A Message from Steve K...10/16/2023

• Middle East Evacuations 

• Asylum/Homeless Donations 

• Plastics Program 

• Grant Road Overlay Meetings

• 5th/6th Street Pedestrian Safety and Walkability Project

• Neighborhoods as Non-Profits 

• Citywide Clean-Up 

• Tucson Wildlife Center 

• Halloween at the Historic Train Depot 

• Norte-Sur Transit Corridor

• Primavera Foundation Anniversary 

• Watershed Management Group Home Tour 

A friend’s daughter, along with his 5-and 3-year-old grand-daughters took what was to be a quick trip overseas to go to a wedding. That’s the good news. The not so good news is that the wedding was last week in Jerusalem. All hell broke loose and their flights out were cancelled. I reached out to one of my D.C. contacts to get information on how American citizens were getting out -  who in turn connected with some State department workers – we were advised that within the next couple of days they’d begin flying Americans to nearby countries. ‘Stand by.’  

In Israel right now ‘a day is as a thousand years.’ My friend in D.C. also alerted me to a private organization that is chartering flights out of Israel. We checked into that and it’s extremely expensive. I’ll share the link, but it’s for last resort kinds of situations. I’m still working the State department piece with my friend's family.  

Global Guardian is located in Northern Virginia. So far, they have evacuated about 600 Americans from the area. If you’d like more information on their service in Israel you can call directly to 703.566.9463 or email info@globalguardian.com. Their website is https://www.globalguardian.com/about-global-guardian. What we were told is that they’ll fly directly to Cypress, Greece – about a 30-minute flight from Tel Aviv. The cost is high. 

State is beginning some flights out. Here’s a part of what they send to you when you get into their system: 

They give periodic situational updates – like this from last weekend: 

Updated given the current security situation including increased travel restrictions for U.S. government employees.     

Summary: Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities. Violence can occur in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza without warning. There has been a marked increase in demonstrations throughout Israel, some with little or no warning. 

Once people are contacted by State and given a flight assignment, they learn that they will not be told the destination of the flight until they’re on board the aircraft.  What they do know is that it’s unlikely the flight will be to a U.S. city. Figuring out the next steps in the journey home are therefore left to figure out once you land wherever you’re taken.  

The Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona (JPSA) has created an Israel Relief Fund. Through the fund 100% of the donations will go directly to people who have been affected by the Hamas attacks. They’ve also got commitments from several anonymous donors that will provide a match, effectively doubling any donation you submit for the first $180,000 of donations they receive. Use this link if you’d like to help. The site gives more information about the fund, and the work JPSA is doing more generally. 

https://jfsa.givingfuel.com/israel-fund-2023  

We also will be having the ability to once again receive donations from you starting November 1st. The timing was perfectly bad for us having to shut that down while the migrant numbers were surging. At Casa Alitas they’ve been struggling with daily arrivals of anywhere between 700 and 1,400 new people. Lots of them are families. All of the donation supplies are depleting so whatever you can provide from the list below would be helpful. As you can see from the photo, you’re joining in work the American Red Cross is also involved with. 

Lotions, sunscreen, hygiene products, new underclothes and socks, belts, shampoo/soap, small kids’ toys, baseball caps, and gift cards to stores such as Walmart or Costco. We’ll resume our weekly runs to Casa Alitas and they’ll distribute out the donations to the shelter network that’s in place.  Thanks for your continued help with these needs. With all the negative that’s happening around the world it’s comforting to see the heart of Tucsonans who’ll step up to help in ways they’re able to. 

Last month the Lions Club recognized the plastics program, and specifically the work the ward 6 staff has done in its support with their Melvin Jones Award. This is a description of what that award means to the Club: 

Lions Clubs world-wide recognize outstanding individuals by bestowing on them an award that is named after its founder Melvin Jones. This award is the highest form of recognition and embodies humanitarian ideas consistent with the nature and purpose of Lionism. 

Coming on November 7th the Tucson Sunset Rotary will be honoring the staff and program with their award named after the Rotary founder Paul Harris. Here’s the description of what that award signifies to Rotarians: 

A Paul Harris Fellow is a person who has been recognized as having done something significant for others. The Foundation recognizes them for the contribution of $ 1000, which will be spent on Humanitarian efforts around the world. A club recognizes them for service to the club and or the community. Individual Paul Harris Fellows recognize others for many reasons; admiration, service, love, or whatever. In ALL cases the recognition is significant and something to be proud of. 

As was true of the Lions Club recognition, I’m looking forward to the Rotary event and accepting the award. As I said to the Lions group, these awards and recognitions are really on your behalf. The program would not exist if the community wasn’t supporting it.   

The Rotary event will be held at Maria Bonita Restaurant, 2708 E. Ft. Lowell. The evening events begin at 5:30 with the award presentation around 6pm. I know they’d love to see wide community involvement in the evening. You can come and have dinner with the group and still make it home in time to catch the election results. My team puts a lot of time into the plastics program so we’re grateful for these recognitions.  

We continue to hear from groups who are keeping the program moving ahead. Last week the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation reached out to me and let me know they’re in for about 20 large bags of donations each month. They’re bringing baskets, hangers, broken toys, kitchen supplies, Tupperware bowls and a bunch more. Evidently, they’re doing it right. So are you. I spoke to Heidi from ByFusion last week and she confirmed that the material they’re receiving from Tucson is virtually without contaminants. So, you’re doing it right. Thanks to the fire guys, and to the whole community for the work. 

We passed 6 tons in donations again last week. These numbers are a drop in the bucket compared to what they’ll eventually be once BF gets to town and sets up shop. But every time you come by and make a drop at the plastics bin it keeps the program moving along. Thank you.  

Axios had a good article on recycling. In it they said this:  

A zoning overlay is an optional zoning change offered to developers as a way of incentivizing projects that are compatible with the surrounding area. While existing zoning allows certain kinds of development, some of what’s permitted may not be consistent with the way the surrounding area has grown over time. Offering incentives such as reduced parking, increased density or heights can result in attracting appropriate projects.  

Any rezoning goes through a public process. We’re beginning that process for Grant Road, specifically for the area between Campbell and Swan. It’s a 3-mile stretch of roadway that is supposed to be realigned and repaved through the RTA. And portions of the roadway overlap areas where a group of neighborhoods are in the process of updating the Area Plan that serves as an aspirational statement for the corridor. I’ve suggested to staff that doing the overlay while the Area Plan work is being done makes sense so both processes can feed off from information being gathered in the other. 

Here’s the current zoning map for the Grant overlay segment: 

You can read a full description of the  Grant Road Investment District (GRID) at that link. The public outreach will begin on Tuesday, October 24th at the Boys & Girls Club that’s right next to Doolen Middle School – Grant and Country Club. It’s at 3155 E. Grant. The meeting will be an open house that’ll run from 5:30pm until 7:30pm. It’ll be an opportunity for you to hear about the process and share your initial thoughts on how you’d like to see the corridor developed. This will be the first of several public meetings. The process is aiming for an end of 2024 date for presenting a final overlay map to the M&C for a vote.  

There will also be a virtual open house held at 6pm on Thursday, October 26th. The same material that’s shared at the in-person meeting will be repeated online on the 26th. You need to register ahead of time using this link:  

Register

Also coming this month will be two more public meetings in which staff will give process updates and receive input on the Prop 407 project planned for 5th / 6th street. The project will include amenities such as lighting, sidewalks, and enhanced landscaping. Neighbors in surrounding areas will be receiving a postcard announcing the meetings – but everybody interested in how the street is developed outside of the curb lines from Campbell to Alvernon is invited to take part.  

The in-person open houses will be held at these locations: 

• Wednesday, October 25 | 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. | Howell Elementary School Cafeteria 
• Saturday, October 28 | 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Himmel Park, near the library 

If you’d like to get background on the proposed project you can find a wealth of information at this link:  https://tucsondelivers.tucsonaz.gov/pages/5th6th 

Our department of neighborhood resources is hosting an informational session where you’ll be given information on how to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The meeting will be hosted by Paula Van Ness, Director of the Center for Healthy Non-Profits. Paula will give information both on becoming a non-profit, and also on maintaining that status, so even if your neighborhood has already formed as a 501 it will be important to hear the steps you need to follow in order to keep the status live. 

The meeting will be online only. You have to register in order to ‘attend.’ The meeting is on Tuesday, October 24th from 5:30pm until 6:30pm. Please use this link to get registered: 

The city manager’s office is spearheading a city-wide clean up effort. City employees and residents are invited to sign up and take part in this corridor sprucing-up effort. It’ll run from October 17th through November 18th.  

This month-long effort will focus on 6 different major corridors scattered throughout the city. It’ll kick off with Parks and Rec staff meeting at 8am over on S. Pantano between Irvington and Poinciana – out in ward 4. Businesses, non-profits and neighborhood associations are invited to come and take part. And if that road doesn’t work for you these other roadway segments are also being targeted: 

The staff and volunteers at TWC are on the job 24/7 taking care of injured and/or abandoned critters of all sorts. You’ll see a variety of birds, javelina, bobcats, and whatever else they’ve been tasked with helping to rehabilitate on open house day. The open house will be on Saturday, November 11th from 10am until 2pm. It’ll be their first public open house since before COVID shut everything down. 

There will be plenty of learning experiences specifically for the kids. There’ll also be face-painting, arts/crafts and of course food. The center is located out east at 13275 E. Speedway. While its not mandatory, it’d be helpful if you’d let them know ahead of time that you’re planning on coming. For that reach out to Hubert Parker at developmentdirector@tucsonwildlife.com, or call him at 520.290.9453 (x236.)  

As you can see the folks over at the Tucson Historic Train Depot have been hard at it getting ready for their Halloween family party. It’s all free, and it’s all geared to family activities. The event will be held from 10am until 2pm on Saturday, October 28th. There’ll be food, games, kid activities and the Tucson Ghost Society will be making a special Halloween visit. Check this link for all the details – or just show up and have fun. https://tucsonhistoricdepot.org/  

The regular visiting hours for the museum are Tuesday through Thursday from 11am until 3pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 until 4 and on Sundays from 11 until 3. Admission is always free and all of the exhibits are bilingual.

Our transportation folks are continuing the public outreach related to the proposed transit-oriented development corridor running from the Oracle area out to the airport. You’ve seen this map in the newsletter before -  

Here’s the schedule for the next round of meetings.  

• Pima Community College Downtown Campus, Amethyst Room (CC 180) October 17 | 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 
• El Pueblo Activity Center, Multipurpose Room, October 19 | 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 
• Sam Lena South Tucson Library, October 21 | 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 

The information given at each meeting will be the same, with the exception that at each public meeting staff will have more community input to share with people in attendance. Feel free to bring kids to these events – food and children’s activities are being provided. 

One of the premier non-profits operating in the city and serving the homeless population is Primavera. They’ve got works programs, shelter space and their staff works to help stabilize unsheltered people every day. They’ve been doing it for coming up on 40 years.  

Primavera invites the community to come and celebrate their 40th birthday on Saturday, November 4th from 1pm to 4pm. The event will take place at their new resource center located at 702 S. 6th Ave. There’ll be the usual food, drink, raffles and activities, but the most important piece will be sharing the Primavera story about how they’re working to provide support for people wrestling to get out of poverty. The event is free and open to everyone – it'd be great to see you there. 

The WMG home tour will run from 10am until 3pm on Saturday, November 4th. It’s self-paced. You’ll be visiting homes and speaking with the homeowners about some of the sustainable practices they’ve got going on in their homes and yards. You’ll see rain basins (WMG holds a ‘Build Your Own Basin’ training,) both active and passive solar home design, small-scale gardening, greywater systems and non-traditional building material work.  You can go online and register for the tour using this link:  

Register for the tour here.