An email went out today from Wingspan's programs director Chad Mosher, on the LGBT community center's move and what they need in order to make the transition to the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation office effortless.

They need moving supplies and brawn:

Wingspan staff members are busy preparing for our move to SAAF. We are excited for the move, and looking forward to new beginnings.

Over the next 2 weeks, we need your assistance. We need help packing, moving, organizing and unpacking. We will sell much of our office furniture, equipment, and supplies. Here is a breakdown of what we need:

Donations needed for:
Boxes
Moving tape
Labels and tags for moving and selling

Moving Preparation: Thursday, July 24 and Friday July 25 between 9 am and 6 pm

Volunteers to help pack
Volunteers to help organize
Moving Days: Monday, July 28 - Wednesday, July 30 between 9 am and 6 pm

Trucks for moving
Volunteers to help pack and unpack

We will hold a community "Yard Sale" Tuesday, July 29 - Thursday, July 31 between 9 am and 6 pm. Please come check us out, and alert your friends and colleagues.

Please email Heather or Chad or call 520-624-1779 to assist or for more information.

Thank you for your support of Wingspan! Together we ALL are Wingspan!

An article in today's Star has new background on the hiring of Adelita Grijalva's mother-in-law, Olga Gómez, as the new principal of TUSD's Myers/Ganoung Elementary School, and it doesn't look good. Gómez herself comes out fine. Based on her experience, she may have been a good pick for the school. But Superintendent H.T. Sanchez should have used better judgement and, as important, he should have been more forthcoming when he was questioned about hiring details. And board member Grijalva should have disclosed her close family ties to Gómez earlier in the process.

I'm going on the assumption that the Star article is accurate. It sounds well researched to me. According to the article, Gómez got the lowest marks of the three candidates for the principal's job. However, since one of the higher ranked candidates was given another job in the district, it really came down to two choices, Gómez and someone from out of state. Sanchez said the need for the other candidate to be re-certified in Arizona was part of his decision to recommend Gómez. Maybe, maybe not. But if he was thinking of the consequences of his decision, if he weighed his concern that a well qualified candidate didn't have an Arizona credential against the suspicion of impropriety that certainly would follow his choice of Grijalva's mother-in-law, it shouldn't have been a contest. He should have gone with the other candidate.

It's that time of the year when you go to your favorite local establishment and they have that pesky "Out of town" sign dangling on their door.  Everyone is getting out of dodge. Heads up: La Cocina Restaurant & Cantina has gone on vacation. The restaurant will reopen at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 1. 

No one is more bummed out than DJ Herm:

We have been speculating on which DC Comics character Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson should play in a future film. It looks like we'll finally have some closure. Total Film's Josh Winning asked the actor who he would like to play. The Rock has been in ongoing discussion with the movie studio, and it looks like they finally settled on a character. Johnson admitted to toying with the fans and asking them which character would best fit him and his personality.

He says the character has the power of Superman, and to just say the "word." I don't think it's "Fan Boy" or Robin.

Obviously, he's going to play Shazam? All this time we thought he was going to play Black Adam.

Hope you like new music from local bands because it's coming. Lenguas Largas will embark on a nationwide tour in celebration of their new album, Come On In. Listen to the Tucson band's new album at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at The District Tavern, 260 E Congress St. You can learn all the words and sing along when they return to the Old Pueblo with California band White Night at Club Congress on Monday, Sept. 1.

Here's the latest track from the new record:


Click here to pre-order their new album off Bandcamp.

Congressman Ron Barber (D-CD2) unveiled his first ad of the campaign season this week, featuring narration by his wife, Nancy, and lots of family history alongside the usual stuff about securing the border, working across the aisle and such.

Team Barber is tight-lipped about how much they are spending, with spokeswoman Ashley Nash-Hahn saying only that the ad "will be up this week with a significant buy and it will run until it effectively communicates Ron's positive message with Southern Arizonans."

Meanwhile, a different source that tracks campaign spending tells The Range that Air Force veteran Martha McSally, who is Barber's likely GOP opponent, had reserved about $45,000 worth of advertising time for an ad that is scheduled to run between today and July 28.

Why are all these unaccompanied children coming to the United States from Central America? If you find yourself wanting to answer this question with some intelligence and history on your side, even if the person asking it doesn't really care about intelligence or history, give this Huffington Post read a try, "Here's How The U.S. Sparked A Refugee Crisis On The Border, In 8 Simple Steps."

While the problem is sad and may seem complicated, the list is a reminder that when we value history and learning, the problem is insanely simple and the children are political pawns in a system that doesn't care—on both sides of the border:

The 57,000 children from Central America who have streamed across the U.S.-Mexico border this year were driven in large part by the United States itself. While Democrats and Republicans have been pointing fingers at each other, in reality the current wave of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras has its roots in six decades of U.S. policies carried out by members of both parties.

Since the 1950s, the U.S. has sown violence and instability in Central America. Decades of Cold War gamesmanship, together with the relentless global war on drugs, have left a legacy of chaos and brutality in these countries. In many parts of the region, civil society has given way to lawlessness. It's these conditions the children are escaping.

Darlena Cunha's recent article in the Washington Post, "This is What Happened When I Drove My Mercedes to Pick Up Food Stamps," got a lot of love and attention:

Sara Bareilles played softly through the surround-sound speakers of my husband’s 2003 Mercedes Kompressor as I sat idling at a light. I’d never been to this church before, but I could see it from where I was, across from an old park, abandoned in the chilly September air. The clouds hung low as I pulled the sleek, pewter machine into the lot. But I wasn’t going to pray or attend services. I was picking up food stamps.

Even then, I couldn’t quite believe it. This wasn’t supposed to happen to people like me.

But freelance journalist Rae Gomes, co-editor of The Nation's "Ten Things" column, wrote a piece in response that's also worth a look. Honest and true. Here's an excerpt from "This Is What Happened When I Took the MTA Bus to Pick Up Food Stamps" in The American Prospect:

It took me four months, but my version of a Mercedes—resourcefulness, education and networking—got me out of the welfare office. But here’s where the personal stops being the universally-applicable political. Both Cunha and I are exceptions to a history and a system designed for entrapment and failure. The trouble with applying her story—or even mine—writ large to an entire diverse group of women is more insidiously judgmental than her conclusion about value judgment would allow. You see, she felt judged when she showed up at a food stamp facility in her fancy car, and seems to equate that with the reproach that is visited upon those who live lives of seemingly intractable poverty, including poor black women.

The “new poor,” by which she meant people like herself, she explained in the video accompanying the article, should be immune from the judgment of those “who never had anything.” While she makes attempts to reconcile her experience with a one-size-fits-all lesson of “just don’t judge anyone,” she ignores the decades of a campaign aimed at shaping the way we see welfare and food stamp recipients, especially those who are black. Workers in the welfare offices, policy makers, and the general public have all absorbed the message.

The mythic vision of a black woman driving her Cadillac to the welfare office is a powerful piece of American lore and has a much different connotation than Cunha in her Mercedes. While Cunha and her status symbol may have drawn some sidelong glances, she was never accused of gaming the system, or of using government funds for material wealth. Her fancy car came from a past life of relative luxury, and she looked the part.

Remember that soccer thing that everyone was really into when the World Cup was a thing? Luckily, Tucson has a growing soccer scene waiting for your support. FC Tucson announced that they are hosting the Premier Development League Western Conference semifinals and finals on Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26.

From FC Tucson: 

Friday night’s matches will begin at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Kitsap Pumas, the No. 1 team from the Northwest Division, will kick off against Ventura County Fusion at 6 p.m. Then, your hometown FC Tucson will take on the Vancouver Whitecaps U23s, the No. 2 team from the Northwest, at 8 p.m. Saturday night’s match, which will be the Western Conference Championship, will be at 7:30 p.m.

General admission tickets for both nights in sections 102, 103, 105 and 106 are just $10 and are on sale now! Click here to buy right now!

“Being the host site for the PDL Western Conference Finals is just another example of Tucson’s vibrant soccer community,” said the FC Tucson ownership group in a joint statement. “It’s a testament to our fans’ tremendous support all season long. Now we’re bringing the excitement of the PDL playoffs home and we expect to have another huge crowd at North Stadium Friday night to support the hometown club.”

Click here to buy your tickets and for more information. 

The Humane Society of Southern Arizona presents Jackson, a 5-year-old, male, domestic short hair
Reference No. 782799 
Jackson had a rough beginning after he was abandoned on the streets. A feral cat caregiver trapped him for TNR but immediately realized that he wasn’t wild at all. In fact, he’s 100 percent lap cat material! Thankfully, Jackson was brought to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona for a second chance at domestic bliss. Now Jackson is soaking up attention and making new friends everywhere he goes. It’s easy to see why he’s a staff and volunteer favorite, with his warm personality and calm demeanor. This soulful gentleman will sit and cuddle for hours and hours. Jackson is FIV-positive, which means that he will need to live exclusively indoors and be an only cat or live with other cats who share his status. If you could give this special needs kitty the happy home of his dreams, please visit Jackson at the HSSA. He can't wait to greet you with open arms! HSSA is located at 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd.