Good afternoon, Tucson. Starting with our next issue, we’re going to publish Microburst on Tuesday and Friday mornings. This is an experiment to see if we can better capture the news cycle. Here’s your news roundup for April 16, 2024.
Wed ☀️ 90° • Thu 🌤️ 93° • Fri ☀️ 93°
NWS Midtown forecast
🌵 What are they building? Ask Microburst and we’ll try to figure it out.
Do you ever pass a building under construction and wonder what it will be? Send a message to mail@microburst.news and we’ll try to figure it out via city records. Today’s investigation: What are they building at the northeast corner of 1st and Grant? Permits show it’s going to be a Black Rock Coffee Bar. The chain, which started out in Oregon, has five existing coffee shops around the city.
🌵 The search is underway for a new UA president.
The Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s three public universities, announced that it has formed an advisory committee to find a new UA president. Current president Robert Robbins said he would resign at the end of his term in 2026 or if ABOR found a replacement earlier.
🌵 A former Border Patrol agent was sentenced to 18 years in prison for drug smuggling.
Carlos Victor Passapera Pinott pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin. In 2020 he was caught loading drugs into a vehicle at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
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🌵 The Phoenix Coyotes are on the verge of moving to Salt Lake City.
Though the deal has not been finalized, players and staff were informed that the NHL team is expected to be sold to the owners of the Utah Jazz basketball team. The Coyotes have been unable to secure a new Phoenix-area arena after Tempe voters voted down three propositions in 2023 that would have allowed the team to develop land at the northwestern edge of the city.
🌵 Lastly, move over buffelgrass: there’s another invasive plant to worry about.
Stinknet, which is native to southern Africa and sprouts bulbous, yellow flowers, spreads rapidly and harms local wildflowers. The plant emits a pungent, stinging odor and can cause allergic reactions. You can report stinknet sightings online through the Tucson Audubon Society or join stinknet pulls aimed at removing the invasive plant.