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).

Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild’s 2014 State of the City speech

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Mayor  Jonathan Rothschild delivered his annual State of the City speech on
Wednesday February 26, 2014 at the Tucson Metro Chamber’s luncheon at the Tucson Convention Center. Here’s the entire speech, in case you missed the lunch. Mayor Rothschild was elected in Nov. 2011, so this was his 3rd address.

Tucson in Transition
February 26, 2014 State of the City Address Mayor Jonathan Rothschild

Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2014 State of the City Address. I’d like to thank the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the Tucson Convention Center for hosting this year’s event. Thanks especially to the Chamber for sharing proceeds with three local nonprofits that are helping with several of my initiatives: 51 Homes Vets, Make Way for Books and Tucson Clean & Beautiful.

Each of these charities works in a different area – ending veteran homelessness, increasing childhood literacy and restoring Tucson’s tree canopy – yet all share the same model for success: bringing together individuals, businesses, government and nonprofits to address community needs.

In June, I accepted the President’s challenge to end veteran homelessness in Tucson by December 31, 2015 – which means placing 1,650 homeless veterans in permanent housing. That’s a goal we’re on track to meet. Working with 18 partner agencies, including the City’s Housing Department, we’ve already housed close to 500 formerly homeless veterans.

In August, in partnership with the Arizona Daily Star, we launched a volunteer recruitment drive to double the number of reading coaches in Reading Seed, a program that pairs struggling readers in grades K through 3 with trained volunteers. Too many of our children don’t read at grade level by 3rd
grade, a critical milestone that predicts future success in school. We met our goal, adding more than 600 volunteers, who will help more than 1,200 students, all, or almost all, in Title 1 schools. 1,200 lives changed – 1,800 if you count the volunteers, who often find their lives changed, too.
In October, in partnership with Tucson Clean & Beautiful, TEP, Long Realty and others, we rolled out our 10,000 Trees Campaign, encouraging individuals, business and community groups to plant desert-adapted trees, especially in neighborhoods that lack shade. That’s another goal we’re on track to meet. To date, we’ve planted more than 4,000 trees.

These are basic needs our community is tackling together, through public-private partnerships: housing, literacy and the environment.

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Healthcare enrollment for AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders)

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Posted by Carolyn Sugiyama Classen

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As an Asian American born in raised in the State of Hawaii, this is important to me and my community here in Tucson. Press release info:
“Get your health insurance questions answered and help with enrollment during Enroll AAPI(Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders) on Saturday, March 1st from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center (1288 W River Rd).

Certified Navigators will be on hand to help people enroll in a healthcare plan. Information on the new healthcare laws and how to sign up to get healthcare coverage will be presented in English and selected Asian languages (Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese). Representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will also be on hand.

Free health screenings for asthma, cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, and osteoporosis will also be available. The diabetes test requires fasting 8 hours prior to the screening.

This event is made possible thanks to a coalition of partners that includes the Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, College of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, the Southern Arizona & Pacific Islander Health Coalition, Pima County Health Department, Health hand other community organizations.

For more information, please contact Kim Tham or Sujana Vinjamuri at (520) 300-0627”.

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“Emmett Down in My Heart” play for Black History Month

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Posted by Carolyn Classen   “Tucson Alliance of Dramatic Artists (TADA) presents the winner of their first annual play competition. Sheldon Metz, TADA’s artistic director, directs this production, the true story of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy who was killed in Mississippi in 1955 for supposedly whistling at a white woman. Emmett’s brutal murder triggered … Read more