It's been quite a week to be in Tucson — and quite a week to be outside in Tucson, which is to say, a brutal one. Triple digits arrived early and stayed, pushing cooling centers open ahead of schedule and reminding us all that summer in the desert doesn't really ask permission before it shows up. If you made it through with your air conditioning intact, count your blessings.

What's worth knowing

The Pima County Board of Supervisors found itself in genuinely uncharted territory Tuesday night, holding its first-ever 5 p.m. evening meeting to address the ongoing crisis around Sheriff Chris Nanos. The board voted 4-0 — with one abstention — to refer allegations of potential perjury to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, while explicitly stopping short of removing Nanos from office. A motion to declare the sheriff's position vacant failed before it even got a second. What hung over the whole proceeding: the Pima County Deputies Organization had issued a unanimous no-confidence vote against Nanos, with more than 250 members voting against him and not a single one voting in support. Supervisor Rex Scott called on Nanos to publicly acknowledge the crisis and present a plan to rebuild trust. The board's message was essentially: we're watching, and this goes to the AG now.

The heat story this week wasn't just a weather footnote — it was a public health event. Temperatures climbed to around 103-104°F across several days, approaching the all-time May 11 record, and Pima County health officials told supervisors that while indoor heat deaths have declined in recent years thanks to expanded outreach, overall heat mortality in the county remains stubbornly high. More than half of heat-caused deaths occur outdoors. The county now has 45 cooling centers registered for the season, has secured a second "cooltainer" portable cooling unit — to be installed at Augie Acuña Los Niños Park — and is working to extend center hours into evenings and weekends, when temperatures stay dangerous long after most centers close.

The Trump administration's proposed NASA budget would effectively strand the University of Arizona's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft in space. The probe — originally launched as OSIRIS-REx, which successfully returned samples from asteroid Bennu — is currently en route to asteroid Apophis. Cutting its funding now wouldn't just end the mission; it would abandon a spacecraft already flying. UA researchers have been pushing back hard, and space-science advocates warn it would cede years of American scientific leadership in planetary exploration. For a university that has made space science one of its signature programs, this one stings.

The pickleball saga at Udall Park got a proper resolution this week. After players organized for more than a month under the rallying cry "Don't pay to play," the city reached a formal agreement with Tucson Area Pickleball guaranteeing the courts stay free. The group takes over surface maintenance — they've already put $55,000 into the courts — while the city maintains the surrounding grounds. It's a tidy outcome, and a reminder that organized, persistent community pushback can actually work at the local level.

What changed around town

The Oro Valley Town Council approved mixed-use development — stores and townhouses — on portions of roughly 120 acres of undeveloped Sonoran Desert land, settling a years-long debate over the property's fate. Residents had pushed hard to protect the parcel as open space, but the council approved the development designation, opening the door to commercial and residential construction on previously undisturbed desert. In a separate vote, the council also designated a 13.94-acre parcel east of Oracle Road for townhomes only — not apartments — with two town-owned parcels in the area carrying a preliminary real estate estimate of $8 million to $13.6 million.

Inside Tucson's city limits, the housing conversation is scaling up. Mayor Regina Romero and Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz told reporters this week that Tucson faces a projected shortage of at least 35,000 housing units over the next decade. The city's housing strategy leans on nonprofit developers and low-income housing tax credit financing; recent projects include Amazon Flats and Sugar Hill on Stone, both of which broke ground recently. Meanwhile, the Tucson Unified School District formally launched its months-long process to evaluate potential school closures and consolidations — no specific schools named yet, but community input sessions are coming, and the district has been clear that enrollment declines and budget pressure are driving the review.

Opponents of the proposed Copper World open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains filed two lawsuits this week seeking to invalidate a State Land Department sale of 160 acres to Hudbay Minerals, which the company had sought for mine tailings storage. The suits add new legal uncertainty to a project that has drawn sustained opposition from environmental and community groups worried about the Santa Cruz River watershed. It's a fight that's been building for a while, and it doesn't look like it's slowing down.

What's opening

The most festive opening of the week happened Thursday at Stone and Wetmore: Lin's Grand Buffet launched its second Tucson location at 4420 N. Stone Ave., across from Tucson Mall, with a ribbon cutting, a lion dance, and over 100 dishes including a sushi bar, Mongolian grill, and live cooking stations. Weekday lunch starts at $15.69. It's the chain's eighth Arizona location.

Also on the food-and-drink front: a few names worth keeping an eye on. Bawker Bawker, proposed for 400 N. 4th Ave. on Fourth Avenue, has applied for a bar license before Tucson Mayor and Council. Falora, the much-loved pizza restaurant, has applied for a restaurant liquor license at 3000 E. Broadway Blvd. — which may signal a new or expanded location, though the filing alone doesn't tell the full story. And a Chipotle at 7101 E. 22nd St. has applied for a restaurant liquor license as well.

For the downtown crowd, Treasury 1929 — chef Daniel Scordato's restored 1929 bank building at Congress and Stone — hosted its first public event Thursday evening: an opera and Broadway dinner concert in a space with original marble-and-wood interiors. It's an event venue, not a restaurant, but it's one to know about if you're looking for something a little more dressed-up in the evenings.

One thing to watch

Tuesday night is a big one for anyone who pays a water bill, a trash bill, or really any city bill: Tucson Mayor and Council meets at its regular session on May 19 with an unusually consequential agenda. Four separate public hearings are on the docket, covering proposed water rate increases scheduled through 2030, a new "Clean City Fee" embedded in city code alongside trash rate hikes, and revised building permit and development fees. The city will also vote to adopt its tentative FY2027 budget — the effective ceiling on city spending for the coming year. These are rare moments when the public can actually testify before the numbers get locked in. The meeting is at Tucson City Hall; check the city's website for public comment procedures.

The Tucson Mini

This week's mini crossword is ready when you need a break from the heat — or from the news. Play it here and see how fast you can finish.

Thanks for spending part of your Sunday morning here. Stay cool out there — and we mean that literally, not just as a sign-off. See you next week.