Friday, April 3, 2020
WIC is a nutrition and breastfeeding program that providing food vouchers for selected items and breastfeeding support for low-income households and/or families temporarily out of work in The Old Pueblo.
“We’re here to help people meet the nutritional needs for their family,” said Jennifer Chancay, manager of the Pima County WIC Program. “This is a difficult and scary time for many people. If you’re in need, or suddenly have a change in your family’s financial situation, please call us. We often have same-day appointments, and can get you quickly on the path for some relief.”
Recently laid-off families with infants and children up to 5 years of age, as well as to women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or whose pregnancy ended fewer than 6 months ago are encouraged to apply.
To be eligible for WIC factors include:
-Receiving AHCCCS/SNAP benefits
-Earning less than 185 percent of poverty guidelines (i.e., a family of four earning up to $3,970/month)
-Fostering children
For more information about WIC, please call 520-724-7777 or 800-252- 5942 if outside of Pima County, or visit www.azwic.gov.
Tags: wic , community , needs , help , family , kids , children , Image
Especially with how beautiful it's been outside lately, the urge to go and experience it is strong. This is the perfect season to travel and experience the new, which is why Spring Break comes at a perfect time of year - usually.
Unfortunately, with the exception of the occasional outdoor walk in our yards or to an essential place, we're pretty much hunkered down in our homes, binging Tiger King and TikTok. Not going out and traveling only causes us to be bummed for a little while; for businesses and small communities, it can be devastating. The economic impact of tourism on communities and states can be huge.
Total direct travel spending in Arizona during 2016 was $21.2 billion according to a report done by the Arizona Office of Tourism. "Of that $21.2 billion, travel spending in the Tucson and Southern Arizona area accounted for $3.3 billion."
In this chart from the UArizona Eller College of Management, you can see where the recession in 2008 really had an effect on employment in the Accommodation sector, closely tied with tourism in the state. And now, just as tourism was beginning to bounce back, COVID-19 busts in like the Kool-Aid man to tell us to stay home.
We had a chat with Dan Janes, CEO of Madden Media - a Destination Marketing company located here in Tucson - to find out why the tourism market is suffering so badly, what it means for our town, and what it means for you.
Tags: travel , tourism , covid19 , coronavirus , madden , tucson , wanderlust , experiences , Image
Thursday, April 2, 2020
As much as we'd all love to believe that all of us are doing what we can to keep each other safe and well, there are those out there who don't care about anyone but themselves. Scummy scammers who take advantage of people's fear during times of chaos are some of the lowest in the barrel, but unfortunately, they're out there—pandemic or not.
Today the IRS has warned about scammers who trying to use the COVID-19 outbreak to scam people by tricking them about the upcoming government stimulus checks via various forms of communication, including texting, emails, websites, and social media to reach people who are vulnerable. Here's the deal: If someone calls you and asks you sign over your stimulus check, don't do it!
Here's the IRS release:
Tags: scam , irs , stimulus , economic , impact , payments , scammers , Image
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
• Pima County had 217 of the state's 1,431 confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services. A total of 29 people have died in Arizona from COVID-19, including 10 in Pima County.
• It's April 1 and the rent is due for local restaurants that have been hammered by the COVID-19 outbreak.
• The UA and Pima Association of Governments is accepting your ideas of how to build an inexpensive, sterile and portable COVID-19 testing booth.
• UA economics professor Price Fishback says with the federal relief package, at least workers will get a significant boost to their unemployment checks in Arizona, so there's some hope the economy will have a chance to bounce back after this outbreak ends.
• Via ProPublica: Taxpayers paid millions to design a low-cost ventilator in case of a pandemic and now the company is selling a version of it overseas; a major medical company just slashed benefits for doctors and nurses fighting the coronavirus.
• Some good news: The Community Foundation of Southern Arizona has grants available for local nonprofits; the Town of Marana is waiving late fees.
• How you can help: The Humane Society is asking you to donate pet food for hungry dogs, cats and other critters this weekend.
• The Loft Cinema is streaming cult classic Plan 9 From Outer Space tonight via YouTube.
Recapping the week:
In an effort to fill food bowls for those facing hardship, the Humane Society of Southern Arizona is hosting a pet food donation drive this Friday and Saturday. Donations go to the organization’s monthly distribution program.
If you’re looking to help out, donations of unopened food can be made from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4 at either the main campus (635 W. Roger Road) or the HSSA Thrift Store (5311 E. Speedway Blvd.)
Though the two facilities are accepting donations, the thrift store is closed during the pandemic, and the main campus is only open for appointments.
“At HSSA we are proud of the fact that we serve pets and the people who love them,” said HSSA CEO Steve Farley. “Now is the time for us to come together to help those in need. We hope you will join us in easing the burden of community members in crisis by keeping
their pets fed in the upcoming weeks.”
Aside from pet food donations, the Humane Society is also accepting monetary donations to help fund its operations. Donations can be made online at hssaz.org/donate.
Tags: humane society , hssa , donations , food , funding , covid19 , Image
The Pima Association of Governments' Regional Partnering Center is collaborating with the University of Arizona's Center for Innovation to launch an "innovation challenge" to design a safe testing booth for COVID-19 to be used at local hospitals. The innovation challenge is open to members of the community to quickly develop an outdoor medical consultation and testing booth for hospitals to safely triage patients for COVID-19 and conserve scarce medical protective equipment.
While UA and PAG have connections with researchers and developers, this public challenge was formed in order to cast “as wide a net as possible.”
“There’s a lot of value in the variance of approach that innovators use to solve problems,” said Eric Smith, executive director for the UA Center for Innovation. “Of course we have some of the top researchers in the world, but our community also has some true innovators—both individuals and companies—that are doing this daily in the marketplace. And I think a solution like this requires both trains of thought: the academic mindset and those in the community who have experience integrating products quickly.”
Proposals should address how the teams will develop their plans, specifications and plan to develop an operational manual for the safe infectious disease testing booths. The proposals will then be reviewed by a panel of developers in the industrial and engineering fields. The Regional Partnering Center will provide the winner with funding to help cover the cost of preparing the plans, specifications and manual.
The goal for these triage booths is to protect healthcare providers and address a lack of healthcare equipment. As the potential constructs are separate from the hospital, this would reduce the need for medical workers to change their protective equipment as often, simplify public COVID-19 testing and act similar to a cleanroom.
Nonprofits doing charitable work in Pima and Santa Cruz counties can now apply for grant funding from The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona’s COVID-19 relief funds, which launched last month.
The foundation unveiled the Community Support and Nonprofit Event Relief funds in an effort to shore up the finances of those hit hardest during the pandemic.
The community support fund provides grants ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 to nonprofits “serving Arizona’s most vulnerable,” and focuses on those providing basic human needs and access to healthcare.
The nonprofit event relief fund offers grants ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 to organizations that canceled fundraising efforts.
Major contributors to the funds include Tucson Electric Power, The David and Lura Lovell Foundation, South32, The Stocker Foundation, Thomas R. Brown Foundations, Vitalyst Health Foundation, and foundation donors.
“These uncertain times require a commitment to working together across sectors to address this crisis today and into the future,” said Community Foundation President and CEO Slint Marble, in a statement. “We offer our deep thanks and gratitude to the generous community donors, local foundations and corporations, and community partners who have truly stepped up to support our nonprofit community in Pima and Santa Cruz Counties."
Looking to apply for a grant? Go online to cfsaz.org or call (520) 770-0800.
Emergency room doctors and nurses many of whom are dealing with an onslaught of coronavirus patients and shortages of protective equipment — are now finding out that their compensation is getting cut.
Most ER providers in the U.S. work for staffing companies that have contracts with hospitals. Those staffing companies are losing revenue as hospitals postpone elective procedures and non-coronavirus patients avoid emergency rooms. Health insurers are processing claims more slowly as they adapt to a remote workforce.
“Despite the risks our providers are facing, and the great work being done by our teams, the economic challenges brought forth by COVID-19 have not spared our industry,” Steve Holtzclaw, the CEO of Alteon Health, one of the largest staffing companies, wrote in a memo to employees on Monday.
The town will not collect fees on late payments, returned checks, dog licensing and late license renewals.
The change in protocol was part of Mayor Ed Honea’s fourth amendment to his emergency proclamation, which began March 17 when the town initially asked businesses to adhere to common-sense practices like social distancing.
Honea’s fourth amendment follows Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s March 30 stay-home order and the federal government’s Coronavirus guidelines.
The Town of Marana has lifted its order closing bars, gyms, and other gathering places and the order for restaurants to shift to take-out and delivery options. Instead, Honea has asked businesses and residents to instead follow Ducey’s stay-home order.
Honea’s most recent proclamation also orders the closures of all town buildings, service counters, and lobbies to remain in place through at least April 30 (when the statewide order expires).
Tags: marana , covid19 , honea , proclamation , fees , waived , Image
Five years ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tried to plug a crucial hole in its preparations for a global pandemic, signing a $13.8 million contract with a Pennsylvania manufacturer to create a low-cost, portable, easy-to-use ventilator that could be stockpiled for emergencies.
This past September, with the design of the new Trilogy Evo Universal finally cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, HHS ordered 10,000 of the ventilators for the Strategic National Stockpile at a cost of $3,280 each.
But as the pandemic continues to spread across the globe, there is still not a single Trilogy Evo Universal in the stockpile.
Instead last summer, soon after the FDA’s approval, the Pennsylvania company that designed the device — a subsidiary of the Dutch appliance and technology giant Royal Philips N.V. — began selling two higher-priced commercial versions of the same ventilator around the world.
“We sell to whoever calls,” said a saleswoman at a small medical-supply company on Staten Island that bought 50 Trilogy Evo ventilators from Philips in early March and last week hiked its online price from $12,495 to $17,154. “We have hundreds of orders to fill. I think America didn’t take this seriously at first, and now everyone’s frantic.”
