I have concerns about the shameful action taken by the Mayor and City Council to ban the homeless from downtown Tucson.
Other people are also being pushed out of downtown. This includes artists, the elderly, the poor, galleries, longtime Mexican-American residents, small retail shops, anybody who can't afford the rising rents.
The City, in partnership with the U of A, is expanding the campus into downtown so that mostly white, affluent students can have a place to live, party and study in a safe, clean environment. Are homeless tolerated on the U of A campus? NO!
New, ugly prison-style dorms are being built to house these new eople and an electric streetcar will transport them back and forth between the U of A and downtown. Common buses are not good enough. The eviction of homeless people will also benefit bars and restaurants which cater to students, sports fans, boosters, faculty and staff. And who will pay for this? Homeowners, citizens, taxpayers.
I grew up here. It's an old story.
—Michael Cajero, artist
