Pima County mandates masks
AZPM
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Friday afternoon to require face coverings in public places to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Violators can be fined or charged, which drew concern from Republicans Steve Christy and Ally Miller and Democratic Supervisor Sharon Bronson.
"Whether they get a fine of $50 or five hours of community service, I’m OK with that, but to make it criminal … given that sometimes we can’t control other people’s actions, that concerns me," Bronson said.
The board did not change the penalty to a civil violation but did agree that if a violator is to be taken to court, that move must first be approved by the board. The resolution applies to everyone over the age of 5. It will expire when “the curve flattens,” according to Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. It applies to all parts of the county regardless if a city or town council passes similar laws.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero signed a similar order yesterday.
Arizona sets another daily record for COVID-19 cases
AP, AZPM
PHOENIX — Arizona’s count of confirmed COVID-19 cases surged again Friday, setting the third record in four days for daily high numbers of reported new cases.
The state Department of Health Services reported 3,246 additional cases, increasing the statewide total to 46,689 with 1,312 deaths, including 41 reported Friday.
Arizona's previous highest daily case count record had been set Thursday, one day prior, at 2,529.
Arizona has become a national coronavirus hot spot since Gov. Doug Ducey lifted stay-home orders last month. Ducey on Wednesday reversed his position and allowed local governments to mandate the use of face coverings in public to slow spread of the coronavirus.
VIEW LARGER The Bighorn Fire burns in the Santa Catalina Mountains above Tucson, June 19, 2020. Crews keep Bighorn Fire flames from Summerhaven
Arizona Daily Star
Evacuation and alert statuses were still in place Friday due to the Bighorn Fire, though the crews were able to keep the flames from the community of Summerhaven on Thursday.
On Friday, crews were still working to keep the fire from again threatening the Mount Lemmon community, and also working to create a break line to protect the Oracle and San Manuel, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
The fire had burned 37,058 acres and was 40% contained as of Friday morning. Find updates on the Pima County website. Read more at Tucson.com
VIEW LARGER A Black Lives Matter banner displayed on Tucson's City Hall, June 19, 2020. Tucson displays Black Lives Matter banner on City Hall
AZPM
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero today made a very public statement about the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, by hanging a "Black Lives Matter" banner from the top of City Hall.
The west-side facing banner was hung today in commemoration of Juneteenth, which celebrates the day slaves in Texas learned they were free two and a half years after emancipation.
In a release, Romero said, "Tucson stands in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters across the country in fighting the systemic racism that pervades our society at all levels." She went on to say the city is ready to learn from the Black Lives Matter movement to "work for meaningful reform that closes racial, economic and social inequities."
Celebrating Juneteenth during a pandemic
AZPM
Andrés Portela III describes Juneteenth as his Independence Day, his Christmas morning and his Thanksgiving. It's a day to celebrate Black independence, culture and family. It's also a time to remember and mourn.
Tucson would have celebrated its 50th Juneteenth as a city this year, but the pandemic upended the plans of Portela and other Juneteenth committee members to host "one of the biggest parties that [they] possibly could have thrown." They canceled the event and postponed the the 50th celebration till 2021. Portela, who works in the city's Ward 1 office, said though he respects observing proper health precautions during the pandemic, he believes it's still important for individuals to honor the day.
How testing and tracing can help combat COVID-19
The Buzz
COVID-19 cases continue to rise dramatically in Arizona, and hospitals are nearing capacity. This week, the Buzz discusses COVID testing and contract tracing to learn how those tools can help address the spread of the pandemic. Learn more on this week's episode of The Buzz, which does a deep dive into testing in the state.
Arizona DACA recipients celebrate US Supreme Court ruling
AZPM, KJZZ
The Supreme Court has kept alive an Obama-era program that protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants from deportation. But the high court also said the Trump administration can still end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, if it does so the right way.
DACA recipient Karina Ruiz and was part of a line of public officials, lawyers and fellow activists claiming victory outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Phoenix.
"We have been a state of limbo, in a state of anxiety. Like we’ve been knocked down so many times," Ruiz said.
Learn more about the reaction of a few of the thousands of DACA recipients in the state.
Trump to challenge DACA again
AZPM
A Supreme Court ruling on Thursday means the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy is protected for now, giving temporary relief to some 650,000 young immigrants who are part of the program nationwide. But justices left room for the Trump administration to try to end the program again.
The high court said that in 2017 the Trump administration failed to address how ending the program would impact so-called Dreamers across the country, and didn't specify whether alternative options would appear in its wake.
A day after that ruling, President Trump tweeted that his administration would be "submitting enhanced papers shortly" to challenge the policy again.
Phoenix mandates wearing masks amid surge of virus cases
AP
PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix has approved a measure requiring the use of face masks to ward off the spread of coronavirus as Arizona hits an all-time high of new cases.
In an emergency meeting Friday, Mayor Kate Gallego and the Phoenix City Council voted to make masks or face coverings mandatory. The order goes into effect at 6 a.m. Saturday. Arizona’s count of confirmed COVID-19 cases surged again Friday, setting the third record in four days for daily high numbers of new cases. Arizona became a national coronavirus hot spot after Gov. Doug Ducey lifted stay-home orders last month.
Vulnerable US Latino communities hard hit by COVID-19
AP
GUADALUPE, Ariz. — As the coronavirus spreads deeper across America, it is ravaging through Latino communities from the mid-Atlantic to the Southwest, infecting them at alarmingly high rates and amplifying the inequalities they live with.
Latinos are especially vulnerable to infection because they tend to live in tight quarters with multiple family members and have jobs that expose them to others. They also have a greater incidence of health conditions like diabetes that put them at higher risk for contracting COVID-19.
Now, a growing body of evidence is forming around the virus' toll on Latinos as researchers develop a more advanced data analysis about COVID-19 and race.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.