Carolyn's Community

WHEN: Saturday, November 14, 2009, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
WHERE: Habitat for Humanity’s HabiStore, 840 S. Palo Verde Road, Ste. 201 (Southwest corner of Ajo and Palo Verde).

The free Green Living fair will feature information tables offering advice from local experts, the “Gurus of Green”, including Mrs. Green, Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, Pima Computer Recycling, The Solar Store, Tucson Organic Gardeners, Tucson Electric Power, Cartridge World, World Care, Technicians for Sustainability, and others.

Activities and information at the fair will include: Growing a home garden, organic gardening & composting, green transportation, rainwater harvesting, solar power, air quality, saving energy, recycling, resource-conservation, alternative fuels, and other bargains at the HabiStore. There will even be hands-on “green activities” for kids as well.

For this event only, bring your E-waste items for recycling: cell phones, TVs, empty ink and laser cartridges, computers, and other electronics.

“Habitat for Humanity Tucson offers an innovative solution to the crisis of poverty housing by giving a hand up, not a hand out. Habitat Tucson works to end poverty housing by creating opportunities for homeownership in partnership with low-income families; and by making decent shelter a matter of community conscience and action.” They built 300 homes last year.

“The HabiStore is changing the world one couch at a time! By selling surplus new and used building and home improvement materials, appliances and furniture to the public the HabiStore is diverting more than 150 tons of material from the landfill each year. Usable materials, donated by retail businesses, contractors, individuals, and other organizations, are sold to the public at below cost prices. Proceeds from the HabiStore fund the Habitat Tucson mission of eliminating poverty housing within our community. ”

For more information please visit www.habitattucson.org, or call HabiStore at 520-889-7200.

Sounds like a wealth of information on “living green.”

Free workshops, free tax preparation, free checking & savings options, free food– all at the Tucson Money Faire coming up on Saturday November 14 at the Northwest Neighborhood Center, 2160 N. 6th Avenue, south of Grant Road, from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. There are even prizes and free cash giveaways.

Sponsored by the Southwest Center for Economic Integrity, this faire (fair?) offers “affordable, friendly financial services and products” for all. You can also learn about foreclosure timelines and options, and credit reports and repair.

This Center for Economic Integrity (whose Executive Director is Councilmember Karin Uhlich) lead the fight against pay day loan companies in Arizona. Their mission is to “engage in research, education and advocacy to strengthen local economies by mobilizing and protecting marginalized people, holding corporations and industries accountable to communities and cultivating support for good business practices.”

Last year I attended this annual event and I witnessed someone win $100 in the free cash giveaway. How lucky!

For more info: Deputy Director Kelly Griffith, whose email is kelly@economicintegrity.org or 520-882-2165.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”…hopefully to the Tucson Money Faire.

If you care about election integrity in our own Pima County, mark your calendars for Monday, November 16. “Fatally Flawed” premiered at the Loft Theater on September 16, and exactly two months later it will be at the Crossroads Theater, 4811 E. Grant Rd. at 7 p.m. Admission is only $3. See Off the Marquee’s blog about this movie on 9/11.

“Fatally Flawed” by Tucsonan J.T. Waldron documents the investigation spearheaded by the Pima County Democratic Party and their attorney Bill Risner, with the assistance of election integrity advocates John Brakey (Audit AZ) and Libertarian Jim March (Black Box Voting). These three men became obsessed with seeking the truth about the May 2006 RTA Election that authorized a sales tax increase totaling $2 Billion to fund the Regional Transportation Authority. You can read about the events leading up to making of the film at www.fatallyflawedthemovie.com.

“The film allows you watch events as they unfold through the eyes of seasoned lawyer and activist Bill Risner. As the story develops, it becomes evident that what initially appeared to be a public mandate to expand the city’s roads was a likely case of election fraud. At every step of the way, citizens seeking answers are met with resistance from election facilitators, local politicians and even the state’s own attorney general. Persistent unanswered questions generated by the lawsuit and new evidence of wrongdoing on the part of elections division personnel led to an equally suspicious investigation by the Arizona attorney general. This investigation culminated in a recount conducted under conditions that made meaningful public oversight impossible.” (from the movie website)

I sat in on the Tucson Citizen editorial board meeting (as a “My Tucson” columnist) when these three men came to present their findings in 2008, and I saw the movie’s premier on September 16, which was well attended. Many local Tucsonans are seen in this movie, including attorney Vince Rabago, then Chair of the Pima County Democratic Party, activist Mike Hayes of the Campbell/Grant Northeast Neighborhood Association, and Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll at their board meeting fighting for transparency in releasing election data files.

If you can’t attend the movie, the cost of the DVD is $25 online.

movie poster

Seeing this locally produced documentary on the big screen is worth the price of only $3. This second showing is sponsored by an independent Tucson group called Voices of Opposition (to War, Racism and Oppression). The Crossroads 6 Grand Cinemas is located on the NE corner of Grant and Swan, behind the Fry’s shopping center.

Former Secretary of the Interior (and former Arizona U.S. Congressman from 1955 to 1961) Stewart Udall will be honored at the Morris K. Udall Foundation on November 13:

CELEBRATE AN EVENT HONORING STEWART L. UDALL

Friday, November 13, 1:30 pm

Stewart Udall

Join the Udall Foundation as it honors former
Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and celebrates
the addition of his name to the Foundation.

Outside of the
Udall Foundation Office
130 S. Scott Ave., Tucson, AZ

~The event is open to the public~

Special Guest
The Honorable Stewart L. Udall

Expected Speakers
Senator Tom Udall (Stewart’s son) from New Mexico
Senator Mark Udall (Stewart’s nephew) from Colorado
Representative Raúl Grijalva
Representative Gabrielle Giffords
Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard

Master of Ceremonies
Terry Bracy

Closing Words
Dr. Anne J. Udall (Stewart’s niece)

Congress enacted a bill recently on October 21 to rename the federal agency the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, in recognition of the historic Interior Secretary’s contributions.
Morris Udall was Stewart’s younger brother who served as Arizona U.S. Congressman for thirty years, from 1961 to 1991.

Stewart Udall served as Secretary of the Interior under Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson from 1961 to 1969. “Udall was largely responsible for the enactment of environmental laws in Johnson’s Great Society legislative agenda, including the Clear Air, Water Quality and Clean Water Restoration Acts and Amendments, the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the Land and Water Conservation [Fund] Act of 1965, the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, the National Trail System Act of 1968, and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.”

The Udall Foundation is on 130 S. Scott Avenue below Broadway Blvd. on the west side, and it houses the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution.

The University of Arizona College of Humanities inaugurates a new lecture series “Unsettling Certainties”, inviting the community “to explore timely and often disconcerting issues with College of Humanities scholars.”

Inaugural Lecture on Monday, November 9 at 6 p.m.:

“Why Does Racism Persist in the United States of America?”

These lectures will take place in the Dorothy Rubel Room of the lovely, new UA Poetry Center’s Helen S. Schaefer Building, 1508 E. Helen Street (SE corner of Vine and Helen, north of Speedway,west of Cherry.)

As moderator, Assistant Professor of English Carlos Gallego will lead a discussion with a panel of College of Humanities scholars from various departments and will engage the community in dialogue.

According to Dr. Gallego, “The United States is a model for democratic governance, civil liberties and social justice. The 1964 Civil Rights Act exemplifies social progress. The election by popular vote of an African American president is an affirmation that we have, in fact, progressed. And yet, racism persists in the United States. Why?

Some of the questions to be explored on November 9 include:
• Do we create race or do we discover it?
• Do racially charged and racially rooted language-trends affect our perception of “racialized relations”?
• Do representations of racial progress propel social justice, or do they disguise persistent prejudice?
• Is a non-racist community even possible?”

I asked a male African American friend of mine if racism persisted in the U.S. and he said unequivocably “yes.” Go to this lecture and maybe find out why. For further infomation call the College of Humanities at (520) 621-9294, or log onto www.coh.arizona.edu.

Free parking available after 5:00pm in all Zone 1 surface lots surrounding the building, on the street, and at cost in the Highland Avenue Garage.

For updated 2009 General Election results go to: www.pima.gov/elections, click on “results” for the November 3rd election in the City of Tucson.

These are the winning results with 98.9% of the precincts reporting (but subject to change and updating due to close vote margins):

Council seat Ward 3: incumbent Karin Uhlich (D) leading by 573 votes

Council seat Ward 5: Richard Fimbres (D)

Council seat Ward 6: Steve Kozachik (R) leading by 1199 votes

At first Proposition 400 (the Home Rule option) was winning at 10 p.m. but now it is trailing by 622 votes.

With the vote margin so close in Wards 3 and 6, the final winner may not be known for a few days as Pima County Elections counts the remainder of the Early ballots and Provisional ballots.

Congratulations to all the winners and to both the Pima County Democratic Party and the Pima County Republican Party for their hard campaign work.

Here’s some Interesting updated stats from the Pima County Recorder’s Office on voter registration.

Note: the “Others” are the growing number (almost 63,000) of Independent voters in the six City of Tucson wards.

“Sustainable” seems to be the buzz word everyone is using in this 21st century. And if you’re curious about a group called Sustainable Tucson, here’s their mission statement:

“a non-profit, grass-roots organization that builds regional resilience and sustainability through awareness raising, community engagement and public/private partnerships. Our members focus their action, advocacy and research through working groups addressing the unprecedented challenges of our time, economic meltdown, population pressures, climate change, and resource depletion.” Whew, that sounds like quite an ambitious mission.

Coming up:
La Vida Verde Picnic and Open Space Event
Saturday Nov. 7
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (potluck picnic, with music till sunset)
Reid Park (between Country Club and Randolph Way, north of 22nd Street)
ramadas 14 and 15

Theme: “How do we unite our Tucson community during this Great Turning towards a peaceful and sustainable future?”

I didn’t know we were in a “Great Turning”– but I think I better find out what that means. Otherwise I may get left behind.

Sustainable Tucson holds monthly meetings at the Joel D. Valdez Main library, 101 N. Stone Ave. downtown, on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 5:45 p.m. The next meeting is coming up on November 10.

Check out their informative website www.sustainabletucson.org for updates, and for lots of information on sustainability.

Everyone knows who Mr. Rogers is, that TV personality with the red sweater on PBS. Now the Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood Sweater Drive is helping families share “new, or clean & gently-worn” sweaters with others. All sizes welcome, to be donated to the clothing banks at local Tucson schools.

“The Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive promotes Fred Rogers’ giving spirit by helping children and their families share clothing with those who need it.”

Drop these sweaters off at any of the nine Shaffer Dry Cleaning & Laundry outlets listed online and in the phone book, starting tomorrow November 1st through 7th.

Or you can bring them to the Arizona Public Media tent at U of A Homecoming on the U of A mall on Saturday November 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Any sweater donation will also earn you a FREE Kids’ 3 oz vanilla ice cream cone coupon from McDonalds!

This is just in time for winter, so do consider cleaning out your sweater drawer. A few years ago I gave away most of my grown son’s childhood jackets on such a clothing drive.

Mister Rogers in his red sweater

For more info, see www.azpm.org.

I dropped by the final of eight City of Tucson Community Key Services Dialogues last night at the Ward 2 Council office, 7575 E. Speedway Blvd. My previous blogs outlined the process of these meetings and the discussions in the various break-out groups. See “Let the Dialogues Begin” and Let the Dialogues Continue.

City Manager Mike Letcher and Katie Bolger, aide to Councilmember Glassman made the welcoming remarks.

Neighborhood leaders present (whom I recognized) for this final dialogue were: Margo Gray, Dina Scalone-Romero (Pro Neighborhoods) and Paul Mackey, but there were also less people than were in attendance at the Wards 3 and 6 dialogues.

The results of all eight meetings will be posted online at www.tucsonaz.gov/dialogues. Already on this website are links –results from the dialogues– long, long lists of what residents/participants in the previous ward meetings thought needed to be improved, and what could be cut from the City’s budget.

Also online is the power point presentation made at these meetings for those of you who were unable to attend.

The website also states:”This is not a one-time effort. We will be inviting you to participate in additional dialogues in the future: City Budget & Work Plan (1 – 3 year view), Economic Recovery Plan (3-10 year view), and the General Plan Update (Vision for the future).”

Let’s wait and see what the new City Manager and his staff recommend from the results from these dialogues. At the very least, there appears to be more community input into the budget process than before. When I asked Mr. Letcher about budget priorities from these 8 dialogues, he responded that they would look for “common threads and themes” and then make suggestions to the Mayor and Council for early 2010.