Pima County, Ariz. (April 30, 2012) – Pima County residents can now license their dogs and renew a license online. Pima Animal Care Center (PACC), which oversees the  health and safety of dogs and cats throughout the county,  now  offers the option of using the Web to renew a dog license or apply for a new license and make the payment online.

Licenses and renewals are still being processed at the Pima Animal Care Center at 4000 N. Silverbell Roads during business hours but the online option allows residents to go online anytime to license their pet.

All dogs must be licensed in Pima County.

To begin the online licensing process, go to http://www.pimaanimalcare.org and click on the blue License Online tab on the right side of the page. Everything you need to know about how to do this is explained on the Web page.

You may also use the Web to update your address and advise PACC when a licensed pet dies and no longer needs to be licensed.

PACC added the online service to make it convenient for people to comply with the law and reduce the use of paper in conducting the business of Pima County.

Pima County, Ariz. (March 29, 2012) – Now there’s an interactive website just for kids that helps them learn about air, water, soil, resource conservation and climate change – and why it’s important for them to learn how to take good care of planet Earth.

The Eco Kids Corner website was developed by Pima County’s Department of Environmental Quality and a student intern from the University of Arizona’s College of Public Health to engage children in learning about the natural world and their role in it. Here’s the link: http://www.cleanair.pima.gov/ .

Not only can they learn fun facts, like how old the Earth is and what air is made of, but they can write poems, guess the answers to science questions, learn why recycling really matters, take a look at the hydrologic cycle and find out about pedology. That’s the study of soil.

The colorful website provides links to other activity-based sites for kids from agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control.

The site also provides links to the local zoo, museums, the Sonoran Desert Kids Club and other venues that offer educational programs and materials for children.

The site includes resources for teachers and inspiration for science fair projects, too.

A special program to introduce the website is set for  Saturday, April 7, at 11 a.m. at the Murphy-Wilmot Branch Public Library, 530 N. Wilmot Road, during the library’s monthly Science Saturday event.

Get ready to bicycle, walk, run, skate and connect with your Pima County neighbors at Cyclovia Tucson – Arizona’s biggest block party! – on Sunday, March 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Pima County has committed $15,000 a year for the next three years to Cyclovia Tucson.  It has also arranged a safe route for cyclists to Cyclovia from The Loop, 55 miles of off-street bike and pedestrian paths being developed around metropolitan Tucson.

Most of South Fourth and South Eighth avenues between downtown and Interstate 10 will be closed to cars during the event.

For activities, food, entertainment and music, plan to visit:

• Armory Park/Tucson Children’s Museum on South Sixth Avenue between East 12^th and East 13^th streets.
• Santa Rosa Park west of South Eighth Avenue at West 20^th Street.
• South Fourth Avenue’s “Restaurant Row.”
• Arizona’s Children Association/Mission View Elementary School at South Eighth Avenue and West 37^th Street.
• Ochoa Elementary School at South Eighth Avenue and West 25^th Street.

Pima County will offer a variety of activities and learning opportunities at Santa Rita Park, at South Fourth Avenue and East 22^nd Street, including:

• The Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department’s Urban Wildlife mobile exhibit.
• Pima County Public Library’s Bookbike and giant chess set.
• Housing Center weatherization demonstrations.
• Jumping castles, a Fur-Your-Bike station and maps of The Loop.
• Games, activities and information from Colossal Cave Mountain Park, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Pima Air & Space Museum, the Health Department, Department of Environmental Quality and One-Stop Career Center.

Cyclovia Tucson is a project of Living Streets Alliance, a local nonprofit education and advocacy organization whose mission is to promote healthy communities by empowering people to transform our streets into vibrant places for walking, bicycling, socializing, and play.

Now in its third year, Cyclovia Tucson will feature many of last year’s big hits: bicycle rodeo, repairs and tune-ups, puppet show, climbing wall, mariachis, hula-hooping, Solar Rock, and The Water Festival.  In addition, the 2012 event will include University of Arizona Campus Recreation fitness classes and kids’ activities, salsa dancing, drum lines, DJs, marching bands, and interactive murals.

Pima County Bike Ambassadors and Greater Arizona Bicycling Association are providing guided group rides to Cyclovia from:

• Keeling Elementary School, 2837 N. Los Altos.
• Christopher Columbus Park at Camino del Cerro.
• Himmel Park on North Treat Avenue and East First Street.
• Freedom Park on East Golf Links Road.

Cyclists on The Loop will be able to ride to Cyclovia via the bike and pedestrian path on the east side of the Santa Cruz River Park through Verdugo Park at West 19^th Street and onto West 18^th Street to South Eighth Avenue (see attached map).

For more information about Cyclovia Tucson, visit www.cycloviatucson.org.

For more information about the following Pima County departments and programs, please visit the following websites:

Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, including free bicycle safety classes, http://bikeped.pima.gov

The Loop, www.pima.gov/TheLoop

New Loop video, www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Etsx13J3M

Public Library, www.library.pima.gov

Health Department, www.pimahealth.org

Sustainability efforts, www.pima.gov/Sustainability/

Environmental programs, www.deq.pima.gov

Las Artes GED program, www.pima.gov/CED/CR/LasArtes.html

Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department, www.pima.gov/nrpr/

Pima County, Ariz. (Jan.11, 2012) – Landfills and transfer stations operated by the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality Solid Waste Division will be closed on Monday, January 16, for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

All will reopen on Tuesday, January 17.

The closure includes landfills in Sahuarita and Ajo, the Tangerine Landfill and the Catalina and Ryan Field Transfer Stations.

The Solid Waste Administrative office on Ina Road also will be closed on Monday.

For more on the closures please call (520) 243-7400 or go to www.deq.pima.gov.

Pima County, Ariz. (Dec.29, 2011) – Landfills and transfer stations operated by the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality Solid Waste Division will be closed from December 31 through January 2 for the New Year’s holiday weekend.

The closures include landfills in Sahuarita and Ajo, and the Tangerine Landfill, and the Catalina and Ryan Field Transfer Stations in the Tucson area.

The county’s Solid Waste Administrative office on Ina Road also will be closed.

For more on the closures call (520) 243-7400 in Tucson or go to www.deq.pima.gov.

Pima County, Ariz. (Aug. 19) – The Pima County Department of Transportation will repair erosion to Redington Road from Milepost 18 to 19, beginning Monday Aug. 22 through Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011. The work will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Railing will be installed into the slope on the side of the road. Also, wire baskets and rocks will be placed for road stabilization.

Motorists are asked to take alternate routes while the work is being performed. Electronic message boards are in place to warn motorists of the road work ahead.

Pima County, Ariz. (Aug. 18, 2011) -  Pima County’s Department of  Development Services hosted a solar tour in mid-August for an officer of Kenya’s Energy Regulatory Commission and a representative of  Namibia’s Electricity Control Board.

They were accompanied by Nancy LaPlaca, an adviser to Arizona Corporation Commissioner Paul Newman.

Betty Stamper, the county’s Regional Solar Coordinator, conducted the tour.

Charity Nsofu of the Namibian Electricity Control Board and Eustace Njeru, technical officer, Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Kenya Energy Regulatory Commission, came to Arizona to learn about the various solar technologies installed throughout the state.

Tucson was included in their tour because of the plethora of solar energy developments in the Tucson area.

The solar tour included a visit to the Tucson Electric Power Solar Test Yard where more than 600 photovoltaic modules from 20 different manufacturers are being monitored by University of Arizona researchers. The modules have been monitored since 2009.

The group also toured The Solar Zone at the University of Arizona  Science and Technology Park, southeast of the city,  where John Grabo, Director of Business Development, provided an overview of the largest multi-technology solar evaluation site in the United States.

Also, the visitors viewed, from Golf Links Road looking south, the solar farm installed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and some of the roof-mounted PV solar installations at the Soaring Heights Community at D-M. The residential community is the first and the largest solar-powered residential community in the country to date.

A new, ground-mounted 14.5 megawatt solar farm is expected to be installed at the Air Force Base later this year.

The visitors from Africa were interested to see the solar installations at Brooklyn Pizza and Antigone Books, since they hope to be able to replicate similar, small commercial solar installations in their own countries.

The tour ended in Downtown Tucson at the Solar One Stop Center, located in the main lobby of the Public Works Building, 201 N. Stone Ave..

The multi-media center promotes the use of solar power in the Tucson region and is a central hub for solar information for residents, businesses and solar companies.

For more information on solar use and technology, go to www.SolarOneStopAZ.org. Stamper administers Pima County’s Solar One Stop website.

If you need to reach any Pima County government offices, please phone.  Technical problems are making email service erratic and undependable.

The IT Department is making an effort to correct the problem by the end of the day.