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In today’s newsletter:
📍 Detention center debate: Management and Training Corp. bought a closed Marana prison this summer and could soon transform it into an immigration detention facility. Over 300 people packed a community forum to voice concerns about enforcement impacts, property values, and conditions — while advocates pointed to examples of communities that have successfully blocked similar facilities. Read more.
🍽️ Hunger looms for thousands: As federal SNAP funding halts Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown, more than 855,000 Arizonans who rely on food assistance face uncertainty. Gov. Katie Hobbs is deploying emergency funds, but food banks across the state are bracing for a surge in demand — and here’s where you can help or find support. Available in English and Spanish.
🚨 Alert designed to stay silent: Arizona’s Turquoise Alert — created to help find missing Indigenous people — has only been triggered once since July, even as nearly 300 people were reported missing. DPS says the limited use is intentional, reflecting strict legal criteria. But advocates question whether the system truly serves those it was meant to protect. Read more.
Featured stories
Possible immigration detention center at former Marana prison draws community outcry
On a quiet patch of land surrounded by miles of cotton fields, and not far from the blinking lights of Marana’s regional airport, the turn-off to a vacant prison building […]
Hundreds of thousands in Arizona face hunger as SNAP funding halt looms
Hundreds of thousands of Arizonans who rely on federal food aid may need food assistance as federal SNAP funding is expected to run dry Saturday due to the U.S. government […]
Cientos de miles en Arizona enfrentan el hambre ante la inminente suspensión de los fondos de SNAP
Cientos de miles de arizonenses que dependen de la ayuda alimentaria federal podrían necesitar asistencia alimentaria, ya que se espera que los fondos federales del programa SNAP se agoten este […]
Arizona’s Turquoise Alert has been triggered just once. DPS explains that’s by design.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety, which reviews and distributes all statewide alerts for missing people, says Arizona’s new Turquoise Alert system is working like it’s supposed to. The alert, […]
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A coalition of local environmental groups, led by Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, wrote a letter to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs encouraging her to cancel plans to auction 160 acres of State Trust Land to the company hoping to mine for copper in the Santa Rita Mountains, south of Tucson. “The sale of this land to Copper World will facilitate the development of a series of open pit mines that will destroy the northern half of the Santa Rita Mountains, consume enormous amounts of groundwater, devalue State Trust Land, and have devastating impacts on nearby communities and natural and cultural resources,” the letter signed by eight environmental groups states. Read more about the proposed Copper World mine here.
Still have a ballot at home? It’s too late to put it in a mailbox, but you can still return it at a vote center now through Election Day, which is Tuesday. You can also vote in person. Voter guides and other resources are at azluminaria.org/voting.
Tucson government meetings this week: The Pima County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday, Nov. 4, and the Tucson City Council will meet Wednesday, Nov. 5.
An “abuelas workshop” in Tucson will explore “how food traditions carry culture forward while confronting the ways climate change impacts our kitchens and crops.” Latinos in Heritage Conservation, in partnership with the Arizona American Planning Association, are launching the workshop series, Raíces Comunales. The Tucson workshop will take place Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. Participants will share their stories through interviews, photographs, and help create maps that will be added to the Abuelas Project’s national people’s archive. Learn more here.
For the first time, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is offering its Citizens Academy entirely in Spanish, giving Spanish-speaking county residents the opportunity to engage directly with Arizona’s criminal justice system. The free, one-day program will include presentations from prosecutors and experts, a mock felony case review and insight into victims’ rights and resources. The Spanish-language session will be held Nov. 6 at MCAO’s downtown Phoenix office. Register here.
Help reduce Pima County’s street cat population by bringing your neighborhood’s cat to the Pima Animal Care Center’s free “Snip ‘n’ Tip” event Nov. 7-9. As part of the center’s Trap-Neuter-Return program, the event offers spay/neuter surgery, vaccines, microchips and parasite treatment at no cost. Residents can book appointments online and must bring cats in secure carriers or humane traps and return them to their original neighborhoods after surgery.
The City of Tucson is seeking public feedback on the municipal budget for next fiscal year. The series of of in-person forums, “The Housing Equation,” begins Nov. 10, and is organized by ward. Find dates and times for your location and more information here.
Camp Naco is screening The Warrior Tradition, a documentary film about Native Americans’ experience serving in the U.S. military. The movie will be shown on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11 in Sierra Vista. Find more info and register.
Practice your super jump punch for a two-day Mario Super Smash Bros Ultimate tournament to benefit Arizona’s Children Association, the state’s longest-serving child welfare organization. Day 1 will be Saturday, Nov. 15 at Grand Canyon University and Day 2 will be at the Arizona Cardinals Stadium. Sign up for free but space is limited. Registration closes on Friday, Nov. 14.
Honor a loved one that has been affected by or learn about TCE water contamination on Tucson’s Southside by attending the Survival & Resistance opening reception and talk on Nov. 14 at Tucson MOCA. The free community event will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and includes food art and a conversation between journalist Jane Kaye and historian Lydia Otero.
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