Sunday April 21st @ 8am

We will meet at Bob Dobb’s Bar & Grill at 2501 E. 6th St and pick up trash along Tucson Blvd. from Broadway Blvd. to Speedway Blvd. Please bring your own trash bags, pick up equipment, gloves, hats, water bottles. Friends & neighbors all welcome. For safety, wear neon vests or red/yellow clothing. 

RSVP to SHNA board member Carolyn Classen

pololu@hotmail.com / 520-327-7609

Public Meeting April 6th

Please join us at the Ward 6 City Council Office for the initial public meeting to provide early input on upcoming improvements to Himmel Park Library. Project Architects Poster Mirto McDonald will provide background on the project, results of a community wide customer survey, and preliminary alternative concept plans for discussion. Location: Ward 6 City Council Office, 3202 E. 1st Street

Date: Saturday, April 6th

Time: 10:00-11:30 AM

For more library news, check out the Himmel Park Library newsletter further down in this newsletter.

Would you be interested in having one?

Sam Hughes is fortunate to have many historic and lovely homes. A committee is investigating the possibility of special century plaques for homes 100 years or older. Homes would be vetted by the owner via application instructions and then a plaque could be obtained for the home.  These will be custom designed for Sam Hughes homes and designed for distinction and durability. 

If you are interested in obtaining a plaque for your home or working on this project, please contact Janis Findlay @ jbjfindlay@gmail.com

Still waiting for the date . . .

The Friends of Himmel Park are still working with Parks on a tree planting date, focused on replacing dead trees and establishing more shade in the southwest quad of the park. Watch SHNA listserv and the park kiosks for the exact time and place. We hope to have volunteers to backfill the holes on planting day. Thank you!

Thank you, Steve K, for all your hard work!

Ward 6 Tucson City Council Member Steve Kozachik stepped down from his duties to take a job with Pima County to manage the new Mosaic Quarter (MQ) sports complex being developed near the existing Kino Sports Complex. He made the announcement in his weekly newsletter on March 11. His final day as a council member was March 31, and the remaining members of the Mayor and Council will appoint someone to fill out the rest of his term, which ends December 2025. Kozachik began serving Ward 6 in 2009. You can read his full comments by clicking on the links below.

And from Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association

Published in the Arizona Daily Star, March 20th, 2024

THANKS TO STEVE K

Re: The March 12 article “Tucson City Councilman Kozachik to resign.”

We can’t imagine anyone who can replace your energy, devotion, great ideas, follow-through on the great ideas, and amazingly fast response to e-mails and phone calls. 

Many, many thanks for your unbeatable service to Ward 6 and the Old Pueblo.

Gayle Hartmann, president,

On behalf of the board of the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association

Who will replace Steve?

City Charter dictates that the remaining members of Mayor and Council appoint a new member who has been a qualified elector in the City of Tucson for three years, with at least the last year as a qualified elector in Ward 6, said City Attorney Mike Rankin. While the Charter does not require the selected candidate be from the same party as the former council member, Mayor and Council decided that the seat should be filled by a Democrat, since the voters had elected a Democrat.

There is no specific timeline to name a replacement that is dictated under the Charter, Rankin said, but the Mayor and Council should act “expediently."

Mayor and Council voted to solicit letters of interest and resumes from April 1-15. Applicants would need to state whether they plan to run for election at the end of the term in 2025, but that decision would not automatically disqualify them.

Mayor and Council will choose four top-ranked applicants and will then hold a special meeting to speak in-person to those candidates at the end of April about why they want to serve as a council member.

Watch the Mayor and Council item

What if I need help from Ward 6 now?

While Ward 6 is currently without a council member, the staff is staying on until the new appointment. If you need help with a constituent matter you can contact them via phone (520 791 4601) or email (ward6@tucsonaz.gov).

Neighborhood Map of Javelina Sightings

In order to track the javelina activity, and help residents be aware of the most recent javelina sightings, a neighborhood javelina sightings map has been created. If you have an interaction with javelina in Sam Hughes, please click on the link below to report it. To fully assess the situation, it would be good if both peaceful and aggressive interactions are reported. If you have had an aggressive encounter with javelina, please also report to Arizona Game and Fish at 623-236-7201.  

Here is the activity we have tracked so far! The maroon stars are sightings in 2024, and blue stars are 2023 and earlier.

Books are just the beginning . . .

April 9th, 16th, and 23rd

The Early Books Lecture Series was established at the University of Arizona by Dr. Albrecht Classen, University Distinguished Professor of German Studies. Dr. Classen has been a SH neighbor since 1992.

For nearly 20 years, University of Arizona scholars have invited the community to explore rare books held by University Libraries Special Collections that provides primary resource materials for research and is open to students, faculty, staff, and visitors.



The lectures are free and open to the public. Please register in adv

Awww . . . SO CUTE!

Reid Park Zoo is excited to announce that Semba, the Zoo’s African elephant matriarch, gave birth to a 265 pound calf at 3:31 a.m. on Friday, March 8, 2024.



The new calf expands the Zoo’s elephant herd to five, joining Semba, big sisters Nandi and Penzi, and allomother Lungile. The calf is the third African elephant calf born at Reid Park Zoo. Nandi has shown significant interest in spending time with her new youngest sibling. 

The crane flies are here!

No, those are not giant mosquitoes swarming your front door and trying to get into your home. They are Crane Flies. also called Mosquito Hawks. Mosquito Hawk is a misnomer as these insects do not have mouth parts and neither the adult nor larva eat mosquitos or bite or pierce your skin.

Crane Flies are one of the first harbingers of Spring and emerge after we have had a good rain and the weather heats up. They can be annoying, but the adults are a food source for many animals and the larva are important decomposers. Please don't swat them!

Thanks to our good friends in the Garden District for sharing this news.

April 6th, 11am - 4pm

Art in the Gardens, now in its second year, is a fundraising event benefiting the Palo Verde Neighborhood Association where Palo Verde residents can show off their interesting, beautiful, unique or quirky gardens and artworks.

The event is a walking tour of participating gardens, and at each garden you’ll find a few artists with their work on display and available for sale.

It's back! April 14th!

After an 8-year pause, the biennial Blenman Elm Historic Home Tour is set to return April 14, 2024.

Whether you're an avid gardener or simply appreciate aesthetic design, this tour is sure to delight! Tickets available now! For more information, follow us on Instagram or visit our website. 

Date: April 14, 2024

Time: 11:30AM- 4:30PM

Tour check-in: 1650 North Bentley Avenue, Tucson 85716

Tickets: $30/person online or in-person the day of the event

Ticket Link: https://BEhometour24.eventbrite.com

For questions please email: benahometour@hotmail.com

Have your say!

The City of Tucson is in the process of creating the 2025 fiscal year budget, which begins July 1, 2024. Mayor and Council and City staff welcome you to be a part of the process by joining in one of the town hall meetings and filling out the budget engagement survey. The town halls will include a short presentation from staff, who will answer your questions, while the survey (link below) attempts to capture input on your priorities for spending in our community. In-person meetings will be held Wednesday, April 3, from 6-7 p.m., at El Rio Center, 1390 W. Speedway Blvd., and Thursday, April 4, from 6-7 p.m., at the Ward 2 Office, 7820 E. Broadway Blvd.

Take the budget engagement survey

Report Non-emergency problems

Do you have a concern about a pothole, a park issue, missed trash or recycling collection, an abandoned building or nuisance property, water waste, graffiti, or just need to know what City department handles a particular issue? If so, there's now a one-stop shop for these types of reports and others. Download and use the new Tucson 311 app, use the 311 service request portal via the City of Tucson website, or call 311. If you're already a SeeClickFix user, just download Tucson 311 and enter your same credentials.

Tucson 311 Service Request Portal and download links

Anonymous Tip Line for Pima County: Call 520-882-7463

The purpose of 88-CRIME is to prevent and reduce crime by forming a partnership with the community, law enforcement and the media. 88-CRIME is guided by the best practices of Crime Stoppers, USA while offering anonymity and cash rewards to anyone who provides information leading to an arrest of a felon or fugitive. 

The 88-CRIME tip line takes anonymous tips on serious criminal activity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your identity is kept anonymous, we do not record the call and your caller id is not given. 

If your information leads to an arrest and the investigating law enforcement agency notifies 88-CRIME that your tip solved a serious crime or led to a felon’s arrest, then you may be eligible for a reward amount ranging from $50 up to $2,500. 

SHNA Monthly Board Meeting

April 16th @ 7pm.

Ward 6 office (3202 E 1st St)

and on Zoom

(Zoom link posted on samhughes.org)

SHNA is looking for volunteers

SHNA works on a wide variety of projects.

Newsletter * Himmel Park * Home Tour

Transportation and Mobility * Water Tower * Board of Directors

Please contact us at info@samhughes.org to volunteer, or if you would like to pursue something new with SHNA’s support.

Emergency: 911

Non-Emergency: 520-791-4444 (Monday to Friday; 8:00 am to 6:00 pm)

Lead Police Officers for Sam Hughes

Ofc. Cody York

Phone: 520-730-3845

Email: Cody.York@tucsonaz.gov

On Duty: Weekends, Days

Ofc. Garrett Behan

​Phone: 520-539-7250

​Email: Garrett.Behan@tucsonaz.gov

On Duty: Weekends, Nights

Community Resource CSO

Ramon Silvas

Email: Ramon.Silvas@tucsonaz.gov

Phone: 520-837-7428

Contact for Midtown substation:

Lobby hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

1100 S Alvernon Way, Tucson AZ 85711

Front lobby phone: 520-791-4253

Homeless Outreach Team:

To Report a Homeless Camp, use online reporting tool or call 520-791-2540

Recent Criminal Activity

For a list of recent criminal activity in Sam Hughes, visit https://nsn.soaz.info/incidents/zsamhughes.html

For crime data in Tucson, visit https://policeanalysis.tucsonaz.gov/