An aerial view shows the Rio Nuevo site between "A" Mountain on the left and downtown Tucson on the right.

It’s May, and we’ve just broken the 100-degree mark in the Old Pueblo.

Our cement- and asphalt-laden streets and sidewalks won’t cool off for at least four months, and in the presumed absence of our once glorious “monsoon,” the riverbanks of the Rillito and Santa Cruz will remain barren and dry throughout the summer.

Upon returning to Tucson five years ago, I came to realize that our beautiful summer storms, known as “chubascos,” had all but disappeared.

In my absence, the blades of developers constantly eroded the desert as the octopus of Tucson grew in all directions: north, south, east and west.

Very little summer rain fell here for the first two years after I returned. “Where are they?” I asked, and the answer seemed to be that the rains were driven away by cement and asphalt, as had happened in the Gomorrah to our north, Phoenix.

In my previous incarnation in Tucson, I had always lived downtown.

As I returned in the midst of the real estate boom of 2004, I was surprised at the high cost of housing in the urban core.

However, I saw little improvement downtown to justify such exorbitant home prices.

Armory Park and “Barrio Historico” were still without even one grocery store; the streets were devoid of people; and businesses on Congress Street were boarded up.

The hopes for downtown redevelopment were being marketed in the form of a vague concept called “Rio Nuevo,” a euphemism, I imagined, for some kind of rebirth that would transform our downtown.

Alas, five years later I realize Rio Nuevo is thus far a dead-end street on the other side of a nonexistent Rainbow Bridge to Nowhere.

As the Santa Cruz is dried up and full of litter, Rio Nuevo would better be called Rio Seco (Dry River).

If we renamed Rio Nuevo to Rio Seco, we would understand that our desert is precious, and that it – and its people – must be protected.

Now buzzwords and concepts such as “sustainability” and “green jobs” are thrown around like wet dish towels in the kitchen of our collective mind, but what do these terms mean?

Sure rainwater harvesting is a good idea, but where is the rain?

Golf courses, resorts and roads continue to flourish while the water table sinks. Yet we call this “progress.”

We build border fences to keep out persons who are referred to as “illegals,” yet we historically have relied on such people to dig our trenches, mortar our bricks, harvest our crops and clean our toilets.

The border of our collective mind, which separates “illegals” from the rest of us, prevents us from seeing the future that could be.

Rather than accepting the reality of Rio Seco, we continue to wallow in the delusion of Rio Nuevo.

Rather than stopping expansive development in its tracks, we maintain that we can sustain life while perpetually bulldozing the desert.

Meanwhile, as state, county and city dollars shrink, our social safety net is vanishing.

Services for our most vulnerable – children, victims of abuse and domestic violence, the elderly, the mentally ill and the homeless – disappear daily as agency after agency must come to grips with reality and lay off workers.

In our desert, social Darwinism has met John Wayne: It is the “survival of the fittest” at the OK Corral.

Presumed “illegals” are told to “Go back to Mexico,” and the un- and underemployed are supposed to “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”

By action or inaction, the mantra of our “leaders” in local and state government is: “Government cannot protect you; protect yourself!”

Yet how can we expect the homeless, persons with serious mental illness, survivors/victims of domestic violence, the elderly, children who live below the poverty line, and single mothers struggling to make ends meet in a depressed economy to “make it” without help?

Seemingly, no public funds are available for social programs, but no one is seriously talking about how much money we waste – on the state, county and city levels, on locking up people for relatively low-level crimes.

In the jails and prisons of our collective mind, no one discusses concepts such as “smart policing” and “community corrections.”

Studies have repeatedly shown that police patrols are ineffective in deterring and preventing crime, yet we continue to throw good money after bad.

We do business the way it’s always been done because that is what we are told to do.

There is no creative thinking in public safety land, where jails, prisons and law enforcement are budgetary “sacred cows.”

In the borders of our collective mind, rather than making better use of jail and prison space, we simply assume more is needed.

It is time to take care of people in our midst, to “just say no” to developers, to eliminate “corporate welfare” and to turn off the spigot of endless public dollars designated for nonessential law enforcement services and the unnecessary incarceration of nonviolent offenders.

It is time to create innovative programs that can save taxpayers’ money and serve the needy.

It is time to cut the fat from bloated bureaucracies while stabilizing the humanitarian core of government.

Embrace the concept of Rio Seco, and cast off the delusion of Rio Nuevo!

Michael C. Elsner, Ph.D., teaches sociology and criminology/criminal justice for Northern Arizona University-Tucson and is a principal research specialist with the University of Arizona’s College of Public Health.

Michael C. Elsner

As Rio Nuevo fights to maintain its state funding, it also is waging an internal battle to decide what it wants to be.

When the Rio Nuevo District was approved by voters a decade ago, it promised historic and cultural features on the west side of Interstate 10.

But the museums and re-created historical structures have been placed on hold. Instead, the limited money is being used first to improve the Tucson Convention Center and to build a 25-story convention hotel.

There is a good reason for the change in emphasis. Building the hotel first will increase the revenue base in the Rio Nuevo District.

That means additional money in future years for the cultural and historic features that are essential but won’t bring in as much revenue.

The Legislature has seized on this thinking and proposed that the state mandate that tax-increment financing money be used only for TCC and the hotel.

That is a decision that should be made locally – by members of the Rio Nuevo board. The state shouldn’t be in the business of micromanaging local development moves.

But the group Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace is campaigning to ensure that the cultural and historic features not be delayed indefinitely.

The Rio Nuevo board should publicly commit to building them as soon as fiscally possible.

These are difficult times for Rio Nuevo, with the downtown redevelopment program fighting to prevent a state death sentence as it struggles to define its own mission.

Rio Nuevo and downtown Tucson will survive and will thrive. But the Legislature must let it live long enough to prove that it can be viable when the economy recovers.

With state lawmakers hunting for every available dime, the operations of Rio Nuevo have come under close scrutiny.

The major funding source for the project is tax increment financing, under which a portion of new sales tax revenue generated in a specific area is returned to the city instead of going to the state.

The city of Tucson has made Rio Nuevo an attractive target, with an underwhelming list of projects to show for the millions of dollars that have been spent. So legislators are trying a variety of strangulation tactics to reduce or eliminate the project’s state funding.

And while some reforms are needed, the Legislature must let Rio Nuevo receive its promised funding.

Reducing or eliminating funding would make it impossible for the district to repay bonds that have been sold to renovate the Tucson Convention Center and build a new downtown hotel. A state move to cut off that funding after it has been encumbered likely would be illegal.

But there also is the matter of equity. Maricopa County used a similar funding strategy to build stadiums for professional sports: football in Glendale and baseball in Phoenix. And roads to a Phoenix-area racetrack were improved in the same way.

Tucson won its “right” to TIF money in a deal that also included the Phoenix projects. It would be grossly unfair of the Maricopa County-dominated Legislature to now renege on Pima County projects.

To their substantial credit, Tucson-area legislators of both parties have banded together to save Rio Nuevo funding. They must remain steadfast and not back down as legislative negotiations continue.

Tucson deserves the chance in a recovering economy to show that downtown can be reborn and be a true asset to southern Arizona and to the entire state.

A crane works on the underground Depot Plaza garage downtown.

A parking garage isn’t an icon of culture and beauty, but the structure under way downtown is emblematic of much more.

When the underground Depot Plaza garage is completed behind north of One North Fifth apartments, it will mark the first major accomplishment in the Rio Nuevo downtown rehabilitation program.

Soon, that $13.5 million, 283-space subterranean parking spot is expected to be completed.

Then work can commence on a six-story public housing tower above to provide 68 units for low-income elderly and for disabled residents.

Tucson long has waited for visible signs of progress with Rio Nuevo, and setbacks and inadequate leadership have resulted in repeated delays.

Now concrete evidence of progress is here, giving us something to celebrate – even if it is merely a parking garage.

Closing a street for construction work can be a crushing financial blow for businesses there.

But the city of Tucson and a contractor working downtown have shown that cooperation pays off.

Scott Avenue south of East Broadway has been closed for several months to narrow the street and widen the sidewalks. Foliage, benches and better lighting were among the pedestrian-friendly amenities added.

Businesses along Scott, including the Arizona Theatre Co. and the Royal Elizabeth Bed & Breakfast Inn, have survived the work with minimal disruption because of a good working relationship with the city and employees from Archer Western Contractors.

That’s encouraging. And it should be a model for future downtown work.

Recent news about downtown Tucson has ranged from uncertain to grim. But there are bright signs, and one of the brightest is Maynards Market.

The market in the Historic Depot, 400 E. Toole Ave., is a project of Hotel Congress owners Shana and Richard Oseran. They also own Maynards Kitchen, a restaurant in the depot.

Maynards Market has been open for only two months but has developed a loyal customer base. Shoppers come for the local products that are carried.

“People are really yearning for something to happen downtown,” Shana Oseran said this week.

Indeed they are. And that gives downtown redevelopment efforts a built-in fan base. Maynards is showing that downtown is happening.

One of the first orders of business for the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose District Facilities Board is finding someone to run Rio Nuevo.

Greg Shelko, who was Rio Nuevo director for the city, will be out of a job June 30. His position was eliminated in the city budget.

Shelko had a good grasp on the many aspects of Rio Nuevo. But when he went to Phoenix to testify before the Legislature about the downtown projects, he didn’t have some necessary information and his performance was underwhelming.

It will be up to the Rio Nuevo board – the people now in charge – to find a director who will engender confidence in the project. That is important, but it will be difficult.

The city’s desperate attempts to fend off legislative tampering with Rio Nuevo are making the operation look even more haphazard.

The move to shuffle operation of downtown redevelopment from the city back to the little-known, largely inactive Rio Nuevo Multipurpose District Facilities Board will not persuade legislative foes that real change is occurring.

Instead, the move is likely to be seen for what it is: a cosmetic facade change that doesn’t address the core problems, i.e., a drifting set of priorities delayed and derailed by a sour economic hole deeper and vaster than anyone could have foreseen.

Rio Nuevo is not sinking. But it clearly is adrift.

A brief history lesson: Rio Nuevo was launched in 1999 using tax increment financing in which a portion of new sales tax revenue in an area is diverted from the state to the Rio Nuevo district – essentially downtown.

From the onset, the district board asked the city to operate Rio Nuevo to avoid avoid hiring staff members, some of whom would duplicate city employees.

The city manager became executive director of the Rio Nuevo district; the city finance director became the district treasurer; and the City Council, its operating board.

When legislators expressed dissatisfaction with progress, the City Council panicked. City Manager Mike Hein was thrown overboard last week. And the council tossed responsibility for Rio Nuevo back to the district board. Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic comes to mind.

The board hadn’t met since Dec. 2. Dan Eckstrom, a board member for nine months, had yet to attend his first meeting. Nonetheless, board members hastily called a meeting last week. Its four members immediately adjourned into a legally iffy closed executive session to figure out what to do next.

When the public was allowed back in, board member Jeff DiGregorio called for “better transparency and better accountability.” That would be a good first step. But meeting behind closed doors engenders neither transparency nor accountability.

The legislative wolves are baying at Rio Nuevo’s door, demanding progress. Firing the city manager and shuffling operation of Rio Nuevo to a well-meaning but inactive board won’t cut it.

The city cannot be totally removed from Rio Nuevo decisions. But the district board must take an active leadership role. In doing so, it must remember that voters approved the district based on promises of cultural attractions west of downtown – attractions that now have been back-burnered.

Move ahead with expansion of the Tucson Convention Center. Begin construction of a convention hotel. Use new revenue from those projects to resurrect the museums and other cultural amenities.

This now has become a desperate lifesaving effort – and unless the Legislature can be persuaded the patient is worth saving, the prognosis is not encouraging.

The original Walgreens building at 44 N. Stone Ave. ...

It may not be the downtown redevelopment many are hoping for, but it’s a start.

Facade work to restore the original 1929 look of the former Walgreens at 44 N. Stone Ave. could begin this week.

Pima County owns the building, and restoring it will make it more salable to the private sector.

Many downtown buildings have facades from the early-20th century hidden under bland 1940s and 1950s skins. In addition to the former Walgreens, three other downtown buildings will have facades restored using county bond money.

There are some magnificent buildings in hiding downtown. It will be refreshing to have them re-emerge.

... and how that former Walgreens looks today.

When Janos Wilder moved his award-winning Janos restaurant out of downtown 11 years ago, some said it was the death of downtown.

So now that Wilder is returning to downtown, does that represent a rebirth for the area? Maybe so.

Wilder is chef and owner of Janos and J Bar in the foothills at The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa.

He staying there, but Wilder also is opening a new restaurant, bar and demonstration kitchen on the southwest corner of East Congress Street and Fifth Avenue. He hopes to have it open this fall.

Wilder said he is returning because “there are great things going on downtown.” We agree.

And with Wilder there, maybe others will be tempted to see what else downtown has to offer.

Construction workers continue work on the Scott Avenue streetscape which is the first phase of downtown infastructure work that will move to Congress Street in coming months to replace and move utility lines beneath the street to make way for street car tracks.

A new and slimmed-down face is coming to South Scott Avenue and will give downtown pedestrians more foot room.

The traffic lanes of Scott are being dramatically narrowed from Broadway south to the Temple of Music and Art. Room for cars will be replaced with wider sidewalks, trees, bushes and benches within about a month.

There also will be early 20th century light posts to give the street a pedestrian-friendly ambiance, leading up to the historic performance temple.

Downtowns have historically been havens for people, not automobiles. The work on Scott is the first step in making several downtown streets more welcoming for people on foot.

We’re glad to see the change.

Some members of the Legislature, angered by slow progress of Rio Nuevo, are threatening to cancel the agreement that funds it.

It would be a serious mistake that would decimate the Tucson economy while also bringing financial harm to the state.

Rio Nuevo has had problems – but killing it is not the way to fix it. Instead, lawmakers should impose strict accountability rules on Rio Nuevo spending – something the city should have done on its own.

Any such rules should also make Rio Nuevo funding far more transparent so ordinary citizens of Tucson can look for themselves and see where money has been spent.

Rio Nuevo should continue receiving funds, but with a solid eye on the bottom line.

Battered by an unforgiving world economic crisis the likes of which hasn’t been seen for eight decades, Rio Nuevo is going back to its basics.

Museums – seen as a way to attract out-of-town visitors and celebrate Arizona’s centennial in three years – have been put on hold.

Instead, limited funds are being earmarked for projects that will generate money – a decision that makes sense but will be tough for some to accept.

Much of the funding for Rio Nuevo comes from tax-increment financing. The city keeps a share of increased sales tax revenue collected downtown and along East Broadway – revenue that usually would be sent to the state.

The numbers tell the grim story: Money from the tax has plunged from $16 million in 2006 to $8.6 million in 2008. Bonds have been sold so work can commence on Rio Nuevo without waiting for all the revenue to come in – but with sharply decreased revenue available to repay those bonds, the work must be delayed or scaled back.

Given that, City Manager Mike Hein did the right thing when he put on hold construction of Mission San Agustin, the University of Arizona Science Center/State Museum, the Arizona History Museum and the Tucson Children’s Museum.

Instead, the limited money will be used in and around the Tucson Convention Center – mostly for a new arena and convention center hotel.

That’s not popular with West Side advocates – but it’s logical.

Those projects should make TCC and downtown far more salable to conventions, trade shows, performances, sporting events and large meetings – all of which would bring new revenue into the tax increment financing pot.

But it is crucial that the museums not be forgotten. They were the key element in winning voter approval of Rio Nuevo almost a decade ago and remain an important promise to residents living west of Interstate 10.

The goal was to build not only a thriving retail and commercial district, but also a tribute to Tucson’s storied past. The museums and historic re- creations were to fill that role.

The modern streetcar line that will run from north of the University of Arizona through downtown and west of I-10 is key to joining the museum campus to the rest of downtown.

So it was helpful for City Councilwoman Regina Romero to insist that her colleagues include language ensuring that work will continue on a bridge the streetcar will use to cross the Santa Cruz River.

The museums are not dead, only waiting for economy to catch up with the plans.

Rio Nuevo is struggling – partly because the city has not maintained a clear vision, but mostly because the economy has worked against it.

Focusing on convention- and business-related projects now will ensure a strong financial base when the recession ends.

Chuck Huckelberry has come up with a good plan to get work started on a long-delayed downtown court complex.

Huckelberry, the Pima County administrator, has proposed that the complex be built in two phases. The first would be started next year and suit court needs until 2018. The second phase would be built before 2028.

Tucson Municipal and Pima County Justice courts are working in cramped and outdated facilities. The new complex is badly needed, but ballooning costs delayed construction.

Much of the unexpected cost came from unearthing and reburying the remains of 1,100 people interred in a cemetery dating to the earliest days of Tucson.

By erecting the complex in phases, costs can be held down and the building expanded as needed.

Council move to alter priorities should mean more money for museums, other projects

Rebuilding the Fourth Avenue underpass should be completed by the end of 2009.

The Tucson City Council has wisely changed the priority of some downtown projects – a change that should mean more money in the long term for Rio Nuevo.

The move was driven partially by the University of Arizona’s decision to delay construction of its Science Center/State Museum complex because of budget cuts.

Under the change, bonds that were sold for the museums instead will be used to build a streetcar line extending from University Medical Center through downtown and west of Interstate 10. The line is a badly needed link to encourage people to live downtown with an easy commute to the UA area.

Bond proceeds also will be used for development in conjunction with a new hotel at the Tucson Convention Center. That makes a lot of sense.

The amount of state tax money flowing to Rio Nuevo is based on sales taxes collected within the district. If the city can attract more retail with the completed streetcar line and build a hotel that attracts more conventions, it will mean more sales tax revenue to be used for later projects – including the UA museums.

Rio Nuevo is at a crossroads – as it has been several times in the past – as it struggles because of a sagging economy and fights to retain state funding.

It is easy to make a quick pass through downtown, become a Rio Nuevo sidewalk supervisor and come away with a list of things that are not happening.

The long-planned convention hotel has not been built. The Post, a high-end residential development on East Congress Street that has been in the works for years, has not been built. Ditto for the housing development once known as Presidio Terrace near the Tucson Museum of Art.

Land has been cleared for a city-county courthouse, but nothing is going up. Museums planned for the west side of Interstate 10 are on hold.

All true.

But that is an unfair and incomplete assessment of downtown Tucson. There are things happening; there is investment being made by both the public and private sectors.

Downtown redevelopment is under way, though not as quickly or as comprehensively as planned. Some of that can be blamed on the city, which has moved in fits and starts and has, at times, lacked a consistent message.

But most of the delay can be blamed on the global recession, which has crippled construction and investment everywhere. Until that turns around, downtown Tucson will struggle.

Rio Nuevo has lurched forward in fits and starts. But downtown Tucson has a lot going for it. It is the economic center of Tucson, is ringed by historic neighborhoods, already is home to about 13,000 people, has a solid base of public and private investment and has land and buildings ready for development or reuse.

What we now call downtown is where Tucson was born. And it again will be the city’s heart.