I write this to you on a cloudy, atmospheric Friday afternoon. It’s been raining off and on all day, providing the perfect spooky vibes for the eve of All Hallow’s Eve.  

Available members of the Ward 6 team competed in a citywide virtual costume contest this morning, and we had a great time! After all, it’s not about winning or losing, but how you play the game. And after a busy week, it felt like an achievement just to participate at all. It was also great fun to see costumes from other City departments.  

Flash back to a week ago when we were getting ready for the first-ever Big Gay 5K. Here’s a couple of snapshots from their Kickoff Kiki event last Friday. One photo is with Highwire and Johnny Gibson’s owner Nick Wayne, and the other is with Mayor Romero and Big Gay 5K Director Lee Collenberg.  

Much of Monday was spent in meetings and prepping for the week’s happenings, including a call with Dr. Theresa (Trese) Ricke-Kiely, a professor in the UA School of Government & Public Policy. Earlier in the semester, she invited me to come speak to her Public Organizational Theory class, which is comprised of a wide range of graduate students and undergraduates who are in the university’s Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP). We talked through topics of interest for the class and the main points my presentation should cover, which I worked into an outline. I love visiting and speaking with groups who may not be familiar with local government and am always looking for more opportunities to connect. 

On Tuesday, one highlight was learning more about the Pima County Adult Probation program from Director Matt Anderson. Probation is the most-utilized sentence in Pima County, at around 75-80%. Using evidence-based approaches, the goal of the program is to reduce incarceration and recidivism by ensuring that participants successfully complete probation or meet the qualifications for terming out of the program early. I especially appreciated hearing about their work with participants using motivational interviewing and cognitive balance sheets.  

Later in the day, we had our regular check-in with TPD Chief Prieto. We talked through the plans for Congress Street on Halloween, parking enforcement around Tucson High, issues related to co-existing with fraternity houses that are within neighborhood boundaries, and a request for a town hall about mass surveillance within the city, amongst other topics. 

That night was my visit to Public Organizational Theory. Many thanks to Dr. Ricke-Kiely and the students for the honor! People asked excellent questions, and we had a great discussion. One student even shared that they’re a regular W6 newsletter reader. I will never get tired of the thrill of hearing that people are reading! 

Hands down, the highlight of Wednesday was attending the Specialty Court Graduation Ceremony, to celebrate participants’ successful completion of Drug Court or DTAP (Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison) programs. From the County website:  

Research consistently proves that drug courts and drug treatment systems work. Drug courts reduce the burden and cost to the community of repeatedly processing non-violent, low-level offenders through the jail and court system. They fully engage the participant in their journey back to health and in managing their addiction, the underlying issue causing their criminal activity. Drug courts support, educate, hold the client responsible for their behavior, and reduce future illegal activity. Participants are provided individualized treatment plans that, when followed, offer a passport to a new way of life. 

It was emotional to hear graduates thanking their community, chosen family, judge, probation officer, and others for supporting them on their journey, and several times the speeches made me cry (in a good way). The crowd was raucous with positive energy, cheering on their loved ones for making it through and getting another chance at life. Director Matt Anderson, whom we’d met with earlier in the week, shared that this class of graduates was twice as big as the last.  

Thursday started off with a real adventure: we got to join Tucson Water crews inside a 96-inch water main near Starr Pass Boulevard. It was amazing to see firsthand how the Pipeline Protection Program helps protect our water system. 

Crews inspect pipes for damage, use sound sensors to detect warning signs, and protect metal parts from corrosion. They also assess which pipes pose the greatest risk and plan repairs or replacements before breaks occur. 

This work supports three goals: keeping water service reliable, reducing emergency repair costs and property damage, and making smarter decisions about major infrastructure investments. By catching problems early, Tucson Water makes infrastructure dollars go further and protects reliable water service for today’s customers and future generations. 

Many thanks to Tucson Water for the incredible tour. There’s nothing like the feeling of walking inside a 96-inch water main.  

If you use a smart phone, Recycle Coach is an incredible resource. You can look up your bin pickup times and find out the proper recycling or disposal procedure for hundreds of materials. Some top takeaways about recycling: items in the bin need to be empty, clean, and dry and no smaller than a fist. Balled-up foil should not be thrown in the bin, because workers do not have the time to un-ball and check for contamination. And alkaline batteries are the only type that should be thrown away. Other battery types, like lithium, need to be disposed of through Household Hazardous Waste (HHW). Many of these batteries can start fires in bins or trucks—we saw some horrific footage of a garbage truck aflame.  

It’s Friday afternoon as I wrap up this weekly summary. I’m looking ahead to being on air tonight to cover Inside/ Out on KXCI from 6-8pm. Tomorrow night I’m planning to hit Congress Street to enjoy the Halloween open street vibes. Perhaps I’ll see you there. Whatever you get up to this weekend, whether you go out or stay in, I hope you have a fun, safe, spooky time. 

In community,

The next Mayor & Council meetings are set for Wednesday, November 4th – delayed by one day due to the Election on Tuesday, November 3rd. Study Session will begin at 1:00pm, followed by the Regular Meeting at 5:30pm. A reminder that Study Sessions happen first and are longer meetings intended for Mayor and Council to hear reports, dig into details, and request more information. Regular Meetings include call to the audience, proclamations, consent agenda items, and public hearings. You can watch both meetings online via the livestream link or attend in-person at City Hall.          

Here are few items of note on Wednesday's agendas: 

For the CRHW (Phase 1), the following amendments are being proposed, based on feedback from community stakeholders and review by the Planning Commission: 

• Require planting areas to be depressed 6 to 9 inches below the adjacent paved surface. 

• Increase the minimum parking lot tree planting area from 34 square feet to 144 square feet.  

• Raise the required tree ratio along landscape borders from 1 tree per 33 linear feet to 1 tree per 25 linear feet. Up to 25 percent of required trees may be planted outside the border to shade internal pedestrian paths. 

• Allow Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) in the public right-of-way. Runoff from the right-of-way on private property could be captured in right-of-way GSI areas where approved by the City Engineer and consistent with standard details. 

• Clarify that buildings, paved areas, and parking lots associated with excepted uses, including golf courses and cemeteries, are not exempt from CRWH requirements. 

For the LID Standards, outreach and technical analysis have been ongoing since 2023, and staff are now working with partners to evaluate feasibility and performance with existing subdivisions. Findings will inform a revised set of standards likely reviewed by the Planning Commission and Mayor & Council in Spring 2027. 

For the Tucson-Specific Plant List, the Landscape Advisory Committee (LAC) has been developing this list for the past three years in response to increasing temperature extremes and drought. The proposed list is set to be submitted to Mayor & Council by the end of this year.  

Study Session will also include a Safe City update, with this month’s presentation focused on our City’s Dedicated Domestic Violence Court (DV Court). The DV Court was established in 2012 and uses evidence-based practices and targeted interventions to protect survivors, hold abusers accountable, and reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) overall. Staff will also present a data update on the Safe City’s eight Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which include bus stop safety incidents, Transition Center service connections, positive housing outcomes, and more to give us a high-level understanding of trends. 

A third key update during Study Session will focus on three interconnected economic initiatives underway in Tucson: the Bloomberg Harvard Mayor’s City Leadership Initiative’s ninth cohort (BH9), the Urban Institute’s research on Tucson’s sustainable and resilient economy, and the current Innovation Accelerator. As part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative over the past year, the Mayor and City Manager moved forward on submitting an Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem Strategy for Tucson for competitive funding. This item will include an update on the implementation of that strategy, which is being guided by an Advisory Council made up of leaders in education, research, technology, workforce development, labor, and local government, and how the project intersects with efforts to collaborate with international partners, such as Taiwan. Note that you can also see some of the latest info from the City’s Economic Development department in their newsletter: Economic Development Newsletter 

The City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility invites your office to the upcoming Stone Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Open House on Monday, November 9, 2026. 

The City of Tucson’s Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department released the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) on October 19 for Fiscal Year 2028 funding through the People, Communities, and Homes Investment Plan (P-CHIP) Call for Projects. 

Approximately $2.6 million is anticipated to be available to eligible nonprofit organizations and City departments for programs and services that advance HCD’s goals of creating equitable pathways for Tucson residents to thrive. 

Applications will open on October 27, 2026, at 12 PM MST through Neighborly and will be accepted through December 10, 2026, at 11:59 PM MST. 

Funding is anticipated from three sources:

As a reminder, here is how R.O.S.E works:  

• The R.O.S.E Center stands for Resources, Outreach, Showers and Education. 
• We are open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 3 pm. 
• We offer showers throughout our open hours, and guests are encouraged to check in with a provider on-site while waiting to shower. 
• We provide snacks, computer access, phone access, multiple services, fresh towels, and hygiene items daily. 
• On-site we have two staff: Victoria - our full-time program director; and Kelton - our part-time support staff. 
• Our new structure is designed to resemble an ongoing resource fair with recurring providers every day! 

We will be putting out a new schedule for each month so the community can be in the know and plan to meet with preferred services. 

Here is our November 2026 Schedule: 

Outreach has been conducted throughout October, and we expect our guest count to pick up quickly. Stay tuned for more updates as we get rolling!  

If you have any questions please reach out to Victoria at Victoria.DeVasto@tucsonaz.gov

Remember - the Pima Votes website, a cooperative effort from the Pima County Recorder’s Office and the Elections Department, offers key information in one place, from early voting to election day to FAQs.

• Drop off ballot early: Early ballots can also be dropped off at any Early Voting site. Most of these locations are open 8am-5pm through the end of next week and then have adapted hours (Emergency Voting) during Election Week. See below for the list of sites, days, and hours. Additionally, seven Ballot Drop Boxes are available for 24/7 drop off access – that info can also be found below.  

• Vote on Election Day (Tuesday, November 3rd): On Election Day, registered voters can vote at any Vote Center across the County. Early ballots can also be dropped off at any of these locations on Election Day.

You can also use this interactive map to identify a potential voting site (early, ballot box, or vote center) and verify that it’s open when you plan to use it: Pima County Voter Information Map 

And if you have questions on Election Day, feel free to swing by or call the Ward 6 office - we will be keeping our front desk and phones staffed on Tuesday, November 3rd, 8am - 6pm!

‘Tis the season for community clean ups! Ward 6 staff is working with Team Up to Clean Up on three upcoming community events. Team Up to Clean Up is our citywide initiative to keep neighborhoods safe, clean, and beautiful. As of mid-October, the Team Up to Clean Up crew had already collected 3,422 bags of litter over 90 cleanups, utilizing 700 volunteers.  

The City of Tucson Team Up to Clean Up webpage includes information about how to organize your own event and connect with City of Tucson support, such as supply requests for gloves, grabbers, and trash bags and coordinating trash pickup and disposal. We also invite community members to join Ward 6 staff at one of our three upcoming clean ups – flyers also found below! 

Speedway/Alvernon Area Cleanup

Thursday, November 5th 

8-10am 

Meet at Cactus Jack Car Lot (3925 E Speedway) at 8am 

More info and register here: 11/05/26 Ward 6 TUCU 

Armory Park Area Cleanup 

Thursday, December 10th 

8-10am 

Meet at corner of 3rd Ave / 12th St at 8am 

More info and register here: 12/10/26 Ward 6 TUCU

Solar United Neighbors (SUN), a nonprofit with the mission to improve access to solar energy in pursuit of a more equitable energy system, is hosting their 6th annual Tucson solar co-op (Spanish page here)!  

These co-ops are groups of folks across Tucson interested in going solar that join together for free and without obligation to go solar. Members, not SUN, choose their own installer with SUN's vendor-neutral help, and receive 

• Discounted pricing: by going solar as a group, the pricing is usually 15-30% cheaper than going solar alone   

• A free roof review to determine if your roof is solar-ready 

• No-cost help at every step of the process 

• Opportunities to connect with like-minded neighbors to learn together! 

You can contact Jess White (jwhite@solarunitedneighbors.org) if you are interested in learning more. SUN also has a Solar Help Desk which provides free assistance to anyone having issues with their existing solar system, providing support and advice for steps to resolution. 

Ward 6 is happy to share information about upcoming Neighborhood Association and community coalition meetings in our newsletter. If we are missing a meeting that you are used to seeing here, please reach out ward6@tucsonaz.gov to help us keep our list updated!  

Literacy Connects - Call for Volunteers

Do you want to make a difference in people's lives? Are you looking for a fulfilling way to feel connected to your community? 

Literacy Connects is seeking volunteer coaches to help children become confident readers and volunteers to help adult students with basic literacy, GED prep, and career goals. 

Visit literacyconnects.org today to help change our world for the better. 

If you are familiar with the Transit App, you may notice that the Pro features that are typically an extra cost are now included for FREE in the City of Tucson and surrounding Sun Tran service areas. 

If you are not familiar with the Transit App, you can watch Sun Tran’s explainer videos: 

Download Transit 

How to Use the NEW Sun Tran App 

Note: if you press *GO* for your route, you will be asked to complete a user survey, where you can give valuable feedback directly to Sun Tran about your ride.  

• Website: Allows you to see all your options for Request Category in one easy-to-navigate place. You can also choose the location of your request on an interactive map: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/Residents/311-Service-Request-Portal 
• App: Gives you the ability to input your request category, intersection, and email address to receive an immediate email confirmation that your request was submitted. Under the "Requests" tab at the bottom of the app, you can also see a map of all existing map of all the existing 311 contacts your neighbors and fellow Tucsonans have submitted across the city, request status, and submission date.
  
• Call: And of course, as always - you can dial 311!