Citizen Staff Writer
RealFAST WEEK IN REVIEW
Compiled by PAUL SCHWALBACH
pschwalb@tucsoncitizen.com
1 What’s in your medicine cabinet? Arizona has launched a new state-managed, centralized computer database that tracks prescription drug usage and can be accessed by doctors and pharmacists around the state. Privacy advocates, and the Citizen’s online community, cry “Big Brother.”
2 The city’s budget: Despite a $22 million boost in projected revenue for the next fiscal year, the city of Tucson still may opt for about 30 layoffs as part of a significant reorganization of its planning operations.
3 Traffic deaths: Twenty-eight people died in alcohol-related car crashes in Pima County and Tucson in 2008, one more than the 27 such fatalities in 2007. The statistics buck state and national trends in which traffic fatalities of all types have decreased.
4 Recession? What recession? If you always have had an overriding desire to own a 1970 Plymouth A990 Hemi ‘Cuda and a 2009 Bugatti Veyron – and have a spare $1.8 million or so – you’re in luck. The Greater Tucson Collector Car Auction to be held Feb. 27 and 28 at the Tucson Convention Center will feature those two beauties as well as some 300 other glorious hunks of metal.
5 On budget and ahead of schedule: The $200 million widening of Interstate 10, which has made commuting in Tucson more, er, interesting since June 2007, is scheduled to be completed in December – four months ahead of schedule. That’s good news for motorists and for the contractors, who can earn an extra $920,000 for finishing early.