Ward 6 City Councilman Steve Kozachik is shaking up local politics again– by fighting for the people and for common sense.

Koz’s latest crusade is challenging the $71 million Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) project on Broadway Blvd. that would make Broadway outrageously wide between Euclid and Country Club and destroy 100 buildings, including an historic church and several long-time, locally-owned businesses.

In case you haven’t noticed the many “Construction Mess Brought to You by the RTA” signs dotting the county, the RTA is busily tearing up/widening streets, installing bus pullouts, and fixing bike paths– thanks to a sales tax approved several years ago by the voters. In the meantime, city streets are dotted with potholes and lined with weeds.

Koz– and most likely hundreds of other Tucsonsons– are asking, “What’s up with that?” For several weeks now, Koz has been trying to persuade the RTA to scale back the Broadway widening– which was based upon 1987 traffic projections– and divert some of the funds for this short stretch of street to other transportation issues– like street maintenance.

Koz is hosting a community dialogue tonight– April 30 at the Assembly of God Church. Below is the information he distributed. Click here for his Ward 6 newsletter, which has more background. If you want to have a say in this project, be there.

Government needs to hear the voice of the People

On Monday, April 30th at 6pm I will be hosting what is expected to be a widely attended community conversation at the First Assembly of God Church located just west of the corner of Broadway and
Campbell.

This community dialogue will be to engage RTA/TDOT in a serious discussion about re-scoping the planned $71M Broadway expansion project. We expect this “community conversation” to form a template for discussions in other parts of the community where similar concerns exist.

The purpose of this community dialogue is to open the door to readdressing the scope of RTA projects when it can be determined that the bases on which they were presented and voted on by the voters were flawed, and/or the funding and budgets for them are in question. Simply said, with millions of taxpayer dollars at stake, engage the people paying the bills and allow for a conversation that is based on the realities of current design, funding and need.

The voters approved $42M in RTA money for this project. We can design within that budget. The voters also approved $25M in County Bond money. We can use that in other areas of the City when it becomes available to address the transportation needs that the citizens prioritize.

Trying to solve our transportation issues by simply expanding road capacity is costly, and unresponsive to the creative input our community can bring to the table.

In a recent memo to the County Board of Supervisors, County Administrator Chuck Huckleberry noted, “I completely agree with Councilmember Kozachik on this issue. It makes little sense to force the original scope of transportation improvements where they are clearly outdated or unnecessary. Reducing the size and scope of transportation improvements not only saves money; it is more responsive to community needs and desires.”

I will be joined by Tucson City Council Member Richard Fimbres, Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias, Demion Clinco (Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation President), Stuart Taylor (representing the Tucson Bus Riders Union) and representatives from the Rincon Heights Neighborhood Association, the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association, multiple business operators from along the Broadway corridor, numerous other Neighborhood Associations from throughout the City and concerned citizens.

I wish to thank Pastor Jim Munns and the congregation of the First Assembly of God for sharing their property with us as we work to protect their building from demolition, as well as over 100 other buildings that are sited along the north edge of Broadway from Euclid to Country Club.

Years of gerrymandering and cronyism have left Arizona with one of the most ideologically conservative, Teapublican Legislatures in the country. Instead of balancing the budget and funding programs (like education) that will help Arizonans succeed, they waste time grandstanding on extremist issues.

For years, disgruntled Arizonans have been voicing their dissatisfaction with politics as usual by leaving both the Democratic and Republican Parties in droves. Voter registration in Arizona is split approximately in thirds– with Republicans having the most registered voters, followed by Independents, and then Democrats. Some predict that by November 2012, there will be more Independents in Arizona than Republicans.

So, if so many Arizonans don’t belong to either major party, why does Arizona still have an election system based upon two parties?

That is the question many Arizonans are asking themselves these days. A bipartisan group called Open Elections/Open Government has organized a ballot initiative to put the question of top-two open primaries on the November 2012 ballot.

Under the current system, Republicans and Democrats hold separate party primaries (funded by taxpayers) to elect their candidates. Democrats vote in the Democratic Primary; Republicans vote in the Republican Primary; and Independents must request one ballot or the other. One winner from each party then competes in the general election.

Under the top-two primary system, all primary candidates– regardless of party affiliation– will participate in the same primary, and everyone can vote. If you like a Green for one office and a Republican for another– no problem– you can vote for both of them on the same ballot. The top-two vote-getters– regardless of party– compete in the General Election.

Do you think having a top-two primary system would help Arizona?

To help people decide the answer to this question, Progressive Democrats of Arizona (PDA) Tucson Chapter is sponsoring a debate on open primaries for our next membership meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at Hotel Tucson City Center (St. Mary’s and Grande).

Former State Legislator Ted Downing (pro) and former Tucson Mayor Tom Volgy (con) will be our debators. Attendees will have a chance to ask questions and vote on the open primaries question before and after the debate.

For more background on open primaries and to learn what is happening in other states, check out “Will Open Primaries Shake Up Politics in Arizona?” For more information about PDA Tucson and other activities, check out the website and Facebook page.

The program begins at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m. There is a $5 suggested donation to offset expenses.

John Nichols, well-known writer for The Nation and author of Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest from Madison to Wall Street, will speak tonight, Feb. 27 at the IBEW Hall in Tucson.

Nichols comes to Arizona as our state faces its Wisconsin moment. With six anti-labor bills being considered in the Arizona Legislature and protests have been planned for the State Capitol in Phoenix on Thursday, March 1.

Although the Arizona AFL-CIO is busing union members from around the state to the capitol for the Day of Action, the bills in the Legislature go beyond union-busting. Four bills attack collective bargaining, union dues collection, and organizing. One bill– promoted by Republican Governor Jan Brewer– would strip civil service protections from non-union employees and pave the way for the appointment of political cronies. The last bill would put a measure on the 2012 ballot to reduce pay for tip workers and people 20 years old and under.

What a fitting time in Arizona history to hear from someone who was on the ground in Wisconsin a year ago when workers rose up against union-busting and corporate control of government. This free event is sponsored jointly by the Progressive Democrats of America Tucson Chapter (PDA) and the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF) and will be at the IBEW Hall, 750 S. Tucson Blvd. from 6-8 p.m.

Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley

Labor union members and Jobs with Justice labor supporters will be demonstrating downtown today against the anti-union legislation currently sailing through the Arizona Legislature.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC, a corporatist group that writes business friendly legislation for Republican legislatures like ours) and the right-wing Goldwater Institute schooled Governor Jan Brewer and her minions in the Arizona Legislature in union-busting last fall in Phoenix. The fruits of their “labor” are a series of anti-worker bills currently being fast-tracked in the Arizona Legislature. These proposed laws mirror those in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana. They were passed in Wisconsin and Indiana by their Legislatures, but Ohio voters weighed in and squashed the legislation there. (Remember Wisconsin? The backlash caused weeks of nationwide protest and a recall election for several state lawmakers and Governor Scott Walker.)

The result of coaching by ALEC, the Goldwater Institute, and Walker is a suite of anti-worker bills which would harm teachers, police, firefighters, and other unionized workers in Arizona. All Democratic Party legislators are opposed to this legislation.  (Watch State Senator Dave Schapira on the Ed Schultz Show, here.) Locally, Congressman Raul Grijalva and Councilwoman Regina Romero have made public statements against the anti-worker bills. In addition, local MoveOn.org activists have created an online petition, which you can sign here.

Below is information about today’s demonstration. Also, don’t forget you can call or e-mail your legislators and tell them to OPPOSE anti-worker legislation. Ohioans stopped these bad bills; Arizonans can too.

Jobs with Justice urges you to come out in solidarity with unions under attack by the
Arizona Ultra-right legislature.

Rally in Support of AZ Working Families!

STOP THE ATTACKS ON PUBLIC WORKERS!

Friday, Feb. 3rd
4:00 pm (or when you get off work)

State Building,
400 W Congress
Downtown Tucson

Join union members and their families from the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF), AFSCME 449, CWA Local 7000 and many community supporters to stand up to the attacks on union members and their families. The following harmful bills will directly harm our community:

SB1484, Paycheck deductions employee authorization

SB1485, Unions; public employees; prohibitions

SB1486, Public Employees; activities, unions; compensation

SB1487, Government employees; union dues; withholding

These terrible bills are moving fast. They have already passed out of committee and will be most likely debated in the full AZ Senate next week. We need to pull together and find solutions that work for the real issues Arizonans are facing. Join our rally to let the Arizona Legislature that attacking public workers is wrong!

To Take Action NOW by following the Arizona AFL-CIO link here.

Occupy Tucson banner (Image credit: Pamela Powers)

Since Occupy Tucson was evicted by the Tucson Police from Veinte de Agosto Park in December, Occupiers have been busy– the food drive, multiple marches, regular general assemblies, and occupying the sidewalk.

Today, Occupy Tucson announced that they will begin occupying DeAnza Park at Stone and Speedway. From their press release…

The tents are coming back. Some members of Occupy Tucson, the local branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, will be putting up tents and sleeping in DeAnza Park after reaching a consensus at the General Assembly meeting last Monday night.

“We’ve never really gotten an opportunity to engage with the community in the way we’ve envisioned,” said Dave Croteau, one of the Occupiers who will be sleeping in the public park at Speedway Boulevard and Stone Avenue. “We’ve planned teach-ins and around the clock activities this time,” said Croteau, “and we welcome the neighbors to come see what we’re about.”

“The ills of our economy will continue to challenge the poorest citizens,” said Mary DeCamp. “The Tucson Police Department can continue wasting the tax-payers’ money chasing us out of the city parks, but we will continue to petition our broken government for redress to the social and political inequalities that have spawned this global movement.”

Three of the neighborhood associations near DeAnza Park were consulted prior to the encampment. The West University Neighborhood Association Board of Directors was informed of the impending action because DeAnza is within their jurisdiction; they voiced no opposition to the proposal to occupy. Feldman and Dunbar Springs Neighborhood Associations both voted in support of the Occupy Tucson action. Neighbors immediately adjacent to DeAnza were invited by Occupy Tucson representatives in the past two days to share their concerns. “Rather than being chased out and treated as criminals, Occupiers would like to help meet the needs of the community and work to find solutions to the home foreclosure crisis” said Ethan Beasley. “Too many of our friends and neighbors have had their homes taken from them through illegal title transfers using an automated recording system called MERS. The original deeds have been bundled, sliced, diced, and resold by banks and mortgage brokers who walked away with untold riches while hard-working would-be homeowners were fleeced like sheep. We’ve got to do something about those crimes,” said Beasley.

“We’re grateful that the Tucson Police Department hasn’t reacted violently to our presence,” said Sherry Mann, “but we have to have physical space to gather, to share our concerns, and to explore alternatives that will work for all.”

As puppets of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Goldwater Institute, Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona Legislature  are  attacking workers. Did we — the Arizona voters– ask the government to eliminate collective bargaining? NO. Did they campaign on this platform? NO. Why are they fast-tracking anti-union legislation? Because their corporate masters told them to.

We need the Occupy movement now more than ever. There are two classes of people in the US– workers and owners. All workers– union or not– should push back. We need to get corporate money out of government. We are the 99%.

Lapis jewelry at the hotels near I-10 (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Ready for a serious shot of retail therapy?

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show starts today– January 28, 2012. The Gem Show is clearly one of the best reasons to live in Tucson. The Gem Show is actually several shows taking place over the course of the next few weeks. Some of the shows are wholesale and others are retail, and different shows start and stop on different days. There are so many shows spread around Tucson that the organizers will even shuttle you around. Check the official Gem Show guide (here)for links to individual shows.

Two of my favorite places to go are the African Art Village and the hotels along Interstate 10. (The Holidome show is also very good, but you need a business licence to get in.) Below are a couple of videos that I shot at the 2011 Gem Show.

More on the Gem Show…

African Art Village and More at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

End corporate personhood. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Today– January 20– is a date that has gone down in infamy. Today is the anniversary of the landmark Citizens United case.

To commemorate the Supreme Court case that struck down campaign finance reform, ruled that money is speech, and paved the way for obscene amounts of money to flood our elections, Occupy Tucson, MoveOn.org, and other groups nationwide will “Occupy the Courts”.

In Tucson, there will be protests all day in front of the federal court house. Here is basic information from the Move to Amend group that wants to amend the Constitution and fix campaign financing.

 LOCATION: Evo A. DeConcini United States Courthouse
405 West Congress Street at Granada (southwest corner)
Tucson AZ 85701

8am-5pm

Protesters are being asked to simply display relevant signs, support petitions to amend the U.S. Constitution, or register to vote early.

Planned activities include:
10:00 a.m.: press conference
12:00 noon: march though downtown Tucson
4:00 p.m.: rally with music & speakers
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: open microphone for comments and local entertainers

CONTACT: Danielle Rushford, dani7117@aol.com, Diane Dvoskin, ddvoskin@cox.net

Do you have to have sex to be sexually satisfied? Apparently not… if you’re a woman over 40.

Sixty percent of the women who responded to a survey reported in the January issue of the American Journal of Medicine said that they are satisfied with their sex lives—regardless of their level of current sexual activity, their level of sexual desire, or their partner status.

In a survey of more than 800 California women, ages 40-99, researchers found that 50 percent were sexually active, despite low or no sexual desire. The youngest and the oldest women had the highest levels of sexual satisfaction, although recent sexual activity decreased with age with 83% of the women under 55 and 13% of those over 80 years reporting sexual activity in the past 4 weeks.

Not only were the oldest women the most satisfied, those who were recently sexually active experienced orgasm satisfaction rates similar to the youngest participants.

For the rest of this article, check out my Salon.com page.

Former Surgeon General and Tucson resident Richard Carmona, who is running for retiring Senator Jon Kyl’s seat, raised an impressive $570,000 in six weeks.

Carmona is challenging Phoenix lawyer Don Bivens for the Democratic Party nomination. The winner of the primary will face either Congressman Jeff Flake or businessman Wil Cardon.

The video above was shot by The Tucson Progressive at the January 2012 Legislative 28 meeting. With honesty and humility, Carmona spoke for less than 10 minutes and took 30 minutes worth of questions from the audience of about 60 party faithfuls.

For more background on Carmona and his Tucson presentation, check out my story on the Huffington Post.

Tucson is a community in turmoil. It has been tied in knots for more than a year over the issue of how best to educate its children in a world of shrinking resources and high poverty.

Propagandists—both pro and con—have embroiled locals in continuous debate over the merits of the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). Fanning the flames of hatred and hyperbole, supporters and detractors have distributed MAS facts and myths nationwide through blogs, newspapers, public appearances, radio broadcasts, e-mail blasts, and social media. Charges of racism and white privilege are hurled at those who ask for program evaluation data or information on course content; from the right, MAS instructors are called “bullies” and “thugs” who are indoctrinating children with Marxism and hatred.

On January 10, 2012, rather than face a $15 million fine, the TUSD Governing Board voted to not fight the state’s legal ruling against the MAS program. MAS was found to be in violation of state law banning any school curriculum that promotes resentment against a race or class of people, is designed primarily for one ethnic group, and advocates for ethnic solidarity, a law that was created by former Superintendent of Public Instruction and current state Attorney General Tom Horne specifically to bring down the MAS program.

Contrary to what you may read in other blog posts, in Save Ethnic Studies e-mail blasts or on facebook, this law did not ban Ethnic Studies and it didn’t eliminate Mexican American Studies in other school districts (like Sunnyside). The law (which I hope will be found to be unconstitutional) was finely targeted by Horne and the Arizona Legislature to take down the MAS program in TUSD.

Although MAS was created to improve dropout rates among Latino students and may, in fact, do that at least among low income students (see graphics below), the program had been serving fewer than 1 percent of the 32,000 Latinos enrolled in TUSD. Since school year 2000-01, MAS has served 8656 Latino students and 1107 students of other ethnicities, according to data provided by the TUSD Governing Board. Between fall 2000 and fall 2010, Latino enrollment in MAS ranged from 153 to 1002 per semester, with an average of 412 students taking at least one MAS class per semester. During this same time period, the percentage of Latino students enrolled in TUSD increased as white students left the inner city district. In 1996-97, 45.4 percent of TUSD students were white, and 41.8 percent were Latino. In 2010-11, the breakdown had shifted to 28.9 percent white and 56.2 percent Latino.

What has MAS in its current format done for the thousands of Latinos in TUSD who are not taking their classes?

What about the Latinos in TUSD who are not Mexican American? Are they being served?

Does TUSD need another Blue Ribbon Panel like the one that created MAS in 1999? My personal opinion is: YES. Pasting some Mexican American information and history into other classes won’t cut it. For several reasons fighting to keep the MAS status quo also doesn’t cut it:

1) The MAS reach was too small to make a significant impact on overall graduation rates (one of the original goals);

2) Non-Mexican Latinos, refugees, and other ethnic minorities are not being served by the current Ethnic Studies structure (ie, Mexican-American Studies, African American Studies, Native American Studies, and Pan-Asian Studies);

3) There is conflicting evaluation data.

4) Gender has been ignored in many MAS and TUSD academic achievement analyses. (Graduation rates and academic achievement among boys in the US has plummeted and continues to decline. This is a trend that will have serious negative consequences on the fabric on American society if left unaddressed.)

Yes, there are many, many anecdotal stories from individual students about the value of the MAS classes. Let’s build on the positive aspects of MAS– the impact on low-income students (see graphics below), the self-esteem-building, the small class sizes, and the high teacher involvement. No program is beyond improvement.

What can we as a community to do ensure a quality education for all public school students? Let’s stop the name-calling, stop the incendiary e-mail blasts, stop the hype, and come together– all of us.

On this anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, let’s make a commitment to start talking and start building a better future for all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, gender, or sexual orientation.

For some insight into MAS program evaluation and the challenges facing TUSD as it moves forward, check out the following data slides, which were prepared from data provided by TUSD.

TUSD enrollment shows that the percentage of white students in the district has declined steadily. In the 1996-97 school year, the district was 45.5% white and 41.8% Hispanic, with the remainder made up of the other races. By 2010-11, the percentage of white students in TUSD had dropped to 28.9% and the Hispanic proportion has risen to 56.2%. Overall enrollment in TUSD also declined during this time period. The percentages of Native Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans did not change significantly.

In TUSD, there is a wide income gap between white and Latino students, with 80% very high income students being white and 70% of the very low income students being Latino.

In the last 10 years, overall enrollment of Latinos and non-Latinos in MAS classes has been low, compared to overall TUSD enrollment. An average of 412 Latinos per semester have enrolled in at least one MAS class since 2000-01 school year, while an average of 53 non-Latinos per semester have enrolled in at least one MAS class. Over the 10-year period, 8656 Latino students and 1107 students of other ethnicities/races took at least one MAS class. Currently, 32,000 Latino students are enrolled in TUSD.

This slide shows MAS and non-MAS enrollment by income level. Income definitions are derived from participation in federally subsidized school lunch programs + census track data.

Do MAS classes improve graduation rates among Latino students? The graduation rate among MAS students (in red) is higher than that of non-MAS students in the low and very low income groups but not in other income groups. The total numbers of MAS graduates in each group is relatively small: 10 in the very high income group; 39 in the high income group; 117 in the medium income group; 150 in the low income group; and 57 in the very low income group. When graduation rates of all students-- regardless of income, ethnicity, or gender-- are analyzed, the MAS effect disappears.

When the data are not broken down by race/ethnicity, gender or income, students who have taken at least one MAS class appear to have a slightly higher graduation rate compared with students who never took an MAS class. As with the previous graphic, the total number of MAS students is small.

This graphic shows AIMS test scores for students who took at least one MAS class (blue bars) vs those who never took an MAS class (red/pink bars). These data have been broken down by income but not by race/ethnicity or gender.