Daily Brief
September 29, 2026
Tuesday
⛈️ Weather — Tucson
⚠️ Flood Watch: A Flood Watch issued by NWS Tucson at 4:34 a.m. today is in effect until 11 p.m. tonight. Forecasters said flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible across a portion of southeast Arizona, including the Tucson metro area, the Catalina and Rincon mountains, the Tohono O'odham Nation, western Pima County and the Upper Santa Cruz River Valley/Altar Valley. AZPM reported the moisture is streaming north from the remnants of Hurricane Polo, with up to two inches of rain expected across much of southeast Arizona and two to four inches possible in the Sky Islands.
Today: showers and thunderstorms before 2 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms into the evening, with some storms capable of heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, high near 77, southwest wind 6 to 9 mph, 90% chance of precipitation. Tonight: a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mostly cloudy, low around 61. Wednesday: a slight chance of showers before 8 a.m., then sunny with a high near 78.
The rain chances taper quickly after tonight. Wednesday night is expected to be mostly clear with a low around 61, and the rest of the week turns sunny and warmer — highs near 83 Thursday and 86 Friday. Motorists should expect ponding and washes running through this evening.
NWS Tucson Forecast API, AZPM
🚨 Public Safety
Task force reviewing possible new ransom note in Nancy Guthrie case. The Pima County Sheriff's Department said in a Sept. 28 written statement that the PCSD/FBI task force investigating the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie "was recently made aware of a new possible ransom note," and that investigators are also aware of social media comments about the note and are working to determine credibility. Spokesperson Angelica Carrillo said she could not describe the note's contents; a department spokesperson told KOLD there is "some skepticism" about its validity. Guthrie, 84, was reported missing Feb. 1 and authorities determined she was abducted.
Arizona Daily Star, KGUN 9, KOLD News 13, KVOA News 4
One hospitalized after shooting at Marana In-N-Out. Marana police said officers were dispatched to the In-N-Out at North Cortaro Road and Arizona Pavilions Drive about 2:52 p.m. Monday for a welfare check, and that officers working an unrelated nearby incident heard gunshots coming from the restaurant. One person was taken to a hospital and a suspect was detained, police said, adding that the investigation is ongoing and there is no threat to the public.
Upchurch sentenced to natural life in Good Samaritan killing. Jack Upchurch, convicted of killing Paul Clifford on Christmas Eve 2024, was sentenced Monday to natural life in prison plus 21 years, with the additional sentences running consecutive to the murder sentence. Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in a release that the case "would be difficult to prosecute and heavily reliant on critical eyewitness testimony." Two teenaged accomplices received reduced sentences after testifying, over the family's objections, according to KGUN 9.
Pima County Attorney, KGUN 9, KOLD News 13
Woman charged in Three Points child abuse case found dead. The Pinal County Sheriff's Department said the body of Danielle Renae Lee-Sharp, 39, was found east of Mammoth about 5 a.m. Sunday with what appeared to be self-inflicted injuries. She had been released from jail last week on charges stemming from the investigation into her teenage son's disappearance in the Three Points area, which prompted a large search by the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Deputies also found an unidentified man with self-inflicted injuries at the scene who was taken to a Tucson hospital, the department said.
Arizona Daily Star, KGUN 9, KOLD News 13
🏛️ Government
Pima County takes public comment on data center rules during moratorium. As we reported last week, the Board of Supervisors halted new data centers for 120 days on a 3-2 vote; county staff held an open house downtown Monday on the permanent rules being drafted in the meantime, KVOA reported. Data centers are currently allowed only in the county's most intensive industrial zones, and the proposed rules would formally define data centers and set guidelines for their energy and water use and noise levels.
Tucson Daily Brief, KVOA News 4
Forest Service closes border access for wall construction. The U.S. Forest Service announced Monday it is closing public access to border wall construction areas across southern Arizona, including a stretch west of Nogales and Forest Service land on both sides of the San Rafael State Natural Area, with violators facing a fine of up to $5,000 and as much as six months in prison. The Nogales International and Green Valley News reported the closures will last more than two years. The order does not cover Lochiel, where activists have maintained a weeks-long "tree sit" in a border cottonwood, according to the Tucson Sentinel.
Tucson Sentinel, Nogales International, Green Valley News
U.S. attorney rebuffs state officials over voter data. Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes wrote to U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine last week seeking confirmation that Arizona voters' personal information is not being used to search for noncitizens, saying the state would sue if it is. Courchaine responded that the two have "no reason for concern," that voter and election data his office obtained from the Arizona Senate in March was "promptly turned over to the FBI for review," and that it "is not being used for the purposes you have outlined."
Tucson Sentinel, Arizona Mirror
Election deadlines approach ahead of Nov. 3 vote. The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election is Oct. 5, and early voting begins Oct. 7, according to the Tucson Sentinel's political calendar. Candidates for secretary of state — Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes and Republican challenger Alexander Kolodin — are scheduled to debate at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a Clean Elections/Arizona Media Association forum carried on television, radio and streaming platforms.
🎓 Schools
Sunnyside board to preview Prop. 320 reductions. The Sunnyside Unified governing board is scheduled to review at a meeting Tuesday what service reductions would follow if voters approve Proposition 320, according to the Tucson Sentinel's weekly rundown of area government meetings. The 2026 ballot measure would require school districts to spend 60% of their operating budgets on direct classroom spending; the Tanque Verde governing board is set to handle routine business this week, the Sentinel reported.
🏗️ Development & Business
USA TODAY Co. takes full ownership of the Arizona Daily Star. USA TODAY Co., formerly Gannett, acquired Lee Enterprises' 50% stake in the Tucson newspaper operation in a deal announced Monday; terms were not disclosed. The arrangement dated to 2009, with Gannett handling advertising and finance while Lee ran the newsroom and technology. The Star, founded in 1879, now joins the USA TODAY Network after several rounds of layoffs in recent years under Lee, AZPM reported.
Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Sentinel, AZPM
Mobile home residents face large summer utility bills with few options. Arizona Luminaria reports that residents of Twin Palms, a north side Tucson mobile home park, saw steep summer bills — one resident's August total topped $900, including $171 in electricity, after a July bill of $777.21 for lot rent, house rent and utilities. Parks that submeter typically bill residents through park-owned meters rather than the utility, leaving tenants without the recourse of a direct utility customer; residents at neighboring Flowing Wells Mobile Gardens took a 2024 billing dispute to a state administrative court.
🎉 Community & Events
PCC students stage original "Peter Pan" prequel. Pima Community College opens "Neverland: The Lost Shadows," a student-written prequel that shifts the focus from Peter Pan to Tiger Lily and her tribe, running Oct. 1 through 4, Tucson Spotlight reports. Writers said the production responds to earlier versions' caricatures of Native Americans.
📢 What Your Officials Are Saying
Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego (U.S. senators). Both senators announced in releases that they joined colleagues in demanding the Department of Homeland Security halt what they described as 2026 election interference efforts, weeks before Arizona's Nov. 3 general election.
Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Ruben Gallego
Sen. Mark Kelly (U.S. senator). Kelly's office said in a release that labor and workforce leaders have endorsed his Make AI Work for Americans Act.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (U.S. senator). Gallego said in a release that he and Senate Democrats are demanding that Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought abandon any plans to exert political control over National Institutes of Health funding.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-CD6). Ciscomani's office announced what it called a "service dog victory" during National Service Dog Month, describing the outcome as the result of a persistent push.
In the two competitive races we track, no campaign material was posted in the window: neither Katie Hobbs' nor Andy Biggs' gubernatorial campaigns posted, and neither JoAnna Mendoza's nor Juan Ciscomani's CD6 campaigns posted. Ciscomani's item above came from his congressional office, not his campaign.
📍 Around Town
What sold in Pima County, Aug. 31 – Sept. 6, 2026: 100 homes, median $362,500. 100 arm's-length home sales were recorded countywide the week of Aug.
🌵 The Desert Today
Heat: Sept. 27 high 96° (normal 92°, record 108°), low 71°. 77 days at or above 100° so far this year. Water: Lake Mead 1,037.8 ft on Sept. 27, down 19.4 ft in a year. Sky: air quality 33 (good), highest reading fine particles. UV index 2. Power: TEP demand peaked at 2,343 MW on Sept. 26, solar peak 605 MW.
Life in the Desert: the season against prior years, and the long record
This brief was generated automatically by Claude Opus 5 from a review of 16 of 32 local sources fetched, at 6:19 AM MST on September 29, 2026, and published without human review. Every item links to its source. Read more about how this is made.
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