Good afternoon. There will be a chance of showers overnight and tomorrow, with a Wednesday high of 74°. On Thursday expect sunny skies and a high of 76°.
🌵 Governor Hobbs deployed the National Guard to the border, but it’s unclear what they will do.
The guards are part of Hobbs’ response to the influx into the U.S. of migrants fleeing cartel violence, which led to the Border Patrol closing the Lukeville border crossing. The deployment order said the National Guard will assist with local law enforcement agencies and the Arizona Department of Public Safety, also known as the State Highway Patrol. The governor’s office and DPS have not provided more details.
🌵 Pima County Attorney Laura Conover won’t press charges following a 2022 inmate death at the Pima County Jail.
Body cam footage from the incident showed officers repeatedly tasing 37-year-old Wade Welch, who pleaded with officers that he had a heart condition and needed to go to the hospital. The Pima County Medical Examiner ruled Welch’s death a homicide. However, an outside investigator from the Los Angeles County Police Department said that the officers’ actions were “objectively reasonable” and “consistent with applicable laws.” “We are not at a substantial likelihood of conviction,” Conover said.
🌵 UA president Robert Robbins presented a plan to fix the school’s financial crisis.
The plan includes a hiring freeze through June 30, 2024, purchasing restrictions, and deferring nonessential capital projects. Many administrative functions and departments will be consolidated in an attempt to save money. The university will switch to a new budget model. Additionally, UA Chief Financial Officer Lisa Rulney has resigned.
- UA: Ensuring Financial Health and Success
- AZ Luminaria: UA president announces resignation of CFO, plan to solve financial crisis to board of regents
🌵 A new report shows how quickly rural Arizona farms are draining groundwater.
Groundwater supplies are rapidly declining in five farming basins around the state, according to a new report from the Arizona Department of Water Resources. The basins, which include alfalfa farms owned by Saudi and United Arab Emirates businesses, use a combined four times more groundwater each year than Tucson Water’s customers.
🌵 Lastly, check out some of the best photos of 2023.
Arizona Daily Star photographer Mamta Popat’s best images of the year include children enjoying a monsoon storm, the Reid Park Zoo’s new sloth, and lots of basketball action shots.