A Message from Steve K...10/31/2022

That means 63% of the turnout is coming from Maricopa County. It means about 15% of the voters will be women of child-bearing age. If the social media post I opened with matters to you and you’re in the 20 to 39 year old age group, tell 10 friends about these data and get them to the polls. 

The poll wanted to know if these likely voters feel we’re headed in the right direction, or the wrong direction. That translates into whether they’ve voting to change direction or to stay the course. Here’s that result: 

 Secretary of State – Finchem vs Fontes:

My mom died on January 20th two years ago. That’s inauguration day. There’s an affectionate irony in that. She was 93 years of age and she voted in every election. She also took part in political activities her entire life. Even local ones. Do you know the HAWK crossing light on Campbell leading to Blue Willow restaurant? My mom carried the neighborhood petitions that got the approval for that light. She also marched in ERA events back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and was a champion for not only women’s rights, but civil rights for all people. She would be astonished to see that much of what she fought for and won was in jeopardy of being rolled back during this mid-term election. And she would be disappointed beyond description to see so few of the voters who will have to live for decades with these personal rights issues directly affecting their life and family decisions taking part in the election. 

It’s too late for you to request an early ballot. But go to the Pima County Recorders website and you can find a listing of all the voting locations, a voter’s pamphlet so you can study the propositions, and any other election-related information you might need. Here’s that link: https://www.recorder.pima.gov/RecorderHome  

I started voting when Vietnam and the environment were ‘on the ballot.’ I’ve voted through lots of important local, national and international issues elections. I can’t remember a single one that held the significance of this mid-term. If you don’t vote, and you don’t like the outcome, don’t complain. 

Last week, KGUN9’s Megan Meier ran a piece on the migrant situation. You’ll recognize our former W6 staffer Diego Pina Lopez in the story. He’s full time out at Casa Alitas. That’s a reflection on the needs that exist in managing that operation. Here’s a link to Megan’s story: 

https://www.kgun9.com/border-watch/rise-in-migrants-crossing-the-border-leads-to-rush-at-tucson-shelter 

We continue to receive donations daily. The Alitas folks help to distribute the items they can spare to city staffers who are managing the migrant hotels. I know from having had contact with the migrant families that they are grateful for your generosity, and they’re touched by the compassionate way in which they’re received at Alitas and at the hotels. 

We continue to need the following: 

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. 

Republic Services manages our Material Recycle Facility (MRF.) They have their hands in lots of those operations throughout the nation. Last week, the city of Phoenix made what could turn out to be a decision that has major implications for how we manage our Los Reales Sustainability Campus and the Tucson MRF. A company that is focused on recycling and not just on trash collection or trash disposal services won the bid to run both of the Phoenix MRF’s. 

Balcones Resources is a Texas-based company that’s expanding into Arizona. They just signed a 10 year, $158M deal with Phoenix to take over operating two MRF’s owned by the city. Combined those facilities process about 130,000 tons of material per year. Balcones recovers resources through recycling and creating alternative energy from waste. I’ve reached out to Republic multiple times to try to get them interested in partnering in the plastic program. They view your plastic waste as a way to make money – not to put it to a productive use. I’ve now reached out to Balcones to see how they view our plastics program. More to come on that. 

Why are we doing this plastics project? The Guardian had an article recently (thank you Nancy for sharing it with me) in which they affirm that only roughly 5% of the world’s plastic is being recycled. Here’s the cover page of the article. 

The article makes it clear that the vast majority of plastic being produced is simply not recyclable. Even the plastic water bottles claimed by companies such as Republic Services fail to meet the 30% threshold for being considered a ‘recyclable.’ The stuff is ending up in landfills, roadsides and the oceans of the world. Here’s a link to the full text of the article.  

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/23/us-plastic-waste-recycled-2021-greenpeaceutm_term=6356692dba2f779fd88bd4a823fa3cec&utm_campaign=USMorningBriefing&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=usbriefing_email  

The good news is that we’ve got a productive reuse for the waste plastics. These photos show the City of Tucson trash enclosures that are now up and running at the El Pueblo Community Center. I’m grateful to our Environmental Services folks for partnering in this project. We’ve done the benches – now this, and more to come.  

I’ve shared in the past information about a non-profit called Global Voyages. They troll the ocean gathering tons of plastic. This short video shows similar work being done by System 002. In the video they show the process they use to pull the plastic up out of the ocean while avoiding doing harm to wildlife. Sadly there’s plenty of the junk to go around so this group isn’t likely to put Global Voyages out of work.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31gFN3vP_0g  

Last week, during our call with ByFusion they showed us a broken alloy wheel used in the shredding part of the blocker process. Somewhere in the Tucson load we just sent over there were some batteries and chunks of metal pipe tossed in with the plastic. It caused the shredding process to shut down while they replaced the shattered parts. In addition, they had a fire due to the batteries being sent through the shredder.  I can relate – when I was crushing glass in the Ward 6 garage someone once tossed some metal inside one of the bottles. I heard it clanging around in the crusher and was able to stop the machine before it did much damage. ByFusion wasn’t as fortunate. Many of you have asked what the catalyst for the request for clear bags was. That was it. Being able to see through the bag speeds up the whole process, and could potentially save down time on their machinery. We’re giving away free clear bags – come on by if you’d like some. You can also get them at Graingers, Home Depot, Waxy, or any similar large department or cleaning supply store. I’ve said all along that contamination could end this program. That’s even more true if the contamination is such that it’s also resulting in equipment breakdowns. 

But we’re moving ahead, topping 20 tons and working on the logistics of how the program will advance beyond the end of the year. Thank you for taking part. We’re emptying the roll off 3 times per week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you come by and it’s jam packed just leave your bags behind the dumpster by our building and we’ll toss them in after it has been emptied. 

One of our partners in the plastics program is Tank’s Green Stuff. They’ve been receiving all of what we gather in the roll off, baling it and trucking it over to ByFusion in California. Tank’s is hosting what will be a fun event out at their place on November 12th and 13th – it's the 2022 Compost Cross Race. It’s a race for some of the participants, but for most it’s an opportunity to get out on your bike and have some fun. 

Tank’s is setting up a ½ mile course that includes multiple mounds made from large piles of compost. The course will take you from 20 minutes to about 40 minutes to navigate. There are age group categories you can use to enter, and a relay team option. 

The event is being held to benefit the UA Cycling Club. They expect about 400 people to take part each day – either as a cyclist or as a spectator. The proceeds will be used to help the UA Cycling Club members compete at the Collegiate National Championships.  

The benefits to the UA club are great, but the larger benefit is to showcase the work Tank’s is doing in the community with respect to composting, recycling and waste reduction. It’d be great to see the community come out and support this event as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to Jason Tankersley and his team for the support they’ve been giving to the plastics program. They’ll have informational material on site for anyone who is interested in their work and possibly how it fits with your own home-based composting/recycle plans. 

This short video shows the event – you'll see that for most of the participants it’s for fun. 

https://www.tiktok.com/@tanksgreenstuff/video/7038431714741390597?is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7038431714741390597

Please use this link to register: https://www.bikereg.com/ua-compost-cross-day1  

About a month ago I had a piece in the newsletter about rainbow fentanyl. The point was to offer a warning to parents that with Halloween coming, the pills that are common in the community right now resemble candy.   

This is Sweet Tarts – your kids might be bringing some home in their Trick or Treat bag tonight. 

This is rainbow fentanyl. If your kids eat this stuff, they’re not coming home tonight. 

When I included the piece in the newsletter some lady wrote and said I was demonizing the homeless.  In fact, it is our homeless community who are being victimized by these drugs. And educating parents is an important part of the messaging as well. And we’re going to build on that education with a community meeting we’ll be hosting next month. 

Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, November 16th at 6pm to join us at the Ward 6 community room for a presentation on fentanyl and narcotics. Our TPD counter narcotics unit will share information on how the drugs are getting here. TPD’s detective unit will follow with how it’s affecting the community generally. Then we’ll hear some of the proactive steps TPD is taking to address the problem. There will be time for some Q&A at the end. 

These drugs are killing people. And they’re cheaper than a 40-ounce bottle of beer. And they’re easily available. I’m told that in the Chula Vista area the pills are selling for about a quarter. There is no control over the purity or the dosage, so the people addicted to the drug are playing Russian Roulette each time they ingest the stuff. The information we’ll share on the 16th is critically important. 

The meeting will be both in person and by Zoom. Please use this link if you choose to sign in remotely.  

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84500776343?pwd=cnNIek9aTjZqL2x1cTV2Wk1FNHdQUT09 

Meeting ID: 845 0077 6343 

Passcode: @Ward6 

With the near-completion of the Treat Bike Boulevard we’ve gotten several questions/comments about where the button for activating the crossing is located. Several people have suggested we place the button on the same side of the road as the flow of traffic is going. Our Transportation folks have put together this short video explaining the rationale behind locating the button ‘across traffic.’ In brief, the way these are designed meets all of the manual of uniform traffic control devices standards – and we have had no injuries resulting from this design. Take a few minutes and check out the video.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk8uhfFCtM0&t=306s  

If you still have questions our transportation department expert on these designs is Blake Olofson. You can reach him at blake.olofson@tucsonaz.gov  

The city is getting ready to allocate another roughly $12M from ARPA federal money. The goal continues to be to support local businesses and organizations through this Community Partner Grant Program. The deadline to submit an application is midnight on November 28th.  

The minimum funding request is $10,000. There are several different categories of grants that are available. Those include: 

You’ve seen what transit-oriented development looks like along the streetcar route. It’s a combination of commercial and residential. The Norte-Sur route travels from the transit center out by Park Place out to the airport. The input being gathered is to see the kinds of development people who live along the corridor would like to see. The conversations will be similar to what took place during the Sunshine Mile overlay outreach. 

There are 4 upcoming open houses scheduled where staff will share the input they’ve received so far, and then listen to feedback from the public. Here are the dates/times/locations for those open houses: 

• November 15, 6-8pm, City of South Tucson City Hall, 1601 S. 6th Ave (includes presentation to South Tucson City Council) 
• November 16, 5-7pm, Armory Park Center, 220 S. 5th Ave (Downtown Open House) 
• November 17, 5-7pm, La Esquina, 4876 S. 6th Ave (South Side Open House) 
• November 19, 10am-12pm, Jacinto Park, 2601 N. 15th Ave (North Side Open House, as part of Thrive in the 05 Block Party) 

These will all be in-person meetings. If you live in an affected area please consider taking some time to share your thoughts at one of these events. 

Halloween will be in the rear-view mirror after tonight, but the pumpkins will still be outside many peoples’ houses. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve heard from midtown neighbors, some of whom have had ugly encounters with javelina. The agency with regulatory authority over urban wildlife is the state game and fish department. It’s rare that they’ll come into a neighborhood and attempt to relocate urban critters – javelina, coyotes, bobcats – they're here because we provide them with an attractive set of conditions. Even if G&F relocates one group, those same conditions will attract more. 

Here are some things G&F suggests for reducing the attractiveness of your neighborhood. Put pumpkins up on a high wall so javelina can’t reach them. It’s of course fine to leave the fake ones down low. 

If you do have an encounter that involves a bite or aggressive behavior you can call G&F at 623.236.7201.  

Another tip is if you have your dog out for a walk and you see a javelina, turn and go in the opposite direction. Coyotes are natural predators for javelina. The javelina won’t be able to distinguish between your pooch and a coyote, so getting aggressive in self-defense is their normal response. Just making noise likely will not cause them to leave if there’s a dog involved. Instinctive reactions to dogs is the second leading cause of javelina bites in Arizona. The leading cause of javelina bites is illegal feeding. That can be inadvertent – such as by placing your pumpkin on the ground or leaving the date palm droppings laying around your yard. Just a single non-compliant neighbor can be the attractant a small herd of javelina need to feel welcome. We provide the food – water from the recent rains – habitat in our washes and cluttered easements and we’ve made them feel quite at home. 

It is against state law to knowingly feed urban wildlife. You can also be cited for unknowingly providing them a food source. In the normal course of events G&F will not relocate wildlife. A neighborhood association or an HOA can contract with a private wildlife service to get that done, but without addressing the underlying reason they’re in your area, others will simply replace what is being moved. 

Please do your part to minimize the number of critters hanging out in our residential areas. It’s a safety issue that we can all be a part of addressing.  

It’s nice to have something bipartisan adopted, but pulling out salient pieces that can save lives wasn’t helpful. In respect of Domestic Violence Awareness Month I’m happy to note that at least they left in an expansion of ‘domestic partners’ to include live-in's and boyfriends. One in five homicide victims are the result of a significant domestic partner. 

Before any of the groups who could and should have acted with regard to the recent UA campus shooting feel exonerated in not having petitioned the city to pursue a red flag case, there still existed ways to have potentially prevented the murder. A hostile workplace charge could have been pursued, potentially resulting in a judge removing firearms until things settled down. Robbins and his team will have a tough time saying they didn’t know the killer had created a hostile work environment. The UA was moving classes around to avoid the guy, and they had multiple professors either wearing bullet resistant vests or trying to avoid going onto campus. And there’s what’s called a Title 36 action where a judge is presented a set of facts to determine if a person is a threat to self or to others. People were claiming ‘there were red flags all over the place.’ Nobody filed for Title 36. People with prosecutorial authority need to consider that. In connection with Title 36, a finding and court order that determines the person is a danger to self or to others can result in that person being a prohibited possessor. Here’s that citation from ARS 13-3101(A) -  

7. "Prohibited possessor" means any person: 

(a) Who has been found to constitute a danger to self or to others or to have a persistent or acute disability or grave disability pursuant to court order pursuant to section 36-540, and whose right to possess a firearm has not been restored pursuant to section 13-925. 

There’s no small irony that the prohibited possessor citation is found in the same state statutory section that preempts the city from enacting our own local gun control laws that are more restrictive than state law. 

In order to more closely align each ward from a population standpoint, the city is required to do another council ward redistricting. We’re required to keep the difference in population no more than 10% between wards. Right now, we’re exceeding that. 

There’s a citizen redistricting panel formed that’s considering some options. Another driving factor is to eliminate split legislative precincts. With that in mind, and specific to ward 6, the city staff is proposing the following changes: 

All of North University, Oak Flower, Vista Del Monte and San Carlos neighborhoods would go into Ward 3. Broadmoor-Broadway would be moved into Ward 5. I’ve circled the affected neighborhoods in the map shown below.  

There’s a public hearing coming during which you can voice your thoughts. It’ll be held at city council chambers on Thursday, November 3rd at 5:30pm. This will in-person only. You may also send comments to the city clerk’s office at cityclerk@tucsonaz.gov, or let us in the ward office know how you feel and we’ll pass along your thoughts. 

Additionally, the plan may be reviewed online at www.tucsonaz.gov/clerks/elections.  

Senior Olympics 

Tucson Parks and Rec is hosting the 38th annual Senior Olympic’s again this year. It’s for people 50 years of age and older. There will be volleyball, bowling, bridge, racquetball, pickleball, archery and a bunch more. Starting on November 7th you can register for your event or events at this link:  Registration: Online at EZEEreg.com 

This year there will be 100 different events scattered at over 20 venues throughout the city. The events will take place from January 7th through the 28th. It’s important to register early in order to secure yourself a spot in your event. They fill up. The deadline for entering is December 30th. 

There are different entry fees depending on which event you’re signing up for. You can check their website for all of that information. This years’ sponsors include WestPress, Raising Canes and Renewal by Anderson. We’re grateful to each of them for helping keep this event going. This is the largest senior event annually in Tucson. If you have questions, you can reach out to Joe Stubbins or Debra Henley at seniorolympics@tucsonaz.gov.  

The UA college of public health is conducting a research study intended to gauge how much dust and soil kids ingest. There are 2 ways to get involved. One is you taking 45 minutes to answer a household dust survey. The other is a 3-4 hour commitment in which you’d do the survey, plus the people doing the study would come to your house and videotape your kid – and collect dust samples in your home. My house won’t qualify because my bride doesn’t allow dust to gather in our place – but you might, so give it some thought. 

In order to participate you have to live in Tucson and have a kid between 6 months and 6 years of age. If you just do the survey they’ll pay you $25. If you do the home visit the payment to you is $100. To learn more about the study and whose conducting it please contact Paloma Beamer at 520.626.0006, or email to dirt@email.arizona.edu.  The research is being conducted under the direction of Dr. Alesia Ferguson, Associate Professor, Built Environment. It has been reviewed and approved by the North Carolina AT&T Institutional Review Board. 

Those numbers seem to indicate that the increase in case counts was not wholly a result of a backlog in cases being released. We’re at the highest count level we’ve seen since early September. And another 34 people in the state died from COVID last week – 8 in Pima County. The virus can still be extremely serious. 

Add to that the increased number of flu infections. Here’s the national map that shows how the virus is spreading nationwide. Arizona is still dodging the flu bullet – vaccines work and are available.