewide COVID count map by county.
Sincerely,
Steve Kozachik
Council Member, Ward 6
ward6@tucsonaz.gov
City of Tucson Resources
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