Private donations will provide $1.25 million in financial relief to Tucson immigrant communities, many of whom have been excluded from federal aid during the pandemic.
The money was donated to the city of Tucsonβs We Are One | Somos Uno Resiliency Fund by the Open Society Foundations and an anonymous donor.
Coordinated by Mayor Regina Romero and Ward 1 council member Lane Santa Cruz, the funds will provide aid to immigrant residents, regardless of their citizenship, in the cities of Tucson and South Tucson who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic, particularly those who were not eligible to receive CARES Act stimulus checks and other emergency benefits.
βIt is unconscionable that many of our fellow Tucsonans do not have access to federal aid despite risking their lives serving as essential workers during this pandemic,β Romero said. βNo one should suffer hardship in the shadows and, unfortunately, thatβs the painful reality many immigrants are enduring. I am grateful to the Open Society Foundations and those who stepped up to provide financial aid to Tucsonans who do not have access to federal assistance.β
Funds will be administered and distributed by the Sunnyside Unified School District Foundation. The nonprofit agreed to partner with the city on the Immigrant Relief Fund after noticing a need for support within its community of students and families.
The Open Society Foundations provide funds to groups working for justice, democratic governance and human rights, according to its website. It was founded by billionaire financier George Soros, a major political donor to Democratic candidates and liberal causes.
Details on how to receive aid will be released by the foundation Sept. 1. According to Santa Cruz, those who qualify for relief will likely receive $600 cash cards, which will provide assistance to nearly 2,100 people.
In early April, Santa Cruz said her office was approached by the Immigrant Empowerment Taskforce, which detailed the concerns of Tucsonβs immigrant families.
βWe know that a lot of our immigrant community members are essential workers and have had to continue going to work during the pandemic, especially here in Tucson. Theyβre the ones who are more susceptible to contracting COVID-19,β she said. βBut then you also have immigrants who serve as domestic workers or landscapers or child-care workers who are no longer able to work or have decreased hours because of the pandemic. These are the folks who are being hit hardest, and at the same time are not receiving any federal aid.β
Santa Cruz said that providing cash assistance is a βfundamental building blockβ to ensuring the long-term support and stability of immigrant families who can use the aid to pay their rent and utility bills or buy food and other essentials.
βThis seemed like an uphill battle, and I am grateful for the donations from OSF, our anonymous donor, and Sunnyside Foundation because in this moment of crisis they are helping us rise to the occasion,β she said.
In addition to providing financial support for immigrant communities, the We Are One | Somos Uno Resiliency Fund has recently launched a variety of emergency aid programs to support Tucson workers and families, small businesses and nonprofits. Unlike the Immigrant Relief Fund, most of these programs are funded by federal CARES Act dollars.
The extra fee you pay for a specialty license plate helps support charities and nonprofits.
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
UpdatedTucsonβs 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. βEven …
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 departmentβs traffic safety coordinator.
βI think we all expected accidents to decrease and deaths to decrease,β Duffy said in an interview. βInstead collisions are down and fatalities are up.β
It turns out that when streets are empty, some drivers tend to get lead feet.
βExcessive speedβ 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.
Itβs hard to say how much lighter Tucson traffic has become, though it βabsolutelyβ 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 Tucsonβs 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 Sheriffβs 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 councilβs website, the groupβs president and CEO urged drivers to be civic-minded in the era of COVID19.
βRight now, in the midst of a global pandemic, we should take it as our civic duty to drive safely,β Lorraine M. Martin said.
βIf we wonβt 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.β
Six sites throughout Tucson handed out masks to residents as a part of the citywide #MaskUpTucson campaign. Each site, located in a respective…
