Just picked up Vol. 1 Issue 2 of Tucson Happenings at the Joel D. Valdez Main library. Never did see issue 1, which must have debuted on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. This issue 2 is dated February 21 and covers a weekly calendar from Thursday to Wednesday.

They say they are a free “weekly reference guide to what’s going on in Tucson and Southern Arizona”, website is www.tucsonhappenings.com. The Founders/Publishers are David and Carrie Francis, business address is 3961 E. Speedway, Suite 410, Tucson 85712.

Issue 2 has interesting articles about Crystalline Treasures of China, artist Nikki Bellio, the 31st Annual Peace Fair, Arizona Animal Fair, The Benefits of Thermal Imaging in Monitoring Heart Health, Alamos Torrontes (Argentinean wine), plus more. There even is a very detailed daily event calendar for the week’s happenings. The magazine is divided into these categories: Art & Culture, Events, Calendar, Health, Faith & Spirituality, Food & Beverage, Home & Garden.

From their website:

Think where to go and what to do is reserved for the weekends? Think again. Monday through Friday are now prime-time for your customers to plan where to go and what to do. Tucson Happenings will be your customers “Go-to-Guide” for arts and entertainment in the greater Tucson area. Tucson Happenings is like a “TV Guide” of local events for all of southern Arizona. Readers of all ages will be picking-up Tucson Happenings to plan their day, week or weekend. Your customers will eagerly go back for the guide they simply cannot live without. More readership means your business or non-profit stays top-of-mind.

So if you want to submit events, send them to events@tucsonhappenings.com, or an article about your special event to Carrie@tucsonhappenings.com. Call 520-620-9100 for more information.

Check out this new weekly Tucson Happenings, wherever you find it in town.

From Downtown Tucson’s website: http://www.downtowntucson.org/

Event:
18th Annual Downtown Parade of Lights
Start:
December 15, 2012 6:30 pm
End:
December 15, 2012 8:00 pm
Where:
Parade starts at Franklin St. (south of E. 6th Street) and proceeds south on Granada (click here for map route), east on Alameda, north on Stone Ave.

The Downtown Tucson Partnership invites you to participate in the 18th Annual Downtown Parade of Lights. Floats, live music and brightly decorated vehicles will fill Downtown Tucson with holiday cheer. Thousands will once again pack the streets to watch the Parade make its way through the vibrant streets of Downtown Tucson.

You can find more information at http://www.downtowntucson.org/visit/parade-of-lights/ including the entry form, staging information, day-of entertainment, parade route and the best place to watch the parade.

The parade route has changed its location from Armory Park to the El Presidio neighborhood. Please download the new route and enjoy all the businesses along the route that evening.

The Tucson Museum of Art and Lohse Family YMCA will be providing pre-parade entertainment that evening. Visit El Charro Cafe and Old Town Artisans before the parade and end the evening with dancing at La Cocina.

Staging will take place along the north and south side of Franklin Street, the east and west side of Meyer Avenue, 9th Avenue and the Franklin Lot. Staging begins at 4:30pm.

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will light the tree in front of the Joel Valdez Main Library at 5:45 p.m.

Enjoy this 18th year of the Parade of Lights in downtown.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit, and that hobbit loved going to the library! Join us for Lord of the Rings-themed parties to celebrate the release of the first installment of “The Hobbit.” Journey around Pima County to different library branches, representing a variety of Middle Earth locations.

Slip on some Hobbit feet, write your name in Elvish, try your hand at games, compete in riddle and trivia contests, and more merriment.

All ages are welcome, although many activities will require the Elven dexterity possessed only by teens and adults. Costumes are welcome and encouraged.

“And May the Hair on your Toes never Fall Out” says the poster for this event. I loved all the Hobbit books, and movies too. These parties are just in time for the release of the new Hobbit movie on December 14.

Friday, December 7, 2012
5:30pm – 7:00pm
Flowing Wells Branch Library
Journey to Lothlorien, AKA Flowing Wells Library, for a special after-hours party with a costume contest, coloring pages, and maybe even a peek into the Mirror of Galadriel!

Saturday, December 8, 2012
3:00pm – 5:00pm
Oro Valley Public Library
Make your way to Oro Valley Library, a.k.a. Beorn’s Domain!

Saturday, December 8, 2012
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Valencia Branch Library
Valencia Library is The Shire, where the story begins!

Saturday, December 8, 2012
10:30am – 12:30pm
Martha Cooper Branch Library
Brave the mines of Moria at Martha Cooper Library!

Saturday, December 8, 2012
3:00pm – 5:00pm
Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr Branch Library
Welcome to Mirkwood! Please do not attempt to feed the giant spiders.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012
5:30pm – 7:30pm
Nanini Branch Library
Join the elves at Nanini Library, which is Rivendell!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012
4:00pm – 6:00pm
Dusenberry-River Branch Library
The Dusenberry-River Library is Rohan!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012
4:00pm – 6:00pm
Joel D. Valdez Main Library
Main Library is Esgaroth!

Friday, December 14, 2012
6:00pm – 9:00pm
Murphy-Wilmot Branch Library
Make your way to the Wilmot Library, which is Goblintown!

http://lwvgt.org/VoterGuide.html

The print version is available at the Pima County public libraries and at the Tucson League office starting today:

League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson
2424 E. Broadway Suite 110
Tucson, AZ 85719
520-327-7652

Four Upcoming Discussions hosted by the LWV on this Voter Guide:

9/22 Oro Valley library, 2 to 4 p.m., 1305 W. Naranja Drive, Oro Valley, 85737

9/29 Dusenberry-River Branch library, 2 to 4 p.m., 5605 E. River Road, Tucson 85750

10/5 Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 11 to 1 p.m., 101 N. Stone Ave.,Tucson 85701

10/6 Murphy-Wilmot Branch Library, 2 to 4 p.m., 530 N. Wilmot Rd.,Tucson 85711

Three are 9 propositions on the General Election ballot:

Prop. 114 Crime Victims Protection Act
Prop. 115 Judicial Selection
Prop. 116 Small Business Job Creation Act
Prop. 117 Property Tax Assessed Valuation
Prop. 118 Permanent State Land Fund
Prop. 119 State Trust Lands
Prop. 120 State Sovereignty
Prop. 121 Open Elections/Open Government
Prop. 204 Quality Education & Jobs

Pick up this guide or read it online, and vote wisely on or before Nov. 6th. Take the time to read and educate yourself about these propositions, to make your voting easier & quicker.

Saturday, September 22 – Tuesday, December 4 Screenings take place at The Loft Cinema and various venues throughout Southern Arizona (see listings below)

FREE ADMISSION!

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival bears witness to human rights violations and creates a forum for courageous individuals on both sides of the lens to empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference. The film festival brings to life human rights abuses through storytelling in a way that challenges each individual to empathize and demand justice for all people.

Each year highlights from the London and New York Human Rights Watch Film Festivals are presented in their Traveling Film Festivals. The Loft is proud to bring all 10 of their chosen films to audiences in Southern Arizona.

The films in this years program are:
BIDDER 70
BROTHER NUMBER ONE
CALL ME KUCHU
HABIBI
THE INVISIBLE WAR
LITTLE HEAVEN
PUTIN’S KISS
REPORTERO
SALAAM DUNK
WORDS OF WITNESS
Plus: An “Intro to Docs” discussion hosted by Loft Program Director Jeff Yanc.

I attended several screenings of this film festival last year at the Loft, the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, and Tucson Museum of Art. Most of these films are thought-provoking and challenging, so I encourage our readers to view as many as they can.

Human Rights Watch Schedule in Tucson and Bisbee, AZ

Saturday, Sept. 22
The Loft- 10am
3233 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85716
Intro to Documentaries – Jeff Yanc, who will “discuss general concepts in documentary filmmaking, to help facilitate critical viewing of documentaries … including the docs showing in the Human Rights Watch Film Festival”.

Tuesday, Sept. 25
The Loft 7pm
3233 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85716
BIDDER 70
United States
Filmmaker(s): Beth and George Gage
Year: 2012 / 73m
Bidder 70 tells the story of Tim DeChristopher and his stunning act of civil disobedience in a time of global climate chaos. On December 19, 2008, DeChristopher, as Bidder #70, derailed the Bush administration’s last minute, widely disputed federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oil and Gas lease auction, acting to safeguard thousands of acres of Utah land. Bidding $1.7 million, Tim won 22,000 acres of land with no intention to pay or drill. For his disruption of the auction, DeChristopher was indicted on two federal charges. Tim’s civil disobedience has drawn national attention to America’s energy policy and criticism to the BLM’s management of public lands. Refusing to compromise his principles and rejecting numerous plea offers by the prosecution, Tim is willing to sacrifice his own future to bring this vitally important issue to global attention. Bidder 70 is Tim’s story: his actions, his trial and his possible prison sentence. It is also the story of the scientists, activists, writers, and movements that influence and support his actions.

Thursday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m.
University of Arizona
Main Campus—Social Sciences Blg Rm.100
REPORTERO
Mexico/US
Filmmaker: Bernardo Ruiz
Year: 2011 / 72min
Reportero follows veteran reporter Sergio Haro and his colleagues at Zeta, a Tijuana, Mexico-based weekly, as they dauntingly ply their trade in what has become one of the most deadly places in the world to be a journalist. Since the paper’s founding in 1980, two of the paper’s editors have been murdered and the founder viciously attacked. “Impunity reigns in Mexico, especially here along the northern border,” explains Adela Navarro, Sergio’s boss and Zeta’s co-director. Despite the attacks, the paper has continued its singular brand of aggressive investigative reporting, frequently tackling dangerous subjects that other publications avoid, such as cartels’ infiltration of political circles and security forces. As a veteran member of Zeta’s editorial team, Sergio contributes to the investigative crime pieces that are the paper’s bread and butter, but at this stage of his career, he is also after what he calls the “deeper story” of the region—the human stories that tend to fall between the cracks.

Tuesday, Oct. 9
International Rescue Committee- 7pm
3100 N. Campbell Ave. Suite 101
Tucson, AZ 85719
WORDS OF WITNESS
Egypt/US
Filmmaker(s): Mai Iskander
Year: 2012 / 68m
Defying cultural norms and family expectations, 22-year-old Heba Afify takes to the streets to report on an Egypt in turmoil, using tweets, texts and Facebook posts. Every time Heba heads out to cover the historical events shaping her country’s future, her mother is compelled to remind her, “I know you are a journalist, but you’re still a girl!” Her coming of age, political awakening and the disillusionment that follows, mirrors that of a nation seeking the freedom to shape its own destiny, dignity and democracy. Heba’s words bear witness to the heady optimism of a country on a path to self-determination, the toppling of a dictator, the difficult transition toward democracy, the courageous challenge to the ruling military who cracks down on the opposition, and the celebration of a cultural shift where a younger generation inspired a country to “lead themselves.”

Sunday, Oct. 14
Quincie Douglas Branch Library- 2pm
1585 E. 36th Street
Tucson, AZ 85713
REPORTERO (see listing for Oct. 4)

Tuesday, Oct. 16
Museum of Contemporary Art- 7pm
265 South Church Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
PUTIN’S KISS
Denmark
Filmmaker(s): Lise Birk Pedersen
Year: 2011 / 85m
Meet Masha, a 19-year-old who grew up in the Putin era, on her journey through the Kremlin-created Nashi youth movement. This coming-of-age tale focuses on Masha’s personal political struggle and paints a grim picture of the Russian political climate. Many see Putin as the one leading Russia back to being a global superpower. Masha grows up with this belief, wholeheartedly supporting Putin’s policies and seeking to rid Russia of what Nashi believes are Russia’s “enemies”—the political opposition, investigative journalists, and human rights defenders. But when Masha, a journalist, starts socialising with colleagues in the circle of her friend, investigative journalist OIeg Kashin, she also begins to question Nashi and its leaders. Soon Masha finds herself closer with this circle of friends than her Nashi comrades. And ultimately, she faces a choice between the two groups. A shocking event pushes Masha to take a decision in the end, highlighting the costs of her internal struggle as well as the ever-increasing political stakes in Russia today.

Tuesday, Oct. 23
Grace St. Paul Church- 7pm
2331 E. Adams St.
Tucson, AZ 85719
CALL ME KUCHU
United States
Filmmaker(s): Katherine Fairfax Wright & Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Year: 2012 / 90min
In an office on the outskirts of Kampala, veteran activist David Kato labors to repeal Uganda’s homophobic laws and liberate his fellow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women, or “kuchus.” But David’s formidable task just became more difficult. A new “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” proposes the death penalty for HIV-positive gay men and prison for anyone who fails to turn in a known homosexual. David is one of the few who dare to publicly protest the country’s government and press. Working with a dedicated group of fellow activists, he fights for Kampala’s kuchus on Ugandan television, at the United Nations, and in the courts. Because, he insists,”if we keep on hiding, they will say we are not here.” With unprecedented access, Call Me Kuchu examines the astounding courage and determination required to battle an oppressive government, a vicious media and a powerful church in the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

Sunday, Oct. 28
Central School Project- 3pm
43 Howell Ave
Bisbee, AZ 85603
CALL ME KUCHU (see listing for Oct. 23)

Tuesday, Oct. 30
YWCA- 7pm
525 Bonita Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85745
SALAAM DUNK
United States
Filmmaker(s): David Fine
Year: 2011 / 82m
With plenty of pop music and ‘girl power’, Salaam Dunk delivers a tale of hope and inspiration, courtesy of one winning group of Iraqi women basketball players at the American University in Sulaimani, Iraq. The women come from all over the country to attend this prestigious university, but many cannot tell family back home that they go to an ‘American’ college. The team itself is a ‘mini Iraq’—comprised of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, and Christians. Through interviews and personal video diaries, we learn about the women, their families and their experiences since the US invasion in 2003. Their narratives provide a rare look at recent events in Iraq with stories of loss and choices that have to be made. Education is the difference between the past and the future for these women and basketball becomes a key part of that education. Their team is like a family and the game is like life. And as their coach Ryan says: sports teaches fight and resilience, but who knows fight and resilience better than these women?

Sunday, Nov. 11
Quincie Douglas Library- 2pm
1585 E. 36th Street
Tucson, AZ 85713
INVISIBLE WAR
United States
Filmmaker: Directed by Kirby Dick, Produced by Amy Ziering
Year: 2011 / 95m
The Invisible War is a groundbreaking investigative documentary about the shameful and underreported epidemic of rape within the US military. With stark clarity and escalating revelations, The Invisible War exposes the rape epidemic in the armed forces, investigating the institutions that perpetuate it as well as its profound personal and social consequences. We meet characters who embraced their military service with pride and professionalism, only to have their idealism crushed. Focusing on the emotionally charged stories of survivors, the film reveals the systemic cover-up of the crimes against them and follows their struggles to rebuild their lives and fight for justice. The Invisible War features hard-hitting interviews with high-ranking military officers and members of Congress that reveal the perfect storm conditions that exist for rape in the military, its history of cover-up, and what can be done to bring about much needed change.

Tuesday, Nov. 13
YWCA- 7pm
525 Bonita Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85745
INVISIBLE WAR (see listing for Nov. 11)

Sunday, Nov. 18
Quincie Douglas Library- 2pm
1585 E. 36th Street
Tucson, AZ 85713
BIDDER 70 (see listing for Sept. 25)

Tuesday, Nov. 20
Joel D. Valdez Main Library- 7pm
101 North Stone
Tucson, AZ 85701
LITTLE HEAVEN
Belgium
Filmmaker: Lieven Corthouts
Year: 2011 / 70m
“HIV is like somebody living in my body without paying rent. I don’t know him and I don’t like him.”
—Lydia, 13, Little Heaven Orphanage, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Lydia is at a turning point in her life. We experience life through Lydia’s expressive face and reflective diary entries, her daily routines at the Little Heaven orphanage for children living with HIV, her conversations with other children there, her doctors’ appointments, and her exercise, study, and prayer. Despite being abandoned by their families or left alone when their parents died, the children form a new family, together with their caretakers. Their HIV status is always in the background, but small victories show us a life that is full of hope­, not despair.

Tuesday, Nov. 27
Museum of Contemporary Art- 7pm
265 South Church Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
BROTHER NUMBER ONE
New Zealand
Filmmaker: Annie Goldson
Year: 2011 / 99m
Through New Zealander Rob Hamill’s story of his brother’s death at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, Brother Number One explores how the regime and its followers killed nearly 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. In 1978, Kerry Hamill and two friends disappeared without a trace while sailing from Australia to Southeast Asia. Rob discovers that a Khmer Rouge cell attacked the boat. One sailor, Canadian Stuart Glass, was shot immediately, but Kerry and Englishman John Dewhirst were taken to the notorious S-21 Prison in Phnom Penh, held for several months, tortured, and killed. Thirty years later, Kerry’s youngest brother Rob has a rare chance to take the stand as a witness at the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal and face Comrade Duch, the man who gave the final orders for Kerry and thousands of others to be tortured and killed. As Rob retraces his brother’s final days, he meets survivors who tell the story of the S-21 prison and of what countless families across Cambodia experienced at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. In this spirit, Brother Number One grapples with the trauma that grips all Cambodia: the struggle to forgive in the face of immeasurable anger.

Tuesday, Dec. 4
Joel D. Valdez Main Library- 7pm
101 North Stone
Tucson, AZ 85701
HABIBI
Palestine
Filmmaker: Susan Youssef
Year: 2011 / 78m
Young lovers Qays (Kais Nashef) and Layla (Maisa Abd Elhadi) are university students in the West Bank who hail from Khan Yunis in Gaza. He is pursuing a degree in literature and she in engineering, but they are forced to return home before com­pleting their courses. In the more religious and traditional environment of Khan Yunis, their love story can continue only by marrying. Yet Qays, who is a construction worker living in a refugee camp, is too poor to con­vince Layla’s father that he can provide for his beloved daughter. As the couple struggles to be together, Qays paints verses from the classical poem Majnun Layla all over Khan Yunis, a rebellious act that angers Layla’s father and the local self-appointed moral police. Lyrical and passionate, Habibi depicts a reality where personal happiness must be weighed against society’s opinions, and a choice sometimes made between one’s people and one’s heart.

TUCSON TIME TRADERS
Building Tucson’s Empowerment Network 1 Hour at a Time

Tucson Time Traders is a local Timebank for the Tucson region and we will give short presentations on our new Tucson web-based system during Sustainable Tucson’s August Film Festival on Monday, August 13th. We are also hosting community potluck & orientation meetings on the 2nd Thursday every month at the Tucson Ward 3 Office, 1510 E Grant Road, (southeast corner of Grant & Vine)

What Is A Time Bank?

A TimeBank is a group of people who trade an hour of work for an hour of work. The time is banked so you can trade accumulated hours with anyone within the network.

TimeBanking is a rapidly growing movement that allows people to trade assistance, and helps build healthy communities.

Missions and Values

We are all assets.
Redefining work – to value whatever it takes to raise healthy children, build strong families, revitalize neighborhoods, make democracy work, advance social justice, make the planet sustainable.
Reciprocity – “How can I help you?” becomes “How can we help each other build the world we both will live in?”
We need each other – Networks are stronger than individuals. People help each other reweave communities of support, strength and trust.
Respect – Every human being matters.

Intrigued?

Come to a monthly potluck & orientation meeting, and
open an account with the new member sign-up form

New members must attend an orientation meeting before using the online software and trading with our timebanking community. If you’re already a member, you can login to your Tucson Time Traders account at

timetraders.metasofa.org

Tucson Time Traders – Links and Contacts

Tucson Time Traders new website – login, news, calendar, sign-up

http://timetraders.metasofa.org/

News and Calendar at sustainable tucson

http://www.sustainabletucson.org/tucson-time-traders/

New Member Sign-up Form at sustainable tucson

http://www.sustainabletucson.org/tucson-time-traders-new-members/

TimeBanks USA website for Tucson – old website (do not use)

http://tucson.timebanks.org/

Coordinators for Tucson Time Traders
Kacie, Winona, Chris – (email) timetraders(at)sustainabletucson.org

Kacie Johnson – phone 520-203-6563

And for more information about the Film festival mentioned above on August 12 and 13, go to Sustainable Tucson’s website. It will be held on 1 to 5 p.m. on August 12 and 4:45 to 8 p.m. on August 13, at Joel D. Valdez Main library, lower meeting room, 101 N. Stone Ave.

This forum will be at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone, on August 2, 3:30 p.m.

Medea Benjamin is the founder of Code Pink and author of “Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control”. View this You tube video to learn more about drones:

This drone forum was organized by Tucson Code Pink member and former Ward 3 & Mayoral candidate Mary DeCamp, who will be the moderator for the afternoon program. More info, contact Mary at mdecamp@q.com.

A wonderful way to spend time over the long, hot summer months is to vist your local branch library (or the Joel D. Valdez Main Library downtown) and read! And this year the reading program highlights Arizona’s Centennial.

From the Pima County Public Library’s website.

Summer Reading Preview – Our State, Our Story: Celebrating 100 Years of Arizona

Summer Reading is on the horizon. This year it begins on May 24 and runs through July 21. On May 24, mosey on in to your library to pick up your Reading Passport and Arizona Adventure Pass. This year’s program also includes activities that will keep you and your family exploring, doing, creating, writing and reading all summer.
What’s New?

Along with the fantastic fun programs and events that come with Summer Reading each year, this year we are rolling out a new way to think about Summer Reading. This year it’s going to be about reading, writing, creating, doing, and exploring. It’s going to be about reading for pleasure, encouraging a love of reading for all ages, and participation in creative, challenging and exciting activities.

Everyone (adults, teens and kids) who joins Summer Reading this year will receive a Reading Passport and an Arizona Adventure Pass. Your Reading Passport is where you’ll set your reading goal and log your activities. (Have your passport stamped as you meet goals and complete activities.)

Decide Your Reading Goal
What’s a good reading goal? Set your reading goal of minutes or number of pages. Make it your goal to read all of the books in a series or all of the books by a certain author. Maybe you’ll want to read 10 books about horses. Got a stack of magazines you’ve been wanting to read? That’s a reading goal—something that’s a challenge, but not a chore.

Choose Six Activities
In honor of Arizona’s Centennial we’re going to give you a list of 100 activities. Throughout the summer you’ll choose six appealing activities from the list to complete and log in your Reading Passport. You’ll find things that are easy to do as well as others that are more challenging. Your Arizona Adventure Pass will come in handy since it includes passes for fun activities and interesting venues all over the state.

Summer Reading Night at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Who? Readers ages 2-14, your Adventure Pass is your ticket for free admission with one paid adult admission to Summer Reading Night on Saturday, June 23.

SummerQuest
You will have completed the journey with your fellow SummerQuesters when the hidden image you seek appears. How many of the quests will you fulfill to reach the goal?

SummerStory
Are you more the writerly type? SummerStory may be right up your alley. Each week the story will continue with an installment chosen from those you (teens 13-18) submit.
Finale Events

After you’ve accomplished your summer reading goals we want to help you celebrate!

Wrock out with those wizard rockers Harry and the Potters at the Hotel Congress on Thursday, July 19. Thanks to Bookman’s Entertainment Exchange and the Hotel Congress for joining with the library to make this event free and fun for all ages.

Kids who accomplish six activities will receive a pass to a finale event at Reid Park Zoo on Saturday morning, July 21!

The Summer Rock Concert returns this year. Talented local teen bands will play at this free, all ages, concert on July 21 at 8 pm. Teens who have completed 6 activities will receive a backstage pass to an exclusive VIP pre-party.

Wow! What a great way to continue to celebrate Arizona’s 100 birthday (February 14, 2012). Enjoy the summer by reading!

Melinda Cervantes, currently Director of the Santa Clara (CA) County Library
Teresa Landers, currently Director of the Santa Cruz (CA) Public library
Gina Macaluso, Family Literary Services Mgr. at Pima County Public Library
Amber Mathewson, Library Service Mgr Lifespan Learning at Pima County Public Library

The former Director Nancy Ledeboer resigned to move to Spokane, Washington as library director there, and she worked here in Tucson since 1996. Ledeboer was recently nominated for a Leadership award at the 2nd Annual Women in Government Day hosted by the Pima County/Tucson Women’s Commission.

According to the press release announcing Cervantes’ hiring, she will begin effective May 14, 2012. She was named Librarian of the Year by the Arizona Library Assn. in 1997 and the California Library Assn. in 2010. Cervantes was at one time Director of the Pinal County Library District in Arizona, and has also held library management positions in Alaska, California, Ohio, and Oregon.

For photo & full press release go to Pima County News online – click here.

Welcome back to Arizona Melinda and hope you enjoy Tucson and Pima County.

There is something for everyone at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library‘s Centennial Celebration:

When: Saturday, February 11, 11am to 5pm
Where: Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Avenue (south of Alameda)
Who: All ages!
Learn more about the Arizona Centennial at AZ 100 Years.

Children will enjoy the family storytime at 11am followed by a craft and Happy Birthday Arizona cake. Don’t forget to take the opportunity to check out books on Arizona’s history, famous people, sports teams, and so on!
Teens will be interested in the games available in the teen room and in the display of the art, essays, letters and scrap book pages that teens have contributed to a time capsule to be sealed and not reopened again until 2062!
Adults will have an opportunity to see the debut of 18 pictures of historical Tucson barrios that will go on permanent display in the Joel D. Valdez Main Library. There will be talks by local historians on the history of Tucson and Arizona place names. Enjoy a reception between the talks with refreshments provided by local barrio businesses such as El Charro and La Caves.

On Saturdays parking is free on the streets and in the city garage beneath the library, accessed via Alameda Street.

As part of the celebration, we will also be unveiling a new photo exhibit honoring the history and heritage of Tucson’s barrios. This exhibit has been made possible through a collaboration with the Arizona Historical Society and this program is made possible by the Arizona Humanities Council.

Saturday, February 11, 2012
11:00am – 1:00pm
In celebration of the Centennial, we will have a Family Storytime beginning at 11 am with Happy Birthday Arizona cake afterwards!

1:00pm – 2:15pm
Dr. Lydia Otero of The University of Arizona’s Department of Mexican American Studies will discuss Tucson’s barrios and her book La Calle. A book signing will follow.

2:15pm – 3:30pm
Enjoy a gala reception with refreshments from local business such as El Charro and Le Caves.
3:30pm – 5:00pm
Place names are like fossil poetry – they afford a kind of folk history, a snapshot in time that enables us to read them and reconstruct how members of a culture in the past assigned names to the places they saw. The U.S. has over 3.5 million place names, and there is no part of the world where nomenclature is so rich, poetic, humorous, and picturesque – a tradition to which Arizona has had more than its share of contributions. In this presentation, Gregory McNamee examines the history of Arizona place names, from Ali Shonak to Zephyr, using lively anecdotes to discuss the little-known stories behind names on the land.
A Second Saturdays Event. An Arizona Centennial Event.

For more events downtown on February 11 (plus 2nd Saturday Downtown) and February 12, read my blog from yesterday (click here).

Happy Early Birthday Arizona on February 14, 2012.