TUCSON, ARIZONA — The Southern Arizona CCIM Chapter is pleased to announce that Gary Heinfeld CPA, CCIM, has been elected to Region 2 First Vice President for 2023. Gary will work with the 2023 Region 2 Vice President Helen Chong, CCIM of the CCIM Northern California Chapter. Gary will move to Region 2 Vice President (RVP) in 2024. Region 2 consists of the following CCIM Chapters: Hawaii, New Mexico, Central Arizona, Southern Arizona, Los Angeles, Northern California, Southern California, San Diego, Southern Nevada and Northern Nevada.

Minimum responsibilities of First Vice President include:

1.  Lead discussion during regional caucuses with chapter presidents and members twice a year at Institute’s spring and fall meetings, and when held, at the midyear chapter officer leadership training. The purpose of the of the regional caucuses is to provide a platform for communication for the Chapters to share any issues and best practices and for the Regional Officers to share updates from the Institute Leadership.
2. Attend Institute sponsored regional and Chapter Officer Leadership training programs and play an active role in facilitating sessions. (1st RVP is also required to attend).
3. Serve as a member of the Institute’s Board of Directors representing chapters and members in the region. (1st RVP’s may represent their region if the RVP is not in attendance).
4. Organize and lead regular conference calls to be held every other month and coordinated by the Institute. Conference calls are to include chapter presidents, vice presidents/president elects, chapter administrators, the Regional Activities Subcommittee Chair and Vice Chair, Institute staff and the Presidential Liaison. The purpose of the conference call is to provide regular communication for Chapters and Regional Officers to provide updates from and to the Institute. Chapters can also use this time to notify the Regional Officers of any issues that need to be forwarded to the Institute Leadership.
5. Present a Regional Activities Annual report at Chapter Officer Training and to the Regional Activities Subcommittee at the Institute fall business meetings, and as otherwise requested.
6. Ensure that all chapters in the Region submit their Chapter Annual Activity report to the Institute by the deadline.
7. Visit chapters and meet with chapter leadership as needed or requested throughout the year. In addition, for those chapters that might qualify for the Institute’s Chapter Development program, help facilitate the process for Chapters to be enrolled in the program.
8. Provide Chapter Visitation Reports to the Institute staff within two weeks of visitation (required in order to receive reimbursement of visitation expenses). Chapter visits are scheduled as needed throughout the year and may be attended by the 1st RVP if the RVP is unable to do so.
9. Deliver information received at the Annual Meetings and from Institute communications via e-mail and as required throughout the year to the presidents of the Chapters in the Region, specifically notifying Chapter Presidents of any action(s) that may be required.
10. Provide strength to the CCIM Institute by joining together with other Regions to share best practices. Assist Institute Leadership with communicating to the Chapter Leadership the Institute strategic initiatives that apply specifically to the chapters and regions.
11. Encourage Chapter attendance at the Spring and Fall Institute meetings and when held, mid-year Chapter Officer Leadership Training. Help first time attendees with either a pre-orientation or list of meetings chapter leaders should attend at the Institute meetings.

In Gary’s words, “While recognizing that each Chapter is unique and has their own well- established and successful programs, new Best Practices can be introduced. I am here to communicate new ideas to help each of the Region 2 Presidents and President Elects achieve new levels of success and to make Region 2 the best Region in the CCIM Institute!”

Congratulations to Gary, you’ll be a tremendous asset to the Region and CCIM Institute!

PHOTO: Gary Heinfeld CPA, CCIM, Southern Arizona CCIM Chapter, newly elected Region 2 First Vice President for 2023.

By Mikayla Mace Kelley, University Communications

TUCSON, ARIZONA — The extended mission, dubbed OSIRIS-APEX, will study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis, which will have a close encounter with Earth in 2029. NASA’s spacecraft will swing by Earth to deliver a sample from asteroid Bennu on Sept. 24, 2023. But it won’t clock out after that.

NASA has extended the University of Arizona-led mission, which will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX, to study near-Earth asteroid Apophis for 18 months. Apophis will make a close approach to Earth in 2029.

The University of Arizona will lead the mission, which will make its first maneuver toward Apophis 30 days after the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft delivers the sample it collected from Bennu back in October 2020. At that point, the original mission team will split – the sample analysis team will analyze the Bennu sample, while the spacecraft and instrument team transitions to OSIRIS-APEX, which is short for OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer.

Regents Professor of Planetary Sciences Dante Lauretta will remain principal investigator of OSIRIS-REx through the remaining two-year sample return phase of the mission. Planetary sciences assistant professor and OSIRIS-REx deputy principal investigator Dani DellaGiustina will then become principal investigator of OSIRIS-APEX. The extension adds another $200 million to the mission cost cap.

The mission team did an exhaustive search for potential asteroid targets. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was built for what’s called a rendezvous mission, meaning instead of making a single flyby of an object and quickly snapping images and collecting data, it was designed to “get up close and personal with the object.” DellaGiustina said. “Our spacecraft is really phenomenal at that.”

“Apophis is one of the most infamous asteroids,” DellaGiustina said. “When it was first discovered in 2004, there was concern that it would impact the Earth in 2029 during its close approach. That risk was retired after subsequent observations, but it will be the closest an asteroid of this size has gotten in the 50 or so years asteroids have been closely tracked, or for the next 100 years of asteroids we have discovered so far. It gets within one-tenth the distance between the Earth and moon during the 2029 encounter. People in Europe and Africa will be able to see it with the naked eye, that’s how close it will get. We were stoked to find out the mission was extended.”

OSIRIS-REx was launched in 2016 to collect a sample from Bennu that will help scientists learn about the formation of the solar system and Earth as a habitable planet. OSIRIS-REx is the first NASA mission to collect and return a sample from a near-Earth asteroid.

OSIRIS-APEX will not collect a sample, but when it reaches Apophis, it will study the asteroid for 18 months and collect data along the way. It also will make a maneuver similar to the one it made during sample collection at Bennu, by approaching the surface and firing its thrusters. This event will expose the asteroid’s subsurface, to allow mission scientists to learn more about the asteroid’s material properties.

The scientists also want to study how the asteroid will be physically affected by the gravitational pull of Earth as it makes its close approach in 2029.

They also want to learn more about the composition of the asteroid. Apophis is about the same size as Bennu – nearly 1000 feet at its longest point – but it differs in what’s called its spectral type. Bennu is a B-type asteroid linked to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, whereas Apophis is an S-type asteroid linked to ordinary chondrite meteorites.

“The OSIRIS-REx mission has already achieved so many firsts and I am proud it will continue to teach us about the origins of our solar system,” said University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins. “The OSIRIS-APEX mission extension keeps the University of Arizona in the lead as one of the premier institutions in the world to study small bodies with spacecraft and demonstrates again our incredible capacity in space sciences.”

DellaGiustina is also excited that the mission provides an excellent opportunity for early career scientists to gain professional development. OSIRIS-REx veterans will work closely with these early career scientists as mentors in the early mission phases. By the time the spacecraft arrives at Apophis, the next generation will step into leadership roles on OSIRIS-APEX.

“OSIRIS-APEX is a manifestation of a core objective of our mission to enable the next generation of leadership in space exploration. I couldn’t be prouder of Dani and the APEX team,” Lauretta said. “Dani first started working with us in 2005 as an undergraduate student. To see her take on the leadership of the mission to asteroid Apophis demonstrates the outstanding educational opportunities at the University of Arizona.”

PHOTO: This is an artists illustration of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft firing thrusters near the surface of the asteroid Apophis. (Heather Roper, Artist)

TUCSON, ARIZONA — In one of Rio Nuevo’s most active recent meetings, the Board – unanimous on every agenda item – approved projects ranging from a $180M hotel and residential complex to a new bar and restaurant on Congress Street and many more.

Developer Scott Stiteler presented his plans for the entire block at 340 N. Sixth Avenue and 7th Street. Phase One is an $8M investment by Stiteler’s team to fully renovate the Corbett Building. This renovation will include an “old school” burger joint, a beer garden, five pickleball courts, and 188 parking spots. Stiteler also has plans to renovate and improve what he is calling “Corbett Lane,” the street to the south of the building. The goal is to increase connectivity of all types, include better lighting, planters, and more.

The second and third phases contemplate a new 10-story hotel and 15-story apartment complex with an investment from Stiteler of over $180M. “There isn’t anyone with that kind of scale contributing to downtown right now,” said Chairman Fletcher McCusker. Rio Nuevo agreed to a GPLET lease, tax rebate of approximately $5M and a $500K cash contribution to launch the first phase.

After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, the Rio Nuevo Board authorized an investment of up to $500K to activate the public spaces improvement plan for the El Presidio District downtown. The goal of these improvements is to beautify the block, using planters, local art, tables, and chairs, etc. to invite people into the space. Rio Nuevo plans to re-engage the original stakeholder groups and City of Tucson Department of Transportation and Mobility to see how quickly the placemaking projects can begin.

Chairman McCusker presented a trial plan to initiate two valet parking stations downtown, funded by Rio Nuevo on an hourly basis. Valet will cost $6 per car and would be an efficient way to continue to manage parking in downtown. Valet revenue would offset the costs of staffing the valet stations, which will be located at 7th Avenue and Toole and 5th Street and Broadway. The Board unanimously approved a six-month trial run.

Additionally, the Board authorized a solicitation to locate a private sector partner for the so-called  “Country Home block,” on the southside of Broadway, within the Sunshine Mile. Bidders will be invited to suggest public/private partnership proposals for that block. The Solicitation will be posted to the Rio Nuevo website.

Finally, the Board approved a $125K investment to be the title sponsor for the 2022 Dusk Festival, a November music and art festival downtown that generates over $12M a year in economic benefit to downtown Tucson.

Rio Nuevo ended the meeting by authorizing an additional $100K toward the construction of a rooftop bar at Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink, a project approved almost a year ago but became delayed due to rising construction costs.