According to a Pima Community College press release, an executive summary of findings from an employee satisfaction survey were released today at www.pima.edu/about-pima/college-documents.

From PCC:

Tucson, AZ — Overall employee satisfaction at Pima Community College is close to the rating that employees at benchmark institutions give their colleges, according to a survey of PCC employees conducted in late 2013.

The College today released an Executive Summary of findings from the survey, which was conducted on Nov. 26-Dec. 20, 2013. The survey was sent to 3,970 employees, with 982 responding.

“Improving and strengthening constructive employee engagement is one of my top priorities,” Chancellor Lee D. Lambert said. “The College is committed to transparency and to data-inspired and evidence-based decision making. This survey provides a baseline for measurement as we improve the climate and culture of our school.”

The PCC employees who responded to the confidential, 20-minute survey rated their overall workplace satisfaction at 3.70 on a five-point scale, with a 1 being not satisfied at all and a 5 being very satisfied. The overall satisfaction at six benchmark comparison institutions participating in the same survey is 3.93.

Scottsdale's self-proclaimed "world class club" Hi Fi Kitchen & Cocktails is under hot water for possibly discriminating against a Tucsonan decked out in University of Arizona Wildcats apparel. Michael Underwood was asked to leave the club Sunday afternoon because he was wearing a University of Arizona hat, so Underwood put the cap in his vehicle and tried to re-enter the establishment. The Daily published Michael Underwood's video of a Hi Fi security guard refusing the Wildcats fan back in the club because he was violating dress code.

Underwood panned his camera phone around the establishment and captured multiple patrons (not wearing UA gear) violating the dress code, but they weren't being asked to leave.

Here's the official response from Hi Fi Facebook page:

Well...
Looks like an explanation is in order. The video circulating around, was a door rejection based on our after 5 p.m. dress code. It has nothing WHATSOEVER to do with his U of A gear. Plain and simple. After 5, we begin the transition to a dinner atmosphere, and nightclub thereafter. I know, I know...but a dress code comes along with the territory.

To claim we're not welcoming of Wildcats is just rubbish! I mean, we're hosting a Wildcat viewing party this Thursday, not to mention one of our sister bars is Wildcat headquarters. Sun Devils, Wildcats, Ducks, Gators, Billikens...


every one is welcome, so retract the claws, Cats, we come in peace!

Here's another response for good measure:

The gentleman who was denied entry to our Scottsdale location was not allowed into the establishment because he was out of dress code. He was in no way denied entry due to UA Attire.

We chose to open a location in Tucson because we want to work with the University and have great respect for their fans. Our management team is led by UA Alumni and our staff consists of an army of Wildcats. We would not have chosen to open in Tucson if we didn’t care about the city’s deep connection to the University and its Athletics.

We apologize for the confusion and look forward to supporting the city of Tucson, the University of Arizona and its fans for years to come.

Thank You,
Rick Cano, GM
Hi Fi Kitchen & Cocktails Tucson

So, what does this say about the new Hi Fi restaurant under construction in downtown Tucson?

Steve Gall has spent years advocating for daily exercise for school kids, which numerous studies indicate increases classroom attention and achievement at the same time it promotes better health. Ironically, the increased stress caused by the need to get high standardized test scores has meant less time for children to exercise their bodies as well as their minds at school.

Gall is a retired teacher with a doctorate in physical education. He volunteers in Tucson schools and has spent years advocating locally and state-wide for daily exercise. He’s worked with Republicans in the legislature, including Frank Antenori and John Huppenthal, getting them to sponsor legislation, but the bills didn’t get far.

Gall’s attempt this session looked like it might make it. Working with Republican Rep. Paul Boyer, he helped put together HB2539, which would create a task force to “examine, evaluate and make recommendations concerning the best practices for educating and encouraging physical activity in Arizona schools.” It passed the House on a 40-15 vote, but it was held in the Senate Education Committee by Republican Chairperson Kimberly Yee, which effectively killed it.

Kids say the most offensive things. One father thought it would be a good idea to record his son spewing out every curse word he knows. Thankfully, the lad isn't well versed but he'll get there one day. Totally safe for work, unless your boss and co-workers don't like butt jokes.

A sampling of Arizona students will be taking Common Core tests soon to see how they work. (We call it College and Career Ready Standards here. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.) So it's a good time to take a look at who's for Common Core and who's against it. In one segment in this month's Tucson Cable Access show, "Education: The Rest Of The Story," which I host with Ann-Eve Pedersen, we take a look at who are the folks on the three sides of the issue: the supporters, the detractors on the right, and the detractors on the left. Here's the short version.

Supporters include Obama, his Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Bill Gates, Jan Brewer, John Huppenthal and lots of others along the conservative-progressive continuum. They like it because they think it's good for kids, good for business or a combination of the two.

Detractors on the right include Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, Al Melvin, and many others, including most of Arizona's right wing. For them, the Common Core standards are the Feds flying black education helicopters overhead to soften up our children's minds so they'll yield to the will of their socialist overlords. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

You don't hear the privatization crowd using the word "voucher" much. That's because the "V" word doesn't poll well. "Tuition tax credits" gets a pretty good response. "Empowerment Scholarship Accounts" and "Education Savings Accounts" — basically the same thing — are too new to be polled accurately. But vouchers themselves remain unpopular.

So, use the term "vouchers" whenever you talk about the programs, not the wrapped-in-a-pretty-package-with-a-bow-on-top euphemisms the corporate privatizers dream up. If people aren't familiar with vouchers, tell them it's paying for private school tuition at public expense.

Fitz gets it. In his satirical op ed in the Star, The case of the missing tax dollars or how Public Ed refused to die, he used "voucher" four times, twice pairing it with "vultures." And his Sunday cartoon, Vouchers, shows elephants in hard hats, called the "Voucher Crew," taking the bricks out of public education and using them to construct private schools. Perfect.

I don't know how the X-Men franchise has done it for the last 14 years, but Days of Future Past might be the best one yet. I really like the mix of cast from X-Men: First Class and the originals, and there's a ton of new mutants in this latest trailer. In this film, Wolverine has to go back to the past and reunite Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) and change history to save the mutant and human race. I wonder how this will intersect with the Age Of Apocalypse sequel that's already in the works.

The movie is set to hit theaters Friday, May 23.

I'll be doing a blogger beat segment on the Bill Buckmaster Show today. The show starts at noon on KVOI, 10:30 AM on your radio dial or click here to listen online. The first half is a Face-off with Jeff Rogers and Bruce Ash. During the second half of the show, Bill and I will discuss vouchers, Common Core, education budget battles and whatever else comes up.

• Photo courtesy of Cynthia Gerriets
• Henry and Cynthia created a new handshake: The Mani-Fist-Bump!

Talking Comics' Cynthia Gerriets invited me on the show, and I don't think she realized what she was asking for.

I'm glad she had me on, so I can talk about the Image Documentary screening I arranged at the Loft Cinema on Monday, March 24. Tons of local comic book creators and special guests Max Cannon and David Fitzsimmons will be there. Cynthia said she will cosplay as an Image character! There will be a Image Comics giveaway and Q&A with the filmmakers after the film.

Twenty years ago, seven superstar artists left Marvel Comics to create their own company, Image Comics, a company that continues to influence mainstream comics and pop culture to this day. Image began as more than just a publisher - it was a response to years of creator mistreatment, and it changed comics forever. The Image Revolution tells the story of Image Comics, from its founders' work at Marvel, through Image's early success, company difficulties during the comics market implosion, and ultimately the publisher's new generation of properties like The Walking Dead. Filled with colorful characters, the film includes interviews with Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, as well as Walking Dead cast members Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus. The Image Revolution is a documentary about the American ideal of entrepreneurship and personal freedom, and the challenge of maintaining integrity in the face of success. It is also a clarion call to all artists to take control of their own destiny. Directed by Patrick Meaney (Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts). (Dir. by Patrick Meaney, 2013, USA, 81 mins.,Not Rated, Respect Films) Digital

Tickets are only $8 and $6 for members. The con starts at 5:30 and screening begins at 7 p.m. Click here for more information.

In this week's episode, we reviewed a new Image ongoing series Manifest Destiny:

In 1804, Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark set out on an expedition to explore the uncharted American frontier. This is the story of what they discovered lurking in the wilds…

Skybound’s newest original series unveils the monsters of the western frontier in the adventure of a lifetime by writer CHRIS DINGESS (Being Human) and up-and-coming artist MATTHEW ROBERTS.

Check out our review and what caused the 4.4-magnitude earthquake in Los Angeles (after the break):