By Senator Al Melvin,
Legislative District 26

Recent articles about my proposed education fund and related spent nuclear fuel recycling program have produced some uninformed and negative reactionary responses.  I urge everyone in the media, political arena and the voting public to educate themselves about this important subject.

First, commercial recycling of used nuclear fuel has a long and successful history, mostly outside of the United States. The French company AREVA has successfully managed a recycling complex for more than forty years.

Second, approximately 60,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel are stored at nuclear reactor sites never designed for storing such material.  Deep geologic salt beds are the recommended sites for retrievable storage of spent nuclear fuel.  To maximize storage capacity at the site, it makes sense to co-locate a recycling facility at the storage site. In terms of mass, 96% of the used fuel is reusable.  As with so many other materials it makes environmental sense to recycle the used fuel.

Why would a community want to host a nearby recycling site? Let’s look at Carlsbad, New Mexico, which entered into a partnership with the Department of Energy, the State of New Mexico and a company called URS to build the first Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) for nuclear materials storage.  Carlsbad sits at the southern end of the Permian Salt Basin.  This partnership resulted in a storage facility 2,150 feet below ground.  I’ve been there to visit the facility and it is a marvelous site.  The WIPP consortium employs more than 1,000 people and brings in $250 million annually to Carlsbad.  What problems have arisen due to WIPP?  None.  In fact, unemployment there has been just above 4% over the past years while national unemployment surpassed 9%.  As of my visit to Carlsbad last month, more than 700 jobs were unfilled and developers could not keep up with housing demand.

Arizona has an opportunity to build a recycling and storage facility that will bring the host community $500 million annually over 50 years, create 18,000 construction jobs over a ten year period, with 5,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs, post-construction.

As an added benefit, we can dedicate part of the revenue stream to K-12 and Universities.  The proposed AZ Energy-Education Fund will generate a minimum of $100 million a year for 50 years for education in our state, over and above what we are now spending.  We have already met with representatives from K-12, Universities, the Arizona Department of Education, power companies, technical experts and others, and these ideas have been well received.

Arizonans should understand that this is not a project that can or will be rushed.  It is likely to be a ten-year process between planning, site determination, working with the local communities to make a proper presentation, and passing the needed legislation at the State and Federal levels, all before we can break ground.

The naysayers have already begun sniping at the idea.  These people have been overreacting to the ghost of “China Syndrome” for too long.  The United States, France and other countries have long established safety records with nuclear materials.  The United States Navy has operated nuclear powered submarines and aircraft carriers for 50 years without incident.  New Mexico’s WIPP facility has received nearly 11,000 shipments since 2000, without incident.

Arizona has a number of sites that contain (1) remoteness, (2) deep geologic salt formations and (3) existing transportation infrastructure.   It is time to let potential host communities nearest these sites make the decision.  If the people say ‘yes’, the community benefits, education benefits and all Arizonans benefit.

For more information on the Arizona Energy-Education Fund, go to www.azedcoalition.org  You’ll find the latest information on the Fund and links to The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future and media coverage of the topic.

By Christina Cruz
Tagline Media Group

Got Junk for Jesus is a charity that collects unwanted vehicles throughout Southern Arizona, refurbishes them and provides them to families in need of transportation.  We would like to share with you the story of a remarkable organization and the remarkable people they assist.

Denise (not her real name) lost her mom when she was a mere seven years old. She grew up in foster care homes in Las Vegas. Some foster parents are not as family-oriented and loving as we might assume they are. As a result, when Denise learned that she could be declared an adult, she arranged to be “emancipated’ by the courts. This young 15 year old girl, in a spirit of hope and survival, freed herself from the far too often flawed foster care system.

Denise was easy prey, at her tender age, to the predators in the adult world. She tried to live with friends and stay safe, but soon an older man who promised security, became her “boyfriend.” Soon enough, her “boyfriend” turned into her boss. It turns out that he was really a pimp. Denise was broke, on her own, without anyone or anything except her “boyfriend.” In that same spirit of survival, she figured she really had no choices left for survival, so she went to “work” for him.

Due to her youth and inexperience Denise was naively pleased with her success and the rewards of her hard work. She went from having nothing to being able to buy anything and everything she wanted. She prostituted for about seven years, and during that time she was arrested over and over again. It got to a point where the police knew her by name, as did the casinos she frequented, which started to bar her from their premises.

During this time, with only the guidance of her “boyfriend” upon which to rely, Denis gave birth to two children. However, her core values made her realize that she did not want to raise her kids in this environment. Realizing she’d be facing years of jail time if her life went on like this, Denise started thinking to herself that there must be a better life…a better way.

During her “working” days, Denise was looking for a way out. A friend told her about an organization called Hookers for Jesus (hookersforjesus.net). There, she says, she learned that with God in her life, she wouldn’t need a pimp to protect her, or a “man” to take care of her. Denise, and other women in her position, say that the pimps brainwash them into thinking they can’t make it without them, but Hookers for Jesus showed them that God could be their “Man” – and their savior.

Denise found another Way, she found God. From that point on, she saw another way to live life. That included changing her life completely. She needed to leave Las Vegas, and her old friends. Denise had nowhere to go to get a fresh start, and no way to get there. She knew that she would have to keep “working” to raise enough money to get out of town.

The father of her children, who was also her pimp had a strong hold on her and was not inclined to let go.

One day, her pimp was arrested. Denise saw her opportunity to save her children. So, while he was in jail Denise took his car keys and left everything behind.

Denise ended up in Tucson even though that was not her plan. She was trying to make it somewhere else but the car broke down in Tucson, so she checked into a women’s shelter and ended up excelling in the shelter’s program. Denise became involved with Arizona’s Department of Economic Security, and recently, through one of their programs, obtained her GED. A job soon followed, at a local call center (where she’s been working for the last six months), and she’s almost got enough money saved to get her own apartment.

A representative from Got Junk for Jesus said, “Yeah, we’re going to give her a car, and my friend, along with his family, are going to provide Denise and her three little ones with some clothes and presents for Christmas!”

Denise is doing really well these days. She’s such a smart girl, who at the age of 24, is well kept and well spoken. No one would guess that she had anything less than a wonderful childhood. She accepts full responsibility for the decisions she’s made. She knows that she is still a work in progress, who has come of the dark, and into the light.

Got Junk for Jesus, a Non-Profit 501 3(c) charity, calls upon the community to lend a hand to this amazing young woman, as she walks the path to a productive life.

Christina Cruz, a native Tucsonan, is an advertising adviser specializing in Internet Marketing and Social Media and Public Relations for TagLine Media Group. She serves on many non-profit boards throughout the community, including the Tucson Police Foundation, Midvale Park Neighborhood Association SNAPP and several others.

By Steve Kozachik and Sharon Bronson

Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF) are the primary source of funds available to Cities and Counties throughout the State to be used for the repair and maintenance of our roadways. The State charges a variety of transportation related fees and collects a tax on motor fuels, keeps some of the revenue and distributes by formula the remaining dollars to localities.

By Statute, Cities and Counties are precluded from collecting similar fees and taxes. We are dependent on the good faith of the State to keep its part of the bargain and return to us the dollars we are due.
At least, that’s the script. The actors at the Legislature aren’t reading their lines.

The formula is supposed to be that the State keeps 50.3% of the funds collected, Cities receive 27.5% of the money, and Counties are to receive 19% of the funds. The final 3% is to be distributed to Cities with populations in excess of 300,000.

Since the 2009 election, the State has swept $373 million in HURF money State-wide, and has shifted it to paying for other budget line items at that State level.

These past two years aren’t the anomaly. The fact is that every year for the past 12 fiscal years, the State has swept HURF money into their own coffers, to the tune of almost $1.5 billion of your dollars.

Those sweeps took place under the leadership of both Republicans and Democrats. Perhaps you’ve noticed the impact on the quality of the roads on which you’re driving in both the City and in the County.

In 2007, Pima County received $44.5M in HURF dollars. In 2010 that figure had dropped to $38M. That same comparison for the city is just under $50M in 2007 and right at $43M in 2010.  The City took another $5M hit in fiscal year ’12. The County took another $4.2M hit that same year.

Both jurisdictions are anticipating the trend continuing into the 2013 fiscal year. The condition of our roadways is a public safety issue, an issue that impacts tourism, and inhibits our ability to recruit and attract private sector investment into the area.

We believe that every State Legislator who represents any portion of Pima County, including the City of Tucson should be actively resisting any further reductions in the HURF allocations to this region. In fact, the State should refund the dollars that have been swept from the Pima County and City of Tucson taxpayers so our elected governing bodies can be about the work of repairing your roads.

During the most recent Legislative session, this region saw a flurry of bills that were undeniably aimed at both Pima County and the City of Tucson. Many of those were sponsored by members of the Southern Arizona Legislative Delegation. We find that a curiously odd way to represent your constituents.

We are committed to applying every penny returned to the City and to the County exclusively for road repair and maintenance – not a dime for administrative fees. We are committed to working with our respective governing bodies towards that end. Without the willing consent by the State to refund HURF dollars, we are also committed to fighting for what belongs to you through whatever means it takes.

We believe that all of our communities, Marana, Oro Valley, South Tucson and Sahuarita could use more money to maintain their roads.

Steve Kozachik is a Tucson City Councilman representing Ward 6 and Sharon Bronson is the Pima County District 3 Supervisor.