Daily Brief
October 29, 2026
Thursday
🏛️ Government
Oro Valley bans standalone data centers. The Oro Valley Town Council voted 7-0 Wednesday, Oct. 28, to adopt a zoning code amendment that eliminates standalone data centers. The council set aside a permit-based approach for now. As we reported Wednesday, the town's planning panel had backed the ban a day earlier.
Pima County planners advance data center rules; ban "not on the table." The Pima County Planning and Zoning Commission met Wednesday to hear the latest amendments to a proposed data center ordinance. The meeting followed a month-long survey and two public hearings. Development Services Deputy Director Thomas Drzazgowski said a ban is not on the table, KOLD reported. According to KGUN, more than 86% of the nearly 2,000 people surveyed worried that data centers would use too much water. The rules are being written during the supervisors' temporary hold on new data center permits and would not affect the already-approved Project Blue, KGUN reported.
Today is the last day to comment on border wall plan along Tohono O'odham Nation. Public comment closes Thursday, Oct. 29, on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's plan to build 62 miles of border wall along the southern edge of the Tohono O'odham Nation, according to the Tucson Sentinel. The project would replace 53 miles of low-slung vehicle barriers with a 30-foot wall. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin waived dozens of federal laws in July to clear the way for the project. Tribal officials have pushed back and filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C.
🚨 Public Safety
Arizona confirms first New World screwworm case, in a Cochise County dog. The Arizona Department of Agriculture confirmed Wednesday the state's first case of New World screwworm since the 1960s. The case was found in a dog on a Cochise County ranch after a local veterinarian found an infested wound on Oct. 26. Federal agriculture officials confirmed the detection after lab testing. Officials said the risk to people remains very low, KOLD reported. Separately, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Tuesday in Nogales that cattle shipments from Mexico are expected to resume at the Mariposa Port of Entry on Nov. 30, KGUN reported. That would end a roughly 14-month suspension tied to the parasite.
Arizona Daily Star, KGUN 9, KOLD News 13, Green Valley News, KGUN 9 (Mariposa port)
Firefighters rescue person from downtown commercial building fire. Tucson Fire crews were dispatched at 5:16 p.m. Wednesday to a two-story commercial building near North Ferro Avenue and East 6th Street. A bystander told crews someone might be inside. Firefighters forced entry through a heavy iron door and used a thermal imaging camera to find the person, who was taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported.
🎓 Schools
TUSD adds Cavett Elementary to closure recommendations. Tucson Unified on Wednesday recommended closing Cavett Elementary, 2120 E. Naco Vista. Its students would move about a quarter mile to Utterback Middle School, 3233 S. Pinal Vista, which would become a K-8 school starting in the 2028-29 school year. Cavett joins Hudlow, Cragin, Dunham and Collier elementary schools and Magee and Secrist middle schools on the list. The governing board is expected to vote on the recommendations in December.
Arizona Daily Star, Arizona Luminaria, KOLD News 13
State letter grades released; Vail ranks first among large districts. The state released 2025-26 school letter grades Wednesday. Vail, Marana, Flowing Wells and Catalina Foothills received district "A" ratings, and TUSD's rating is under review, the Arizona Daily Star reported. Vail ranked first among districts and charter networks with 10 or more schools, with a 3.95 GPA; 21 of its 22 graded schools earned an "A," KVOA reported. Marana Unified and Flowing Wells Unified each announced their "A" ratings, with Marana saying 16 of its 17 rated schools maintained or improved their grades.
Vail Unified, Marana Unified, Flowing Wells Unified Arizona Daily Star, KVOA News 4
Sahuarita Unified approves $1.8 million fire alarm overhaul; override on Tuesday's ballot. The Sahuarita Unified governing board on Wednesday approved a $1,802,961 contract amendment to replace fire alarm systems at four schools. The district is covering the share the state won't pay. Separately, Sahuarita voters will decide Proposition 428 on Nov. 3, KOLD reported. The measure would continue the district's current override, which helps fund art classes, counselors and physical education.
Tucson Daily Brief, KOLD News 13
🏗️ Development & Business
Houghton Road widening between Irvington and 22nd Street set to start in early 2027. Construction on the Houghton Road segment from Irvington Road to 22nd Street is anticipated to start in early 2027, the Regional Transportation Authority said. Design work is nearing completion, along with right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation. The improvements will include bridges at the Pantano Wash. The RTA said the segment is the seventh of eight phases of the corridor project and one of the longest.
Regional Transportation Authority
Etherton Gallery leaving Barrio Viejo, likely for Mercado District. Etherton Gallery, a Tucson photography gallery, is moving from its Barrio Viejo location at the end of the year and may relocate to the Mercado District. "We're 80% of the way there to sign the lease," founder Terry Etherton told Tucson Local Media, adding that the gallery is not going to close. Etherton opened his first gallery in 1981 at 6th Street and 4th Avenue.
🎉 Community & Events
Tucson holds vigil for Dolores Huerta. People gathered Wednesday evening at Joaquin Murrieta Park on Tucson's west side to honor Dolores Huerta, the United Farm Workers co-founder who died Wednesday at 96. Huerta's family said she died of cancer. Tucson was a community Huerta called home, KOLD reported. "She was still out there fighting for injustice, fighting for the sanctity of humanity," Eva Carrillo Dong, co-chair of the Dolores Huerta Unity Coalition, told KVOA.
KOLD News 13, KVOA News 4, KGUN 9, Arizona Luminaria
Brewers' World Series-winning manager once led Tucson's Triple-A team. The Milwaukee Brewers won the franchise's first World Series title Wednesday night, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5, ESPN reported. Brewers manager Pat Murphy managed the Tucson Padres in 2013, the last season the San Diego Padres' Triple-A affiliate played at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium. His team went 77-67, 21 more wins than the year before and the club's only winning season in Tucson. "I wanted it to be a team that didn't quit and that's for sure, they didn't quit," Murphy told the Arizona Daily Star the night of the team's last home game in August 2013. The franchise moved to El Paso in 2014 and became the Chihuahuas, with Murphy as their first manager. Murphy coached Arizona State from 1995 to 2009 and has managed the Brewers since 2024.
ESPN, Arizona Daily Star, StatsCrew
📢 What Your Officials Are Saying
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-CD6, U.S. representative). A release from Ciscomani's congressional office says the group HECHO applauded his bill that would establish Chiricahua as the nation's 64th national park. Neither Ciscomani's campaign nor that of Democratic challenger JoAnna Mendoza posted on campaign channels in the past two days.
Sen. Mark Kelly (U.S. senator). In a post, Kelly paid tribute to Dolores Huerta, saying her "Sí Se Puede" message, first delivered in Phoenix in 1972, and her work for farmworkers "made Arizona and our country a better place."
Sen. Mark Kelly (U.S. senator). Kelly urged support for Julia Romero Gusse in Legislative District 16, calling her "a veteran and a fighter" and saying he believes this is the year to flip the state Legislature.
Sen. Mark Kelly (U.S. senator). Kelly said in a post that President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are "trying to chill the First Amendment rights of every retired veteran" and that he is "not backing down."
🌵 The Desert Today
Heat: Oct. 27 high 85° (normal 83°, record 98°), low 55°. 77 days at or above 100° so far this year. Water: Lake Mead 1,038.3 ft on Oct. 27, down 19.3 ft in a year. Sky: air quality 35 (good), highest reading ozone. UV index 5. Power: TEP demand peaked at 1,818 MW on Oct. 26, solar peak 547 MW.
Life in the Desert: the season against prior years, and the long record
⛈️ Weather — Tucson
No active weather alerts.
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 87. South-southwest wind around 6 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. South-southwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8 and 11 a.m., then showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. South wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Outlook: Showers and thunderstorms are likely again Friday night before 5 a.m., with a low around 60. Saturday brings a break, with a high near 79 and a 40% chance of storms after 5 p.m. Storms are likely Saturday night, and Sunday is the wettest day, with a 90% chance of rain and a cooler high near 73.
NWS Tucson Forecast API
This brief was generated automatically by Claude Opus 5.5 from a review of 25 of 48 local sources fetched, at 6:03 AM MST on October 29, 2026, and published without human review. Every item links to its source. Read more about how this is made.
Comments
Join the conversation on Bluesky