Carolyn Classen 
February is Black History Month.
Starting Thursday through Saturday: Black Life Matters conference at University of Arizona (Memorial Student Union South Ballroom for first two days, 1303 E. University Blvd.), then at Dunbar School, 325 W. 2nd Street on Saturday Jan. 17.
Register online here (for free):
http://blm.sbs.arizona.edu/forms/registration
Full all day program schedule here: http://www.blacklifemattersconference.com/program.html
Please join us on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 5:30 pm at the Arizona History Museum (949 E. 2nd Street) for brief presentations by the four finalists for Tucson’s January 8th Memorial, and an opportunity for you to share your thoughts and ideas.
The finalists are the team of CSAO (Chee Salette Architecture Office), Rebeca Méndez Design, ag Licht, and Swan/Starts; HOK; Ibarra Rosano Design Architects; and Logan Simpson Design.
The finalists are entering the second phase of the design competition, which is to develop a preliminary memorial design. The January 13th meeting is an opportunity for the finalists to hear from community members before they begin this design process.
On January 10, 2015 the Southern Arizona Japanese Cultural Coalition (SAJCC) sponsored their 2nd Annual mochi pounding celebration for the new Year of the Sheep. Here are photos of that lively event, held at the Rhythm Industry Performance Factory, home of Odaiko Sonora (taiko drummers), 1013 S. Tyndall Ave. All photos except for the last one taken by freelance photographer James Tokishi.
Cheryl Cage ran unsuccessfully twice against Senator Al Melvin for his seat in LD 26 in 2008 and 2010. She recently chaired the successful campaign of LD 9 House Rep. Dr. Randy Friese in Nov. 2014 (and had chaired former LD 26 Rep. Lena Saranik’s successful campaign as well in 2006). This recent win in LD 9 was an upset over incumbent Republican Rep. Ethan Orr.
She succeeds former Chair Don Jorgensen, as she was elected at the 2015 Pima County Reorganizational Meeting today. Here’s her resume:
Every year the good folks at St. Francis in the Foothills (4625 E. River Rd.) hosts a movie series with a pot luck dinner followed by a provocative, thoughtful movie of some political or cultural/ethnic concern. Here’s the upcoming list for 2015, always 2nd Sunday of the month (EXCEPT for May) . Pot luck starts at 5:30 p.m. with the movie about 6 p.m.
Sunday, Jan.11th
My afternoons with Marguerite – My Afternoons with Marguerite is the story of life’s random encounters. In a small French town, Germain, a nearly illiterate man in his 50’s and considered to be the village idiot by his friends at the local bistro, takes a walk to the park one day and happens to sit beside Marguerite, a little old lady who is reading excerpts from her novel aloud. She’s articulate, highly intelligent and frail. Between Germain and Margueritte, there are 40 years and 200 pounds difference. Germain is lured by Marguerite’s passion for life and the magic of literature from which he has always excluded. As Marguerite broadens his mind via reading excerpts from her novel, Germain realizes that he is more of an intellectual than he has ever allowed himself to be. Afternoons spent reading aloud on their favorite bench transform their lives and start them both on a new journey — to literacy and for Germain, and to the deepest friendship for Marguerite.
Sunday, Feb.8th
Why We Fight -Is American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki’s shrewd and intelligent polemic would seem to give an affirmative answer to each of these questions.