Stay away
Tom Horne is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction. This is like the troll being exiled from the pueblo and the troll returning hoping he is not remembered. Remember when Horne decimated TUSD's Mexican American Studies program? It was a very successful program. Students loved their courses and achieved. Remember the court's ruling when Horne and the State were sued by the students? The Judge A. Wallace Tashima in a 42-page ruling stated, "...Horne's actions violated a state statute and infringed on students' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The court is convinced that decisions regarding the MAS program were motivated by a desire to advance a political agenda by capitalizing on race-based fears." In a blog Horne stated, "This is America, speak English." Mr. Horne needs to return to Trollville. The children and parents of this state do not need this limited view of education. He ruined a wonderful experience for many students during his tenure. Adios, Mr. Horne.
Christopher Rubio-Goldsmith
Midtown
Say what?
Re: the June 9 article "Republican voters drive the GOP's gun agenda."
In a recent column, Jonah Goldberg wrote: "A Pew Research Center survey in 2021, for instance, found that around half of Americans don't believe that stricter gun ownership laws will lead to fewer mass shootings." He used this statement to reinforce his argument that people don't want stricter gun restrictions.
What he did, though, was twist the poll's results to fit his argument. Numerous polls have shown that the majority of Americans do want tougher restrictions on guns. The poll he referenced was about the perceived effectiveness of gun laws and not about the desirability of having gun laws. That's obvious just from reading Goldberg's quote. Goldberg was hoping that readers wouldn't be thinking critically while reading his screed and that they would accept his false premise thereby bolstering his fallacious argument. Better luck next time, Jonah.
Rick Cohn
West side
Guns and babies
Here's to all those who try to compare the issues of pro-life and gun rights:
Our babies will stop killing when we stop killing our babies.
Jaime Spicker
East side
Copper World mine
The Elephant in the Santa Ritas.
Green Valley, Sahuarita, Corona De Tucson and Vail can no longer ignore Hudbay’s “Copper World” mine on the west side of the Santa Ritas south of Tucson. Thousands of homeowners and developers could see property values plummet. Retirees, looking for beautiful desert scenery and clean air, will find other locations. Young families will no longer want to settle in Corona de Tucson if the only thing protecting young lungs from air pollution is a red flag. Property owners looking at huge losses in value have a right to stand together and say we do not want this in our neighborhood. The greater community of Tucson is also made poorer by this mine. Increasing temperatures and more dust mean more heat inversions causing catastrophic breathing issues and death. It is up to us to stop this. Hudbay leaves with the copper and we are left with the proverbial shaft!
Elaine Wolter
SaddleBrooke
Disability services
Re: the June 12 article "Once an advocate, Chad's will is fading."
I am a new Tucson resident and a recent retiree from IDD services in another state. As a member of the state quality management team, I conducted annual quality assurance surveys of all funded day and residential services, licensed or not. The poor quality of care, failure to provide doctor-ordered health care, and blatant rights violations are appalling, as is the apparent failure to attempt to address these deficiencies. These findings, in my work, would have resulted in numerous incident reports, several referrals to the state investigations unit, and probable immediate jeopardy citations, not to mention serious high-level discussions about whether this provider was capable of providing even adequate services. Will it take a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit to address this issue?
Mary Cage
Northwest side
Legislation can overturn Supreme Court
Supreme Court rulings, such as that overturning Roe v. Wade, can be and are overturned by legislation. The key is people, lots of them, to achieve the objective.
In 1998, I was part of a campaign to overturn a decision through an act of Congress. And we did, primarily by mobilizing people to act. That we did by the hundreds of thousands.
Wherever a member of Congress was, our supporters were there: town halls, hearings, picnics, rodeos, grocery stores, movie theaters. I even heard of our supporters following elected leaders into restrooms to make their cases. We never left them off the hook.
The 1998 Credit Union Membership Access Act, H.R. 1151, overturned a SCOTUS decision because people across the country raised their voices to Congress — which were heard and acted upon.
To make change, start talking to your senators and representatives in Congress, now. The same goes for those who welcomed the court’s decision. The side that talks the most, I have seen, wins the day.
Patrick Keefe
Foothills
Mexican gray wolf data
Re: The June 13 article "Mexican gray wolves need better protection."
As issues go, the reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf into the Southwest is as polarizing as it gets. Multiple sides exist on the wolf debate, reducing more or less to pro (save the wolf in the wild) vs. con (exterminate it for good). There is common ground in this dilemma, but compromise has been hard to achieve for a long time.
Many people don’t have a strong opinion on the wolf either way because they feel like they just don’t have a stake in the debate. However, everyone has a stake when it comes to integrity of basic data and having confidence in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of information. It should be dismaying to all that there is even a possibility that data itself about the wolf is being manipulated. Without confidence in the numbers, the wolf debate reduces to impassioned opinion, which is hard to reconcile across the sides.
Paul Sheppard
Midtown
Legislators want more weapons
Many people agree that the way to stop school massacres is through tighter safety on assault weapons, enhanced school security, and better mental health support. But Arizona legislators aren’t listening.
These legislators voted to issue concealed-carry permits to 18-year-olds. Yet, more than 60% of the 200 shooters at primary and secondary schools since 1999 were 18-years-old or younger. Sens. Vince Leach, Wendy Rogers and others voted to allow concealed weapons on college campuses.
These legislators defund schools attended by 90% of Arizona students, ignoring school security, and the need for in-school mental health professionals. Instead, they want to arm teachers, but most school shooters are students, and they know their schools' security measures.
Republican legislators seem to want more assault weapons, younger, less mature gun owners, and minimal mental health support. Let’s vote them out in November and get someone who listens to Arizonans, not the NRA.
Cindy Doklan
Midtown
Small business optimism at record low
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Optimism Index released today (June 14) showed small business sentiment fell for the fifth month in a row, with the number of small business owners expecting conditions to improve over the next six months dropping four points to a net negative 54%. That is the lowest level in the survey's 48-year history. Meanwhile today, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the American people can take on inflation and the country is in a "good historic economic place." I think these people at the White House are delusional and detached from reality. They obviously do not feel Americans' financial pain. They need to feel it in November. Biden touts monthly jobs growth, but many of those jobs were lost during COVID and are returning now. Infrastructure jobs take months or longer to be created as road and bridge projects need environmental impact studies done. If anything, I think it is Donald Trump's tax cuts that are keeping job growth strong. President Biden's spending has stimulated inflation.
Terrence Williams
Three Points
Gas prices
I'm mad as hell. When I left SaddleBrooke at 11 a.m. this morning the Shell station at the Mini Mart in SaddleBrooke was $4.79. When I passed by Valero it was $4.65; at Safeway it was $4.89. I thought I would wait 'till I get back to Valero and pay $4.65. Wrong! It had jumped up to $4.89! I filled up at the Shell station in SaddleBrooke for $4.79. I asked the clerk at Valero if there had been a gas delivery in the past couple of hours. "Nothing new this week at all," she said. So, Valero and others I imagine, increased the price of their "old" gas from $4.65 to $4.89. If that isn't price gouging, I don't know what you call it. Face it, the CEOs of the big oil companies are Republican and I believe they are conspiring to make President Biden look bad, and add more money to their pockets.
Jerry Lujan
SaddleBrooke
Change for Marana — finally
Thankfully, we have three new people running for Marana Town Council this year, Mark Johnson, Patrick Cavanaugh and Tim Kosse. Several incumbents have been there for a generation. Marana shouldn't be anyone's private fiefdom. Marana needs to be more forward thinking, especially with respect to future water supplies. The challengers want to improve the town's communications to residents. I'm tired of zoning changes sneaking up on us and new developments getting approved regardless of resident feedback. I would also like to see builders required to protect the largest saguaros. Johnson, Kosse and Cavanaugh have platforms that would honestly investigate the water situation, promote water conservation, and require wealthy developers to pay their own way rather than being partially funded by current residents. I plan to vote for change by going with Kavanaugh, Kosse and Johnson. Marana is my only home and I'd like it to be assured of fresh water.
Tom Hannagan
Marana
State budget surplus
The state says there is a $5 billion budget surplus. Instead of looking for ways to spend it, it should be returned to the citizens who paid the tax dollars into the state coffers. Let the individual citizens of the state make their own decisions on where to spend or invest the money rather than giving it to the favorite projects of unions and political action groups.
William Long
Foothills
Repeal and replace
The Second Amendment seems to cause a lot of problems regarding interpretation. Remember Prohibition? That amendment was repealed, thus the Second Amendment could also be repealed. So it will not be interpreted that guns are not permitted, I propose a new amendment be added that outlines what the definitions of legal arms are and which arms are considered to be illegal (remember sawed-off shotguns and "tommy" guns). This new amendment would clarify a lot of issues and maybe make it safer in trying to keep guns out of the hands of those who would abuse the privilege. I believe our problems with guns is not "mental health" as much as "anger management" issues.
Joseph Ricca
Vail
Environmental credentials
A pamphlet was just mailed from Morgan Abraham’s campaign for Arizona Senate. I wondered about his goal to “Make Arizona carbon neutral by 2030.” This is an excellent goal: improving jobs in Arizona, our economy, air quality, and reducing the massive water consumption for cooling nearby power plants.
I ask why would Rep. Abraham direct a 2018 campaign for Tucson Electric Power, opposing 50% solar electricity by 2030 for Arizona? Why was he a recent co-sponsor of HB 2101, which I think killed competition to our utilities? Why did he vote against most of his fellow Democrats who knew that this bill unfairly favored big utilities, including the Canadian-owned Fortis, who owns TEP? Word is out that the utilities wrote this bill. Why did he co-sponsor it?
Priya Sundareshan, also in this Senate race, was raised in Tucson, is an environmental attorney who was schooled at UofA and Catalina Foothills High School — all without these lingering questions.
Russell Lowes
Midtown
