3 min readLa peregrinación de Alma la Mexicana Alma vino de D.F. menos que un año atrás con su hijo de siete años, Angel. Ellos viven aquí en Barrio Libre y ella es un voluntaria aquí a Casa Maria. Me llamo Alma y vivo en uno de los estados mas grandes y mas violentos de la republica mexicana, el estado de México. Donde ser una mujer que trabaja implica un riesgo constante, ya que todos los días tengo que salir a las 4 de la mañana para dirigirme a mi empleo, que queda, a 2 horas 30 minutos aproximadamente de camino, tengo

3 min readRaising the price of getting on the bus is an attack on bus riders living in poverty and those hovering on the edge of living in poverty. To raise the fares (Mr. Ortega is proposing 10 cents this year and 15 cents next year) would truly be balancing the budget on the backs of poor people. The projected revenue to be gained (approximately $400,000 this year) is an illusion because it will be offset by decreased ridership. The bureaucrats and the elected officials know that decreased ridership occurs with fare increases and significant service cuts. It does not make sense

3 min readMEMO TO CITY COUNCIL: DON’T RAISE THE BUS FARES, DON’T WIDEN BROADWAY, DO THE RIGHT THING… VOTE IN BEHALF OF THOSE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED YOU, THE PEOPLE, NOT THE DEVELOPERS AND MONIED INTERESTS! Join the Tucson Bus Riders Union in eyeballing the local Democratic politicos as they deliberate the fate of bus riders, many of whom live in poverty. Bus fare increases (10 cents this year and 15 cents next year) will be recommended by the City Manager at their study session on Tuesday, April 19, at 2 pm at City Hall. Later that night, at their 5:30 meeting, they

4 min readby Sarah Lanius Last week members of the Bus Riders Union attended the Mayor and Council hearing on the RTA/County/City of Tucson plan to turn Broadway from Euclid/Park to Country Club into six lanes of traffic. Lots of ideas were bounced around regarding how the Broadway corridor can best serve the surrounding neighborhoods and long-time businesses located there, and to what extent that means more car-centric asphalt.  Well, actually, the debate last week was largely expressed through four dominant arguments (and one additional mammoth phantom framework that has haunted the whole process).  Simply put, these arguments for and against the

3 min readPETRA FALCON is lead organizer for the group Promise Arizona in Phoenix and to the best of my knowledge, is the most competent community organizer in Arizona. This is why Casa Maria is choosing to invest in her and Promise Arizona. On Tuesday April 5, Casa Maria threw a little party here at the Valenzuela Youth Center in South Tucson to welcome Petra and Nancy Rodriguez to our community as organizers. We plan to focus on public education, transit, and civic engagement (getting people to vote!) At this event, Cesar Chavez sang, las chicas de Casa Maria dished out super

< 1 min readErnie was born and raised on Tucson’s Southside and is a pillar of the Santa Cruz Catholic Church. He is a manager at Purcell Tires and cooks one Sunday a month here along with his wife Becky. He is without a doubt the #1 FOOD EXPERT at Casa Maria! He knows and loves everything about all kinds of food! This article ‘Lifegiving Bread’ by Brian Doyle in America magazine (3/28/16) makes me think that Jesus also was enamored of food kinda like Ernie! Only maybe he was a bit more skinny. Enterate at http://americamagazine.org/issue/lifegiving-bread ________________________ JESUS ACTUO UN POCO COMO LO

2 min readApparently he would have approved of us not taking the ‘blood money’ we were offered a few years ago by Walmart. Check out this little gem we got from America magazine (3/21/16). Pope Francis: ‘Take Your Check Back’ Speaking out against exploitation and unfair wages for workers, Pope Francis told benefactors to forget about donating money to the church if their earnings came from mistreating others. “Please, take your check back and burn it,” he said to applause. “The people of God – that is, the church – don’t need dirty money. They need hearts that are open to God’s

2 min readIntro by Cesar Aguirre As a recovering addict and reformed Hustla (I’m still a Hustla but only in legit dealings focused on unity and rebuilding community), drug addiction and the incarceration of sick people for “drug crimes” are issues that are very important to me. As someone who has been through the legal system because of crimes committed stemming from drug and alcohol abuse I can tell you that there is zero support for addicts in the legal system. It really is set up to hold people back and set them up for failure instead of helping people get clean

< 1 min read    They worked real hard here at the soup kitchen today in honor of the late great United Farm Worker Union founder Cesar Chavez. They also attended the every Monday mass here, which today was a dynamic communion service led by Brother David Buer, OFM. ________________________________________ Ellos trabajaron muy duro hoy en la cocina gratis in honor de Cesar Chavez, el fundador de United Farm Workers Union. Tambien fueron a misa aqui. La misa hoy fue muy dinamica gracias a Brother David Buer OFM.

< 1 min readWith Brian, Laura, Elsa, y Mari Fuentes and Father David Guzman