Arizona 360 closed out the month with a deep dive into recent headlines making waves in Southern Arizona. Our journalists roundtable featured the Arizona Daily Star's Sarah Garrecht Gassen, the Green Valley News/Sahuarita Sun's Dan Shearer and the Tucson Sentinel's Dylan Smith. The panel discussed the Pima County Board of Supervisors' vote to approve relocating a temporary shelter for asylum seekers into a juvenile detention facility.
Other topics included pushback from municipalities against the proposed Interstate 11 corridor and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich's proposal that state lawmakers take steps to legalize recreational marijuana rather than leaving the matter up to voters.
With Pima County and Catholic Community Services teaming up to shelter asylum seekers at the county's Juvenile Justice Complex, Arizona 360 learned more about how they plan to transform empty wings of the detention center into a space suitable for migrant families in transit through Tucson. Chief Deputy Administrator Jan Lesher discussed the county's position with Lorraine Rivera.
The monsoon's mild start received a long-awaited jolt this week with showers that soaked Tucson. Michael Crimmins, a climatologist at the University of Arizona Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, discussed what recent storms signal about the remainder of the season, as well as some of the challenges with predicting the monsoon.
Dry conditions during summer can often lead to fire restrictions that can put a damper on camping plans or outdoor activities. Breaking the rules can lead to steep fines and a notice to appear in federal court. U.S. Forest Service criminal investigator Brent Robinson discussed challenges with enforcing fire bans and how the agency investigates wildfire causes.
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