New Pima County data suggests jail-based treatment programs are helping curb overdose deaths — even as a county official’s word choice raised eyebrows at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. The board also heard about a food-access program at risk of disappearing under federal cuts, a sudden spike in water use and supervisors waded into national immigration politics with a vote on a border wall. Here are four things to know.
1. New report shows most fatal overdoses aren’t tied to recent jail time — and one official calls jailed people “bad hombres”
Pima County’s jail medical director, Dr. Jeffrey Alvarez, presented an analysis of every opioid-related death in the county in 2025 and 2026, checking each person’s history with the jail system. He found that about 40% of those who died had been in custody at some point in their lives, and just 4% had been released within two weeks of their death — roughly half the rates often cited in national research, he said.
Alvarez said the numbers suggest the county’s in-jail treatment programs are working, and that community-based treatment, along with rising methamphetamine use, deserves more attention.
As of the meeting, 709 people — 41% of the jail’s population — were receiving medication-assisted treatment behind bars, according to Paula Perrera, director of the county’s Detainee and Crisis Systems department. Perrera also told the board that roughly half of people leaving the jail report facing homelessness or housing instability, and that most have children.
Describing the population her department serves, Perrera contrasted them with lower-level offenders, saying: “Our population tends to be more severe, the bad hombres as opposed to the guys who [are] shoplifting hot dogs.”
Read more
When jail becomes the mental health treatment plan
Stacey Brooks, a former aircraft mechanic, is alone in Cell 46 of the Pima County jail. He is on court-ordered medical treatment, which requires jail medical staff to inject him with prescribed medication — even when he refuses.
…
The phrase “bad hombres” has carried political weight since President Donald Trump used it during a 2016 debate to describe drug traffickers and gang members, drawing criticism as demeaning toward Latinos and immigrants.
Perrera did not elaborate on the phrase, and the discussion moved on to recidivism data: county programs for people leaving jail reported 30-day reoffending rates of 2% to 4%. Vice Chair Matt Heinz asked staff to consider a future study session on the broader treatment system for people involved in the justice system.
2. A mobile produce market could shut down because of federal cuts
PLAZA Mobile Market, a program of the University of Arizona’s Pima County Cooperative Extension, told supervisors it needs emergency county funding to survive after losing its main federal funding source.
The market — its name stands for Promoting Local Arizona Agriculture — buys produce directly from small, mostly refugee farmers at prices the farmers help set, then resells it at roughly half of fair-market price at Pima County libraries. It also accepts federal nutrition benefits and has served about 4,200 visitors since launching at the beginning of 2024, program staff told the board.
The market was originally funded through a federal SNAP-Ed grant program that was de-funded under the tax and spending law known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” A follow-up grant from the state expires at the end of August.
Arizona has cut more SNAP benefits than any other state this year, with at least 400,000 residents losing the benefit.
Program leaders asked supervisors for bridge funding and presented three options: maintaining the current two weekly markets, expanding to four markets including new areas, or building a countywide system with a market in every district plus a produce-prescription program for patients.
Later in a separate item on the board’s evening regular-session agenda, the county’s Outside Agency Committee recommended just $15,000 in funding for PLAZA Mobile Market — a fraction of the $88,961 the program had requested through that grant process.
3. County water use jumped 22% — and officials say leaks are mostly, but not entirely, to blame
An update on Pima County’s Climate Action Plan included some good news and some bad: while the county’s actively managed facilities cut water use, largely through equipment and cooling upgrades, water use by the county rose 22% over the past year.
Sarah Davis, a senior advisor in the County Administrator’s Office, told the board the majority of that increase came from two leaks at properties that aren’t actively monitored, totaling about 148,000 kilogallons. Both leaks have since been fixed, she said. Vice Chair Matt Heinz and Chair Jennifer Allen asked for a follow up report about how much of the 22% jump came from the leaks versus other factors — such as longer, hotter summers and increased use of parks and recreation fields.
One conservation success from the report is the newly completed optimization project at the Kino Sports Complex, which is projected to save 30 acre-feet of potable water annually, equivalent to the usage of 90 households, by relying on treated wastewater and stormwater.
4. Supervisors reaffirmed opposition to a border wall on tribal land — a largely symbolic vote
At its evening regular session, the board voted 4-1 to pass a resolution reaffirming its opposition to a border wall on the Tohono O’odham Nation’s border with Mexico and expressing support for the nation’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The board previously passed a resolution in 2017, the first time the Trump administration proposed a wall there.
Supervisors didn’t direct the county attorney to file a legal brief or commit any county money or staff resources, so the resolution serves as a public statement of support the nation can point to as it fights DHS in court.
Tohono O’odham Chairman Verlon Jose told supervisors the tribe has built its own border security infrastructure over the years, including vehicle barriers and checkpoints, which he said helped cut illegal crossings on the reservation by more than 95% over the past two years.
“If no one is crossing, why do we need a border wall?” he said.
Jose said the Nation sued in June after learning DHS was preparing to award construction contracts for a wall through the reservation, even as negotiations were ongoing. The lawsuit argues the wall would illegally seize tribal land and destroy sacred sites.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
