A new program is offering $10 million in rent and mortgage relief funds to Arizona small businesses that were forced to shut down due to COVID-19.
The program is backed by the Local First Arizona Foundation in partnership with Gov. Doug Ducey’s office.
The Arizona Rent and Mortgage Relief Grant program is accepting applications on Aug. 20 starting at 10 a.m.
Grants will provide up to two months of rent or mortgage payments for small businesses that are headquartered in Arizona and were directly impacted by the governor’s executive order that shuttered gyms, fitness centers, bars and nightclubs, indoor movie theaters, water parks and tubing operators.
The maximum award will be $25,000 and grants will be prioritized for businesses that are most in need of the funding to meet their rent or mortgage obligations and do not have access to other financial support.
To be considered, businesses must have been operating in Arizona before Jan. 1, and have fewer than 50 employees, with part-timers counted as half of a position.
For more information on eligibility and the documentation required, and to apply, go to localfirstaz.com/azsmallbizrent.
Local First Arizona is a community and economic development organization that works to connect people, locally owned businesses, and communities.
Photos: City of Tucson provides free masks to residents throughout city
Mask Handout
Updated
Mayor Regina Romero hands out masks to a driver during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in its respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Cars line up on N 6th Avenue for a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in its respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Ricardo Chao, an electronic technician with the The Facilities and Communications Maintenance Division of the City of Tucson, prepares a tray with masks and pamphlets during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in its respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Ricardo Chao, an electronic technician with the The Facilities and Communications Maintenance Division of the City of Tucson, hands off a tray with masks and pamphlets during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in its respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Council Member Paul Durham hands out masks to drivers during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in its respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Mayor Regina Romero (center) is given masks to handout to drivers during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in it's respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Drivers are asked how many masks they need during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in it's respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Mayor Regina Romero hands out masks to a driver during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in it's respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Pamphlets including mask instructions and census information is handed out to drivers during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in it's respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
Mayor Regina Romero hands out masks to a driver during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in it's respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Mask Handout
Updated
A staff member gestures for two masks to be prepared for an incoming driver during a free drive-thru mask distribution event in the parking lot of the Donna R Liggins Recreation Center located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on July 18, 2020. A total of six sites throughout the city handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in it's respective ward, were stocked with 8,000 reusable fabric masks. Locations ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. or until they ran out of masks.
Tucson sees surge in vehicle, motorcycle fatalities despite virus-related decrease in traffic
UpdatedTucson’s streets have been less busy but more deadly during the coronavirus pandemic, police data shows.
Fatal car and motorcycle crashes have more than tripled so far this year compared to last year despite less traffic on the roads, Tucson Police Department statistics show.
Eighteen drivers and passengers have died so far this year in vehicle crashes other than motorcycles, compared to five such deaths in the same period last year, the data show.
Motorcycle fatalities, which are recorded separately, also have spiked within city limits to 17 deaths this year compared to five this time last year.
Traffic deaths were down slightly last year in Tucson from the previous year.
Meanwhile, pedestrian deaths have declined to 13 so far this year compared to 17 last year. And one bicyclist has died, compared to zero at this point in 2019.
Wildfires such as the Bighorn Fire north of Tucson leave the ground charred and unable to absorb water, which can increase flood risks. “Even …
Nearly a dozen U.S.states have seen death rates rise in lighter traffic, according to the nonprofit National Safety Council, though the increase has not been statewide in Arizona.
The Tucson trend came as a surprise to police Capt. Diana Duffy, the department’s traffic safety coordinator.
“I think we all expected accidents to decrease and deaths to decrease,” Duffy said in an interview. “Instead collisions are down and fatalities are up.”
It turns out that when streets are empty, some drivers tend to get lead feet.
“Excessive speed” was the top factor in most of the recent road deaths, Duffy said.
Impairment also was a factor in some cases, she said, and noted a national survey that found a 200% surge in alcohol sales this past spring.
TPD is aiming to curb the death toll by assigning motorcycle officers to patrol near crash-prone intersections, Duffy said.
It’s hard to say how much lighter Tucson traffic has become, though it “absolutely” is occurring, said Blake Olofson, a traffic engineer at City Hall.
A precise count would be expensive and impractical because a full-scale count typically is done once a year, he said.
But some trends emerged in the limited research that exists, a joint study between the city and the University of Arizona that used location data from smart phones to assess Tucson’s traffic capacity.
The research showed a noticeable decrease in traffic on Tucson streets when various stay-at-home orders were in place from around mid-March through mid-May.
The trend to higher traffic fatality rates does not extend to roads policed by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department or by Arizona state troopers, those agencies said.
Fatal crashes on county roads stand at 18 so far this year, about the same as last year, officials said.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which polices state highways, has seen a steep decline in fatalities. The death toll so far this year is 160 compared to 200 in 2019, officials said.
At least 11 states from coast to coast have seen spikes in traffic deaths, the National Safety Council said.
The council released a preliminary estimate last month based on April data from all 50 states showing a 36% spike in fatality rate per miles, as the number of miles driven dropped 40%.
In a statement on the safety council’s website, the group’s president and CEO urged drivers to be civic-minded in the era of COVID19.
“Right now, in the midst of a global pandemic, we should take it as our civic duty to drive safely,” Lorraine M. Martin said.
“If we won’t do it for ourselves we should do it for our first responders, our law enforcement and our health-care workers who are rightly focused on coronavirus patients and should not be overwhelmed by preventable car crashes.”
Six sites throughout Tucson handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in a respective…
