Congratulations, everybody! A credit card company has dubbed the Old Pueblo the City Where the Most People Try to Buy Love Most Romantic City. Are you blushing?

Apparently, in the first two weeks of February, spending jumps 68 percent in our city—making us way more romantic than those inconsiderate jerks in Portland whose spending only jumps 15 percent. What are they even thinking?

Here's how Valentine's Day spending breaks down, nationwide.

Biggest spending on Valentine's Gifts:

$52.2 million - flowers
$50 million - jewelry
$38.3 million - apparel
$18.6 million - specialty gifts
$7.2 million - movies
$7.1 million - restaurants
$1.2 million - salons and spas

So, go spend a billion or two on flowers—but don't forget to share your tips on how we can blow more money this week and really secure our place as #1 in America's heart.

I missed Governor Ducey's tele-town hall on education February 5. A number of Tucson area people were called about the event, which featured Ducey and Lisa Graham Keegan, former AZ Superintendent of Education and a member of Ducey's education transition team. But Ann-Eve Pedersen, my cohost on Education: The Rest of the Story, listened in and was able to ask a question. She talks about Ducey and Keegan's efforts to push the idea of charters taking over empty district schools and classrooms and their misleading answer to her question about who owns a charter school building and property when the school closes.

Remember the female gray wolf that was sighted in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon last October? That was, according to environmental officials, a huge step forward for the species because a gray wolf hadn't been seen in that area for at least seven decades. 

Groups like the Center for Biological Diversity celebrated the wolf's arrival, and saw it as glimpse of hope that a gray wolf population could resurface in the area.

Well, after DNA testing, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials today confirmed that the gray wolf shot and killed in southwestern Utah (after a hunter mistook it for a coyote) two months ago was the same wolf seen wandering the North Rim.

She was referred to as "Echo," a name adopted through a contest involving hundreds of school children.

“Echo came to a heartbreaking end, but her odyssey through forest and desert shows that excellent habitat still remains for wolves in the American West,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity in a statement. “Her death also demonstrates that public education, law enforcement and solid science are needed now more than ever to recover endangered wolves, and that the last thing they need is to have their federal protections yanked.”

The 3-year-old wolf was first captured and radio-collared in Wyoming about a year ago. She then traveled hundreds of miles trying to find a mate, and ended up reaching the Gran Canyon. This was huge. Gray wolves hadn't been seen there since the 1940s. Gray wolves disappeared from northern Arizona in the '90s.

From the Center for Biological Diversity press release:

In May 2011, the same month Echo was born, Congress ended a budget standoff by approving must-pass legislation that included a rider removing Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Montana and Idaho, along with those in portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah. Removal of federal protections has thus far cost thousands of wolves their lives through state-authorized hunting, trapping and strangulation-snaring by members of the public, and through federal trapping, strangulation and aerial gunning.

The 2011 budget act forbade judicial review of the decision to remove protections. In contrast, federal courts have reversed as unlawful administrative delisting decisions extending to wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes states. Consequently wolves remain on the endangered species list everywhere in the contiguous 48 states except Montana and Idaho, eastern Washington and Oregon, and northeastern Utah. However, prosecutions of people who kill wolves are exceedingly rare.

Congress now threatens to extend the precedent of the 2011 delisting through another rider that would preclude protection of wandering wolves such as Echo, and prevent the recovery of wolves to suitable habitats where they could benefit the ecosystems.

“Echo’s killing illustrates the perils that wolves face and the imperative to maintain federal protections as called for under the science-based standards of the Endangered Species Act,” Robinson said in his statement. “Keeping wolves on the endangered list is the basis for the public education we need, to enable more wolves to live and thrive and minimize conflict.”

Some people like to make broad and obnoxious generalizations. One persistent stereotype in the comedy world is that women aren’t and can’t be funny. Obviously Tucson Improv Movement’s Jessica Peck doesn’t agree and her weekly comedy night is out to prove those completely ridiculous people wrong.

During the month of February, Peck and her troupe, The Riveters, will be performing on Saturday nights in the Best Show Period, a night showcasing female comedians in Tucson. 

"It's really important to showcase not only female talent but also female perspective on comedy and life in general," Peck says. "It's a really unique perspective that often gets overlooked."

Peck's troupe includes six other comedians: Catherine Bartlett, Esther Brilliant, Jessica Greg, Jessica Hill, Shanna Leonard and Claire Horton. However, each event begins with a comedian/storyteller before their improv troupe begins. Although those initial speakers change from event to event, Saturday, Feb. 14's performance will feature Noel Hennessy of the Female StoryTellers and comedian Nancy Stanley.

While the show is named Best Show Period (get it?), Peck says that the event is more than just a bunch of "for women only" jokes about women's issues. Their improv is based off of one word suggestions with last event's being centered around home and the next event likely being something about love, since it is on Valentine's Day.

"It's an overall celebration of female talent in community so it's about celebrating women—not excluding guys," she says. "We want both in the audience. But comedy in general has always been more of a boy's club."

Since it is improv, there's really no telling just where the performance will go thematically, but Peck assures that there will be something for everyone.

"Some people think this isn't for them," Peck says. "Funny is funny regardless of gender."

You can catch Jessica Peck and the Best Show Period at Tucson Improv Movement every Saturday in February starting at 9 p.m. Tickets for each event are $5. Peck says although the show stops at the end of February, it will likely be resurrected in a couple months for another run.

Tucson Unified School District Superintendent H.T. Sanchez spoke in a Senate Finance Committee hearing at the state Capitol this morning to testify against a bill that seeks to defund desegregation programs at some state schools. The bill passed the hearing, which means it is now headed to the state Senate floor, but sponsor and chair of the committee, state Sen. Debbie Lesko of Glendale, said she would work on an amendment to meet TUSD's special needs, since the school district is one of 18 in the state under the Unitary Status Plan. In TUSD's case, it is a federal court order with the purpose to make schools more diverse via trainings, programs, courses, and allowing children in certain areas of the city attend schools out of that area (these are known as magnet schools).

Provisions of SB 1317:

1. Requires school districts that have an existing or previous administrative agreement with the OCR and budgets monies for desegregation expenses outside the revenue control limit to reduce those expenses by at least 15 percent of the amount levied in FY 2009-2010 for five consecutive years beginning in FY 2016-2017 and prohibits those schools from budgeting for desegregation expenses outside the revenue control limit after FY 2022-2023.

2. Requires school districts that are subject to an existing or previous court order of desegregation and budgets monies for desegregation expenses outside the revenue control limit to reduce those expenses by at least 7 percent of the amount levied in FY 2009-2010 for 10 consecutive years beginning in FY 2016-2017 and prohibits those schools from budgeting for desegregation expenses outside the revenue control limit after FY 2027-2028.

3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

Sanchez says that, although the legislation got the OK today, the district has submitted documents and testimonials on why desegregation money is important to the district, as well as details of where exactly these funds go within TUSD to favor the Unitary Status Plan, which will all hopefully resonate with lawmakers in reaching a decision that will continue to support the district on that side of things.

"They were willing to further explore and understand TUSD's circumstances, so that TUSD can reach unitary status," he says.

The plan is very specific in providing all students of all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds in the district with "above and beyond" programs such as drop-out prevention help, transportation, academic assistance such as study sessions, etc. Sanchez says that if the funding disappears, there would be no way the district would be able to afford any of that (this would be on top of all other budget cuts happening in TUSD, and the looming threat of the state taking 10 percent of monthly aid if the district doesn't fix alleged violations of the state law that banned the Mexican American studies program).

He urges the state Legislature to protect something that is supporting all students' academic advancement, not just a select few.

Some background provided by the state Legislature:

Eighteen school districts in Arizona currently budget for costs resulting from a court order of desegregation, which applies only to Phoenix Union and Tucson Unified (TUSD), or an ongoing or resolved OCR administrative agreement, which applies to sixteen other school districts. Arizona statute allows a school district to budget and levy an additional property tax above and beyond the tax used for regular maintenance and operations for expenses incurred for any measures or activities designed to remediate alleged or proven racial discrimination. This budget authority is typically referred to as “desegregation funding,” although monies may be used to remediate any civil rights category violation.

TUSD receives more than $63 million (the money comes from a local property tax) for the desegregation programs. According to the documents presented at the hearing, TUSD is one of two school districts above the "1 percent cap," which is a constitutional protection for homeowners "that limits their primary property tax exposure to 1 percent of the home's total limited property value." 

From the state Legislature:

Given defunding of desegregation, Maricopa Unified would still be over the 1 percent cap because they currently exceed it by an estimated $5.2 million. Desegregation, however, is responsible for only $1.3 million of that total. TUSD would no longer be over the 1 percent cap without desegregation funding because they are currently over the 1 percent cap by $18.3 million, so eliminating $63.7 million of desegregation funding would more than offset the $18.3 million. 

From the $63 million, about $11 million go to magnet schools' programs, students outreach and recruiting services. Then there's about $8 million for things like translation and interpretation (ESL, etc.); another close to $8 million go to drop-out prevention and programs that aim to close the academic achievement gap.

Now, it's about waiting whether the state Senate will pass the bill. In that case, a version will head to the state House. Sanchez says there is still an open door, and he hopes that after lawmakers take a look at all of the information the district provided, the cuts won't happen.

Republican Gary Kiehne, who nearly upset former Arizona House Speaker Andy Tobin in the 2014 GOP primary, wants to run again for the congressional seat held by Democratic Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick.

Kiehne, a rancher, oilman and rodeo cowboy, announced his run on Emil Franzi's Inside Track radio show over the weekend. Franzi's Southern Arizona News-Examiner has details here. A snippet:

Even though the new congress has been sworn in for a little more than a month, Kiehne said it is important to fire up his campaign now, given the size of the district. It stretches from northern Pima County, up through Maricopa County, Apache County, Coconino County, Greenlee County and parts of Gila County as the district border moves to the Utah state line. The district was drawn that way by the Independent Redistricting Commission following the 2010 U.S. census.

"I spent a full year in 2014 almost every day running in that district," he said. "We still didn't get it all covered."

Because of the size of the district, Kiehne said if Republicans want to unseat the two-term Kirkpatrick, "it's going to take somebody dedicated enough to spend the next 18 months campaigning or the Republicans are not going to win it."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out an email blast this morning remembering some of Kiehne's gaffes on the campaign trail:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona is part of a lawsuit filed in court today against the Department of Homeland Security over its "failure" to provide any records related to abuse and mistreatment of undocumented children while in the custody of Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agents, particularly during the huge influx of Central American unaccompanied children that happened last summer, where emergency shelters were set up including one in a Nogales Border Patrol facility. 

In June 2014, the ACLU and some of its collaborators submitted a complaint to DHS on behalf of 116 unaccompanied children who said they were abused by Border Patrol agents, including being denied of hygiene supplies, bedding, food, water and medical care. In response to that complaint, the CBP was supposed to launch a full investigation on this, but in October the agency announced it would be "curtailing routine inspections," according to the ACLU. 

In December, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act-backed request to get DHS records related to this alleged mistreatment of children, as well as information on how DHS agencies handle these allegations. DHS did not provide them with anything, according to the ACLU. 

From the ACLU of Arizona press release:

Not only does the failure of DHS to produce the requested documents violate the Freedom of Information Act, it also impedes the ACLU’s efforts to educate the public on matters of pressing concern—namely, the mistreatment of children in Border Patrol custody.

There is also concern that the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which deals with, via several other agencies under its branch, relocating these children to relatives or guardians in the U.S., hasn't been consistently reporting allegations of abuse that involve the Border Patrol. 

From the release:

ORR incident reports made public last year show that while shelter workers in Arizona and Texas generally reported abuse allegations to DHS, they did not always report those allegations to state child protection agencies.

The ACLU also filed for child protection documents in Arizona and Texas to look into any pertaining to the Border Patrol.

“This case is about the systemic failure of multiple institutions to protect some of the most vulnerable among us,” said ACLU of Arizona Staff Attorney James Lyall in a statement. “Under any reasonable definition, the neglect and mistreatment that these children experience in Border Patrol custody qualifies as child abuse, and federal officials and contractors are required to report that abuse under applicable child protection laws.”

From October 2013 to June of last year, more than 50,000 minors, mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, were apprehended while trying to cross into the U.S. They come for a variety of reasons, but poverty and violence, particularly gang violence, are what prominently pushes them to migrate. Emergency shelters were set up in Arizona, Texas and other states to house them while they could be relocated to other agencies, such as Southwest Key, which works to reunite these children with family members in the United States. 

These emergency shelters were giant warehouses that were watched over by Border Patrol and CBP agents, and this is where many of these recent abuse allegations came to be.

This comes as no surprise to me as downtown's Cup Cafe is one of my favorite breakfast joints (and I'm immensely grateful that they serve breakfast until the very civilized hour of 4 p.m.), but Men's Journal has named the Hotel Congress eatery one of the best brunch spots in America:

If you’re looking for food in or around Tucson’s Hotel Congress, a trip to Cup Cafe may be in order. The menu ventures somewhat into the spicier realms — turkey chorizo is at the heart of one dish, and the Chilaquiles Verde incorporates eggs, braised pork, multiple cheeses and tomatillo sauce. There’s also The Deposition, in which bacon and eggs top a stack of pancakes, giving diners what may be the ultimate savory/sweet combination.

Check out the whole list here.

Hello hikers! We have a good one for you today; a largely unknown, little used and (as far as I know) unnamed trail right on the top of Gates Pass. Why this beautiful trail remains such a secret is one of the real mysteries of hiking in the Tucson Mountains, but here’s the scoop, for your hiking pleasure.

Featured Trail: unnamed trail on Gates Pass

Approximate drive from downtown to trailhead: 15 mins.
Approximate length of trail (roundtrip): 3, 4, 5 miles, depending on how far you go
Difficulty: moderate to medium, with a few steep spots, and a few places where you’ll need to scramble over some rocks
Highlights: largely unknown trail that feels isolated although it’s right on the top of Gates Pass; beautiful rock formations; spectacular views of Tucson Mountain Park

To get to the trail, travel west on Speedway until it turns onto Gates Pass Road, follow it over Gates Pass and down the other side to the Yetman Trailhead parking lot immediately on your left at the bottom of the hill.

From the parking lot start up the Yetman Trail, walking about 1/4 of a mile up to the top and a natural saddle; you can continue on over the other side onto the rest of the Yetman, but what we want is to follow the sign pointing off to the left (east and north) that says ‘Gates Pass.’ The trail skirts the hillside overlooking Gates Pass Road and the parking lot below before getting to a second saddle approximately 1/3 of a mile away. The trail here is narrow and rocky, goes up and down a few times and has a couple of feints off to the left or right, but is generally pretty easy to follow if you watch closely. If you get sidetracked it’s easy to find your way back and forward; the important thing is to get to the second saddle.

This part of the trail has great views of the entire westside of Gates Pass and the road winding down from the parking lot on top, Golden Gate Mountain looming on the left, terrific rock formations above, and Old Tucson Studios, Brown Mountain and Kitt Peak off in the (far) distance. It’s a picturesque piece of hillside trail walking, up close and personal with the desert, with lots of thick underbrush and tress growing right onto and almost over the trail as you are moving north and steadily up. Watch for snakes! They curl up under the underbrush, and can be very hard to see. Eventually you’ll wind your way to the top, to the second saddle, with the main Gates Pass parking lot hidden behind a big chuck of rock dead ahead. You can scramble 100 yards or so to the top for one of the most spectacular views in all of the Tucson Mountains, or just jump right on the trail that leads off to the right, going east. This, fellow hikers, in the Gates Pass mystery trail.

The first part of the trail - 1/3 of mile or so - parallels Gates Pass Road, although it’s unseen behind some hills on your left. It winds along the hillside, with some neat looking rock formations above, before eventually tacking to the right and taking you up and onto some rocks; you are now going south. The trail fades in and out a little bit once you get on the rocks, but is generally pretty easy to follow. After few dozen yards or so it leaves the rocks and becomes a regular trail again, with awesome views both up the mountain on your right and down into the interior, a largely trail-less series of hills and washes on your left. I saw a herd of deer here the first time I hiked this trail, presumably the same herd I’ve seen several times south of here, in the vicinity of where the Star Pass Trail meets the Yetman Trail.

Continuing up the trail, eventually you’ll get back on some rocks before the trail comes to a natural end on a promontory overlooking the foothills of the Tucson Mountains below, a sliver of the Star Pass Resort off to the south and east, and one of the bedroom communities on Kinney Road to the south and west. This is a great place to rest, stop for some food or just soak up all the incredible terrain both above and below you, not to mention the hundreds of saguaros spread all over the hillside.

At this point you can either reverse back down the trail back to the parking lot, or continue on for another mile + or so. Continuing on means finding the trail that drops off the hillside as your facing due west several yards back from the promontory - it would be on your left as you reverse back down the trail - which follows a very steep and rocky path/wash down the hillside. At the bottom you may or may not cross a very shallow creek (water depending) before starting back up the hillside, now heading south and east and eventually just east (towards downtown) to a point where you are level with the promontory you just left fifteen minutes earlier. The trail down is steep; it feels even steeper coming back up.

This part of the trail leads off across the ridge line for quite a ways; in fact, it’s the ridge line for a series of 3 or 4 hills that all run due east. You can see the valley part of the Yetman Trail below, a good piece of SW Tucson to your right and the rest of Tucson spreading away off into the distance, with the Catalinas and Santa Ritas in sharp relief. You are really deep in the southern heart of the Tucson Mountain Park at this point, with civilization in the distance, but still in relative isolation. I’ve literally never seen anyone up here; I’ve seen more circling hawks and other large birds patrolling the skies than any humans. I’ve never been all the way to the very end of this part of the trail, but believe that it dead ends above a steep crevice, with the Yetman, Star Pass and Rock Wren Trails on the other side.

As much as we like a good loop trail, reversing course is almost as good, with a whole different take on the terrain as you move back through it to the parking lot. It’s beautiful coming and beautiful going; you really can’t go wrong here.

Also: it’s possible to leave from the parking lot on top of Gates Pass and make your way straight to the second saddle trail head, but it’s steep and very rocky, winds around in oblique ways, and involves actually going way above the main part of the trail before slip sliding your way down a very steep and loose path to get to the trail itself. If you want to go that way, there’s a faint path directly across the road from the parking lot, just before the sharp drop off down the mountain; stay mainly to the left and keep going and eventually and with some luck you’ll get there, but I found the other route to be more appealing in most every way.

Remember: you’ll want good shoes for this one. A lot of the trail is very loose and rocky, and crap shoes will really slow you down.

Enjoy, and please always pack all your detritus out with you!

The Trail Hound

When you think of the word "home," do you think of your house? Do you think of where you grew up? Do you th ink of the people that are or were there? Well, TEDxTucson is bringing speakers to the ZUZI! Theatre in the Historic Y to talk about just that for the "Home is Where the Heart is" presentation.

With three speakers taking different approaches to the topic, there will be a little something for everyone. Speakers include John Wesley Miller (a pioneer in Tucson's green home building), Dominic Alexander (a clinical engineer working on artificial heart devices) and Pablo Peregrina (a folk music troubadour who is also active in border volunteerism).

TEDxTucson's "Home is Where the Heart is" will be at the ZUZI Theatre on Friday, Feb. 27 from 7 until 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 for benefactors and $20 for participants and can be purchased through Eventbrite.