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PEEPS (Pima Early Education Program Scholarships) is a County program to provide high quality pre-school for children whose families don’t qualify for Head Start but can’t afford childcare. In the face of catastrophic drops in revenue from state and federal funding, our City Manager proposed dropping Tucson’s annual support (recently $750,000) from our upcoming budget.
I truly like PEEPS. I’ve visited the city funded supported classrooms in the Amphi School District, in Ward 3. Happy, well-tended kids were having a great time! Parents can drop off and pick up at any time that aligns with their work schedule – and knowing that their children are safe, learning, being fed nutritious meals and snacks, and are having fun with new friends means both parents can stay in the workforce. It is transformative for working families who get the scholarships.
 Sadly, without a dedicated source of funding, Tucson cannot continue to support PEEPS. I was the first council member to plead for one more year of funding to avoid the hardship of precipitously removing support. At this point, teachers have already been hired, and families have started enrolling in next year’s classes.
While I would have preferred to fund it fully this one last time, I supported the compromise this week when council voted to allocate $250,000 that had been set aside a few years ago for another daycare program that never came to fruition. Some discretionary ward funds will be added as well.
As for the future? A group of city leaders involved in education policy have put together a working group to “supercharge” PEEPS and find more sources of funding. If you have any ideas for private funding, please let me know.
Pool Parties! Ward 3 invites you to celebrate the start of summer at any of the three city pools in our ward. Come enjoy the water, friends, free food, and lots of family-friendly fun.
The “Poolozas” are at Amphi Pool, 125 W. Yavapai Rd., Saturday, May 31, 4-7 pm; Jacobs Pool, 1020 W. Lind St., Friday, June 6, 4-7 pm; and Thompson Pool, 2275 N. 4th Ave., Wednesday, June 18, 4-7 pm.
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 The Ward 3 Website is getting a few changes. The upgrades are an effort to add useful resources for Ward 3 residents when they visit the site. The City offers a robust, user-friendly website, however, it does have its limitations, among them is the storing of our newsletter past six months. We have had lots of requests for articles that are older than six months, and there is no way to publicly store all of them. Until now! Sort of.
 I am happy to announce that we taken some of the more pertinent articles and made dedicated pages under the new "News" section on the Ward 3 website. We will be populating this page with other timely articles, and if you should happen to have a favorite that you want to suggest, please send us an email, and we can try and add it.
The other change is we added a "Ward 3 Neighborhood Associations and Maps" section. This includes a list of all the current Ward 3 neighborhood associations, along with a link to their profile and a link to a JPEG of the map of their boundaries. So if you are wondering about information on your neighborhood associations or where its boundaries are, look no further.
 Keep coming back to our website as we will be updating and making changes on a regular basis. However, if that is still not enough to get your Ward 3 update fix, don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.
If you popped into our office this last week, you may have noticed our newest intern is a bit young! With schools across Tucson officially done for summer, I needed to bring my kid to work with me. We have three school districts in ward 3 - Flowing Wells, Amphi, and Tucson Unified; plus the University and Pima Community College Downtown campus. I love Tucson in the summer, the streets empty out a bit, everyone slows down and my small town becomes itself again.
 Our newest intern covers for Shannon while she’s out of town.
How do we stay cool in the summer? Well, we have three pools in Ward 3: Thompson Pool, Jacobs Pool, and Amphi Pool. In years past, we have hosted a Poolooza party at Thompson Pool, this year we are hosting Poolooza’s at all three! Join us for free food, music, and a good time. Pools across the City are free the whole season, click the link for a complete list: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation/Pools-and-Splash-Pads
Join us for three separate pool parties this Summer!
Another great way to stay cool this summer is by exploring our beautiful and diverse natural spaces. Sweetwater Wetlands Park is a water recharge facility that provides an oasis within our ward. The park feels like a refuge and is one to over 300 species of birds. Treat yourself to an adventure, with a marked temperature and moisture difference and different plants and vegetation than throughout most of Tucson, it's a delightful experience for all the senses.
 Council Member Dahl requires all the interns match his wardrobe colors.
If you or someone you know needs to cool down during the day, our Community Room will once again be a cooling center. Run by St. Francis Shelter, it will be open Monday - Friday from 12 - 5pm and will provide food, rest, internet/computer access, wound care, and social engagement. The cooling center starts up June 9 and will run through September 19.
Our office will remain open through the summer, Monday through Friday, 9am - 1pm. You can always call or email for an appointment outside those hours. Happy summer!
 Study Session included a discussion on about Strategic initiatives related to the unsheltered population and using Fire Station 8 in the Amphi district as part of the solution the issues in that area. A continued discussion was had regarding items relating to the Regional Transportation Authority.
Regular session included the adoption of the tentative 2026 Fiscal Year budget.
For the complete Study Session and Regular Agenda please click on the buttons below.
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 KEKE /ID# A862655
Age: 7 Months
Qualities:
Keke's had quite a journey. She arrived at PACC back in February after being hit by a car. Thanks to the hard work of the PACC clinic team, she survived and has made a full recovery, although she did lose a leg along the way! It hasn't slowed her down one bit, though; even on three legs, she’s a typical happy, bouncy puppy with plenty of energy. Keke's already learning some basic commands like “sit” and comes inside when called. Plus, she’s a pro at sleeping in her crate at night. She's ready to become someone's best friend!
Fee:
Keke is free to adopt. She is spayed, up-to-date on vaccines, and microchipped.
Contact:
Pima Animal Care Center, 4000 N. Silverbell Rd.
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 12pm - 7pm.
Wednesday 1:30-7pm. Saturday and Sunday 10am - 5pm.
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Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association Meeting
Wednesday 5/28, 6-7:30 pm
Ward 3 Community Room
1510 E. Grant Rd.
Limberlost Neighborhood Association Meeting
Saturday 5/31, 10-11 am
Hem and Her Bridal
4004 N. Stone Ave.
The Ward 3 office is open at 1510 E. Grant Rd. from
9 am -1 pm, Monday through Friday. Staff will answer phone messages, emails and requests for meetings by the next business day. Leave your message at 520-791-4711 or email ward3@tucsonaz.gov.
The Ward 3 office will be closed on Monday, May 26 in observance of The Memorial Day Holiday.
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Start a Business in Tucson
 Our Business Navigator Team will be hosting training sessions on steps to start a business in Tucson. These sessions will take place every other Monday and there will be two options to choose from, in:
English from 12pm - 1pm or
Spanish from 1pm - 2pm.
All sessions will be in-person, you will receive an email with the address information. Any questions call 520-837-4100
Nuestro equipo de Navegadores de Negocios organizará sesiones de capacitación donde aprenderás sobre los pasos a tomar para iniciar un negocio en Tucson. Estas sesiones tendrán lugar cada otro lunes y habrá dos opciones a elegir, en:
Ingles de 12:00 a 1:00 o en espanol de 1:00 a 2:00
Todas las sesiones serán en persona y recibiras esta informacion por medio de correo electronico.
Cualquier pregunta llamar al 520-837-4100
Movie Night in the Blue Moon Garden on May 30
Parking Meter Hours Will Increase Starting On June 2
Summer Music Camp From June 4-14
 
Balboa Heights Neighborhood Association Is Having Its Yearly Elections Meeting On June 10
Southern Arizona Home Share Meeting On Saturday June 14 At 2 & 3 PM At The Ward 3 Community Room
More Than a Bed Needs Donations
 Southern Arizona Home Share Meeting on June 14
More Than a Bed provides essentials to children in foster, adoptive and kinship care to alleviate the financial burden on the families caring for them because every child deserves to feel valued.
More Than a Bed collects anything a child needs; clothing, toys, bedding, beds (not mattresses), housewares, bikes, new or used for redistribution at no cost to the families.
Our drop off hours are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 8:30-1:30 and the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month from 8:30-1:30.
Our website is www.morethanabed.org
Homeless ID Project Documentation Resources
 Proyecto De Identificacion Para Personas Sin Hogar Con Recursos Para Adquirir Documentacion
Help Reduce Waste & Support Refugees! Donate Mason Jars At The Ward 3 Office
Grocery Sharing at Tucson Food Share - 2500 N. Stone Ave.
Groceries are shared Mondays 4:30 - 6 pm, Thursdays 6 - 7:30 pm, and Saturdays from 8 - 9:30am. https://tucsonfoodshare.org/ has more information about volunteering, donating, or requesting delivery.
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