Tag Archives: Joel D. Valdez Main Library

Spare some change? for the homeless

Posted on May 15, 2017 by | 2 Comments

Last Wednesday I stumbled upon a green/blue parking meter outside the Joel D. Valdez Main library (101 N. Stone Ave.), not a regular parking meter but one that collects donation$ for homeless programs.  Just missed the press conference about Tucson Change Movement (in association with the Community Foundation of So AZ), a new program that is setting up about 20 of these colorful meters around downtown, the modern streetcar line and 4th Avenue, I took these photos to inform our readers. And I put in a quarter, just to test it and it read that I had paid for “12 minutes” just like  regular (gray) City of Tucson parking meters on the streets.

So, if you have spare change, drop it in this meter when you visit the main library, or other locations around town.  More info at www.tucsonchange.org. You can also insert a credit card for any amount of a donation. Hopefully we will hear back later how successful this new program is.

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Posted in Carolyn Classen, Community, Tucson

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Women’s March in Tucson: “This is what Democracy looks like” (updated photos)

Posted on January 21, 2017 by | 13 Comments

The estimate of the huge Women’s March in Tucson crowd that gathered this morning at Armory Park on S. 6th Avenue and marched to Jacome Plaza (in front of the Joel D. Valdez library) was about 15,000.  Lots of very creative signs went by, carried by people of all ages, children, elderly, even people with crutches and walkers…gay, straight, multi-racial, many with dogs, wagons, etc.  Every few blocks people were chanting “This is what Democracy looks like”.  Here’s some photos of today’s crowd.

Large crowd gathering at Armory Park, photo courtesy of George Girard

Crowd at Armory Park, courtesy of Kristel Foster

Women’s March proceeding west on Congress Street to Stone Avenue, photo courtesy of George Girard

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Posted in Carolyn Classen, Civil Rights, Community, Tucson, Uncategorized

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Giving thanks 2016

Posted on November 24, 2016 by | 3 Comments
 Every Thanksgiving I like to ask those around the lunch or dinner table to just express one thing they are grateful for. The responses are usually heartfelt and family oriented.
This year I would like to say that I am grateful that I still am relatively healthy as I age.  Aging is not easy and we’re supposed to “age with grace”, or gracefully age.
On Saturday Nov. 19  I attended a gratitude writing workshop at the Joel D. Valdez main library, conducted by Marge  White Pelegrino, a FB friend and advocate (programming coordinator) of the Owl & Panther Project. If you don’t know about it, it is a group of dedicated people who help refugees resettle. They work with traumatized individuals and families, so be thankful that you are not in their life situation.   Their mission statement:

owlpanther

“To provide meaningful and healing expressive arts experiences in the community and the natural world for refugee families resettled in Tucson who have been impacted by trauma, torture and traumatic dislocation. To help educate the community and beyond, about refugees in order to foster acceptance.  And to honor the efforts of our volunteers who make this project possible.”

More info: www.owlandpanther.org

So, enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, the holiday of a few days off from work (if you have it) and of course, be thankful that you don’t live in a society/country where torture, trauma and dislocation is commonplace.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2016.

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Posted in Carolyn Classen, Community, Tucson

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“Human Activity and the Environment” talks at Tucson Main Library in September

Posted on September 13, 2016 by | Comments Off on “Human Activity and the Environment” talks at Tucson Main Library in September

FOOD FOR THOUGHT – 50 minute programs designed for your lunch break

Brown Bag Thursdays at Joel D. Valdez Main Library in Tucson, 101 N Stone Ave. (between Alameda St. and Pennington St.)

Human Activity and the Environment

 Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan – September 15, 12:05-12:55 p.m.

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP) is one of the most ambitious local land and wildlife conservation plans in the world. For almost 20 years, Pima County has been working to advance the SDCP through a broad range of actions and policies that promote both growth and land conservation.

Presented by Brian Powell, Program Coordinator for Pima County Office of Sustainability and Conservation.

 Six Miles of Breathable Air – September 22, 12:05-12:55 p.m.

The distance from “A” Mountain to Reid Park Zoo, that’s the depth of breathable air in our atmosphere. What is in the air we breathe? Where do air pollution and greenhouse gases come from? How is our health and the environment being impacted? What actions can we take to keep the air healthy?

Presented by Karen Wilhelmsen of the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality.

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Posted in Activism, Carolyn Classen, Community, environment, Tucson

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UA Day at Joel D. Valdez main library

Posted on July 21, 2016 by | Comments Off on UA Day at Joel D. Valdez main library

UA Day Social Media Image (002) (1)

“Thinking about college? University of Arizona has something for everyone! Learn what it takes to become a Wildcat. We will have information about UA programs and services, including featured workshops:

  • The Path to UA
  • College Greenlight
  • Financial Aid 101
  • Current Student Panel
  • UA Application Workshop for Seniors
  • AZ Earn to Learn

Space is limited!! Register today!!” UA Day is on Sat. July 23, 1 to 4 p.m. at Joel D. Valdez main library in Tucson, 101 N. Stone Ave (south of Alameda St.)

Register online at: https://pima.bibliocommons.com/events/search/local_start=2016-07-23%20TO%20&fq=branch_location_id:(MAI)/event/574e0d616daa23fa0b01e7b1

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Posted in Carolyn Classen, Community, Tucson

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MLK Holiday events in Tucson

Posted on January 17, 2016 by | 5 Comments

American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia, and was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.  Monday January 18, 2016 is the national holiday designated for this great Black American, who fought for civil rights for all people, using nonviolent civil disobedience.  He was also awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964.

More bio info at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

"The Dream" 2009 acrylic & inkjet print by Andrew Polk, in Joel D. Valdez main library (photo credit Carolyn Classen)

“The Dream” – 2009 acrylic & inkjet print by Andrew Polk, in Joel D. Valdez  Main library in Tucson (photo credit Carolyn Classen)

Tomorrow there are a number of activities to celebrate his legacy, starting at 8 a.m. with a renaming of Nobel Way at the UA Tech Park for Dr. MLK, then a march to Reid Park for the annual MLK celebration (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).  There is also a Black Lives Matter rally at 9:30 a.m. also at Reid Park. (UPDATE -this rally has been cancelled).

In the afternoon at 3 p.m. there will be the annual Freedom Song Sing a long at Temple Emanu-El, and later that evening at the Loft Theater at 7:30 p.m., a free film “Soundtrack for a Revolution”.

soundtrack-270x400

More information about these events on our Calendar:

http://blogforarizona.net/calendar-2/ (where there are lots of other progressive events to attend).

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Posted in Carolyn Classen, Community, Tucson

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