EXPLORER The Voice of Marana, Oro Valley and Northwest Tucson
J ,
V • N
Container Communities
A startup business working with the University of Arizona aims to create a new kind of neighborhood | Page 12
ON STAGE AGAIN
INSIDE Our Town
Sharp discusses mayoral run | Page 5
The Gaslight Theatre and Gaslight Music Hall have returned to indoor shows, scheduling extra dates to keep up with demand. The Gaslight Theatre kicked off their season with “Space Wars.” Read more on page 14.
Summer Safari
Photo courtesy of the Gaslight Theatre
Reid Park Zoo celebrates animal art | Page 9
Sports & Rec Athletes debating vaccination | Page 20
$
National park visitors – and money – are coming back after 2020 plunge B N Cronkite News
Finchem critics give up effort to recall lawmaker C D Tucson Local Media
O
rganizers of a recall effort against state Rep. Mark Finchem ended three weeks before the deadline. Rural Arizonans for Accountability announced they would throw in the towel on Tuesday, June 15. Finchem said he expected
660,000 3BD/3BA+Den
12268 N Meditation Drive, Marana, AZ 85658
(2,404 sq ft) gated home in Dove Mountain. Views! MLS#22114420
the effort to fail. “For an effort that was rooted in baseless fraudulent claims, and defamatory accusations, I am not surprised that the effort failed,” said Finchem via email. Recall organizers had told Tucson Local Media last month that they believed they would be able to reach their goal of 24,775 signatures by the July 8 deadline.
But the group told supporters in an email last week that they didn’t think they could make the goal. “After analyzing the number of signatures we still need, the shrinking number of days left until our deadline, and our current finances, we made the difficult decision to stop collecting
A
fter hitting a 40-year low in the pandemic year of 2020, national park visitors—and their dollars— are steadily returning, but they are still below pre-pandemic levels, according to new National Park Service data. Park restrictions and outright closures in response to COVID-19 led the number of park visitors to fall from 327.5 million in 2019 to 237.1 million last year. At the same time, national park visitor spending plummeted, from $21 billion to $14.5 billion.
See FINCHEM, P8
See NATIONAL PARKS, P19
735,000 4BD/4BA
$
12770 N Yellow Bird Road, Oro Valley, AZ 85755
(2,868 sq ft) home with resort-style yard and views. MLS #22105498
Lisab@LongRealty.com 520-668-8293
#1 LONG AGENT & #1 REALTOR IN ORO VALLEY Zillow Premier Agent