Good morning, Tucson. Here’s your news roundup for May 24, 2024.
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🌵 UA shooter Murad Dervish was found guilty of first-degree murder.
Months after being expelled from school, Dervish returned to the atmospheric sciences building in 2022 and shot professor Thomas Meixner nine times, killing him. Dervish’s defense argued unsuccessfully that he should be found guilty except insane. He is scheduled to be sentenced today, and is expected to receive life in prison.
🌵 Eleven people, including Rudy Guiliani, pled not guilty to charges related to Arizona’s “fake electors” scheme.
The scheme involved a plan to falsely certify Arizona’s electoral votes for Donald Trump after he lost the state in 2020. Guiliani appeared by video and was ordered to post a bond of $10,000 and come to Arizona for booking within 30 days.
🌵 Arizona Senate Republicans advanced a controversial border policing measure that could end up on ballots this fall.
The bill would make it a state crime to enter Arizona from Mexico anywhere but a legal port of entry. Police would ordinarily need to see a suspect cross or have video evidence to make an arrest. However, a clause in the bill allows for arrests under probable cause, which critics say will lead to racial profiling.
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🌵 Governor Hobbs signed two bipartisan bills aimed at boosting Arizona’s housing supply.
One bill officially legalizes Casitas in any city with more than 75,000 people. The other requires cities with more than 75,000 people to encourage different types of housing other than single-family homes.
🌵 Lastly, UA researchers have created an interactive map of Tucson’s racist housing covenants.
Covenants are agreements or terms written into housing deeds that must be signed by new homeowners. Many Tucson neighborhoods have antiquated covenants with racist language that is illegal and unenforceable. UA Geography professor Jason Jurjevich created an interactive city map that shows the shockingly racist covenants that can be found across the city. The work inspired a new law that requires covenants to remove any illegal language.