A diverse community of abundant, native amphibians is persisting along waterways of urban and urbanizing Tucson. Community and government leaders in Tucson support the concept of urban amphibian conservation in principle. Meanwhile, concurrent, commingled plans for infrastructure improvements and ecological restoration along major urban riparian corridors are being developed under leadership from Pima County, City of Tucson, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Paradoxically, as this work gets underway, it could impact local amphibian populations – temporarily via direct earth-moving impacts, and permanently via elimination of seasonal waters in which amphibians breed. Pima County wishes to minimize these negative impacts, and to learn how to protect, manage and improve habitat conditions for native amphibians. This report describes means by which—despite complex public health issues—such conservation may be possible with proper planning.

Because the West Branch area has been left alone, it has a chance to recover and become a part of the larger Paseo de las Iglesias project, and a cornerstone of a more extensive effort at ecological restoration involving the mesic coorridors of Pima County, the Santa Cruz, Rillito, and Pantano.

A resident of Wickenburg, Arizona and her husband reported experiencing some adverse health effects that she felt may be attributed to a recent pesticide application to her home. The family requested the Arizona Department of Health Services to evaluate whether the remaining levels of pesticides present in her home would cause any health effects. The resident reported to ADHS that their symptoms continued to worsen over time, and that the chemical continued to pool in their house even after being wiped up several times, so that she and her husband vacated the house. The couple underwent extensive testing, and are receiving oxygen treatment to alleviate their symptoms. No medical records have been submitted to ADHS for review, and it is difficult to conclusively analyze health outcome information as it has been self reported.

The objective of this health assessment is to provide an evaluation of the health risks that may result from exposure to abandoned mine tailings in Klondyke, Arizona. The tailings are remnants from an earlier flotation mill and mining operation that was in business from the early 1900's until 1950. Environmental data indicate that the 70,000 cubic yards of tailings that remain on the property have contaminated the soil and nearby creeks with heavy metals. This report evaluates the potential pathways of human exposure to the contaminated media. The contaminants of concern further evaluated are lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, manganese, and boron. Child health issues and community concerns are also an integral part of the evaluation.

The Arizona Department of Health Services was asked by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to evaluate the potential health effects from inhalation of toxic vapors as a result of an unplanned, concentrated nitric acid release. According to Hudson Farms, at approximately 1 pm on July 1st, concentrated nitric acid began escaping from a small leak in a 33,000 gallon storage tank. By 4:30 pm, the first responding fire department units observed an orange colored plume that was moving with the wind direction. The large plume continued to dissipate throughout the area until about 8:30 pm that night. Small amounts of nitric acid that was generally restricted to the Hudson property continued to leak until approximately 8 am the morning of July 2nd when pumping of acid waste waters into emergency storage tanks was completed. It is estimated by ADEQ that a total of 4,0 00-4,500 gallons of concentrated nitric acid was released from the storage tank. Approximately 600 people from the town of Laveen and the Gila River Indian Community were immediately evacuated. Residents were allowed re -entry to their homes the following day, July 2nd at approximately 10 am.

The objective of this health assessment is to provide an evaluation of current and future potential health risks that may result from exposure to residual organochlorine pesticides at Franklin Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona. The school has been unoccupied for the past 10 years. The historic school building is being restored by the school district, which plans to reopen the building for use as an elementary school. Several organochlorine pesticides were discovered in the soil during routine environmental sampling done in conjunction with the renovation. In particular, chlordane and dieldrin, banned in the United States in the early 1980's, were present in concentrations above screening levels.

This follow-up to the 2001 landmark report, "Five Shoes Waiting to Drop on Arizona's Future," focuses on the projected future of the state if Arizona fails to address its Latino educational attainment gap. The publication is more of an economic impact statement than an education report, with indicators pointing out consequences and contributions, depending on action or inaction in closing the gap of Arizona's future workforce.

Grandparents widely consider spending time with their grandchildren one of the greatest benefits of growing older, according to a 2009 survey conducted by Pew Research Center. But, what happens when circumstances necessitate that grandparents become primary caregivers for their grandchildren? At a time when non-traditional families have become ubiquitous, the growing number of custodial grandparents and “skipped-generation families” are quietly impacting family dynamics, necessitating changes to long-standing public policies at both the federal and state level.