The answer to the headline's question — Did Arne Duncan Really Say, "Testing Is Sucking The Oxygen Out Of The Room"? — is no, he didn't really say that. What he really said was,

"I believe testing issues today are sucking the oxygen out of the room in a lot of schools."

There's a Grand Canyon-sized divide between seeing "testing," and "testing issues" as the problem. Duncan's remarks Thursday, where he said states can take a year longer to use high stakes test scores in teacher evaluations, probably reflect two issues. One, he's actually taken a few baby steps toward the realization that our obsession with testing is causing some negative consequences he didn't foresee. Two, he's scared crap-less about losing teacher support for Common Core. Teachers were leaning in his direction in the early implementation of the standards, but their support has been eroding steadily, as has the support of the general population. So Duncan is listening to teachers — he said that a bunch of times in his prepared remarks — and trying to gain back their confidence and support by saying, Clinton-like, "I feel your pain" when it comes to standardized testing.

Jennifer Saunders told the Mirror recently that those lovable alcoholic fashion comedy queens will be back in an "Absolutely Fabulous" movie and she plans to have every past guest star reprise their roles.

Rejoice.

From the Mirror:

Jennifer Saunders is planning a star-studded cast for the Absolutely Fabulous movie and some very big stars could reprise their roles.

The 56-year-old comedienne is working on a film spin-off of her classic sitcom and she has revealed she wants every guest star that's been in the show - including Kate Moss and Emma Bunton - to return.

She said: "I haven't got the storyline completely sorted out yet, but I want to cast everyone who has ever been in the show in it."

Writing and starring in the original show - which ran for five seasons between 1992 and 2003 and later returned for special episodes - Saunders confirmed that she was working on a new script for the big screen earlier in the year.

The hit sitcom starred Jennifer and Joanna Lumley as boozy fashion industry insiders Edina 'Eddy' Monsoon and Patsy Stone.

The comic confirmed the main cast, also consisting of Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks, would return for the movie.

She told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "I guess if your name begins with J, you're in. Joanna, Jennifer, Jane, June, Julia - we're all J's."

Other guests who appeared on the show - which aired 39 episodes in total - include supermodel Naomi Campbell, Helena Bonham Carter, Idris Elba, Sir Elton John and Jennifer's long-time comedy partner Dawn French.

Jennifer confirmed the movie earlier this year, saying: "I am writing the film as we speak - it's in the pipeline.

"I am hoping it will be released by the end of next year."

The Global Justice Center will host a pot luck fundraiser for the Tucson Rio Yaqui delegates who plan to travel to Mexico to visit Yaqui leaders who have created a blockade fro Rio Yaqui to Hermosillo to defend their water rights from what they consider the Sonora, Mexican government's attempt to divert water from the river to an industrial area.

From Alianza Indígena:

The Yaqui nation in Mexico needs your solidarity. Many Yaqui have been maintaining a blockade of the highway running through their lands in order to defend water rights and the Rio Yaqui. Labor day weekend the Alianza Indígena, the Yoeme Human Rights Network, the Alliance for Global Justice and the Gloo Factory will visit with blockade leaders and deliver contributions we have raised to support this important cause. Come meet with the delegates and learn more! Please bring a dish to share if you can, and if you can't, please come anyway! Besides the good food, there will be speakers, music and videos about the struggles. All money collected will go towards supporting the struggle and the delegation.

The government of the Mexican state of Sonora is attempting to divert water from the Rio Yaqui to Hermosillo mainly to a “NAFTA-zone*” industrial area that includes Ford, Coca-cola, Tecate and other big corporate plants. The Yaqui nation's rights concerning this river were guaranteed by a 1937 treaty. These rights must be upheld and respected, not abrogated. Failure to protect the river will leave in its wake yet another dry riverbed where water once flowed.
*: NAFTA stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement

The pot luck and fundraiser is at the Global Justice Center, 225 East 26th St., South Tucson, Saturday, Aug. 23, 6 p.m. Cost is a $5 donation or more. There will be a panel discussion, as well as an enchilada rice and bean dinner or bring a dish to share.

• Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

A few days ago I wrote a post, Arizona's Economic/Education Divide, about the undeniable correlation between the state grade schools in Arizona receive and the family incomes of the students who go there. I've hammered away at the connection between family income and school achievement for years and will continue to hammer away at it in the future. Let me explain why.

For lots of people, the income/achievement connection in education is so obvious, it hardly deserves mentioning. I mean, just look around the Tucson area. Marana, Oro Valley, the Foothills and Vail are filled with "A" schools along with a smattering of "B" schools — high grades to match the areas' high incomes. The south side of Tucson is where you find the greatest concentration of "D" schools to go with the high rate of poverty in the area. You'll find the same geographic/economic distribution of school achievement across the U.S. You'll find it around the world.

Of course, some students provide stunning exceptions to the overall rule, starting out in poor families and ending up with PhDs from Harvard, and some schools manage to defy the odds and get test results higher than their students' low socioeconomic status would suggest. But those are the occasional exceptions to the rule. They're outliers in an overwhelmingly consistent pattern.

However, some people deny this fundamental correlation between family income and educational achievement. In fact, leaders of the Education Reform/Privatization movement have spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars purposely, systematically, repeatedly denying the connection, or at least minimizing its importance. Low achievement by students from low income families isn't about poverty, they maintain. It's about failing schools, bad teachers — and, of course, teachers unions which pamper their members and ignore the needs of the students. "Stop making excuses!" they shout to people who acknowledge that low income schools tend to have low performing students. "Students will do great things if you just give them great teachers with high expectations!"

Remember George Bush's line about "the soft bigotry of low expectations"? It's a beautiful phrase with at least a kernel of truth to it, but its main purpose was to bludgeon teachers and administrators who work with low income students, saying to them, "You're all a bunch of bigots who think your students are too stupid to do well in school because they're black or brown or poor! Their low test scores are your fault, because you're lousy educators who refuse to have high expectations for your students."

The leaders of the education reform/privatization movement are accomplished snake oil salesmen. Like the con men of old who used to stand on the back of wagons pitching their wares, these purveyors of educational snake oil begin by rolling out their gruesome descriptions of the aches, pains and mortal illnesses their audience is afflicted with. The only difference is, their pitch is about educational, not physical ailments.They tell horror stories about the mortal danger our country is facing due to our "failing schools" which are sapping our children of their educational potential and turning us into a second rate economic power, soon to be overwhelmed by international competition. When their audience has been sufficiently beaten down, when they've lost all hope that our system of public schooling can ever succeed, when they're ready to grasp at any solution offered up with sufficient evangelical zeal, the con men pull a bottle of magic potion off the back of the wagon and wave it in the air, guaranteeing it will cure all our educational ills. They recite the ingredients in their elixir: charter schools, vouchers, elimination of teacher tenure, elimination of teacher unions. And they promise, if the country drinks it, our educational ills will be cured.

Reid Park Zoo announces that Semba, a 24-year old African Elephant, successfully delivered a female calf at 10:55 p.m. last night Both mother and calf appear to be doing well, but are spending quiet time in the Click Family Elephant Care Center under the watchful eyes of the elephant team. This is Semba’s third calf, but the first elephant ever born at Reid Park Zoo.

Keepers and trained volunteers have been observing Semba’s moves around-the-clock since early July. Throughout the day on August 20, Semba was moving more slowly than usual, but she continued to eat and interact with the rest of the herd. At approximately 10:35pm, in the quiet of her normal evening surroundings and under the watchful eye of her Keepers, she began to exhibit signs of active labor including laying down, walking backwards, and extending her tail. She gave birth very soon after. She progressed quickly and delivered without any intervention from the staff. The calf hit the ground at exactly 10:55pm, took her first breath immediately, stood up within minutes, and began to nurse within the hour. The calf has not been named and has not been weighed yet.

“We are beyond excited,” states Fred Gray, Director of Parks and Recreation. “I could not be more proud of our staff for their hard work and preparation for this important day. Our top priority is the health of Semba and her calf – and I’m pleased to hear they are both doing well. The City is committed to the future of African elephants, and leading the field of elephant care with colleagues. This is a fitting gift to the Tucson community on our 239th birthday.”

The first 48-72 hours following the birth are the most essential for Semba and her calf to form a strong physical and emotional bond. Absolutely no visitors or non-essential staff members are being admitted to the Elephant Care Center at this time. Once the calf is nursing regularly and following Semba instinctually, additional areas of the holding facility will be opened for them to explore. Keepers will also be watching to make sure Semba is eating, drinking, and recovering normally from the physical stresses of labor. As the calf gains strength, she will be introduced to the rest of the herd.

“This birth, literally the largest in the history of the State of Arizona, represents a significant milestone for the Zoo,” states Jason Jacobs, Zoo Administrator. “This birth would not have been possible without the vision and partnership of the City of Tucson, Reid Park Zoo, Reid Park Zoological Society, and San Diego Zoo Global.” This calf’s arrival is living testament to the dedication of so many generous donors and supporters who worked together to build Expedition Tanzania, with a shared goal of housing a breeding herd of elephants in Tucson. Our Zoo staff looks forward to keeping the community updated on the progress of the calf and the rest of the herd.”

• JAMES HUDSON

In anticipation of heavy traffic flow with the return of University of Arizona students this weekend, the City of Tucson Department of Transportation (TDOT) has announced it will temporarily shut down southbound traffic through the 4th Avenue Underpass at 9th Street starting today at 7:00 p.m. The lane will be closed off from motorists from the hours of 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. starting on Thursday, August 21 and continue through Saturday, August 23. Only the Sun Link streetcar and bicycles will be allowed to use the southbound travel lane; pedestrians can use the southbound sidewalk through the underpass.

According to TDOT's Michael Graham, "Prohibiting southbound travel through the Fourth Avenue underpass during the peak travel hours for this area is expected to further ease the congestion along Congress Street."

Regarding what he told the Tucson Weekly in an interview last week, Graham said, "The increased activity in the downtown area, specifically at the Congress/Fourth/Toole intersection, has caused gridlock conditions. TDOT staff made permanent traffic signal timing adjustments last week on Congress which improved traffic flows."

The entire press release after the break:

In yesterday's The Washington Post, UA professor Diana Liverman, co-director of the UA's Institute of the Environment, perfectly describes how many parents feel when talking to their children about climate change, except Liverman's op-ed is about how she was teaching her college students.

Liverman, a member of the Op-Ed Public Voices fellowship and a current Guggenheim fellow, wrote that her Intro to Environmental Studies class student had renamed her class "Environmental Depression."

Maybe we can learn something from this college professor and create our own change agents at home.

From The Washington Post:

I’ve been teaching college undergraduates about the environment for 20 years. Like many others, I focus on how humans are changing the earth system through pollution, deforestation, resource exploitation and climate change. I school them on the inadequacies of environmental policy and try to shock them out of complacency and into action.

Problem was, it wasn’t working. Many students left my class feeling despondent and powerless. As one wrote to me, “what you have taught me makes me desperately sad, clinging to the last memories we will have of the planet as the world chooses material comfort over breathing fresh air.”

Grim, no? I wanted to turn my students into change agents. Instead, I was doing the opposite. I was ignoring important research in my own field of climate change that demonstrates that fearful people feel disempowered and less willing to act. How would my students be motivated to do something if they felt paralyzed by fear and hopelessness?

Our courageous editor Dan Gibson braved the elements on Saturday, Aug. 16 to participate as a judge in the Salsa and Tequila Challenge. He reported back to the office many delicious tequila cocktails, as well as unique paleta and food offerings. He was pretty happy, and it wasn't just the tequila that was making that happen.

Funds from the event went to the Southern Arizona's Art and Cultural Alliance Creative Arts Therapy Program, Food Bank of Southern Arizona and Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation scholarship fund.

Salsa Challenge Winners:

Best Traditional - JW Marriott Star Pass Resort & Spa

Chef Danny Perez for Salsa Helada

Best Hot - Armitage Wine Lounge

Chef Jorge Moreno for Habanero Mango Salsa

Best Mild - Hotel Congress

Chef Karl De La Ossa for Sweet Tomatillo Salsa

Best Alternative - Wilko

Chef Ian Sugarman for Kimchi by the Sea

Judges 1st Place Winner - Armitage Wine Lounge

Chef Jorge Moreno for Habanero Mango Salsa

Judges 2nd Place Winner - Hotel Congress

Chef Karl De La Ossa for Sweet Tomatillo Salsa

Judges 3rd Place Winner - Prep & Pastry

Chef Liz Delgado for Blueberry Jalapeño

People's Choice 1st Place Winner - Mouth of the South Salsas Co., LLC

Chef Andrea B. McGowan for INSANE

People's Choice 2nd Place Winner - Pima Community College, Culinary Arts

Chefs Linda Tandjung, Chelsie LaRochelle and Jesse Huggins for Drunken Pineapple

People's Choice 3rd Place Winner - Marriott University Park

Chef Adrian Castillo for Smokeless Fire

OK, so one can dream, but maybe just putting it out there our city leaders can make it happen—Bill Murray visits Tucson.

It worked for the Toronto International Film Festival.

We have film festivals. We have fraternity parties he can unexpectedly visit. We have a street car he can ride and stops along the way he can spontaneously work as food server or bar keep. We are a Bill Murray kind of town.

From the NYT:

When the Toronto International Film Festival announced on Wednesday that one of its highlights would be Bill Murray Day — a Murray minifestival on Sept. 5, with free screenings of “Stripes,” “Groundhog Day” and “Ghostbusters,” leading to the world premiere that evening of his new film, “St. Vincent” — the question no one could answer was whether the elusive Mr. Murray would participate in the public festivities.

He will. On Wednesday evening, a spokeswoman for the Weinstein Company, which is distributing “St. Vincent,” confirmed that Mr. Murray had agreed to an audience chat and question-and-answer session after the screening of “St. Vincent,” and that he would speak not only about the new film, which is directed by Theodore Melfi, but would also look back on his career.

Tickets for the free screenings of Mr. Murray’s early films will be available at 8 a.m., at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The screenings begin at 10 a.m., and there is an contest: 50 people who attend all three screenings will be given free tickets to the “St. Vincent” premiere at 9 p.m. at the Princess of Wales Theater. Details of the contest will be available soon on the festival’s website.

John Huppenthal's Wednesday press conference got wide coverage, but maybe not the kind he was hoping for. Playing the Illegal Immigrant Card a few days before a primary which he could lose to a previously little known candidate sounds a bit, um, calculated. The press generally agreed.

Howard Fischer, who covers the goings on at the Capitol and whose articles are picked up by many dailies in the state, wrote an article that was edited differently in the Star and in the East Valley Tribune, but Huppenthal doesn't come off well in either version. Fischer made clear, he doesn't suffer this particular fool gladly.

The Trib version has some great lines. It begins by stating Huppenthal's case.

The state's top education official warned Wednesday that Arizona schools could be inundated with tens of thousands of immigrant children at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars if President Obama enacts some kind of amnesty.

That's followed by a classic reporterly put down.

But John Huppenthal conceded he has absolutely nothing to back that up.

Later, Fischer reports,

[Huppenthal said] his press conference was called for Wednesday because of the “imminent” threat of an Obama declaration, one he wants to impact.

[snip]

Huppenthal, who faces a tough primary challenge next week from Republican Diane Douglas — and then will face a Democrat in November if he survives — insisted there was nothing political about it.