Pima Vocational High School will award 31 students their high school diplomas at a June 7 ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. at Hotel Tucson City Center, 475 N. Granada Ave.

PVHS serves young people who have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out of traditional high school. For many of the students, Pima Vocational has been their third or fourth school.

Of the 31 students graduating June 7, five are parenting, six are homeless and 12 are working while attending school. Each student will speak at the ceremony before giving flowers to a family member or friend who inspired them on their journey toward a diploma.

One graduate – Harry Goldstein — will be attending Arizona State University this fall as the recipient of the ASU Academic Achievement Scholar Award. Staff note that it’s rare for a PVHS student to go directly to a four-year university, particularly on an academic scholarship. The award bumps up the amount of  scholarship money the student has received to $17,000.

Another graduate, Matthew Ramirez, has been invited by Microsoft to be a part of a student panel at the Computer Science Teachers Association’s annual conference this summer in Phoenix. He’ll answer questions from computer science teachers across the nation on how his career trajectory has shifted through his participation in the computer science class at PVHS.

The graduates have spent more than 2,400 hours taking vocational courses, have put in 550 hours in workplace internships throughout the city of Tucson and Pima County and have logged more than 1,344 hours working outside jobs while taking classes. Twenty-seven graduates have registered at Pima Community College.

PVHS is a program of the Pima County Community Services, Employment and Training Department. The students, who must meet all of the Arizona Essential Skills requirements to graduate, take courses on resume writing and career skills and can earn paid job placements and internships. In addition, students meet weekly with an advisor and attend classes with 15 or fewer students.

PVHS, a public charter high school for out-of-school youth, is accredited by AdvancED. Accreditation is a voluntary method of quality assurance developed more than 100 years ago by American universities and secondary schools and designed primarily to distinguish schools adhering to a set of educational standards. AdvancED was created through a 2006 merger of the PreK-12 divisions of the North Central Association and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

PVHS offers classes at two campuses: 175 W. Irvington Road and 5025 W. Ina Road in northwest Tucson. Learn more by visiting the Pima Vocational High School website or calling 520-724-9740.

Repair list contingent upon adoption of FY2020 budget

PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA — The Pima County Department of Transportation has prepared the list of roads it intends to repair next fiscal year after the Pima County Board of Supervisors adopts the Fiscal Year 2020 budget.

The department’s budget includes $26 million for road repair – $15 million from state shared transportation revenue (often called HURF, for Highway User Revenue Funds), $6 million for repairs funded from remaining road bond funds that will be used to repair major roads and collector streets, and $5 million from the county’s General Fund for additional road repairs for regional recreational roads, such as the road to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.

The Pima County Transportation Advisory Committee April 23 recommended the criteria the department used to prioritize the local, arterial and collector road repairs that will be paid for with the $15 million in HURF. Distribution of the $15 million for road repairs was allocated equally among all five Supervisory Districts with half of the funds to repair local roads and the other half for major roads and collector streets.

The $15 million funding allocation for road repairs was realized through growth in HURF, a per-gallon gasoline tax, and Transportation Vehicle License Tax, along with operational cost savings within the Department of Transportation.

Altogether, the three funding plans would provide enough resources to repair nearly 118 miles of County roads.

Additional details and a list of proposed roads for repair can be found here. The list is tentative until the Board adopts the budget. An interactive map of previously repaired roads in Pima County can be found here.

Brett Abramson, Keith Lammersen, Steve Larsen, Chris Latvaaho take on new titles

PHOENIX, Arizona – The Phoenix office JLL has promoted four senior brokers, advancing Brett Abramson, Keith Lammersen and Steve Larsen to the title of Executive Vice President and Chris Latvaaho to the title of Senior Vice President.

“Each of these brokers is known for providing top-level service to their clients, being team players and consistently producing great results for the Phoenix office,” said JLL Senior Managing Director Pat Williams. “We congratulate them on their promotions and appreciate their commitment to help grow our capabilities for the benefit of JLL clients.”

Abramson and Latvaaho serve with JLL Managing Director John Bonnell, specializing in agency representation for existing and ground-up development, and both institutional and entrepreneurial landlords. At JLL, this has included the representation of landmark projects including The Offices on High Street, Central Arts Plaza and Arizona Center. The brokers have more than three decades of collective experience.

Part of the JLL office since 2004, Lammersen specializes in tenant representation, providing corporate office solutions, site selection, lease renewal and negotiations for companies including Maricopa County and Indeed.

A 12-year industry veteran, Larsen specializes in industrial building and land sales, leasing and build-to-suits throughout metro Phoenix, with an emphasis in the Southeast Valley. Since joining JLL in the summer of 2012, Larsen has completed more than 6.7 million square feet of industrial deals valued at over $120 million.

Each of the brokers serves as leaders in the industry, from maintaining committee leadership positions with NAIOP and local philanthropic organizations to being recognized as JLL Top Achievers.