The city of Tucson will reimburse $4 million in tax revenue to American Battery Factory and $300,000 to Sion Power if both companies create dozens of manufacturing jobs with the new factories they'll building during the next five years. Read more»
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Water, trash, space and a big old "I told you so" headline this week's agendas of the Tucson City Council and Pima County Board of Supervisors. Plus more in local government meetings this week.
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The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Tuesday to approve a lease with American Battery Factory, which plans to spend $1.2 billion to start making battery cells in Tucson and says the company plans to bring in 1,000 jobs with average salaries of $65,000. Read more»
A combination of city and county incentives would help land an American Battery Factory plant in Tucson — with a forecast of 1,000 jobs at a $1.1 billion plant. But the deal might remind some of the World View situation. Read more»
After a series of losses in Pima County courts, the Goldwater Institute convinced a Court of Appeals panel that the economic deal between local officials and World View, a space tourism company that uses high-altitude balloons, violated the Arizona's gift clause. Read more»
Pima County has won again in court in what may be the last gasp of the Goldwater Institute's pursuit to end the 2016 deal that helped high-altitude balloon firm World View set up shop here. Read more»
State appeals court judges ruled that a suit over Pima County's support for high-altitude balloon firm World View is "moot," because the company's facility was completed years ago. Read more»
Vector Launch, a Tucson-based small rocket company, dropped CEO Jim Cantrell on Friday, locking the doors of its three offices around the country and cited financial issues in "undertaking a pause in operations." Read more» 1
Chasing and keeping businesses that are ready to bounce from city to city looking for the best deal has cost us all and given us not a whole bunch. Read more» 1
Tucson's high-altitude balloon company publicly named a new CEO on Thursday, a move months in the making as World View "retools" toward boosting scientific and communications gear — even as the firm's workforce has fallen short of lofty goals and even its contract with Pima County. Read more» 1
Although Pima County invested $15 million in a facility for a high-altitude balloon company, the number of workers there isn't taking off as officials forecast — or even as World View's lease requires. But a new CEO is making changes. Read more» 2
A balloon being tested on the launch pad at World View, the high-altitude balloon company, ruptured Tuesday afternoon, alarming many who heard what they thought was an explosion on Tucson's South Side. Read more»
An appeals court ruled that Pima County had the ability under economic development laws to bypass rules for collective bidding. The county was sued over a lease provided to high-altitude balloon company World View. Read more» 1
So there's a whole lot more of this Pima County-World View-Goldwater Institute legal mess to wade through. Or the county could simply declare victory and move on. While the supervisors were in a closed-door meeting getting geared up to keep the fight going, I was on the phone with Goldwater finding a way out of this imbroglio.
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By a 3-2 vote, the Board of Supervisors approved an appeal of last week's ruling that the county violated procurement laws in a 2016 build/lease deal with high-altitude tech firm World View. County officials called the lawsuit "job killing" and noted that the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute "ignored" similar economic development deals in Maricopa County. Read more» 1
A judge ruled Thursday that Pima County violated state laws in not having its lease with World View appraised before signing an agreement to construct a facility for the high-altitude tech company. Judge Catherine Woods rules in favor of a Goldwater Institute lawsuit to block the lease. The building was completed at the end of December. Read more» 5