Voices Archives - Casa Maria Soup Kitchen

Message from a Bus Rider, V2

Casa Maria September 13, 2016

< 1 min read As we lead up to the decision by Tucson’s City Council on whether and how to raise bus fares on September 20, TBRU will publish a Video Blog everyday. We know that if our City Council Members would come to the transit centers and talk to bus riders or get on the bus that they would think differently about how to best manage and grow our transit system. Our second message comes from Bryan. Please watch it, share this blog post and make a call to Mayor and Council urging them to not raise the fares. 791-4201 Mayor Rothschild 791-4040 Regina Romero 791-4687 Paul Cunningham 791-4711

THANKS TO ST. ODILIAS! // ¡GRACIAS A ST. ODILIAS!

Casa Maria December 12, 2015

2 min read by Brian Flagg Of course the Jubilee Year of Mercy needs to not just be talked about, or prayed about, it needs to be fleshed out, made incarnate if you will… We know of at least one parish who has a plan to do just that! Fr. Miguel Mariano, pastor of St. Odilias on the Northwest side came down to Casa Maria recently during the morning rush. He explained how they were going to serve and take care of certain local groups during each of the months of the Year of Mercy and that August would be Casa Maria month.

THE JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY // AÑO DEL JUBILEO DE LA MISERICORDIA

Casa Maria December 8, 2015

4 min read by Brian Flagg In case you didn’t know, Pope Francis declared a Year of Jubilee that begins today, December 8th, 2015. The theme of the Jubilee Year is Mercy! In the ancient tradition of a year of Jubilee, slaves and prisoners were to be freed, debts would be forgiven, land and possessions would be returned to their owners and the mercies of God would be seen everyone. Today’s date was chosen for the beginning of the Jubilee Year because it marks the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council. Last March, Pope Francis released a document about

GREAT TEACHERS LOVE TO TEACH // LOS MEJORES MAESTROS AMAN LA ENSEÑANSA

Casa Maria November 20, 2015

6 min read After reading an article in the Star I decided to reach out to some real teachers to get their perspective on the current situation with teachers’ wages in Tucson. Julie Elvick is a 4th/5th grade teacher at Ochoa Community Magnet School and has over 20 years experience as an educator. My daughter Alissa had the privilege of having her as her 5th grade teacher last year. It was a great experience for my daughter and me. She is one of the best, most supportive and caring teachers we’ve had the opportunity to work with. She also participates in the community,

A GOOD TIME HAD BY ALL…& a little justice for South side magnet schools too!

Casa Maria November 10, 2015

2 min read by Cesar Aguirre & Brian Flagg If you didn’t make it down to El Casino Ballroom last night you missed one helluva party! The kids from Davis’ Mariachi Aguilitas were really very soulful. The Ochoa kids danced up a storm! The Color Guard from Cholla High School ROTC was there to open the show. The birria, rice and beans were killer! So was Congressman Grijalva’s speech in defense of public education and the magnet schools. More than 300 people were there, mostly parents and students, but also supervisor Richard Elias, State Rep. Victoria Steele, and 3 school board members who

ONE PARENT’S STORY… ORGANIZING FOR JUSTICE IN TUSD! // LA HISTORIA DE UN PADRE… ¡ORGANIZANDO PARA JUSTICIA EN TUSD!

Casa Maria October 2, 2015

11 min read by Cesar Aguirre As a parent of two current TUSD students and an active community member I’ve found that what makes the desegregation case so confusing is the complexity and history of the case. The mainstream media is very good at putting its own spin on things, kind of like they did with the bus strike, which makes it even more difficult to understand what is happening. The misinformation from this biased reporting is very damaging and causes even more division among those of us truly working to improve the quality of education for our brown and black students who

ACHIEVEMENT GAP WIDE BETWEEN WHITE AND MINORITY STUDENTS // BRECHA ANCHO ENTRE BLANCO Y ESTUDIANTES PERTENECIENTES A MINORÍAS

Casa Maria July 15, 2015

5 min read by Cesar Aguirre I guess it was no surprise to see this headline on the front page of Monday’s Star (7/13/2015). Read the story at: http://tucson.com/news/local/education/achievement-gap-wide-between-white-and-minority-students/article_8d13b21c-0671-56ee-a8e9-06f7cc8462f3.html I have been an outspoken advocate against standardized testing mainly for this reason, among many others, and it can get very frustrating knowing these facts and not being able to do much about it as a parent. For years the data has shown the educational disparity between anglo and minority students. In an educational system so obsessed with the collection and study of data how is it that these numbers are being ignored. I always

POPE’S CHALLENGE TO THE RICH // EL PAPA NOS PIDE QUE PAREMOS LAS ACCIONES AUTODESTRUCTIVAS

Casa Maria July 14, 2015

< 1 min read by Brian Flagg An editorial from the most recent National Catholic Reporter (July 3-16, 2015) see: http://ncronline.org/blogs/eco-catholic/editorial-encyclical-pope-francis-issues-challenge-rich EL PAPA NOS PIDE QUE PAREMOS LAS ACCIONES AUTODESTRUCTIVAS por Raul Grijalva Visita: http://tucson.com/laestrella/noticias/el-papa-nos-pide-parar-las-acciones-autodestructivas/article_05001b24-e40f-522c-baaa-6b9a07005410.html

PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC ON THE 4TH OF JULY! // ¡ORGULLOSO DE SER CATÓLICO EN EL 4 DE JULIO!

Casa Maria July 3, 2015

2 min read by Brian Flagg I’m gonna celebrate by attending the 5:30 mass at Santa Cruz. I’m gonna give thanks and praise that I’m part of a church who’s head guy, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, actually talks and acts like Jesus or one of the prophets! See the article in today’s Star at: http://tucson.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/heeding-francis-iowa-catholic-leaders-to-pressure-field/article_3c51f00f-e786-51f0-b21b-08a98bb8adeb.html Yesterday in Iowa, Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines implored presidential candidates to “take up Pope Francis’ call for ‘profound political courage’ by focusing their campaigns as much on improving the environment and income inequality as they have on opposing gay marriage and abortion in past elections.” Francis’

TUCSON BUS RIDERS UNION NEWS-THE POSITIVE SPIN

Casa Maria June 24, 2015

2 min read by Brian Flagg, Approximately 30 of us from the Bus Riders Union, loud and proud, attended the emergency Transit Task Force meeting yesterday. Our presence there helped the Task Force vote to stop $458,000 of the proposed $1.1 million in cuts to 9 bus routes. Particularly disappointing was a 4-3 vote to reduce frequency on the Broadway bus (the #8). I am trying to be positive about this. Our efforts did force a process that will restore a small portion of the cuts. So why do I feel so frustrated? I guess this makes me evaluate our recent bus rider

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