If you’re between the ages of 14 and 21 and want to work this summer, the Pima County One-Stop Career Center’s Summer Youth Program will begin accepting applications on Friday, Jan. 25.

Last summer, more than 1,560 young people in Pima County earned minimum wage and gained valuable experience while working for Pima County, the City of Tucson, the University of Arizona and dozens of participating local businesses.

The jobs they performed included administrative support, clerk, child care aide, recreation aide, library page, patient care technician, discovery guide at the Children’s Museum and surgery tech trainee at Pima Animal Care Center.

Starting Jan. 25, apply online at https://secure.pima.gov/summeryouth or pick up an application form at a local high school, community center or library.  The application deadline is Friday, March 15.

The county received more than 4,000 applications last year, said Dana Katbah, program manager.  Program participants are selected based on their applications, assessment scores and work interests.

Participants attend a one-day “employability skills” workshop, where they learn about good work habits and employer expectations, before they go to work.

The Summer Youth Program also includes basic education, in which young people can earn elective high school credits through learning in math, reading and writing.

For more information, call the Pima County Summer Youth Employment Hotline at 520-798-0546.

Si usted está entre las edades de 14 a 21 años y quiere trabajar este verano, el programa laboral para jóvenes del Pima County One-Stop Career Center empezará a aceptar solicitudes el viernes, 25 de enero.

El verano pasado, más de mil 560 jóvenes del Condado Pima adquirieron una valiosa experiencia ganando el salario mínimo trabajando para el Condado Pima, la Ciudad de Tucson, y la Universidad de Arizona entre otros negocios participantes.

Entre los trabajos que fueron desempeñados están apoyo administrativo, oficinista, ayudante de guardería, técnico para el cuidado de pacientes, guía de descubrimiento en el Children’s Museum y aprendiz de cirugía en Pima Animal Care Center.

A partir del 25 de enero, llene su aplicación en https://secure.pima.gov/summeryouth o recoja una solicitud de empleo en su preparatoria, centro comunitario o biblioteca más cercana.  El plazo de entrega se vence el 15 de marzo.

El Condado recibió más de cuatro mil solicitudes el año pasado, dijo Dana Katbah, gerente del programa.  Los participantes son seleccionados en base a su solicitud, evaluación e intereses de trabajo.

Antes de su primer día en el trabajo, los participantes asisten a un taller de trabajo de un día donde aprenden acerca de los buenos hábitos laborales y las expectativas de sus futuros patrones.

El programa de Verano para jóvenes también incluye educación básica, en la cual los jóvenes pueden adquirir créditos de preparatoria a través de cursos de matemáticas, lectura y escritura.

Para más información, llame a la línea de empleo para jóvenes del Condado Pima al 520-798-0546.

Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry told members of the local hospitality industry on Thursday that re-energizing tourism must be one of the key pillars in stimulating the regional economy.

“We believe very strongly, and will back it up with public investment, that revitalizing tourism is directly related to our economic well-being,” Huckelberry said at the Southern Arizona Lodging & Resort Association’s annual legislative gathering.

Tourism has an annual economic impact of $2 billion locally and employs more than 22,000 people, Huckelberry noted. He applauded the industry for surviving a substantial blow when the funding for the region’s tourism promoter, Visit Tucson, dropped 38 percent since the start of the recession, plummeting from $10 million in fiscal year 2007 to $6.5 million last fiscal year.

But, he said, there must be a focus on bringing those numbers up, which is why Pima County invests 50 percent of its bed tax revenue in tourism promotion.

“Some people might say that funding tourism is kind of frivolous and is not a core responsibility of government,” he said. “What they don’t understand is that a good solid economy, with good solid revenues, creates tax revenues that support the core services of government.”

The County’s Economic Development Plan, endorsed unanimously by the Pima County Board of Supervisors in November, proposes asking voters to invest in new exhibits for some of the region’s most popular attractions. “We have certain attractions that people come to visit that are unique to the Southwest and unique to the community, such as the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the Pima Air & Space Museum,” he said. “We want to make sure those are world-class attractions.”

Aside from rebuilding the relationship withMexico, the plan also envisions capitalizing on emerging tourism markets, he noted.

Kino Sports Complex, initially built as a spring training facility, has been re-purposed to focus on the growing Major League Soccer and amateur sports market. The complex this year hosts an international soccer game between Canada and Denmark, plus eight soccer spring training matches in January and February that lead up to the 2013 Desert Diamond Cup.

The County is also capitalizing on the bicycling market, he said. A river park trail system, known as “The Loop” has been attracting national attention as the County and its partners try to raise the area’s profile as a bicycling destination, he said.

For more information on the County’s economic development priorities, please visit http://www.pima.gov/econdev/. View the Economic Development Plan at http://www.pima.gov/administration/documents/pdfs/PC_ED_Action_Plan_2012-10-17.pdf

Have you always wanted to work in a high-tech industry but thought your lack of education or grades would hold you back?

The Pima County One-Stop Career Center may be able to help you improve your math and other technical skills – and your future.

One-Stop may be able to help qualified applicants with the costs of training in:

• Green automotive mechanics
• Advanced aviation technology
• Logistics and Supply Chain Management

• Computing technology
• Energy utility industry careers

Or to become a:

• Mechanical inspector
• CNC machinist

One-Stop has also arranged for a skills course for college credit to prepare successful applicants for training.

Applicants must have a valid Arizona driver’s license and be able to pass a drug test. Most opportunities will also require a criminal background check.

Priority of service is given to veterans and their eligible spouses.

To find out whether you are eligible for grant-funded training, please contact Sue Denogean at 243-6759 or Sue.Denogean@pima.gov to arrange an interview.

Pima County One-Stop Career Center provides career development services and training funds for youth and adult job seekers. It also provides support to employers in the recruiting, staffing and training of a viable workforce.

Follow Pima County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pimacountyarizona.

Pima County is closer to having a courts complex downtown that will be more functional and more convenient, as the last beam for the structural framework was hoisted into place Monday.

Construction will now proceed to enclose the 290,000 square foot complex, which will ultimately provide a new home for the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court.

Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías said he believes the historic Pima County Courthouse that houses much of the Justice Court operations – notable for its pink hue and large tiled dome – is the second-most beautiful building in the County, second only to Mission San Xavier del Bac. But as iconic as it is, he said, it is important to build a new home for justice that will serve Pima County residents and court staff well into the future.

The historic Pima County Courthouse was constructed in 1929, before computers and when Tucson was much more sparsely populated, noted Presiding Superior Court Judge Sarah R. Simmons.

“In this day and age when we take payments for fines by credit card, when we can communicate with folks through our web pages, and when we are servicing so many more people, it is obvious this building was truly necessary,” she said.

Presiding Justice Court Judge Keith Bee agreed that the new facility will be beneficial to the public. “As long as I’ve been on the bench, the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court has been in multiple facilities. We haven’t been in one building because we’re too big for the building that we have,” he said, explaining court participants often rush in, late and apologetic, for going to the wrong building.

John Leonardo, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona and the former presiding judge of Pima County Superior Court, said that while it was disappointing the City ofTucsonis no longer a participant, it is important to mark the evolution ofJustice Courtto a place that will be fully equipped to serve a modern, metropolitan area.

“A courthouse is a place of prominence in the community,” he said. “It is a place where citizens go to seek justice in disputes with each other and with their government. This beautiful courthouse not only will enhance downtown by its presence, it will also reflect the dignity and the seriousness of the significant role it will play as a house of justice.”

After the beam was signed by Supervisors, judges and construction workers, it was hoisted into place.

Pima County Supervisors Chairman Ramón Valadez placed a glass eye made by local artist Tom Philabaum on the beam to signify the blind eye of justice. “Our system of government is built upon checks and balances and this building represents that,” he said.

Tenant improvements are expected to begin in the fall of 2013, with occupancy in early 2015.

Pima County’s 13-year planning effort to balance protection of native plant and animal species and habitats with growth and development reached a milestone this month with the release of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s draft Environmental Impact Statement assessing the County’s draft Multi-Species Conservation Plan.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comment on both documents until March 15, 2013. The Service is conducting a public meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department conference room, 3500 W. River Road, where the Service will provide information and accept written comments.

The Pima County Office of Sustainability and Conservation is also hosting an open house in each supervisorial district to provide information about the benefits of the Multi-Species Conservation Plan and the permit the County is seeking under the Endangered Species Act.

The open houses are planned in:

District 1   Monday, Jan. 14, 4-7 p.m., Nanini Library, 7300 N. Shannon Road

District 2   Monday, Jan. 28, 5-7 p.m., Abrams Public Health Center, Room 1106-1108, 3950 S. Country Club Road

District 3   Tuesday, Jan. 22, 10 a.m.-noon, Robles Community Center, 16150 W. Ajo Highway

District 4   Thursday, Jan. 24, 4-6 p.m., Kirk-Bear Canyon Library, 8959 E. Tanque Verde Road

District 5   Tuesday, Jan. 29, 4:30-7 p.m., Pima County Housing Center (“El Banco”), 801 W. Congress St.

Under the Endangered Species Act it is normally illegal to “take” (harm, harass, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect) threatened and endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may issue permits to take federally listed species provided the taking is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity. Issuing such an incidental take permit to Pima County requires the development of – and commitment to – a habitat conservation plan that minimizes and mitigates the effects of incidental take on federally listed species.

Pima County has applied for a permit for incidental take of 44 species, including five animal and two plant species currently listed under the Endangered Species Act. The permit would apply to County construction and maintenance activities and, as presented in the draft Multi-Species Conservation Plan, to certain private development projects. The draft Plan’s primary approach to mitigating the effects of incidental take is to monitor and manage those lands that the County has already acquired as open space to maintain and enhance habitats for the 44 species included in the permit.  In the future, should additional lands be necessary to provide mitigation, the Multi-Species Conservation Plan allows for the acquisition of additional open space lands.

Both the draft Multi-Species Conservation Plan and the draft Environmental Impact Statement can be viewed at http://www.pima.gov/cmo/sdcp/MSCP/MSCP.html.

Pima County on Tuesday became the first local jurisdiction to support a series of joint business objectives designed to stimulate economic activity in the region by shaping a cooperative working relationship with the private sector.

The County’s Development Services Department worked with the Tucson Metro Chamber to draft the objectives, which were approved by the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

For its part, Pima County agreed to 10 tenets. Among them:

• Ensuring a simple, predictable regulatory environment that is both efficient and non-cost prohibitive;
• Maintaining a fair system of taxation and fees that encourage businesses to start, establish, grow and remain in the County;
• Providing prompt, accurate and courteous requests for information needed to assist businesses;
• Providing a forum to appeal a denial or violation through a timely hearing or other process.

The business community, in turn, agreed to 10 tenets as well, including:

• Acknowledging that adherence to target timeframes by the County requires the applicant to do the same;
• Engaging in discussions with the County early in the project planning/design phase to identify items that may potentially result in delays;
• Ensuring that requests for information and assistance are accurate, well-defined and courteous;
• Partnering with the County to lobby the state to reduce mandates and rules that require or promote a rigid bureaucracy.

“This represents our continuing efforts to make Pima County a place where businesses will be able to expand and continue to grow,” said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.

Amber Smith, the executive director of the Metropolitan Pima Alliance, lauded the County for being the first local government to support the collaborative objectives. “I want to commend you for leading the effort and trying to strengthen the relationship between the business community and Pima County.”

Mike Varney, president of the Tucson Metro Chamber, said the County was a receptive partner in the effort, and already has made clear improvements based on stakeholder discussions. “We’re hoping we can convert that and future improvements into a more robust local economy,” he said.

To view the document in its entirety, please visit http://www.pima.gov/cob/e-agenda/12182012/AD2B_County%20Admin%20-%20Metro%20Chamber.pdf

The Pima County Board of Supervisors has extended two separate settlement offers to the Town of Marana to resolve the years-long dispute over wastewater services in the area.

“It is time to put an end to this costly disagreement,” said Supervisors Chairman Ramón Valadez. “Pima County has in good faith proffered two generous alternatives that should allow both jurisdictions to move toward a successful resolution.”

The Town of Marana last week issued a check for nearly $204,000 to cover Pima County’s legal fees after the Arizona Supreme Court let stand an appellate court ruling that determined the Town lacked authority to run its own wastewater facility, given ambiguous language sent to voters in a 1988 ballot question.

A second lawsuit remains in the courts, with Pima County contesting legislation in the 2011 legislative session that allowed the Town to acquire the wastewater treatment system for strictly the amount of the outstanding debt. Although the legislation allowed the Town to take the facility for $18.2 million, the cost of the facility in its entirety is $27 million.

The plant was turned over to Marana in January.

The outstanding litigation will be resolved if the Town accepts either of the two offers. Both offers are contingent on the repeal of the legislation that allowed the Town to expropriate the County’s assets at less than fair market value.

• Option A: Pending voter approval, the Town will continue to operate the facility for a purchase price of $18.2 million, which is the principal and interest on the remaining debt and which was the deal outlined in the Town’s legislation. The County would support a limited designated management area for North Marana, with the County providing sewer service for the balance of the Town.
• Option B: The Town will return the treatment facility to Pima County, which will guarantee the Town and its developers the immediate ability to establish new sewer connections. In exchange, the County will guarantee that Marana will receive 100 percent of the effluent generated at the Marana facility originating from the Town boundaries, barring any challenge under Indian water rights claims.

Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson said while both are fair offers, Option B is clearly the more cost effective for the Town’s ratepayers and allows for immediate growth.

“Not only has the state Supreme Court just determined the Town does not have the legal ability to operate the plant, but the Town also does not have the proper permits in place to allow for operation or expansion,” Bronson said. “That really puts a question mark on the Town’s ability to allow for new sewer connections. The northern portion of the Town of Marana is pivotal to the region’s economic growth and we can’t afford uncertainty when we’re trying to send the message we’re ready for business.”

Additionally, the second option means much greater cost savings for Marana. The small facility was the second most expensive to operate in the region. Expansions and improvements to meet future growth needs and to comply with environmental requirements over time will run in the millions. While the County can spread those costs across a large pool of ratepayers, Marana will likely have to either raise rates or provide a subsidy that will pull resources from other key areas, she noted.

Supervisor Ray Carroll said he hopes the Town Council weighs the County’s transparent offers and makes a choice soon.

Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías agreed. “I think this is a very important move by Pima County. It lets the ratepayers know we’re serious about putting an end to this litigation and moving forward with a solution.”

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The Pima County Workforce Investment Board released its 2011-12 annual report at its Dec. 14 meeting, documenting the actions the Board and the Pima County One-Stop Career Center have taken to assist local employers and job seekers meet their employment and training needs.

“A trained workforce fuels our community’s economic well-being,” said Gregg R. Johnson, chairman of the Workforce Investment Board and Campus Director of Southern Arizona’s University of Phoenix campuses. “In our current economic climate, the Pima County Workforce Investment Board’s role in providing local employers with skilled and qualified employees has never been more important.”

The Workforce Investment Board is authorized by the Department of Labor and appointed by the Pima County Board of Supervisors to provide recommendations on local workforce policy and oversight of the Pima County One-Stop, which connects eligible job-ready youth, adult and dislocated workers to local growth, high-demand industry occupations.

According to the 2011-12 annual report:

• 773 businesses hired One-Stop clients.
• 15,682 job seekers utilized the One-Stop self-service system.
• Of the 4,153 job seekers enrolled for Workforce Investment Act case-managed services, 86 percent of dislocated or laid-off workers, 81 percent of adults and 71 percent of youth were successfully placed in employment.
• 37 companies utilitized the One-Stop Outplacement Services team to work with 1,050 employees during layoffs or plant closings.

The Workforce Investment Board includes representatives from Raytheon Missile Systems, Southwest Gas, ASARCO LLC, Unisource Energy/Tucson Electric Power, CAID Industries, Pima Community College, and Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities.

To obtain a copy of the print Workforce Investment Board 2011-12 annual report, please contact Risé Hart at 520-243-6766 or Rise.Hart@pima.gov. To see the annual report online, please visit www.pima.gov/ced/agencies-workforce-investment-board.shtml.

Keep up with Pima County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pimacountyarizona.

Bicyclists use The Loop to reach many destinations in Pima County.

The Metropolitan Pima Alliance presented Pima County a Common Ground Award for The Loop and Share Use Path Extension and Underpass at Cortaro Road. The underpass provides easy off-street access to Wade McLean Park and El Rio Park in Marana. The County received the award in the Public Works category.

“The Loop is a critical asset for the County,” says County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.  “With over 100 miles of off-street paths, it’s a quality of life amenity that can be used to attract high-wage employers to the region.”

“The Loop is the hub of the metropolitan area; it links to almost every one of the jurisdictions. So The Loop becomes the main corridor—for pedestrians, bikes, and other alternative transportation modes. It’s a great way to reach any destination, whether you’re going to work, school, restaurants, or shopping.”

Numerous small businesses have started to pop up along The Loop, thus creating additional economic opportunities for the community.  The Loop provides an accessible place for exercise and recreation.  It also brings to the region biking enthusiasts, bird watchers, and other tourists.  “The League of American Bicyclists calls The Loop a ‘must ride,’ ” says Andy Clarke, League President, who rode in El Tour de Tucson in November and spent an extra day in the area to ride The Loop.

The Loop path encompasses both banks of four major river systems or waterways.  Pima County residents and visitors can enjoy biking, walking, or running along the Rillito River, the Santa Cruz River, the Pantano Wash, the Julian Wash and the Harrison Greenway.  The Loop also has path extensions along tributary washes or extensions.  These include the Tanque Verde Wash, the Canada del Oro Wash, and north and south of the Santa Cruz River.

More than one third of the metropolitan population lives within a half mile of The Loop or Loop extensions.

Pima County’s partners in The Loop are: City of Tucson, Town of Marana, Town of Oro Valley, City of South Tucson, Regional Transportation Authority, and the Arizona Department of Transportation.

For more information about The Loop, visit: www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

Keep up with Pima County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pimacountyarizona.