Carolyn Classen

Carolyn Sugiyama Classen, a life long Democrat, was born & raised in the State of Hawaii, was a Legislative Aide for U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye on Capitol Hill, and practiced law for a while. In Tucson she worked as a tribal staff attorney for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and later was the Interim Executive Director of the now defunct Domestic Violence Commission. In 2008 she became a “My Tucson” guest columnist for the Tucson Citizen newspaper, then continued blogging for Tucsoncitizen.com for over four and a half years. Her blogsite was entitled “Carolyn’s Community” about community events and some political news, until Gannett Publishing shut down the site on January 31, 2014. She started with Blog for Arizona on Feb. 11, 2014. Part time she sat as a Hearing Officer in Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts Small Claims Division since April, 2005 for 15 years. She is married to University of Arizona Distinguished Professor Albrecht Classen, a native of Germany. They have one son, who lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and daughter. She is also the Editor of the Southern Arizona Japanese Cultural Coalition website, www.southernazjapan.org (since Jan. 2013).

Play at Playground Games

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Playground-Games-Website-Slide

Press release from the UA Confluencecenter for Creative Inquiry:

PLAYGROUND GAMES: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10

7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Two research units at the University of Arizona are teaming up to play matchmaker. The Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry (CCI) and the Institute of the Environment (IE) are hosting a live game show-like event Playground Games—think  speed-dating meets Shark Tank, but with an academic spin—from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 on the roof of the Playground Bar & Lounge in downtown Tucson. The faculty contestants are divided into interdisciplinary teams that will speed-network, plan a project, and pitch their ideas to a panel of three judges and the audience. Two winning teams will be funded before the fast-paced night is over!

Drawing on IE’s Art and Environment initiative and CCI’s collaborative and interdisciplinary endeavors, the night will bring together faculty who didn’t necessarily know each other beforehand. The groups will be formed, randomly, on the spot. When you get brilliant people together on a roof, sparks can fly!

The judges will evaluate the project pitches and the audience will help make the final decision on which teams are funded. Audience participation space is limited, so RSVP here today!

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UA School of Theatre, Film & TV presents “What’s Up Docs?”

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10 AT 7:00PM | FREE ADMISSION! Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Presented by the University of Arizona’s School of Theatre, Film and Television Come see your world as you’ve never seen it before! This year’s What’s Up, Docs? program features short documentaries from the UA School of Theatre, Film & Television about … Read more

Walk around downtown on 1st Saturday Art Walks

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For several years now the Central Tucson Gallery Assn. (CTGA)  has sponsored art walks on the 1st Saturdays of each month, to encourage Tucsonans to visit art galleries and shop local.  Tonight several of these galleries are open from 6 (or 7) p.m. to 9 p.m.

Here’s the list of 17 art galleries included in CTGA: http://firstsaturdayartwalks.com/index.html.  Some are open tonight, others may not be, so check w/ the individual galleries.  Those I know are definitely open tonight:

Baker + Hasseldenz Design, 100 E. 6th St., with art by Norwegian photographer Ole Marius Jørgensen (7 to 10 p.m.)

Conrad Wilde Gallery, 101 W. 6th St. , with a group show by Jessica Drenk, Yechel Gagnon, Marvin Shaver, Victoria May, Pamela Paulsrud, Dave Zaslow

Contreras Gallery, 110 E. 6th St., with art by Tucsonan Ruben Urrea Moreno, “Snakes and Ladders” (see image below)

rubennewart

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Dragonfly Village inspires hope for homeless/low income

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dragonfly-logo

A way out of homelessness and poverty was the message today at the grand opening of the Dragonfly Village and Community Center, 10496 E. Tanque  Verde Road in Tucson, east of Houghton Rd.  Described as a “majestic setting, Dragonfly Village is 30 furnished rental apartments in its own gated communities, utilities are included with studio, 1, 3, and 4 bedrooms. Subsidies & housing vouchers are welcome.”

These 30 units are intended for homeless and low income individuals and families, with leases for transitional stays of 12 months, then 6 months, for no more than 24 months total.

The facility (still in construction) is located on 4.5 acres on the south side of Tanque Verde Road just east of the Agua Caliente Wash, in a lovely, spacious setting. The grand opening, attended by over 60 people was held today for board members, donors, community partners, neighbors, etc. with speakers emphasizing Amity Foundation’s commitment to helping people move from “hopelessness” to “hope” through programs such as these, with quality, affordable rental housing.  Founder Naya Arbiter explained why the dragonfly was chosen for the logo because it is an ancient helpful creature, tied to the Spirit World of the Zuni Indians.

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Celebrate the holidays at Petroglyphs Gallery

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Petroglyphs Gallery is at 228 S. Park Ave., south of Broadway in the Lost Barrio. They are hosting a Winter Art Show on Saturday December 6, from 6 to 10 p.m. with sculptor Jerry Harris and singer Salvador Duran.   This winter art show will feature the sculptures by the talented Village Blacksmith Jerry Harris: … Read more