Afterschool youth-development programs (AYDs) have grown significantly during the past 15 years in Arizona and nationally. Many providers have moved beyond simply providing a safe haven to actively promoting young people’s development. However, there is still tremendous opportunity for growth. There is also a continuing need to enhance coordination and collaboration among programs in order to extend their resources and heighten their impact.

Morrison Institute worked with AzCASE and VSUW to construct a 55-question survey using Qualtrics on-line software. While the term “afterschool” was used, the survey was designed to measure all types of out-of-school programs, regardless of whether they operate before or after school, on weekends, or during school and summer breaks. Approximately 1,800 questionnaires were distributed to individual program sites in Maricopa and Pima counties via a list provided by AzCASE. Though the survey did not utilize a random sample, its 38 percent response rate (681 returns) suggests that its findings can help educators, youth-development professionals, policymakers and the business community understand the scope, characteristics and needs of afterschool services in Arizona’s two largest population centers.

A series of 51 individual “stakeholder” interviews and two focus groups conducted with members of the Pima County business community in fall, 2001, documented significantly divided opinion about the likely economic impacts of the county’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP). The results of the stakeholder inquiries were striking. Only one major finding reflected consensus, while several others revealed sharp differences of opinion in the business community about the potential economic impacts of the SDCP and associated initiatives.

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.

This bond funded program differs significantly from other County capital improvement projects which typically include detailed information specific to each project when the bond proposals were developed. It utilizes its designated bond funding for specific community based projects via an open and continuous application process and under the oversight of advisory bodies appointed by the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

Pima County Department of Environmental Quality monitors ambient (outdoor) air pollutants throughout eastern Pima County, including the Tucson metropolitan area and Green Valley. There are six principal pollutants, called “criteria” pollutants that are monitored in accordance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency to comply with the Federal Clean Air Act. These standards were established to protect public health and the environment from harmful levels of air pollution.

The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality has prepared this document to be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX. The purpose of the Ambient Air Monitoring Network Plan is to determine if the network is achieving the air monitoring objectives specified in 40 CFR Part 58 Appendix D, which mandate adherence to certain number, type and location requirements of monitoring sites and specific site criteria such as monitoring inlet height. The review should also determine if modifications should be made to the network (e.g. through the termination or relocation of unnecessary stations or addition of new stations). In addition, the review is necessary in order to ensure that the residents of Pima County are provided adequate, representative and useful air quality data, and to provide adequate protection to public health.

This Campaign Effectiveness Study, conducted for the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, was designed to evaluate the specific effectiveness of the 2013-2014 Clean Air and Clean Stormwater Program Campaigns. This project analyzed and tracked the overall effectiveness of the Clean Air Program after 24 campaign sessions. For the second consecutive year, the survey also measured and tracked attitudes, knowledge, awareness, and behaviors related to stormwater management for the Clean Stormwater Program Campaign.

This Campaign Effectiveness Travel Behavioral Study, conducted for the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, was designed to evaluate the specific effectiveness of the 2012-2013 Clean Air Campaign, as well as analyze the overall effectiveness of the air quality media campaign after 23 campaign sessions. New to the current study, the survey also measured baseline awareness/knowledge related to storm water and hazardous waste issues.

The Neighborhood Reinvestment Program has been in existence since the 1997 Pima County bond election established General Obligation Bond funding for construction of small scale capital improvement projects to be selected through a neighborhood consensus process. Specific projects are recommended by the citizen committees to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.