Welcome to TucsonCitizen.com

TucsonCitizen.com is a compendium of blogs that serves as The Voice of Tucson, written by Tucsonans for Tucsonans. The bloggers and citizen journalists here provide news, information, opinion, commentary and perspective on the issues, interests and events that affect daily life in the Old Pueblo.

Mark B. Evans and Ryn Gargulinski, veteran journalists who worked for the print edition of the 139-year-old Tucson Citizen, administer the site. They also have blogs.

Their goal is to provide a Web site that gives voice to people who want to inform their community about issues that might not attract the attention of the daily newspaper or TV news and to provide their fellow citizens different points of view about the issues of the day that differ from that of the dominant editorial voice in the city – the Arizona Daily Star.

Mark and Ryn are continuing to recruit bloggers and citizen journalists for TucsonCitizen.com. If you have an idea for a blog, contact Mark, mevans@tucsoncitizen.com, or Ryn, Rynski@tucsoncitizen.com. Or you can call 520-573-4561.
For more information about the benefits of blogging at TC.com, go here.

TucsonCitizen.com is a division of Gannett Co., Inc. and a partner of Tucson Newspapers, 4850 S. Park Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85714.

The Administrators’ Blogs:

Mark B. Evans – Editor’s Blog – Caveat Lector

Mark is the editor of TucsonCitizen.com and he writes about local and state politics and government, freedom of information and the news industry. He’s a graduate of the University of Arizona School of Journalism and his last job before heading up TC.com was as an assistant city editor for the Tucson Citizen. Before that he was editor of the EXPLORER in Oro Valley and a reporter in Coolidge.

Ryn Gargulinski – Rynski’s Blogski; Rynski’s Dating Game; Rynski’s Day of the Dead; Sawyer Says: Animal Talk

Ryn Gargulinski is an artist, author, performer, poet and Ryngmaster for TucsonCitizen.com. Her frequently creepy writing and art have been widely published, from India to New York, and include two illustrated humor books. Catch her weekly column on KLPX FM 96.1 every Thursday and her art around town. Learn more at www.ryngargulinski.com

The TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network:

TucsonCitizen.com received a grant from J-lab, a citizen journalism think tank at the American University. The grant project seeks to create networks of citizen journalism sites in metro communities. The Citizen decided to use the grant to create a sports reporting network that focuses on the University of Arizona and local high schools. The network partners are:

Rob Lantz – Radio Sports Guy

I work in radio and board op a daily sports talk show here in Tucson. I also contribute on air for that show, announce high school football and do scoreboard updates during our University of Arizona pre- and post-game shows. My sports blog is RadioSportsGuy.com. I am also a full-time student at the University of Arizona.

Scott Terrell – UASports.net

Scott Terrell is a UA alum who lives and dies with Wildcat Football, Basketball and Baseball.  He has been an active member of the UASports.net community since Dick Tomey’s last year and he has been writing a weekly sports column since before Lute Olson’s final tournament win. Look for Scott at UA sporting events and tailgates.  He’s the guy in the big red hat.

Javier Morales – WildAboutAZCats.com

Javier Morales is a former Arizona Daily Star reporter of more than 13 years. He covered the UA men’s basketball team for three seasons, including the 1996-1997 season when the Wildcats won their first NCAA title. Morales is no longer in the journalism field, but he maintains in contact with sports media members in Tucson and others throughout the Pac-10 region.  WILDABOUTAZCATS.com is an offshoot of the original UAHOOPSCOACH.com, which was created in February to track the developments of the UA’s coaching search to replace Lute Olson. Site founder Javier Morales intended to discontinue the site after the hiring of the head coach, but the site’s increasing popularity and the requests of its fans convinced him to keep the site going. WILDABOUTAZCATS.com is designed to cover UA sports in a professional manner, with a fair and balanced perspective.

Steve Rivera – Steve Rivera Ventures

I’ve covered local sports in Tucson and Phoenix for 22 years for the Tucson Citizen and USA Today. I covered University of Arizona men’s basketball for 18 years. Dick Vitale named me one of his top 16 college basketball writers in 2001. My new career is proprietor of Steve Rivera Ventures, a sports publicity company.

Anthony Gimino – AG’s Wildcat Report

Anthony Gimino is a sports journalist who has spent much of the past two decades covering University of Arizona athletics, including covering the football beat for the Arizona Daily Star and, most recently, being the sports columnist at the Tucson Citizen. In between that, he was the college football editor at CBSSportsLine.com, and he maintains a national presence as the senior editor for Lindy’s Football Annuals. He’s a contributor to WildAboutAZCats.com.

Our Citizen Journalists:

Ben McNitt, Charles Spillar – Artistic Tucson

Ben McNitt is a woodworker – www.mcnittbros.com – and volunteers with the communications team for downtown Tucson’s Warehouse Arts Management Organization. In previous careers, Ben was a journalist with the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Citizen (1970s) and CBS News and CNN based in Cairo (1980s), and conservation advocate with the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, DC, retiring in 2006 as Senior Communications Director.
Charles Spillar has been a professional artist for 21 years with hundreds of public exhibitions and collectors internationally. Art has been featured in over 50 publications regional and national. Freelance journalist, screenwriter & book publisher with many articles in print.  Presently spokesman and director of public relations for Tucson’s Valley of the Moon. Involved with WAMO (Warehouse Artists Management Organization) on their Communications Committee.

Carolyn Sugiyama Classen – Carolyn’s Community

Carolyn Sugiyama Classen was a 2008 Tucson Citizen My Tucson columnist. She grew up in a sugar plantation community on Hawai’i Island, belonged to a Jesuit “koinonia” at the Boston Paulist Center. She was a practicing attorney, legislative aide on Capitol Hill, now a Hearing Officer in Small Claims Court.”

Jay Dee – Energy Healing

Jay Dee is an EFT Practitioner, Performance Coach and Channel.  I’ve enjoyed success working with athletes, business and sales professionals, and sufferers of pain, disease and emotional distress.  I also enjoy helping others find their path in life and helping them connect with their higher self. For many years I have been drawn to Energy Work and Energy Healing, and I am overjoyed to now be working in this rewarding field. I am also the assistant moderator of Tucson Metaphysics and the organizer of Tucson Energy Healers Group.  I also lead a free, weekly EFT practice group.

Don Smith – Fort Buckley

Don Smith is a former Tucson Citizen “My Tucson” writer. He is a defense contractor at Fort Huachuca, a retired Army Reserve Military Intelligence officer, politically conservative and a foot soldier for local GOP candidates at election time. His blog focuses on: Conservatism; Defense and national security intelligence affairs; and National security issues.

Renee Schafer Horton – God Blogging

Renee Schafer Horton, a journalistic gun for hire and former Tucson Citizen higher education reporter, spent more than a decade as a correspondent for the Catholic press and nearly as long as a commentator on religion in both the secular and Catholic press. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Oregon State University, and has wracked up enough hours reporting on and researching Christianity, Islam and Judaism that she probably qualifies for an honorary master’s in theology or religious studies.

Jimmy Petrol – Humor: Fueled by Petrol

Jimmy Petrol writes a humor blog, offering his unique perspective on life in Tucson, Arizona and the good ol’ USA.

Steven G. Smith – ilBLOGical tidBITs

A virtual soapbox reflecting views and opinions about world, national and local events, politics, points of view, annoyances, pet peeves and general goings-on to educate, inform and entertain readers, writers and voyeurs of the blogosphere – a social networking dystopian view of the universe.

Debra Thornley – Jump Write In, Ask Rita

Debra Thornley, M.A., is a writing group facilitator trained in poetry therapy and journal writing techniques. She is a mentor for Prescott College Tucson campus, and teaches non-credit courses for Pima Community College.  Debra is establishing the Tucson Transformational Writing Center, and moderates the Tucson Coffeehouse Poetry Writers Meetup Group.

Karen Nelson – Kare about Health

Karen Nelson has an advanced degree in exercise physiology and has held multiple certifications in health and fitness. She has worked in several health clinics, was director of certification for the American Council on Exercise and worked as a physiologist and health educator at a world-renown spa.

Donovan Durband – Meet Me Downtown

Donovan Durband spent about ten years with the Tucson Downtown Alliance and Downtown Tucson Partnership, most of that time as the executive director.  He was the editor of Downtown Tucsonan, a monthly magazine published by those organizations.  He has lived in Tucson for 20 years, and he has three degrees from the University of Arizona (in Economics; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and Planning)

Tim Bentley – Running Man

Tim Bentley is an avid and active member of Tucson’s running community. He’s also on the board of the Southern Arizona Roadrunners, regularly runs with the Workout Group and even directs some races. A competitive runner in college, Tim now enjoys running from a seasoned, more lighthearted perspective.  He hopes that you’ll be rewarded with some insights, tips and info on the running scene in Tucson and beyond.

Glenn Weyant – SPLATT

For roughly 25 years Glenn Weyant has earned his living with words and sound mostly. A 1986 graduate of Hofstra University, Weyant worked as a full-time journalist for roughly 10 years in New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts before moving to Tucson in 1995.  Once in Tucson his occupational definition expanded to include freelance journalist/writer, educator, baker, stay-at-home-dad, instrument designer/builder, hiking guide, sound sculptor and artist as warranted. In 2006 Weyant founded www.sonicanta.com, a Web site and independent cd-r label dedicated to sound exploration. A blog and subtext for that sound work is maintained at www.glennweyant.com

Art Jacobson – The Data Port

Art Jacobson has been a Tucson resident for 35 years. He wrote radio programs for WUOM, The University of Michigan, and was a director at NBC affiliate WMAQ. A freelance writer since arriving in Tucson, he wrote “A Column of Opinion” for The Desert Leaf. His special interests include politics, motorcycling and acting.

Geoffrey Notkin – The Logical Lizard

Geoffrey Notkin is a science writer, columnist, meteorite specialist, television host, and photographer. He was born in New York City, raised in London, England, and now makes his home in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. A frequent contributor to science and art magazines, his work has appeared in Reader’s Digest, The Village Voice, Wired, Meteorite, Seed, Sky & Telescope, Rock & Gem, Lapidary Journal, Geotimes, New York Press, American Theater Arts, and numerous other national and international publications. He works regularly in television and has appeared in documentaries for the BBC, PBS, Discovery Channel, History Channel, National Geographic, A&E, Travel Channel and co-stars in the Science Channel’s adventure series Meteorite Men.

Karyn Zoldan - To Market To Food Market

Karyn Zoldan enjoys dancing with herbs and discovering what stores or farmers markets have the best deals, the freshest local ingredients, and the most unusual food finds. She has written about restaurants, gourmet kitchens, and marketing topics locally, nationally and virtually.

Polly Higgins – Tucson Metromix

Polly Higgins is the Editor of Tucson Metromix, a one-stop shopping site for arts, food and entertainment events.

Mark Kerr – Tucson Observer

Mark Kerr writes about LGBT issues.

PABlo Bley – Tucson Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Guy

PABlo Bley is an artist, author, composer, designer, entrepreneur, inventor, public speaker, techno-evangelist…and eco-sustainability advocate (which means being into green stuff like conservation, ecology, environmental, etc.), who doesn’t eat meat, and rides a bicycle around Tucson.

Mike Brewer – Veteran Veritas

Michael Brewer’s Veteran Veritas provides a space for advocacy and dialogue with all Arizona veterans.  Mike is a trained Veterans Service Officer, and published writer in the arena of Veterans Affairs.  He served in Marine Corps with the 7th Marines and Marine Air Wing with two stints in Vietnam. He is currently a Mentor for returning combat veterans at the Merritt Retreat Center in Payson, Arizona. He has extensive training in the care and transition to civilian life for returning combat veterans.

Jonathan DuHamel – Wry Heat

Wry Heat is written by Jonathan DuHamel, an economic geologist. The blog is mainly about environmental policy and natural resources. Geologists can be considered as one of the “climate scientists” because the climate history of this planet is recorded in the rocks.

Keith Ames – Zoom Zoom Tucson

My involvement with racing in Arizona began in 86′ as a fan, as a track owner/promoter, as a sponsor and as a Dirt Late Model owner. I grew up in a racing family and began racing in 1953 at age 5. I enjoy watching, participating and promoting all forms of circle track racing. I am the Broker and Owner of Dorado Realty.

Susan Moreno – Grey Matters

My life changed when my son was diagnosed with a serious mental illness at the age of 18 and passed by suicide at the age of 23.  Currently I am passionate about creating awareness about mental illness and the reality of mental health recovery as well as promoting anti-stigma. I spend much of my time as Development Director and educator/presenter for the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southern Arizona. As a young person I began my career in broadcasting as an announcer, then sales and management. Other experience includes small business owner, event coordinator, YWCA Executive Director, substitute teacher, and previous owner of small real estate company.  I still practice real estate sales and consulting and was named “Pro of the Year” in 2006.

Penelope Starr – Telling Stories

As founder and producer (and occasional storyteller) of Odyssey Storytelling Series (www.Odysseystorytelling.com) for the past 5 years I’ve learned that personal storytelling with an audience can build community, become a personal achievement and be a lot of fun. I’ve taught storytelling workshops, and classes, The Art and Craft of Storytelling, at Pima Community College and have been published in the national Storyteller Magazine. I was the founder and web mistress of Words On Fire, Tucson’s Spoken Word Network (now defunct) for 4 years. I’m writing a book about community storytelling and I’ve even taken an occasional foray into performance art at local venues. Seemingly unrelated but it’s all part of the package: I hold a BS in Human Services and Women’s Studies; I restore Navajo rugs (www.navajorugrestoration.net), and I’m a visual artist working in mixed media.

Andy Morales – High School Sports in Baja Arizona; Education Talk

Billups Allen – Off the Marquee

Billups Allen is a Washington D.C. transplant who spent his formative years seeking out eclectic films and music. Shopping for records and videos became a time consuming hobby. Working in independent theaters and record stores, he grew a solid attachment to underground culture. He currently publishes Cramhole comic zine, writes for Razorcake Magazine, hosts a radio show called The Groove Tomb and has been published by Schematics Press and Lungfull Poetry Journal.

Tyler Woods – Retroflections

Tyler Woods is a holistic mental health practitioner and author. She discovered that writing about what you love can relieve stress. She enjoys retro and collecting old TV series and researching the good old days and putting them in “retrospective.” So take a stroll down memory lane when times were easier, life was breezier and TV and music were cheesier.

Rosie Romero – Rosie on the House

Rosie On The House is Arizona’s No. 1 home improvement show. It airs Saturday mornings on radio stations KTAR in Phoenix, KNST in Tucson, KAZM in Sedona, and KQNA in the Prescott quad-city area. Host Rosie Romero started in the remodeling industry in 1972. Since 1989, Rosie On The House has helped this Cajun carpenter share his down-to-earth approach to happy homeownership with tens of thousands of Arizonans. Today, the information-packed question-and-answer show is the most powerful tool in the homeowner’s toolbox.

Larry Cox – Shelf Life, What’s Cooking

Larry Cox moved to Tucson in 1996 after living in the Colorado High Country for more than 20 years. In 1996, Cox began work at KCEE-AM in Tucson where he produced a weekly program that featured vintage music. It continued until 2002 when the station was sold and the format changed. He wrote a weekly collectible column for Desert Leaf from 1997 until 1999 in addition to contributing to several regional publications including The Tucson Monthly. He is the author of The Book of Tucson Firsts which was published in 1998. The proceeds from that book were donated to the Arizona Historical Society. In April of 1999, he began working for The Arizona Daily Star where he was a columnist and reviewed new books. He continued at The Star until October of 2002, when he left to become a columnist and the book editor of The Tucson Citizen. In addition to his work at The Tucson Citizen, Cox wrote a weekly column and contributed to the book review page of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Since 2000, his syndicated book reviews and weekly columns for King Features have been distributed to 450-plus publications throughout the U.S. and Canada.

James Sandefer - Compound Captive

James Sandefer is a retired Army officer with nearly 27 years of active service. He holds lifetime memberships in the U. S. Army War College Alumni Association, the Retired Military Police Officers Association, the Disabled American Veterans, and the American Legion. He’s a National Correspondent for eCapitol news service, a syndicated newspaper columnist, and has authored and published two books. He holds a Ph.D. in Personnel Management.
His diverse sense of humor attracts friends who can laugh at themselves.

Elizabeth “Bjay” Woolley – Bjay’s Work From Home Experience, Tucson Tales

Bjay is a Tucson native and descendant of an Arizona pioneer who walked from New York to California, pushing a wheel barrow, then sailed down around Baja California to Mexico and worked his way back north.  His wandering ways came to an end when he fell in love with what is now southern Arizona in the mid 1800’s.  Those deep roots and history enhance a big love for Tucson and southern Arizona. A former Tucson Citizen “My Tucson” writer, she has written articles for print and online publications including  DiabeticMommy.com, a site she created and maintains.  Mother to a little human, critters, a garden and a man who calls himself husband, she has discovered the world and benefits of working from home online and shares those experiences in her blog Bjays Work from Home Experience.

Cherlyn Strong – Paranormal Old Pueblo

Cherlyn is a Tucson native and a descendant of one of Arizona’s earliest pioneers. She has a passion for writing, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Arizona. Cherlyn has worked in higher education for over a decade. During her free time, however, she can be found immersed in her research of all things paranormal.

Doug Gann – Chronography

Doug is a long time Tucsonan and works as a preservation archaeologist with the Center for Desert Archaeology. Doug has 24 years of experience in archaeological fieldwork, research, and public interpretation, and has pursued research projects in most of the Southwest, as well as Ecuador, Armenia, and the eastern United States.  Doug’s current archaeological assignments involve preservation in the Mogollon highlands and using new media technologies to share archaeological research with the public.

Denise Early – Medicare and More

Denise Early is an insurance agent working mostly with Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans.  She started out working for an insurance company that is a major player in the Medicare market but quicky realized she did not like sales and would rather present people with a variety of choices and let them make an informed decision. She has been working with Medicare-related insurance for four years and has learned a lot about the good, the bad and the ugly of the business.

Better Business Bureau – BBB Consumer Alert

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona was founded in 1952, and serves the consumers and businesses of Pima, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Graham and Granlee counties.  BBB hopes to use its Consumer Alert Blog to better inform and educate Southern Arizona consumers, and to promote trust in the Southern Arizona marketplace.

Thomas Hruska – Gamerz

Thomas Hruska is a software developer and and video game addict.  Name the video game and he has either heard of it or played it.  He works for Tucson Newspapers as a web developer (programmer) to continually improve the Citizen, Star, and Tucson.com websites.  His gaming experience ranges across all categories of gaming:  Arcade, action, puzzles, adventure, first-person, third-person, real-time strategy, and even the occasional card game.  He has plenty of experience building gaming rigs to play the latest games for less than half of retail.  He also enjoys Star Trek, Star Wars, and almost anything else sci-fi/nerd-oriented. Gamerz is your local Tucson portal to video games.

Ken Moyes – A Sonoran View

I am Ken Moyes and I have viewed the nonsense happening in our government over the years with frustration. I know that politics and government have always been nasty and inefficient. However, I believe that unless citizens and the media watch, discuss, and communicate with their elected officials, the elected officials will take what they can from the system, adhere to special interest requests, and simply not look out for the voter. I had a fine career 35 year in banking and have been a self-employed small business owner in Tucson.  My time in Tucson is seven years and counting.  You will find that I ask questions and delve into possible answers.  You can send the complimentary and the less than complimentary mail to asonoranview@gmail.com and I will try to answer. My goal is to comment on pertinent national, Arizona, Pima County, and Tucson issues.