< 1 min readJust in case you missed it last week there was a letter to the editor in the Daily Star titled “HSL doesn’t need tax breaks”. Tell me that Jim Kelly from the Foothills didn’t hit the nail on the head with this one. HSL doesn’t need tax breaks Re: the Jan. 3 article “La Placita owner HSL seeks tax break from city for redevelopment”  If the Mayor and City Council want to know why the people of Tucson feel neglected, they should look no further than that Jan. 3 headline in the Star.  The city cuts services and aid to

3 min readby Brian Flagg Today, January 6, is Jon Miles 76th birthday. He is my close friend and has been a central advisor to Casa Maria from day one! For many years, many decades, he has been the rock, the heart and the soul of the struggle for peace and justice in Tucson. He has lived in Tucson since being a teenager and he knows all about the desert, the mountains, the outdoors. He was drafted into the army and fought in Vietnam and was the president of Vets for Peace for many years. He worked at the mines and was

3 min readby Brian Flagg The other day I was talking to the Casa Maria diners and some of the volunteers who come from all parts of Tucson. They might be having a hard time but they are paying attention. Recent events have given us all a lot to think about, especially about what the future holds for Tucson families. The City has been telling us that they are broke for some time. They have cut programs for many. Higher bus fares go into effect on January 1 and the City is now saying they want us to give them a half

6 min readby Cesar Aguirre I’ve been reflecting about the local elections a lot lately, especially the TUSD school board election. It is truly disgusting that Jim Click and his buddies bought the election for Mark Stegeman and people like him who do not have the best interest of our children in mind. Jim Click is a known philanthropist, donating to charities and education. But really, is it a cover so he looks good while putting people in positions of power to pass policy that really hurts brown and black communities? It sure seems that way. Jim Click is a member of the Southern

4 min readThis is the Advent greeting we sent out this year. We want to make sure we reach all our gente so we translated it into Spanish. ADVENT 2016 Dear Friends of Casa Maria, Thanks to the generosity of you all, four hundred to five hundred individuals and more than 150 families continue to eat here every day. Without you it would not be possible to practice these works of mercy daily. We all continue to survive but for sure the times are a changing… for the worse! We expect that low income people, especially black and brown people, will very

3 min readThursday morning, after seeing Betts Putnam-Hidalgo’s opinion article in the editorial of the Arizona Daily Star, I wrote a letter to the editor. I do not have the same privilege that Betts has, whether based on skin or big money backers that pay for full page adds like Jim Click, so you know the Star didn’t print my letter. This is the letter I sent to the editor of the Daily Star. Please share! It’s our last chance to get the word out before the elections tomorrow. Betts Putnam-Hidalgo’s guest opinion, ‘TUSD board, leader must stop leaving teachers behind’ is blatantly