Joe Ferguson

So, tomorrow?

There is a home game today, but that doesn’t slow down local protesters from coming out to protest against #Tucson Congressman Juan Ciscomani.

The banner ad reads “Jim Click - stop bankrolling Ciscomani.”

Patience, there are a lot of counties counting right now.

Very early results for #AZ07

EARLY results.

a close up of a person pressing a hyperx key ALT: a close up of a person pressing a hyperx key

*Obligatory refresh the web page complaint on election night*

So the vibe is pretty positive here at Adelita Grijalva’s campaign party.

#AZ07

* = this is about 25 minutes before results are posted.

Read the whole story here: tucsonagenda.substack.com/p/hamsterdam...

#TucsonCouncil

Tucson Councilwoman Nikki Lee says open fentanyl use at bus stops has become one of the city’s top problems — and she wants a new ordinance that would push people toward treatment instead of jail. We break down the proposal and the politics behind it in today’s Tucson Agenda. 👇

We will have the answers in tomorrow's @arizonaagenda.bsky.social.

Know your Grijalva The political dynasty news quiz ... Some good news, for once ... And keep your VPN handy.

I got a perfect score on today's @arizonaagenda.bsky.social "Know your Grijalva" quiz.

(I did not write the quiz...)

Take the test here: www.arizonaagenda.com/p/know-your-... and let me know how you did!

Six months after voters crushed a half-cent sales tax hike, a new plan is bubbling up. Instead of one big measure, Councilman Kevin Dahl wants to split public safety and social services into separate ballot questions — betting that breaking the tax apart might finally break through the opposition. 👇

One week out in the CD7 election: Six counties, four candidates, one safe blue seat — but in a special election, turnout quirks and party enthusiasm can lead to election night surprises.

Read it here: tucsonagenda.substack.com/p/the-last-s...

I suspect, like Raytheon, they would have security reasons why they'd prefer a data center locally than regionally but at the same time I've named two organizations that could afford to pay for onsite storage (rather than paying Amazon.)

Congrats!

I think that we have to recognize that Heinz (and others in the business community) have been using this talking point for several weeks.

I'm ill-equipped to weigh in on whether Raytheon needs a data center or not, but I think it deserves further reporting.

This wraps up my coverage of the #PimaSupes, I’ll have more in tomorrow’s @tucsonagenda.bsky.social.

Thanks to everyone who read and responded to my posts.

Matt Heinz votes against going into executive session, saying he does not want to pay for "outside council."

Christy votes against going into executive session, but the motion fails 3 to 2.

We are nearing the end of the County Board of Supervisor's agenda.

The item I am more interested in will be held in executive session.

I'll have more on this item in a future @TucsonAgenda. I promise.

Heinz, a doctor, says he estimated that NaphCare is asking for a 20 percent increase in their new contract.

He also is concerned about who might be in charge of the staffing, seemingly skeptical that Sheriff Chris Nanos is the right person to manage healthcare staffers at the jail.

One concern is insurance.

If the County hires doctors, nurses, techs, - the County could be liable related to future legal actions.

The contract with NaphCare shields the County from legal action, as any lawsuit would be filed against NaphCare.

County officials say "there is a long way to go" to improving healthcare services at the jail.

They suggest that if the County moves forward with using county staff to run the healthcare in the jail, that a hybrid contract with a third-party provider will be critical to address staffing shortages.

A two-year contract with NaphCare - which currently provides services to the jail - is estimated to be worth $53.7 million.

Heinz said he wants to approve the contract for a year to allow the County enough time to shift to internal services.

Supervisor Heinz, along with Supervisor Allen, both telegraph they want to transition away from using a private health care contractor at the county jail, preferring to use county employees at the jail.

Both said they want to remove the profit motive by shifting to internal staffing.

Supervisor Christy wants a memo about 24/7 ballot drop-off locations, but Lesher tells Christy that the locations are being monitored with video cameras.

There discussion about the library district and its funding of the PEEPS program, with supervisors saying they want to make sure that libraries are being funded at proper levels.

One suggests the district has "fallen behind" in the library tax, as it has not increased as the district grew.

Generally speaking, ending the fiscal year with $8 million in the bank more than initially anticipated is good news.

However, this number is encumbered at some level and it isn't simply $8 million more than they can spend on county services.

In a report about the county's finances, officials are optimistic that the 2025 FY will end with more money on hand than expected.

However, County Administrator Jan Lesher notes that the county has about $60 million in outstanding federal grants that hasn't been reimbursed or issued.

Supervisor Cano says "his patience in getting limited" and directs the County Administration to be more transparent about what the county is doing about data center and presumably, the contract with Beale.

Supervisor Allen makes my point about latency, asks staff to show how not having a data center in Tucson impacts local businesses.