At the Library with Borges

I have many fortifying memories of the Joel Valdez Library and the plaza that fronts it, which is named for the enterprising Jácome family and contains a striking red metal sculpture, but on April 5, 2021, as I sat in a black car across the street from that library and noted how its white façade …

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Tucson Hospitals Are “Close to Breaking” Says U of A Doctor: Why Has the Star Made No Mention of It?

Picture of New York Times building in New York City

In a June 26 New York Times op-ed, Bradley A. Dreifuss, director of rural and global emergency medicine programs at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, states that “in a medical crisis, my job is to manage a clinical team, problem-solve and be in control. It is hard to admit that I feel vulnerable …

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Five Quotes to Remember When Defending Food Not Bombs’ Right to Feed Unhoused People in De Anza Park

Dr. Goli Baheri reading letter from PDI

The quote that inspired the latest debate about whether or not unhoused people in Tucson deserve to be treated with respect and dignity was embedded in a tweet from the Tucson Police on their Park Safety account on February 7. TPD posted an announcement about Tucson City Code 21-4, asserting that it’s a crime to …

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Noel Coward Reveals Bankruptcy of Library’s Book Collection Policy

In 2013 I was in the public library in Youngstown, Ohio, noticing something that would surprise any regular user of Pima County Public Library (PCPL) – old books. Specifically, in this case, several old books by the popular British playwright Noel Coward, including multiple copies of his celebrated play, “Blithe Spirit.” At that time I …

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Ronstadt Transit Center Redevelopment Back in Play (Commentary)

Picture of the Peach Properties Proposal, showing the bus lane, for picking up and dropping off passengers, that would replace the current transit center.

Not long ago it seemed as if the long threatened destruction of the Ronstadt Transit Center had been consigned to the dustbin of history. But this is not the case. The City Council voted on Thursday to approve a 168 page redevelopment agreement with Peach Properties, a local real estate firm that plans to raise …

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