Dear Boomer,

I have a huge crush on this guy at school. I know he doesn’t like me, and I’ve even told him that I like him. (But) he won’t give in. What should I do?

Sincerely, Z.B.

Dear Z. B.,

Reality check! Even though you’re head over heels for this fella, it’s not gonna change how he feels about you. I know this is a big-time disappointment, but you really need to take a step back and pursue your other interests.

Friends always, Boomer Bear

Dear Boomer,

I’ve dreamed about going to Sea World and Disneyland. I can see myself riding on the back of a giant whale or dolphin. That would be so exciting! I’ve heard so much about the Mickey Mouse Club. Meeting Donald Duck or Goofy would make my day.

B.T.

Dear B.T.,

You’ve got a great imagination and could probably make a heckuva commercial for southern California’s tourism office! After school lets out for summer, lots of families head for San Diego (Sea World) or Anaheim (Disneyland) to escape the Arizona heat.

If your family doesn’t have the money or time for such a big trip, there are lots of cool places nearby like Mount Lemmon. I think my family is driving up to the White Mountains for our vacation. Good luck with the rest of the school year!

Your buddy, Boomer

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ASK BOOMER

He’s wise, he’s cool and he’s ready to respond. Write a letter to Boomer Bear of Bear Essential News for Kids!

Bear Essential News for Kids

1037 S. Alvernon Way, No. 150

Tucson, AZ 85711

boomer@bearessentialnews.com

Older adults waiting for $250 stimulus checks from Uncle Sam this month are warned about scammers lurking on the Internet and on the other end of telephone line.

Perpetrators of fraud and theft of the stimulus checks have been reported by federal agencies, and all eligible older consumers should be vigilant.

Unlike last year, when all consumers had to file a federal income tax return to receive stimulus checks, recipients this year get their money automatically.

About $13 billion in payments to nearly 55 million eligible people on Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, railroad retirement or veterans disability began going out May 7 and should continue through the end of the month.

The money will be delivered the same way as current benefits, such as through direct deposit to a checking account or via debit card or paper check.

Crooks have been sending official-looking e-mails asking for bank account numbers, trying to persuade people the information is needed so that stimulus checks can be directly deposited into bank accounts.

Instead, the scammers drain the accounts and disappear, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Other bogus e-mails purporting to be from government agencies ask for personal information to “verify” that the recipient qualifies for a payment.

In another variation, e-mails provide links to Web sites on the premise that people can find out if they qualify for the money.

But by clicking on the links, consumers download malicious software or spyware that steals personal information used for identity theft, the FTC said.

Scammers also have been working the phones, trying to snag bank account numbers or personal information by claiming it is needed for direct deposit of stimulus checks or to verify future entitlement to Social Security benefits, according to the Social Security Administration.

Callers sometimes get hostile or call repeatedly if individuals refuse to divulge the information, the agency said.

In another ploy, Web sites also have been claiming that for a small fee they can help consumers apply for money from the stimulus fund.

Be suspicious of anyone who tries to collect a fee for filing a claim for stimulus money, the FTC said.

Remember, eligible recipients do not need to sign up anywhere or do anything to get the money.

And the Social Security Administration does not have to contact anyone for information.

Working seniors aren’t eligible for the $250 because they are getting stimulus money through reduced paycheck withholding throughout the year.

People who have not received their $250 by June 4 should contact the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213.

The payments are not taxable as income and will be sent separately from current Social Security benefits.

To report suspected fraud, contact the FTC at 877-382-4357 or use the online complaint assistant at ftc.gov.

For the Social Security Administration’s fraud hot line, call 800-269-0271 or visit socialsecurity.gov/oig/hotline.

Today’s information is provided by Adina Wingate, PCOA’s public relations director, using approved information from the Federal Trade Commission and Social Security Administration information about fraud. Visit online at www.pcoa.org

Insulation can settle as it ages, leaving gaps in the protection it provides against summer's sweltering heat.

The new economic stimulus tax credit for energy-efficient home improvements includes insulation, and chances are you need new insulation. Most homes, especially if they’re more than 10 years old, don’t have enough.

If your house is too warm and your energy bills are too high, the insulation in your attic is a good place to start your investigation when your home starts feeling uncomfortable this summer.

Insulation protects your home’s “envelope” – the attic, walls, ceiling and floors – from the sweltering summer air that can sneak inside through tiny holes and crevices.

Every home has some leaks, usually around windows and doors, at the point where plumbing, cables and electrical wires enter the house and in the attic or crawl space. Builders typically use insulation to create a barrier that prevents air from entering the home through those leaks.

But insulation doesn’t last forever. It will settle over time, reducing its efficiency. A 15-year-old home might have enough insulation to comply with the building code of that time, but not with today’s stricter code, which calls for thicker insulation. And a 50-year-old home might not have any at all if the builder relied on shading and wall ventilation rather than insulation to keep it cool.

Plus, not every builder installs insulation correctly. Insulation that is stuffed into cavities in a home’s framing, hung near a leak or simply draped over one won’t perform properly. Instead, the insulation should touch the surface it’s meant to protect. If it doesn’t, it will filter the hot air as it comes into the house, but it won’t keep it out. And insulation with gaps in it will let heat in between those gaps.

This common problem is fairly inexpensive to remedy – and now you can take a federal tax credit on 30 percent of the cost of the materials – minus labor – up to $1,500.

Plus, once your home’s insulation is working as it should, you might find that your home feels more comfortable and your energy bills are lower.

Then you’ll be able to fairly assess whether you need to replace your aging air conditioner and kitchen appliances with more efficient models. Then you can think about trading those old, drafty windows with double- or triple-pane varieties designed to keep the heat out of the house. Those new windows might also qualify for a tax credit.

Insulating your home’s envelope first will save your energy-efficient new air conditioner and windows from having to compete with unsealed leaks that let hot air into the home.

Think strategically about energy efficiency. Before you guess at the solution to high energy bills and rooms that are too warm, find out what’s causing the problem. Poorly installed insulation or aged insulation that has settled could be a significantly contributing factor.

Rosie Romero has a radio program from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays on KNST-AM (790). For more do-it-yourself tips and for Arizona’s most-trusted contractor referral network, go to rosieonthehouse.com or call 888-ROSIE-4-U during the show. The Rosie on the House column appears every Friday.

When I began advising people about potentially suitable plants for their landscapes some 30 years ago, a large tree meant one that could become a statuesque 60 or 80 feet tall over time.

Today’s smaller lots have shrunken what is considered to be a large tree, or a medium or small tree for that matter, to the point of miniature proportions.

Most trees needed to define, shade or add dimension to patios in the smaller landscapes constantly challenge us to find plants that have been overlooked and put them to use in new ways.

Two plants I have always thought to be totally underused are acacias from our own desert. The biggest reason that these plants have been overlooked is that all of our desert plants are armed with thorns. On these two, the thorns are fairly small, and not a bit unreasonable to work with.

The two plants I am talking about are Acacia greggii, or catclaw acacia, and Acacia constricta, or whitethorn acacia. Both are on virtually every homeowners association’s list of acceptable plants, and I truly think their underuse has a lot to do with the fact that people have a difficult time thinking what these will become as they mature.

Catclaw acacia (its common name is derived from the shape of the thorns) is the larger of the two. Though it is slow-growing, one will find that growth rate almost a necessity for a plant small in mature stature, because plants don’t grow rapidly to a mature size and stop – it is an ongoing process.

The fragrance of these plants’ flowers alone is enough to recommend them. As soon as we hit our first 100-degree day, they seem to burst into bloom. And while the blooms are cream-colored and not particularly showy, the perfume they emit is the Sonoran desert’s crowning glory of fragrance – light, but incredibly sweet; heady and lingering; profuse both day and night.

The plant itself can be gorgeous. It is best when gently trained into a multitrunk tree and its natural form easily leads to that. As it ages, it becomes gnarly and ancient-looking. Use this small tree in a place where you want lacy shade in the summer and the warmth of the sun in winter. It can be kept easily at 8 feet or developed beautifully to 18 feet and it is hardy to zero degrees.

Whitethorn acacia is slightly smaller and blooms emerge two or three weeks later in the early summer. While out of leaf, the branches have a reddish glow that is attractive in its own right. When it leafs out, it is bright green.

Already many of the other plants’ leaves are looking dull and dusty, and here comes the whitethorn acacia, fresh with its bright new leaves. This is followed by its flower show: bright golden balls in profusion, fragrant, though not so much as the catclaw cousin. A bit smaller, it still has a twisting, gorgeous multi-trunk potential of from 6 to 12 feet and is hardy to 5 or 10 degrees.

Cathy Bishop, co-owner of Mesquite Valley Growers Nursery, has more than 30 years of gardening experience. E-mail her at familyplus@tucsoncitizen.com.

Tucson is in for an incredible treat – Justin Kredible is coming to town!

Kredible is a wonderful magician and comedian, and I recently met him. Kredible got started as a magician/comedian at age 12 and got his first job at 16. He grew up always knowing he wanted to follow in the footsteps of legendary magicians David Copperfield and Lance Burton. Before he started to travel and perform, he went to college at Emerson University in Boston and got a degree in journalism. Kredible’s mom told him that he needed a backup plan – if he couldn’t be a magician, he’d be a journalist.

Kredible’s first show was at the Brotherhood of Magicians in Norfolk, Va. He won the competition! The largest place he has performed had a crowd of 2,500 people. His favorite place to perform is Tucson’s Gaslight Theatre because his grandparents live here. They love his show and enjoy watching it.

He’s been on Rachael Ray’s TV show several times. When the show got started, the producer wanted a young, up-and-coming star, and that was Kredible! He performs for all age groups, from little kids to adults. Kredible changes his jokes for the audiences but does the same brilliant tricks.

He’s has won the College Campus Activities Magazine entertainer of the year for the third year in a row and will be on an episode of “Suite Life On Deck” in August or September.

Shows are June 29 at 7 p.m. and July 1 at noon. Tickets are $16 for adults, $10 for children (12 and under) on June 29; $12 for adults, $10 for children on July 1. For tickets, call the theater at 886-9428.

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PROMOTING LITERACY THROUGH JOURNALISM

The Tucson Citizen is in partnership with Bear Essential News, Domino’s Pizza and KVOA to promote literacy through journalism.

NEW YORK – Looking for ways to keep your tween or young teen busy over the summer? Here are six ideas to pull them away from the computer, the television and the cell phone:

• Look into teen classes, said Carol Weston, advice columnist for Girls’ Life magazine. Summer school might not excite, but look for classes in areas kids may have an interest in, like writing, drama, art or lifeguarding. If transportation is a problem, coordinate with other parents.

• Help kids find work, such as baby-sitting, car washing, dog walking or lawn mowing, said Weston. Perhaps you know someone who could use some extra help in his office. Kids want to make extra money.

• Check churches, soup kitchens, senior centers, animal shelters and the like to see if they need volunteers.

• Investigate local summer programming. Try the YMCA, library, colleges, museums or even health clubs. For example, Lifestyle Family Fitness has free summer memberships for teens 12 to 17 in all 55 of its locations.

• Consider a kid swap, suggests Weston. One parent can take the kids on an outing one day, another can take them somewhere another day.

• Explore summer camp options. Many have counselor-in-training or other programs for teens. For pricier specialty or residential camps, ask about financial aid or a group rate if several kids enroll together. Find camps at acacamps.org.

ATLANTA – The percentage of births to unmarried women in the United States has been rising sharply, but it’s way behind northern European countries, a new U.S. report on births shows.

Iceland is the leader with 6 in 10 births occurring among unmarried women. About half of all births in Sweden and Norway are to unwed moms, while in the U.S., it’s about 40 percent.

France, Denmark and the United Kingdom also have higher percentages than the United States, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. and at least 13 other industrialized nations have seen significant jumps in the proportion of unmarried births since 1980, said Stephanie Ventura of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Rates have doubled and even tripled in these countries, according to the CDC report released Wednesday.

“Basically we’re seeing the same patterns,” Ventura said, noting the trend has accelerated in the last five years.

Experts are not certain what’s causing the trend but say there seems to be greater social acceptance of having children outside of marriage.

“The values surrounding family formation are changing and women are more independent than they used to be. And young people don’t feel they have to live under the same social rules that their parents once did,” said Carl Haub, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau in Washington, D.C.

But there are differences in how unmarried pregnancies are viewed in different countries.

In the United States, unmarried mothers are more likely to be on their own and traditionally they are more likely to be poor and uneducated, experts said.

In northern Europe, men and women more often live together in unmarried, long-term, stable relationships, Haub said.

Because of declining birth rates in some European countries, people tend to be more focused on whether the baby is born healthy instead of whether the mother is married, Haub said.

The CDC previously has reported on the percentage of U.S. births to unmarried mothers. The new report gathers previously released information from other countries to make an international comparison.

The report shows trends from 1980 to the most recent years available – 2007 for the United States and most of the other countries, but 2006 for six nations.

Japan had the lowest percentage of unmarried births, with 2 percent in 2007, up from 1 percent in 1980.

Increases were much more dramatic in the other countries, with Italy rising from 4 percent to 21 percent, Ireland from 5 percent to 33 percent, Canada from 13 to 30 percent, and the United Kingdom from 12 percent to 44 percent.

Ever wonder what’s up when your dog incessantly chases his tail or your cat bats at your head?

You can find out Saturday if you attend Communicating with Your Pet, a free service from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at HOPE Animal Shelter, 2011 E. 12th St.

Reiki Master and pet socializer Judy Ferrigno will be on hand to spend time with folks who bring in their dog or cat for a 10- to 15-minute consultation.

For more information, call 792-9200 or visit Tucson’s only no-kill dog and cat shelter’s site at www.hopeanimalshelter.net.

WASHINGTON – Deterred by immigration laws and the lackluster economy, the population growth of Hispanics and Asians in the U.S. has slowed unexpectedly, causing the government to push back estimates on when minorities will become the majority by as much as a decade.

Census data released Thursday showed that the nation’s overall minority population continues to rise steadily, adding 2.3 percent in 2008 to 104.6 million, or 34 percent of the total population. But the slowdown among Hispanics and Asians continues to shift conventional notions on when the tipping point in U.S. diversity will come – estimated to occur more than three decades from now.

According to the latest data, the percentage growth of Hispanics slowed from 4.0 percent in 2001 to 3.2 percent last year. Their slowed population growth would have been greater if it weren’t for their high fertility – nearly 10 births for every death.

Asian population increases slowed from 3.7 percent in 2001 to about 2.5 percent. Hispanics and Asians still are the two fastest-growing minority groups, making up about 15 percent and 4.4 percent of the U.S. population, respectively.

Thirty-six states had lower Hispanic growth in 2008 compared with the year before. The declines were in places where the housing bubble burst, such as Nevada and Arizona, which lost construction jobs that tend to attract immigrants.

Arizona’s total population grew by 2.3 percent from 2007 to 2008, slightly below its 2.6 percent average growth rate for the eight preceding years.

Hispanics grew by 4 percent statewide from 2007 to 2008 compared to an average 4.6 percent growth rate for prior years and Asians grew by 4.8 percent during the same time frame compared to an average rate of 5.7 percent for the 2000 to 2007 years.

Trend also seen in Southeast

Other decreases were seen in new immigrant destinations in the Southeast, previously seen as offering good manufacturing jobs in lower-cost cities compared to the pricier Northeast. In contrast, cities in California, Illinois and New Jersey showed gains.

In Arkansas, manufacturing and poultry companies have cut hours and workers, leaving a growing number of Hispanics unable to cover their mortgage payments, said Maribel Tapia, a housing counselor in Fayetteville, Ark. Fathers are moving out of state, where other relatives have lines on menial jobs that support the families they leave behind, she said.

Police in northwest Arkansas created an immigration task force with the help of U.S. immigration agents.

“I don’t think it’s more likely they’re going back to Mexico or El Salvador or wherever they’re from,” she said. “They’re just calling different family members in different states and asking around about work. They just pack up and move.”

The political effects can be high. Minorities turned out in record numbers in November to vote, largely for Democrat Barack Obama for president, and Hispanic groups are expected to flex their growing clout in future elections as they push immigration reform.

More than a dozen states also stand to gain or lose House seats after the 2010 census depending on last-minute shifts in population.

“Not just whites are staying put, but minorities are staying put and immigrants are staying put,” said Mark Mather, associate vice president of the nonprofit Population Reference Bureau, citing in part a declining economy that has locked the U.S. population largely in place.

“I was surprised the drop in Hispanic growth rates wasn’t bigger given the decline in immigration,” he said. “Government policy will certainly have a major effect on future race and ethnic composition if Congress takes some action on immigration reform.”

The Census Bureau projected last August that white children will become the minority in 2023 and the overall white population will follow in 2042. The agency now says it will recalculate those figures, typically updated every three to four years, because they don’t fully take into account anti-immigration policies after the September 2001 terror attacks and the current economic recession.

The new projections, expected to be released later this year, could delay the tipping point for minorities by 10 years, given the current low rates of immigration, David Waddington, the Census Bureau’s chief of projections, said in a telephone interview.

“Policies changed,” he said, in explaining why the scientific estimates were no longer valid.

Blacks, who comprise about 12.2 percent of the population, have increased at a rate of about 1 percent each year. Whites, with a median age of 41, have increased very little in recent years because of low birth rates and an aging boomer population.

The migration shift could continue for a while, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, citing the bursting of an unprecedented housing bubble in 2005-2006 that is helping reshape the economy.

“What this means is that the idea of creating new Asian and Hispanic enclaves in different parts of the United States will undergo a bit of a wall,” said Frey. “Those staying in these enclaves will be competing for jobs with long-term residents, while others will return to social support systems in major gateways.”

Six U.S. counties saw their minority populations become the majority, including Orange County, Fla., the nation’s 35th most populous county that is home to Orlando. Webster County in Georgia had a majority of minority groups in 2007 but reverted back to a white majority in 2008.

In all, about 309 of the nation’s 3,142 counties, or 1 in 10, have minority populations greater than 50 percent. Other counties that become majority-minority in 2008 were Stanislaus in California; Finney in Kansas; Warren in Mississippi; and Edwards and Schleicher counties in Texas.

Other findings:

• There are 48 majority Hispanic counties nationally; the top 10 were all in Texas. The gateway cities of Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston and Chicago had the greatest number of Hispanics.

• Seventy-seven counties are majority-black; all were in the South. Atlanta edged past Chicago in the number of blacks, ranking second after New York City. They were followed by Washington and Philadelphia.

• Honolulu County, Hawaii, was the only majority Asian county in the nation. New York City had the highest population of Asians, surpassing Los Angeles. Asians also numbered the most in San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; and Chicago.

• California, the nation’s most populous state, also had the most number of whites. Maine and Vermont had the highest share of whites at 95 percent each.

In Nashville, Tenn., Maria Lopez, a 49-year-old Mexican immigrant, said business is down 80 percent at the restaurant she runs, and 10 to 15 people come in a day asking for jobs, mostly Hispanics.

Lopez said she had to cut back on the amount of money she was sending back home to her family in Mexico. Although she’s been in the U.S. for 13 years, she is thinking about returning to Mexico.

“I am just making enough to pay the lease and the bills,” Lopez said through a translator. “If things continue like that, I will leave.”

The 2008 census estimates used local records of births and deaths, tax records of people moving within the U.S., and census statistics on immigrants.

The figures for “white” refer to those whites who are not of Hispanic ethnicity. Since the government considers “Hispanic” an ethnicity, people of Hispanic descent can be of any race.

ATLANTA – The housing market may be sputtering, but Habitat for Humanity International is getting a $100 million jolt.

The nonprofit group tells The Associated Press the gift from J. Ronald Terwilliger will help it build 60,000 homes worldwide. It’s the largest individual contribution in Habitat’s history.

Terwilliger, an Atlanta-based developer, says he hopes it will offer the world’s neediest more access to decent, affordable homes.

He says he also wanted to “inspire others to make the commitment to support affordable housing.”

The gift is one of the largest in recent years to a group devoted to social services, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. A center official called it “remarkable.”

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ON THE WEB

Habitat for Humanity International : www.habitat.org

The USA is developing a stark generation gap between aging white Baby Boomers and a young, growing minority population, according to U.S. Census data released today.

The minority population increased 2.3 percent to 104.6 million from mid-2007 to July 1, 2008, or just over one-third of the total population, the Census Bureau reported.

Hispanics had the highest growth rate – 3.2 percent – during the 12 months.

Although immigration has slowed, higher birth rates among Hispanics make them the fastest growing group. Births, rather than immigration, accounted for about two-thirds of the 1.47 million increase in the Hispanic population in 2008, according to Kenneth Johnson, demographer at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute. In addition, Hispanics are younger, on average, than the overall population. Births among Hispanics outpaced deaths by nearly 10 to one.

Forty-seven percent of children under 5 are minorities, as are 43 percent of young people under age 20.

“It’s a cumulative effect of immigration,” says Jeffrey Passel of the Pew Hispanic Center. “We’ve built up a population of Hispanics, and increasingly they’re native born.”

As the median age among non-Hispanic whites increases – it’s 41.1 compared with 27.7 for Hispanics – so will the racial and ethnic generation gap, demographers say.

“A lot of these Boomers are going to be relying on this younger generation to take care of them in a lot of ways,” says Mark Mather of the Population Reference Bureau. “In another generation, this is going to be our workforce that is supporting Social Security.”

Orange County, Fla., home of Walt Disney World, is one of six U.S. counties where the population became majority-minority in 2008: more than half the population are in groups other than non-Hispanic whites.

That’s “not a surprise” to Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty, who says the county has always been “a snapshot of what America looks like.” Nearly 10 percent of the nation’s 3,142 counties have a minority population above 50 percent.

The demographic shift is most dramatic among “kids under 20,” Mather says. “They really are the groups that are driving these changes.”

Contributing: Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY

By Paul Overberg, Martha T. Moore

Three-digit temperatures have hit Tucson, making it an ideal time for the Salvation Army’s Operation Chill Out to begin.

The summer donation campaign for homeless people starts Wednesday.

“With the heat rising, more displaced and at-risk Tucsonans are going to find themselves needing important resources such as water and basic day-to-day items,” said Salvation Army spokeswoman Tamara McElwee.

To enhance this year’s efforts, the Salvation Army has teamed up with Walgreens and Naughton’s Plumbing, Heating and Cooling.

Walgreens locations throughout the city are hosting summer specials where customers can purchase select, tagged items found near the register that are donated to the Salvation Army.

Walgreens’ Sierra Vista store, which piloted the program, has seen about $100 worth of the tagged bottled water, soup, seasonal items and other goods donated each week.

People can also donate bottled water, hats, sunglasses, sunblock and lip balm by dropping them off at The Hospitality House, 1021 N. 11th Ave., or one of five Naughton’s locations:

• 1140 W. Prince Road

• 3940 W. Costco Drive

• 4226 S. Sixth Ave.

• 6062 E. Speedway Blvd.

• 8190 E. 22nd St.

Jesus can go to 7th grade

TEMPE – Deborah Chambers thought it would be no big deal to display a picture of Jesus on her notebook at the Chandler charter school where she is a seventh-grader.

She didn’t think the image of a bloodied Christ on the cross was all that different from a Muslim head scarf or a Phoenix Suns logo.

“It’s important to me because that’s what Jesus did for me,” Chambers said.

She said that in October a teacher sent her to the principal’s office after a fellow student complained about the notebook, and the principal told her she could no longer bring the notebook to school.

Her mother, Rebecca Chambers, sought help from the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative think tank, and she said the principal acquiesced after she presented information such as court precedents defending religious expression in schools.

That case has inspired a bill in which Rep. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa, attempts to bring together a series of state laws and court decisions banning censorship in schools based on religion.

HB 2357 would bar all forms of religious discrimination in schools and would specify that students are allowed to wear religious clothing, jewelry and apparel on campus. Crandall said spelling out these rights clearly would help prevent misunderstandings that can wind up in court.

“In their efforts to be so conservative, to avoid any appearance of favoring one or the other, they accidentally make a mistake and cross the line and break the Constitution,” said Crandall, chairman of the House Education Committee.

The House approved the bill May 6 on a 37-23 vote that sent it to the Senate.

The Center for Arizona Policy asked Crandall to sponsor the legislation.

“We see the bill as a winner all around,” said Deborah Sheasby, a litigator who has represented the group in legislative hearings on the bill.

Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, said she supports the basic premise of the bill but said it should comprehensively cover all forms of expression.

“We vigorously support all kinds of expression, religious included,” she said. “Our concern is government treating religious speech differently from other kinds of speech.”

Michael Smith, a legislative consultant with the Arizona School Administrators Association, said that he understands the ACLU’s position but thinks the bill is a step in the right direction.

“If you try to address something that prescribes all potential forms of free expression, you’re gonna walk into a nightmare,” Smith said. “If they’d like to introduce a bill to cover all possible circumstances of free expression, they’re welcome to do that.”

Deborah Chambers still brings the binder to her school, Dobson Academy, and said she hasn’t been bothered about it since. She and her mother said the school’s principal, George Ellis, was responsive and understanding about the issue.

Ellis didn’t return a telephone call seeking comment on the case.

Rebecca Chambers, Deborah’s mother, said the main benefit of the bill is protecting students’ First Amendment rights.

“Freedom of speech doesn’t stop when you enter the school gates,” she said.

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House Bill 2357

• Public schools are not to discriminate against any student or parent on the basis of religion.

• Students may wear clothing, jewelry and other apparel showing religious symbols. However, administrators could bar these items, religious and otherwise, that are worn solely to cause disruption or convey gang affiliation.

• A grade received on a school assignment cannot be raised or lowered simply because the assignment presents a religious viewpoint.

• Parents who feel their children have been unfairly censored by school officials for religious reasons may follow a process for filing complaints. Lawsuits wouldn’t be allowed until this step has been resolved.

A woman takes a copy of "Sex as you don't know it: For married couples who love God," a new book by the Rev. Ksawery Knotz, from a bookstore in Warsaw, Poland. Knotz's book provides a theological and practical guide for Catholics that have little in common with the dour view of sex traditionally associated with the Roman Catholic Church. The main message is that sex is an important way for a man and wife to express their love and grow closer to God.

WARSAW, Poland – The Rev. Ksawery Knotz has a message for all married Catholic couples out there: there’s nothing wrong with a steamy sex life.

In fact, it’s a good thing.

In his new book “Sex as you don’t know it: For married couples who love God,” the Polish friar provides a theological and practical guide for Catholics that has little in common with the strait-laced attitudes often associated with the Roman Catholic Church.

“Some people, when they hear about the holiness of married sex, immediately imagine that such sex has to be deprived of joy, frivolous play, fantasy and attractive positions,” Knotz writes. “(They think) it has to be sad like a traditional church hymn.”

But Knotz, a Franciscan friar from a monastery outside Krakow in southern Poland, wants to change all that. His book aims to sweep away the taboos and assure Catholic couples that good sex is part of a good marriage.

“The most important message is that sexuality does not deviate at all from religiousness and the Catholic faith, and that we can connect spirituality and a search for God with a happy sex life,” Knotz told The Associated Press by telephone.

Much of the book stems from questions that Knotz encountered while counseling married couples.

“I talk with a lot of married couples and I listen to them, so these problems just kind of sit in my mind,” he said. “I would like for them to be happier with their sex life, and for them to understand the Church’s teachings so there won’t be unnecessary tension or a sense of guilt.”

Clergymen, including Knotz’s countryman Pope John Paul II and his successor Pope Benedict XVI, have written about the ethics of love, marriage and sexuality before, and laymen have penned steamy sex guides for married Catholic couples.

But few if any priests have taken Knotz’s explicit approach to sex — including everything from the theological to the practical, from oral sex to contraception and the number of children a Catholic couple should have.

“Every act — a type of caress, a sexual position — with the goal of arousal is permitted and pleases God,” Knotz writes. “During sexual intercourse, married couples can show their love in every way, can offer one another the most sought after caresses. They can employ manual and oral stimulation.”

The book falls squarely within the commonly held view of the Church’s teaching on sex: Knotz discourages the use of condoms or birth control pills, and says they “lead a married couple outside of Catholic culture and into a completely different lifestyle.”

But some Poles have been surprised by the overriding message of the book: sex is an important way for a man and wife to express their love and grow closer to God.

“Married couples celebrate their sacrament, their life with Christ also during sex,” Knotz writes.

“Calling sex a celebration of the marriage sacrament raises its dignity in an exceptional way. Such a statement shocks people who learned to look at sexuality in a bad way. It is difficult for them to understand that God is also interested in their happy sex life and in this way gives them his gift.”

The book received the necessary approval from Poland’s church authorities that it is theologically in line with Catholic teachings. There also has been no sign of a backlash in the heavily Catholic and conservative homeland of the late Pope John Paul II.

Still, Knotz acknowledges that a priest writing a book about sex “is in and of itself a bit of a sensation.”

The book hit stores across Poland last month. The Sw. Pawel publishing house has ordered a reprint after readers quickly snapped up the first 5,000 copies.

The publisher said it is in talks about possible English, Italian and Slovakian translations of the Polish-language book.

Sonoran Science Academy is set to receive $5,000 for winning the Bookmans’ Reading Challenge.

The school, 6880 E. Broadway, had the highest average number of books read per student in a Tucson school.

In February, March and April, the school’s 157 students read 10,476 books, or an average of 67 books a student.

The school was one of 22 in Tucson to participate in the third annual challenge. Tucson students read more than 160,000 books for the challenge. Statewide, students read more than 296,500 books.

Representatives from Bookmans Entertainment Exchange will present the grand prize check at a 9 a.m. Wednesday award ceremony.