Good morning, Tucson. Here’s your news roundup for May 10, 2024.
Fri ☀️ 90° • Sat ☀️ 91° • Sun ☀️ 91°
NWS Midtown forecast
🌵 Tucson Electric Power customers will get a break on their bills.
TEP bills will be about $16 less in June and July, and then $10 less after that. The changes reflect adjustments in an energy efficiency fund, as well as TEP’s Purchased Power and Fuel Adjustment Charge (PPFAC), which is updated every year to reflect energy costs.
🌵 A trial is underway for the man accused of killing UA professor Thomas Mexiner in 2022.
Murad Dervish, a former grad student in atmospheric sciences, is accused of shooting Mexiner nine times in his office. The trial opened with witnesses reading explicit email threats sent by Dervish. The defense is currently pleading not guilty, but is expected to change the plea to guilty except insane.
🌵 A new report shows Arizona’s school voucher program disproportionately benefits wealthy families.
Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program allows families to use state funds to send their children to private schools. The program was originally designed for select groups like students with disabilities, but was expanded in 2022 to all students not enrolled in public schools. A report by the Brookings Institution found that ZIP codes with high median incomes had the highest participation rates in the program.
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🌵 This year’s saguaro blooms are here a little behind schedule.
A rainy winter and cooler-than-average spring may have contributed to the delay. Saguaro flowers typically bloom at dusk and last into the following day. They may be visited by bees, doves, and bats. Pollinated flowers mature into fruit that splits open when ripened.
🌵 Lastly, a viral video shows an Arizona woman removing a snake from a wedding.
The video, titled “Weddings in Arizona,” has more than 1 million views. In it, a woman wearing a dress and cowboy boots relocates what appears to be a nonvenomous gopher snake. The snake, which appears just as surprised as the guests, makes a few half-hearted lunges at its captor as she carries it away.