Tucson Local Media announced today that the newspaper group was being acquired by Times Media Group of Phoenix. Terms were not disclosed.

Tucson Local Media, which has been owned by 13th Street Communications, will continue to publish its six Pima County newspapers: Tucson Weekly, Explorer, Marana News, Foothills News, Desert Times and Inside Tucson Business.

Times Media Group President and Publisher Steve Strickbine said he was excited by the opportunity to enter the Tucson market and “continue to provide community news.”

Strickbine first entered the newspaper business when he launched the Scottsdale Times in 1998 and has grown his company to include more than a dozen weekly newspapers in the Phoenix and Southern California markets.

Strickbine said he did not foresee big changes with the newspapers.

“I’d like to see the papers continue to do what they are doing and doing well,” Strickbine said. “I’m very excited about the future and the future of us together. I think we’re definitely stronger together.”

Times Media Group will assume ownership as of April 30.

Pima County officials were scheduled to meet with Arizona Department of Health Services and FEMA to discuss contract terms of Pima County's federal POD today, according to an April 16 memo from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.

“What the contract does is basically delegate all authority to Pima County, so Pima County would be responsible for the operations, the set up, the tear down of that and give them the authority to work directly with FEMA,” said ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ in a briefing Friday.

In the April 13 memo, Huckelberry said they are in the process of reviewing the requirements for the community vaccination center (CVC), but that “some terms and conditions appear to be particularly draconian.”

Under the agreement released by the county on April 13, the state makes clear “neither the State nor any agency thereof, shall have any responsibilities, obligations, or liability pertaining to any CVC to be developed, organized, and operated in Pima County.” The state also requires the county to provide FEMA with a plan for a registration system (which the county will be solely responsible for creating) before opening the federal POD for vaccine registrations and “that system shall not utilize any similar system created or utilized by the State.”

Christ said the state does not have the resources as they open two new sites in Arizona—the Westworld location in Scottsdale and the Northern Arizona University site—to allow the county to utilize their vaccination system.

“The onboarding and the deployment of that for a State POD site is a significant workload on the department,” said Christ. She also noted the onboarding and maintenance concerns were listed in their March 26 letter to FEMA, where the state announced they would allow the federal POD in Pima County, if their requirements were met.

The contract, like the March 26 letter, placed sole responsibility on Pima County for staffing, resources, and funding and indicated the county could not ask the State for help.

WASHINGTON – Indian Country infrastructure needs, for everything from water to housing to broadband, are a high priority of the Biden administration’s $2.2 trillion American Jobs Plan, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said this week.

Buttigieg, in a call with reporters Monday to discuss the plan, said the need to improve 20th-century infrastructure on the lands of the 574 federally recognized tribes has been ignored by the federal government for years.

“A lot of parts of Indian country have been on the short end of … infrastructure investment maintenance, over the years,” Buttigieg said.

The American Jobs Plan is President Joe Biden’s $2.2 trillion plan to transform the nation’s infrastructure. Along with the American Rescue Plan, which aimed to help Native Americans recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration intends for the American Jobs Plan to help solve the tribes’ growing infrastructural needs.

“When we talk about equity, we’re thinking a lot about racial and economic justice,”
Buttigieg said of the plan. “But we’re also thinking about stretches of this country that have too often been left out of the promises of this kind of great infrastructure.”

For Native American communities, those needs include critical water infrastructure, internet broadband, housing, transportation, tribal colleges and universities and roads, Buttigieg said.

Broadband was among the top priorities for tribes with the American Rescue Plan, which funding to come from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Many families did not have access to the internet throughout the pandemic, making it difficult for their students to attend distance learning classes.

Biden’s infrastructure plan aims to provide 100% broadband coverage across rural and tribal communities.

Pima County courts resumed jury trials this week after nearly a year-long hiatus, announced county officials Thursday.

“We’re excited to end the moratorium on jury trials in Pima County,” said Presiding Judge Kyle A. Bryson, citing a decrease in COVID-19 cases and an increased availability of the vaccine.

With new COVID-19 protocols, the courts are ready to welcome back jurors. Jurors will be seated throughout the courtroom with a wide use of plexiglass, and given a trial package with a notepad, mask and hand sanitizer.

“We remain devoted to the principle of maintaining a safe environment for court users and staff while providing access to justice for the citizens of Pima County,” said Bryson. “Like litigants, attorneys, victims, and defendants, we have keenly awaited the time that trials can proceed while still protecting the health and safety of all who enter our court buildings.”

Potential jurors will receive questionnaires in advance that may be submitted online or through the mail. They will also have the opportunity to complete a separate form to address any COVID-19 related concerns.

The courts are not requiring vaccination or asking about a community member’s vaccination status, but those visiting the courthouses will be asked to wear a mask, have their temperatures checked, and follow social distancing guidelines.

For information about jury service in Pima County visit https://www.sc.pima.gov/jurors/ or call 520.724.4222.

Peggy Noonan, an Arizona cannabis pioneer, died on April 10. She was 73.

Copia Infusions announced Noonan's passing after a four-year battle with leukemia.

“Peggy was a pioneer in life, as in with business, and was one of the early trailblazers in the Arizona medical marijuana industry," said a Copia press release. "For nearly the past 10 years, Peggy put her extraordinary energies and talents into building business enterprises that have bloomed into Copia, an industry leader in infused products with the first scratch made cannabis kitchen in Arizona and with leading products, like OGeez!”

Noonan's son, Bran Noonan, will take over her work at Copia.

“For those who knew my mother, it goes without saying that she loved this company and the Arizona community, and bringing the passion she put into the company to others,” Bran Noonan said. “My mother possessed an unmatched entrepreneurial spirt, and as the company moves through 2021 and beyond, we will do so in her honor and by continuing to build upon her legacy.”

Noonan started her career in cannabis right out of college, “at a time that was all about bringing peace and love to the world, while striving for a higher consciousness in making a difference,” according to Noonan's bio on the Copia website.

In 2013, her passion for cannabis infusion was re-ignited with the launch of the Arizona Medical Marijuana program. In late 2017, Noonan was diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukemia and fought the disease with several of her own products, particularly Copia’s homeopathic cannabis tincture oil.

During her fight, she continued researching ways to make products even healthier while maintaining mainstream taste. After a journey through traditional and cannabis medical treatments, Noonan announced in 2018 that she was cancer-free. She was again diagnosed with Leukemia in late 2019 and succumbed to the disease early this month.

After being involved in the industry for 40 years, she was a believer in the need for education, standardized testing and proper dosing. She held regular training sessions with staff members at dispensaries and cannabis education schools, teaching aspiring professionals about proper dosing and how medical marijuana can better serve patients.

Noonan was also on the Labeling and Packaging Committee with the Arizona State Department of Health Services for best practices in dosage and safety labeling and packaging.

A native New Yorker, Noonan graduated from Arizona State University and Parsons School of Design. She spent time as an interior designer, developer and general contractor in New York before moving to Arizona. Noonan also owned Reliance Commercial Construction Inc., which specializes in MMJ dispensaries, cannabis production facilities, and cultivation sites, with a specialty in food services and restaurants.

Information for this report was taken from Peggy Noonan's bio on azcopia.com.

Area highs school seniors can earn $3,500 scholarships to help pay for higher education, thanks to Cox.

The 10 Cox Diversity Scholarships, totaled at $35,000, are available to "future Arizona leaders with rich cultural backgrounds," according to a news release. Applications can be found here. The deadline is May 1. 

“Helping students achieve their educational goals helps make our communities stronger. Cox knows that paying for college can be stressful for students and their family. We’re proud to connect families to opportunities like this one, and many others,” said Lisa Lovallo, Market Vice President for Cox, Southern Arizona.

Applicants must be on track to graduate with a minimum 2.5 grade point average and provide demonstrated leadership and community service.

For 2021, the tax deadline for individuals was extended to May 17. This list highlights the most common tax forms and which ones you might need, depending on your circumstances.

Over the years, the IRS has created a vast network of forms. To file your taxes, you’ve got to navigate a lot of paperwork. Get a regular salary? There’s a form for that. Unemployment benefits? There’s a form for that, too. Social Security? You get the idea.

Why Is It Important to Understand Tax Forms?

Nowadays, most people file their taxes using websites or other products that do the work of figuring out which forms you need to file and filling them out. But it’s not always cheap. Many of those services and software — like TuroTax or H&R Block — charge users depending on which forms they need to use.

For 2020 tax filings (the ones due on May 17, 2021), anyone who made less than $72,000 a year is able to file for free as part of the IRS Free File program. Companies including Intuit, which makes TurboTax, H&R Block and others spent millions lobbying to bar the IRS from making its own free filing option while promising to create their own free products. But then, as ProPublica reported, they systematically undermined the truly free options by hiding search results and calling their products “free” even though for many, they’re anything but.

If you haven’t filed yet, we recommend checking out our guide to filing your state and federal taxes completely for free, looking to see if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or learning how to track your refund. Though the IRS offers the option of paper filing, with the current COVID-19 state of affairs — and a massive backlog of paper returns and documents — the agency is encouraging taxpayers to file electronically to ensure prompt payment of refunds and avoid filing errors. Most paid and free tax prep services will tell you which forms you need to file, but if you’re still confused, see below for a list of the most commonly used tax forms.

Where Can I Get Tax Forms?

The IRS keeps all of its forms in a database online that offers each form in several languages, and it has a page that specifically highlights the most common forms filers use during tax season. These pages include the forms themselves and documents that instruct users on how to use them.

Which Tax Forms Do I Need?

Everybody’s tax situation is unique and might require different forms. The list below will explain what the most common forms are for and whom they might serve best.

The Kino COVID-19 vaccination drive-through site will shut down permanently after delivering its last doses on May 14, due to hot weather, Pima County officials announced on Tuesday.

The site at Kino Stadium managed by Banner – University Medicine will begin and end earlier starting on April 17. The new hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, in order to keep people out of the heat. After April 17, the site will be administering only second doses. Patients will be notified by Banner directly if their appointment times need to change due to the shift.

"We're grateful to Banner for their collaboration with Pima County in getting so many shots in arms quickly and efficiently," said Pima County Health Director Dr. Theresa Cullen. "The County exceeded its early vaccination goals and has worked with partners to expand indoor operations and keep the momentum going."

In preparation for the shift, on April 12, the county opened an indoor facility at Kino Event Center on the northside of Ajo Way. First- and second-dose appointments can be made at podvaccine.azdhs.gov.

Banner has administered more than 140,000 doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines within Pima County since December 2020.

“It has been our pleasure to partner with Pima County on this very important effort,” said Sara Frost, chief executive officer of Banner – University Medical Center Tucson and South. “We will provide ongoing support to the health department as they continue their vaccination efforts in Pima County, and we hope all community residents will choose to get the vaccine when it is your turn.”

For vaccine information and registration options in Pima County, go to www.pima.gov/covid19vaccine.