Daily Brief
May 13, 2026
Wednesday
🏛️ Government
Pima County Board of Supervisors declines to remove Sheriff Nanos. The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday night to keep Sheriff Chris Nanos in office, opting against removal proceedings and instead referring perjury allegations to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. Supervisors called on Nanos to "rebuild community trust" following a contentious debate over his work history at El Paso PD, departmental budget overruns, and interactions with federal immigration officials; he submitted a 24-page written response to the board's questions ahead of the meeting.
Arizona AHCCCS Medicaid undergoes major changes. The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System is facing significant restructuring driven by federal funding cuts and state-level efficiency efforts, affecting hundreds of thousands of Arizonans — including a substantial share of Pima County residents — who rely on the program. The scope of changes and their timeline were not fully detailed in the summary, but the report signals substantial disruption to the state's Medicaid infrastructure.
Arizona voters rank water supply as their top legislative priority. A new poll commissioned by Audubon Southwest found that 50% of likely Arizona voters ranked water supply and protecting the Colorado River as a top-three priority for the state legislature — ahead of inflation (47%) and immigration (30%). The poll comes as the existing Colorado River usage agreement expires in October and Arizona faces potential outsized cuts under any federal plan; Gov. Hobbs has proposed a $30 million Colorado River Protection Fund, which the Republican-led legislature excluded from their budget before she vetoed it.
Opponents sue to overturn Arizona land sale for Copper World mine. The leading opposition group to the proposed Copper World open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson has filed two lawsuits seeking to invalidate a recent State Land Department sale of 160 acres to Hudbay Minerals for mine tailings storage. The sale has drawn sustained opposition from environmental groups and community members concerned about impacts to the Santa Cruz River watershed and nearby communities.
🚨 Public Safety
Man killed in three-vehicle crash on Tucson's southeast side. A man was fatally injured Monday night in a three-vehicle collision on Tucson's southeast side, Tucson police reported. No additional details on the circumstances or location of the crash were available in the initial report.
Pima County Sheriff's Department seeks person of interest in homicide. The Pima County Sheriff's Department is asking for the public's help to identify and locate a person of interest in an active homicide investigation. No additional details were provided in the announcement.
Sacred O'odham site damaged by border wall construction; Quitobaquito Springs at risk. After a sacred O'odham fish intaglio was destroyed during border wall construction in April, tribal members and advocates are raising alarms about Quitobaquito Springs — a rare desert oasis in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument that supports the Quitobaquito pupfish, spring snail, and Sonoyta mud turtle found nowhere else in the country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it is working with the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service to avoid the springs during secondary wall construction and has pledged not to use groundwater within five miles of the site.
🏗️ Development & Business
Tucson leaders say city needs 35,000 housing units over next decade, tout nonprofit partnerships. At a media briefing with Mayor Regina Romero and Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz, city officials said Tucson faces a projected shortage of at least 35,000 housing units — many of them affordable — over the next ten years, driven by population growth and rising costs. The city's Housing Affordability Strategy for Tucson (HAST) emphasizes partnerships with nonprofit developers and use of low-income housing tax credit financing; recent projects include the Desert Dove complex, Tucson House redevelopment, and the groundbreaking of Amazon Flats and Sugar Hill on Stone.
Vacant Tucson big-box stores and grocery sites eyed for housing conversion. Zoning changes and high new construction costs are prompting Tucson landlords to consider converting vacant big-box retail and grocery store properties into mixed-use buildings with apartments above and retail on the ground floor. The shift reflects a broader rethinking of underutilized commercial real estate as a potential answer to the city's housing demand. (Subscriber content — full details behind paywall.)
📚 Education
Trump administration's NASA cuts would cancel U of A's OSIRIS-APEX asteroid mission. The Trump administration's proposed NASA budget would eliminate funding for several science missions tied to the University of Arizona, including the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft — the renamed OSIRIS-REx probe that is currently en route to asteroid Apophis after successfully returning samples from asteroid Bennu. The proposed cancellation would end a flagship mission in which U of A scientists have played a central role and would represent a significant blow to the university's planetary science program.
⛈️ Weather — Tucson
No active watches, warnings, or advisories in effect for the Tucson Metro Area (AZZ504).
Today: Mostly sunny. High near 100°F. SSW winds 1–15 mph with gusts up to 26 mph. No precipitation. Tonight: Mostly clear. Low around 64°F. S winds 3–14 mph with gusts to 24 mph. Thursday: Sunny. High near 96°F. SW winds 1–10 mph. Outlook: Hot and dry conditions persist through the weekend, with highs ranging from 95–100°F and no precipitation in the forecast through at least next Tuesday. Sunday brings a stronger south wind (8–21 mph, gusts possible) ahead of a modest cooling trend that brings highs into the low 90s by Monday. *Tucson and Pima County cooling centers are open early this season in response to the heat — visit the city's website for locations.*
NWS Tucson Forecast API