A number of significant positive and negative economic impacts could result from Pima County's SDCP and related programs, according to an analysis of existing research on large-scale conservation planning undertaken to provide a framework for community decision-making. This report offers no final verdict on the net economic impact of Pima County's current, ambitious initiatives in habitat conservation and growth management. However, it does provide a framework for future assessment and decision-making.

Previous studies at Lake Havasu and Lake Powell, combined with other national data indicate that carbon monoxide poisoning from recreational watercraft can create a significant health hazard. The current study was designed not to repeat the 2003 study. Instead, it was designed to explore the potential health effects of carbon monoxide under the conditions of Humbug Cove. Humbug Cove is known for congregating idling boats, higher frequency of alcohol consumption, and being a location that was secluded and sheltered from breezes or wind.

This report presents an assessment of human health risks from exposure to surface soil metals in the Old Tungsten Mill, Tucson, AZ. City of Tucson officials had planned to build a park, on a parcel of land they owned west of Silverbell Road and north of Speedway Boulevard in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona. They had raised $200,000 in bond money to study what was the Old Tungsten Mill site when they found high levels of contaminants in the soil. The Arizona Department of Health Services, Risk Assessment & Health Consultation Program offered assistance to the city. On October 13th, 2006 City Officials asked ADHS to perform a health consultation to evaluate whether exposure to contaminants in soil pose a public health hazard, either currently or during possible future reuse of the land.

The Arizona Department of Health Services received a request for a Health Consultation from the City of Litchfield Park, dated March 5, 2007. The nature of the request was for ADHS to determine if there was a risk to public health from eating fish taken from Tierra Verde Lake. The City sponsors an annual fishing derby and believed that some citizens were eating the fish they caught. The City tested their lake water and for the very first time, measurable amounts of perchlorates were detected. The probable source for the perchlorates was thought to be from a groundwater, contaminant plume originating from the Phoenix Goodyear Airport Superfund Site.

Local residents expressed their concerns regarding the tailings from the Iron King Mine and Humboldt Smelter at Dewey-Humboldt, AZ. The purpose of this health consultation is to evaluate the available water and soil sampling results to determine if the detected metal levels pose adverse health effects when residents come into contact with the water or soil. In 2008, EPA initiated the field investigation portion of the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study for the Site. The primary objectives of the RI/FS are to determine the nature and extent of contamination and to gather sufficient information so that EPA can select a long-term remedy that eliminates, reduces, or controls risks to human health. The investigation included the collection of airborne particulates, groundwater, surface water, surface soil, subsurface soil, and sediment data across the entire Site. Data from the RI/FS was not available at the time the health consultation was prepared and thus it was not incorporated into this health consultation.

Though the Great Recession may be officially over, all is not well in Arizona. Three years after the collapse of a massive real estate “bubble,” the deepest economic downturn in memory exposed and exacerbated one of the nation’s most profound state fiscal crises, with disturbing implications for Arizona citizens and the state’s long-term economic health.

This brief takes a careful look at the Grand Canyon State’s fiscal situation, examining both Arizona’s serious cyclical budget shortfall—the one resulting from a temporary collapse of revenue due to the recession—as well as the chronic, longer-term, and massive structural imbalances that have developed largely due to policy choices made in better times. This primer employs a unique methodology to estimate the size of the state’s structural deficit and then explores the mix of forces, including the large permanent tax reductions, that created them. It also highlights some of the dramatic impacts these fiscal challenges are having on service-delivery as well as on local governments. The brief suggests some of the steps state policymakers must take to close their budget gaps over the short and longer term. First, it urges better policymaking, and prods leaders to broaden, balance, and diversify the state’s revenue base while looking to assure a long-haul balance of taxing and spending. And second, it recommends that Arizona improve the information-sharing and budgeting processes through which fiscal problems are understood—so they may ultimately be averted.

In February of 1998, the Pima County Board of Supervisors launched what has evolved into the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP) -- a comprehensive effort to protect the Sonoran Desert, guide growth and rationalize land development in the metropolitan Tucson region. Proponents of this planning process maintained that the project would reconcile conflicts between human activities and conservation, providing benefits for both wildlife and economic development. Critics, however, have increasingly alleged that implementing such an initiative will adversely affect land and housing markets, increase taxes and create problems of housing affordability. Over time a pressing need has consequently grown for objective information about the possible fiscal and economic impacts of the conservation programs being assembled by Pima County. This report addresses that need. It is a tool in the form of an impartial framework for assessment that government officials, environmentalists, business people and the general public can use for debate and decision-making.

In preparation for new federal legislation that promotes unprecedented levels of comprehensive planning and service integration at state and local levels, an analysis of state issues relevant to comprehensive service delivery is necessary. This paper examines such state issues, with a focus on Arizona's at-risk population, and presents a framework for comprehensive service delivery. It provides the rationale for such service delivery, summarizes the literature on research-based practices, illustrates district approaches to comprehensive service delivery, and sets forth guidelines for developing a comprehensive plan. System components of an effective plan are discussed in detail--student education, parent/family involvement, social/economic services, health services, and professional development. Five general principles underlie success: philosophy, people, processes, promising practices, and partners. Recommendations for developing comprehensive service delivery programs include the following: (1) build on existing information; (2) consolidate knowledge; and (3) think long-term. Contains 11 figures and over 250 references. Appendices contain information on Arizona practitioners' views and an illustration of a side-by-side program analysis.