Daily Brief
November 11, 2026
Wednesday
🏛️ Government
Pima County opens budget season $57.5 million short; supervisors delay vote on DeBonis contract. Pima County begins planning its fiscal 2027/28 budget about $57.5 million short in the general fund before any policy changes, Tucson Daily Brief reported from Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, where Scott broke with the cost-shift tax policy. At the same meeting, supervisors postponed their vote on the contract for incoming County Administrator Carmine DeBonis until Nov. 24, so the public can review the full agreement before then, according to the Tucson Sentinel. As we reported Tuesday, the terms had not been disclosed. Supervisor Matt Heinz confirmed a base salary of $362,500 a year, the Sentinel reported, and the full contract is expected to be posted in the coming days.
Tucson Daily Brief, Tucson Sentinel
Pima County finishes count: voters reject TEP franchise, renew zoo tax. The Pima County Elections Department has finished counting ballots from the Nov. 3 general election, KVOA reported. Proposition 421, Tucson Electric Power's franchise agreement, was defeated 90,811 to 69,098, a 57%-43% margin. Proposition 422, the sales tax that supports Reid Park Zoo, passed with 73%, and Oro Valley's Proposition 431, the town's "Path Forward" general plan, passed with 79%.
State regulators to vote Nov. 17 on TEP rate increase. The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to vote at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, in Phoenix on Tucson Electric Power's request for a 9.8% rate increase. The increase would add about $13.50 to an average customer's monthly bill. Commission officials said technical problems will prevent them from linking the Tucson and Phoenix hearing rooms, KVOA reported, so anyone commenting in person must travel to Phoenix. Phone, video and livestream options are available.
Arizona Daily Star, KVOA News 4
Oro Valley explores annexing Casas Adobes shopping centers. Oro Valley is in early talks to annex Cottonwood Plaza, La Toscana Village, Casas Adobes Plaza and part of a nearby neighborhood near Ina and Oracle roads, according to KVOA. The move would add the town's sales tax to purchases there. The town invited 159 property owners to an informational meeting Tuesday and said the final boundaries could change based on community feedback.
🚨 Public Safety
Former Tucson doctor found not guilty on all counts. A Pima County jury on Tuesday found a former Tucson doctor not guilty of sexually assaulting and abusing patients, the Pima County Attorney's Office announced. The doctor had faced 31 counts involving nearly 20 patients, and the trial lasted eight weeks. KOLD identified him as Dung T. Nguyen and reported that the verdict came around 11 a.m. after days of deliberations. The judge waived all of his conditions of release, KOLD reported. County Attorney Laura Conover said the verdict was disappointing.
Pima County Attorney's Office KOLD News 13
"Armed and dangerous" fugitive captured near Benson. As we reported Tuesday, authorities were searching for Justin Wade Stone in the Benson area. He was taken into custody without further incident near Dark Star Road after an hours-long manhunt, according to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, KOLD reported. Pima County deputies had shot Stone in Marana earlier this year. The CCSO said the search began when Benson police tried to pull him over near East Ocotillo Road and Interstate 10.
🎓 Schools
TUSD details more closure plans as families push back ahead of Dec. 8 vote. Tucson Unified administrators on Tuesday presented three more consolidation proposals for the 2028-29 school year, covering Cavett, Secrist and Steele, as families pushed back, Tucson Daily Brief reported. Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo's revised plan would turn the Cavett campus into the Lillian Cavett Alternative Education Center, remove Dunham Elementary from the closure list and postpone the Magee Middle School consolidation to 2028-29, KGUN reported. Trujillo told reporters he wants the board to vote by Dec. 8, saying, "We need to bring finality to our families."
Tucson Daily Brief, KGUN 9, KVOA News 4
Sahuarita override renewal led by 36 votes. As of Tuesday afternoon, Sahuarita Unified's Proposition 428 led by 36 votes, and Pima County had not yet certified local ballot measure results, AZPM reported. The measure would renew a maintenance and operations override that funds athletics, arts, physical education and counseling.
Amphitheater voters pick three board members. In unofficial results, Elizabeth Slater (37%) and Nina Godlewski (34%) won four-year terms on the Amphitheater Public Schools governing board, and appointed member Michael Gemma won a two-year seat, according to Tucson Local Media. Slater and Godlewski will succeed Susan Zibrat and Matt Kopec in January.
🏗️ Development & Business
Aviation Parkway to close all weekend for 22nd Street bridge demolition. Aviation Parkway will close in both directions between Broadway Boulevard and Golf Links Road from 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, to 6 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16, the city announced. During the closure, crews will remove spans, beams and piers of the 22nd Street bridge over Aviation as part of the 22nd Street Bridge Revitalization Project. Detours are posted, and the city said the schedule could change because of weather.
🎉 Community & Events
Barrio Stories Festival marks 10th year at TCC. The Barrio Stories Festival runs Nov. 12-15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, at the Tucson Convention Center's Alva B. Torres Plaza, according to Tucson Spotlight. The festival features mini-plays based on oral histories of Tucson's barrios, along with poetry, mariachi and local food. Marc David Pinate created the Barrio Stories Project in 2016.
Five Pima County library branches add open days. Kirk-Bear Canyon (8959 E. Tanque Verde Rd.) and Quincie Douglas (1585 E. 36th St.) libraries are now open Mondays, the Tucson Sentinel reported. Joyner-Green Valley, Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr. and Dusenberry-River are now open Saturdays, and Joyner-Green Valley has added an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
📢 State and Federal Officials
Sen. Mark Kelly (U.S. senator). At a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Wednesday, Kelly questioned Justin Schwab, the nominee to lead the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. His questions focused on an agency proposal to eliminate public comment requirements for certain air pollution permits, including for data centers that build their own power plants, his office said.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (U.S. senator). Gallego is scheduled to join lawmakers and advocates at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday calling for immigration legislation. His office framed the event as a response to the midterm results and to President Trump naming Stephen Miller White House chief of staff.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (U.S. senator). Gallego joined Rep. Jim Costa and a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both chambers in a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and OMB Director Russell Vought. The letter asks why the administration has not yet spent the $400 million Congress provided for Ukraine security assistance in fiscal 2026 and urges faster delivery.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (U.S. senator). In social media posts, Gallego promoted his bill to raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour and index it to inflation. He also promoted a separate bill targeting tax-free borrowing against wealth by billionaires.
📍 Around Town
Reid Park Zoo - Asian Pavilion — New Food Establishment Permit. Reid Park Zoo - Asian Pavilion holds a newly listed Pima County food-establishment permit at 3400 E.
Taco Bell #43570 — New Food Establishment Permit. Taco Bell #43570 holds a newly listed Pima County food-establishment permit at 4951 S Campbell Ave, Tucson AZ 85706.
Taco Bell #43607 — New Food Establishment Permit. Taco Bell #43607 holds a newly listed Pima County food-establishment permit at 4601 W Ajo Hwy, Tucson AZ 85757.
🌵 The Desert Today
Heat: Nov. 9 high 78° (normal 78°, record 92°), low 57°. 77 days at or above 100° so far this year. Water: Lake Mead 1,039.9 ft on Nov. 9, down 17.4 ft in a year. Sky: air quality 33 (good), highest reading ozone. UV index 5. Power: TEP demand peaked at 1,563 MW on Nov. 8, solar peak 529 MW.
Weather & Water: the season against prior years, and the long record
⛈️ Weather — Tucson
Today (Veterans Day): Sunny, with a high near 82. East-southeast wind around 5 mph. Tonight: Clear, with a low around 56. East-southeast wind 3 to 8 mph. Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 82. East-southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Outlook: Rain chances arrive Friday, with a 40% chance of showers between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms; Friday's high will be near 76. Friday night will be mostly cloudy with a low around 53 and a 20% chance of showers or storms before 11 p.m. Saturday will be cooler, with a high near 70 and a 40% chance of showers after 11 a.m.
NWS Tucson Forecast API
This brief was generated automatically by Claude Opus 5.5 from a review of 24 of 53 local sources fetched, at 6:03 AM MST on November 11, 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