Latest Pima County, Arizona Stories

On February 15, asteroid 2012 DA14 passed extraordinarily close to the earth. Unlike the unexpected asteroid collision over Russia that day, this encounter never presented any danger but astronomers were eager to observe the event. An international team led by Nicholas Moskovitz (MIT) observed the asteroid with a number of telescopes, including the 2.1m telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory: the accompanying video shows the asteroid as it was leaving the vicinity of the earth. As Dr....

MARANA, Ariz., July 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Marana Aerospace Solutions announced that it has recently completed Heavy Maintenance checks on two Boeing 717-200 aircraft for Turkmenistan Airlines. The Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) facility located just north of Tucson is regarded as one of the world's largest aviation service resources. For more than three decades it has delivered award-winning solutions for nearly every type of commercial aircraft, including Boeing,...

MARANA, Ariz., March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The 460-acre facility for commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) located within the Pinal Air Park in Marana, Arizona today is being officially renamed Marana Aerospace Solutions at a special on-site event. Formerly Evergreen Maintenance Center, Inc., the facility was acquired by Relativity Capital in 2011. At the event, the company's newly appointed CEO, Hal Heule, and members of its Board of Directors are introducing...

TUCSON, Ariz., May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Date / Location: May 14th, 2010, 5pm Amity Circle Tree Ranch 10500 E. Tanque Verde Rd., Tucson, AZ 85749 Amity Foundation is honored to announce Ray Clarke as Board President of Dragonfly Village. Dragonfly Village is launching a capital campaign to build a 12-building village on a portion of Amity's Circle Tree Ranch to reunify children in need with their families. Upon completion the Village will have housing for 100...

 With the casting today (Wed., Aug. 26) of a 6.5-meter mirror in Arizona, Mexican and American astronomers have taken the first step toward creation of a major new telescope that will survey infrared objects in the northern sky with unprecedented sensitivity.The new mirror is destined for the planned San Pedro Mártir Telescope, which would be built at the San Pedro Mártir Observatory in Baja California, Mexico.When completed in 2017, the telescope will begin the Synoptic All-Sky...

An international collaboration of astronomers from the United States and Mexico will gather at the University of Arizona Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory in Tucson on Aug. 26 to celebrate the casting of a 6.5-meter mirror they plan to use in a proposed infrared sky survey at one of the darkest sky sites in the world.Steward Observatory is casting the 6.5-meter (21.3-foot) "honeycomb" sandwich mirror for a future telescope planned for San Pedro Mártir Observatory in Baja California,...

By AE ARAIZA More than 300 people quietly moved along the Rillito River Walk from Children's Memorial Park - some with balloons, most wearing purple T-shirts - but almost all remembering the heartbreaking loss of a child. Footprints Support Group and Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital sponsored the seventh annual Tucson Walk to Remember, a symbolic, half-mile walk and celebration of life held Saturday at the park, 4851 N. 15th Place. The ceremony included music, a balloon release and words...

By ERNESTO PORTILLO JR SOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FIND A BETTER FIT IN ALTERNATIVE ED PROGRAM When Sahuarita High School senior Hector Encinas was a frosh, he fell behind in his credits. Although he improved his grades in his sophomore and junior years, he was told his lack of credits made his May 2009 graduation improbable. When Taylor Vance asked to enroll at the high school after the start of fall classes, he was told it was too late. The senior transfer student missed too many school...

By ERICA MELTZER Pima County will try to take advantage of the slowdown in the housing market to buy up state trust land it wants to preserve. Earlier this year, the county asked the state to put land on Tumamoc Hill up for auction so it can try to buy it. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved a plan to file similar applications for four other parcels, the largest of which would add more than 4,400 acres to Tortolita Mountain Park. All the parcels were set aside for conservation...

By ERNESTO PORTILLO JR Easing overcrowding at the high school and following state mandates on teaching non-English speaking students are two issues facing Sahuarita Unified School District voters who will elect three school board members in November. The district is considering a solution to overcrowded Sahuarita High School, which has an enrollment of more than 1,400 students, though it is designed for only 1,200. One idea is to spend $4 million in voter-approved bonds to build a wing...