By Councilmember Richard Fimbres
Congresswoman Martha McSally, Senator Andrea Dalessandro, Councilmember Shirley Scott and I, delivered the more than 1,400 thank you cards and letters made by students from 24 schools across our City, to Veterans at the V.A. Hospital. I want to thank Luke Johnson and the staff at the V.A. who again helped to make this event happen. We are looking forward again to come out to the V.A. during Memorial Day, as I have for the last five years.
On Thursday, November 10, Mayor Rothschild, Councilmember Scott, City Manager Michael Ortega and I attended the ribbon cutting of the new, Century Mark 14 Theater at the Bridges located in Ward 5. The theater will employ 100 people and 1,396 seats, all of which are recliners, refillable drink stations and an extended menu. I want to congratulate Cinemark and their President, Alan Benjamin who brought this wonderful movie experience into Ward 5 and Tucson.
More than 100 floats and entries took part in the 2016 Tucson Veterans Day Parade. Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Councilmember Regina Romero, TPD Chief Chris Magnus, TFD Chief Jim Critchley and I were pleased to take part in the parade. Congratulations to the Tucson Veteran’s Day Parade Committee organizers for a job well done. I also want to thank all those who came out on Friday, November 11 to honor those who are serving and has served our country.
I had the privilege of hosting a meeting with Greg White, CFO for Raytheon Tucson on Friday, November 18 at the Ward 5 office. Raytheon, which is located in Ward 5, will be expanding their operations bringing in 1,975 new jobs to Ward 5 and Tucson. Raytheon will be spending $200 million to expand their facilities and the jobs will be an additional $200 million for salaries. My office looks forward to working with Greg and Raytheon further on this endeavor. I want to thank our City Manager for arranging the meeting.
On Saturday, November 19, Tucson’s Firefighters held their annual Food Box Give Away at Local 479, 2264 E. Benson Highway, for which I had the privilege to attend. Firefighters and the families volunteer to put together food boxes for those in need in our community. They do this over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Congratulations to IAFF Local 479 for their commitment to help those in need for our community.
I had the privilege of attending the 2016 Festival de dar Gracias held at Clinica Medica Familiar, 3770 S. 16th Ave on Saturday, November 19. Arizona Bilingual and Clinica Medica donated more than 1,000 turkeys to families. I want to congratulate Alma Gallardo and the Arizona Bilingual staff for another successful festival that benefitted many families on Tucson’s South side.
I want to congratulate Donovan Durband and Park Tucson, the City of Tucson’s parking division, who were a recipient of a 2016 Common Ground Award from the Metropolitan Pima Alliance (MPA) on Nov. 4 at MPA’s 12th annual Common Ground Awards ceremony. Park Tucson collaborated with a host of organizations, neighborhoods, businesses and individuals to improve and communicate the availability, convenience and value of City-managed parking in Tucson’s urban center; become more financially sustainable; and enforce parking regulations in a manner that complements and supports Downtown’s economic resurgence and growing popularity.
I want to thank everyone who turned for the Sales Tax Town Hall November 21, held at the El Pueblo Senior Center, 101 W. Irvington. City staff said it was the biggest turnout of the town halls held. The comments given by the good citizens were constructive comments about the proposal and potential direction the city may take. I want to thank City Manager Michael Ortega, CFO Joyce Garland, Assistant City Manager Albert Elias, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus, TFD Assistant Chief Joe Gulotta and the other City staff present for this town hall.
I also want to thank our federal lobbyists, Terry Bracy and Tracy Tucker for their work on the City of Tucson’s behalf, as well as for their work on the fight to keep the Cherrybell Post Office and Processing Center open. They have been key to the Council’s efforts and our community’s effort to keep Tucson a vibrant city.
Lastly, I want to wish my colleagues on the Council, their staff, their familes and our community a Happy Holidays.
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