Two children look through toys and games during a small birthday celebration in this 2023 photo at the Casa Alitas Welcome Center in Tucson. The Community Services’ migrant-aid program has scaled back its role in Pima County’s migrant-aid effort to focus to families with children under 10 years old, pregnant women and other vulnerable migrants.
Homelessness on steroidsOn March 31, the federal funding that supports Pima County’s migrant-aid effort will end. Shelters such as Casa Alitas that receive the legally processed migrants that the Border Patrol releases will cut back so these four hundred a day will be dumped onto our streets with little to no support services, perhaps coming to a shopping mall or playground near you. Instantly, the decades of work and resources it’s taken to reduce our local citizen homeless population to “only” 2,500 will be erased. Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher characterizes this as homelessness on steroids. Let that sink in.
Paralyzed Washington can’t stop the influx or pay for “consequences so it’s up to Pima County to mitigate the $1+ million per-week void. I suggest buying one-way bus tickets at $50 a pop to the sanctuary state of California; that’s $20,000 vs. $1M. Don’t write that I’m heartless, offer local solutions.
Jeffrey McConnell
West side
Nothing we do will stop climate change
President Biden and the left-wing environmental extremists in and outside the White House have used the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) to propose and impose harsh CO2 emissions reductions requirements on almost every facet of our lives. To include, gas powered lawn mowers and trimmers, washers and dryers, air conditioners, refrigerators, gas operated stoves, gas operated fireplaces, gasoline/diesel powered vehicles, oil and natural gas producers and exporters, etc. All will likely impact consumers with higher prices in the future. All being done in the name of halting climate change and saving the planet. Well, NASA says that current CO2 levels in the atmosphere, that are allegedly causing climate disasters, will remain in the atmosphere for 300 to 1,000 years. That being the case, then nothing you or I do to reduce our CO2 footprint, like buying unwanted expensive EVs, will have any nea- term positive effect on the weather/climate. Odd how Biden and Democrats never mention this.
Shaki Johnson
East side
Juan Ciscomani, you got what you voted for
Re: the March 14 letter “Juan Ciscomani.”
Well, letter writer, I did not vote for Juan Ciscomani. I live in a voting district that was gerrymandered by the Arizona Republicans. I do truly not believe in anything Mr. Ciscomani says or does. I have a right to whine about his abysmal voting record if I choose to, and so do all the other whiners as they probably did not vote for him either.
What I cannot understand is why anyone voted for him. He used to work for Doug Ducey who allowed a Saudi conglomerate to pump water uncontrolled in Cochise County severely depleting water resources for all the people who live there.
Nancy Phillips
Eastside
“Role model” response
Re: the March 12 letter “Role model.”
I perceive the recent “Role model” input which lists rather ridiculous excuses for liberal writers to submit inputs to the Letters to the Editor section — in which they blame Donald Trump’s “nasty communication style” to justify their “lack of civility, along with disrespect, name-calling, sarcasm, and lack of empathy for differing viewpoints” — rather dumb. Are these writers so weak that they are swayed by what they consider to be poisonous words and personality?
Rosalie Wright
Oro Valley
Traffic safety
Driving Aviation Highway on the weekend, I stopped at the Country Club intersection for a yellow light. Two cars flew past me at a stall yellow light. A third ran the red light! All while a car in the opposite direction waited to make a left turn. Were this an isolated incident, I wouldn’t be writing. Sadly, running lights at intersections is the rule, not the exception in Tucson. I remember when the current police chief promised a focus on traffic enforcement. Where is that focus? I haven’t seen it! Maybe he needs a kick in the butt from the Mayor and the council. Maybe Madam Mayor you are too busy pushing for a needless walking path thru our Randolph golf courses. I suggest you put your focus on where it saves lives!
Norman Patten
Midtown
Funding a quantum future for Arizona
President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget calls for funding critical scientific agencies, and I urge Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema to support the spending plan, ensuring a successful future for Arizona and preserving our nation’s status as a leader in science and technology.
As a physics PhD candidate at Arizona State University, my research focuses on understanding and advancing emergent quantum technologies. Quantum tech promises foundational developments for national defense, infrastructure, education and more. Navigating this field requires our senators to support reliable funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Over 85% of U.S. economic growth is attributed to science and technology. In Arizona alone, NSF has funded over $147 million in research. Furthermore, our state’s Tribal colleges and universities (TCCU) can train a diverse STEM-capable workforce with augmented TCCU funding.
To maintain strong economic growth and global competitiveness, our senators must support sustainable federal science budgets.
William Munizzi
Downtown
The reinventing of USA
I continue to think we are seeing the natural evolution of a declining irrational governing system and will have to go through 10 or more years to reinvent itself. Hopefully we will not see violent protests and/or disruptions to get back to a rational system.
We hope we will get back as it was designed by our rational forefathers. They could not imagine how dysfunctional we have become.
Donald Plummer
Northwest side
Imagination... what?
The University Of Arizona: “We have a plan in place and nothing is off the table to help us deal with our financial deficit.”
Also the University of Arizona: “As part of an ‘experiment,’ we’re locking an English professor, a dancer, a poet and a textile artist in a glass capsule in the desert so they can play astronaut for a week.”
Has this university absolutely gone mad?
Paul Danek
West side
Prior exp
erience counts
I was thinking about the words spoken loudly during campaign stops by the TFG. He endlessly bloviates that all migrants and others at the southern border are diseased, evil, drug users, convicts, murderers, felons, and rapists. Definitely “not the best” people. At times I think we may want to consider his words a little more credible since it is hard to completely ignore his first-person experience! Naw, maybe not.
Alan Barreuther
Foothills
Say NO to mine in the Santa Ritas
I am a retired educator (Sahuarita public schools) and a docent in Madera Canyon. I am against Hudbay’s proposed copper mine south of Vail.
Economic benefits are touted. I believe the mine will cost us dearly. Loss of wildlife habitat will lead to loss of nature-based tourism and loss of related jobs.
We don’t “need this mine for batteries to transition away from oil and gas.” New technologies are reducing the need for copper. Plus, new methods of reprocessing copper mine tailings are now becoming available.
The real cost of this mine will be borne by area residents. Who will ultimately protect our water? ADEQ and Hudbay tell us that self-monitoring by Hudbay for water contamination will be sufficient. Common sense and recent history say otherwise.
In 2022, 44 million Arizona visitors produced $28.1 billion in revenue, 48% came for our beautiful parks and wildlife. Hudbay will damage the Santa Rita Mountains, Madera Canyon, its wildlife and our economy.
Say NO to this mine.
David DeGroot
Northwest side
How to Make America Great Again
Six steps on how to make America great again
Ask one particular politician to:
1. Stop the name calling
2. Set an example for our children
3. Have respect for, and abide by, our constitution
4. Truly represent his constituents
5. Stop making vile threats and
6. Act with a sense of presidential decorum.
Mary Jo Swartzberg
SaddleBrooke
Laura Conover misconduct
I am the former chief criminal deputy of the Pima County Attorney’s Office. I filed a bar complaint to the Arizona State Bar against County Attorney Laura Conover for unethical conduct in the most significant homicide in Pima County history. The State Bar acted on my complaint. Because of her misconduct in the Louis Taylor case, Conover will be monitored for one year and she is required to receive remedial training. Conover’s initial response to being held accountable was to blame me for reporting her misconduct, falsely suggesting I had political motivation. My only motivation was to meet my own ethical obligation to report misconduct and to prevent the prosecutor’s office from being misused in an unethical fashion. Conover’s second response to being held accountable was to deny any misconduct, suggesting the Bar enrolled her in monitoring without any basis. Obvious hogwash.
Ms. Conover’s newest position is to admit misconduct but claim it is no big deal. I hope everyone knows better.
David Berkman
Northwest side
Trump’s lottery
Hearing Donald Trump whine that he cannot afford his $454 bond in the New York civil case, I suggest a new variation of The Apprentice, I Should Have Been a Millionaire? Each week, Mr. Trump can be shown picking Powerball numbers, with each selection being the “best ever chosen.” After the numbers are read, clearly shown on the screen in the order drawn, Trump’s losing numbers are displayed in contrast. The remainder of the show contains continual rants that he won, the numbers are “fakes,” and this is a “witch hunt” by network executives. Weekly guests could be the likes of national deniers Marjorie Taylor Greene and Josh Hawley, followed by Arizona professional deniers such as Kari Lake, Mark Finchem, and Paul Gosar. Surely, network ratings would soar.
Roger Shanley
East side
Banned from voting again
Arizona is the first state I have lived that have a closed primary. I have never missed an election since I turned 21 until we moved here. Other states had either an open primary or you allowed to request a Republican or Democrat ballot when voting.
A large section of the voting public is registered as independents and growing every year. The state needs to update its voting laws to ensure that independent voters are given a chance to vote. One of two methods would work in the state. The first is to allow unaffiliated voters the right to choose the party and vote in that primary. The second method would be to allow rank voting. With this method you rank the candidates in your preference. The top two vote getters would run for office. It could be two republicans, two Democrats or one each from both parties.
James McLin
East side
Steve K
Everyone who knows Steve Kozachik calls him, “Steve” or “Steve K.” That’s what he prefers. It’s not just that he has been an inspiring City Council member. It’s his genuine humility combined with intelligence, leadership capacity, and compassion that make a him stand out human being. For example, Steve recognized the challenges faced by people without houses living in Tucson and created solutions that included Casa Alitas and “tiny homes.” He even opened his Ward office to temporarily shelter asylum seekers during cold weather! I am proud to have been able to call him “my” City councilor. By the way, Steve’s fitness regime is inspiring. Recently around 9:30 a.m. when I saw him running in the neighborhood, I stopped to asked how long he’d been running that morning. “Since about 6:30,” he answered casually. Wow! Good luck Steve! The County is lucky to have you on board.
Alison Hughes, Catalina Vista Neighborhood
Midtown
DeSantis and slavery
Ron DeSantis says that slavery had a benefit for the enslaved by teaching them a skill. Bull. What if they didn’t want to practice a skill like picking cotton in the blazing sun until death for the benefit of slave masters, not themselves? In a free and fair society they might have practiced a skill that was more suited for them. How about the skill of being a scientist or engineer who might have discovered something or built something that benefited others? Where were the possible doctors and lawyers who were buried in cotton fields and sweat? The poets and artists that never were? The philosophers and the saints who died under hard labor by force with no hope, kept there by terror and torture or the threat thereof? I mourn the people who never had the chance to practice a skill for their own profit. I mourn for America, our country, that lost the benefit these people could have brought but for greed and sometimes cruelty of slave holders.
George Yost
Vail
