Editor's Note: Miller's Crossing

Author Todd Miller, who is based here in Tucson, is a dogged border reporter. He's the guy who visits shelters in Nogales to hear the stories of migrants, who travels to conventions to learn what kind of border security programs are being sold to the government and who studies budgets to understand how your taxpayer money is being spent, often on boondoggles that don't make life any safer for U.S. citizens. He's also written extensively on how climate change is driving the migration of people around the world as their homes are washed away by storms or their farms dry up thanks to drought.

We're proud this week to bring you an excerpt from Miller's latest book, Build Bridges, Not Walls (City Lights Books), in which Miller wonders what the borders of the future will look like. Staff reporter Christina Duran speaks to Miller about his book in this week's cover package.

Elsewhere in the book this week: Duran reports from a high-school graduation ceremony for students who might have fallen through the cracks if they hadn't ended up at charter schools sponsored by Chicano Por La Causa; associate editor Jeff Gardner talks to health experts about whether you need a vaccine shot if you've already had COVID; Dave Wells of the Grand Canyon Institute digs into how Gov. Doug Ducey's proposal for a flat income tax gives away huge cuts to the highest-earning Arizonans while providing peanuts (and cut budgets) for everyone else; cinema writer Christina Fuoco-Karasinski talks with the stars of In the Heights, which is opening this week at The Loft Cinema and other local theaters; movie critic Bob Grimm scares up a review of the latest Conjuring flick; and we've got more in our pages, including a preview of Sweet Ghosts' upcoming record-release party at Hotel Congress, a breakdown of the latest cannabis news and all the cartoons, puzzles and other columns you all love so much.

Speaking of love: It's the time of the year again when we ask you to tell us what you love about this town in our annual Best of Tucson® reader poll. Visit TucsonWeekly.com to cast your vote in this year's celebration of all that's great about this burg. We're just launching the first round of voting, so any business is eligible. Voting will continue through July 12 and then we'll be back with a final round later that month. Vote now or forever hold your peace!

Jim Nintzel

Executive Editor