Read Blog for Arizona | Politics from a Liberal Viewpoint for more about Tucson

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

March 20, 2015 by Pamela Powers

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.

Broadway Widening: Citizens’ Task Force Meeting March 19

March 19, 2015 by Pamela Powers

The Broadway Citizens Task Force (CTF)– the city-appointed residents and business owners who have been working on the Broadway widening project– will meet at 5:30 today, March 19, at the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church at 1200 N. Campbell Ave.

The focus of the meeting is to review the latest round of plans and maps for widening Broadway to six-lanes and knocking down 37 buildings in the process. You’ll remember a week ago, Sustainable Tucson, Blog for Arizona, and others were encouraging everyone to comment on those maps that show staff recommendations. All comments made by the March 11 deadline were sent to the CTF members before today’s meeting, but comments are still being gathered at this address: broadway@tucsonaz.gov.

There will be two calls to the audience at tonight’s meeting, and if an agreement on the maps is not reached tonight, there could be a subsequent meeting next week. Here’s the back story on the current maps. Details, maps and agenda here.

Come on down and speak out for “human scale” improvements to Broadway.

Below is the background and important future dates from the Broadway Coalition (the group of citizen activists who are pushing for modest, less destructive improvements to Broadway).

A Walk through Safe Park (video)

March 12, 2015 by Pamela Powers

Safe Park– the homeless camp located on the sidewalks of downtown Tucson– has been a political hot potato since a Tucson District Court ruled the sidewalk protest was protected speech in December 2014. With that ruling, Safe Park grew and coffin-like boxes called “dream pods” started rolling in–much to the dismay of city and county leaders and local businesses.

Debates raged– in the Arizona Daily Star, on Facebook, on the streets, and in multiple Tucson Mayor and Council meetings– about the validity Safe Park as a “protest”, the moral character of the primary leader, the overarching problem of homelessness, and what the city could or should do about the situation. Park residents and the City Council have been in negotiations to move Safe Park from the sidewalks of the Rio Nuevo business district to another a vacant lot within a mile of downtown, where this homeless community could camp and have access to bathrooms and showers. Safe Park Director and long-time homeless spokesperson, Jon McClane had asked for a homeless camp in each ward, but said that they were willing to move if the city could find a spot not far from downtown.

As the search for a suitable city-owned lot continued, recent developments have changed the political landscape. Police conducted a sting drug operation near Veinte de Agosto Park and arrested McClane and others on charges of possession of marijuana and possession for sale. The Arizona Daily Star. continued its character assassination against McClain, dredging up stories about his children and painting him as a charismatic opportunist, rather than a crusader. The US District Court Judge, who initially called Safe Park protected speech, issued a clarification that allows the city to remove the dream pods and tents. The latest news is that Safe Park dream pods and tents must be removed by Friday, March 13.

This blog post isn’t about the ongoing homeless controversy or the integrity of any of the leaders. It’s about the people I met at Safe Park last Thursday night.

Broadway Coalition Calls for Sustainable Expansion that Protects Businesses & History

March 9, 2015 by Pamela Powers

The Broadway Coalition, a tireless group of Tucsonans who has been calling for reasoned expansion of Broadway Blvd., has issued an urgent call to action. If you don’t want to waste money on yet another unnecessary, unaffordable, and destructive road widening project, you need to speak up NOW– before Wednesday, March 11, 2015. (Details below.)

You can also learn more at tonight’s Sustainable Tucson which features the Broadway Coalition’s vision. (Details here and below.)

The proposed Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Plan calls for widening Broadway from downtown to Country Club Road. The original suggestions were based on growth projections from the 1980s. Unfortunately– or fortunately, depending upon your point of view– Tucson didn’t grow East. It grew North. (Background here.)

Tucson’s needs don’t match the old growth projections. Developers and people who will make money knocking down and rebuilding businesses along Broadway or make money on the road construction, want to go blindly forth on yet another unnecessary road widening project. The Grant Road widening will happen in the future; 22nd Street was just expanded and improved; and the Aviation Parkway is also available as a speedy East-West route from downtown.

With these three improved thoroughfares, why do we need a fourth? Why destroy our historic buildings to make way for more chain stores and strip malls? Why destroy thriving local businesses along Broadway to make way for a road project we don’t need? Enough crony capitalism already.

As mentioned above, shit is getting real now. The latest round of public comment ENDS MARCH 11 (Wednesday). Please read the call to action, and act!

From Broadway Coalition…

CALL TO ACTION

After 3 long years we are at thecritical point of the Broadway Project. This project affects all of us in our community and sets the direction for transportation decisions for years to come. The proposed alignment would wipe out at least 37 businesses and homes, including most of the structures on the north side of Broadway between Campbell and Park! This threatens the Rincon Heights Historic District. We can significantly and creatively improve Broadway without this kind of destructive widening, wasting tens of millions of dollars, decreasing support for transit and other forms of travel. An entire small business sector will be affected.We, that is, YOU, can make a valuable difference now. It will take you about 1 minute. There is a public comment period open now, but it will close March 11th. Doing just one (or maybe all) of the following is critical…

Bishop Kicanas Calls for Community Meeting on Homelessness

March 9, 2015March 9, 2015 by Pamela Powers

Bishop Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson has called for a second public meeting to discuss homeless in Tucson. Here is the information about tomorrow’s meeting.

Background information…

Tuesday, March 10 at 11:00 a.m.

TEP building, 88 E. Broadway between 6th and Scott Avenues

second-floor conference room (entrance faces Broadway near west end of building)

This meeting has been scheduled at the request of Bishop Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson. This is a second meeting– according to Tucson News Now,

The Catholic diocese organized a meeting to discuss the growing homeless population downtown, on Monday afternoon [March 2].

The meeting included city and county leaders, business owners, and leaders from many non-profit groups in Tucson who work with the homeless.

In an interview with Tucson News Now after the meeting, Bishop Gerald Kicanas called on Tucson residents to be compassionate, as the city worked to find a long term solution to address the needs of the homeless, and find a solution that would help business owners who were frustrated with the problem.

The Downtown Tucson Partnership is helping to spread the word. According to DTP executive director Michael Keith, who is involved in developing a program for the meeting, the bishop wishes to “maintain the momentum” of the March 2 meeting as well as other community discussions looking to “move past the Occupy Safe Park issue and begin to look for meaningful strategies to address homelessness across Tucson.”

Keith said Peggy Hutchison, CEO of Primavera Foundation, will present information on the current local situation, and Michele Ream of Community Supported Shelters will share her presentation on scattered-site microhousing efforts in other areas and other “best practices.” The Mayor and Council’s action on March 3 (see below) and the Denver urban camping ordinance will likely be subjects of discussion.

The following is from the action summary of the March 3 Mayor & Council study session (http://www.tucsonaz.gov/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=1358&doctype=SUMMARY):