Reaction from across the political spectrum on the Obama administration's new policy regarding young people who have entered the country without going through the proper immigration channels:

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer calls it an "outrage":

It doesn’t take a cynic to recognize this action for what it is: blatant political pandering by a president desperate to shore up his political base. Likewise, it’s no coincidence all of this comes on the eve of a long- awaited decision by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Arizona’s ability to assist with the enforcement of immigration law via SB 1070. The American people are smarter than this.

I’ve been clear that our nation’s immigration system is as broken as our borders. Unfortunately, today’s piecemeal pronouncement is a dangerous distraction from both problems. I urge the President to finish Job One: Securing the border. Then – and only then – should the President pursue a solution for our immigration system by working with our elected members of Congress.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Richard Carmona:

The administration's decision today to stop deporting DREAM Act-eligible students is long overdue. This isn't amnesty. These kids are in our country through no fault of their own, many of which are accomplished students and have volunteered to serve our country in the military or within local communities. I hope today's announcement serves as a building block toward the day when we finally put the politics aside, solve the problem and reform a broken immigration system.

Tonight on Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundtable: Congressman Raul Grijalva stops by to talk about President Barack Obama's new immigration policy. Plus, our panelists—Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphries, former state lawmaker Pete Hershberger and Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers—weigh in on immigration politics, Ron Barber's victory over Jesse Kelly in the special congressional election, the upcoming races in CD1 and CD2, and the latest in the land of Rio Nuevo. Tune in at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 6 for Southern Arizona's best televised political roundup!

Daniel Buckley began a Kickstarter project last week to help support the final push for a documentary project on El Casino Ballroom, which will premiere in August at the Tucson Fox Theatre.

In March 2010, I went to the El Cine Plaza series at the Fox to watch great old movies my mother watched at the old theater when she was a kid. That theater was torn down in the name of downtown redevelopment. Before each screening, Buckley's first Tucson documentary series opened taking us back to that dear old theater, the destruction of Barrio Viejo (which continues today), and the people.

Buckley followed up with more documentaries, the latest on Barrio Hollywood. This anticipated gem on El Casino is expected, from my perspective, to bring together aspects of Tucson that those who understand and love this gravel-lot town know how it all comes together at El Casino.

From Buckley's Kickstarter (the goal is $7,500 and has $1,255 pledged so far):

The funds raised will go toward finishing the editing of the film, paying for transcription of all of the interviews involved, renting the Fox Theatre so that the premiere can be a free event AND the hiring of three young interns to participate in the film's creation. Two of the interns will come from Tucson's now-banned Mexican American Studies program. The third will be a high school graduate starting a journalism program at college in the fall.

There's a whole lot of rewards offered, ranging from the DVD of this and other Cine Plaza at the Fox documentaries to opportunities to attend portions of the filming of the documentary, credit in the film and much more.

All of the raw footage and all of the transcripts from the interviews will be turned over to the Arizona Historical Society for research and inclusion in other people's projects.

El Casino Ballroom turns 65 this year, and has been the home to more musical and cultural celebrations than just about any landmark in the city. Become part of preserving and celebrating its history by supporting this project in any way that you can. And please forward this to other friends who may be interested.

The film is being produced in partnership with CHISPA, The Fox Tucson, KXCI Radio, and the Arizona Historical Society with additional support from the Tucson Pima Arts Council's PLACE Initiative Grant. This will be the fifth installment of the Cine Plaza at the Fox documentary series.

A press conference takes place today with local DREAMers and advocates, 5 p.m. at the John Valenzuela Youth Center, 1550 S. 6th Avenue, South Tucson from ScholarshipsA-Z. It's a chance to welcome President Obama's policy shift, but also a reminder that the local fight continues for Giberto Avila Santos, a DREAMer taken into custody yesterday:

ScholarshipsA-Z welcomes today’s announcement by President Obama to grant temporary relief to DREAM Act beneficiaries as a momentous act of courage and a profoundly important step toward justice for immigrant youth. The announcement comes after two years of organizing and advocacy by DREAMers to ensure that their lives are not put on hold and that their families are not torn apart because of Congress’ failure to act. However, one Tucson family still remains at risk of being divided.

Gilberto Avila Santos, a DREAM Act-eligible student, was detained yesterday, just hours before this announcement, and he fits the criteria for this relief that President Obama explained during his address to the nation this morning. This is a huge opportunity for Arizona to do the right thing, however the Tucson Border Patrol continues to detain Gilberto.

“We must comply with our President's executive order,” said Matt Matera, Executive Director of ScholarshipsA-Z. “Gilberto is not a threat to the community. He meets the requirements for relief and should be released immediately.”

Gilberto Avila Santos is a 21-year old Desert View High School graduate. While driving home from work, he was rear-ended. Police were called by a witness. Gilberto remained at the scene to be responsible. When the Sheriff deputy arrived, Gilberto’s undocumented status was discovered and he was forced to stay outside in the sun for 2 hours until Border Patrol arrived to detain him. He is currently being held at the Tucson Border Patrol station.

Josue Saldivar, Tucson DREAMer says, “We have waited for action like this for many years. We know that this relief is temporary. We will continue to work for policy reform that provides a pathway to citizenship and allows us to fully contribute to this nation. But right now, we need Gilberto, our fellow DREAMer to be released.”

President Obama’s announcement brings relief to many DREAMers, however we must make sure this relief is brought to Gilberto and his family. Gilberto plans on enrolling in college in the Fall 2012 semester. He is DREAM Act-eligible and an asset to our Tucson community.

Despite their rampant overuse during the early days of the visual web, the internet is a far better place these days because of the simple genius of the GIF, invented 25 years ago today:

The modern-day GIF was introduced to the world 25 years ago today by Steve Wilhite as a more versatile alternative to the JPEG, according to Alexander “Sandy” Trevor, the former chief technical officer of CompuServe.

“If you want lossless, compressed graphics, there is nothing better than GIF,” Trevor told the Daily Dot. “Yes, JPEG is better for photos, but you can tolerate loss in photos. And PNG has some benefits, but for most applications it is not worth the additional implementation hassle.”

Former Arizona legislator and all-around nice guy Tom Prezelski is raising money on Kickstarter to finish his quite-cleverly-titled book on a bit of Mexican-American history during the Civil War, Knights of Woeful Countenance: 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers, 1863-1866:

The current political dogma is based on the premise that Mexican-Americans are a new community, largely without roots in the United States. This is pure bunk. Mexican-Americans have always been here, though their role in building this country is too frequently dismissed and forgotten. In particular, the role of Mexican-Americans in the Civil War usually goes unmentioned.

Thousands of Mexican-Americans served on both sides of the great conflict, from Pennsylvania to the Pacific Coast. This project focuses on one battalion, about 400 men (plus their wives, in a few cases), raised from among the californios, the Spanish-Speaking natives of California, in the hopes that their legendary horsemanship could be put to good use in the federal service. These men served in California by supporting a campaign against Indians in the northern counties, pursuing bandits in the Central Valley, securing the roads across the southern deserts, and generally enforcing federal authority during the national crisis. Later, they were posted to a squalid post on the Mexican border in Arizona, from where they patrolled against Apaches and partisans of the Emperor Maximilian.

The Civil War is the great American Epic, our Iliad. That Mexican-Americans were a part of this story and therefore share in our national heritage is an inconvenient truth that is too little known. I hope that in a small way, this book can give this record its proper place in the popular imagination.

Whatever you think of Usher's music, you can't deny that the man is talented. He dances, he sings, he ... he plays the bass?! And likes Foster the People!? My world just turned upside down. I'm used to seeing the R&B star show off his vocal skills and tear it up on the dance floor, all while seducing everyone in the audience. Now he's proven himself to be a full-fledged Renaissance Man with this take on the alt-rock hit for the BBC's Live Lounge.

Well, if you think there's not much of a difference between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, this should create some separation between the two, especially concerning immigration policy:

Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children will be able to obtain work permits and be safe from deportation under a new policy announced on Friday by the Obama administration.

The policy, effective immediately, will apply to people who are currently under 30 years old, who arrived in the country before they turned 16 and have lived in the United States for five years. They must also have no criminal record, and have earned a high school diploma, be in school or have served in the military.

These qualifications resemble in some ways those of the so-called Dream Act, a measure blocked by Congress in 2010 that was geared to establish a path toward citizenship for certain young illegal immigrants. The administration's action on Friday, which stops deportations but does not offer citizenship or even permanent legal status, is being undertaken by executive order and does not require legislation.

What the younger immigrants will obtain, officials said, is the ability to apply for a two-year "deferred action" that effectively removes the threat of deportation for up to two years, with repeated extensions. "This is not immunity, it is not amnesty," said Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary. "It is an exercise of discretion."

Officials estimated that the new policy would cover about 800,000 people.

View UA Bike/Ped improvement suggestions in a larger map

The University of Arizona's bike and pedestrian plan was released in draft form this week. Check out the suggestions including eliminating two lanes of traffic on Sixth Street.

Bikes and fashion collide at a free screening of the Bill Cunningham documentary on Saturday. Check out the details here.

Four Tucsonans are riding in an epic mountain bike race from Canada to to New Mexico. Learn more about the race and see how the riders from Tucson are doing.

The Tucson Police Department recently wrapped up their targeted enforcement of bicycle and pedestrian violations. Check out how many cyclists and pedestrians were cited.

Today is the 25th anniversary of the (fictional) Mets/Phillies game that led to an incident between Kramer, Newman, Keith Hernandez and (as it was later discovered) Roger McDowell.