Exploring Tucson

WELCOME TO TUCSON
Welcome to Tucson, the county seat of Pima County and one of America’s fastest growing cities. Tucson is situated on a high valley floor at an elevation of about 2,600 feet. The city is surrounded by five mountain ranges. To the north lie the Santa Catalinas; to the south are the Santa Ritas and the Sierritas. The Rincon Mountains are east of Tucson and the Tucson Mountains are off to the west.

The greater metropolitan Tucson population is more than 800,000, with an increase of about 1,500 new residents each month. Tucson city limits cover an area of more than 156 square miles, while metropolitan Tucson extends for nearly 500 square miles. The official Web site for Tucson is www.ci.tucson.az.us.

CLIMATE
When 17 percent of Tucson newcomers say they came here for the weather, it’s easy to understand why. The sun shines more than 85 percent of the time and, because of the city’s elevation, temperatures are generally mild.

The average number of days hotter than 90 degrees is 138 and the average number of days colder than 32 degrees is 19. The average high temperature is 81.7 degrees and the average low is 54.2 degrees. This sunny climate - along with an average rainfall of only 11 inches - make Tucson the ideal place to live for tennis, golf or any of the many other activities available in the local area.

Although Tucson rarely experiences snow, it does have winter. Temperatures can drop into the 30s on winter mornings, so Tucsonans do sometimes need winter coats.

ECONOMY AND EMPLOYMENT

In 2004, Tucson had a non-agricultural labor force of 359,100. In 2005, the city's unemployment rate was 4.1 percent. Of that total, the combined federal, state and local government payroll included more than 72,000 employees.

The largest single employer in Tucson, with more than 11,000 employees, is Raytheon Missile Systems, followed closely by the University of Arizona, which employs more than 10,000. However, the manufacturing industry is coming to play an increasingly large role in Tucson employment. Considered the economy’s single most important growth industry during recent years, it now employs more than 30,000 people in the Tucson area. Much of the spectacular rise in manufacturing employment during the last decade is due to the phenomenal increase in the number of high-technology industries located throughout Pima County.

Exporting sunshine – tourism – is one of the community’s major economic factors, and it contributes lavishly to the Tucson economy. Tourists spend more than $1.5 billion annually in Pima County.

Due to its clear air and the absence of largescale urban night lighting, Tucson also is a major international center for stellar research. By providing top-flight research facilities and attracting topnotch scientists into the area, Tucson’s astronomy research programs are also contributing to the exhilarating expansion of its economic base. For more information on employment in Tucson, contact the Economic Development Department, Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, 465 W. St. Mary’s Road, P.O. Box 991, Tucson, AZ 85702, or call (520) 792-1212. For the official city of Tucson Web site, visit: http://www.ci.tucson.

COMMUNICATIONS
Tucson has two large daily newspapers. The Arizona Daily Star (www.azstarnet.com) comes out mornings and Sundays, while the Tucson Citizen (www.tucsoncitizen.com) is the city’s afternoon paper. The Daily Territorial is Pima County’s official newspaper and the major medium for public notices in the metropolitan Tucson area. Inside Tucson Business is the only weekly business newspaper in town. There are eight Tucson television stations and more than 20 radio stations.

GETTING TO KNOW TUCSON
Adobe walls and nuclear reactors ... ballet companies and baseball teams ... Stone Age archaeology and Space Age technology ... in getting to know Tucson, you’ll become acquainted with all of this and much more. The vital Tucson Community Center is in the city’s renovated downtown area. At TCC, you can enjoy the sophisticated elegance of theater and music hall performances, rough-and-tumble sporting events in the arena, or just kick back for a quiet siesta in the shade of one of the center’s luxuriously landscaped patio areas.

You will also want to visit the University of Arizona campus. Established in 1885 on 40 acres of land donated by gamblers and saloon keepers, the university campus has grown to more than 300 acres of luxuriant greenery. This oasis is certainly a fertile place in the desert, providing a brilliant variety of subtropical trees and shrubs.

On campus, you’ll find the Arizona State Museum and the University’s Museum of Art, a nuclear reactor, a mineral museum and the Center of Creative Photography. You will find a library system with more than 2.6 million volumes, one that’s been rated in the nation’s top 20 for the last several years. All of these and much more contribute to the university’s role as a hub of Tucson’s intellectual and artistic life.

In Tucson there also is time for leisure. A museum for aircraft, the Pima Air & Space Museum, boasts one of the largest collections in the United States. It is located south of the base at 6000 E. Valencia. For more information, call (520) 574-0462.

Some enjoy spending leisure time in one of Tucson’s many fine parks, the Gene C. Reid Park Zoo and Fort Lowell Park.

Or perhaps your interests are music, theater and dance. Tucson can fill that bill. Here is a small sample to get you started:

Musically, the Tucson Philharmonic Orchestra is a full-scale professional ensemble offering music lovers a nine-concert season. The university also contributes to the musical scene.

The university’s School of Music sponsors a wide variety of solo and ensemble performances. And, through their Artist Series, world renowned cultural activities (music, dance and drama) are brought to the university and Tucson communities.

The community even houses an “opry” - which isn't too bad for a cowboy town. The Arizona Opera Company was established in 1972 and opened its first season with “The Barber of Seville.” Since this opening performance, attendance has continued to grow.

The Southern Arizona Light Opera Company puts on four shows a year in the Tucson Community Center. These shows use local talent to present Broadway musicals. The actors are considered semiprofessional, as they don’t get paid. The Arizona Theatre Company is the only professional resident company in the state. ATC performs mostly in drama, and it auditions nationally for its company. If musicals and drama aren’t your cup of tea, how about laughing and eating? If these appeal to you, you’ll love the Gaslight Theatre. It presents musical melodrama and home-style eating with a special western twang.

Hit the Tucson highlights and the night lights ... explore the nooks and crannies … visit the caves and museums. The more you get to know Tucson, the more you’ll come to understand it is truly a city where contrast and complement are an ongoing way of life.

MEDICAL FACILITIES
Tucson boasts 16 hospitals with a combined total of approximately 3,250 beds. Although all maintain exceptionally high standards, three are particularly noteworthy: The Veterans Administration Hospital, at the corner of S. Sixth Avenue and Ajo Way, is a 325-bed hospital open to veterans only. In addition to providing general medical and surgical services, it also has a kidney dialysis unit, a tuberculosis treatment program and drug and alcohol abuse rehabilitation programs. University of Arizona Medical Center, located at 1501 N. Campbell Ave., is a 300-bed hospital equipped with sophisticated medical equipment to provide both in- and outpatient care, as well as 24-hour emergency services.

It also provides training for physicians, nurses and other health care professionals. The Tucson Medical Center, 5301 E. Grant Road, provides 650 beds and more than 1,200 physicians on staff. Services available at TMC include outpatient surgery as well as acute surgical and medical care units for infants.

ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
The Arizona Department of Transportation has a Department of Motor Vehicles office on base. Its hours are Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The office handles titles, registrations and car licensing tags. Driver licenses are only issued on Wednesdays.

EMISSIONS LAW
If you own a vehicle, you must comply with Arizona’s emissions law. If your registration has “EMISS YES” printed above the fee subtotal, your vehicle requires an emissions test. If it doesn’t, no emissions test is required unless the vehicle is used to commute into the testing area for employment or school.

If you are registering a vehicle for the first time in Arizona, an emissions test is required, even on new cars. Take your vehicle and its out-of-state registration or temporary registration form to an official inspection center before applying for registration. If your vehicle passes, you’ll get a certificate of compliance to mail with your registration form to the auto license plate department. Keep the top part of the inspection form until your registration tag is returned in the mail. If your vehicle fails, it must be repaired and either pass a re-inspection or qualify for a waiver after the specified repairs are made. Your inspection report will provide information on repairs and procedures to follow. For further information, call (800) 284-7748.

AUTO INSURANCE
You must have auto insurance to drive in Arizona. When you register your vehicle, you must submit an insurance identification card, issued by your insurance company, along with your registration application renewal. If you change insurance companies, you must submit an insurance identification card to the Motor Vehicle Division from the new company within 30 days. You must carry proof of insurance or proof of another form of financial responsibility, in your vehicle at all times. If you fail to maintain insurance on your vehicle and your registration is suspended, you must pay applicable reinstatement fees and file proof of future financial responsibility. The minimum financial responsibility amounts are $15,000/$30,000 - death or bodily injury; $10,000 - property damage. The Arizona Department of Transportation can be reached at (520) 629-9808.

Davis-Monthan 2012 Open House
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbird demonstration team’s formation during the 2012 open house at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. More than 130,000 military members and civilians alike came out to enjoy this year’s open house.