MARK KIMBLE

bstanton@tucsoncitizen.com

I can’t complain. It was a good run. There aren’t many people who have the opportunity to do what they truly love and to do it in one place for 34 years.

That’s how my career went at the Tucson Citizen – from Dec. 16, 1974, until May 15, 2009.

Some of you I will miss. Others, not so much.

At the top of the “miss” list are the people I work with. The job has been fun mostly because the people have been fun.

These pages wouldn’t be here without Billie Stanton. She’s to my right today, but in reality, she isn’t to the right of anyone. She’s impassioned and would right every wrong in the world if she had the time.

In the four months since we first were threatened with closure, we’ve know that there are a lot of people who care.

Bishop Gerald Kicanas was one of the first to call and say he was thinking of us. There also have been legislators and former legislators, City Council members and former council members and many others.

But what touched me most were the kind notes from those of you I have never met. Most offered words of support and said how much they will miss us.

Typical was a comment left online yesterday by a reader I know only as rubysky: “I hope the staffers are OK. These are our neighbors and fellow citizens.”

Others had different concerns.

I was slightly hurt when one caller was more concerned about Brenda Starr’s future than mine. How, the reader wondered, would she be able to keep up with the red-haired reporter?

I resisted telling her that Brenda was fictional and I was real and she should be a little more concerned about my future.

Oh, well. Good luck, Brenda.

I also won’t miss those people who have called or e-mailed almost every day over the past four months to point at something in the paper they didn’t like, saying, “This story is why you are closing.”

Some said it’s because we’re too liberal, some say it’s because we run too many conservative Cal Thomas screeds.

One even said we were gonna close because we ran a short story on Martha Stewart’s puppy being accidentally killed in a kennel.

I actually think the reasons were bigger than that, but who knows?

I also won’t miss the guy who called every Feb. 6 to castigate us for not running a front-page story reminding people it was Ronald Reagan’s birthday. And what would the second sentence of the story have been?

It’s been fun, this journalism business. Thanks for letting me be a part of it.

Contact Mark Kimble at mskimble@cox.net.

The story: In a guest opinion, Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham wrote that it’s time to move on and halt investigations into the Bush administration’s use of coercive interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists.

Your take: A split verdict, but generally disagreement with the “it’s over, move on” viewpoint.

leftfield was unambigious: “First we hang Cheney by his toes, then we waterboard him 83 times, then we send him to Swat Valley wrapped in an American flag. Then we move on.”

Priscilla replied: “If so, then we do the same to Pelosi and all her Democrat gang as well as Repubs who approved of waterboarding, who voted yes to the war in Iraq and who, for votes and power, sold this country out.”

ldonyo thought it was a curious position for one of the authors: “McCain advocating torture and holding people without charging them with anything. I guess he didn’t learn a thing in five years as a ‘guest’ of the Hanoi Hilton.”

demospolis is suspicious of everyone in power: “Politicians like John McCain/Obama rule with contempt for the rights/economic justice of common citizens.”

2865 was not bothered by the interrogation techniques: “To win a fight, any fight, you have to be willing to be at least a shade crazier and a shade less ethical than your opponent.”

Compiled by MARK KIMBLE

mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com

MOST-VIEWED

LOCAL NEWS STORIES

For Wednesday, May 13

1Mexican shoppers add $1B to Tucson economy.

2Obama considering Napolitano for Supreme Court.

3City OKs deal for $167 million convention center hotel.

The big debate:

Torture: Time to move on?

It is certainly an unusual Tucson business – one that sells vacuum-packed dead cats: $44 for one or 10 for $415.

The company, which doesn’t kill the cats but buys them from shelters where the felines were euthanized, supplies the animals to be dissected by medical students.

And although the business tries to keep a low profile, a recent report by a national animal rights group criticized its operations and has led to death threats against the firm’s president.

The company is Delta Biological, which is based in Tucson and operates out of a couple of unsigned buildings in an industrial area on Tucson’s South Side.

Peter Reinthal, president of the company, said Delta does everything possible to ensure the dead cats it buys were treated and euthanized humanely.

But a new report “Dying to Learn” by the American Anti-Vivisection Society on the use of live and dead dogs and cats in classrooms, says that because Delta buys dead cats from Mexican pounds, it can’t be sure how they were treated or killed.

It wouldn’t be necessary to bring dead cats in from Mexico if the Pima Animal Care Center would sell the cats it euthanizes instead of burying them, says Reinthal.

He won’t say how many dead cats his company sells, but says the 6,000 stray and unwanted ones that Pima County euthanized last year would more than supply the company’s annual needs.

“They would rather have them go into the landfill than use them for educational purposes,” Reinthal said.

It’s not a very pleasant debate and it’s based almost entirely on emotion. The cats already are dead, so why not use them to teach medical students?

The Anti-Vivisection Society says there are alternatives to using live and dead dogs and cats for teaching – alternatives used by almost half of the nation’s medical schools.

And Delta’s “practice of obtaining cats from Mexico for sale in the United States is questionable,” according to the Dying to Learn report.

American animal shelters hold stray cats longer before euthanizing them than shelters in Mexico, said Laura Ducceschi, director of Animalearn, the educational division of the Anti-Vivisection Society.

And Mexican euthanasia methods are often “a lot more inhumane,” she said.

Ducceschi said she has “significant concerns” about Delta’s operations, adding, “The average student doesn’t really know they are dissecting a cat that may have been treated inhumanely in Mexico.”

Not so, responds Reinthal. All of the dead cats sold by Delta “are obtained legally and euthanized under guidelines of the American Veterinary Council,” he said. “We make sure our sources are 100 percent legal and ethical.”

But the issue is far larger than how the cats were cared for and how they were euthanized.

“They have a definite biased slant,” Reinthal said of the Anti-Vivisection Society. “They are out to promote their political agenda.”

Ducceschi doesn’t disagree, saying her group is opposed to “trading animal cadavers for profit.”

In addition to cats, Delta sells dead pigeons, fish, grasshoppers, mink, rabbits, rats and fetal pigs as well as various invertebrates such as jellyfish and sponges.

Reinthal says he doesn’t want to get involved in the political discussion about whether dissecting such creatures is necessary to properly train students.

“I’m not pro-dissection or anti-dissection,” he said, adding that students should have the option of not taking part in dissections.

But because the issue is so politically charged, Delta doesn’t advertise its location. Its plain white building has only a small “Office” sign on the door. In a compound enclosed by a fence topped with barbed wire, there are scores of drums of chemicals. A keypad is required to enter.

After Delta was identified in the Dying to Learn report, Reinthal received a half-dozen e-mailed threats. One, filled with obscenities, threatened to “cut you open and see what you look like and peel your skin off. . . . I wish I could send people to kill you hurting animals is wrong.”

Reinthal turned the threats over to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, but it’s not clear if anything will be done.

When I first heard about Delta’s business, I was shocked. I hesitate to kill bugs and I carry spiders outside, so selling dead cats seemed disgusting.

But is it less disgusting to throw those dead cats in a landfill when a medical student may be able to learn something from it?

I wish there was an easy answer.

Mark Kimble appears at 6:30 p.m. Fridays on the Roundtable segment of “Arizona Illustrated” on KUAT-TV, Channel 6.

He may be reached by e-mail at mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com or by calling 573-4662.

The story: Business owners say a Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 19 north of Tubac is killing tourism and costing millions of dollars in home sales.

Your take: Too bad.

The checkpoint is needed “to slow down the invasion,” 2161 said, adding, “Either get used to the idea or move somewhere else.”

A more-sympathetic noah 1 said, “That checkpoint should be before Rio Rico, and the Border Patrol should concentrate more on these alternate routes most of which are not even on a map.”

Added leftfield, “Let’s just blame the drug mules instead of looking at ourselves and wondering why we as a nation consume monumental quantities of drugs.”

Spirit of Zenger didn’t buy the claims that real estate sales are hurt by the checkpoint: “Lazy Realtors cannot sell houses like they did in the hot inflated market, and second, the market still stinks and will for some time.”

As to claims that the checkpoint is hurting Tubac businesses, some members of the Tucson Citizen’s online community had different thoughts.

“Maybe it’s the overpriced artwork that keeps some of us from actually stopping,” postulated RocketSmoke.

And JazzCruise wrote, “People are buying food for their families instead of the wind chimes and coyote statues offered in Tubac shops.”

Compiled by MARK KIMBLE

mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com

The big debate:

Checkpoint divides Tubac

MOST-VIEWED

LOCAL NEWS STORIES

For Tuesday, May 12

1 Cats turn to Cowboys to boost Gronkowski’s yield.

2 Tucson home prices fall 20 percent.

3 2 TUSD schools opt to go without principals to meet state budget cuts.

Compiled by MARK KIMBLE

mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com

The story: Tucson officials estimate a transfer station opened by Waste Management will siphon 100,000 tons of trash and $3 million in revenue from the city. So city trash fees may have to be increased.

Your take: Everything the city touches turns into a mess. Let private companies who know trash handle it.

“Government shouldn’t be in the trash business,” proclaims eman (who adds, “The Citizen is also in the tank for the lying, cheating City Council.” OK, then.)

massmonster says, “These people are running this city to the ground and all they want is more taxpayers’ money for every little thing that goes wrong.”

But Music One calls Waste Management “the Titans Of Trash” and say costs will climb higher if it takes over the city business.

Purist has another money-saving proposal: “I see no discussion of eliminating the recycle program. This is the real drag on the cost of garbage pickup. I know, I know, it makes some feel good!”

However, Anony says trash fees are reasonable, compared with what other cities charge. “I’m not happy about paying it either, but in comparison, it’s a good deal. . . . Get a grip on reality, people.”

Finally, Bugmenot confidently predicts, “Tony Soprano will fix it.”

MOST-VIEWED

LOCAL NEWS STORIES

For Monday, May 11

1 City trash fees likely increasing due to competition.

2 3 killed, including 1 Tucsonan, in head-on crash near Florence.

3 Our Opinion: Obama move halts pointless, devastating border fence.

Compiled by MARK KIMBLE

mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com

1 N.Y. shooting guard to play for Wildcats: University of Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller has not been here long but is aggressively grabbing players. The latest: Kevin Parrom, 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward from Bronx, N.Y. Parrom is the first UA recruit from the New York area since Khalid Reeves of Queens led the Wildcats to the 1994 Final Four.

2 Grijalva, 10 others want apology from Dupnik for immigration comments: U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva and other politicians demanded an apology from Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. He suggested that maybe schools should check students’ citizenship. Update: No apology, says Dupnik: “Who am I supposed to apologize to, illegal aliens?”

3 Wildcat blog: Tough times for 2 ex-UA football players: Dallas Cowboys kicker Nick Folk is recovering from surgery to repair a torn cartilage in his hip. And the Washington Redskins cut rookie free-agent linebacker Ronnie Palmer after signing him five days earlier.

4 2 area students among 6 with swine flu in Pima County: Four people on the Tohono O’odham Nation and two in the Tucson area came down with swine flu, also known as H1N1. All have recovered. Update: County tally hits 22 Thursday.

5 Arizona bill would bar gun bans for parked vehicles: A bill in the Legislature pits gun owners’ rights against private property rights. The bill would permit gun owners to keep legally owned weapons in their locked, privately owned vehicles while parked on private property where guns are prohibited.

The story: Tucson could be a major international transportation hub, under a plan advanced by Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities.

Your take: Just keep the city and the City Council away from it.

Typical was this from corazondeldiablo: “Tucson can’t do anything right so why would this project be any different?”

And ocotillosunset said, “Tucson a transportation hub? More like a gridlock hub. We cannot even manage city traffic effectively. And we have no viable freeway plan for the future. City Council is a pathetic joke!”

3795 says there is a better place for such a port. “The good money is on the Picacho area where the Union Pacific Railroad will ultimately build a classification yard. Its proximity to Phoenix, I-10 and I-8 serving San Diego, Los Angeles and various Mexican ports of entry make it an ideal location free of meddlesome cities such as Tucson.”

Maxwell wondered about the problems such a port may cause. “In the name of money are we so willing to give up our peace and quiet?”

Support came from handslikeclouds who said, “I like this one. It sounds easy, straightforward and doable.”

And izzyeddy wrote, “Sounds like a great idea. A lot of people will have new, good-paying jobs” – and then referred to the “clowncil” and “Stupidvisors.”

The port’s proposed name – Puerto Nuevo – struck some as reminiscent of Rio Nuevo. “Another program with Nuevo in the title and they think it’s going to be different from the other Nuevo?!?!,” wrote pokerpalooza.

Compiled by MARK KIMBLE

mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com

The big debate:

Tucson as an inland port

MOST-VIEWED

LOCAL STORIES

For Thursday, May 7

1 Steve Rivera column: Cats may not need Stephenson to succeed.

2 Wildcat blog: Tough times for two ex-UA football players.

3 Council likes pitch to make Tucson inland port, transportation hub.

No, it can’t hurt. Forming one more group to promote education, one more group that says schools are being shortchanged, having one more group to try to hammer some common sense into the thick skulls of state legislators can’t hurt.

It may actually do some good. I hope so. But I doubt it.

There have been so many of those groups that I can’t possibly remember them all. And now that state budget cuts are threatening education, the groups are proliferating.

Expect More Arizona is the latest, and it seems well organized and well funded with about $2 million available. It has a nice letterhead, a professional logo and an impressive chocolate and teal color scheme.

Its slogan is “Ready Kids. Ready Graduates. Ready Workforce.” You’ve probably seem the ads placed in a number of newspapers around the state, including this one.

In one ad, several people are standing in front of a school bus with the headline, “What We Put Into Education Determines What We Get Out Of It.” (They’re Big On Capitalizing Words For No Particular Reason.)

Maybe this group will be the one that changes everything in Arizona. But probably not.

And here’s why: The problem in Arizona is not how much money is spent for schools. The problem is the people who decide how much money will be spent for schools.

Polls show that Arizonans want more money for education. In the past we’ve willingly raised taxes to put more money into schools. And a recent statewide poll say we would support a temporary 1 percent sales tax increase. Presumably some of that money would go to schools.

But then look at the Legislature, where about one-third of the members haven’t attended college. Neither did Gov. Jan Brewer.

College isn’t the answer for everything and everyone. But with a third of the people who make decisions not even exposed to college, it’s tough to persuade them it’s worth the money.

We are never going to change their minds. So if we want to change the attitudes of Arizona leaders, we’ve got to change the Arizona leaders.

And that’s where groups such as Expect More Arizona fall short. They step up to the plate, take a couple of impressive practice swings, then stand there with the bat on their shoulder and watch three strikes whiz by.

Paul J. Luna, chairman of the oversight board of Expect More Arizona, describes the group as “nonpartisan, nonpolitical.” That’s the problem. This is an issue that is decidedly partisan and political.

Luna said the group will “create public awareness of increasing funding for education in Arizona.” That’s fine. So I’m aware. But what next?

Educating people about education problems will go only so far. To make any substantive changes, the people making the decisions need to be changed. As in replaced.

And that is something Expect More Arizona is not planning to do.

Luna said, “The perception of Arizona is that we are not an education state.” Why is that the perception? Because it’s true. Education is just not that important to the people who make decisions on where to spend the money.

But Luna said Expect More Arizona will stop at educating voters. It won’t take the next step and endorse pro-education candidates or urge the defeat of anti-education candidates or get involved in campaigns.

It may be the right decision from a practical standpoint. Once a group becomes a political action committee, donations to it are not tax-deductible.

But it is not the right decision from a policy standpoint. It’s not the right way to make changes.

Educating people about an issue goes only so far. At some point, you’ve got to admit they aren’t going to learn and need to be replaced. And that’s where we are today in Arizona.

Mark Kimble appears at 6:30 p.m. Fridays on the Roundtable segment of “Arizona Illustrated” on KUAT-TV, Channel 6. He may be reached by e-mail at mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com or by calling 573-4662.

ON THE WEB

For more information about Expect More Arizona, go to: www.ExpectMoreArizona.org

Compiled by MARK KIMBLE

mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com

The story: National Rifle Association members meet in Phoenix as gun owners fear the administration may be out to strip them of their firearms.

Your take: Controversy covers Second Amendment rights and the NRA’s role in protecting them or allowing dangerous weapons on the street, depending on your viewpoint.

“If it wasn’t for the strong NRA, the liberals would have eliminated the Second Amendment,” wrote ttboy.

To which ldonyo replied, “Your Second Amendment rights aren’t being threatened by anyone outside of your own head.”

Towken1 was not dissuaded, saying that President Obama is out to repeal the Second Amendment, but, “Fortunately, states are stepping in and are taking measures to prevent the head Nutjob from succeeding in his quest to ruin the USA.”

colemanok noted: “The president of the United States cannot amend the Constitution. He is not even part of the process.”

Taxpayr asked, “Why is the NRA always treated as something sinister or an evil object? Why is it never described as the millions and millions of your neighbors, co-workers, your child’s teachers or your doctor?”

And ptb, who identified himself as “a proud gunowner,” tried to play peacemaker: “If we could collaborate to find a solution, everyone would be happier.”

MOST-VIEWED

LOCAL STORIES

For Monday, May 4

1 N.Y. shooting guard to play for Wildcats.

2 2 area students among 6 with swine flu in Pima County.

3 One-vehicle crash kills Tucson teen.

1 Phoenix school closes after swine flu case: The deadly virus, which doesn’t come from swine, dominated the news nationally and locally. By week’s end, Arizona had four confirmed cases of the flu – all Maricopa County schoolchildren. Test results in 52 more suspected cases were expected soon.

2 Dupnik: Citizenship checks of students would ease social woes: Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik surprised many when he said checking the citizenship of students when they enroll in school would remove a flaw in border security and could deter immigrants from crossing the border illegally. Such checking now is prohibited.

3 Rethinking versus reloading: My Tucson columnist Bobby Burns said owning a gun is the American way in Tucson, where gun shops can’t keep enough ammunition on their shelves. Burns wasn’t calling for gun control, but some readers suspected he was.

4 Texas QB returning home to play for Wildcats: Matt Brown was born in Tucson, and he is returning as a quarterback. The Allen (Texas) High School standout moved away when he was 3. He will return to play for the University of Arizona.

5 Cops’ efforts cutting crime rates, calls at apartment complexes: When Tucson police threatened to seize apartment complexes where crime was tolerated, landlords paid attention. In four of the six complexes that were infested with crime, owners worked with police to show dramatic reductions. The other two complexes remain works-in-progress.

Compiled by MARK KIMBLE

mkimble@tucsoncitizen.com