Sunnyside and Cox partner to expand broadband to underserved neighborhood

Sunnyside School District is partnering with Cox Communications to expand high-speed internet services to more than 1,000 households in the neighborhood surrounding Summit View Elementary, about 2 miles south of the Tucson airport.

The neighborhood has historically not had access to broadband services, which created challenges for remote learning over the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a news release said. Cox also awarded the elementary school $10,000 to support digital equity efforts and programs to help students over the summer and into next school year.

As part of its effort to narrow the digital divide, Cox is increasing speed for its low-cost internet package Connect2Compete, the news release said.

Eligible households can also receive discounted service through the federal Emergency Broadband Benefit Program for a limited time. Eligible families can receive up to $50 off their monthly bill based on their current internet service and equipment rental or up to $75 if they live in a tribal area for as long as government funds remain available, the news release said. For more information go to fcc.gov.

Teens can solve water challenges

Incoming Arizona juniors and seniors can register for a virtual engineering design competition where they will design unique engineering solutions for water challenges faced by communities throughout the state.

The Challenge 2021 is hosted by the TriU Engineering Partnership, a collaboration among the engineering colleges at Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University.

Students can register along with a team of two to five total students or on their own and be placed on a team.

Workshops, panel discussions and facilitated team meetings will be held June 15-18, where teams of two to five students will define a water-related problem in Arizona and propose engineering strategies to address it, a news release said. The program costs $50 per student, and the registration deadline is June 1.

Peers, undergraduates and faculty members will provide support and guidance, and professional judges will critique the final solutions, with prizes for best solution, most innovative solution and best engineering documentation.

For more information or to register, visit the University of Arizona’s The Challenge 2021 page at engineering.arizona.edu/k12/the-challenge or email jjillrogers@email.arizona.edu or Jennifer.Velez@asu.edu.

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Tucson students win photo awards

Tucson students won first and second place in the The Nature Conservancy’s eighth “Adventures in Nature” Photo Contest.

Gregory School graduating senior Chenyu Li won first place for “Bighorn Fire in the Catalina Mountains.” Contest judges said his photo was “remarkable with brilliant composition.”

Sixteen-year-old Karissa Morales from Tucson High School won second place for “Boy Kissing Chicken.”

“I wanted to take a different approach and focus on a human and nature interaction rather than a beautiful nature photo,” Morales said. “When I saw my nephew pick up the chicken and kiss it, I knew I captured something special.”

Amphitheater’s Ironwood Ridge High School student Henry Davis, 16, won honorable mention for his photo “Tortoise.”

Winners will receive cash prizes, gift certificates and passes to nature conservancy preserves in Arizona. First place comes with a $5,000 prize, $2,500 for second place, $1,000 for third and $250 for each honorable mention, of which there were six this year.

Contest winners will also have their photos published by the sponsors: The Nature Conservancy in Arizona, Arizona Highways magazine and Cox Communications. Top winners are also eligible for a photography workshop from Arizona Highways Photo Workshops.