• We’re in the midst of working on a redesign of the print version of the Tucson Weekly this week, which is not just an excuse for me to read magazines at home and pretend that its research, but also a time to think about how we can keep the elements of the paper that people love intact, but present them in new, more interesting, more engaging ways. Yes, despite what a woman who emailed me angrily a few weeks ago might believe, we’re still going to be dedicated to news and political coverage, along with our co-focus of what to do, see, eat, etc. in town. In fact, one benefit of our redesign will be the ability to let some news stories stretch out a bit. Right now, we’re a little beholden to the design, forcing some stories that might be better at 1,500 words into shorter, truncated spaces. Also, we’re going to focus on getting more photos in the mix, both with our exisiting features and some new ones we have planned. It’s a little early to say when you’ll see the results of this redesign, but if you have anything you’d like to add to the conversation, we’ll have a reader survey up on The Range sometime this week. Tell us what you like, don’t like, etc. I will, however, delete any submissions mentioning “film times.”
• If someone can explain to me how James T. Harris still has a radio show, I’d really be interested to hear from you. I had a little skirmish with the guy on Twitter this week (basically, his contention was that the Weekly was an active conspirator in the fight against Grand Canyon University at El Rio, which wasn’t the case; my contention was that he’s wrong about nearly everything) and having heard his show a few times, all I can figure is that there must be a crowd of people in this town who like hosts who utilize unnecessary changes in volume and emphasis, references to The Matrix, and Obama conspiracy theories. Barking up the wrong tree here, I realize, but I’ve defended Jon Justice in the past (as a radio host, not as a political thinker), and I still can’t get my head around Harris.
• Last week, I wrote an editorial about TUSD’s search for a superintendent and my near-total frustration with the district as a parent of two kids in their schools. Board member Mark Stegeman chimed in the comments online, although it seems that he missed my point entirely, remarking that he was trying to do something about some of the cuts in my son’s school, ignoring that I was finding fault with the entire strategy of trying to compete with the challenge of charter and private schools by continuing to cut. I wish I had better answers of what TUSD should do, but the non-response from anyone beyond Stegeman was disheartening as well. Good luck, Tucson parents. We’ll need it.
This article appears in Jun 6-12, 2013.
A good start for change would be follow up on all items. Pardon me if I overlooked something, for I am human and I tend to err sometimes, but what happened to announcing the winner of the Tucson Celebrity Showdown? Last thing I noticed was Janos and Gabby were the finalists and the suspense is killing me. Who won as the top celeb? Was this already announced and I missed it? Oh the agony!
James T is part of a balanced diet. Those are Obama ‘observation’ theories. And he occasionally b-slaps Michelle which she frequently has coming to her.
If it wasn’t for James we would not have:
“breasteses” and “childrenses” in the lexicon, or breast milk lolly pops, or the Freaky Friday segment. Plus every move you know in porn came from that main man STICK.
If you listened you know most disagreeable people are so because THEY’RE FAT.
I am hardly under the illusion that cutting services at schools will help TUSD to compete with charters — this point was obvious even before you enlightened us. I remain convinced that we could make better use of our budget and so have continued to advance (with little success so far) a proposal to require the district to increase classroom spending by 1% each year (from 51% to 52%, etc.) until we get closer to what other districts achieve. But changing the entrenched TUSD model in ways that allow us to achieve that will take great focus and commitment by district leadership. And that focus will have to start at the top, from a board majority that is united and resolute about requiring change. We have not had that during my time on the Board.
AZ/DC: There was going to be a charity event for the winner that we were going to plug with the announcement, so I held off for awhile. The event didn’t end up happening, etc. etc. So, long story short, Janos dropped out and Gabby won.
Thanks Dan!
How come the most recent Mailbag is dated May 9?
Why is the TW leaving out Ask A Mexican so often lately????
Maybe if TUSD were to can the unions and the dead weight teachers who are along for the ride, they may be able to get the budget under control. That also means cutting the inflated wages the administrators receive, none of you are worth high six figure salaries. I have been to many board meetings over the years and came out completely dismayed by the dysfunctional nature of most. Board members leaving and walking around eating rather than paying attention to the topics, refusing to answer pertinent questions. The entire show needs to be recast and revamped from the top down.