November 21, 2008 - School of Journalism

November 21, 2008 - School of Journalism

EL
INDEPENDIENTE
1976 ~ 32 Years of Service ~ 2008
South Tucson’s Bilingual Newspaper
Free/gratis
November 21 / 21 de noviembre 2008
From
The
Ground
Up
Foundation rebuilds homes, memories
INSIDE
Sack Lunches
and Showers
Volunteers help Tucson’s less
fortunate at Guadalupe’s
By Colleen Keefe
...see page 5
El Día de Acción
de Gracias
Organizaciones ofrecen
cenas gratis en Tucsón
...vea página 2
COLLEEN KEEFE
‘House with
Heart’ to Get
a Transplant
BY
By Tess Martinez
PHOTO
In the 36 years Delia Carrillo has
lived in her South Tucson home,
she never dreamt that one day
she’d agree to have it leveled to the
ground.
But she did.
And it was.
With help from the Primavera
Foundation that decision, quite literally, gave way to a new foundation for Carrillo to stand on.
The organization has teamed up
with the City of South Tucson
through
the
Neighborhood
Revitalization program to help
homeowners whose houses are in
dire need of repair.
According to Primavera’s construction
administrator
BJ
Benjamine, the Home Repair,
Home Replacement Program began
just over 18 months ago. The
agency has already completed
repairs on about a dozen homes and
replaced two.
Carrillo’s home was one that
was replaced.
She had heard about the program from a friend and contacted
the city. She filled out an application for home repairs and waited.
Carrillo has many fond memories of the old house where she and
her husband raised their son,
Freddy and daughter, Santa.
The couple divorced in 1985
and Carrillo got the house. But time
and vandals took their toll on the
dwelling.
“My windows were all broken. I
had a swamp cooler and it wasn’t
working. I wasn’t living comfortable ‘cause I couldn’t open my
windows – there were boards on
the windows,” Carrillo explains.
Vandals had broken virtually all
of the windows in the house. The
walls were cracked, the roof
leaked, despite being repaired, and
the foundation was sliding, Carrillo
added.
Delia Carrillo enjoys spending time on the front porch of her new home built by the Primavera Foundation.
Carrillo’s house didn’t stand
alone.
More than 50 percent of homes
in South Tucson are in need of
costly work, according to the 2004
Windshield Survey by the
Drachman Institute.
Of that, nearly 45 percent were
fair, meaning they need $10,000 to
$20,000 in repairs, roughly 5 percent were poor, in need of $20,000
to $40,000 in repairs, and about 1
percent need to be replaced
because the cost exceeds the value
of the house.
But as the report suggests, it
accounts for just a rough look at
housing conditions.
“As we began to do the owner
occupied rehab on the distressed
‘Home’/see page 4
Según un estudio de encuestas de salida efectuado
por el Pew Hispanic Center, los hispanos votaron
en un margen de dos a uno a favor del Presidente
electo Barack Obama y el Vicepresidente electo
Joe Biden sobre el Senador John McCain y la
Gobernadora Sarah Palin durante las elecciones
presidenciales de 2008.
A nivel nacional, el 66% de los votantes hispanos votaron por Obama, mientras que el 32%
votaron por McCain. Los Demócratas lograron
un porcentaje mayor de los votos hispanos que
durante las elecciones de 2004, cuando el 40%
de los hispanos votaron por el Presidente Bush.
Muchos votantes hispanos cambiaron su
apoyo de Clinton a Obama después de que
Obama ganara las primarias, continuando el
apoyo hispano al Partido Demócrata.
A nivel nacional los hispanos representaron
un 8% del voto, igual que en el 2004. Sin embargo, algunos estados vieron un aumento considerable en el número de votantes hispanos. En
Nuevo México, los hispanos constituyeron el
41% de los votantes, comparado con 32% en el
2004. Los hispanos representaron un 17% de los
votantes en Colorado, por encima del 8% en el
2004. En otros estados, la cantidad de electores
hispanos se mantuvo igual o disminuyó un poco.
El porcentaje de votantes hispanos en
Arizona aumentó, del 12% en el 2004 al 16%.
Igual que en las estadísticas nacionales, los hispanos en Arizona favorecieron a Obama sobre
McCain, con el 56% de votantes por Obama y el
41% por McCain.
Barack Obama en un mitin durante las primarias en Phoenix.
FOTO POR
Por Claire Conrad
Traducido por Anders T. Peterson
TANYA RADISAVLJEVIC
Obama captura el voto hispano nacional
The House of Neighborly Services,
a South Tucson center for 60 years,
will be taken over by a new agency
by the beginning of next year.
“It’s good for us,” said John
Irey, executive director of HNS. “It
means we’ll be able to continue
some of our services.”
A $50,000 budget shortfall
spurred HNS to make a last-ditch
attempt to recuperate some funds
by suspending most of its services
for what was hoped to be a month
beginning in September. Irey and
others frantically tried to raise
funds to keep HNS alive.
HNS, which let most of its staff
go in the weeks leading up to the
shutting of its doors, has some programs still running in a skeleton
format based on the inertia of its
years of service. Former paid
employees now donate their time to
keep a few programs alive. Weekly
senior lunches have morphed into
potlucks, and children still show up
after school to hang out in the computer lab and basketball court, even
though the afterschool program is
no longer operating.
Irey would not say which
agency will take over HNS, but
said when negotiations began,
there were five organizations he
and members of the board were
working with. That list has been
narrowed down to two options. Irey
said he expects a decision to be
made by Thanksgiving.
EL INDEPENDIENTE
Page / Página 2
November 21 / 21 de noviembre 2008
Thanksgiving Dinners for Those in Need
BY
PHOTO
The spirit of giving and generosity
will be felt across Tucson as the
Thanksgiving holiday rolls near and
organizations offer free Thanksgiving meals for the community.
For the 23rd year, the Salvation
Army and St. Demetrios Greek
Orthodox Church, 1145 E. Fort
Lowell Road, are working together
to serve meals.
Last year, they served about
3,500 meals, including home delivered meals to the elderly and ill.
“We are anticipating more families and working poor,” said
Tamara McElwee, public relations
director for the Salvation Army.
The dinner will be served on
Thanksgiving Day starting at 11
a.m. to 1:30 p.m. After 1:30, they
will offer hot meals to go.
The Salvation Army always welcomes donations. They are in need of
frozen turkeys and pies. To donate,
call their main office at 795-9671.
A day before Thanksgiving, the
Gospel Rescue Mission will provide a Thanksgiving meal.
It starts at 11 a.m. and continues until 2 p.m. at 312 W. 28th St.
The Giving Tree Outreach
Program offers hot meals every
Thursday and Sunday.
Thanksgiving dinner will be held
at 3:30 p.m, in a lot at East 22nd
Street between Columbus Boulevard and Swan Road.
“The meal is open to everyone
and we could always use help from
people bringing prepared food,”
said Kathy Fast, assistant director
for Giving Tree Outreach Program.
JENNY MAYER
By Jenny Mayer
Volunteers serve dinner provided by The Giving Tree Outreach Program Project FEED every Thursday and Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. at an empty lot on East
22nd Street between South Columbus Boulevard and South Swan Road.
On Nov. 25, the Luz Social
Services along with the South Side
Coalition and El Pueblo Neighborhood Center are sponsoring the
EL
INDEPENDIENTE
South Tucson’s Bilingual Newspaper
El Independiente encourages letters from all its readers, but reserves the
right to edit correspondence for grammar, style, clarity and length.
UA Journalism
P.O. Box 210158B
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: 621-3618
[email protected]
Adviser
Maggy Zanger
Graphics and Layout Adviser
John deDios
Managing Editor
Photographers
Ari Wasserman
Colleen Keefe
Gerald R. Zimmer III
Ashley Villarreal
Tanya Radisavljevic
Tess Martinez
News Editor
Claire Conrad
Spanish Editor
Ashley Villarreal
Design Chief
Design
Matthew Garcia
Summer Watterson
11th annual Thanksgiving in the
Barrio, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30
p.m. at 101 W. Irvington Road,
anyone is welcome.
In addition, to serving dinner,
there will be live entertainment, a
resource fair, a raffle and a fun
zone for children.
Schools Join with Salvation Army to
Provide Holiday Help for Families
By Gerald R. Zimmer III
Families who need assistance providing gifts and food
for their children can talk to school counselors about
signing up for the Salvation Army Christmas Angel
Toy Distribution.
Families at more than 150 Tucson schools,
including schools in the Tucson Unified School
District, Sunnyside District and many charter
schools, can contact the schools’ counselors or
resource officers for information on how to receive
help from the Salvation Army.
Families may also go to the open registration for
the program at the Salvation Army Family Services
Office, 3525 E. 2nd St., from Dec. 8 through 11 at 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To register for the Christmas Angel Toy
Distribution, parents must bring social security cards,
Jenny Mayer
Community Events Editor
Tanya Radisavljevic
News Room Manager
David Rodriguez
Copy Chief
Leila Abu-Saada
Reporters
Elena Cruz
Colleen Keefe
Tess Martinez
Jenny Mayer
Dana Pfeiffer
Tanya Radisavljevic
Mike Rich
David Rodriguez
Leila Abu-Saada
Summer Watterson
Ari Wasserman
Copy Editors
Translators
Dana Pfeiffer
Colleen Keefe
Gerald R. Zimmer III
Alejandra Torres
Nabil Hourieh
Anders T. Peterson
ernesto amaya
Translation and Interpretation
Department of Spanish and Portuguese and
Mexican American Studies
an identification card, valid Tucson address, proof of
income and an original birth certificate for each child.
The program provides toys and food to more than
1,200 families per year.
People may also donate gifts and money or volunteer their time during the holiday season by joining the
Adopt-A-Family Program.
Volunteers can work at the Salvation Army, participate in community outreach programs or assist in the
Christmas projects.
To sponsor a family, there are minimum guidelines
which may require a donation of around $200.
Sponsors can also choose to directly deliver items
to their adopted family for the holiday season.
To apply to be a sponsor, go to the Tucson Salvation
Army Web site at www.thesalvationarmytucson.org,
navigate to Adopt-A-Family and click on “apply to
sponsor,” or call 795-9671.
South Tucson Unemployment
Rate Continues to Climb
By Michael K. Rich
Tess Martinez
Photo Editor
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
Parish is also having a Thanksgiving
Day dinner at 2 p.m. for the homeless at 507 W. 29th St.
The City of South Tucson’s unemployment numbers
are more than double those of Pima County and
Arizona.
The city’s unemployment rate rose in September to
16 percent which marks six months of consecutive
growth dating back to April when the rate was 10.4
percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
In Pima County, the rate was 5.7 percent in
September, and Arizona had an average unemployment rate of 6.1 percent.
Historically speaking, the small city has higher
unemployment than both of its larger counterparts.
In 2007, the city’s unemployment rate was 10.7 percent while the county’s was 3.7 and the state’s was 3.8.
During the past 10 years, the city’s rate has constantly been double that of the county and state.
One possible reason for the larger gap in unemployment numbers between the city and the county
is the loss of jobs in construction, which has experienced a loss of 2,500 jobs during the past six
months.
The Tucson Metropolitan area reports a loss of
nearly 7,000 non-farm related jobs since April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Areas other than construction that have experienced
loss include professional and business services with
1,000 jobs lost and information services with 700
jobs lost.
Despite the overall dip in available jobs there was
some small growth in the government services and
education sectors.
El Independiente now available o n l i n e
elindenews.com
EL INDEPENDIENTE
November 21 / 21 de noviembre 2008
Page / Página 3
BY
The microphone fizzles at the front of the
packed auditorium and silence echoes across
the room.
“How many will be the first in their family to attend college?”
The announcer waits. Students’ hands
shoot up across the rows.
Community officials, school administrators and students came together at Sunnyside
High School Nov. 13 to discuss why local
dropout rates are so high and what can be
done to bring them down.
The meeting was specifically organized to
get student input on the problem.
“I mean, the kids are really honest,” said
June Webb-Vignery, the program coordinator
at the Metropolitan Education Commission,
a local partner that helped plan the summit.
“When they talk, the adults should listen.
They really know what’s going on.”
The event was a partnership with a
nationwide effort called America’s Promise,
started by former Secretary of State Colin
Powell, to improve education throughout the
United States.
“Obviously, dropout rates are a very
important issue,” said Vicki Balentine, superintendent of the Amphitheater School
District. “What we know in this day and age
is that for those that don’t graduate high
school, it’s a less financially sound life than
it used to be, and so our push is to get them
to graduate.”
She pointed out that Arizona ranks 43rd in
the nation for high school graduation rates.
The discussion was threaded through
what the alliance calls its “five promises,”
which are caring adults, safe places, a
healthy start, effective education and oppor-
tunities to help others.
Some students taked about the importance
of having adults in their personal and school
lives they trust enough to talk to before sliding toward dropping out.
Briana Mendez, a freshman at Sunnyside,
said connecting with adults can often be difficult and offered some advice.
“I think students feel a lot less threatened
... when teachers and administrators, not so
much get off their pedestal, but act, not like
an adult, but like a friend,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s good to have an adult there
for you. Sometimes it’s good to just have
somebody there to talk to.”
Jeff Conte, a sophomore at Ironwood
Ridge High pointed out that high school students are often concerned with how other
students and adults see them.
“So much about high school is how people think of you, what your impact in the
crowd is.”
But that shouldn’t stop students from
turning to adults when they need advice.
“It’s really hard to look at a teacher as a
person. You do forget that they were in high
school too and they probably had some of the
same problems you did.”
Students also talked about forms of peer
and community pressures they expereince
which may push them away from school.
But Julio Chavez, a freshman at
Sunnyside, pointed out that part of feeling
safe and supported enough to succeed is up
to the individual.
“Our safety is just created by ourselves,”
Chavez said. “I mean we can have the safest
campus or the safest community but it won’t
really matter unless you, yourself, make it
safe.”
Other students said they thought that
some people are just “set up for failure,”
PHOTO
By Ashley Villarreal
ASHLEY VILLARREAL
Students Sound Off
About Dropping Out
Students eat lunch outside the auditorium at Sunnyside High School after participating in a threehour summit dedicated to increasing high school graduation rates.
drugs; you choose to play basketball, you
choose to drop out,” he said. “At the end of
the day, it’s really on all of us.”
Crystal Reedy, a guidance counselor at
Safford Middle School, thought the frank
discussion with students was useful.
“I think if students listened and if people
listened then they will benefit from it, and it
definitely will be a stepping stone,” she said.
“Because our state really needs to get
going. Our country really needs to get
going.”
which makes staying in school difficult.
Again, Chavez emphasized personal
responsibility.
“People aren’t set up for failure. I’m
sorry. You gotta face the facts and you gotta
face life. It ain’t gonna be easy but if you
have the right tools then you can get through
life pretty easy.”
Conte agreed and said that it’s often up to
individual students to make the right choices.
“So much about life are your choices. You
choose to be in a safe place; you choose to do
Cenas del Día de Acción de Gracias para los Necesitados
Por Jenny Mayer
Traducido por Anders T.
Peterson
El espíritu de participación y generosidad se sentirá por todo Tucsón
este Día de Acción de Gracias a
medida que las organizaciones
ofrezcan comidas gratuitas para los
necesitados.
Durante 23 años, el Ejército de
Salvación y la Iglesia Griega
Ortodoxa St. Demetrios, 1145 E.
Fort Lowell Road, han cooperado
para servir comidas.
El año pasado sirvieron aproximadamente
3.500
comidas,
incluyendo entregas a domicilio
para los ancianos y enfermos.
“Estamos anticipando más
familias y trabajadores pobres”,
dijo Tamara McElwee, la directora
de relaciones públicas del Ejército
de Salvación.
Se servirá la cena el Día de
Acción de Gracias desde las 11 de
la mañana hasta la 1:30 de la tarde.
Después de la 1:30 se ofrecerán
comidas preparadas para llevar. El
Ejército de Salvación siempre
acepta donaciones y necesita pavos
congelados y tartas. Para donar,
llame a la oficina principal al 7959671.
Gospel Rescue Mission ofrecerá una comida del Día de
Acción de Gracias un día antes.
Empezará a las 11 de la mañana y
terminará a las 2 de la tarde en
312 W. 28th St.
El programa Giving Tree
Outreach
ofrece
comidas
preparadas cada jueves y domingo.
La cena del Día de Acción de
Gracias empezará a las 3:30 de la
tarde. La cena se realizará en un
sitio en East 22nd Street entre
Columbus Boulevard y Swan
Road.
“Todos están invitados y siempre necesitamos ayuda de personas
que traigan comida preparada”,
dijo Kathy Fast, la subdirectora de
Giving Tree.
Luz Social Services, South Side
Coalition
y
El
Pueblo
Neighborhood Center patrocinan el
Undécimo Día de Acción de
Gracias Anual en el Barrio, el 25 de
noviembre, desde las 11:30 de la
mañana hasta las 3:30 de la tarde,
en 101 W. Irvington Road.
Todos los miembros de la comunidad son bienvenidos.
Junto con la cena habrá
entretenimiento en vivo, una feria,
una rifa y una zona de diversión
para niños.
La Parroquia Blessed Kateri
Tekakwitha tendrá una cena del
Día de Acción de Gracias a las 2 de
la tarde para las personas sin casa,
en 507 W. 29th St.
Paratrooper Group Offers Help for the Holidays
COURTESY OF
PHOTO
National heroes who served as paratroopers
during every American war since World War
II will be serving their community in Tucson
this holiday season. For many, service in the
armed forces is the ultimate way of giving
back to the country and community. But for
members of the Mexican-American
Paratrooper Association (MAPA), the giving
does not end.
The main goal of MAPA is to bring together paratroopers of Mexican-American heritage and give back to the community by helping people who need food and clothing. The
group provides Christmas gift baskets to families through Caring Ministries in Tucson.
“MAPA is always in the holiday spirit, we
love to brighten up a holiday for a family,”
Campos said.
MAPA pays for this by asking members to
send in extra money with their dues.
The group is switching this holiday season from gift baskets to buying $50 food gift
cards.
The group also donates truckloads of
clothing to Mexico each month by collecting donations from Caring Ministries and
RUBEN CAMPOS
By Gerald R. Zimmer III
Rubin Campos, second from right, and LCO 187 Airborne Regimental Company prepare to board
an L82 airplane on March 23, 1951 for a company jump into Korea.
driving them across the border to Nogales
where they are distributed to individuals
and families that Campos has found
through Caring Ministries.
Many members join MAPA to give something back to the community during the holiday season.
“I joined because I had a friend in the
group who told me about paratroopers helping the needy and that sounded like something worth doing,” said Arnold Escaboza,
group member and highway patrolman.
MAPA has more than 50 members across
the United States, including a Congressional
Medal of Honor winner and three other
Medal of Honor winners who have since
passed away. The group meets every six
months in Nogales, Ariz.
The group’s members show great pride in
being part of MAPA.
“We may be one of the most proud organizations in the country,” said MAPA
Commander Rubin Campos.
MAPA was founded as an Army paratrooper organization. Paratroopers are soldiers who have completed the U.S. Army
Airborne School with a minimum of five
jumps from an airplane during their military
service.
The group has traditionally accepted only
Army paratroopers, but is debating whether
or not to offer membership to paratroopers
from other branches of service at their next
meeting.
“I think our membership would expand in
large numbers if we opened it to all branches
of service,” Campos said.
EL INDEPENDIENTE
Page / Página 4
November 21 / 21 de noviembre 2008
Primavera Foundation Puts Homeowners on Solid Ground
OF
freed up $70,000 for home repair
for the City of South Tucson.
Upon approval of an application
homes, those ones considered fair,
about half of the ones that we start- with the city for home repair, an
ed working on really needed to be evaluation of the home is completreplaced because the costs were so ed by Primavera.
“I determine whether or not the
exorbitant,” says Peggy Hutchison,
scope of work falls within the grant
executive director of Primavera.
Hutchison explains what may amount ($25,000). If it cannot, then
seem to be a home in need of just a they automatically qualify for
new roof may actually lead to a replacement. That means knocking
series of costly repairs and replace- their house down and replacing it,”
ments, ultimately resulting in an Primavera’s Benjamine says.
Homeowners are then given the
expense greater than the estimate
given on the Windshield report and option to proceed with the replacement
program,
surpassing the
have the repairs
value of the
done at their own
home.
expense, or leave
Eligibility
Go for it. Get a new
the home in its
for the program
current condition.
is based on
house. You’ll always
The only excepincome and is
have memories of the
tion is that upon
open to homecity inspection,
owners in South
old house, but this is
any safety hazard
Tucson city limsomething new and it
that may be detriits.
mental to their
“Typically,
maybe safer for you
“life, limb, or
once the deci–Delia Carrillo
health” must be
sion is made
brought up to code,
about
either
says Benjamine.
rehab
or
Primavera acts as a subcontracreplacement program we turn it
over to Primavera program because tor for the City of South Tucson
they have the professional staff and when it comes to home repair
they are so knowledgeable and under $25,000. Recipients have
understanding about our communi- very little contact with the organity,” says Enrique Serna, South zation and are not required to
attend any classes or training.
Tucson city manager.
Benjamine has inspected 20
“They’re a blessing not only for
the people that they’re helping, but homes since the program’s unveiling. A little under half were not
to our community.
South Tucson receives funding repairable.
Like many of the participants,
for the program from Pima County
through a Community Development Carrillo had reservations for the
demolition of her home. After all,
Block Grant.
“We now tend to funnel all of that is where decades of memories
our funding over to Primavera were held. But her daughter
because they have the infrastruc- assured her the trade off would be
ture in place so that we don’t have worth it.
Should a homeowner choose to
to replicate that,” Serna says.
Pima County’s role, aside from proceed with the replacement proproviding funding, is contract man- gram, the next step is to attend a
agement and other support for the series of four training classes on
finances, homeownership and the
City of South Tucson.
The county’s Home program mortgage process.
Carrillo’s daughter attended
helps homeowners by providing
participants with down payment most of the classes with her.
Approximately 47 percent of
assistance up to $10,000, says Pima
County Director of Community the residents in South Tucson are
Development Margaret Kish. living on incomes below the poverAccording to Kish, the county has ty line. Thirty six percent of those
PRIMAVERA FOUNDATION
‘Home’ Continued from page 1
”
PHOTO COURTESY
“
Delia Carrillo's old house was demolished to make way for her new home.
are 65 and older and 61 percent are
under 18, according to 2000 U.S.
Census Bureau figures.
“You have a population of really poor people living in highly distressed, unsafe housing, so how do
you figure out a way to replace
homes when you have so many
people on low incomes? That was
the kind of challenge that was put
before us,” Hutchison says.
The solution – Primavera chose
to use Energy Star manufactured
homes as a replacement housing
product to help ease the financial
burden on their program’s participants.
The manufactured homes are
put in the ground with their own
foundation, equipped with Energy
Star appliances and plumbed for
grey water, which can be used by
the homeowner for gardening. The
houses are faced with stucco to
blend in with existing homes in the
community.
“At first I didn’t like the idea
‘cause I thought it was a trailer,”
Carrillo says.
But a trip to the home manufacturer in El Mirage, Ariz. with
executives from Primavera helped
to ease her mind.
Carrillo reports it to be as structurally sound as a traditionally built
home, and the financial stress of
having a new home is minimal. A
family or individual with an annual
income of just $10,000 could have
a monthly mortgage payment as
low as $225. Those with an annual
income of $20,000 would pay just
$450 per month for their new
home.
Borrowers qualify for USDA
loans at 2.5 percent because South
Tucson is considered a “colonia.”
According to the Housing
Assistance Council, a colonia is a
city within 150 miles of the
Mexican border with inadequate
water systems.
Primavera has a model home for
participants to live in while their
home is being replaced.
“It’s not easy for anybody to see
their home being replaced, and we
really wanted to minimize the
stress,” Hutchison says.
Carrillo stayed in the model
until her home was completed. A
new house improves the quality of
life for her, but her decision has an
even greater affect on her city.
“Housing is not a singular
demographic. It really does impact,
in the long run, economic development for our community, the
changing of stereotypes about our
community,” Serna says.
Primavera plans to rehab 48
homes and replace 65 homes in the
next four years. They are also in the
market to buy vacant lots where
they plan to put up new homes for
first-time home buyers, Hutchison
says.
Over the summer Primavera
partnered with volunteers from the
John Valenzuela Youth Center to
conduct a resident satisfaction and
security survey.
Residents reported general contentment with their neighborhoods,
but also identified areas where they
would like to see change.
Life has changed a lot for
Carrillo.
She has an extra bathroom and
beams when she shows it off.
She admits what she misses
most from her old house is her son
Freddy, who passed away nine
years ago.
But she knows that she holds his
memory in her heart, and not in that
old timber.
“I don’t really know what I really miss about the [old] house anymore,” she says. “I’m getting used
to this one, so the other one is not
that much important to me.”
She has some advice for her
neighbors
completing
the
Primavera program:
“Go for it. Get a new house.
You’ll always have memories of
the old house, but this is something new and it maybe safer for
you. Memories – you can get new
ones.”
El Fondo Fiduciaro busca contribuciones de promotores
Por Tess Martinez
Traducido por Nabil Hourieh
Cuando a principios de año Gadsden
Company (Compañía Gadsden) hizo todo lo
posible para contribuir con el Fondo
Fiduciario de Viviendas de Tucsón, muchos
lo vieron como una victoria para los pobres
del centro de Tucsón.
“Creemos que las nuevas viviendas en el
centro de Tucsón no deberían ser caras y sólo
para la gente rica y los yuppys”, dijo Brian
Flagg, un activista de Casa María en el 401
East 26th Street. “Necesitamos hacerlo de tal
manera que las familias pobres no sean
desplazadas”.
La compañía prometió que el 35% de las
unidades estarían disponibles como viviendas a precios razonables y harían una contribución de $250.000 al fondo fiduciario.
También añadieron una cuota de transferencia del 1% a la venta de las unidades.
“Debería ser reconocido como modelo
para una causa”, comentó Flagg sobre el
presidente de Gadsden, Jerry Dixon. “(La
causa de) promotores para viviendas a precios razonables”.
Mac Hudson, el asesor de la consejera
Regina Romero, está de acuerdo. Explicó que
esta es la clase de promotor que necesita la ciudad: uno que quiere ver a gente con una “mentalidad comunitaria” habitar y crear sus
propias viviendas. La compañía escogió hacer
estas contribuciones al Fondo Fiduciario de
Viviendas porque deseaba un clima de “buena
vecindad” en este proyecto, explicó Hudson.
Para beneficiar al fondo, el día 25 de
noviembre, el alcalde y el concejo municipal
considerarán implementar un requisito que
dicte que los principios de cualquier promotor
que trabaje bajo un acuerdo de desarrollo con
la ciudad, tendrán que parecerse a los principios de la Compañía Gadsden.
Hudson dice que el fondo, que cuenta con
1,3 millones de dólares en el banco, tiene una
meta anual de recaudar de 3 a 5 millones de
dólares para ayudar a gente de bajos recursos y
a los trabajadores de Tucsón, incluyendo asistencia con los pagos de entrada y con el mejoramiento de viviendas. Desde su inicio en el
2006, el fondo ha estado corto de dinero crónicamente.
$1,3 millones no van muy lejos cuando el
13% de las familias y casi el 20% de los ciudadanos de Tucsón viven por debajo del
nivel de pobreza, según las estadísticas de la
oficina del censo (US Census).
Al inicio, el fondo iba a ser apoyado por
tres fuentes de ingresos: una porción de la
venta de propiedades que pertenecen a la ciudad, la conversión de propiedades de alquiler (también conocida como “condo tax”) y
fondos sobrantes del programa de asistencia
con los servicios públicos a gente de bajos
recursos. Por esto los miembros del Consejo
Consultivo de Ciudadanos, quienes se encargan del fondo, han estado buscando otros
ingresos alternativos.
Un porcentaje de las ventas de las
unidades construidas bajo los acuerdos de
desarrollo con la ciudad quizá puedan
revivir el fondo. La consejera Regina
Romero y otros que apoyan el impuesto lo
llaman una “contribución voluntaria en el
punto de venta.”
Otros como Colin Zimmerman de Tucson
Association of Realtors (Asociación de
Agentes Inmobiliarios de Tucsón) dice que es
una cuota de transferencia que evita por poco
las restricciones que aprobaron los votantes el
4 de noviembre con la Propuesta 100, que prohíbe la imposición de tales cuotas de transferencia en la venta de propiedades. Zimmerman
piensa que la cuota de transferencia es una
afrenta directa para el mercado inmobiliario
que además ya está teniendo problemas, y presenta aún otro obstáculo para familias de bajos
recursos que están esforzándose por comprar
su primer hogar.
Pero el hecho de que la propuesta incluye
un “menú de opciones” proporcionado por la
ciudad, causa que esta quede técnicamente
protegida de las restricciones de la Propuesta
100. En lugar de pasarle la cuota a los compradores, los promotores pueden escoger o
bien hacer la contribución directamente al
fondo o asignar un porcentaje de sus unidades
para gente de bajos recursos (que ganan el
80% o menos de los ingresos medios) y la
clase trabajadora (quienes ganan del 80% al
120% de los ingresos medios).
“A mí no me parece que haya opciones”,
dice Zimmerman sobre las alternativas a la
cuota voluntaria. “Suena más como ‘escoja su
veneno’”.
Depende de cómo se mire la situación:
una cuota de transferencia impuesta en un
mercado inmobiliario que ya está arruinado o
una contribución voluntaria reducida para
ayudar a los pobres de la ciudad.
El uno por ciento no parece mucho, dice
Zimmerman, pero él calcula que por cada
$1.000 que aumenta el precio de una casa,
otras 700 personas no podrán acceder a ella
debido al precio. Así que una casa de
$200.000 estaría fuera del alcance de 1.400
personas adicionales, concluye.
Esto no ayuda a los que están tratando de
alcanzar el “Sueño Americano”, dice
Zimmerman, y el “menú de opciones” sólo
ofrece una mala selección para los promotores, que sólo buscan no perder dinero.
Pero no todos los promotores dispuestos a
trabajar en el centro de la ciudad están dispuestos a hacer un sacrificio para que el centro se convierta en un buen vecindario.
En septiembre, Romero temporalmente
paró los planes para comenzar la construcción
en The Flats at Julian Drew Block, un proyecto de apartamentos en el centro localizados en
el 178-188 al este de Broadway.
Ella quería que Ross Rulney, el promotor
del proyecto, impusiera a los compradores de
hogares una cuota de transferencia para el
fondo.
Rulney se opuso a la cuota, ofreciendo en
su lugar $5.300 al Fondo de Viviendas.
El proyecto se retrasó otra semana y finalmente comenzó la construcción sin la
imposición de la cuota.
EL INDEPENDIENTE
November 21 / 21 de Noviembre 2008
Page / Página 5
Kitchen Helps Feed South Tucson
BY
PHOTO
The daily migration to the humble white
house begins with the sun. In the early morning light, hundreds of people wend their way
through the neighborhood and down the
street, by car and by foot to line up at the
door.
By the end of the day, more than 600 men
and women including 200 families will pass
through the two-room house to get a hot
bowl of soup and a bagged lunch – perhaps
the only food they will get that day.
This is Guadalupe’s. The home, at 26th
Street and Third Avenue, throws its doors
open Monday thru Friday to feed hungry
Tucsonans.
It is one of several services the Catholic
Workers Community at Casa Maria has
offered for 25 years to local families and the
homeless.
Inside, 12 volunteers hastily unpack green
milk crates stacked high with bread, pastries,
canned vegetables and fruit, and repack the
food into white paper bags to pass on to people waiting in a line that now extends outside
of the house, past the dirt yard with tables and
park benches, and onto the concrete sidewalk.
“I come here everyday,” says Priscilla
Tadeo, leaning against a chain link fence, a
white Styrofoam cup of noodle soup in
hand and her four-year-old daughter Gracie
by her side. “Sometimes you need the extra
help.”
Tadeo was laid off from her job at the
Tortilla Factory. Her husband stuccos houses but only has two or three shifts a week
these days. They rely on Guadalupe’s food
kitchen.
It’s only two hours into the daily food
service and the volunteers have worked nonstop. “I’ve already counted 225 family bags,”
says Casa Maria worker Brian Flagg, as
Tejano music plays in the background.
Flagg and four other full-time employees work and live at Casa Maria. They pay
themselves $10 a week from privately
donated money.
“We’re the only ones in town that do this
kind of service,” says volunteer Pancho
LEILA ABU-SAADA
By Leila Abu-Saada
Laura Alameda, left, and Esmeralda Zafiro, back right, organize and separate piles of canned food,
fruit and bread that has been donated to Casa Maria.
Medina leaning against crates of food. “I
really feel it’s my obligation as a good citizen
to give back to the community.”
Casa Maria relies heavily on volunteers to
gather and bundle the donations of food that
come from Food City, Safeway, individual
drop-offs and school fundraisers.
“I don’t know what people would do
without Casa Maria,” says Charlotte Speers,
a 20-year volunteer. “It’s the pulse of South
Tucson.”
Casa Maria is always struggling to find
enough food to feed the hundreds of people
who come to their door. Many times they can
only offer bread.
“We have to all the time be begging for
food,” Medina says.
According to Speers, Casa Maria has seen
a wave of new people relying on their food
service.
“I’ve seen an increase in the last few
months,” she says solemnly. “I just think it’s
just our economy…jobs aren’t here anymore.”
Casa Maria offers more then bagged
meals.
They provide basic necessities for
homeless folks, allowing them to use the
phone, pick up their mail, use the shower
and choose clothes from their clothing
bank.
Casa Maria also hosts the El Rio health
clinic that sets up next to the Guadalupe’s
kitchen every Tuesday and Thursday.
“No one will be refused,” Medina says.
“Most of these people don’t have health
insurance.”
South Tucson police officer Angelica
Lopex volunteers once a week at
Guadalupe’s and says she has gained a
stronger sense of community through her
time there.
“I like the homeless community here,
they see me in another light,” she says as
she hands out soup through a tiny side window.
“It just amazes me that they come out
here everyday,” adds Lopex. “No one
serves the community like they (Casa
Maria) do.”
As the hustle of the volunteers inside the
crowded two-room Guadalupe’s house continues into late morning, Flagg becomes concerned.
“We need way more food,” he says.
Soon though, as if someone was listening,
a truckload of Salpointe Catholic High
School freshman appear and one-by-one
unload cardboard boxes of Ramen noodles
and canned food by the door.
“I didn’t have anymore food until
Salpointe came,”Flagg says. “It’s a miracle
to me.”
Hitting Home: Foreclosures on the Rise
By Claire Conrad
PHOTO
BY
JENNY MAYER
October was the first month that
Hugo and Rosa Chavez did not
make the payment on their mortgage. Income was down for Hugo,
who works as a banquet server at
the Omni Tucson National Resort;
his number of shifts had declined.
“In the beginning it was okay
because he was working all week
and he was getting good tips and
his checks were really good,” Rosa
said. But soon they could not afford
the mortgage for their house on
Tucson’s northwest side. Rosa is
pregnant and will have to stop
working in a few months, decreasing their income.
Hugo and Rosa were worried
and wondered if they would be able
to afford to stay in their house.
“We were thinking ‘What are
we going to do?’ ” Rosa said.
“We’re just going to lose the
house.
Hugo and Rosa are not alone.
Arizona ranked third in the
nation in home foreclosures for the
third quarter of 2008, according to
RealtyTrac, a national database of
While
foreclosure
listings.
Maricopa County and Pinal County
were among the hardest hit in the
state, Pima County still has a high
rate of foreclosures, said Jay
Young, a senior researcher with the
Southwest Fair Housing Council.
In 2006, there were 2,767 notices
of foreclosures filed at the Pima
County Recorder’s Office, according to a report released by the
Southwest Fair Housing Council. In
2007, foreclosures jumped 67.7 percent to 4,640. As of July 2008, 4,841
foreclosures had been filed.
Cheri Horbacz teaches the Foreclosure Prevention workshop to people at the
Tucson Money Faire held at the El Rio Neighborhood Center.
Hispanic Rate Higher
The rising rate of foreclosure in
Pima County affects all socioeconomic groups, from those barely
making ends meet to those foreclosing on million dollar homes,
said Cheri Horbacz, project manager for Don’t Borrow Trouble, a
predatory lending education center
that works with homeowners facing foreclosure.
However, Hispanics in Pima
County have experienced higher
rates of foreclosure.
In 2002, Hispanics accounted
for nearly 35 percent of foreclosures, but received less than 19 percent of loans and account for 30
percent of the population. In 2006,
Hispanics accounted for 36 percent
of foreclosures but received 24 percent of loans and now account for
more than 32 percent of the population, according to the report.
“The study in 2004 showed that
Hispanic borrowers were affected
more than most, and a lot of the foreclosures were in South Tucson, a
highly Hispanic area,” Young said.
Foreclosures broken down by
zip code show that areas with high
Hispanic populations have higher
rates of foreclosures.
Hispanics are more likely to
have taken out sub-prime mortgages as well.
In 2006, 42 percent of loans
made to Hispanics were sub-prime.
Amongst white borrowers, 17 percent of loans were sub-prime,
according to the report.
While the Hispanic population
continues to have higher rates of
foreclosure, the rest of Tucson’s
population is catching up. Many
homes in Tucson’s suburbs that
were financed using exotic loan
products, are likely to have higher
rates of foreclosure.
“You still had South Tucson and
the Hispanic areas that were hard
hit, but you also started to see
outer-ring suburbs that were new
suburbs where a lot of these exotic
mortgage products were used to
buy homes,” Young said of the current foreclosures. “It started to be
less about race and income and
more about product.”
Help for Borrowers
The Primavera Foundation has
seen an increase in the number of
troubled borrowers coming through
their doors for help, though they
are not sure if that is due to the
word spreading that help is available or because an increased number of people needing assistance.
The foundation offers educational programs for those considering buying homes as well as assistance for borrowers facing foreclosure, said Renee Bibby, marketing
coordinator for Primavera.
Hugo and Rosa were two people
who found their way to Primavera
for help. The first time they went to
Primavera, they found emotional
relief. They were reassured that they
were early on in the process and
could still save their home and credit rating. Hugo attended classes to
learn about finances and foreclosure.
Primavera’s classes are offered
in English and in Spanish.
The foundation counseled a total
of 120 borrowers from July 1, 2007
to June 30, 2008. Of those, 74 percent were Hispanic, according to an
analysis released by the foundation.
Don’t Borrow Trouble also
offers help in English and Spanish
for Tucsonans facing foreclosure.
They have been advertising to zip
codes with a high percentage of
Hispanics to let them know of
upcoming foreclosure workshops
or events, Horbacz said.
Foreclosures in the Future
Current projections indicate the
rate of foreclosures will continue to
rise for the next few years.
A high percentage of sub prime
adjustable rate mortgages, an
increase in delinquency on mortgage payments, a continuing
decline in home prices and a weak
economy are all factors that indicate foreclosures will remain high,
according to the Southwest Fair
Housing Council Report.
Changing
guidelines
for
lenders and borrowers, the precarious state of the economy and
future stimulus programs could
affect the rate of foreclosure
locally, Horbacz said.
Pima County is projected to
have more than 8,000 foreclosures
by the end of this year, Young said,
with the same predicted for 2009.
The rate of foreclosure could
increase depending on different
factors, such as unemployment.
“We’re still spinning out of control in my opinion,” Horbacz said.
“I don’t know about how much
more of a bottom we can go but
we’re not on our way up. Even if
we stay where we are it’s only, to
me, going to get worse.”
For Hugo and Rosa, the story
ends happily. They renegotiated
their mortgage and are now paying
around half of what they were paying per month, Hugo said. They
will stay in their home.
EL INDEPENDIENTE
Page / Página 6
November 21/ 21 de noviembre 2008
BY
Raucous laughter and the smell of taquitos
and enchiladas spill out of the small room.
The show Family Guy buzzes low on a small
television set in the corner. A group of men
sit around a table, passing cheese and salsa as
they joke around and reminiscence about the
day’s events.
“Well that one guy got beat up with a
baseball bat,” … “Yeah, 12 times he got hit,”
… “Oh yeah, there was the car that slammed
into the wall,” … “He was very combative,
he didn’t like us very much.”
Clearly, it’s not a bar or a friendly poker
game, although they are all friends. It’s
Tucson Fire Department’s Station 14, the
busiest station in Tucson according to firehouse.com. According to the same Web site,
the station is one of the top 20 busiest in the
nation, something they are very proud of.
The men are eating a well-deserved dinner after four calls in a row, which is normal
for these guys. Sometimes they spend all day
in the fire truck.
“There’s a lot of pride that comes out of
here,” says Joseph Castro, 32. “We run a lot
of calls and we feel that there’s some responsibility. There’s a lot of pride with being busy
and doing your job well.”
Castro says many firefighters who leave
the station want to come back.
Here, the firefighters are family. After all,
they are together the bulk of their 24-hour
shifts – they work together, eat together,
cook, clean and laugh together.
The station is relatively small, with one
fire truck and one ambulance. Located in a
modest building near Drexel Road and Sixth
St., it employs 18 firefighters who work on a
six man, three-shift rotation.
At Station 14, like every other station in
Tucson, the majority of calls are medically
related. According to Tucson Fire
Department’s statistics from 2007, nearly 84
percent of all incoming calls were for basic
or advanced life support. Calls for drug overdoses, car accidents and fights are more frequent than calls for fires.
This month, Geoff West, 27, a firefighter
and medic, delivered a baby in the back of an
ambulance after a woman driving her pregnant friend to the hospital stopped at the station when she realized they wouldn’t get
there in time.
“Sometimes we go not because it’s an
emergency,” says West. “But because people
need help. That’s what we’re here for.”
The men are trained to be firefighters, but
it’s part of the job, he says.
However, most of them don’t consider it
work – they genuinely love what they do.
“Honestly, just helping people,” says
Captain B.J. Noriega. “Everybody looks forward to coming to work. It’s like another
family and a way of life.”
The layperson may find the job’s long
hours and highly physical work unappealing,
but firefighter Ruben Olivares, married with
two children, disagrees. He was injured earlier this year and had to work regular hours
for four months.
“It felt like I spent less time with my family, actually,” he says. “Working 24 hours
means the next day, I get to be home at 2:30
when my kids get home from school.”
And in the past month, many of the hours
not spent on calls were spent on working on
their float for the 12th Annual Firefighters’
Chili Cook-off, which was Nov. 7 at El
Presidio Park.
Determined to unseat Station 1, who takes
home first place nearly every year, Station 14
built the “Toilet of Doom,” a 17-foot spectacle of a toilet with a skull’s face – complete
with Indiana Jones (Captain B.J. Noriega)
serving chili.
The float took second place out of 32 stations and the men are proud. The fundraiser
collected $52,000 for the Adopt-a-Family program. Station 14 also participates in community outreach programs, going to elementary
schools to teach children about fire safety.
These men are passionate about their work,
but their good humor allows them to look past
the shootings, stabbings and domestic violence
they see on a nearly daily basis.
Even in the fire truck, lights and sirens
blazing on the way to a possible heroin overdose, West and Smith are at ease in the back,
confident and relaxed. They’re teasing each
other as if on a leisurel y car ride as Olivares
pilots the fire truck through traffic lights and
over speed bumps.
But once they jump out of the fire truck,
grab their heavy, brightly colored equipment
and enter the home of the call, it’s all business. Their professionalism on the job is a
PHOTO
By Dana Pfeiffer
GERALD R. ZIMMER III
Family Keeps Station 14 About More than Just Fires
The firefighters of station 14 created ‘Indiana Jones and the Toilet of Doom’ for the Firefighters Chili
Cookoff.
stark difference from the fraternity houselike feeling at home base. They take their
work seriously and appreciate its diversity.
“I think the cool thing about this job is
there’s such a variety of things we do,” Smith
says. “One minute we’re helping someone
who drank too much and the next we’re helping an older guy up who just fell. One minute
we’re washing dishes and the next minute
we’re fighting a fire.”
Bad Streak Turns to Free Laptops to Grade A Students
Season of Success
Having lost 23 straight games
entering this season, Tucson High
School head football coach Vincent
Smith was worried about everything except making a playoff run,
especially because the Badgers
hadn’t made the postseason in 20
years.
Even wishful thinking would
have been pushing it.
“We believed in our kids and as
a coach you always want to believe
that you can make a run,” Smith
said, “but given the recent history
and seeing the way things have
gone, we just knew in order (to
make the playoffs) we were going
to have to hang in there and do
some things well.”
Just when things looked like
they were heading down the wrong
path yet again for Tucson — the
losing streak reached 25 games
when the Badgers dropped their
first two games of the season —
something changed.
After a 54-7 victory over
Phoenix Alhambra on Sept. 19 to
break the seemingly forever
streak of losses, the winning attitude returned and the Badgers finished the season 5-5 with a trip to
MISTI NOWAK
By Ari Wasserman
How do you motivate high school
students to value their education?
How about offering them a free
laptop?
Sunnyside Unified School
District is doing just that.
By implementing “Project
Graduate: The Digital Advantage,”
SUSD hopes to increase the district
graduation rate by awarding a laptop to students who qualify at any
three of its high schools.
By achieving a solid grade point
average and good attendance while
having a positive attitude and outof-class involvement, a student is
in good shape for getting a laptop.
Project Graduate originally was
intended for incoming freshman,
but was expanded to reward the
upper-level students as well.
To qualify for a laptop, an
incoming ninth-grader must attend
the first day of school, have an academic grade point average of 2.5 or
higher, 95 percent or better attendance rate, be regularly involved in
extracurricular activities sponsored
by the school, and have no out-ofschool suspensions.
Digital Scholars is the laptop
criteria for 10th, 11th and 12th
graders who are held to a higher
standard. Students must receive a
grade point average of 3.5 or
higher, with a 95 percent attendance rate and no unexcused
absences.
According to a study by Johns
Hopkins University in 2007, SUSD
dents maintaining their GPA has
also been impressive.”
Laptops are provided through
funding by business and community partners, such as Wal-Mart and
Wells Fargo.
“There is no limit to the number
of laptops we give away,” says Joe
Peters. “However many students
make the mark.”
Each student has an advisory
period where they receive an individual progress report from an
advisor.
Students are encouraged to
apply for internships, jobs and
mentoring programs through partners of this project in addition to
striving to achieve good grades.
Almost 1,200 students are currently on track to receive a laptop
this January.
COURTESTY OF
Badgers make
it to playoffs
the 5A-I state playoffs waiting for
them.
“We honestly could have been
7-3 or 8-2 because we lost by a
touchdown in two of our games,”
Smith said.
Regardless of the record,
Tucson High had to take on
arguably one of the best teams in
the state Friday in Mesa Mountain
View.
The Badgers kept the game relatively close early on.
However, a string of four
turnovers eventually led to
Tucson’s demise, as the team eventually fell 43-6 to end its season.
Tucson High School’s only
points came from field goal kicker
Martin Encinas who booted field
goals through the uprights from 38
and 37 yards out, respectively.
Smith considered playing in a
playoff game a major improvement
from a 25-game losing streak,
which is what Tucson High had
been known for prior to its turnaround.
“We had a good group of hard
working kids.
“They went about their business
in a working-like fashion, and
never made excuses for the previous years,” Smith said.
“They followed the formulas we
had set forth to accomplish (our
goals) and as a coach and a mentor,
if you can build something like that
with young men, that’s all you can
ask for.”
was labeled a “Dropout Factory,”
with a graduation rate of only 63
percent.
It is statistics like this that
prompted the school to create and
implement a variety of programs in
an effort to keep kids in school.
“It has been a great success,”
says Joe Peters SUSD special assistant to the superintendent.
Project Graduation is the
umbrella name for the programs
that address the districts dropout
rate. The laptop giveaway is one of
the programs, created to monitor
the progress of students toward
graduation.
“Preliminary numbers during
the first quarter has shown, compared to last year, significant
improvement in attendance,” says
Joe Peters. “The numbers of stu-
PHOTO
By Tanya Radisavljevic
Good students at Sunnyside High School can earn laptops by keeping their
grades up and going to class.
EL INDEPENDIENTE
November 21 / 21 de noviembre 2008
Page / Página 7
Only three months later, in
September, he weighed 155
pounds.
“I thought I lost the weight
because I was eating healthier and
exercising more. I didn’t stop to
think I had a problem,” Kassner
said.
By the end of October, he began
to lose strength and started to sleep
more than usual.
“I tried to work, but ended up
taking time off because I felt too
tired. All I did was sleep that whole
week.”
Kassner almost slept through
his alarm that morning of Nov. 5.
His eyes were glazed over as if he
had pink eye, his whole body felt
sore like he had been in a fight the
night before, and he barely had the
strength to brush his teeth.
He got into his gold SUV and
drove the 13 miles from his small
apartment on Orange Grove Road
to the Hotel Arizona on Broadway
Boulevard.
He could barely keep his head up.
“It seemed like I spent days in
traffic before I actually made it to
work.”
He was in the hospital for five
days.
The day after he was released
Kassner went to watch the Arizona
Cardinals with a bag full of needles
in his hand.
“I have to shoot up before every
meal, and when my sugar is messed
up. I have no pancreas at all so I
have to stay on top of things or I
could have problems.”
Before insulin was developed,
people who had been diagnosed
with diabetes died in less than three
BY
“I remember it like it was yesterday. Nov. 5, 2007 was the day my
life changed,” said Kevin Kassner.
“I was working at the Hotel
Arizona and I decided to leave
work early.
I didn’t have the strength to do
anything so I jumped in my Ford
Explorer and headed home.”
Kassner pulled up to Walgreens
Pharmacy on the corner of Grant
and Oracle, walked in and could
barely stand up.
“Everything was spinning, my
legs gave out from under me and I
fell to the ground.”
“I had enough strength to call a
co-worker and ask [her] to come
get me.”
Terry Anderson came to the aid
of Kassner, put him into her 1986
Buick Century and drove him to
Northwest Medical Center.
“Kevin walked into the hospital
and was told to sign some papers.
He made it through one letter and
collapsed to the floor,” Anderson
said. “The doctors immediately
took him away.”
When Kassner woke up two
days later he was told that his pancreas had completely shut down
and he would have to inject himself
with insulin every day for the rest
of his life.
According to the American
Diabetes Association, 6.2 million
Americans are unaware that they
have diabetes, and Hispanics have
a higher chance of developing the
disease.
"Education is extremely important for diabetes prevention and
treatment,” said Maria Valenzuela,
diabetes educator for St. Mary’s
Hospital.
“People need to regularly check
themselves, especially since many
of them don't know they have it
until more severe signs and symptoms show up."
Some 14.6 million Americans
have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Hispanics over age 20 have been
diagnosed in high numbers, recently extending to 10.4 percent of the
Hispanic population, according to
the National Diabetes Education
Program.
Native Americans have the
highest rates at around 50 percent.
The Hispanic diet in the United
States is high in fat and carbohydrates and generally features large
portions, which is increasing the
number of diabetics in that population, Valenzuela said.
Most immigrants from Mexico
become obese within 5 years of
entering the United States because
of fast food.
Most are from areas or cultures
that rely on subsistence agriculture
and are now living in a world with
mostly meat products and are
unable to control their diabetes,
Valenzuela said.
Many people see the signs of
diabetes, but don’t realize what is
going on and fail to ask a health
professional.
“I went on vacation in June of
2007 and weighed 245 pounds. My
body felt great even though I was
kind of overweight,” Kassner said.
“When I got back home to Tucson
I started eating better and becoming more active.”
PHOTO
By Gerald R. Zimmer III
GERALD R. ZIMMER III
Millions Unaware of Lurking Diabetes
Kevin Kassner didn’t recognize the signs of diabetes until his pancreas failed.
He now requires regular insulin injections.
years, but now people live 10 to 50
years after diagnosis with diet,
insulin, drugs and/or insulin
pumps, according to the ADA.
In a way, it seems like diabetes
has completely changed Kassner’s
life, but he believes that everything
is the same.
MOCA Brings Music to Families Downtown
By Elena Cruz
The Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown
Tucson offers families the chance to listen and learn about
different styles of music once a month.
The Saturday morning event brings a variety of musicians
to perform as a way to expose families to diverse styles of
music.
“We bring quality independent local musicians for families to hear,” says Lisa Gibbs, associate director of MOCA.
“Children are hip to it.”
Gibbs says MOCA family concert time lets younger generations know it is a place they can enjoy.
The museum also offers activities that relate to the performance, Gibbs said.
Recently MOCA featured Steve Romaniello who plays
the theremin, a space-age sounding instrument.
In December, instead of a family-time concert, MOCA
will hold a workshop for families to learn how to do performance art at home.
The Mama/Dada/Baby performance on Dec. 20 will
showcase two local artists and work they have done with
their families.
Admission to the concert is $5 per family and free for
MOCA members.
Family Time concerts are held on the plaza outside the
museum on 149 N. Stone Ave. every third Saturday of the
month.
For more information about family time concerts at
MOCA call 624-5019.
‘Developing’ an Income for the Tucson Housing Trust Fund
By Tess Martinez
When the Gadsden Company
agreed to go above and beyond for
the Tucson Housing Trust Fund
earlier this year, some saw it as a
victory for downtown’s poor.
“It’s our feeling that new housing developments downtown
shouldn’t be expensive and only
for rich people and yuppies,” said
Brian Flagg, an activist at Casa
Maria Soup Kitchen at 401 East
26th Street. “We need to make it so
poor families don’t get displaced.”
The company pledged to make
35 percent of its units available as
affordable housing and make a
$250,000 contribution to the trust
fund. They also tacked on a 1 percent transfer fee to sales of the
units.
“He should be lifted up as a
model for a cause,” Flagg said of
Gadsden’s chairman Jerry Dixon.
“(The cause of) Developers for
affordable housing.”
Mac Hudson, aide to councilmember Regina Romero, agrees.
He said this is the kind of developer that the city needs downtown,
one who wants to see “communityminded” people filling up the living space they create. Out of a
desire to see “good neighbors” in
this development, the company
made the choice to make these contributions to the Housing Trust
Fund, Hudson explained.
On November 25, the Mayor
and Council will take a look at
implementing a requirement that
all developers will have come closer to the Gadsden Company’s standards when they work under a
development agreement with the
city to benefit the fund.
Hudson said the fund, which
currently has about $1.3 million
dollars in the bank, has an annual
fund-raising goal of $3 to $5 million to help low-income and working class Tucsonans with down
payment and home improvement
assistance. Since it was created in
2006, the fund’s coffers have been
chronically strapped.
When 13 percent of families
and nearly 20 percent of people in
Tucson are living below the poverty level according to 2006 U.S.
Census statistics, $1.3 million
doesn’t go very far.
The fund was initially intended
to be supported by three sources: a
portion of the sales of city-owned
properties, the conversion of rental
properties (also known as a “condo
tax”) and leftover funds from the
utility service low-income assistance program.
A combination of economic factors has caused the sources to run
dry, leaving the fund with less than
half the money it needs.
“
That doesn’t sound
like a choice to me...It
sounds more like pick
your poison
–Colin Zimmerman,
Tucson Association of
Realtors
”
Because of this, members of the
citizen’s advisory board which oversees the fund have been searching
for alternative means of income.
And a percentage of the sales of
units built under development
agreements with the City just might
be what will bring life to the fund.
Romero and others in favor of the
fee call it a “voluntary point of sale
contribution.”
Others,
such
as
Colin
Zimmerman of the Tucson
Association of Realtors, say it’s a
transfer fee that only nearly dodges
the restrictions voters approved
when Proposition 100 was passed
November 4, banning the imposition of such transfer fees on property sales.
Zimmerman sees the transfer
fee as a direct affront to an already
struggling real estate market, and
yet another obstacle to low-income
families striving to purchase their
first home.
But the fact that the proposal
includes a “menu of options” laid
out by the city technically protects
it from the restrictions of Prop.
100.
Instead of passing the fee onto
their buyers, developers can either
choose to make a contribution
directly to the fund, or they can
dedicate a certain percentage of
their units to low or lower income
housing.
“That doesn’t sound like a
choice to me,” Zimmerman said of
the alternatives to the voluntary
fee. “It sounds more like pick your
poison.”
It depends on how you look at
it: a transfer fee imposed on the
already busted housing industry or
a meager voluntary contribution to
help the city’s poor.
One percent may not seem like a
lot, Zimmerman said, but he estimates that for every $1,000 that a
home goes up in price, it goes out
of the price range for another 700
people. Thus, a $200,000 home
would be out of reach for an additional 1,400 people, he reasoned.
That’s not helpful to folks in
pursuit of the “American dream,”
Zimmerman said, and the “menu of
options” is a bland selection for
developers struggling to break
even.
But not all developers seeking
to work in downtown are as willing
make a sacrifice to see downtown
become a good neighborhood.
In September, Romero temporarily halted long-awaited plans
to break ground on The Flats at
Julian Drew Block, a downtown
condo project at 178-188 East
Broadway.
She wanted the project’s developer, Ross Rulney, to impose a
transfer fee onto the homebuyers
for the fund. Rulney refused, offering instead to make a $5,300 contribution to the Housing Fund.
The project was delayed for
another week, and eventually broke
ground without the fee.
By Elena Cruz
?
Page / Página 8
QUÉ PASA ?
EL INDEPENDIENTE
November 21 / 21 de noviembre 2008
las ciencias desde las 10 a.m. hasta
las 4 p.m.
El ingreso es gratuito. Si desea más
información llame al 792-9985.
Nov. 1 – March 31
Butterflies!
A partir del 23 de nov.
See the annual butterfly exhibit at
the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
Butterflies from Asia, Africa,
Australia and the Americas are on
display for all to enjoy. Admission,
which includes the gardens and the
butterfly exhibit, is $11 for adults
and $5.50 for children 4 to 12.
Children 3 and under are free. For
more information call 324-0166.
Videojuegos los
domingos
¿No tiene nada que hacer los
domingos por la tarde? Venga y
juegue a Guitar Hero III, Dance
Dance Revolution y muchos videojuegos más. La sucursal de Pima
County Library Mission en 3770 S.
Mission Rd. ofrece los videojuegos
cada segundo y cuarto domingo del
mes, desde las 3 hasta las 4:40 p.m.
Si desea más información, visite
http://www.library.pima.gov/locations/mission/ o llame al 594-5323.
Nov. 22
Sparks Science
Fun Fair
The Tucson Children’s Museum
offers some science fun from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
For more information call 7929985.
28-30 de nov.
Bailes aztecas
Vengan a disfrutar de la historia de
los bailes aztecas. Los Nahui Ollin
Aztec Dancers han viajado a través
de los Estados Unidos y México
presentando bailes aztecas cuya
tradición ha sobrevivido gracias a
los danzantes de la familia de Luis
Salinas. Presentarán en el Tolteca
Tlacuilo, 186 N. Meyer Ave., en el
Old Town Artisans Courtyard. Las
presentaciones serán a las 12, 2 y 4
p.m. El ingreso es gratuito. Si desea
más información llame al 6235787.
Starting Nov. 23
Gaming Sundays
Nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon? Come play Guitar Hero III,
Dance Dance Revolution and many
more games. The Pima County
Library’s Mission branch, 3770 S.
Mission Road, offers games every
second and fourth Sunday of the
month from 3 to 4:30 p.m. For
more
information
visit
http://www.library.pima.gov/locations/mission/ or call 594-5323.
28 de nov.- 4 de ene.
Nov. 28 – Nov. 30
Fall Festivities
Aztec Dances
Come enjoy the history of Aztec
dances. Nahui Ollin Aztec Dancers
have been traveling around the
U.S. and Mexico performing Aztec
dances that have been passed down
through the Luis Salinas family
performers. They will be performing at the Tolteca Tlacuilo, 186 N.
Meyer Ave. at Old Town Artisans
Courtyard. Performances are at
noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Admission
is free. For more information call
623-5787.
Photos by Jenny Mayer
and Gerald R. Zimmer III
Top left and left: Selling nachos and chili at
the Firefighters Chili Cookoff at Presidio Park
downtown.
Below and top right: The All Souls
Procession on Fourth Avenue.
Tacky el Pingüino
‘Tis the Season
Vengan y escuchen las aventuras de
Tacky el Pingüino en la Librería de
la Unión Estudiantil de la U de A.
La narración de estas historias presenta a un personaje diferente el
primer sábado de cada mes, a las
10:30 a.m. Si desea más información llame al 621-2814.
Learn the history of various holiday traditions at the UA’s Flandrau
Science Center. The show traces
the history of Christian, Jewish,
Egyptian, Hopi and other winter
traditions. Admission is $5 for ages
4 and up. Children under 4 are free.
For a schedule of shows, see
http://www.gotuasciencecenter.org/
astronomy/planetarium/ or call
621-3645.
6 de dic.
Festival sobre las
tradiciones y el tamal
Dec. 1
Tacky the Penguin
El festival anual Tamal vuelve al
Anselmo
Valencia
Tori
Amphitheatre en el Casino del Sol.
Disfruten de un día de tamales,
música y entretenimiento, desde las
10 a.m. hasta las 5 p.m. Si desea
más información llame al 1-800344-9435.
Come meet and hear the adventurers Tacky the Penguin at the UA
Student Union Bookstore. The
story telling event features a different character the first Saturday of
each month at 10:30 a.m. For more
information call 621-2814.
Tamal & Heritage
Festival
The annual Tamal festival is back
at Casino del Sol’s Anselmo
Valencia Tori Amphitheater. Enjoy
a full day of tamales, music and
entertainment from 10 a.m. to 5
Aprendan la historia de varias
tradiciones de días festivos en el
Flandrau Science Center de la U de
A. La narración oral traza la historia de las tradiciones cristiana,
judía, egipcia, hopi y otras del
invierno. El ingreso cuesta $5 para
los mayores de 4. El ingreso para
niños menores de 4 es gratuito.
Para un horario de presentaciones,
vea http://www.gotuasciencecenter.org/astronomy/planetarium/ o
llame al 621-3645.
1 de dic.
Nov. 28 – Jan. 4
Dec. 6
Es la temporada
p.m. For more information call
1-800-344-9435.
Traducido por
ernesto amaya
1 de nov. - 31 de mar.
¡Mariposas!
Vean la exposición anual de mari-
posas en el Jardín Botánico de
Tucsón
(Tucson
Botanical
Gardens).
Habrá mariposas de Asia,
África, Australia y América para
que todos puedan disfrutar.
El ingreso, el cual incluye los
jardines y la exposición de las
mariposas, cuesta $11 para adultos
y $5,50 para niños de 4 a 12. Si
desea más información llame al
324-0166.
22 de nov.
SPARKS feria
científica divertida
El Museo Infantil de Tucsón
(Tucson’s Children’s Museum)
ofrece actividades divertidas con
Check us out!
El Independiente
now online at
www.elindenews.com