Tuesday, June 15, 2021
WASHINGTON – After hitting a 40-year low in the pandemic year of 2020, national park visitors – and their dollars – are steadily returning, but they are still below pre-pandemic levels, according to new National Park Service data.
Park restrictions and outright closures in response to COVID-19 led the number of park visitors to fall from 327.5 million in 2019 to 237.1 million last year. At the same time, national park visitor spending plummeted, from $21 billion to $14.5 billion.
The same was true in Arizona where visitors to national parks went from 12.5 million in 2019 to 7.7 million during the pandemic, and spending – on everything from gas to groceries, from lodging to recreational activities – decreased from $1.3 billion to $712 million.
“Calendar year 2020 was far from normal,” said Steve Sullivan, the Grand Canyon permits program manager with the Backcountry Information Center.
But Sullivan said business started picking up in April 2021, and his office has already received more than 2,000 permit applications for September and October, nearly filling campsites.
“We still have a ton of people who want to come during summer,” Sullivan said, despite Arizona’s brutal summer hiking conditions.
Other businesses around the Grand Canyon were similarly optimistic. They said interest is high and they are confident that park tourism will soon be back to the previous levels.
John Dillon, executive director of the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association, said his 16 member companies saw revenues fall by $22 million when the park was closed in the first half of 2020. But he said those same businesses have been operating at full capacity since last June when COVID-19 restrictions eased.
Friday, June 11, 2021
Some local COVID vaccination sites are changing operating hours because of expected increasing temperatures.
Starting Saturday, the two sites - Rillito Race Track, 4502 N. 1st Avenue, and Curtis Park, 2110 W. Curtis Road - will operate 7 to 11 a.m. and 7 to 10 p.m.
The Tucson area is expected to reach temperatures higher than 105 degrees during the next several days and precautions are being taken to keep clients, workers and volunteers safe, according to a news release from Pima County.
Some area vaccination sites are still offering lottery tickets* as incentives for those who have not yet been vaccinated.
June 11
- *Coronado Elementary School, 3401 E. Wilds Road, 4-7 p.m.
June 12 - 14
- Rillito Race Track, 4502 N. First Ave., 7 – 11 a.m.; 7 - 10 p.m.
- Curtis Park, 2110 W. Curtis Road, 7 – 11 a.m.; 7 - 10 p.m.
June 12
- Our Lady of Fatima Church, 1950 Irvington Place, 8 a.m.-noon
June 13
- Sacred Heart Church, 601 E. Fort Lowell Rd., 8 a.m.-noon
- St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave., 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
June 14
- *Palo Verde High School, 1302 S. Avenida Vega, 2-7 p.m.
- Cienega High School, 12775 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way, Vail, 6:15 a.m.-noon
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- *El Pueblo Library, 101 W. Irvington Road, 4 – 8 p.m.
- Tucson Medical Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road (Morris K. Udall Center), 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Monday-Saturday
- *Kino Event Center, 2805 E. Ajo Way, 9 a.m.–7 p.m.
Monday-Friday
- Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., 8 a.m.–4 p.m.
- Tucson Mall — in the former Justice store, 2nd floor between Dillards and Sears, 4500 N. Oracle Road, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
- University of Arizona, Gittings, 1737 E. University, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Second doses only, Last day: June 25
Monday-Saturday
- State POD-University of Arizona, Indoors: Gittings, 1737 E. University Blvd., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. (closed May 29-31)
- Tuesday-Friday
- Tucson Mall — in the former Justice store, 2nd floor between Dillards and Sears, 4500 N. Oracle Road, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
*Incentives being offered to those getting first doses of vaccine.
The FEMA mobile units are scheduled to continue through June 26, although future locations are being moved to air-conditioned indoor buildings. Check pima.gov/covid19vaccine for updates on the FEMA units and all vaccination sites.
Thursday, June 3, 2021
Still haven't gotten your COVID vaccine? TMC hopes its vaccination party will convince you to finally get it done.
Tucson Medical Center and Pima County will host a free Vaccine Fiesta on Saturday for those 12 and older.
The party will offer entertainment, prizes, games and food for those who get their shots from 9 a.m. to noon at the Udall Park Vaccine Clinic, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road.
Walk-ins are welcome.
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Friday, May 28, 2021
WASHINGTON – An employment program for veterans that began in the days after 9/11 paid off last year when the COVID-19 pandemic rattled employment for vets in the state and across the country, an advocate told House lawmakers Wednesday.
“Communities in Arizona are no different than communities across the United States. We have seen the significant impact of the pandemic on service members, veterans and their families,” said Thomas Winkel, director of the Arizona Coalition for Military Families.
What is different in Arizona, Winkel said, is that public and private organizations have been working together for years now to establish “a robust and sustainable effort to assist veterans with securing meaningful employment.”
Winkel was part of a panel testifying at a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on veteran employment during the pandemic.
Like all other sectors, veteran unemployment rose sharply in 2020 – although it continued to be lower than jobless for the general population nationally. But witnesses said there is still room for improvement in government programs that are supposed to help soldiers transition from military to civilian life.
Chris Thorne, co-chair of the Military Affairs Advisory Council at the North San Diego Business Chamber, said employers are eager to hire vets, but that too often the transition process “does not adequately prepare transitioning service members for what comes next.”
“To put it quite simply, transitioning service members are walking into a foreign culture that speaks different languages, acts different ways and values different outcomes,” Thorne said in his written testimony. It’s not enough to merely identify a job that requires a skill set learned in the military, he said.
Thursday, May 27, 2021
If you get a COVID vaccination this weekend, you could win up to $10,000.
Pima County will give 100 lottery tickets at two vaccination sites from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. - May 29 at Westgate Shopping Center, 1785 W. Ajo Way, and May 31 at Pima Community College Desert Vista Campus, 5901 S. Calle Santa Cruz.
The 200 tickets, donated by The Arizona Lottery, have about a 1 in 4 chance of being winners, with a maximum prize of $10,000 and assorted smaller prizes.
Tickets will be given to the first 100 people age 21 and older getting the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or their first shot of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, which require two doses.
The University of Arizona's COVID-19 vaccination site will change its operating hours beginning Tuesday. The site will close for good on June 25.
UA campus vaccination site to change hours next week, close for good June 25
The new hours will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After June 6, the site will no longer offer first-dose shots.
Anyone 12 years old and older is eligible for a vaccine. Children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, but no identification is required for either person.
As of Thursday, 442,004 people, about 42%, have received at least one vaccine shot in Pima County. Nearly 378,000 are fully vaccinated.
If you still need to get vaccinated, here are other locations:
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
The return of live music has been a vague hope for more than a year, but downtown’s Fox Theatre now has a date: Thursday, Aug. 19, will see country band The Mavericks take the Fox stage and kick off its 2021/22 live performance season.
“This is a bit of a teaser of what is to come for the season ahead,” says Fox Theatre executive director Bonnie Schock. “It is certain to be a fantastic return of music and performance to downtown in the fall – with something for everyone. So, get ready for exceptional country, jazz, blues, folk and Americana, classic rock, comedy, personalities, lifelong learning, family, and film experiences once again."
Other planned shows include swing revivalists Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Saturday, Sept. 11; singer/songwriter Amy Grant on Sunday, Oct. 24; and Irish folk band Altan on Sunday, Nov. 21.
The Fox plans to announce next month a lineup of more than 50 shows booked through April, with tickets for the season available to the public starting Friday, June 18. Guests who purchase tickets to four or more shows in advance will receive a 10% discount.
For more information, visit foxtucson.com
Monday, May 24, 2021
Here are this week's vaccination sites in Pima County.
For more information, head to the Pima County COVID-19 information site.
If you know of other sites we've missed, please send an email to [email protected].
No appointment needed
Monday, May 23 - Tuesday, May 25
- COPE Community Services, 5401 E. 5th Street, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Park Place Mall, 5870 E. Broadway Blvd., East Parking lot (east of Park Place Drive), 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Monday, May 24
- Palo Verde High School, 1302 S. Avenida Vega, 2 - 7 p.m.
- Shalom Fellowship, 6045 E. 30th St., 3 - 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 27
- Antigone Books, 411 N. Fourth Ave., 6 - 9 p.m.
Thursday, May 27 - Saturday, May 29
- Pima Air & Space Museum, 6000 E. Valencia Road, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Westgate Shopping Center, Southeast corner of E. Ajo Way and S. Mission Road, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 29
- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Roman Catholic Church, 801 N. Grande Ave., 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 300 N. Tanque Verde Loop Road, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 30
- San Miguel High School/St. Monica Church, 6601 San Fernando Ave., 2 - 7 p.m.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- El Pueblo Center, 101 W. Irvington Road, 4 – 8 p.m. - Closing May 28
Monday-Saturday
- Kino Event Center, 2805 E. Ajo Way, 9 a.m.–7 p.m.
Monday-Friday
- Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., 8 a.m.–4 p.m.
- Tucson Medical Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road (Morris K. Udall Center), 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (open to 7 p.m. May 25, June 1)
- Tucson Mall — in former Justice store, 2nd floor between Dillards and Sears, 4500 N. Oracle Road, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Monday-Saturday
- State POD-University of Arizona, Indoors: Gittings, 1737 E. University Blvd., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. (closed May 29-31)
Appointment needed
Monday-Friday
- Tucson Mall, 4500 N. Oracle Road, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., Monday through Friday
Daily
- Foothills Mall — in former Old Navy store, 7401 N. La Cholla Blvd, noon-8 p.m.
The Arizona Department of Health Services is asking health care providers, especially pediatricians, to prioritize vaccinations over the fear of vaccine wastage.
ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ said they had heard that some providers may be fearful of opening a bottle to pull out a couple of doses when they may not have to use the other doses on the same day. She said while they continue to minimize waste, it should not be at the expense of vaccinating someone.
“In the beginning when vaccine was in very, very short supply and we had high demand, we were very, very careful about using every single dose of vaccine,” said Christ. “If you do have to open a vial to extract just a couple of doses, take that opportunity, get that individual vaccinated because we don't want any missed opportunities for our providers. And while we do want to minimize vaccine wastage, getting people vaccinated and preventing hospitalization and death is very important.”
The state hopes more providers will register to become COVID-19 vaccinators and receive COVID-19 vaccine. To order vaccine, providers would need to become pandemic vaccine providers through the state or a federal program.
As of May 17, eligible health providers can order all types of COVID-19 vaccine directly from the CDC, without an allocation from their local health department, said Christ.
Previously, eligible providers could order only Moderna. With eligible providers able to request an allocation of Pfizer they would be able to administer the vaccine to children 12 to 15. More information on Pima County vaccination spots.
Christ said they anticipated that about 385,000 Arizonans became eligible for Pfizer after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s approval of the FDA’s emergency use authorization of Pfizer for children 12 to 15.
