Hola,
Gracias for making Arizona Luminaria part of your week. We are always grateful to hear from you.
In today’s newsletter:
📅 A Pima County official described jailed people as “bad hombres” at Tuesday’s meeting — and three more takeaways from the Board of Supervisors this week. Read more.
🏆 Please join us in congratulating Diné journalist Chelsea Curtis on being named the 2026 Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Journalism recipient by the Indigenous Journalists Association for her in-depth investigative reporting with Arizona Luminaria. Read more about Chelsea and the award.
✒️ An interview with local teen poet Trent Lee about the value of libraries, weaving language together, favorites and what comes next. Read it here. | Lee en español.
⚽ As soccer fans gather to celebrate one of the world’s most widely viewed sporting events this weekend, Arizona Luminaria visited a couple of Tucson spaces where fans watch the World Cup and explore what the games mean to people and learn what makes a place feel like home. Read the story and see the photos. | Lee en español.
Featured stories
Jail data, water use, market shutdown, border wall: 4 takeaways from supervisors meeting
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. […]
AZ Luminaria reporter wins Indigenous Journalists Association’s top investigative award
Please join us in congratulating Diné journalist Chelsea Curtis on being named the 2026 Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Journalism recipient by the Indigenous Journalists Association for her in-depth investigative […]
“A feeling of finality and finesse:” Youth poet pens award-winning works
New to Tucson from South Korea in 2008, Kyung Sun Park found community at the Pima County Public Library. By 2009, her infant son, Trent, accompanied her to read, ask […]
“Una sensación de cierre y delicadeza”: un joven poeta escribe obras galardonadas
Recién llegada a Tucson desde Corea del Sur en 2008, Kyung Sun Park encontró una comunidad en la Biblioteca Pública del Condado de Pima. Para 2009, su hijo Trent, entonces […]
For the love and the game: What it means for Tucsonans to watch the World Cup together
Fans from across the world are filling cities, stadiums, bars, restaurants, homes and community spaces this summer to see one of the most popular sporting and cultural events in the […]
Por amor al fĂştbol: Habitantes de Tucson viven juntos la Copa del Mundo
Aficionados de todo el mundo llenan ciudades, estadios, bares, restaurantes, hogares y espacios comunitarios este verano para disfrutar de uno de los eventos deportivos y culturales más populares del mundo. […]
Flickers 🕯️
Please fill out this quick submission form to suggest a future Flicker.
Sun Tran and the union representing bus operators reached an agreement on a three-year collective bargaining agreement, forestalling a possible strike and stoppage of services. That agreement, with Teamsters Local 104, addresses the issue of safety for drivers, which was one of the biggest sticking points in negotiations, by including more training and stronger physical barriers for drivers, among other changes.Â
Local landscaping company Tank’s Green Stuff wrote on its Instagram page Monday that it will no longer sell water to a contractor for use in dust mitigation at the Project Blue site. That comes following a public pressure campaign from the No Desert Data Center Coalition naming the company as the water source for trucks driving to the site and calling for the company to stop supplying water to the project. In its social media statement, Tanks said “we have currently suspended water sales to that contractor.”Â
The Joel D. Valdez Main Library will host an open house Thursday, July 23, from 4-8 p.m. at its future home, the former Wells Fargo building at 150 N. Stone Ave. The main library is preparing to move across the street, and the drop-in event lets visitors tour the new space and share what they’d like to see there. Stop by any time during the four-hour window. Learn more.
The Rainbow Reads Book Club — Pima County Public Library’s queer reading circle — meets Saturday, July 18 from 1-3 p.m. via Zoom. The circle will discuss books by and about members of the LGBTQ+ community. This month, author Travis Warman (Serial Husbands and The Quiet Man) will join the group. Register here.Â
Two volunteer groups supporting Catalina State Park have received a $198,000 grant from the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management to expand efforts to remove invasive buffelgrass and protect native saguaro populations. The funding will allow the Friends of Catalina State Park and the Catalina State Park Buffel Slayers to treat an additional 86 acres, helping reduce wildfire risk and restore native Sonoran Desert vegetation throughout the park.
NAMI Southern Arizona will host a virtual event from 4-5 p.m. Friday, July 31, in recognition of Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. The Zoom gathering will focus on mental health equity, culturally responsive support and resources for diverse communities in Southern Arizona.
Tucson’s Mission Garden is officially on the National Register of Historic Places. The garden, located at the base of A Mountain, is one of the nation’s oldest continuously cultivated landscapes. It sits on the ancestral Tohono O’odham village of Cuk Ṣon, the place that gave Tucson its name. Visitors can experience the crops, farming traditions and cultural knowledge from our Santa Cruz River valley. The recognition happened with a collaboration of a $500,000 Historic Preservation Fund grant administered by the National Park Service and awarded to Pima County in 2023. The Pima County Office of Sustainability and Conservation prepared the National Register nomination and partnered with Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace on landscape restoration and infrastructure improvements.
A University of Arizona materials scientist won a five-year, $1.88 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to develop drug carriers that mimic red blood cells and remain in the bloodstream longer. Associate professor Minkyu Kim’s research aims to improve targeted drug delivery, including chemotherapy, by helping treatments evade the body’s natural defenses, potentially reducing side effects and improving effectiveness. Read more.
Phoenix software engineer Matt Szeto won the 2A division at the National Yo-Yo Contest in Las Vegas on June 28, capturing his third consecutive national title with a choreographed two-handed routine. Watch his winning performance.
This email was sent to *|EMAIL|*
Unsubscribe from this newsletter — Opt out of all emails from *|LIST:COMPANY|*
*|LIST_ADDRESSLINE_TEXT|**|IF:REWARDS|*
*|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
