Ward 2 Council Member Paul Cunningham

I often mention climate change in my notes to constituents, and each time I do, someone writes to me taking issue with my bringing it up. Sometimes, it’s to deny that there is climate change; sometimes it’s someone who is mad that I mentioned it at all. 

Yesterday, the COVID-19 dashboard from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) showed 239 new cases and 1 new death here in Pima County. The now fully approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offers the surest protection against a virus that continues hospitalizing and killing those who aren’t vaccinated. Full approvals of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are expected in the near future. There are many places in Tucson to get tested and to get vaccinated. 

For years, the alarm has been sounding about water levels in Lake Mead. Well, the water level is now low enough to trigger a Tier 1 shortage. 

On August 9th, you’ll see something new on the streets of Tucson: cars with the “Barnacle.” 

The Barnacle will replace the old boots that the police and parking enforcement would put on impounded vehicles. An officer or parking agent will put a sticker on the window with a hearing date and the device, a large yellow cover that prevents vision out of the driver’s side window, will be placed on the car. 

It’s a good week to talk about rainwater and its importance as a potential resource for Tucson. As of this week, 2021’s monsoon total (1.64 inches) has already passed the total for the entire 2020 monsoon season (1.61 inches). Despite the flooded streets and occasional downed tree, we Tucsonans appreciate the relief that monsoon season can give us. 

Arizona voters passed Proposition 207 last November by an overwhelming margin. The most talked about provision of the new law is that recreational marijuana is now available, although regulated. There was another part of the proposition, however. That dealt with expunging the records of people with marijuana convictions. This makes so much sense. If people are making money off of marijuana as a legitimate business, why should people who got convicted years ago still suffer the consequences? 

For Fathers Day, I wanted to tell you a bit about my father, Senator George Cunningham. 

I grew up in a politically active family with governors and judges coming by the house, so it would probably surprise a lot of you that I wasn’t that interested in politics when I was growing up. I was well into adulthood when I first started following in his footsteps and becoming active in the community and sought elected office.