Tucson

TPP

Earth Day: Stop the TPP (video)

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TPP
Workers around the world have been protesting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Saturday, April 18, 2015, is the day the City of Tucson has chosen to celebrate Earth Day. It is also the Global Day of Action against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This is a particularly fitting bit of serendipity since this year’s Tucson Earth Day has been co-opted by corporations trying to “green wash” their poor environmental records. Booo.

Seriously? Rosemont Mine and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) are two corporate sponsors of Earth Day? Rosemont Mine has been fighting tirelessly to destroy the Scenic Santa Rita Montains and suck our water supply dry. TEP still burns coal and is fighting to suppress solar power conversion.

So– Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson is combining its presence at the Tucson Earth Day festival with the TPP Global Day of Awareness. It’s a perfect fit. Don’t let dirty corporate donors co-opt an event that was created to honor the Mother Earth and remind us to care for her. Don’t let Raytheon, Rosemont Mine, Materion, Tucson Electric Power, and others “green wash” their poor environmental records with well-placed public relations. (For background, check out this great story in the Weekly by activist James Jordan.)

And, while you’re protesting corporate takeover on a community festival, don’t forget the TPP– the Grand Daddy of corporate takeovers.

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UPDATED: Broadway Widening Redux: March 26 Meeting on ‘Community Alignment’

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The First Assembly of God Church, erected in 1950, is on Broadway Blvd.
The First Assembly of God Church, erected in 1950, is on Broadway Blvd., within the boundaries of the widening project.

The beleaguered Citizens Task Force (CTF) of the Broadway Widening Project revolted at last week’s meeting and didn’t approve the city staff plan for widening Broadway Blvd. because it didn’t match the CTF’s recommendation from December 2014.

Consequently, the CTF will meet again tonight, March 26 at 5:30 at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church Activity Building, 1200 N. Campbell. Here is the background from Sustainable Tucson. Read about last week’s meeting here and here.

UPDATE FROM THIS MEETING BELOW.

Alternative ‘community alignment’ tonight!

After a revolt by the Broadway Citizens Task Force at their meeting March 19th, an alternative “community-supported” version by respected transportation engineer and transit historian, Gene Caywood will be presented tonight so the City of Tucson can decide the best solution for improving Historic Broadway and the Sunshine Mile.

Come tonight to support the Citizens Task Force complete their three years of work. More background after the jump.

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Broadway Blvd.

Broadway Widening Project: Residents Speak Out Against It… Again

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Broadway Blvd.
Campbell and Broadway intersection on the latest Broadway widening project maps.

An estimated 80 Tucsonans attended the public meeting of the Citizens Task Force (CTF) for the Broadway widening project last week. The main event of the meeting was a potential vote on the latest maps which show a wiggly, six-lane Broadway snaking around and through historic properties and strip malls.

Prior to the meeting, people were asked to submit opinions in writing regarding the latest version of the maps. (Read comments here. See the maps here.) According to the Broadway Coalition’s count, 171 comments raised concerns about widening Broadway to six lanes or were outright opposed to it; four comments were ambivalent; and only 12 were supportive of the city staff-proposed alignments. Attendees have told me that the call to the audience speeches  were eloquent in their opposition to this project. (Unfortunately, no one videotaped the meeting.) The CTF did not approve the controversial maps last week; there will be another meeting this week on March 26.

This has been the history of the project. Over and over again in writing and at public meetings, Tucsonans have said very clearly that they don’t want Broadway expanded to look like the giant suburban intersections on the east side or on the northwest side AND they don’t want to lose the charm of the historic buildings along the Sunshine Mile coming out of downtown. Public comments and a report from the Broadway Coalition after the jump.

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Jim Hannley

Tucson City Council: Ill-Conceived Ordinances Wiped from Agenda (video)

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Jim Hannley
PDA Tucson Coordinator Jim Hannley speaks against both the crowd management ordinance and the urban camping ban at the City Council meeting.

The Tucson City Council was scheduled to vote on two ill-conceived ordinances at their St. Patrick’s Day meeting this week. The Crowd Management Event ordinance would have given the police chief considerable discretion in controlling groups of 100 or more people. The second ordinance would have outlawed urban camping on all city property, thus criminalizing the homeless.

When word got out via email blasts, Facebook posts, and the blogs, public outrage built against these two measures. Social media posts called for protests and for phone-calling to Council members. A Facebook event to protest the Crowd Management Event ordinance had more than 100 potential attendees on Monday afternoon. An hour before the protest, the Tucson Sentinel reported that the city had  taken that ordinance off the agenda.

Before the Tuesday meeting, 20-30 homeless and homeless advocates gathered outside of the Council chambers. When I arrived with my video camera, one of my homeless Facebook friends told us that Councilman Steve Kozachik had talked with them just a few minutes earlier and said the camping ban ordinance would be tabled.

We went into the meeting anyway because my husband and I had both planned to speak against the ordinances. Between us we represent two major progressive groups– PDA Tucson and the Arizona Democratic Progressive Caucus– and we wanted the City Council to know that progressives stood against both of these measures.

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