Friday, September 18, 2020
PHOENIX – Arizona has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 in young people in the nation – driven in part, experts say, by a large population of children of color, who are more likely to have underlying health conditions that make them susceptible to the disease.
As of Sept. 10, youth made up 10% of cumulative COVID-19 cases in the U.S. but 12.7% of Arizona cases, according to the most recent report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
The state’s rate of 1,426.5 cases per 100,000 youth was the third-highest among 48 states reporting, behind Tennessee and South Carolina.
The Tucson Botanical Gardens has opened a Dia de los Muertos-themed exhibit after COVID-19 forced them to close their doors in March. “La Calavera Catrina'' decorates midtown with nine-foot-tall depictions of Mexican cultural figures as joyful skeletal sculptures. The works are created by Los Angeles-based artist Ricardo Soltero, but the La Catrina figure is rooted in the satirical eye of illustrator Jose Guadalupe Posada towards his early 20th century Mexican society.
Posada found himself growing angry at seeing his fellow Mexicans go beyond merely adopting French fashion to literally making their skin appear whiter than their natural tone by using powders.
“Jose Guadalupe Posada got tired of it,” Soltero said. “At the end of the day, we are all of real hard bones, no matter the color of our skin.”
This is the first time the exhibit, organized by the Denver Botanic Gardens, is on display outside of Denver.
This idea of a common humanity across cultures is a major reason Soltero thinks the influence of the Day of The Dead has grown in recent decades, and is a source of great pride that people globally have embraced the holiday. Additionally “La Calavera Catrina” offers visitors an opportunity to see the gardens showcased in a way never before seen, according to botanical gardens spokesperson Rob Elias.
“We’ve added just a tremendous amount of lighting,” he said. “They're going to be in a range of colors that fit thematically ... We're going with a lot of oranges and purples and reds and yellows and blues. It's gonna be quite stunning.”
The Tucson Botanical Gardens closed on March 17 because of pandemic restrictions, drying up 70 percent of the gardens' income from lost ticket sales, gift shop sales and special events, according to executive director Michelle Conklin. However, the gardens were kept fiscally solvent during the closure from several sources.
“We had we had to make up a significant portion of our budget,” Conklin said. “Between donations from individuals, the Family Foundation and we were fortunate to receive a PPP loan and EIDL as well.”
Changes instituted by the gardens to slow the spread of COVID-19 include rerouting how guests walk through the gardens to accommodate social distancing, turning some walkways into one-way travel.
“Now the gift shop is an exit-only, and the entrance is around the corner where we've built a brand new admissions building on the northern part of our property,” Elias said.
With the COVID-19 closure and visitors cut off from the gardens, Elias said that Tucson Botanical Gardens like many other organizations has placed a greater emphasis on digital outreach by adding the largest number of online classes the gardens has ever had. Regular garden programing such as docent tours and children’s storying telling can now be found online while art and wellness classes for adults.
“We've had a phenomenal chef that we've been working with and she's been making all kinds of delicious food and we're actually going to be rolling out this week our class schedule for the fall,” Elias said.
Visitors need to plan ahead to experience the exhibit because the gardens have moved to a reservation system as a COVID-19 precaution. Guests select the number of tickets and a two hour block of visiting time during the day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The gardens will also be opening during evening hours Thursday through Sunday in hour and a half time slots from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Additionally the gardens will have another exhibit “Bird Houses & Nests” opening on Sept. 26 through Jan. 3. The organization SculptureTucson will feature 13 original art pieces from 13 local artists. The exhibit is centered around the theme of birds and nesting conveyed with large-scale sculptures in the gardens, the pieces themselves were built with the Tucson Botanical Gardens in mind.
For more information, visit tucsonbotanical.org
Want to go enjoy a movie sitting under the stars? Visit here to get the details.
As for your streaming options, well, here they are:
Blackbird
Oscar-winners Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet star in this touching family drama from Notting Hill director Roger Michell.
There are few things in life more satisfying than a nice craft brew while waiting to get a haircut.
The people behind Borderlands Brewing Company understand this notion.
In an effort to treat the community to this thin slice of heaven, the team is opening Borderlands Social Club, a barbershop inside the brewery’s Arizona room—complete with a pool table and lounge area. The grand opening is 9 a.m. this Saturday, Sept. 19.
“About a year ago, I was getting a haircut from my barber and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got some space at my brewery. Why don’t you come open a shop?’" Borderlands CEO Es Teran said. “The plan was to have this open back in March, then COVID happened.”
To pivot with the pandemic, the barbershop will be open to those who have an appointment. Walk-ins will be accepted through the brewery, but customers will have to check-in and wait for an open seat at one of the brewery's tables, instead of inside the barbershop. Borderlands has also revamped how they do business by adding waitstaff to serve brews to help maintain social distancing guidelines.
“It’s pretty cool for a barbershop that has access to a bar because besides getting to drink beer, you are going to be sitting at your own table comfortably until your barber is ready for you,” Teran said.
When the shop is fully staffed, it will be able to accommodate six people at a time, said Teran.
Borderlands Brewing Company is located at 119 E. Toole Ave. For more information, call the brewery at 520-955-9826.
With 1,281 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases closed in on 213,000 as of Friday, Sept. 18, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 24,313 of the state’s 212,942 confirmed cases.
As with yesterday’s jump of 1,753 cases, today’s dramatic increase in cases was a result of the state including a big batch of antigen tests, according to Arizona Health Department Director Cara Christ, who said she anticipated another jump in numbers tomorrow as the department processes the new tests, many of which are coming from the University of Arizona’s testing of students. Antigen tests are not as reliable but provide faster results, according to Christ. As a result, not all positive antigen tests have been counted in Arizona’s COVID-19 tally, although they will be in the future.
“Moving forward, we are expanding how we define cases to include anyone with a positive antigen test in the probable case category, which is consistent with the recently updated national case definition for COVID-19 from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE),” Christ wrote on her blog.
With 42 new deaths today, a total of 5,451 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 613 deaths in Pima County, according to the Sept. 18 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases continues to decline from July peaks. ADHS reported that as of Sept. 17, 516 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state. The number of hospitalized COVID patients peaked at 3,517 on July 13.
A total of 854 people visited emergency rooms on Sept. 17 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 130 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Sept. 17. 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. 17 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 creeped back up in recent weeks with the return of UA students. For the week ending Aug. 29, 507 new cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 5, a total of 667 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 12, 584 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 in the week ending Aug. 22, 10 in the week ending Aug. 29 and three in the week ending Sept. 5. (As above, these numbers are subject to revision as recent deaths may not have been reported.)
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 237 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals. For the week ending Aug. 29, 38 COVID patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals; in the week ending Sept. 5, 24 patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals; and in the week ending Sept. 12, 16 patients were admitted. (Numbers are subject to revision.)
Here’s the other big COVID news of the week:
UA students asked to quarantine in their homes for two weeks
University of Arizona President Dr. Robert Robbins and Pima County Public Health Director Dr. Theresa Cullen yesterday announced they are recommending a 14-day quarantine for students living on and off campus within a geographical boundary they have identified as showing high transmission of the novel coronavirus.
Robbins said this is a “last ditch” effort to get students to follow public health directives before they have to take more drastic measures. Robbins gave off a frustrated tone at the press conference, saying the university is dealing with a “blatant disregard for public health measures.”
“I’m short of saying I’m mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore,” Robbins said. “This is part of being a good member of society, to take into account the health of others, not just your individual health and your individual desire to go out and party.”
WASHINGTON – A federal judge could decide next week whether to force the Census Bureau to extend its 2020 count for another month, but state and local groups working to ensure a high response rate said they are taking no chances.
Gov. Doug Ducey, at a news conference Thursday with Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, urged Arizonans to “run through the tape over the next 13 days.” Dillingham added that the bureau has sent an additional 450 enumerators to Arizona to help complete the count there and is “pulling out all the stops” to complete the count by the end of the month.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Today, the Pima County Health Department announced a partnership with the State and FEMA to offer "pop-up" testing at multiple locations around Tucson.
The tests are free, and while pre-registration is strongly encouraged, walk-ins can register on the spot. Preregistration is available at doineedacovid19test.com, and results are available in 3-5 days.
Below are locations and dates for pop-up testing:|
Location |
Date & Time |
|
United Community Health Center 1260 S. Campbell Rd. Green Valley. AZ 85614 |
9/17/2020 8 a.m.-12 p.m. |
|
Fourth Avenue 522 N. 4th Ave, Tucson AZ |
9/17/2020 7 p.m.- 10 p m. |
|
Dirtbags 1800 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85719 |
9/18/2020 7 p.m.-10 p.m. |
|
Green Valley Presbyterian Church 2800 S Camino Del Sol, Green Valley, AZ 85622 |
9/18/2020 8 a.m.-11 p.m. |
|
University Boulevard 825 E University Blvd #101, Tucson, AZ 85719 |
9/19/2020 7 p.m.-10 p.m. |
|
Green Valley Presbyterian Church 2800 S Camino Del Sol, Green Valley, AZ 85622 |
9/19/2020 8 a.m.-11 a.m. |
|
United Community Health Center 1260 S. Campbell Rd. Green Valley. AZ 85614 |
9/22/2020 8 a.m.-12 p.m. |
|
Fourth Avenue 522 N. 4th Ave, Tucson AZ |
9/24/2020 7 p.m.-10 p.m. |
|
University Boulevard 825 E University Blvd #101, Tucson, AZ 85719 |
9/24/2020 7. p.m.-10 p.m. |
A new collaboration between two Tucson musicians serves as a welcome reprieve from the lingering summer. Inanna’s Dream by Tucsonan Serena Gabriel was composed as an “ambient sonic odyssey,” drifting between the worlds of new age, drone and electronic music. Inanna’s Dream is the premiere release on the Soundquest Music label, formed by local ambient pioneer Steve Roach, who is featured on multiple tracks.
While the album features several hallmarks of Roach’s style – sweeping synthesizer notes, tribal percussion fused with ambient tones, a massive yet meditative atmosphere – Gabriel makes the album unique with her hypnotic vocals and a combination of acoustic and electronic instruments.
With a goal of interweaving ancient musical instrumentation and modern technology, Gabriel touches on feelings of vulnerability as well as rapture. She accomplished this through cool yet mantric performances on the harmonium, flute, lyre and dholak drum. In usual style, Roach contributes his expertly layered atmospheres performed on a score of keyboards.
The album’s highlight is “The Song of Sending,” which features all the elements that make Inanna’s Dream unique. A calm harmonium is infused with Gabriel’s airy vocals and steady percussion. Several layers build as the drones grow darker, yet remain subtle as incense smoke. “The Gazing Pool” is another treat, with strings panning back and forth on top of reverberated tones like drops of water.
It should be noted, however, this album really is for fans of ambient music; multiple tracks stretch past the 10-minute mark, with the album’s culmination “Changing Tides” drifting on for the better part of an hour.
According to Soundquest Music, Gabriel is a musician, dancer, healing arts practitioner and medicine music provider, whose aspiration is that her dedication to the vast potential of sound for positive transformation can be experienced through the essence of the musical offerings she creates.
It’s fitting that the project’s name references Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love and sensuality, but also war, because the album is as soothing and hypnotic as it is immense.
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If you’re anxious about running into problems exercising your right to vote this election, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center, nearly half of registered voters expect casting their ballots will be difficult, a 34-point increase since the 2018 midterms. Like almost every aspect of our lives during the pandemic, voting may look a bit different than usual. But with a little planning, you should be able to vote either masked and socially distanced at the polls, or by mail without issue.
