PHOENIX – Phoenix police released partial video Monday of the fatal shooting by officers this weekend of a man in Maryvale, but that did little to satisfy activists who are pressing for more footage to be released to the public.

“We want the full video to be released. Every single video. There were multiple police officers there,” said Viri Hernandez, executive director of Poder in Action, which organized a vigil Monday night. “We want the 911 call in its entirety because we want the family to be able to see that before it’s released to the media.”

Police said Monday afternoon that they were releasing what they could related to the “high-interest case” but that releasing too much now – including video from body cameras worn by the officers who opened fire – “could compromise the investigation.”

In a statement Monday, the department said officers were responding to a 911 call Saturday afternoon from a man who said he had been stabbed the previous week by a man who was back in the neighborhood with a knife and threatening him again. When officers arrived, the caller told them there was a man with a knife and a man with a gun, and directed them to a driveway near 56th Ave and Glenrosa.

Police said they found a man – who has been identified by advocates as James “Jay” Garcia – sitting in a parked car in the driveway. Officers surrounded the car and talked to the man for “approximately 10 minutes” asking him to get out, according to the statement, but he refused, rolling up his windows instead and displaying a handgun.

Although the downtown theatre hasn’t hosted a live performance in months, the Fox Board of Directors has officially decided to suspend programming through December 2020 due to the continued impacts of COVID-19. As of now, scheduled events in 2021 are expected to go forward.

According to a release from the Fox, their Paycheck Protection Program funds are now exhausted, and the theatre is further reducing staff to only four full-time employees – down roughly 40 before the pandemic.

"Such deep staffing reductions are particularly hard because it is people that make the place," said Fox Theatre executive director Bonnie Schock. "The people of Tucson chose to rebuild The Fox 20 years ago. Our dedicated Board, enthusiastic patrons, generous volunteers and tenacious staff have carried that mantle forward. Honestly, it is devastating to see our team disperse. These talented individuals are to be recognized and thanked for all they have done to make The Fox what it is and to advance what it can and will be.”

The Board of Directors also issued the following message: With theatres are closing forever across the nation, employing these strategies now are imperative in ensuring that The Fox has the best possible chance of a strong reopening in the future. The experience of gathering together is central to live performance and the road to recovery for performing arts venues is not a simple V shape. The physical distancing strategies key to fighting the spread of COVID-19 make presenting events at The Fox financially unviable in the coming months.

If you'd like to still support the Fox Theatre, they are hosting two fundraising opportunities on their website:

The Fox Forward: Look to the Future Relief Campaign

Or, apply for a Fox Theatre Membership.

It seemed as if we were getting a little gift when Disney announced it was sending Artemis Fowl directly to its streaming service: A big-budget, Kenneth Branagh-directed adventure was coming directly into living rooms, because most theaters are closed. What a treat, right?

No. As it turns out, the film is awful.

You’ll realize within five minutes of viewing that this thing stood zero chance of captivating folks in movie theaters. It would’ve just pissed them off and sent them home grouchy. So this was actually a blessing for Disney: It’s better to just let people be grouchy in the comfort of their own homes, saving them gas and concessions money.

The movie, about the titular child protégé (Ferdia Shaw) trying to solve a mystery surrounding his dad (Colin Farrell), makes zero sense from beginning to end. You know Branagh has a mess on his hands when he employs the narrator angle—having a character (a raspy-voiced Josh Gad, with his part filmed in black and white) staring into the camera and explaining everything as the movie plays out. It comes off as a lame attempt to fix a crap movie with re-shoots.

Not only is the storytelling poorly handled; the movie doesn’t even look good. The special effects are bad, and the costuming is strange—there are fairies in this movie that look sort of like Willem DaFoe’s Green Goblin from Spider-Man. The editing is haphazard, too.

Judi Dench plays some sort of boss of the fairies, and she also employs a raspy delivery. Dench seems to be a harbinger of bad things now: This is her cinematic follow up to Cats, meaning she has the distinction of being in one of the year’s worst movies for two years in a row.

Branagh usually puts together a good film, and his chance to do big-budget fantasy seemed like it would lead to great things. Instead, this fiasco leaves a big, nasty mark on Disney+ and Branagh. It’s easily the worst thing he’s ever done behind the camera, and there’s no chance for a franchise here—this is a one-and-done affair.

Artemis Fowl is now streaming on Disney+.

The national non-profit organization Solar United Neighbors has launched a local solar co-op, with aims of getting panels for homeowners and businesses in the City of Tucson.

According to Bret Fanshaw, Arizona program director for SUN, a solar co-op is a group of households in a geographic area who are planning to go solar around the same time. Through the group, members will be able to educate themselves about solar and can see the different types of panels they may be eligible for based on their roof space.

So far, SUN has hosted a series of webinars where local co-op members can view a presentation on the goals of the co-op and information about solar. The webinars included explanations on how solar panels work, how they attach to homes, and how ownership can reduce TEP bills. The next SUN webinar will be hosted on July 21 on Zoom.

The co-op is currently seeking to hit its 100-member goal. The co-op then decides on a certain installation company and approaches it for a group price.

“We send solar installation companies a request for proposal, where they can bid on the group by describing their pricing, warranties, equipment, and many other details,” Fanshaw said. “Co-op members review the bids and choose one company.”

Just ICYMI, here are the stories we covered today.

• The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona rose past 87,000 as of Thursday, July 2, after the state reported 3,333 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
• The almighty Loft Cinema continues its series of streaming films this week with 6 new offerings starting July 3: three documentaries, the directorial debut of actor Bill Duke, a raving comedy and an award winning film from South Korea.
• As Arizona broke records Wednesday for new COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in a single day, Vice President Mike Pence flew in to assure Gov. Doug Ducey that the federal government “will spare no expense” in helping the state.
• The monsoon may be the next major player in the Bighorn Fire story. The 118,000-acre fire is now more than half contained after burning across the Catalina Mountains for nearly a month.
• Tommy Fisher billed his new privately funded border wall as the future of deterrence, a quick-to-build steel fortress that spans 3 miles in one of the busiest Border Patrol sectors.
• There’s often not much agreement on news out of Washington, but Arizona business leaders were hard-pressed this week to come up with negatives about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that took effect Wednesday.
• Jaylon Sesay—a.k.a. Prospect Jay—and the Sho Ryders Motorcycle Club are distributing water bottles to Tucson's homeless at several different locations around the Old Pueblo on Sunday, July 5.

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Click here to read their biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

This article is co-published with The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan local newsroom that informs and engages with Texans.

Tommy Fisher billed his new privately funded border wall as the future of deterrence, a quick-to-build steel fortress that spans 3 miles in one of the busiest Border Patrol sectors.

Unlike a generation of wall builders before him, he said he figured out how to build a structure directly on the banks of the Rio Grande, a risky but potentially game-changing step when it came to the nation’s border wall system.

Fisher has leveraged his self-described “Lamborghini” of walls to win more than $1.7 billion worth of federal contracts in Arizona.

But his showcase piece is showing signs of runoff erosion and, if it’s not fixed, could be in danger of falling into the Rio Grande, according to engineers and hydrologists who reviewed photos of the wall for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. It never should have been built so close to the river, they say.

PHOENIX – As Arizona broke records Wednesday for new COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in a single day, Vice President Mike Pence flew in to assure Gov. Doug Ducey that the federal government “will spare no expense” in helping the state.

Pence’s trip originally included a visit to Tucson and a rally with supporters, but those events were canceled as the vice president continues to tour states hard hit by COVID-19, including Texas last weekend and a trip to Florida on Thursday.

“We say to the people of Arizona, we are with you and we are going to make sure that Arizona has whatever it takes to meet this moment, to slow the spread and flatten the curve to save lives,” Pence told reporters, standing on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

On Wednesday, July 1, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported a record 4,878 new cases of COVID-19 and 88 deaths in the state, bringing total deaths to 1,720. It said 20,151 tests for COVID-19 have been completed in public and private labs in Arizona, and 24.2% of tests have come back positive for the virus that causes the disease.

Pence, in response to calls for more health care workers to relieve those now on the front lines, said he has instructed Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to send 500 medical personnel to the state, in addition to 62 workers sent to Tucson earlier this week.

“Help is on the way,” Pence said. “We are going to spare no expense to provide the kind of reinforcements that you will need to all across this state should this coronavirus continue to expand in Arizona.”

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona rose past 87,000 as of Thursday, July 2, after the state reported 3,333 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had seen 8,577 of the state's 87,425 confirmed cases.

A total of 1,757 people have died after contracting the virus.

Maricopa County has more than half the state's cases, with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases hitting 54,757.

This morning's Arizona Department of Health Services report shows that as of yesterday, 2,938 Arizonans were hospitalized, more than double the 1,009 hospitalized on June 1.

A total of 1,371 people arrived at emergency rooms with COVID-like symptoms on June 30.

A total of 723 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday.

As COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket, Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday ordered the closing of some bars and all gyms, movie theaters, water parks, and river tubing activities for at least one month.

Ducey also said Arizona would delay the start of the school year by two weeks to Aug. 17.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman did not join Ducey for the press conference but released a separate statement.

"What Arizona's numbers will look like by Aug. 17 remains unclear," Hoffman said. "But one thing is for certain: If efforts are not taken across the entire state to curb the spread of this virus, our schools will only continue to face complications in reopening their facilities."

In a Tuesday interview with KTAR radio host Mike Broomhead, Hoffman added that schools should be prepared to launch their online programs as soon as possible.

“We are encouraging schools to start their distance learning programs, or their online learning programs, as soon as they are ready to in terms of when their academic year was scheduled to start,” Hoffman said. “If you asked me a month ago or even two weeks ago I would have said plan for schools to be open and now the circumstances have changed so drastically in such a short period. I would say this has been highly unpredictable.”

Ducey warned that Arizonans will see more cases of COVID-19 before the numbers begin to decrease.

“Our expectation is, our numbers will be worse,” said Ducey, who repeated his call for Arizonans to mask up when in public, stay home as much as possible, wash their hands and keep a physical distance from others.

The Department of Health has also activated its “crisis standards of care” and asked hospitals to cancel non-emergency surgeries as more COVID patients fill hospitals, ICU beds, and emergency rooms.

Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik said Ducey's decision was overdue but the right one.

"Our health care workers are exhausted," Kozachik said. "Our health care system is under stress. Families are separated at some of the most emotional and sensitive times of their lives."

Banner Health Chief Clinical Officer Marjorie Bessel announced over the weekend that the hospital network, which treats about half of Arizona's hospitalized COVID patients, was reaching its limit as it activated its surge plan and balanced its load of patients among its facilities. Banner is calling in additional health care workers from around the country.

"We are absolutely experiencing a surge of COVID-19 patients that are coming in for care, and we are starting to get full," she said. "We do have plans, however, to continue to increase our capacity so that we can meet the demand of the communities and all the people that we serve in there. But we do ask everybody to follow all the things that we can do to try and reduce the curve of spread."

Happy July, Everyone! Hope you're staying cool in this Summer heat. Here are the stories we covered today, ICYMI.

• The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona crossed 84,000 as of Wednesday, July 1, after the state reported 4,878 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
• Take a break from the quarantine blues and head up to Oro Valley to enjoy some live music in a fun, safe, and family-friendly environment at the Gaslight Music Hall.
• During their July 1 morning update, fire crews announced that the Bighorn Fire, which for weeks has burned across the Santa Catalina Mountains, is more than 50 percent contained.
• A handful of Arizona officials have joined 80 House Democrats and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in demanding that the Trump administration “safely and swiftly” release children and adults held in immigration detention centers due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• It’s been almost 10 years since Republicans, riding the Tea Party wave, took control of the House of Representatives and started hacking at the IRS’ enforcement budget. Down it went, some years the cuts were steep, some not, as Republican lawmakers laughed off dire warnings about the consequences of letting tax cheats run free.
• In response to demands from a coalition of more than 1,400 faculty, staff and students at the University of Arizona, President Dr. Robert Robbins announced via email that he would halt their planned furloughs until August.
• The number of new COVID-19 cases on the Navajo Nation is on a downward trend, but tribal leaders said Tuesday that does not mean they are ready to ease up on health restrictions.
• Dust storms in Arizona can blow up suddenly, and the patch of desert between Eloy and Picacho Peak is especially prone to wind-driven dust.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks announced their 60-man roster for their upcoming summer training camp Monday, but the biggest news was which player on that list would not be joining the team.
• Smart and Safe Arizona, the citizens' initiative to legalize recreational marijuana filed 420,000 signatures with the Arizona Secretary of State's Office on July 1 to ensure its place on the upcoming Nov. 4 ballot.