Wednesday, September 16, 2020
PHOENIX – Refugees living in Arizona are struggling to navigate the impacts of COVID-19. In response, nonprofit organizations boosted assistance programs after they noticed more refugees losing their jobs or having their hours cut. Families say they also are struggling with complicated government aid applications written in a language in which they may not be fluent.
There are 82,982 refugees in Arizona, according to the latest numbers by the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Refugees make up less than 1% of Arizona’s total population of 7.3 million.
WASHINGTON – Just more than two in five Arizona adults got a flu shot last year, a number state officials are desperate to improve on before the onset of both influenza and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this fall.
State officials late last month announced plans to increase Medicaid funding for flu shots, let some pharmacists administer the shots and make them available along with COVID-19 testing in an effort to head off a surge on hospitalizations from one or both of the viruses.
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Tucson Electric Power will continue to suspend service disconnections and late fees for nonpayment till the end of 2020 in an effort to help those affected by the pandemic.
The disconnection moratorium, approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission, was slated to end on Oct. 15.
“We know that many families and small businesses are facing financial hardships right now, so we want to be as flexible as we can to support them,” said TEP COO Susan Gray “We also want to help customers avoid falling too far behind on bills during this difficult period.”
TEP is creating payment plans for residential customers with overdue balances starting Oct. 15, to help avoid future service interruptions as the new year begins.
The electric company encourages customers with overdue balances to call 520-623-7711 for assistance with payment extensions or customer assistance programs.
Last March, TEP voluntarily suspended service disconnections to help alleviate financial hardships due to statewide closures in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Soon after, the Arizona Corporation Commission approved a moratorium on the disconnection of residential electric service from June 1 to Oct.15.
TEP serves more than 430,000 customers in Southern Arizona.
In Arizona, we've been voting by mail for more than a quarter century, with roughly eight out of 10 Arizonans embracing the convenience of early ballots in the 2016 presidential election.
Now the Democratic National Committee and Team Biden are expanding the Iwillvote.com website to help you better understand voting in Arizona (or whatever state you happen to be in). While the site previously allowed voters to check their registration status and find polling locations, it has been upgraded to guide voters to online resources to request an early ballot and provide other information about voting in Arizona.
“Voters have more options than ever to cast their ballots this year," said Biden for President Campaign Manager Jen O’Malley Dillon. "IWillVote.com is a one-stop shop for voters to get information on flexible ways they can vote, and directly submit ballot requests to their local County Board of Elections. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can’t do it alone. We are building an unprecedented effort to ensure that voters can make a plan now to vote.”
With 695 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases closed in on 210,000 as of Wednesday, Sept. 16, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 22,887 of the state’s 209,907 confirmed cases.
A total of 5,371 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 602 deaths in Pima County, according to the Sept. 16 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases continues to decline from July peaks. ADHS reported that as of Sept. 15, 538 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state. The number of hospitalized COVID patients peaked at 3,517 on July 13.
A total of 915 people visited emergency rooms on Sept. 15 with COVID symptoms, the highest that number has been since Sept. 2, when 924 people visited ERs. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 135 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Sept. 15. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,396 cases, according to a Sept. 11 report from the Pima County Health Department. While a vocal minority continues to insist that masks do no good, the spread of the virus began to decline within weeks of Pima County’s mask mandate, as more people began wearing them in public, although the level of new cases has essentially plateaued in recent weeks rather than continuing to drop. For the week ending Aug. 22, the number of new cases dropped to 528; for the week ending Aug. 29, 514 new cases were reported; and for the week ending Sept. 5, a total of 527 cases were reported. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 55 in the week ending July 4 to 19 for the week ending Aug. 15, 13 for the week ending Aug. 22 and nine in the week ending Aug. 29. (As above, these numbers are subject to revision as recent deaths may not have been reported.)
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 239 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals. For the week ending Aug. 29, 36 COVID patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals and in the week ending Sept. 5, 21 patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals. (Numbers are subject to revision.)
Get a Flu Shot
The Arizona Department of Health Services is implementing an aggressive plan of action during this flu season by distributing free flu shots vaccination to all Arizonans through doctor’s offices, pharmacies, local health departments and community healthcare centers statewide.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
TMY 2020 includes food to-go, pre-recorded performances, a folk arts marketplace, as well as online conversations and demonstrations. The festival still aims to represent the diversity of Tucson, including more than 50 folk artists, dancers, musicians, and food producers representing nearly 30 countries and regions.
“We will miss the social chemistry born out of density in the civic center of Tucson, the social metabolism that happens when cultures bump into each other and ‘meet.’ But it is still an affirmation of sense of place for dozens of ethnic heritage artists and enclaves that make up Tucson. We are here and we are your neighbor,” says festival program director Maribel Alvarez.
This year's festival will include six "program tracks" in multiple locations around town:
- Cruise for Healing: Saturday, Oct. 3, starting at 5 p.m. Led by the Dukes Car Club, this organized 19-mile cruise around Tucson celebrates the legacy of lowrider cars. Community members are encouraged to join in or watch along the route with signs of encouragement. The route begins and ends at Rodeo Park, 5001 S. Nogales Highway.
- “Tucson Eat Yourself,” pop-up food-to-go stands: Saturdays and Sundays for three weekends in October, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 10 & 11 pop-ups take place at Mercado San Agustin (125 South Avenida del Convento). Oct. 17 & 18 pop-ups at Café Santa Rosa (2615 S. 6th Ave.). Oct. 24 & 25 pop-ups at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 1145 E. Fort Lowell Road.
- Lit Up: Traditional Artists on Public Walls: Fridays in October, Dusk - 10 p.m. Locations to be decided. Video projections of traditional dancers and manual artists including Japanese traditional dancers, Polish folk dancing, Henna artists and more.
- TMY Virtual: Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays in October, at various times on TMY's Facebook and YouTube pages. These online events include demonstrations and discussions of Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui people, Japanese dance and drumming forms, capoeira, Celtic traditions, local sites of food production, and more.
- Folk Arts Online Marketplace: Every day in October. This pilot marketplace features the work of eight folk artists sharing works of material culture distinctive to the southwest. Artists receive 100 percent of the sales revenue.
- Drive-in Concert: Friday, Oct. 30, 6:30-8 p.m. & 8:30-10 p.m. Location: 1055 W. Grant Road. Pascua Yaqui performer Gabriel Ayala closes the 2020 festival with an on-screen and drive-in concert, with an opening act from Yellow Bird Indian Dancers. Suggested donation: $10
The storage shed of Putney’s Pitstop Sports Bar and Grill, located at 6090 N Oracle Rd, was set ablaze in a suspected arson fire in the early hours of Tuesday.
Owner Fernando Gomez said his security cameras show a male wearing a black hood and COVID mask pouring gasoline on the business’ storage-shed and then placing two Duralogs under the wooden fence surrounding the bar's patio. A quick flick of the wrist ignited a match and the structure went up in flames.
Gomez suspects the arson’s motive is due to their COVID mask requirement as directed by the state for reopening during the pandemic.
“With requiring people to wear masks, we’ve been having to turn away a lot of people. We always tell them we’re trying to stay open. If we don’t comply, we’ll be shut down,” Gomez said. “We even give out free masks if they don’t have one. But a lot of people start talking shit to us or our staff.”
Only the storage-shed and an exterior wall enclosing the establishment’s patio was scorched. While the official tally of damages has yet to be determined, Gomez estimates around $15,000-$20,000 in damages was caused by the blaze.
“We’ve only been open two weeks and now this shit happens,” Gomez said. “But the bar wasn’t hurt at all, thank God,” Gomez said. “The main thing that got destroyed was our tables and chairs we had pulled out of the place to follow occupancy guidelines.”
The fire started at 3:36 a.m., according to Putney’s exterior security cameras. Local firefighters were on the scene within four minutes, helping reduce the amount of damage to the bar itself. Police were called to the scene and found what they believe to be the suspect’s COVID mask which might be able to provide clues to who started the fire.
“(Police) can get DNA from that mask. If that person’s DNA is in the database, (police) are going to catch them,” Gomez said. “They did say they had a strong lead. I really hope they catch this asshole.”
Putney's will still open for business during clean-up efforts by staff and management.
The Pima County Health Department today announced recommendations for how to safely enjoy Halloween during COVID-19. They continue to advise against large gatherings in favor of drive-thru events and maintained social distancing. PCHD is also getting creative, stating how wearing facemasks can even be incorporated into your Halloween costume.
Instead of attending Halloween carnivals or door-to-door trick-or-treating, PCHD recommends:
- Online parties/contests such as costume or pumpkin carving
- Car parades that comply with public health guidance for vehicle-based parades. Consider drive-by events or contests where individuals dress up or decorate their vehicles and drive-by “judges” who are appropriately physically distanced. Or do drive-through events where kids remain in vehicles and drive through an area with Halloween displays. Or do drive-in events where individuals can receive a treat bag—limited to commercially packaged, non-perishable treats—or a take-away item from an organizer with appropriate PPE while the participants remain in their vehicle.
- Halloween movie nights at drive-in theaters, which must comply with the public health drive-in movie theater guidance.
- Halloween-themed meals at outdoor restaurants that comply with the restaurant protocol.
- Dressing up homes and yards with Halloween-themed decorations.
