Good afternoon. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 74°. Things should cool down Thursday, with a high of 66° and a slight chance of showers.
🌵 Longtime Tucson city council member Steve Kozachik will leave his post.
Outspoken Kozachik was elected in 2009 and is the longest-tenured council member. He will become Pima County’s manager of the Mosaic Quarter complex being developed near the Kino Sports Complex. Kozachik will resign on March 31st. The city council will appoint someone to fill his seat through the remainder of his term, which ends in 2025.
- Tucson Sentinel: Steve Kozachik to resign from Tucson City Council, oversee Mosaic Quarter sports complex
- Steve Kozachik newsletter
🌵 A program to keep recently released inmates out of jail has some promising early results.
A new transition center located just outside the Pima County jail connects former inmates to services and resources such as food, housing, mental health services, and more. Of the people who received services, only 10% were rearrested within 30 days of their release — a decline from a previous average of 27%.
- AZPM: County releases data on the first six months of jail Transition Center
- Pima County Transition Center report
🌵 Republican state lawmakers are advancing a bill that would change the way Tucson elects city council members.
In primary elections, Tucsonans can only vote for city council candidates in their district. But in the general election, voters can select council members in any district. This means a candidate that is popular within their district can still be voted down by the city at large in the general election. Republicans say the system is unfair, as Democrats outnumber Republicans in Tucson by two to one. Previous efforts to overturn the system have not been successful.
🌵 Kyrsten Sinema has some extra cash left in her campaign account.
The U.S. senator, who announced she will not run for reelection, had $10.6 million in her campaign account at the end of 2023. Her options include holding onto it in case she runs for office again, giving some of it to other candidates, and spending it on activities related to winding down her campaign.
🌵 Lastly, a baby elephant was born at Reid Park Zoo.
The zoo’s elephant matriarch Semba gave birth to a 265-pound calf on March 8. Its sex is still unknown. Both the mother and baby appear to be doing well. The calf brings the zoo’s elephant herd to five.