News Briefs BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
COVID-19 outbreak forces county attorney’s office to telecommute After several employees tested positive for COVID-19 in early January, the Pima County Attorney’s Office, housed at the Legal Services Building (32 N. Stone Avenue) in Downtown Tucson, was closed to PCAO employees and the public on Jan. 11 and Jan. 12. Closing the building is unprecedented but necessary “in order to keep operations going and to make sure that we don’t hit that brick wall of not having enough healthy staff,” says Pima County Attorney Laura Conover. The closure allowed PCAO employees time to obtain a COVID-19 test and to receive results. Employees telecommuted from home while the building was cleaned and sanitized. Conover experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms since potentially being exposed in early January.
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Romero honored by Latino Leaders Network
777 Highway 260 Pinetop, AZ 85935 800.WAY.UP.HI www.hon-dah.com (3 miles south of Pinetop)
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FEBRUARY 2021
The Latino Leaders Network honored Tucson Mayor Regina Romero with the Antonio Villaraigosa Leadership Award at the 34th Tribute to Mayors in late January. The Tribute to Mayors convenes elected officials from across the country to honor a mayor who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to bringing diverse communities together. “It is an honor to receive the Antonio Villaraigosa Leadership Award from the Latino Leaders Network,” Romero says. “Although this year has presented its fair share of challenges, we’ve proven our resilience and positioned ourselves to return stronger than ever here in Tucson. I extend my sincere gratitude to Mickey Ibarra for his continued leadership in ensuring Latino issues and stories have a national platform to be heard.” Program participants included Latino Leaders Network Chairman Mickey Ibarra, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Los Angeles Mayor Hon. Antonio Villaraigosa, award-winning journalist Maria Elena Salinas and UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguia. “We are delighted to honor Mayor Regina Romero at our Tribute to Mayors for her outstanding leadership and commitment to making Tucson a better place for everyone,” Ibarra says. “Her powerful
personal story of obstacles overcome to achieve success is an inspiration we look forward to sharing with our national leader network of nearly 14,000 members.” Mayor Regina Romero is the daughter of immigrants and was elected as the first woman and first Latino mayor of Tucson in November 2019. She is the only Latina mayor among the nation’s 50 largest cities.
Banner adds a pediatrician and children’s cardiac specialist Dr. Helene Felman — a pediatrician with experience in advocacy, well child care, and treating behavioral issues such as depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety — has joined the general pediatrics team as its division chief at Banner–University Medicine. In addition, she serves as a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine–Tucson, Department of Pediatrics. Felman was most recently a clinical assistant professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. As a pediatric generalist, Felman treats children ages birth to 18 years old. Her practice focuses on health maintenance for children to ensure the child is meeting or exceeding health benchmarks. In addition, she also treats children with common health issues such as asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, obesity, depression, simple infections, upper respiratory illness, pneumonia and ear infections. Felman sees patients at Banner–University Medical Center Tucson, 1625 N. Campbell, and Banner University Medical Group Children’s Multispecialty Services, 535 N. Wilmot Road, Suite 101. To schedule an appointment with Felman, call 694-5437. In other Banner news, Dr. Andrew Hoyer, a cardiologist and heart imaging expert for children, has joined Banner-University Medicine. He specializes in fetal cardiology and pediatric echocardiography. Hoyer is experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease and the heart-related imaging tests echocardiography and cardiac MRI for children. He is the first pediatric cardiologist in Southern Arizona with this expertise.
Hoyer treats children with heart murmurs, chest pain, palpitations and fainting and provides screenings for familial heart problems. He provides care for children from fetal life to adulthood. “Complicated heart problems require a multidisciplinary approach, and I am one part of a great team delivering care at Banner–University Medicine,” Hoyer said. To schedule an appointment with Hoyer, who sees children at various clinics, call 694-5437.
Mayor, council approve bond sale to fund pension obligation The Tucson mayor and council approved the sale of certificates of participation (COP) to fund the city’s growing obligation to the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. The system funds the fire and police personnel pension program. The obligation stands at $1.5 billion and is projected to grow to a peak annual cost of $240 million to the city’s general fund. Approved by the mayor and council, the strategy addresses the long-term system obligation by borrowing funding at unusually low interest rates and investing those funds. The investment earnings will be used to fund the pension obligation. This has the potential, over the 25year plan, to save the city more than $800 million, reducing future burdens to the general fund, preserving essential services, saving taxpayer dollars, and helping to stabilize the city’s financial future. Mayor and council also created the Tucson Public Safety Pension Trust to manage, invest and safeguard the bond proceeds. In addition to the composition of the trustees, the trust will have an independent investment adviser and trust administrator. The trustees will adopt an investment policy and guide the investment of the funds. Additionally, the trust will be audited as part of the city’s annual audit. “This is a historic, once-in-a-generation decision that puts Tucson at the forefront of our state and our nation, when it comes to securing our public safety pension system,” says Mayor Regina Romero. “This move has the potential to save Tucsonans more than $800 million in taxpayer (monies) over the next few decades and ensure the retirement security of our first responders.” —Executive Editor Christina Fuoco-Karasinski can be reached at christina@ timespublications.com. www.LovinLife.com
