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).

Help to beautify grounds around Himmel Park Library

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From Sam Hughes Neighborhood Assn. website, www.samhughes.org:

This Himmel Park Beautification is a  project initiated by three residents of the Sam Hughes midtown neighborhood: Denice Blake, Betty Guarraia, and Susan Peters. In an effort to meet our objective to spend a small amount of the resources from the biennual home tour, we first came up with four guiding principles that would ultimately benefit midtown neighborhoods: high visibility, aesthetic appeal, education, and collaboration. To meet those objectives, we have selected Himmel Park Library for external beautification.

Carolyn’s note: Himmel park branch library is at 1035 N. Treat Ave., in NE corner of Himmel Park (south of Speedway, between Tucson Blvd. and Treat Ave., going south to the alley north of E. 3rd Street). History of namesake Alvina Himmel is on the Sam Hughes Neighborhood website, written by me.

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Fee Free weekend at U.S. National Parks

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Enjoy our U.S. National parks for free on April 19 and 20.  Only 133 of our country’s 401 national parks usually charge an entrance fee. Saguaro National Park is near Tucson.  We’ve recently been to Tuzigoot National Monument near Cottonwood and it’s definitely worth a visit to see those medieval ruins. Here’s the list of free national parks … Read more

Exciting Easter Eggstravaganza on April 19

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EGGstravaganza-web-2014Tucson Water and Tucson Parks and Recreation Department present the 14th Annual EGGstravaganza. This free annual community-wide event is about having family fun! The event is expected to attract more than 2,000 Tucson youth. Family activities include music, carnival games, inflatables, prizes, egg hunts, and the Easter Bunny. Come to our Parks and Recreation information booth to catch the highlights of the various Parks and Recreation units offering services and programs to the community. A variety of foods will be available for purchase through local vendors.

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“Everytown for Gun Safety” launched today

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7 years ago today a mentally ill student opened fire at Virginia Tech and killed 32 students and wounded 17 others.  Over 3 years ago on January 11, 2011 another mentally ill young man fired his gun here in Tucson, Arizona and killed 6 innocent people, and wounded 13 others.  Some of those 13 (Pam Simon, Suzi Hileman, Mary Reed) were at a press conference today in downtown Tucson announcing the launch of a new organization “Everytown for Gun Safety” to lobby for common sense legislation on all levels of government, especially Congress.

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Also attending today were Emily Nottingham, mother of the late Gabe Zimmerman (Congressional aide killed on 1/8/11), Roxanna Green, mother of the late Christina Taylor-Green (killed on 1/8/11), and Daniel Hernandez Jr. and Patricia Maisch – both heroes on that fateful day at the Safeway in NW Tucson where the shooting occurred.

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Pima County Fair – April 17 to 27, 2014

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You are invited to join in the fun at the 103rd annual Pima County Fair,pimacountyfair

April 17 – 27, 2014!  The Pima County Fair is one of Southern Arizona’s largest and most anticipated annual events with nearly 250,000 visitors over an 11 day period One of the most affordable events that promises and delivers fun at a reasonable price! Spend the day with family and friends enjoying animals, attractions, motorized events, carnival rides, concerts and entertainment sure to appeal!

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