Top 1,000 city salaries dwarf area's average pay

If you feel a tad underpaid in your current job, you may want to consider dropping off an application at the city of Tucson or Pima County.

Problem-riddled nonprofit charity Giving Tree folds

The Giving Tree, a problem-plagued Tucson charity for the homeless, is shutting down.

Decision to vaccinate can be major dilemma for nervous parents

More and more mid- to high-income parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children.

Small losses added up to big defeat for Kelly

Republican Jesse Kelly went from a squeaker loss in 2010 to near-blowout defeat in 2012 - not because of a big shift in voter response to his campaign, but because of lots and lots of little ones.

Rio Nuevo member alleges conspiracy

Rio Nuevo board member Alberto Moore charged Tuesday that there was a conspiracy by the Senate president to throw several recent Rio Nuevo board members off the panel, so past financial misdeeds could be covered up and Rio Nuevo could again begin spending freely.

Factors that make for 'herd immunity'

If enough people are vaccinated, an isolated case of infectious disease will not morph into a full-blown outbreak.

Kids skipping shots increases threat of dangerous outbreak

One in three Arizona schools last year had kindergarten classes with vaccination rates so low children were left vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks such as measles, mumps or pertussis, an Arizona Daily Star investigation has found.

Cunningham owes $11K+ for violations in campaign

Tucson Councilman Paul Cunningham will have to personally pay back taxpayers more than $11,000 because he improperly awarded contracts for campaign staff and can't produce some receipts from last year's campaign.

LaWall defends murder conviction stats

Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall's violent crime unit took 61 people to trial on murder charges in the last five years, and just over half were convicted of what they were charged with.

City mulls 2 choices for water-rate hikes

Tucson Water users have steadily lowered their water use in the past several decades, dropping the average water use in the city by more than one-third.

Rio Nuevo, city near deal to fix up TCC

The city and Rio Nuevo are close to a deal that would have both entities put $1 million each into the dilapidated Tucson Convention Center.

How UA honors fees were used

When students in the UA’s Honors College each were asked to pay $500 a year starting in fall 2010, administrators said the need was urgent. The fee was a reaction to state budget cuts, they said, and was needed to prevent the Honors College from being downsized. Honors students handed over $…

Bus fares may go unchanged

In order not to raise bus fares next year, the City Council wants its staff to increase the number of fare-paying riders projected for Sun Tran next year, and reduce the projected losses from claims and lawsuits.

Council puts on hold redevelopment plan to benefit downtown

Downtown businesses will have to wait another two weeks for a new tool to help redevelop downtown -a central business district that will allow for their taxes to be abated.

Tucson council delays OK of tax-abatement district

Downtown businesses will have to wait another two weeks for a new tool to help redevelop downtown —a central business district that will allow for their taxes to be abated.

Best of Sunday: Questions abound on Hotel Arizona proposal

Tucson taxpayers soon could surrender the sales, hotel and bed taxes generated at Humberto Lopez's deteriorating downtown hotel.

City considers bond issue to fix its decaying streets

Faced with a public increasingly frustrated by potholes and deteriorating roads, Tucson is for the first time looking at a bond issue to repair roads.

Bus-fare-hike plan draws opposition on City Council

Three City Council members announced their opposition to raising bus fares at an abbreviated session on the topic Tuesday.

Bus fares to rise sharply under plan

Regular Sun Tran fares could rise 17 percent - and low-income fares could soar 70 percent - under a proposal to help offset $3 million in added costs for the city transit system.

$4.6M spent at Rio Nuevo site questioned

The Rio Nuevo board released an audit Tuesday questioning $4.6 million worth of spending on the Depot Plaza Garage, which was built underneath the new Martin Luther King Jr. housing project near East Congress Street.

Streetcar tracks heighten accident concerns here

In addition to figuring out how to engineer, build and operate a $200 million new modern streetcar through the heart of town, Tucson faces an additional challenge: how to prevent accidents with cars and bicycles.

Burglaries hit midtown hardest

Midtown was the hardest-hit area for residential and business burglaries in 2011 in Tucson, an Arizona Daily Star analysis of Police Department crime data shows.

Serious youth offenders faring poorly when put in adult system

Teenagers sentenced to probation for adult crimes in Pima County are more than twice as likely than older offenders to get into trouble again and wind up in prison.

Giffords' presence in House 'electric,' emotional

The largest cheer at last night's State of the Union address may well have been the roar that greeted U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as she entered the House chamber, on the eve of her last day in Congress.

Kelly likely to run for Giffords' seat

Republican Jesse Kelly, who lost to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords by 4,000 votes in his 2010 bid for Congress, registered with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday to run for the seat Giffords is vacating.

Jesse Kelly files papers for 'likely' run for Giffords' seat

Jesse Kelly, who lost to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords by only 4,000 votes in his 2010 bid for Congress, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission today to run for the seat Giffords is vacating.

Race to replace Giffords complicated by new maps

One year. Four elections. Two separate congressional districts. That's the daunting road facing candidates who jump into the fray to replace Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who will resign this week.

Streetcar budget mostly spoken for

Before any streets are ripped up or any tracks are laid, Tucson has committed $84 million to preconstruction costs for the modern streetcar that will connect the University of Arizona to downtown.

Story and database: Rio Nuevo legal bills pile up as work lags

The new Rio Nuevo board has spent barely a dime on downtown building projects but is closing in on $1 million spent on lawyers in its first 18 months of existence.

1 in 3 homes here sell for under $100K

Tucson's housing market has fallen so hard so fast that more than one in three homes sold last year went for less than $100,000.

Partner says Gadsden defaulted on west-side senior housing project

The financially troubled west-side developer Gadsden Co. has failed to promptly pay a contractor $200,000 for work done in April and allegedly is in default of a contract with a Chicago-based company building a senior housing project west of Interstate 10 downtown.

Developer threatens to sue, will get $50K in fixes

A local developer is demanding the city rip out a mint-condition, new streetlight downtown because it isn't exactly like those around it.

City street workers suspected in thefts

Tucson police are investigating whether city street maintenance workers have, for years, been improperly using city equipment and resources for personal gain.

Our home-vacancy problem

The number of vacant homes and rentals has exploded 52 percent in Pima County in the past 10 years, thwarting a housing market recovery and driving even some middle- and upper-income neighborhoods into decline.

City quits effort to fix TCC with Rio Nuevo

Tucson ended a joint effort with Rio Nuevo to create a plan to fix up the Tucson Convention Center Wednesday in the wake of a $47 million claim against the city.

City, developer reach a deal to reduce size of minidorms

Groups of more than five unrelated people could be prevented from living together in lower-density city residential areas under a new determination made by the Tucson zoning administrator last week.

Rio Nuevo demands $47M from city

Rio Nuevo's board filed a $47 million claim against the city Friday in an effort to recover money it spent to acquire and improve land downtown.

Miranda demotes ass't manager, names 2 new ones in makeover

Interim City Manager Richard Miranda shook up the Manager's Office Thursday, demoting Assistant City Manager Sean McBride, naming two new assistant city managers and making a number of other changes.

Miranda shakes up Tucson manager’s office

Interim City Manager Richard Miranda shook up the manager’s office Thursday, demoting Assistant City Manager Sean McBride and adding two new assistant city managers.

Streets closed for 'suspicious' truck

A suspicious-looking vehicle prompted authorities to shut down the middle of downtown Wednesday for about six hours and evacuate several buildings, including the federal bankruptcy court.

Downtown Tucson street reopened after evacuation

Tucson police have reopened Congress Street downtown after officers determined a suspicious vehicle in the area did not present an explosive hazard, police said.

Rainwater-harvesting rebates possible for Tucsonans

Tucson could soon offer cash rebates to residents who install home rainwater-harvesting systems.

Tucson settles lawsuit for $675K

The Tucson City Council voted Tuesday to settle a lawsuit for $675,000 by a University of Arizona law student who suffered a brain injury after being struck at an intersection just north of the campus.

City, Rio Nuevo closer to working on TCC

Tucson and Rio Nuevo inched closer Tuesday toward working together to improve the aging Tucson Convention Center, but both entities disparaged each other along the way.

Council to rewrite rules on remarks from the audience

The City Council agreed Tuesday to rewrite the rules for the weekly public call to the audience despite contending there's nothing wrong with their current policies that attempt to restrict what people can say.

Tucson City Council, Rio Nuevo at odds on TCC fixes

Tucson's bickering government siblings, the Tucson City Council and the Rio Nuevo Board, have a new issue to quarrel over: the Tucson Convention Center.

Tucson mayor's rules might violate free speech

Mayor Bob Walkup announced last week he is imposing new restrictions on what speakers can say at Tucson City Council meetings - restrictions that allow him to shut down criticism of the council and city staff - in the name of civility.

Tucson halts sale of property

Tucson canceled a controversial proposal to develop land at Interstate 19 and West Irvington Road Tuesday in the face of a $112 million claim filed by an adjacent property owner.