Hola,
Gracias for making Arizona Luminaria part of your week. We are always grateful to hear from you. This week our team is following several important local issues for you:
⛺ The Tucson City Council passed a new ban on camping in washes, with the penalties ranging from fines to jail time. Audience members at the meeting were outraged. One said: “You’re planning to clear people from the washes too so where do you think they’re going to go?” Get caught up with coverage by reporter Yana Kunichoff.
🌵 Reporter John Washington has a Q&A with freshman Rep. Yassamin Ansari about immigration actions and the new travel ban. Read it here.
🗳️ Voting has begun in the special primary election in Congressional District 7. We have several stories to help you get ready to vote:
- A voter guide, with key dates and links to explore the candidates’ platforms — available in English and Spanish.
- A guide to where each candidate stands on border and immigration policies. Learn more.
- Plus: Half of candidates don’t even live in the district they want to represent. Get the details.
- And one of the candidates, Jimmy Rodriguez, is on federal probation until 2029. Read more.
Featured stories
Your 2025 voter guide to Arizona’s Congressional District 7 primary
For the first time in more than 20 years, voters in Southern Arizona’s Congressional District 7 will choose a new representative. Between June 18 and July 15, voters will decide […]
Tu guía electoral 2025 para las primarias del Distrito Congresional 7 de Arizona
Por primera vez en más de 20 años, los votantes del Distrito Congresional 7 del sur de Arizona elegirán a un nuevo representante. Entre el 18 de junio y el […]
Before you vote: The border politics of each candidate in Arizona’s special election
In Arizona’s 7th Congressional District — stretching from Tucson, brushing parts of outer Phoenix and running through border towns like Douglas, Nogales and Yuma — border policy is more than […]
Half the candidates in Southern Arizona’s congressional special election don’t live in District 7
Half of the people vying for a seat in Congress in a special election don’t live in the Southern Arizona district they want to represent. District 7 stretches along the […]
Jimmy Rodriguez is running for Congress. He’s also on federal probation.
If elected to Congress to represent Southern Arizona, Republican candidate Jimmy Rodriguez would have to ask his probation officer’s permission to travel to Washington D.C.. Or he would have to […]
Q&A: Rep. Yassamin Ansari on Eloy detention center, El Salvador and the new travel ban
Rep. Yassamin Ansari has traveled to El Salvador, visited detention centers and introduced legislation opposing immigration policies in her first five months in Congress The Democratic freshman representative of Arizona’s […]
La representante Yassamin Ansari habla del centro de detención de Eloy, El Salvador y la prohibición de viaje
La representante Yassamin Ansari ha viajado a El Salvador, visitado centros de detención y presentado una legislación en contra de las políticas migratorias durante sus primeros cinco meses en el […]
Sleeping in Tucson washes can come with fine, jail time for homeless people under new city ordinance
Tucson City Council voted Tuesday night to ban camping in washes — adding to the city’s existing measures that restrict where unhoused people can sleep, including parks and other public […]
Tucson is revisiting a camping ban in washes. Here’s how the city already polices where unhoused people sleep.
Tucson is again considering an ordinance to ban camping in washes — adding to the city’s existing measures that restrict where unhoused people can sleep, including parks and other public […]
Flickers 🕯️
Tucson City Council has removed the renewal of its franchise agreement with Tucson Electric Power from a planned November ballot following a delay on the utility company’s side for responding to concerns the city raised. Tucson Democratic Socialists of America, who have been pushing for a public utility option, said “We thank the Mayor and Council for not rushing forward with a long-term franchise agreement with TEP in the next 48 hours and now ask them to move forward with a public power utility.” TEP has also put forward a 14% rate increase for residential customers beginning in 2026, which would raise the average customer’s bill by $16 a month. The utility argues that change “would be less than the level of inflation since 2021, the year used to set our current rates.”
The Arizona Board of Regents approved a new three-year medical degree program at the University of Arizona allowing medical students to enter the workforce faster while reducing their debt. Arizona is facing a severe shortage of primary care physicians, meeting only 39.2% of its current need, with demand expected to grow by 2,000 more doctors by 2030. The accelerated program, available at both the Tucson and Phoenix campuses, enables students to graduate and enter the workforce a year earlier, reducing both training time and student debt. It focuses on primary care, especially in underserved rural and tribal communities, aiming to boost the number of physicians where they’re needed most.
Celebrate the longest day of the year, Friday, June 20 at Mission Garden. The free event from 5 to 8 p.m. will include music, food and community within the garden at 946 W. Mission Lane.
Learn about Arizona’s heat-response program and how to take action during a public conversation on extreme heat led by the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona. The conversation will take place on Tuesday June 24 from noon to 1 p.m. on Zoom. Register and learn more about the panelists here.
Learn about free transit during “Unburdening Transit: A Forum for Free and Just Mobility in Tucson” on Tuesday, June 24, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Coalition Space. The forum, hosted by the Transit for All Coalition, will feature a panel discussion on the social, environmental, and economic benefits of fare-free transit, as well as threats to service like the proposed elimination of Route 5. The event is free and the public is encouraged to submit questions ahead of time here.
Tariffs are raising costs for small Arizona businesses, and that could impact Arizona’s economy, communities and consumers. Join Local First for an event bringing together business owners from Obodo Energy, Kidstop Toys and Del Sol Furniture to talk about how material prices and supply chain disruptions are hitting home. The event will take place Wednesday, June 25 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at CO+HOOTS Coworking in Phoenix. Teams from Sen. Mark Kelly’s office and Rep. Yassamin Ansari’s office will also attend. RSVP here.
Learn what Medicaid cuts may mean for Arizona in a webinar with the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 25. Register.
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