Tucson Speaks Out: September 23

Cost of Prop 421

Extreme heat is more than a Tucson inconvenience; it is a growing public-health and economic crisis. Heat illness causes missed work, lost wages, medical expenses and preventable deaths. Nationwide, heat-related productivity losses approach an estimated $100 billion annually. In Pima County, approximately 117 heat-related deaths in 2025 could represent $1.2–$1.8 billion in societal losses, excluding families’ grief and financial hardship.

Climate change is worsening these risks, especially for outdoor workers, older adults, children and residents who cannot afford adequate cooling. Extreme heat also increases electricity demand, straining the grid and raising utility bills.

TEP’s reliance on natural-gas plants deserves scrutiny. Burning gas releases carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to dangerous heat and placing additional pressure on water resources. TEP’s investment involving Energy Transfer, identified as a major methane emitter, raises further concerns about Tucson’s future.

We must count the full cost of heat, pollution, water stress, and lost lives — not just electricity prices. Not Proposition 421.

Dan Hunt

Midtown

Political identity

The hate Trump crowd collectively yells "vote blue." Has any of those given serious thought to what some Democrats (blue) stand for, what are their policies? Open borders, biological men in women's sports, sex changes for minors , free Medicare for all, individuals lose control and government dictates, free education , defund the police, abolish ICE. The principles of Marxism are being considered as viable options. High fuel prices and their effect on goods are Trump's biggest issue. Look at the positives: inflation is at 3.4%, the U.S. economy is expanding , and trillions of new investments from offshore sources will result in a surge of employment opportunities. If the Democrats take over Congress, our economic engine will stall; all the positives will cease.

Bill Dowdall

Oro Valley

TVUSD governing board

A big thanks to reporter Sierra Blaser for reporting on the Tanque Verde Unified School District governing board candidates. We often forget about the importance of down-ballot elections. The two incumbents spoke of successes but failed to detail results other than reaching an 80% “passing” rate on state assessments. For years, TVUSD has been known for academic achievement, and just “passing” doesn’t give me much confidence in the incumbents’ achievements. Erik Nystrom, a new candidate, left me with concerns about his vague reference to school choice and why his children are not enrolled in TVUSD. Piper Jordan, a former educator with children enrolled in the district, correctly identified the need to mitigate a disconnect between the community and the board. She also expressed a desire to increase positive support for the “boots on the ground”; i.e., educators and support staff. The board needs to lead and execute on positive changes. Electing Piper Jordan will be a positive start.

Philip Baca

Northeast side

Re: 'paths to prosperity'

Families are the nuclei of communities. And many of our families are in trouble. Low-income families, even some moderate-income families, are stressed beyond words and that stress reverberates through the family like a vibrating tuning fork held to the skull.

Without a sound footing provided by a stable home life, these fledglings are ill-prepared to find their way in a world made more chaotic by the gig economy, wealth disparity, incivility, greed, and unaffordable housing and education. As a community, we pay a high cost for this in lives lost to homelessness, crime and drug abuse, damage done to homes and neighborhoods, and lack of civic participation. Resources are spent on attempts to fix a broken system rather than preventing damage from the start. If we could switch that up and put financial support toward children, families and education, the cost we pay in the end would be far less and our communities stronger. We need more programs like Pima County’s Prosperity Initiative.

Linda Dobbyn

Midtown

Things I am thinking about

Some points I will be pondering over the next 30 days:

• If I vote for both Hobbs and Ciscomani, will my friends stop talking to me?

• Does the Tucson-area really need nine separate school districts?

• Why were people upset when DOGE tried to cut millions of dollars but had no comment when multibillion-dollar frauds in Minnesota and California were uncovered?

• Why is Uber a major contributor to the Navajo County Democratic Committee when there is very limited ride-share demand there?

• Why did a contractor give a $100,000 donation to the Hobbs inaugural ball and then receive a rate increase from the state?

•

Tom Furlong

East side

Reporting the $5k check fallacy like it is truth

Recently you wasted nearly a whole page reporting on the President's $5k "Trump Dividend" as if it is a real thing that will happen. There was no $5k DOGE check, nor a $2k tax refund. This time is no different .

Reid Wisneski

Midtown

Davis-Monthan water problem

I read that Davis-Monthan is refusing at this time to clean up the PFAS that it may have released into the water supply. So the solution is to incentivize them. Tucson Water should cut off all potable water to the base until they pony up the money to clean the water up. Let those people drink contaminated water. Sorry to the personnel, but industry has to pay for not cleaning up this mess .

An alternative is for the county to take some of th millions they got for Project Blue and apply it to the cleanup. Face facts: CAP is going to go away in the not-too-distant future, and the pollution is going to spread to our drinking water if we don’t do something right now. The road has come to an end to kick the can down.

Douglas Heaberlin

Southeast side