Topics in This Issue:

Redistricting Commission
Blenman Elm Butterfly Garden
Plastic Blocks
Compost Cross Event
TPD, Fentanyl and Narcotics in the Community
Reid Park Reimagined – Baseball Complex
Reid Park Master Plan
Adopt-an-Animal from Reid Park Zoo
Sol y Luna Sale
Migrant Needs
Southwest Gas in Miramonte Neighborhood
Small Business Support from Barstool
Bike Boulevard Public Input
DanceSequences
COVID

Redistricting Commission

The redistricting discussion continued last Thursday evening. Thank you to all of the Broadmoor/Broadway residents, and to those from the Feldman’s/WUNA/Armory Park areas who attended or voiced their concerns by email. Despite the poor notice provided of changes that were under consideration, the issues of communities of interest and preserving the continuity of relationships that have supported historic preservation seem to have been heard. But there are still more meetings to come, so stay tuned.

After last week’s meeting, the Broadmoor leaving ward 6 proposal seems to have been abandoned. It was a bad idea from the start, and now it appears to be a dead issue. Similarly, the objections to moving downtown, 4th Ave, Armory Park, WUNA, Ironhorse, and Barrio Viejo to ward 1 appear to have been heard. That is not a part of what the commission will have on their agenda when they meet again on November 10th. That will be their own internal discussion, although it’s open to the public to attend. It’ll be in the council chambers at 5:30.

What they’ll have on the agenda is somehow tweaking what was Proposal 2 – as it affects ward 6 residents it could mean moving Feldman’s, North University, Oak Flower, San Carlos, and Vista del Monte into ward 3. If you have thoughts on that please email [email protected] before their meeting on the 10th. Here’s the map that’s under consideration. The areas circled in red are the neighborhoods under consideration for moving to a new ward.

Map of Redistricting Proposal Option 2
The commission is charged with bringing the population difference between wards to under 10%. Right now, there are some with a 13% disparity. There are also considerations of equalizing minority representation to closely match the wider community. The commission will be talking about possibly creating a 3rd ‘minority majority’ ward or taking to the voters the possibility of adding the 7th ward to the city in order to achieve a more minority-heavy voting ward. That would mean a charter change and is not something either the commission or the city council can do without voter approval.

There will be one final public hearing on the proposed changes. It’ll be held on Thursday, November 17th at 5:30 pm in city council chambers. All of what is being considered will be in effect for next year’s mayor and city council elections. In addition to mayor, wards 1, 2 and 4 will be on the ballot. It’s interesting that neither the ward 2 nor the ward 4 representative took part in last week’s discussion.

You can view all of the commission information at www.tucsonaz.gov/clerks/elections. This statement comes from the clerk’s office. It guides the work of the commission.

Information about Redistricting:
Two years after the Biennial Census is complete, the boundaries of the six wards of the City are reviewed to determine whether adjustments are necessary to equalize the population in each ward. The Mayor and Council have established a citizens committee to assist with this effort.

Policy Objectives
Within the required federal constitutional and charter framework, the City also strives to accommodate its own traditional and ongoing policy objectives concerning redistricting. These objectives are:

Maintain established and recognizable ward boundaries with a minimum of disruption;
Sustain the compactness of the wards as they previously exist;
Maintain ethnic balance so as to not dilute the Hispanic vote;
Give preference to options that will advance “rough proportionality” of minority voting power;
Give preference to options that reduce dilution that may otherwise exist from prior “packing” or “fragmenting”; and
Reduce voter confusion by realignment of precincts having populations represented by more than one ward.

Blenman Elm Butterfly Garden

One neighborhood that is not directly impacted by the proposed redistricting is Blenman Elm. They’re holding a celebration this Saturday to formally commemorate the opening of their Butterfly Garden – located at Treat and Waverly. It’s a great example of a Green Stormwater Infrastructure success – turning a vacant lot next to a Tucson Water well into a gathering place for neighbors. And it’s right on the newly minted Treat bike boulevard. We’ll be gathering beginning at around 10am on the 12th.

There will be music, some brief speakers, arts/crafts/plants, and just a nice time hanging with neighbors for a little while on Saturday. I’m scheduled to share some music after the noon speaker presentation. The crafts people will be on-site throughout the event. It’d be great to see a big turnout.

Plastic Blocks

We’re more than 21 tons into the pilot. Our goal to demonstrate community interest was 20 tons by the end of the year. Here’s our current level of participation.

Tucson Pilot Program Status Period October 29 - November 4
With that showing of support, we’ve scheduled a holiday party that you’re all invited to attend. It’ll be at the ward 6 office on Saturday, December 3rd starting at 10am. We’ll have holiday snacks and maybe some other surprises for you, but the real focus of the event will be our building a holiday tree out of ByBlocks that morning. You’ll be welcome to take part. In the process, you’ll see just how easy it is to use this product for your own projects.

Here’s the rendering of what our tree will look like. It’s going right out in front of the office.

Picture of Byblocks Christmas Tree
The tree will of course be made from the non-recyclable plastics that you’ve been bringing to the ward office. I’m sure we’ll also toss in some of the ocean debris that ByFusion has received through their connections with Global Voyage and other non-profits that are out cleaning the eastern Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. This image shows how the currents are driving plastic pollutants to both an eastern and a western area. Hundreds of tons of debris are being dredged from both sites.

Image shows plastic pollutants to both an eastern and a western area
These pictures show some of the patches. It’s estimated that roughly 2 million tons of plastic is being added to this mess every year. It is double the size of Texas. Our little holiday tree is a reflection of the need to address this issue on a global level. We’re doing it locally.

Picture shows plastic pollutants in the ocean
The tree is roughly 7’ high and 7.5’ in diameter. The trunk is hollow so you can run lights up through the tree. And yes, the lights can be stapled or screwed into the blocks. If you’d like one for your holiday décor you can order a kit through ByFusion. The kit comes with all the hardware you’ll need, plus assembly instructions. The cost is $3,495. It ships via freight on a single pallet. Let us know if you’re interested, but whether you are or not, please come on the 3rd to celebrate the great work you’ve done getting the project this far along so quickly. Each tree diverts about 1,800 pounds of plastic waste from the landfill.

Picture shows label that Byfusion program use in L.A.       
ByFusion will be on-site to assist with ‘planting’ our tree – and they’ll have other holiday goodies such as planters and end tables that you can buy from their online store – or at our event as long as they last.

Most of you have heard of Transformers. The kids’ toy that changes from one form into another. After the holidays we’ll be ‘transforming’ our holiday tree into a raised planter – also to be located in front of the ward 6 office. I’m working with city staff right now on choosing some native, low-water plants to fill it with. Doing so will show the versatility of the product. What will not happen is we will not be tossing the ‘tree’ into the landfill.

A group of us met last week to talk about what the next step for this program might look like. It was great to see Kevin Dahl on the call – finally on the upswing from his recent health challenges. We all addressed items such as where drop-off sites will be located, who pays the cost for moving the plastic, where are we moving it to, where will the Blocker machine be located, and who manages that part of the operation. There are costs involved – and the environmental savings are immeasurable. We don’t know yet what the Tucson program will ultimately look like, but we have some examples of what might be included. In L.A. they’ve got a program that’s pretty well established in which people can buy their plastic diversion bags directly from ByFusion. They come on a regularly scheduled rotation, and each has a barcode. That will allow you to track your ‘donation’ all the way to a job site. This is one of their labels. I understand that some of you have already signed up to do the same with the Tucson product.

We’re still handing out clear plastic bags at the ward office along with the informational flyers. And you’re of course welcome to use your own.

Compost Cross Event

This reminder that this weekend is the Compost Cross event out at Tank’s Green Stuff. Do it for your competitive juices or do it for fun. It’s a ½ mile course out at Tank’s where you’re rolling over various mounds built from compost material. The benefit is for the UA cycle team.

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

TPD, Fentanyl and Narcotics in the Community

I offer this reminder for the upcoming meeting regarding the prevalence of fentanyl in our community. On Wednesday, November 16th TPD will have some of their in-house experts on the many issues surrounding fentanyl here at the ward office. Their presentation will include information on its availability, cost, where it’s coming from, the impacts it has on users, and the impacts it’s having on the community in general. The stuff is in our schools and is scattered throughout the city and region. It’s cheap and easy to get. And it can kill the user.

We’ll be holding this meeting both in-person and by Zoom. We’ll start at 6pm. After the TPD presentation, there will be time for Q&A.

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

Reid Park Reimagined – Baseball Complex

I met with our parks staff last week to get an update on the progress of the Reid Park master planning process. Ahead of that, I saw on the Visit Tucson site a welcome back extended to the Korean Baseball teams that have used portions of the park. In particular, they’re using the 4-field complex known as the quad. It’s a necessary amenity for multiple teams using the facility at the same time – think of tournaments. Here’s the Visit Tucson item. You can see just some of the economic impact this sort of thing has on the local economy.

Picture shows examples local economy impact on amenity in the Reid Park
During the update on the master plan, I was pleased to see that the quad complex is being proposed to be retained in its entirety. During the recent meeting, parks had with the baseball community there were also conversations about adding amenities such as dugouts, lights, and concessions stand. All of that comes with a cost so at some point, once this is all finalized there will be conversations with stakeholders about partnering in funding.

This item should be in front of M&C in December.

Reid Park Master Plan

Above I shared a bit about the preservation of the baseball quads at Reid Park. The entire master plan will be unveiled at this month’s Family Festival in the Park. That’s coming on Saturday, November 19th from 10am until 2pm. The event will be held on the 22nd street side of the park, just west of the zoo.

Please bring canned food as a donation to the Community Food Bank. The event will of course include games, prizes, crafts, inflatables, and entertainment. And the zoo will have a $1 admission during the event with all of those funds going to support the Reid Park Zoo Conservation Fund.

Adopt-an-Animal from Reid Park Zoo

Each year for the past several I’ve adopted some critter from the zoo as a gift. It’s a way of supporting the work they do at Reid Park Zoo for education, conservation and taking great care of their animals. And there are dozens of options for you to consider – even a roach. No kidding.

But if you’re not big on adopting a roach, you can donate to the support of African Wild Dogs, a Giraffe, Lions, Meerkats, and plenty more. Use this link to see the full list of critters, and the various adoption packages they’re offering: https://reidparkzoo.org/get-involved/adopt-an-animal/

From now until the end of November they’re giving discounts of varying amounts depending on which level of adoption you choose. All of that is on their website as well. I’ve been focused on primates, but they all deserve some love – except maybe the roaches. But I suspect there’s someone with a soft heart out there who’ll even pitch in for those guys.

Sol y Luna Sale

Vespers Holdings is a New York based student housing company. Their student housing portfolio is valued at over $2B (Billion.) They own over 24,000 beds in student housing complexes. Clearly owning student housing towers is their source of contributing to the bottom line for shareholders.

Vespers just bought Sol y Luna from Nelson Partners for $203 million dollars. The acquisition is among the 5 largest “single-asset” purchases in the history of the student housing market.

You’ve become familiar with the issues we’ve had – as a community, and the students as residents – stemming from the poor management the properties have had. That’s ever since the day they opened. The 972 beds included among the 304 different housing units in Sol and Luna combined, along with the rooftop party deck have provided ample opportunity for bottles and other debris to be tossed down from 10 or more floors above. It has been a volatile news story in Tucson for the past 7 years.

Given the high profile of the current problems going on in Sol y Luna and given the history, it would have been nice to have received some sort of outreach from the Vespers group ahead of the purchase. Even a conversation indicating that they’re aware of the past and are committed to correcting the wrongs would have given some level of optimism. And yet we haven’t heard a peep from New York. It seems when you’re just a fraction of a $2B investment you don’t warrant a conversation.

So welcome to town Vespers. It appears our first exchange will be the next time I’m alerted of bottles being tossed onto the street or onto the mosque below. I’m sure we’ll meet. It would have been nice to meet on other terms. Clearly, their investment into our community is purely financial and not relational.

If you’d like to view their website, use this link:  https://www.vesperholdings.com

Migrant Needs

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, and 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.

In addition, the ward 6 office is partnering with Noor Women’s Association and the Muslim Community Alliance to begin a winter blanket drive. In order to get these to the families they have targeted, the Noor part of the drive will need your donations by Sunday, November 20th at 5pm. We’ll keep accepting blankets well past that date to continue the distribution more broadly. What we need is new or unused blankets. We won’t be handing out used bedding. All refugee populations are eligible to receive these donations, not based on religious affiliation.

The Southern Arizona Ukrainian Care Network is going to host their own silent auction as a fundraiser in support of the Ukrainian families who have relocated to Tucson and to Ukrainians still in the homeland. 

The fundraiser will take place on Sunday, December 4th from 2pm until 5pm. Please contact Celia Hildebrand at [email protected] for more information on the event.

Tucson is home to people here from all over the world. Last week, I got a call from a friend who told me of a Syrian family who was the victim of a hit and run by some guy in a pick-up truck. When the Syrian woman got out of her car to look at the damage, the guy who hit her car saw the hijab and decided it wasn’t worth sticking around for. Welcome to Arizona. Everybody who has donated to our various appeals is what Tucson stands for – not the **** who fled the scene. And yes, we have the license number and it’s being looked into by the right people.

Southwest Gas in Miramonte Neighborhood

This quick note to Miramonte neighbors – and to the many bike riders who travel through the neighborhood on the 3rd Street bike boulevard. SW Gas will be doing pipeline replacement work along 3rd, generally from Palo Verde to Alvernon. The work will run through March so when you’re on that route please be cautious. There will be plenty of signage. Here’s a map showing the limits of the construction zone.

If you’ve got questions or concerns, you can reach SW Gas at 844.258.7481.

Small Business Support from Barstool      

I have had some hard things to say about Barstool in the past – this week it’s a good news piece on an initiative they’re bringing to Tucson in conjunction with the football game they sponsor. The Barstool Fund is the arm of Barstool Sports formed to support local businesses. So far, they’ve raised over $41M and have donated support to nearly 500 businesses. They’re offering funds to local Tucson businesses now.

The purpose of the fund is to support businesses that have suffered due to COVID. The money can backstop losses due to added costs a business took on to stay open, loss of revenue, and costs associated with staffing issues – generally the Barstool Fund wants to help Tucson businesses get back on – and stay on their feet now that the major impact of COVID appears to be somewhat behind us.

The Fund will distribute $1M to local businesses that are still working through COVID issues. You need to apply by December 15th. These one-time grants will range from $25K up to $50K. Please go to www.barstool.link/AZBowlFund to get the application in.

Bike Boulevard Public Input

The city transportation department is asking for your input with respect to two new bike boulevards. They’re making it easy to share your thoughts with this link to an interactive map:

https://cotgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/CrowdsourceReporter/index.html?appid=f05e6bbd8c3b421a97610463f2fb338e

The routes they’re after feedback for include 9th Ave/Castro, 5th Street, and 9th Street/7th Street. You can view the map of the routes in the link. Check it out – the survey on the link can be used either on a mobile phone or from a desktop.

DanceSequences

Early in COVID, this group offered people a chance to get together safely and share movement – dance – as a form of both expressions, and for some light exercise. They’re back and have some fun events planned.

Last week TFD and Tucson Wildlife Center conducted the controlled burns out at the Sweetwater Wetlands. The place is now all spiffed up and ready for the public. DanceSequences will be meeting there on Saturday, November 12th from 10am until noon, exploring the natural spaces and doing it through the aid of group dance. You certainly do not need to be a professional dancer to take part – you just need to enjoy the movement, the outdoors and in this case the great setting out at the Wetlands.

The Wetlands are located at 2551 W. Sweetwater Dr. The event on the 12th will include both a class, followed by guided movement improv. It’s free – DanceSequences is funded in part by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and by donations from the public. You can learn more about their program through www.dancesequences.org.

COVID

Last week the COVID numbers in the state jumped once again from the previous week. In Pima County, they stayed about the same – but at a relatively high rate. It appears we might be at the front end of a fall and winter resurgence of the virus. The current vaccines are effective on both the original COVID and on Omicron as well. Give it some thought – the virus is back and is infecting people throughout the region. Here’s the data I’ve been keeping, updated for this week’s numbers.  So, COVID is still a thing that’s getting lots of people sick, and for which there are new vaccines widely available.

The virus is still taking peoples’ lives. There’s also some serious bronchitis going around – it hit a couple of us in the ward 6 office. And you’ve likely heard of the emerging RSV respiratory infections. It’s hitting both young children and adults. Add to that the increased number of flu infections. Here’s the national map that shows how that virus is spreading nationwide. Arizona is still dodging the flu bullet but the southeast and Texas is getting slammed. Both New Mexico and California are seeing increased numbers of infection from the flu. We’ll see an uptick soon enough in Arizona – vaccines work and are available.

Here’s the statewide COVID count map by county. Pima County is headed for 300,000 cases. That’s roughly 1/3 of our population. There are vaccines for COVID and for the flu. For the other nasties that are floating around (literally) you’re on your own. I mentioned to our staff last week that we’ve let our guard down – and 3 of us had respiratory infections as a result. Masking works.

City of Tucson Resources
COVID-19 Updates: https://www.tucsonaz.gov/covid-19/covid-19-updates
I Want To... : https://www.tucsonaz.gov/i-want-to