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In today’s newsletter:
🏫 “You can relocate a classroom. You cannot simply relocate a child’s sense of belonging,” says Erica Maske, whose son has attended Cragin Elementary since preschool. Cragin is one of at least 14 schools TUSD wants to close or merge; the district says the first mergers would save about $3.4 million, mostly through job cuts, and promises free before- and after-school care and guaranteed busing. The board votes Dec. 8. Read more.
💸 Companies and people tied to manufactured home parks have given nearly $700,000 to the PAC backing Republican Warren Petersen for attorney general, an Arizona Luminaria review of campaign finance records found. The top donor, at about $600,000, is BoaVida, the company Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office sued over power outages at Tucson’s Redwood Mobile Home Park during the 2025 heat wave. Read more. | Lee en español.
🏛️ Pima County supervisors voted 5-0 to make longtime deputy administrator Carmine DeBonis Jr. the county’s next administrator, after the first nationwide search for the job in nearly 40 years. He replaces retiring Jan Lesher on Jan. 8. Read more.
🌾 Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers and coined “¡Sí, se puede!”, died Wednesday at home at 96, her family said.
In March, Tucson renamed its César Chávez Day as Dolores Huerta Day. From The Associated Press. Read more. | Lee en español.
Featured stories
Mobile home park industry is top funder of pro-Petersen PAC
Fifteen management companies, owners or individuals connected to the manufactured home […]
Dolores Huerta, influential labor leader, feminist and civil rights icon, dies at 96
Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union to improve […]
Fallece Dolores Huerta, influyente líder sindical, ícono feminista y de derechos civiles
Dolores Huerta, quien cofundó el sindicato United Farm Workers para mejorar […]
Free before- and after-school care, more closures ahead: Highlights from quiet TUSD board meeting
Ninety minutes into Tuesday night’s Tucson Unified School District special Governing […]
TUSD closures list: 14 schools recommended for closure or merger
On Wednesday afternoon, the Tucson Unified School District recommended closing Cavett […]
Pima County supervisors choose Carmine DeBonis Jr. as next administrator
The Pima County Board of Supervisors unanimously selected Carmine DeBonis Jr. […]
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Despite both county and city-level efforts, a preliminary count of heat deaths in Pima County shows more people died of heat-related illness in 2026 so far than in total last year. As of Sept. 8, there were 123 heat related deaths in Pima County, compared with 117 in 2025. That comes as 2026 was the warmest year on record for average high temperatures in Pima County and federal funding has fallen under the Trump administration. Specifically notable: there were four heat-related deaths in the month of March for the first time in Pima County, according to a county document. Indoor heat-related deaths, often connected to broken air conditioning or people turning off AC to save costs, rose from 49 cases to 58 cases so far this year. There were still 100 pending death investigations as of early September.
The All Souls Procession will take place Sunday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. on the west side of downtown Tucson. Line up for the parade to honor departed souls at 4 p.m. near Speedway Boulevard and Grande Avenue or join the walk anywhere along the mile route that ends at Mercado San Augustin. The parade will culminate in the “Restoration of Care” ceremony and burning of the urn at the Mercado.The event will also be live streamed. The All Souls Procession weekend includes the Procession of the Little Angels on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 3-6 p.m. at the Literacy Connects campus, 200 E. Yavapai Road.
Queer for Good, the annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund, an initiative of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, is at 6 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Oct. 29 at La Rosa, 800 N. Country Club Road. The event is open to everyone. Since 1999, the fund has awarded $1.45 million to 86 organizations. Learn more about the event and the fund.
The University of Arizona Student Union now has a 24/7 drop box for Pima County mail ballots, open through 7 p.m. Nov. 3, and an early voting site in the third-floor Santa Cruz Room through Nov. 2. Hours vary by day, and the site is closed on Election Day. See hours and locations.
Historian Terry Anne Scott, director of the Institute for Common Power, will discuss the history of voting rights for Black Americans and voting challenges today, 3-5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29. The free lecture, part of ASU’s Humanities Week, is presented by the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies and draws on Scott’s forthcoming anthology on voter suppression. Register to join online.
Part of Congress Street in downtown Tucson will be closed to vehicles on Halloween night this year, making space for pedestrians to move about in the entertainment district. About four blocks of Congress Street will be closed from Toole Ave. to just east of Scott Ave. from 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 until 3 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. The plan will be Tucson’s first attempt to test out using the street as a pedestrian-only space during the downtown bar and restaurant districts’ busiest hours. All businesses along the four blocks will be open during the street closure to vehicles.
The Arizona Board of Regents won a $3.97 million federal grant to expand the AZ Comeback Initiative, a partnership with Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona that helps adults with some college credit return and finish their degrees. The board says more than 726,000 Arizonans have college credit but no credential.
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