Proposition 412, a 25-year deal between the city of Tucson and TEP, didn't spark voters to cast their ballots for "yes." It was being defeated by a 55-45% margin as the first election returns were released Tuesday night. Read more»

Wednesday is the suggested deadline for voters to return ballots by mail in Tucson's special election to approve or refuse a new franchise agreement with Tucson Electric Power. Read more»

A "yes" vote on 412 moves Tucson and Southern Arizona closer to carbon neutrality, and ensures continued partnership with our electrical utility. — Tucson City Councilman Paul Cunningham Read more»

Midnight on Monday, April 17, is the deadline to register to vote in the May 16 special election in Tucson — double-check your registration online even if you're already signed up. Voters will make their determination on a franchise agreement with Tucson Electric Power. Read more»

Voters never reject franchise agreements. However, the law isn't clear about what happens if, come May 16, they fail to approve a deal between the city and Tucson Electric Power. Read more»

The Tucson city staff has some ideas to recoup the $10 million necessary to keep Sun Tran buses free. One of them is a parking levy. Local Republicans are not happy about it. Plus, Marana tackles AirBnbS, and more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

TEP has proposed an 11.8% rate hike that will jack up our bills by an average of $16.22 per month, taking the monthly average to a shocking $135.95 per month. Read more»

Tucson's "Resilient Together" draft plan is buzz-word rich, takes 36 pages to get to the introduction and could have been dictated by Siri in 2021 or done by ChatGPT today. It's also a good start that may well prove the savvy of Regina Romero. Read more»

Tucsonans will be able to vote on a new 25-year franchise agreement with Tucson Electric Power that could raise monthly utility rates by .75%. The Tucson City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday to hold a special election in May for residents to decide on the agreement. Read more»

The city manager is asking Tucson to fully subsidize public transit for another six months while searching for a permanent funding source. Plus more in local government meetings this week. Read more»

Once in a decade, as stated by the Clean Air Act, each state is required to assess airshed pollution in national parks and wilderness areas. This regional haze planning process is a rare and vital chance to clean up the air for Arizonans while lowering our state’s emissions that worsen climate change. — Catalina Ross, Sierra Club Read more»

A report released this week by the Sierra Club faults dozens of utilities that provide a major chunk of U.S. electric generation for failing to speed up their decarbonization efforts, with Arizona utilities - including Tucson Electric Power - among those that got worse grades. Read more»

The Community Foundation of Southern Arizona awarded seven Tucson and Pima County nonprofits with grants to switch to solar power. Read more»

Due to extreme heat, the Arizona Corporation Commission is requiring utilities to keep electricity on, even for residents behind on their bills. Temperatures have reached 114 degrees this week in Southern Arizona and metro Phoenix, and not having cooling can be life-threatening. Read more»

The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality is opening a 35-day public comment period today on proposed changes to Tucson Electric Power's emissions permit for its South Side generating station. Read more»