Business View Civil & Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 11

83 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 11 DOUGLAS , AR I ZONA Cox is helping Cochise County families prosper through internet connectivity While technology became a lifeline for so many during lockdowns associated with the pandemic, we are deeply concerned that accessing the internet remains a challenge for some in our community. As a longtime broadband provider in Southern Arizona, Cox Communications is committed to closing the digital divide by creating accessibility initiatives in Cochise County. Cox is proud to provide more than 6,000 Southern Arizona families with Connect2Compete (C2C), our low-cost internet service. Partnering with the City Douglas we reached out into the community and held C2C sign-up events at Mexican baseball games and Douglas Days. Cox introduced C2C to Sarah Marley Elementary School families and sent computers home with students, so members of the whole household have internet access at home. The Cox Technology Center, donated to the Sierra Vista Boys and Girls Club, provides a technologically advanced atmosphere for Club kids, complete with computers and high-speed internet access. Cox provides this connectivity to help level the playing field so children can complete their homework online and be safely entertained after school. During these unprecedented times, technology made it possible to work, learn, and socialize from home and remotely. Cox is committed to ensuring our neighbors have access to the educational and economic opportunities connectivity brings, which we know will support the long-term success of the Douglas community and residents throughout Cochise County. ...... Lisa Lovallo, an Arizona native, is the Southern Arizona market vice president for Cox Communications, leading a team of 250+ local Cox employees. Reach her at lisa.lovallo@cox.com going to be an engine here for opportunity. It’s a very pivotal time that we’re going through right now. It’s exciting. We get to see it here and hopefully everybody else is going to experience it pretty soon when they see that new port.” The plans for the new port have spurred even more improvements to the area, including new additions to the city’s already planned downtown revitalization project. The original plan was to improve the streetscape design of the downtown, but now, thanks to help from a federally funded study, they are also looking at how to prepare for changes that will come from the new port. “When the port happens, a lot of the warehousing within the downtown area would most likely move out towards the new port of entry,” Huish says. “So there’s a plan for how to fill those empty warehouses, how to draw people downtown from the border, and how to make us a more walkable city. We developed this plan with very robust and engaged community input.” So far, the city has planned to put $300,000 towards beginning the process of improving the downtown streetscape, including lighting and landscape design. They hope that the beautification process will help inspire the core businesses to make their own improvements to