FILE - U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro speaks during an Aug. 12 news conference at the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington.
Grand jurors are heroes
It is welcome news that a federal grand jury has declined a request by Department of Justice prosecutors under Attorney General Pam Bondi to indict U.S. Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan on charges of seditious conspiracy based upon the Senators’ statement urging members of the military to uphold their oath to the Constitution and to refuse illegal orders. While President Trump and his Cabinet members continue to attempt to wrongfully weaponize our justice system, it is refreshing to see that private citizens performing their duty as grand jurors have upheld the rule of law and the Constitution’s guarantees of free speech and due process. These anonymous citizens are heroes. Wherever they are, I hope they know that there are many Americans, myself included, who appreciate and admire them greatly for their integrity and faithful service to their country. These grand jurors fulfilled the oath they swore to uphold the Constitution. They held back tyranny. Bravo, grand jurors!
Amelia Cramer
Downtown
Safety starts from the top down
You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to see that public safety is often at the top of people's complaints in Pima County, Tucson in particular. Just pick any NextDoor discussion, and you'll see people railing at the mayor about it or up in arms (frequently quite literally) about what's happening in their neighborhoods, their parks, their streets. It's safety that moves people to action.
Richard Carmona's compelling Opinion on the PCSO response to the Guthrie kidnapping gets to the heart of the matter with a powerfully reasoned and thought-provoking analysis of how good law enforcement should work and why what's happening now falls short. It's not a personal snarky attack; it's a lesson on what we should all expect from what is the top priority for most people living in Pima County. There are shortages and intense competition for officers, seriously affecting the response times and follow-through that fuels public distrust and upset.
To prospective officers, leadership becomes a top priority. The buck starts and ends there.
Rick Rappaport
Oro Valley
Spanish lyrics, fragile egos
The MAGA criticism aimed at Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show was not just misguided — it was ridiculous. We are told the performance should have “united the country,” as if national unity is the responsibility of a best‑selling entertainer rather than leaders who profit from division.
Much of the outrage centered on language. Spanish, apparently, was unacceptable. This is odd in a nation that has applauded opera for centuries, where audiences sit for hours listening to Italian or German, nodding solemnly, pretending to know the plot. No one demands subtitles or accuses the soprano of disloyalty.
I am a senior, speak no Spanish, and knew little about Bad Bunny before the game. I found the show riveting, energetic, and entertaining. It was a celebration of rhythm, culture, and spectacle, exactly what a halftime show should be.
The demand that entertainers fix what politics has broken is unfair. The problem was never the music or language. It is the intolerance of those who heard joy and chose offense.
Lawrence Mazin
SaddleBrooke
Trump’s justice
A prosecutor has an obligation to seek an indictment only where the evidence is strong enough to show criminal activity took place. The prosecutor has an absolute duty to refuse to seek charges where there is no such evidence. Somehow, Trump’s Department of Justice under Jeanine Pirro has missed, or more likely simply ignored, that basic tenet by seeking indictments against the members of Congress who put out a video stating that service members have an obligation to ignore illegal orders.
Fortunately, citizen members of the DC grand jury have, once again, rejected the Attorney General’s attempt to do Trump’s bidding instead of seeking justice. This weaponization of the Justice Department must come to an end with Congress investigating and, if necessary, impeaching those who are subverting justice: Bondi, Pirro and the other sycophants Trump has installed in positions of power.
Rick Unklesbay
Midtown
Healthy communities need reliable roads
As a longtime Pima County resident and health care leader at TMC Health, I encourage voters to support Propositions 418 and 419. Like many people in our community, I rely on our transportation system every day. I drive across Tucson for work, ride throughout the region and walk in my own neighborhood. Safe, reliable roads matter to all of us.
In health care, we see firsthand how transportation affects access. Patients, caregivers and health care workers depend on well-maintained roads and reliable transit to reach hospitals, clinics, jobs and schools. When infrastructure falls behind, access to care becomes harder, especially for older adults and people with disabilities.
Propositions 418 and 419 create a 20-year, $2.67 billion plan to repair major roads, expand transit options and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists across Pima County without raising taxes.
Healthy communities depend on safe roads and reliable transportation. Please join me in voting yes on Propositions 418 and 419.
Julia Strange
Midtown
Trump and Black History Month
February is Black History Month. To honor this month, last year, Pete Hegseth ordered that important Black military leaders and groups, such as General Colin Powell and the Tuskegee Airmen, be taken out of the Department of Defense (not War) website honoring military heroes.
This year, Trump posted an AI photo of Barack and Michele Obama, former President of the United States and First Lady. The photo showed them as apes.
When the backlash came, Trump’s mini-me, Karoline Leavitt, said it was “fake outrage.” When the fake outrage became not so fake, and even some of the scaredy-cat Republican leaders called it out as being racist, the post was taken down, and Trump blamed a staffer, his typical move.
Was this Trump’s only contribution to Black History Month? No. He has also stopped the policy of free entrants to National Parks on Martin Luther King’s birthday. But you can get in free on Trump’s birthday. And where are those Epstein files?
Gary Haslett
SaddleBrooke
Ordinary citizens
My outrage at the Trump administration's disregard and misuse of the legal system was eased somewhat as I read that indictment efforts by the U.S. Attorney's office and its leader, Jeanine Pirro, were rejected by a Washington grand jury. The quashed indictment against Mark Kelly and five other veterans and lawmakers should amplify Kelly's claim that “This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackeys.” The grand jury, a diverse group of citizens, sent a clear message to Trump and his vengeful administration — honor the right to freedom of speech and the rule of law. This legal finding by ordinary citizens adds to my enthusiasm to resist Trump and “his lackeys” in the upcoming March 28th local and national protests.
Roger Shanley
East side
RTA Next pros and cons
I admit it is easy to be discouraged by what appears to be slow progress and incomplete projects with the 2006 RTA. My initial inclination was to vote no on RTA-Next, so I decided to look it up and was surprised. According to the RTA website, projects completed include;
— 202 of 200 intersection improvements (2 added)
— 83 of 80 pedestrian crossings (3 added)
— 180 of 200 bus pullouts (yea!)
— 183 of 250 miles of new sidewalks
— 370 of 550 miles of new bike lanes
— 18 out of 35 roadway corridors (+11 partially completed)
— 65% of improvements have been in the City of Tucson.
To me, the glass appears more half full than half empty. If RTA Next does not pass, the half-cent sales tax would be removed, but probably replaced by individual city taxes for road improvements, so no win. Look up rtamobility.com/projects/maps before you vote. I believe we are better united than separate, so I will vote yes.
Carolyn Thurman
West side
RTA Next won't fix our streets
Proponents of Props 418 and 419 are wise to emphasize "getting rid of potholes" and "fixing our streets." After over 10 years serving on the city's paving oversight commission, I've heard countless residents request road repairs. But only 6.7% of RTA funding will be spent on rehabilitation, and not one cent will go towards fixing residential streets.
Instead, more than half the funding will be spent on massive new roads on the edges of town that will fuel another 20 years of sprawl, stressing our water supplies and saddling our children with maintenance debt. Worse, Tucson will get less out of it than we put in.
Don't be fooled — RTA Next is not about road repair, it's a giveaway to land owners and road contractors.
Tucson already has a much better, vetted plan in Move Tucson that's just waiting for funding. The city has passed its own road initiatives twice in the last decade and could do it again next year.
Vote no on Props 418 & 419.
Ian Johnson
Downtown
