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Good afternoon. Tomorrow it will be mostly sunny with a high of 68°. Look for possible rain and a high of 56° on Thursday.
🌵 Arizona’s minimum wage is now $14.35.
Arizona state law raises the minimum wage each year based on the cost of living, while Tucson increases wages according to a schedule approved by voters in 2021. The state-set wage is currently higher; in 2025 Tucson’s minimum wage will increase to $15.00.
🌵 A judge denied an attempt by Republican state lawmakers to block a campaign finance transparency law.
The law requires the disclosure of major donors to state campaigns. Seventy-two percent of Arizonans voted for the measure during the 2022 election. Donors could previously mask their identities by funneling money through nonprofit groups that were not required to list their contributors.
🌵 The legal case against a former Tucson police officer who shot and killed a man in a wheelchair is still uncertain.
Ryan Remington was working off-duty as a security guard in November 2021 when he responded to a shoplifting call at a nearby Wal-Mart. Remington followed the suspect, Richard Lee Richards, to a nearby Lowe’s, where Richards drew a knife while sitting in his motorized wheelchair. Remington then shot Richards in the back eight times. Two grand jury indictments have failed, but the Pima County Attorney’s office says they are still working on the case.
🌵 Recent efforts to regulate rural groundwater have spurred new wells.
Voters in nearby Cochise County approved one groundwater management plan in 2022 but rejected another. Meanwhile, applications for new wells in the unregulated Willcox groundwater basin have tripled. The Willcox basin is particularly threatened by dropping groundwater levels; in one area the land has sunk 11 feet.
🌵 Lastly, Reid Park Zoo is in the midst of a baby boom.
Anna the zebra gave birth to a female foal on Christmas Day, while Penelope the giraffe is pregnant and expected to deliver soon. The zoo will be hosting a contest to name the zebra foal. You can watch a short video of her taking a stroll with her mom.