< 1 min read

< 1 min readThese are pictures of Zaira with her mom, her bro Pancho Paz and School Board members Adelita Grijalva and Emiliano Juarez. She volunteers here at Casa Maria with her mom La Morenita, Amalia Tovar! May she go on to graduate from Tucson High, the U of A, and then return to light up our barrio! VIVA ZAIRA! ______________________ ZAIRA HIZO LA LISTA DE HONOR EN SAFFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL! Ella es voluntaria en Casa Maria con su mama La Morenita, Amalia Tovar! Esperamos que Zaira graduara de Tucson High, the U of A y que volviera a la barrio para ayudar

2 min readOn Monday April 11th, I had the privilege of praying and participating at Mass with the Casa Maria community.  It is always such a beautiful time and never without surprises.  Our celebrant and dear friend, Msgr Tom, invited me to share a little about the needs of our homeless youth and young adults in Tucson.  I have been volunteeringwith StandUp For Kids in Tucson for about 8 years and welcome any opportunity to speak about this work and more importantly about these kids that I truly love.  I have to admit, when I was first called out, I thought “wait, this is Brian’s turf and these

7 min readBy Sarah Launius PhD Candidate and Researcher in the School of Geography and Development at the UA Dear Reader, It is with apologies that I share that I gave bad information on the extent of the new Broadway bus pullout delays that bus riders will bear. City staff finally communicated at the 4/19 M&C meeting the expected time delays for Broadway with westbound delays of no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds and averaging 1 minute 35 seconds. Eastbound buses should experience no more than a 1 minute 20 second delay and average delay of 48 seconds. Given the increase

4 min readby Cesar Aguirre First off, I want to begin by apologizing to anyone I might offend with this because a few people I know and respect are in support of prop 123. When I ask why they support it the most common responses are, I’m supporting our childrens’ education, or I know it’s not great but our schools need the money and it’s the only way they’ll get it. I’m sorry but a yes vote on prop 123 does the exact opposite of supporting education and putting much needed funding back in our schools. If you support 123 think about where

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