Good morning, Tucson. Here’s your news roundup for May 17, 2024.
Fri ☀️ 95° • Sat ☀️ 99° • Sun ☀️ 96°
NWS Midtown forecast
🌵 The Arizona Supreme Court placed a 90-day hold on the state’s 1864 abortion ban.
The court granted the hold to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes so she could prepare a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1864 law has already been repealed, but the repeal will not go into effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session. Abortion rights advocates are trying to keep the law from taking effect until the repeal is in place.
🌵 The next phase of the Grant Road Improvement Project will begin on Monday, May 20.
The first portion of work will take place during nights to minimize traffic disruptions. The project, scheduled to take until the end of 2026, will widen Grant to six lanes between Alvernon and Swan. Also planned for the project are indirect left turns, new storm drains, landscaped medians, bike lanes, and more.
🌵 Tucson’s largest homeless camp is being cleared out.
Roughly two dozen people currently live at the 100-Acre Wood Bike Park northwest of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The city is trying to move occupants into emergency housing and detox services. Once the camp is cleared, Davis-Monthan will be conducting underground testing for PFAS chemicals. The city also has plans to renovate the bike park’s trails.
For just $5/month, you can help us build a long-lasting Tucson news service.
🌵 Arizona’s attorney general is suing Amazon for deceptive business practices.
The lawsuit alleges Amazon violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and the Arizona Uniform State Antitrust Act by making Prime memberships hard to cancel, and for highlighting products that maximize its profits. The company disputes the allegations.
🌵 Lastly, another gopher snake has gone viral, this time for hitchhiking.
Following last week’s video of a woman removing a gopher snake from a wedding, we direct your attention to footage of one slithering out from under a hood as the car speeds along a highway. A wildlife expert speculated the nonvenomous snake may have been looking for rodents in the engine before realizing its surroundings were in motion.