Fall Issue 2020

From The Publisher –

Region Focused on Economic Recovery: 10 Reasons for Optimism

While communities everywhere are far from free of the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tucson region finds itself in a spotlight of sorts. 

In May, Tucson was highlighted in a Forbes magazine article about a Moody’s Analytics study that included this region as one of “the 10 U.S. cities best positioned to recover from coronavirus.”

Then in July, the Site Selectors Guild, an association of site selection consultants that advises large companies trying to find the right cities for their businesses, listed Tucson among the top 11 mid-sized U.S. cities for relocation and expansion.

As the pandemic hit full stride, Tucson had the highest increase in Google searches by Internet users who were looking up “homes for sale.” 

All of this inspired our team to do a “deep dive” into the economic implications of these rankings, independent reports from industry sectors and other national media and website reports.  

While acknowledging that the global pandemic crisis is far from over, we think you’ll be fascinated to read our “Region Focused on Economic Recovery: 10 Reasons for Optimism” editorial package, written by Jay Gonzales and Tara Kirkpatrick. To wrap up the package, Sun Corridor Inc. has assembled a blue-ribbon panel of business leaders, creating a recovery and resiliency plan called “The Pivot Playbook.” 

As a community, we’re fortunate to be home to a top-tier research university, several Fortune 500 companies and military installations at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and the 162nd Fighter Wing. Add to that a revitalized downtown, a world-class culinary scene and abundant residential real estate and new home offerings amid picturesque mountains and desert landscapes. And there’s so much more. 

It is important to recognize that Tucson is still experiencing life-altering effects of the economic downturn. At the top of the list, our nonprofit community greatly needs our support. In addition, our region’s $2.5 billion tourism industry is developing new strategies for recovery. Romi Carrell Wittman and Loni Nannini file reports from the front lines, with some silver linings from major nonprofit institutions like United Way of Southern Arizona and Community Foundation of Southern Arizona.

In other news, on May 1, our team launched the BizTucson News Update, a twice weekly e-mail newsletter designed to help the region’s businesses stay connected with timely business news. This new venture is in response to an exceptionally high news demand from our readers. In fact, we experienced a 266% increase in digital readership with the Spring 2020 edition. The news highlights above and many others first appeared on the News Update and on BizTucson.com. 

Finally, you’re sure to be inspired by a special tribute to Lute Olson, a Hall of Fame legend in basketball and in life. Olson was truly a great family man who was loved and admired by all. Olson was honored as Father of The Year in 1995, at the inaugural Father of The Year Awards Gala, presented by the Father’s Day Council Tucson. For nearly four decades, he was unwavering in his dedication and support to our community through events like the Lute Olson Celebrity Chefs Benefit, Lute Olson/SAHBA Golf Tournament, benefitting research at UArizona Arthritis Center, the UArizona Cancer Center (Bobbi Olson Endowment for Ovarian Cancer Research), the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson and many other nonprofit organizations. Longtime sportswriter Steve Rivera provides this tribute, while Jay Gonzales offers a glimpse of Olson’s leadership principles.

As always, we are grateful for our loyal readers, our advertisers and our committed editorial team.

Steven E. Rosenberg

Publisher & Owner

BizTucson