After months of public engagement, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) has proposed new routes for two transmission lines to serve the Vine Substation located near Banner-University Medical Center, thus providing greater electric reliability in central Tucson, especially the University area.
TEP’s original plan to build an overhead 75-foot tall 138Kv line along Campbell Avenue would have violated Tucson’s Gateway and Scenic Corridor ordinance. TEP’s lawsuit to overturn the City’s decision to require underground lines is still in court.
Last Friday the utility applied for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), which regulates TEP and must approve the routes. The Commission’s Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee will hold a public hearing on the applicationon July 8, 2024, 5:30 pm, at the DoubleTree Hotel,445 S. Alvernon Way.
The “Midtown Reliability Project” will upgrade the current 46Kv system to 138Kv, with routes connecting two substations – the DeMoss Petrie at Grant and I-10 and Kino at Kino and36thStreet– with the Vine Substation.
The new preferred routes will avoid Campbell Avenue. See the map for preferred routes and the alternatives that still might be chosen.
Preferred route segments are highlighted in yellow.
The Ward 3 office was provided with 2214-page printed copy of the application for public review. You can also download a copy on the TEP website,tep.com/midtown-reliability-project. The site includes an interactive map where you can take a closer look at the alternatives.
The 2214-page transmission line application is available for public review at Ward 3
Underground Arizona (https://undergroundarizona.org/) has intervened in the quasi-judicial approval process because TEP’s application asks ACC’s permission to ignore Tucson’s undergrounding requirements. They contend that Tucson’s University Area plan would require some parts of the transmission approaching Vine Substation to be undergrounded.
Mayor and Council will discuss the project in executive session on Tuesday.
By CJ Boyd
The Tucson Symphony Orchestra is located in Ward 3 in the Sugar Hill Neighborhood. Vice Mayor Dahl and his team met with their executive staff last year to get to know more about them and how we can work together to support education and community.
On behalf of the Ward 3 office, I was recently invited to partner with Tucson Symphony Orchestra to make some musical recommendations for their concert season.
Vice Mayor Kevin Dahl (far right) with TSO staff at the Tucson Symphony Center across 6th Ave. from Mansfield Park
TSO offers what they call Create Your Own subscriptions, where people can choose three concerts and get 10% off all the seats. The Symphony's Chief Marketing Officer Gina Compitello reached out to ask if we would like to create our own subscription and share it publicly. As the Ward 3 resident classical music nerd, I offered to highlight a few of this season's concerts that I especially recommend:
Carmina Burana: I have a deep personal connection with this piece. My first experience singing in a choir was when I was in high school and my city's symphony choir performed Carmina Burana. I was still discovering what "classical" music could be, and I was stunned by how rhythmically intense and epic the music could be. This piece, which features the choir quite heavily, ranges from dark to funny to sublime, sometimes all at once.
Elgar’s Enigma Variations:This concert features a hidden gem that I'm really excited about. Laura Vega’s double percussion concerto is an amazing work that focuses on all kinds of gorgeous percussion. I'm a huge fan of the marimba and most tuned percussion instruments, and this piece has tons of truly inventive and dazzling sounds from tuned percussion.
From left to right: Soprano vocalist Ashley Fabian, a featured artist in Carmina Burana. Center and right: Trevor Barroero and Fred Morgan, percussionists for the Laura Vega piece Ángel de Luz.
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony: People who love classical music sometimes get tired of symphonies always playing "the greats." Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Brahms all get lots of rotation. But honestly, Beethoven's Fifth is that rare piece that is incredibly well known, but still really delivers no matter how new or old you are to classical music. It's iconic motif has aged well, and still blows my mind.
Conductor José Luis Gomez and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Gomez is the conduction for the Beethoven's Fifth Symphony concert.
These are just my toppicks, but the season offers a huge variety of music from film soundtracks to classics.
ByMarlene Avelino
Green Valley has a new DUI Treatment Court, and Deputy Court Administrator Joe Ferguson made the long drive up to the Ward 3 office share their successes. He was joined by City of Tucson’s Chief Public Defender, Mary Trejo, who hopes to start up a similar program for Tucson.
Chief Public Defender for City of Tucson Mary Trejo, Deputy Court Administrator for Green Valley Joe Ferguson, Me, Vice Mayor Dahl, and CJ Boyd during the meeting.
Diversion programs in general provide offenders an opportunity to participate in support and counseling rather than proceeding through the court system and establishing a criminal record. Arizona is known for having the most rigorous DUI laws in the nation and yet, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), about one-third of all drivers arrested for drunk driving are repeat offenders.
DUI Treatment Court brochure.
With the passage of HB2673 in the state legislature, local jurisdictions now have more discretion in how DUI cases are managed. Previously, minimum rulings were dictated by state law. The program in Green Valley is a national model tailored to suit the needs of its residents, with a focus on those that are high-risk, high-need, and most likely to re-offend. The punitive approach may work for some, but for many, treatment requires addressing the root causes of reckless choices.
Antonio Gonzalez became the first graduate of Green Valley Justice Court's DUI Treatment Court. Celebrating the day with him are, from left, his sister, Sylvia Bernal, his mom, Ana Maria Bernal, girlfriend Charlize Juarez, and Judge Ray Carroll. - Photo courtesy of Kim Smith Green Valley News
DUI Treatment Court is pre-adjudication - that means people who qualify are enrolled in the program before the trial happens and before a judgment. Graduates of the program receive the lesser charge of Reckless Driving - this means a DUI never makes it to their record. While there are significant costs to the participants for the program - drug testing, therapy, transportation, and fees, it is much less expensive than a DUI charge - which can add up to about $12,000.
The program itself can take as little as six months for 1st and 2nd time offenders and a minimum of 18 months for felony diversions. There is regular and random drug testing, sobriety classes, and appearances before the DUI Treatment Court's Judge Ray Carroll. Joe shared that he is a kind of ‘den mother’ to the 20 people currently enrolled and finds it hard to give up on people. If one thing doesn’t work or someone has a relapse, he is there to support them and get them back on track.
So far the program has a 100% success rate and no one yet has dropped out. While they are still in the first year of their pilot program - things are looking really good.
