A Tucson Police officer was arrested on suspicion of D.U.I. early Saturday morning, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Neal Ronald, 38, was stopped for a moving violation near West Ina Road and North Shannon Road at approximately 1:45 a.m. on May 16, said Deputy Dawn Barkman in a news release Tuesday.
A family’s journey from hand-set type to hand-coded hypertext
George M. Smith edits a story for the Wheaton Daily Journal sometime in the late 1940s.
The Internet killed the newspaper.
No, it’s the economy, stupid.
Or overleveraged publishing chains. Left-wing columnists. Whatever the cause, change is in the air of the publishing world, but it’s blowing faster than ever.
From the cover of Time magazine to a slew of bloggers, the changes sweeping the news business are an untiring meme lately.
Newspapers big and small are stopping their presses, not to replate with the latest breaking scandal, but to lay off their staffs, shutter the doors, retire the nameplates.
It may be news, but it’s not new. My family has been involved, off and on, in the newspaper game for more than a century. Each generation saw shifts in society and advances in technology challenge their publishing acumen.
My great-grandfather got into journalism in 1900. George M. Smith began writing for the Naperville (Ill.) Clarion fresh out of high school. After attending Wheaton College, just outside of Chicago, where his father taught, he worked his way through a succession of reporting jobs.
In 1913, he purchased the Du Page County Tribune, a weekly in Wheaton, setting himself up as editor and publisher.
Printing a newspaper in those days was a labor-intensive operation. Every line of type was set by hand, using individual die-cast metal letters, thousands per page.
In 1915, the Tribune purchased a new typecasting machine – a Linotype. Headlines still had to be made up by hand, but the body text of stories was cast in lines – slugs – by molding hot lead. Linotypes were complex mechanical contraptions, prone to breakdown, with 90-character keyboards.
The paper was successful under George’s leadership. To speed production, he invested in another. In 1933, in the midst of the Depression, it became a daily, and the nameplate was changed to the Wheaton Daily Journal. A subscription to the solidly Republican paper ran 5 cents per week.
My grandfather, Robert Smith, followed in his dad’s footsteps, writing a column for the Journal, and studying journalism at South Dakota State College – where he met my grandmother Eileen.
She’d been active in her high school newspaper, which was a full page in the local Milbank (S.D.) Herald Advance, printed every week. She studied printing and journalism at South Dakota State before graduating in 1938.
“There were not that many women in printing – really just a few of us in the whole field of journalism.
“At the college, we set some type by hand, but mainly with the Linotype. Working the hell box (where miscast slugs and wrongly-set type were discarded, to be sorted out later) wasn’t much fun. We had to go through and pull out all the letters and put them back.
“Everything was done by hand. The letterpress was hand-fed, which was a lot of work.
“Bob was very good at setting type. I suppose it came easy to me. I’ve been able to do a lot of computer work – at the museum and such – because of it, using a different keyboard than a typewriter.”
They both put themselves through college working for the college press – writing, proofreading, making up pages.
World War II came soon after my grandparents graduated, interrupting Bob’s endeavors in journalism with a stint in the South Pacific for him and California for Eileen. Two boys also arrived, my uncle Joel and my dad, Steve.
After the war, the Wheaton Daily Journal responded to its growing market.
“Everybody brought two papers – the Chicago paper (Tribune) and the Journal. People were working in Chicago, taking the train in.”
Many commuters began to identify more as Chicagoans than as members of their formerly sleepy suburbs. The ubiquity of radio and growing television market – pioneered in the ’30s by The Chicago Daily News – challenged the small suburban publishers.
George Smith died in February 1949, having spent his life putting ink on paper, telling stories.
My grandfather and his two brothers stepped in to run the family business. Bob took over as editor, the others managing the business side.
While the presses weren’t hand-fed anymore, pages were still cast in hot metal. Steve Smith – my dad – recalls the press room as a noisy, messy place.
“My father used to come home with burns” from working on the Linotype, he recalls. “You talk about a complicated machine. And that was a tough bunch of guys. He had a crown on one tooth from getting hit with a wrench by a pressman.”
The changing business and inevitable conflicts among the brothers led to a sale of the Journal in 1953.
Bob went into teaching, first for a local high school, eventually becoming a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. Before he died in 1975, he was working to move the college’s program to a new computerized system.
From hand-set to high-tech, in a lifetime.
My dad went to college to study printing just as technology was shifting.
In the late ’60s, newspapers were moving to more-efficient platemaking processes and high-capacity web presses.
Colleges were still teaching outdated photoengraving techniques, even as the new technology penetrated the business. A career based on a fading process didn’t seem too viable.
Besides, the art department held more attraction. It didn’t take long for my dad to drop his journalism and printing courses.
My journey through journalism began in high school, where I learned how to type, badly, and paste up a news page by hand, using hot wax and type output from a primitive computer system at the local Prescott Courier.
After some schooling at the University of Arizona, I wrote and edited copy for a string of Tucson alternative papers whose names are mostly lost to history.
I served a stint as editor and publisher of ¿K? Magazine, an arts and culture monthly, in the mid-1990s. Despite the streamlining of the desktop publishing revolution, print publishing remained an expensive proposition.
In the late’ 90s, I moved into Web design, learning an alphabet soup of languages: html, xml, js, css and more.
A few years ago, the Citizen was kind enough to take me on, and eventually let me manage the Web site.
In the short time I’ve been here, the technology we use has dramatically shifted. From basic html pages to rich applications that feature video and databases, the addition of reader comments and forums, the focus of the Citizen online has changed along with the culture of the Internet.
But the impressive values of the Citizen staff have remained: accuracy, fairness, truth.
This may well be the last piece I write for a daily newspaper. It leaves me with a bit of an empty feeling, sitting at my desk, preparing for the Citizen’s last edition, knowing that my family’s history with the printing press has stopped rolling.
The family paper, having changed hands several times through the years, continues as the Wheaton Sun – a suburban weekly that’s part of the Sun-Times group.
Yes, they’ve got a Web page.
And like many newspaper chains, the Sun-Times recently filed for bankruptcy.
I hope to carry on my ancestors’ legacy of reporting. Given the trend, that will have to be in some online-only capacity. I’ll miss the smell of fresh ink, but I enjoy the 24/7 challenge of keeping the news fresh.
No matter if it’s delivered by a paperboy on a bike, or via the never-ending stream of the Internet, it’s all about telling stories.
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Many Citizen staffers have families with long histories in the newspaper business.
Alan Fischer’s father, George Fischer, was in the newspaper industry his entire life. He started as a carrier for the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald as a youth, and held a number of jobs there before becoming a pressman. He brought his skills here, working as a pressman for Tucson Newspapers from 1965 until his retirement in the late 1980s.
B. Poole’s mom, Norma Poole, and sister, Cathy Rowe, were typesetters for newspapers in Illinois during the ’60s and ’70s.
PK Weis’ grandfather PK Weis Sr. was a reporter for the Moberly (Mo.) Monitor in the early 1900s. Senior began his career as a printer’s devil when he was a young boy.
Polly Higgins’ grandfather Rathbun R. Higgins wrote a column called “The Stamp Man” for the Chicago Heights Star from 1948 to 1960 and resurrected it for the Columbus (Ind.) Republic 1967-82.
Garry Duffy’s father, Joseph L. Duffy, was an assistant to Roy Howard, of Scripps-Howard newspapers, in the late ’40s and early ’50s.
Fernanda Echavarri’s great-grandfather Jesús María Benítez Martínez, was a columnist for the local daily in Querétaro, Mexico, from 1973 to 1997.
Randy Harris’ grandfather was circulation manager of the Danville (IL) Press-Democrat from the age of 15. His mother was women’s editor for the Marion (IN) Chronicle-Tribune in the ’60s and ’70s.
Bruce Johnston descends from three generations of journalists on both sides of his family. Both of his great-grandfathers owned weekly newspapers in Canada; one of them brought the first Linotype into the country. The papers passed on through the next two generations in his family. One still publishes today, although no relatives still work for it.
Ray Suarez’s grandfather Edgar worked for TNI in the mailroom and advertising. Grandmother Beatriz was a switchboard operator, while Ray’s father, Stephen, worked in the composing room. Aunt Selina works in circulation for Gannett, while another aunt, Eloina, worked the switchboards. All told, Ray says that his family has put in 117 years working for TNI and the Citizen.
Stephen Colbert gestures toward U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, "Miss Pink Sweater Set."
Comedian Stephen Colbert’s campaign to have a new room of the international space station named after him took a political turn to the west this week.
Colbert went after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is married to an astronaut – and knocked Tucson, too.
After calling Giffords “Miss Pink Sweater Set,” Colbert said she’ll have to be satisfied with representing half of Tucson – “not even the good half.”
“I’m kidding, there is no good half.”
The background:
Colbert beat out NASA’s four suggested options in its effort to have the public name the room, which Giffords pointed out will be for recycling urine.
Colbert urged viewers of his Comedy Central show, “The Colbert Report” to write in his name. And they complied, with 230,539 votes, clobbering Serenity, a NASA choice, by more than 40,000 votes.
NASA spokesman John Yembrick said NASA will give top vote-getters “the most consideration.”
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See the clip of Stephen Colbert talking about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Surveillance photo.
Tucson police are looking for a man who robbed a Bank of America branch Wednesday and fled on a bicycle, a police spokeswoman said.
Banks employees reported that a man entered the bank in the 4200 block of North Oracle Road and handed a teller a note demanding money while he displayed a hammer, Officer Linda Galindo said.
The suspect left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash and fled on a bicycle, said Galindo.
The man is described as 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 inches tall, 170-190 pounds and 40-50 years old.
He was last seen wearing a black shirt with white lettering, blue jeans, a blue bandanna and a wig, said Galindo.
Robbery detectives ask that anyone with information call 911 or 88-CRIME.
Surveillance photo.
The perfect pour of Guinness takes time - 119.5 seconds, to be exact - but it's worth the wait.
Tweed jackets, drizzling rain, shamrocks, shillelaghs, leprechauns. Now is the time when thoughts turn to all things Irish.
That includes, of course, Guinness stout.
Whether you’re in Dublin or Tucson, if you want a great pint of stout, be prepared to wait. The “double pour” is a technique that produces a dark ruby (it’s not black, hold it up to the light) body and a thick, creamy white head on a glass of Guinness.
The company says a pour should take 119.5 seconds. Try that with a typical American megabrew! It would probably go flat before you finished.
Legend holds that Irish beer is served warm, but they seem to have discovered refrigeration on the Emerald Isle, as the company recommends its stout be served at 43 degrees. That’s a bit warmer than you might want your Budweiser, but room temperature it’s not.
The temperature and pour bring out the flavor – a weighty mouth-feel and creamy foam accentuate the bite of roasted barley and smoothness of the traditional recipe.
Dublin’s St. James’s Gate neighborhood, wherein lies the Guinness brewery, is suffused with the aroma of hundreds of years of roasting barley malt. You can’t find that in Tucson, but where can a punter purchase a perfect pint on St. Patrick’s Day?
Great pints can be found around Tucson, but beware a bad one.
A clean, dry glass is essential because, unlike most beers, stout doesn’t contain many hops. Without that bitter herb, the unfortunate flavor of bar cleanser and bleach can utterly ruin a glass. Traces that would go unnoticed in a fresh Sam Adams or Flat Tire can lead to bitter disappointment in a pint of stout.
Old Pueblo publicans who provide a proper pour include Plush, 340 E. Sixth St., and The Shanty, 401 E. Ninth St.
Plush’s Kini Wade takes his time, and serves up a pint that’s brimming with thick foam that lasts until the pint’s gone.
The barkeeps at The Shanty not only know how to pour a pint, they’ll serve up a delicious small glass with a nip of whiskey.
The Auld Dubliner, 800 E. University Blvd., brims with knickknacks and signage imported from the auld country. It offers a menu of Irish fare, including shepherd’s pie and corned beef and cabbage, but sometimes falls short on its pints.
It’s a busy college bar and getting a pint that features a whiff of bleach is a too-common occurrence. To its credit, the staff’s always been happy to pour again, and there’s plenty of Harp lager and Irish whiskey if you’re not in the mood for a heavy stout.
The Tap Room at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., is a great spot to sip a pint. Feed a couple of quarters into the best jukebox in town and enjoy.
Irish Pub, 9155 E. Tanque Verde Road, doesn’t much live up to its name. It serves Guinness, along with quesadillas and buffalo wings, but putting such items as the Paddy Melt and Tipperary Tuna on the menu don’t go far in reproducing a true Celtic atmosphere.
Got a favorite spot to quaff the black stuff? Who pours the best? Let us know in our online comments.
March 2008: Bartender Jonas Black works on pouring a perfect pint at The Auld Dubliner.
The National Weather Service has issued severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for the Oracle area.
The thunderstorm warning, lasting until 3:30 p.m., included southeastern Pinal County. It was issued after Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm moving southwest in the Oracle area.
The flash flood warning, in effect until 5:15 p.m., also covers southeastern Pinal County.
The weather service warns of damaging winds, destructive hail and lightning. Flooding from heavy rain and excessive runoff is predicted.
For a comprehensive look at Tucson-area weather, go to our online forecast.
Read more about Southern Arizona’s monsoon.
The war in Iraq is now one of the nation’s longest conflicts. As far as affecting our day-to-day lives, it may well be one of our most invisible.
For those who don’t have a loved one serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s easy to go through a day without giving a thought to the dangers of combat.
The war is the subject of incessant political debate.
But what the soldiers and sailors endure isn’t brought up much by those pro or con.
Even in the newsroom, as we’re inundated with headlines about car bombs and IEDs, our troops are barely seen in photos that flash by quickly on a computer screen.
When word of a Tucson soldier’s death in combat comes in, our reporters and editors have a sadly too-practiced drill: use Google and public records to search for more information. Try to contact the grieving family. Comb our archives for stories and photos about the deceased.
We jump into action, finding facts, trying to tell a soldier’s story.
There isn’t much time for reflection. Thinking too much can cloud the mind, and making errors when reporting on a fallen soldier is something we just can’t do.
Early Friday, we were informed that Chief Warrant Officer Robert C. Hammett was killed in Baghdad June 24.
Department of Defense press releases are as terse and short as you could imagine. Not much beyond name, rank, unit and a date that shouldn’t be.
As I write, we’re still reporting on Hammett. Some events are exciting to report. Some are challenging. Some can become painful.
The Citizen’s list of troops with southern Arizona ties killed in Iraq and Afghanistan now stands at 36.
We’ve reported on these men and women, their Tucson ties, their families, their accomplishments. We’ve done our best to honor their memories.
But there are some stories we wish we didn’t have to tell. I’d rather CWO Hammett were safe at home with his family.
Just a couple of days after the traditional Dia de San Juan onset of the monsoon, and not too long after the new, official start June 15, rain finally burst from the afternoon clouds.
Gawkers across Tucson turned their faces skyward to catch a few raindrops on their brows, or less poetically, ran across parking lots to roll up their car windows, getting drenched.
Downtown underpasses filled with runoff, and the usual caravan of fools tried to navigate the intersection of roadways and running washes.
It doesn’t matter how high-tech your navigation system is if you’re being swept along by the current.
It’s not called the “stupid motorist law” for nothing.
Fiesta on Tuesday to celebrate monsoon
Monsoon cuts power to 400, swamps streets
Former Wildcat basketball guard Jerryd Bayless was drafted by the Indiana Pacers, who agreed to trade him to Portland Trailblazers almost immediately, even as he was still wearing a Pacers hat.
Bayless didn’t seem all that happy to fall out of the top 10. I’d be happy if I could ever sink a free throw.
Another eternal verity of summer: the Chicago Cubs are setting their loyal fans up for another disappointment.
They lead their division and have the best winning percentage in all of baseball. The denizens of the Cubby Bear bar are whispering about completing a certain special trip for the first time since 1908.
To avoid any sort of jinx, I’m not allowing myself to watch an entire game. An inning here or there, OK. But who wants to purposefully, willfully even, set themselves up for disappointment?
Oh ye of little faith, you say? We’ll see how it works out. I’ll keep half an eye on the TV this weekend.
A tale of one city: Cubs, Sox on top
MLB roundup: Cubs club White Sox, win 14th straight at home
Comic genius George Carlin dead at 71.
The man who demonstrated that profanity needn’t be vulgar, that cursing needn’t be coarse, died Sunday night.
Carlin held a mirror up to a culture obsessed with the lewd and scurrilous, asking if we liked what we saw.
His classic riff about the seven words you can’t say on television can still draw a laugh, not for the shock value of the rhythmic incantation of “obscenities” (HBO’s seen to that), but for the absolute glee with which Carlin pointed out our hypocrisies.
In elevating swearing beyond an art form to a near-religious ceremony, Carlin had the ability to shake his audiences out of their daily rituals, if only for a moment.
Better to be shaken by a laugh than a tear.
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Fittingly enough for an election year, themes of flag and country threaded the news the past week.
Right and wrong, God and patriotism: grand subjects all.
If only we measured up.
There goes the neighborhood
Millions of Iraqis and Afghans have been displaced by the wars in their homelands. Bombed out of their homes, forced from their violence-wracked neighborhoods, many live in refugee camps. Many want to return to rebuild their lives. Many want to come to America.
Entrance quotas limit the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. to a few thousand each year.
A Saturday story introduced Tucsonans to a few of their new neighbors, a lucky 40 of the tens of thousands who wish to resettle in America.
They suffer from the trauma of leaving their homes, bear the scars of torture and the memories of kidnapping, and struggle with a new society.
Many of the Citizen’s online commenters don’t seem to be in an Emma Lazarus sort of mood. If it were up to them, the “Mother of Exiles” would no longer be our guide. “Send them to Mexico, instead” was a popular sentiment.
Refugees: They’re coming to America
Freiheit und Gerechtigkeit
“Freedom and Justice:” Our schools suffered from more distraction this week as a silly contretemps erupted over a Gale Elementary School teacher leading her class in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Those atheists again, you say.
Not so fast. The trouble this time wouldn’t be a passing mention of a supreme being, but mentioning him in Spanish. And American Sign Language to boot.
Anne Lee’s second-graders recite the pledge in English, then in Spanish, then in ASL.
Lance Altherr, a member of the Minutemen, started the controversy when he discovered his 8-year-old son was reciting the pledge in Spanish.
He complained to Lee’s principal, Paula Godfrey, posted about the Spanish-language pledge on a Web site, and raised the matter with the school board.
The result of Altherr’s campaign? Lee has received hundreds of e-mails and phone calls, including one that extolled the “exhilarating” prospect of “Nazis, klanners, skins and Aryan Nation members marching and protesting in front of your school.”
Sounds like what your average American family wants its children exposed to.
Far better that they learn a few phrases of German than the language of our neighbors?
Denogean: Let’s pledge a quick end to allegiance flap
TUSD taking fire for Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish
A peak by any other …
Another ruckus was raised among online commenters by the renaming of Phoenix’s Squaw Peak. Now known as Piestewa Peak following a decision by the federal Board on Geographic Names, the mountain’s moniker was first changed by a state board soon after Lori Piestewa was killed in Iraq in 2003.
Piestewa, a 23-year-old Hispanic-Hopi mother of two from Tuba City, died when her convoy was ambushed. Some of the members of her company, including her best friend Jessica Lynch, were taken prisoner; others died.
She was the first American Indian woman serving in the U.S. military to die in combat.
The feds require a five-year wait to consider changing the name of a geographic feature. Many American Indians felt Squaw Peak was an offensive name and had been trying to change it for years.
Some decried the change as political correctness run amuck.
One online commenter was more charitably inclined: “Lori Piestewa’s memory lives in a postive way . . . for those who bemoan the change. What ulitimate sacrifice have you made for your country?”
Feds rename peak after Piestewa
Denogean: Controversy over Piestewa hopefully over
Teach us nothing . . .
Perhaps not ruffling nearly enough feathers was the news that many senior administration members were complicit in the harsh interrogation techniques used on suspected terrorists.
Nice euphemism, that: “harsh interrrogation techniques.”
Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA Director George Tenet, then-national security adviser Condoleeza Rice met in the White House and approved pouring water into the lungs of detainees, among other “harsh techniques.”
Practicing the same techniques, namely waterboarding, led to sentences of up to 25 years at hard labor for Japanese soldiers tried after World War II.
Then, our government didn’t call it a harsh interrogation technique. We called it like it is: torture.
American troops have been court-martialed for using the “water cure.” American courts have awarded Filipino victims of torture, including waterboarding, hundreds of millions in damages.
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was also present at the meetings, reportedly said at the time, “History will not judge this kindly.”
His qualms at the time weren’t enough for him to disagree with the decision.
While issues of language and culture can readily boil our melting pot, this is news that Americans shouldn’t take lightly.
Senior members of the Bush administration met in the People’s House and approved the torture of detainees, most of whom have never been charged, convicted or proved to be involved with terrorism.
History cannot judge this, or us, kindly.
White House approved waterboarding, tactics criticized as torture
Editor’s note: Online Editor Dylan Smith is filling in for Judy Carlock, giving his own twist on the week’s news. Contact him at dysmith@tucsoncitizen.com or 806-7735.
McCain and Hagee.
Likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain may have alienated part of his party’s conservative base while trying to curry favor with another part of the right wing.
McCain sought – and got – the endorsement of influential Texas televangelist John Hagee, raising the hackles of right-wing Catholic League President Bill Donohue.
Hagee, the leader of San Antonio megachurch with tens of thousands of members, has referred to the Roman Catholic Church as “the great whore” and a “false cult system.”
His books promote an apocalyptic philosophy that endorses war in the Mideast as a precursor to (a welcomed) Armageddon.
Catholic groups, including the Catholic League, want McCain to reject the endorsement.
With one fringe pitted against the other, will McCain’s fading image as a centrist maverick go up in smoke?
McCain backing by televangelist conflicts with Catholic support
ON THE BORDER
Another issue that creates friction between McCain and the conservative base is immigration. He favors immigration reform. They favor Stephen Colbert’s flaming moat filled with fire-proof crocodiles.
The Comedy Central talk show anchor’s idea just might be more practical than the highly touted virtual fence, which Homeland Security honcho Michael Chertoff recently praised, saying he’d “personally witnessed the value of the system.”
Days later, after the feds had written a final check for the $20 million Project 28, Homeland Security announced that the project was flawed and would be delayed three years.
Here’s the rub: It turns out that Boeing Corp. didn’t bother to consult with border agents on the ground before designing the system.
They’d have recommended asbestos alligators.
Chertoff: Virtual border fence will get gov’t stamp of approval
Feds OK 1st virtual fence on SW border to stop illegal crossings
Denogean: Virtual fence debacle demands investigation
Our Opinion: Virtual fence only a partial border fix – if it works
QUICK ON THE DRAW
In another instance of ignoring those who just might know best, Arizona is among the 13 states considering legalizing guns on college campuses.
Mesa’s Sen. Karen Johnson has drawn up legislation that would allow students with concealed weapons permits to carry those weapons on campus. The Arizona Board of Regents reacted swiftfy by adopting a resolution making the university campuses gun-free.
Other bills winding their way through the state house include legalizing “defensive” displays of firearms, carrying firearms in restaurants that serve alcohol and keeping a loaded weapon anywhere in a vehicle.
Law enforcement professionals, including Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and many police organizations, oppose making it easier to carry firearms.
Triggered by the recent tragedies at Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech, those who would loosen restrictions on guns say an armed society is a safe one.
Isolated examples, such as the Tucson homeowner who killed a home invader last week, are used to justify making it easier to pack a gun anywhere.
Those who fill those big shoes, walking the beats, see it otherwise. And in the past few days, they’ve seen too much.
Seven homicides and two additional shootings by police have claimed the lives of Tucsonans recently.
There seem to be enough bullets flying already. Will more guns on the street help or hurt? Some things are better left to the professionals. Taking advice from legislators on matters of life and death may not lead to the best policy.
Slain cabbie, 27, was Army vet, soon to be a father
Spate of killings prompts more patrols by TPD
Killings by officers not on homicide list
3 shootings bring city’s homicides to 13 for 2008
QUICKER ON THE DRAW
Other (hopefully) isolated examples point to the tragedy, and idiocy, of some who find themselves in possession of firearms.
Mesa teen Hughstan Schlicker is accused of killing his father with a shot to the back of the head because he wasn’t allowed to use the Internet.
“Dad came home, I shot him in the head, what investigation?” Schlicker said when questioned by police.
Perhaps even more blithe was Daniel Kuch of Washington, who told police he had a friend shoot him in the shoulder to get some time off work and avoid a drug test.
In this case, the second reason would seem to have been primary.
Police: Mesa teen says he killed dad over Internet ban
Wash. man asked friend to shoot him so he could skip work
PITCHERS AND CATCHERS RETORT
The real reason behind Lute Olson’s continuing leave of absence continues to be unreported.
While rumors fly on Internet bulletin boards, both Olson and the UA remain mum.
The team has had its share of ups and downs this year, with injuries and painful near-wins taking their toll.
Accustomed to rooting for a highly ranked team, the fair-weather fan might consider enjoying sunshine and cheering on the No. 1 UA baseball team.
The team has been diamond-sharp under coach Andy Lopez, taking seven out of its first eight games. With Tucson’s spring training future in doubt, there might be hope yet for the local baseball fan.
‘The Lute Story’ gets curiouser and curiouser
UA soon can start talking to Olson on his future
Gimino: O’Neill: Cut the guy some slack
Our Opinion: Taxpayers mustn’t be hit in bid to save spring training
Player loves new schedule; UA coach calls it ‘absolutely ridiculous’
UA baseball team grabs second No. 1 ranking
Contact Dylan Smith at (520) 806-7735 or dysmith@tucsoncitizen.com.
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RELATED
McCain backing by televangelist conflicts with Catholic support
Chertoff: Virtual border fence will get gov’t stamp of approval
Feds OK 1st virtual fence on SW border to stop illegal crossings
Denogean: Virtual fence debacle demands investigation
Our Opinion: Virtual fence only a partial border fix – if it works
Slain cabbie, 27, was Army vet, soon to be a father
Spate of killings prompts more patrols by TPD
Killings by officers not on homicide list
3 shootings bring city’s homicides to 13 for 2008
Police: Mesa teen says he killed dad over Internet ban
Wash. man asked friend to shoot him so he could skip work
‘The Lute Story’ gets curiouser and curiouser
UA soon can start talking to Olson on his future
Gimino: O’Neill: Cut the guy some slack
Our Opinion: Taxpayers mustn’t be hit in bid to save spring training
Player loves new schedule; UA coach calls it ‘absolutely ridiculous’
Deadline: 5 p.m.; you can call, go online
Voters, the deadline to request a mail-in ballot for the Feb. 5 presidential primary is 5 p.m. Friday.
You can do so by calling the Pima County Recorder’s Office at 740-4330 or visiting its Web site, www.recorder.pima.gov/earlyreq.aspx.
Early voters can also cast ballots in person through Feb. 1 at the Recorder’s downtown and East Side offices.
Only registered Republicans and Democrats can vote in Arizona’s Feb. 5 presidential preference election.
For mail-in voters, once you receive your ballot, you must mail it in time to arrive by 7 p.m. Feb. 5.
A postmark with that day is not sufficient. So if you haven’t returned your ballot by primary election day, drop it off at any Pima County polling site instead of mailing it.
The Arizona Republic contributed to this article.
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ON THE WEB
Pima County Recorder’s early ballot site: www.recorder.pima.gov/earlyreq.aspx
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EARLY VOTING SITES
Hours for both sites are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Feb. 1.
• Recorder’s Main Office downtown
115 N. Church Ave., First Floor, North Wing; in the Pima County Courthouse
• Recorder’s East Side Annex
6920 E. Broadway, Suite D; at the southwest corner of Broadway and Kolb Road, west of The Gaslight Theatre.
Tucson police were investigating one collision early Thursday on the South Central Side.
At South Kino Parkway and East Silverlake Road, a collision causing unknown injuries was reported at 7:01 a.m.
Other metro-area public safety agencies reported no crashes, malfunctioning traffic lights or road hazards.
Motorists are reminded to drive cautiously.
For the latest traffic incidents, today’s lowest fuel prices, and traffic camera views of Interstate 10, see the Citizen’s Traffic Cams page. Check www.tucsoncitizen.com/I-10 for updates on the freeway project. For a comprehensive look at Tucson-area weather, go to our online forecast.
Clockwise: Charlie the greyhound, counting ballots, Lute and Christine Olson
Doesn’t matter whether they’re public, sports, voting or even Guinness, the news is always filled with records.
Records are at the heart of a lawsuit filed by Pima County Democrats, who want to find out if the 2006 RTA election results may have been altered by computer manipulation.
They say that the county’s use of a Diebold-GEMS voting system and Microsoft Access database leaves elections with a “back door” that could be used to alter vote counts.
So the Dems want to examine all the records of the election to see if there were any irregularities in the data.
Turns out the computer tape containing that database has gone missing.
Other tapes and discs were taken home by an elections employee, potentially compromising their security.
You can get your opinion on the record at public meetings on election security to be held Dec. 10, 11 and 14.
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Plenty of voices have been raised on a proposal to deny birth certificates to the children of illegal immigrants born in Arizona.
Papers were filed last week for a 2008 ballot initiative that would deny birthright citizenship to the babies of illegal immigrants by preventing them from receiving birth certificates.
State Rep. Russell Pearce says he plans to get a similar measure on the ballot by legislative referendum.
This despite the U.S. Constitution’s grant of citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment.
Proponents of the measure say that illegal immigrants, and their children, being citizens of another nation, aren’t subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
If they’re not subject to our laws, how exactly are they illegal?
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Another move in the courts was Lute Olson’s filing of divorce papers, pointing to an end of both his four-year marriage and the nation’s longest active streak of 23 straight years coaching in the NCAA tourney.
Make that a move off the courts. Is there hard wood in the plaintiff’s seat in divorce court?
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Setting some sort of record, for audacity if not clichéd behavior, was the Irishman who loaded his truck with 450 kegs of beer straight from the Guinness brewery’s loading dock.
Two men were arrested in the heist plot, and the Garda Siochana police suspect that others were involved in the theft of 39,600 pints of beer.
According to the company, it was the biggest robbery in the 248-year history of the brewery.
There’s no word on whether the caper will make the record books.
Going to the dogs
The cases of two brutalized pets showed just how low some criminals can get.
Charlie, a 7-year-old rescued greyhound, was found dead, lying on the side of the road with a gunshot wound. Earlier, he’d gotten away as his owner walked him in the rain.
Tucson police are treating the case as an animal cruelty felony.
A wounded miniature Pinscher was euthanized in Phoenix on Sunday. The dog was found with multiple stab wounds and a cut deep enough to reach the animal’s spine.
Better pet news had Chicken the cat flying back to the Midwest. He stowed away on a moving van for a 1,490-mile trek across country with Dan McIntosh. Thanks for Northwest Airlines, he’s on his way to Iowa to owner Sarah Sutton, McIntosh’s sister.
Also keeping pets and families together was the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Cherub the potbellied pig will remain with his owner after the Supes ruled in favor of Cherub and other hogs similarly situated. No longer livestock, they’re now pets in the eyes of the law.
Dept. of the Obvious
Proving the necessity of codifying common courtesy, the state Department of Transportation announced that it will publicize the little-known “Move Over” law.
The law requires motorists to move over and slow down when emergency vehicles are stopped along the road.
The department will place 22 large signs around the state to inform drivers of the requirements of the 2005 law.
If you have ever changed a tire on I-10 in Eloy, you realize the importance of elbow room for those working next to hurtling traffic.
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Related
Judge: RTA election lawsuit can proceed
Record of votes in ’06 RTA election missing
Our Opinion: Clear, secure vote counts critical here, nationwide
Denogean: Proposal defies courts, citizens, Constitution
Marital issues contributed to Olson’s leave, attorney says
Irish police bust beer bandits, continue hunt for missing Guinness
A horse of a different color: A 2008 Mustang Bullitt packs a lot of ponies under the hood, but the UA's Equine Center keeps students trotting along.
It’ll take more than a few days of rain to make up for climate changes that scientists report are breaking down the West’s natural water delivery system.
Rising temperatures don’t bode well for Arizona’s water supplies, with possible severe consequences for power generation and development.
And the end-of-week rains didn’t resolve water concerns of the Pasqua Yaqui Tribe, whose challenge of a groundwater rights settlement involving the Tohono O’odham Nation was rejected by the state Supreme Court.
But Arizona’s supply of the valuable resource faces other challenges.
The state rejected a bid by a company to export groundwater to a growing area in southern Nevada.
Closer to home, Augusta Resource Corp. wants to build a line to deliver Colorado River water to Green Valley to offset groundwater pumping for its proposed copper mine in the Santa Ritas. A public hearing is set for Dec. 5.
Sunday’s forecast calls for clearing skies and some warming. Yep, more dry heat.
Source of water for West at risk
State high court rejects tribe’s challenge to water settlement
Pumping of Az water to Nevada nixed
Hearing set on mining firm’s plan for Green Valley water line
(Not) watering the grass:
There are some fighting the good fight to save our desert.
The Sonoran Desert Weedwackers pull non-native buffelgrass out by the roots, removing the invasive species that chokes out native plants and increases wildfire risk.
The group’s volunteers have yanked out 65 tons of buffelgrass and fountain grass from Tucson Mountain Park.
Help wanted in war against buffelgrass
School spirit:
Getting into the seasonal spirit of giving are Don Diamond and wife Joan.
They ponied up a $15 million donation to kick-start fundraising for a new children’s hospital at University Medical Center.
The Diamond Children’s Medical Center, projected to cost $55 million, will also house UMC’s new trauma and emergency department.
The last time you took your kid to the ER for a five-hour wait, you probably could’ve been persuaded to write a check almost that big. Right?
UMC plans children’s hospital with $15M from developer
Our Opinion: Diamonds are kids’ best friend
2008 with a Bullitt:
A bit more easy on your pocketbook would be a $25 ticket for a charity raffle.
To encourage donations to local charities, Jim Click is raffling off a 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt. The car dealer hopes to generate $1 million for the 224 local groups participating.
You, too,, can be as cool as “über icy” Steve McQueen, who made the Mustang model an icon of muscle-car cool in the ’68 film “Bullitt.”
Denogean: Mustang raffle could corral $1M for charity
Ticket to ride:
If your idea of “old school” predates the machine age, then the University of Arizona Equine Center just might have your ride.
The center is raising money for its four-legged athletes. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, visitors can learn about horse health care, including sports massage and saddle evaluation. Not to mention the chance to see all the pretty horses.
Cashing out on tobacco tax:
Turns out that Arizona’s been exploring the delicate relationship between death and taxes again.
A tobacco tax increase and the advent of the smoking ban led to cigarette sales falling off a cliff.
Absolute numbers were up, by $57 million, but all that and more went to a new fund dedicated to early childhood education.
The 82-cent-per-pack increase was followed by a $17 million decrease in in funds going to other programs dependent on tobacco-tax cash.
Among them is the state’s stop-smoking program, which has seen an increase in demand even as its funding source goes up in smoke.
It must be hard to run a program where success equates with less money.
Whether you’re heading to work, or to Mom’s to help cook Thanksgiving dinner, most Tucson area streets are clear on Thursday morning.
A sprinkle of rain at dawn did little to dampen driving, but isolated showers and thunderstorms are possible throughout the day.
Tucson police reported a smattering of traffic troubles for the morning.
They were:
• A traffic hazard near North Miracle Mile and West Miracle Mile reported at 7:10 a.m.
• A traffic hazard at East Grand Road and North Swan Road reported at 6:05 a.m.
• An accident with injuries at North Kolb Road and East Speedway Boulevard reported at 5:39 a.m.
For the latest traffic incidents, today’s lowest fuel prices, and traffic camera views of Interstate 10, see the Citizen’s Traffic Cams page. Check www.tucsoncitizen.com/I-10 for updates on the freeway project.
Still haven’t filed your taxes? You’re nearly a day late – and dollars short? – if you requested an extension.
Monday is the deadline – for those who postponed filing their 2006 federal income tax returns in April – to get paperwork to the IRS.
Nationwide, 10.2 million taxpayers requested an automatic six-month extension this year, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Many, including about 213,500 Arizonans, have yet to file their returns as of the beginning of October.
The federal agency warns that nonfilers face interest and penalty charges – and, possibly, criminal prosecution.
Online filing of tax returns is available via www.irs.gov. A record 58 percent of all 2006 returns were filed electronically.
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ON THE WEB
Internal Revenue Service: www.irs.gov
