Tucson Weekly: Guest Commentary

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Vicki Hart) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0700

A battle between a 24-hour coffee shop and its frustrated neighbors rages on by Vicki Hart The Duncans moved into the Samos Neighborhood in 2002. The neighborhood that the Duncans and I live in is bounded by Campbell and Mountain avenues, and Grant Road and Glenn Street. The Duncans loved their home and found the Samos neighborhood to be friendly and eclectic. However, their feelings on the neighborhood would soon begin to change. Coffee X Change started keeping its doors open 24 hours a day—and a neighborhood nightmare began. Soon, the Duncans' sleep was disrupted on…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Jonathan Thompson) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0700

More and more Native Americans are fighting tribal governments on behalf of the environment by Jonathan Thompson In late September, Joe Shirley Jr., president of the Navajo Nation, sent out a provocative press release charging that "environmental activists and organizations are among the greatest threat to tribal sovereignty." Shirley made his attack while joining Northern Arizona's Hopi tribal council in "unwelcoming" conservation groups from those tribes' lands, which sprawl across portions of three Southwestern states. The national press played the story this way: Job-starved Indians were fed up with white urbanites who put flowers and bugs above…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Germar D. Townsend) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0700

These days, the Arizona Department of Economic Security is not fulfilling its mission by Germar D. Townsend They want you to give up and leave," someone shouted recently at a Tucson Arizona Department of Economic Security office. Those hopeful of receiving benefits and the chair-swiveling number-callers both seemed justifiably indignant. The language was R-rated, and the mood was bleak. The Arizona Department of Economic Security's Web site includes text that reads, "Every child, adult and family ... will be safe and economically secure." That is a bold statement, to say the least. It was my fourth such…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Jonathan Hoffman) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0700

TUSD seems to be focusing on 'social justice' rather than academic standards by Jonathan Hoffman Dr. Ben Chavis, a Native American from North Carolina who earned both a bachelor's degree and a doctorate in education from the University of Arizona, took over a failing charter school in Oakland, Calif. He instituted high academic standards and was a tough disciplinarian who passed out detentions freely. Dr. Chavis' American Indian Public Charter School (AIPCS) has been consistently rated as one the top five of the roughly 1,300 junior high schools in California. Back in the Old Pueblo,…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion: VOICES

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Isabella Soto) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0700

This weekend in downtown Tucson, the drag kings rule by Isabella Soto After returning from a college semester in the San Francisco bay area, I found myself researching Tucson's nightlife and culture, eager to see what my hometown had to offer. As I obsessively combed coffee shop poster boards, fliers for Boys R Us, a gender performance troupe, caught my eye. The fliers were intriguing, featuring women with handlebar mustaches, men with bare chests and whips. One of the ads read, "International Drag King Extravaganza XI: Boys R Us presents NO BORDERS."…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Jean Hoffman) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Could Tucson become the nation's next chess capital? by Jean Hoffman During a time when everyone seems to be talking about what's wrong with our public schools, Tucson's chess educators exemplify what we have been doing right. It's a little-known fact that Tucson is home to some of the most talented chess players and most successful chess coaches in the country. Since 1994, the Catalina Foothills High School chess team has won the national high school chess championship four times. Over the past 20 years, Tucson has a produced a slew…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Diane Luber) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0700

The realities of health care and the economy are causing distress for far too many people by Diane Luber Pity my poor dental hygienist. Tears were running down my cheeks as I sat in her chair today, not because she was hurting me, but because I was thinking about my insurance, my former employer and the terrible state of our economy. After Gannett closed the Tucson Citizen in May, I was fortunate to get a severance package. (Gannett employees laid off since then haven't been so lucky.) I had health and dental insurance until the end of August. Information…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Deborah Mayaan) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Come and honor water and the health of the desert at the Sukkot celebration by Deborah Mayaan Like many people, I moved to the desert seeking healing. I needed clear, dry air for my lungs and sinuses that had suffered in the pollution and damp of the East Coast. After a time, I woke up to the larger issue of the health of the desert. There could, after all, be too much dryness, too many clear sunny days that were beautiful for hiking or having a meal outside. Without enough rain, even desert vegetation shrivels. And as…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Derek Eysenbach) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0700

The city could benefit greatly from a true understanding of the 'creative class' theory by Derek Eysenbach On Aug. 20, Tom Danehy referenced Councilwoman's Regina Romero's invocation of the "creative class" as a justification for preserving the Warehouse District. At first, Danehy dismissed Romero's comment as "stupid," primarily because he didn't recall the term. Danehy revisited the "stupid-ass term" and gave it a full thrashing on Sept. 10. As he noted, "creative class" was coined by Richard Florida, a professor currently at the University of Toronto, to describe people believed to be the drivers of growing regional…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Anna C. Christensen) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0700

On Sept. 30, Arizona will take a big step backward in terms of abortion rights by Anna C. Christensen Last summer, I had a fascinating conversation with my grandmother about her memories of the Great Depression. She told me about a married man in her small town who knocked up two women on the side; one woman was kicked out of her parents' house, and the other was rendered permanently sterile by an illegal abortion. A dismal economic situation notwithstanding, things have changed considerably since the 1930s. If a scenario such as the one above were to occur today,…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (David Ray) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Visits to a local nursing home show grim realities about our failing health-care system by David Ray Exceptional People, Exceptional Care" reads the impressive Web site for a local nursing home, adorned with photos of palm trees and a plate of "fine cuisine served with a Tucson touch," along with assurances to prospective guests and their families that the facility is "comfortable, safe, modern and convenient." My friend who resides in this facility finds this laughable. Battered by torturous noise levels from television and the wailings of patients in wheelchairs lining the hallway, he finds it hard…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Opinion

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Dave Efnor) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0700

The case for copper: We need to mine if we want more fuel-efficient vehicles by Dave Efnor Mining in the United States has become a difficult undertaking in the past few years, mainly due to environmental activism and the increasing constraints applied to new development. Yet despite the opposition, some companies are proceeding with development, because the rate of return on investment can be supported by the value of the mineral deposit and the technological innovations that are now available. In addition, huge gains have been achieved in the possibilities for environmental protection, topographic reclaiming design, and…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Guest Commentary

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Jonathan Hoffman) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Graffiti is a big problem for the city ... so why is the city teaching kids to do graffiti? by Jonathan Hoffman Graffiti is the bane of Tucson residents. It is generally ugly and costly, and can often be an indicator (like broken windows) of a crime-ridden neighborhood. I'll take it a step further and claim that it is bad for the perpetrators. It is a tool for minors to develop antisocial, even solipsistic tendencies. Few parts of Tucson are untouched by graffiti; certainly no part of midtown is. Individuals and neighborhood groups are engaged in an endless campaign to clean up…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]