Once again, a month has come and gone impossibly quickly. June starts on Monday, meaning it's time to brace your bank accounts for your impending rent payment, your wardrobe for 100+ degree weather and your hearts for June 15—the day the first round of Best of Tucson® balloting ends. 

In case you're new here, Best of Tucson®  is the annual opportunity for our readers to tell us what's what all around the Old Pueblo. In the first round of balloting, you can vote for anyone/thing/place for any category. Then, come Round 2, we'll take the top nominees for each category and the winners will be decided (by you!) from there.

So, if you've been putting off finishing your ballot because you just can't decide which ice cream shop is The Best, get to it! Spend this weekend sampling ice cream at all your favorite places! Take an informal Twitter poll! Ask your mom for advice! Whatever it takes. The deadline is fast approaching, and we need your input. The world needs your input.

Remember: You can save your ballot and come back to it—Just make sure you have at least 30 opinions saved and submitted by June 15. Get to it!

Tucson's very own live late night talk show is wrapping up its first year on the stage of The Flycatcher and you won't want to miss the show. Romo Tonight Live, hosted by Steven Romo, is celebrating its "season finale" with local comedians, musicians, a bartending competition and more on Sunday, May 31. 

If you haven't seen Romo's show before, which happens on the last Sunday of every month, think of it like any other late night talk show a la Conan or Jimmy Fallon except you don't have to go to New York or L.A. to be in the audience. Plus, each show is jam packed with guests, featuring the folks in Tucson that are making the town a more fun, interesting or generally better place.

For Sunday's show, guests include comedians Josiah Osego and Henry Barajas, magician Kenny Stewart and Jared McKinley showing off their new Yacht Rock white wine, comic maker and cosplayer Frank Powers, Jes Baker of the Body Love Conference, mountain climber Adrea Richmond and stripper Alexa Michelle answering audience questions. House band Dirty P and the Thunderchiefs, as well as WHOOPS!, will be providing the evening's music.

This month's event will also feature a vodka-centric cocktail competition that will pit bartenders Karl Goranowski, Erick Bornmann, and Matt Martinez against each other in a cocktail quiz off.

You can catch all of that Sunday starting at 9:30 p.m. at The Flycatcher, located at 340 E. Sixth St. Ticket will be sold at the door the day of the show for $5.

Make some time this evening to tell Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas what concerns you about the state's K-12 education system (I'm sure you won't have to dig to find complaints). 

Douglas is in Tucson as part of her "We Are Listening" tour, which made its debut in Kingman and will wrap up in Springerville. 

Head down to Pima Community College West's Center for the Arts, 2202 W. Anklam Road and share your thoughts between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Here's what Douglas had to say last month about the tour:

“I am dedicated to continually improving the state of education in Arizona through conversations with the people it most directly affects—parents, students, teachers and administrators. It is paramount that Arizona not only has the highest standards possible, but that its standards belong to Arizona and are continually improved to best represent both student and local community needs. This process allows us to hear every voice and set high expectations for every child.”

People's comments on state's Common Core Standards, or College and Career Ready Standards, have been gathered throughout and will be presented to the State Board of Education, where they can vote on possible changes. This goes hand-in-hand with Gov. Doug Ducey's request for a "thorough review" of the state's standards for English and math.

More than 100 Democratic congressmen and women, including U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, told Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson they are deeply concerned with the department's trend to detain undocumented mothers and children.

The group sent Johnson a letter, saying these jail-like facilities are "troublesome," with "conditions of confinement, issues of due process and serious developmental and medical concerns of those being detained. DHS has not fully grasped the serious harm being inflicted upon mothers and children in custody," the letter says. 

On May 12, Grijalva and other colleagues also reached out to Johnson, demanding he ensure Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as other DHS sub-agencies, follow through with their apprehension and deportation priority guidelines. They pointed out that ICE is still detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants who are not felons and who do not pose a threat to this country. 

A statement from Grijalva:

“It is unconscionable to think that right now, hundreds of mothers and children are being denied their liberty and due process in jail-like detention centers in our own backyard. Most of these detainees are asylum seekers fleeing terrible violence in their home countries. They arrive at our borders seeking safety and [protection, and instead face new threats from terrible conditions, developmental and medical concerns from detainment, and a complete lack of due process. It’s time for DHS to recognize our nation’s commitment to protecting public safety and the rule cannot come at the expense of our commitment to refugee families.”

Check out portions of the letter down there, and read the rest here:

The recent announcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on family detention does not acknowledge that even detention for a brief period of time, especially in a secure setting, is detrimental to child development. 

We are particularly troubled by the current practice of family detention because the detained population is largely comprised of refugees fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries. We have heard horrific stories of sexual assault, intense physical violence, kidnapping, and sex trafficking. These stories come not only from adult mothers, but also from young children who have been victims of such abuse. Detaining children who have already been victims of abuse exacerbates past trauma and raises unique and serious problems. 

DHS has repeatedly used deterrence as a justification for the existence of family detention, but this theory has not been substantiated with compelling evidence. Moreover, a federal court in the District of Columbia rejected this argument and found that DHS cannot detain asylum seeking mothers and children from Central America for the purpose of deterring other migrants
from entering the country.

We agree and believe that the hypothetical recurrence of a future refugee flow does not justify the very real harm being inflicted upon mothers and children in a secure setting.

Although Tucson has an unwavering love of hot dogs year round, it is officially hot dog season with baseball in full swing and summer barbecues heating up. That means it's the perfect time to test your love of the dog and see just how many you can competitively cram into your craw in the span of ten minutes. At least, that's the thinking behind the second annual 4th Avenue Delicatessen Hot Dog Shoot-Out.

Last year, Dustin Cox managed to eat 12 hot dogs in ten minutes at the event's inaugural competition. However, this year the competition will likely be a lot stiffer as the event organizers are offering a $500 prize to whomever can chow down the most dogs. 

Owner Austin Counts says the event will serve to create buzz around Fourth Avenue during the dreaded summer slow down that many local businesses feel.

"Tucson is a hot dog loving city and I felt this city I love needed a hot dog eating competition," Counts says. " Also, anyone who works in the Fourth Avenue and downtown area knows how slow it can get during the summer months. This competition is a good way to help promote the establishments that host this event, as well our local sponsors and area as a whole."

The qualifying events for the final competition will be held at The Flycatcher on Friday, June 12 and Che’s Lounge Saturday, June 20 with both rounds running from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. Each event will potentially have two rounds with ten competitors each, depending on how many sign up. There's a $20 entry fee for competitors, which includes all you can eat (in ten minutes) hot dogs and a free t-shirt designed by Carne & Queso.

Interested eaters who are 21 and over can sign up now by going to 4th Avenue Deli, located at 425 N. Fourth Ave., and signing a waiver. Participants can also sign up at the qualifying events up to ten minutes before the competition begins. The events are free to watch.

The grand finale will pit ten people against each other at The Rialto Theatre as a part of Bob Log III’s Great ‘Murican B-Day Bash on Friday, July 3. Eight first and second place winners, last year's winner Dustin Cox and a third place wild card competitor (the one who eats the most hot dogs in third place) will compete. Bob Log III, The Jons, Pork Torta and Dep't of Descriptive Services will entertain crowds.

Tickets for the final competition are $12 in advance and can be found on the Rialto Theatre website, along with more information.

Ideas make the world go round. One idea can give birth to another, which could possibly impact entire communities. So what makes an idea worth sharing?

Nonprofit think collaborative, TED, has been sharing ideas and voices from individuals of all walks of life globally since 1984. Originally created to speak on topics of technology, entertainment and design, the foundation now presents short talks covering almost every subject imaginable.

On Thursday, May 28, the women of Tucson will have their first opportunity to take part in TED’s knowledge spreading mission.

The TEDWomen conference is a three-day event in Monterey, Calif. gathering unique voices on women’s issues. While attending the event in person is costly at $2,500, a session of the conference is being offered for free via a live stream to Tucsonans.

TEDxStarrPassWomen will take place at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort, 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd., from 6 to 9 p.m. During the event, participants will view seven 18-minute TED Talks addressing the theme, “Momentum. Moving forward. Gaining speed. Building traction.” Speakers include Mary Robinson, Jimmy Carter, Sakena Yacoobi, Memory Banda and more.

Guests will then discuss the ideas presented, network and share ideas about community enrichment in an "All Five Senses" reception starting at 7:45 p.m.
All men, women and children are invited to attend this free idea-sharing event, continuing TED’s work to spark global conversation about the issues that affect our world most.

For more information or to RSVP by email, visit tedxstarrpasswomen.com.

This April, the Living Streets Alliance partnered with the City of Tucson to host their annual bike-centric event, The Bike Fest. This year marked the largest Fest yet, with 75 events taking place all April and 20 plus businesses showing support in the form of discounts and special deals for cyclists.

A new challenge debuted this year which urged local businesses to scale down from 4-wheeled cars to two-wheeled bicycles. Participants in the 2-Mile Commuter Challenge were asked to commute to work by bike and log their travel hours on the Bike Fest’s website for the month of April.

A total of 57 local businesses, nonprofits and organizations participated, including Raytheon, Himmel Park Library and Pima Community College. Close to 200 cyclists competed in the friendly cycling challenge for prizes and the glory of holding the title of the most bike friendly organization in Tucson.

This year, the honor goes to the Watershed Management Group, a local nonprofit working to think up creative, viable solutions for water sustainability in the Southwest. Twelve employees out of a staff of 16 collectively logged 448 bike trips to work.

WMG’s Program Manager Kieran Sikdar contributed 96 of those hours, earning him first place in the individual category.

As winners of the challenge they received a bike bell, a 1-year membership with the Living Streets Alliance and social media publicity.

Though WMG only recently received this accolade, they have been cultivating a strong bike culture for employees, volunteers and guests for some time. Because of their ample bike parking, compensation for employee bike commutes and availability of showers for employees, they have earned a gold level ranking from the League of American Bicyclists in April. They are currently the only business in Tucson to receive this level.

The Watershed Management Group, 1137 N. Dodge Blvd., offers a variety of classes and workshops to the public, including rain water harvesting. Any interested in seeing their summer schedule can view it at watershedmg.org.

The Bike Fest returns to the city in April 2016.

For more information on the Bike Fest, visit bikefesttucson.com  or the Living Streets Alliance at livingstreetsalliance.org.

I pointed out in a recent post that there's a very strong correlation between state school grades—which are based on student AIMS scores—and family income. (One of the two maps I used is at the top of this post.) Ed Supe Diane Douglas, who, as you know, I don't always agree with, was right on the money on this one when she said, “Standardized and high stakes testing measure demographics, not student achievement or teacher performance.” And now, we have a new article by a promising young journalist that covers similar ground.

The New York Times has a Student Journalism Institute that's convening right here at UA, and one of its journalists, Ben Bartenstein, just published a story, Critics of State’s School Funding Plan Say It Will Favor Charters. If you skip to the bottom, you'll find an interactive map that's far niftier than mine, showing the A-rated schools in the Tucson area along with the family income in the area. (I really need to learn how to do that!)

Most of the article is about Arizona school funding in general, along with a discussion of charters. Bartenstein pulls together lots of good information and a wide variety of quotes from people on different sides of the issue. And he gets it about BASIS. While he acknowledges the accomplishments of BASIS students, he also points out that they're a very select group. (If only the charter chain will admit to its selectivity instead of suggesting that it takes unformed hunks of student clay and turns them into academic world-beaters, I'll stop writing about BASIS so much. But as long as they continue mythologizing their schools and making other schools look like failures by comparison, I'll keep pointing out the truth.)

Having her boys around while they're on summer break has made Rosa Robles Loreto's days in sanctuary seem like she's back into the old routine. Her life as a working mother and wife has been on hold for nine months, while she and her supporters continue to negotiate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hopefully bring her deportation case to an end. 

Her kids—Gerardo Jr. and  José Emiliano—have temporarily moved in to keep her company, and her husband tries to be around as much as he can. "We clean, we cook, we play, having them around really helps me," she says. (Some afternoons, they head to baseball practice.) The boys eat a snack before lunch as Robles Loreto organizes some of her clothes. She promised she'd make them omelettes afterwards. "It distracts me from thinking that I am still here."

It's crazy to think that she walked through the doors of Southside Presbyterian Church in August with only a small bag, enough for no more than 10 days. Now, there are shelves on top of shelves with clothes and other items that have been donated to her for her prolonged stay. She and her family never anticipated she'd be in here this long. After all, on paper, she is not a priority for removal in ICE's book—she doesn't have a criminal record, and has paid taxes on-and-off throughout the nearly two decades she's lived here.

The agency itself has told Robles Loreto's attorney, Margo Cowan, that, yes, she is not a priority and should be able to leave sanctuary, but Cowan says they refuse to put it on paper—without that, it is not a risk they are not willing to take. 

The 5th Circuit  Court of Appeals has denied the Obama administration's emergency appeal, asking to unblock the president's 2014 immigration executive actions—deferred action for parents, or DAPA, and the extension to his 2012 relief for young immigrants brought here as kids, DACA.

A federal judge in Texas issued the temporary injunction in February, saying both programs should freeze, while a lawsuit against the feds on behalf of 26 states concludes in the courts. (Texas, Arizona and 24 others hope to kill both those programs for good.)

From a New York Times piece:

Two of three judges on a penal of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, left in place an injunction by a federal district judge in Brownsville, Tex. The ruling comes in a lawsuit by 26 states against actions President Obama took in November. Many of the initiatives were scheduled to take effect this month. (Last week, the same day applications could have been accepted for DAPA, undocumented parents in Tucson joined protests happening around the country demanding the court to lift the block to DAPA and extended DACA. I wrote about it here.)

The appeals court found that Texas and the other states did have sufficient legal grounds to bring the lawsuit and that the administration had not shown it would be harmed if the injunction remained in place and the programs were further delayed.

But this isn't the final word. The court in Texas is reportedly set to hear arguments on the lawsuit the week of July 6.