View the online debate which was held at Pima Community College West campus (click here), moderated by C. J. Karamargin, Vice Chancellor for Public Information & Governmental Relations.

Ms. Cajero Bedford served in the Arizona state house from LD 27 for 4 terms, and was elected to the State Senate in Nov. 2010.

I also reported on Maria de la Luz Garcia’s appointment to that Senate seat in Nov. 2010:
http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2010/11/02/supervisors-appoint-maria-garcia-widow-of-jorge-luis-garcia-to-the-ld-27-state-senate-seat/. Ms. Garcia was only able to serve for about two months before Ms. Cajero Bedord took over that seat.

Watch the online video and decide how to vote in the August 28 Democratic primary. Both candidates are participating in the Clean Elections program.

State Senator Olivia Cajero Bedford

Maria de la Luz Garcia

Candidates for this primary race:

–Stefanie Mach, former Americorps volunteer, current business consultant for non-profit organizations, political newcomer, www.stefaniemach.com

–Brandon Patrick, former Air Force translator (Arabic), former Ward 2 City of Tucson Council aide, current community outreach director for El Tour de Tucson, political newcomer (though was the campaign manager of the successful effort against Prop. 200 in 2009 – defeated 70.21% to 29.79%), www.patrick2012.nationbuilder.com

–Bruce Wheeler, current LD 28 House Representative and former Tucson City Councilman from Ward 1, click here for member page

Only Brandon Patrick is a Clean Elections candidate, the other two are running traditionally.

Stefanie Mach

Brandon Patrick

LD 28 Rep. Bruce Wheeler

And if you missed this debate and want to see these candidates speak & answer questions live:

LD 10 CANDIDATES SPEAK TO SAGUARO EASTSIDE DEMOCRATS AND LD10

On Monday July 16, 2012, the three Democratic candidates for two seats in the Arizona House of Representatives from Legislative District 10 and the candidate for the AZ Senate will participate in a forum co-sponsored by the Saguaro Eastside Democrats and the Legislative District 10 Democratic Committee.

Stefanie Mach, Brandon Patrick and Bruce Wheeler are the candidates for the two House nominations. David Bradley is running unopposed for the Senate nomination.

The meeting will be held at New Spirit Lutheran Church, 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail (on the northeast corner at Camino Seco). The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. with light refreshments and time for socializing. The formal program will begin at 7 p.m.

All meetings of SED are free and open to the public. You do not have to be a member to attend. For further information, call Pat Wiedhopf at 850-6755.

The 2 House winners of this Democratic primary will face two Republicans Todd Clodfelter and LD 30 Rep. Ted Vogt in the General Election. Former LD 28 House. Rep. Dave Bradley will face off with LD 30 Rep. Frank Antenori for the State Senate seat in LD 10.

Vote wisely in the Democratic primary of August 28.

January 5th at 8 p.m. and again, January 8th at 6 p.m. on PBS-HD 6 (KUAT Channel 6)

Press release from Arizona Public Media:

Tucson, Ariz. – December 19, 2011 – We reflect, we mend, we mourn – January 8th, 2012 marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic shooting of nineteen people at a Congress on Your Corner event in Tucson. On Thursday, January 5th at 8 p.m. and again on Sunday, January 8th at 6 p.m.

Arizona Public Media presents a one-hour special documentary, Together We Heal, a moving and thought-provoking program focusing on emotional healing, both individual and community-wide, over the past year. For many, grieving and healing have become on-going and consequential parts of their lives. Narrated by national correspondent, Savannah Guthrie, Together We Heal features 36 in-depth interviews with victims and their families, members of Congresswoman Giffords’ staff, and the doctors and nurses who treated them.

Together We Heal interviewees include John Green, Christina-Taylor Green’s father; Ross Zimmerman, Gabe Zimmerman’s father; Gabrielle Giffords’ staff members Ron Barber, Pam Simon, former staff member C. J. Karamargin and others; good Samaritans; staff members from the UAMC Trauma Center, Intensive Care Unit and UAMC Surgeons; and therapist Maggie Morton.

Together We Heal is all about the healing that has taken place from the perspective of individuals immediately impacted by the events of January 8th, 2011. As our community continues to heal, we would like to hear your story. We invite you to share your stories and remembrances. Go to www.azpm.org.

Together We Heal is written, directed and produced by AZPM’s Emmy® Award winner Tom Kleespie.

Credits:
Producer/Director/Writer: Tom Kleespie
Contributing Producers: Michael Chihak, Peter Michaels
Director of Photography: Martín Rubio
Narrator: Savannah Guthrie

About Tom Kleespie
Tom Kleespie is Senior Producer, Special Projects at Arizona Public Media. He’s traveled the deserts of the world for 19 seasons for his work on The Desert Speaks, airing on over 300 PBS stations nationally and the winner of multiple regional and national awards, including 24 Rocky Mountain Emmy® Awards. Kleespie also produced Unforgettable: The Korean War, Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice and the follow-up program, Phoenix Mars Mission: Onto to Ice, Southwestern Gems: Our Desert National Parks and the Tucson Remembers series which included Tucson Remembers: The War Years, Tucson Remembers: The Battle for Europe, and Tucson Remembers: War in the Pacific and A Show of Courage.
Kleespie, a Tucson native, joined KUAT-TV 35 years ago as a member of the student production crew. Four years later, he became a full-time studio supervisor. He also did a four-year stint directing Arizona Illustrated, was a KUAT membership pledge producer, and worked for two years producing and directing for South Dakota Public Television.

About Savannah Guthrie
Savannah Guthrie is a native of Tucson, Arizona, and graduated from Amphitheater High School.
Guthrie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Arizona and was a student intern at AZPM. She received her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. Before joining Court TV (now truTV), Guthrie worked at NBC affiliates WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. as a reporter, KVOA-TV in Tucson, Arizona as a reporter/anchor, and at KMIZ-TV in Columbia, MO. Guthrie was named White House correspondent for NBC News. After substituting for both Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry on NBC’s Today, Guthrie became co-host of NBC’s Today alongside Natalie Morales and Al Roker, as well as NBC News Chief Legal Analyst. Guthrie was the commencement speaker for the University of Arizona’s 2011 graduation ceremony.

About AZPM
Arizona Public Media (AZPM) is a member-supported non-profit media organization based at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and is the trusted source of information that promotes thoughtful conversation and community collaboration. The organization offers six channels of television content, three channels of radio content, a robust lineup of online offerings, and community and educational outreach to residents in Southern Arizona and beyond. AZPM produces award-winning original television, radio and online content from its digital studios on the campus of the University of Arizona and is provided as a community service and educational resource. More information about AZPM, including program schedules and Video-on-Demand offerings, can be found online at www.azpm.org.

Media Contact: Sue DeBenedette, Marketing Manager
Tel: 520-621-5222 Mobile: 520-247-5883
sdebenedette@azpm.org
Follow us on: Twitter: @azpmnews
Facebook: facebook.com/azpublicmedia

Watch a short one minute, 39 seconds AZPM preview of this documentary here.

Carolyn’s note: I was fortunate enough to view a preview copy of this documentary, which is incredibly moving to hear the horror story related by those who were there at the Safeway on 1/8/11, esp. Dr. David Bowman and his nurse wife Nancy Bowman, who both aided the bleeding victims. Roger Salzgeber, one of the two men who tackled Loughner down says that “death just passed right over us” (as he and his wife Faith were standing in that line to speak with Congresswoman Giffords). The show highlights the physical & emotional healing after the shooting, with touching scenes of the memorials and interviews of the UMC Trauma staff. I’m even shown wearing my British Gillie hat at the UMC memorial, where I spent many days re-lighting candles and praying for the victims. I’ve known Gabby for years and also worked with Gabe Zimmerman, and had just met Pam Simon a month before this event. But time does heal wounds and our Tucson community has been changed forever by this mass shooting.

Watching this heart-felt documentary will indeed help us all reflect, mourn, mend, as the anniversary of 1/8/11 approaches. Together we can heal.

Read the Star article here.

I knew C.J. when he was the political reporter over at the Star, and communicated with him last year during Giffords’ re-election campaign, and also throughout this tragic shooting of his boss and fellow aides on January 8, 2011. He exhibited a lot of compassion and competence during that horrible incident, and was a tireless advocate for accurate reporting about the Congresswoman and her injured staffers Ron Barber and Pam Simon. And I am sure he experienced a great deal of grief over the killing of young Congressional aide Gabe Zimmerman, as all of us did who knew Gabe.

Good luck C.J. on your new position.

TUCSON – The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today to name park facilities for an aide to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a 9-year-old girl, both of whom were killed in a Jan. 8 attack in which the congresswoman was seriously wounded.

The board voted to rename the Davidson Canyon trailhead for Gabe Zimmerman and to rename the Cañada del Oro linear river park for Christina-Taylor Green. Other victims of the shooting will be honored with markers at the Davidson Canyon trailhead, the board decided.

Gabe’s father, Ross Zimmerman, welcomed the board’s decision as a fitting honor for someone who grew up enjoying Arizona’s open spaces.

“Gabe was immersed in the natural world of the Desert Southwest from birth,” he said. “Before he could crawl, Gabe was carried in sling packs up the sides of mountains. Vacations tended to revolve around visits to National Parks, both inside and outside the United States. Emily Nottingham, his mother, became president of the Arizona Trail Association and Gabe helped her explore the passages of the Arizona Trail, including this one.”

Ross, a biologist and trail runner, noted that Gabe and his brother Ben were his favorite partners on numerous outdoor adventures.

“The spot chosen to memorialize our son is a fascinating confluence of Sonoran Desert edge and sheer canyon walls with beautiful vegetation,” he said. “Gabe visited the area with Emily on several occasions and we are touched that the trailhead there will bear his name.”

Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll agreed, noting that the renaming of the trail for Gabe had bipartisan support and was the result of many agencies working together.

“This is an appropriate tribute for fine public servant who greatly enjoyed Arizona’s outdoors,” said Carroll, who represents the district in which the trail is located. “Those who didn’t know Gabe will know him through this trail.”

The 30-year-old Zimmerman was community outreach director for Giffords when he was killed at a “Congress on Your Corner” event hosted by Giffords. Zimmerman organized the event at a shopping center on Tucson’s Northwest side.

Zimmerman was a natural athlete who enjoyed hiking and running in the Sonoran Desert. The Arizona Trail Association asked the county to rename the Davidson Canyon trailhead the Davidson Canyon-Gabe Zimmerman Memorial Trailhead.

Zimmerman was a member of the association and, while working for Congresswoman Giffords, helped get the Arizona Trail designated as a National Scenic Trail. The Davidson Canyon trail links to the Cienega Creek Natural Preserve and the Arizona Trail.

The Tucson National Estates Improvement Association asked the county to rename the Cañada del Oro River Park to the Cañada del Oro Christina-Taylor Green Memorial River Park in honor of the 9-year-old girl who was killed in the shooting.

The park runs along the Cañada del Oro wash from North La Cholla Boulevard to North Thornydale Road.

CONTACT
C.J. Karamargin
Communications Director
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
Arizona’s 8th Congressional District
(520) 881-3588 or (520) 909-8482