Lots of educational bits and pieces I won't be able to get to individually, so here's a list of things which have happened or been talked about recently, or are about to be talked about in the near future.

Education Town Hall at Catalina Magnet High. Last Wednesday, a crowd nearly filled the Catalina High auditorium for an education town hall, whose purpose was to explain and discuss the need for more funding for education. Proudly sharing the stage with southern Arizona Democratic legislators were representatives from the Metro Tucson Chamber of Commerce and local realtors. The base of support for increasing our education spending is growing. And it's likely to take center stage this week, because . . .

There may be a deal on the education funding lawsuit. It looks like a tentative, behind-closed-door deal to settle the lawsuit over education funding has been reached. What is it? Only a few people know, and as I write this, none of them are Democratic legislators. The current plan is to hold a special session in the middle of the week. If that happens, that will probably signal they have enough Republican votes to pass a deal Ducey can live with, without needing any Democratic votes they might have to wheel-and-deal to obtain. If they can pass something—a big "if," given the range of views on the Republican side—most of the funding package will likely need ratification from voters, maybe a two part ratification if they plan to sweep funds from First Things First as well as take money from the State Land Trust. If the voters OK the funding—another big "if" (especially in the case of First Things First)—the money won't begin to flow until 2017, unless the legislature decides to put up some money from the general fund now, which wouldn't need voter approval. Lots and lots of moving parts, lots of variables. This is a first, tentative step.

High stakes testing may be scaled back a bit. The Obama administration says it thinks we've gone overboard with our standardized testing regimen. What does that mean? Not a whole lot yet since there aren't many details, and it probably won't mean a whole lot when more details are revealed. One idea is that standardized testing should occupy no more than 2 percent of students' school time. That would mean no more than three-and-a-half days of testing a year, which still sounds like a lot. However, that doesn't include the amount of time spent teaching to the test or giving pretests. Lots and lots of moving parts, lots of variables. The best thing about the statement is the acknowledgement that people have been right to complain about the post-No Child Left Behind emphasis on high stakes testing. That could put a bit of wind in the sails of people who are advocating testing every few years instead of every year, allowing parents to opt their children out of high stakes testing, and making student, teacher and school evaluations include more than a score on a test. And speaking of high stakes tests . . .

Director Guillermo del Toro, who has long sung his praises for Disney’s Haunted Mansion amusement ride, makes a startlingly beautiful and creepy ride of his own with this twisted ghost story. Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), an aspiring writer, must pick up the pieces after a tragic loss, and she finds herself swept away by Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), a strange Englishman that looks a lot like Thor’s jerky brother.

They marry and wind up in his family’s home, which rests atop a red clay mine. The red clay seeps up through the ground and even the floorboards of the house, giving the appearance that everything is bleeding. As Edith spends more time in the house, and gets acquainted with its ghostly inhabitants, she finds out that the red stuff isn’t always clay. Jessica Chastain is memorably psychotic as Thomas’s selfish and conniving sister.

The visuals are the real star here, including some over-the-top, bloody ghosts that Walt would never allow in his Mansion. As for the actually alive characters, Hiddleston and Chastain steal the show as siblings who definitely need an extended time out. Future del Toro projects, like sequels to “Pacific Rim” and “Hellboy,” were put into turnaround before this film’s release.

The fact that this film inexplicably bombed at the box office means those sequels will probably remain on the studio merry-go-round for a long time. For del Toro fans, this is bad news. 

Bad news, meat lovers. While we've heard before the myriad ways meat consumption is bad for our bodies, the World Health Organization has decided to spoil today by taking a stand against processed (cured, smoked, salted, fermented) meats.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, the #cancer agency of WHO, classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1)

— WHO (@WHO) October 26, 2015

NPR says:

The World Health Organization has deemed that processed meats — such as bacon, sausages and hot dogs — cause cancer.

In addition, the WHO says red meats including beef, pork, veal and lamb are "probably carcinogenic" to people.

A group of 22 scientists reviewed the evidence linking red meat and processed meat consumption to cancer, and concluded that eating processed meats regularly increases the risk of colorectal cancer. 

In a Q & A released by the IARC, the agency says that "eating meat has known health benefits," but it also points out that the cancer risk increases with the amount of meat consumed. As we've reported, studies show that the heaviest meat eaters tend to have the highest risk.

The IARC says high-temperature cooking methods (such as cooking meat in direct contact with a flame) produce more carcinogenic compounds. However, the group says there were not enough data "to reach a conclusion about whether the way meat is cooked affects the risk of cancer."

WHO's new classifications put the meat is the same carcinogenic "group" as smoking—Does that mean they're comparatively bad for us? WHO says no, calm down, they because they share a classification doesn't mean they're equally dangerous.  

Q: Does it mean consumption of processed meat is as carcinogenic as tobacco smoking and asbestos? pic.twitter.com/yCYl6eKEEG

— WHO (@WHO) October 26, 2015

ZonaPol10-22Final1 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo.

On this week's episode of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lea Marquez Peterson and attorney Jeff Rogers talk about the final stretch for Tucson City Council candidates, forecast what might happen with the bond election, examine Sen. John McCain's 2016 reelection effort, discuss the latest with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and look at what's up with Southern Arizona congressional campaigns.

Watch the show at 8 a.m. Sunday on the CW Tucson, Channel 8 on Cox and Comcast and Channel 58 on broadcast, Dish and DirecTV, or hear it at 5 p.m. on KXCI, 91.3 FM. Or watch online here!

Here's a transcript of the show:

Hello, everyone. I'm Tucson Weekly senior writer Jim Nintzel, and we're here to talk Zona Politics. Joining me today to catch up on the latest on our upcoming election and much more, Lea Marquez Peterson, president and CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and attorney Jeff Rogers, the former chair of the Pima County Democratic Party Thank you both for being here.

(Rogers) Glad to be here.

(Nintzel) Jeff, let's start with the Tucson City Council races. You've got three races here. Shirley Scott. Shirley Scott facing Margaret Burkholder, Kelly Lawton facing Paul Cunningham, Regina Romero facing Bill Hunt. It's a tough thing for a Republican to win in the City of Tucson because Democrats have a huge voter registration advantage I think one incumbent has been knocked off the Tucson City Council by a Republican in the last 30 years or so. You see any of these Democrats being in trouble this year?

(Rogers) I don't. I thought early on looking at these new candidates the Republican Party has that maybe they would have some traction, but they've raised so little money, and as I understand it, only Margaret Burkholder has qualified now for the matching funds, and having raised only $14,000 that's all she's going to get in matching funds, whereas the other candidates received tons more money than that. They've raised up to $50,000 and they got the $50,000 plus in matching funds so, you know, there's really not much there, there, for them. They haven't mounted much of a campaign, in fact, I would go so far as to say in the last 14 years I think this might be the weakest Republican campaign we've seen. There just doesn't seem to be anybody out there working for them, any grass roots, and their fundraising of course has been abysmal, so I don't see any of them being a real challenge to any of the current office holders and part of that is because of their funding, and part is a lack of organization in the Republican party locally, but, you know, some of that is that people are just pretty happy with the direction the city's going. I mean, we weathered the recession the Great Recession better than most cities in Arizona and elsewhere in America, and without laying off any police or firefighters or public safety, so, I think that people are pretty happy seeing the direction that Tucson is going in, so much so that Mayor Rothschild didn't even draw an opponent at all, so, I think there are multiple explanations for it, and I think the Democrats ... Right now, yesterday, when I was looking at the number, twice as many Democrats have voted as Republicans so in essence, the Republicans would have to be getting every Independent voter to put them over the top.

(Nintzel) Lea, your thoughts. We've heard the Republicans saying a lot about the Tucson City Council not being "business friendly enough" and so as a member of the business community, what is your sense of where the city is in terms of being business friendly.

(Marquez Peterson) Yeah, I still think we have a ways to go. I mean, you've seen the billboards around Tucson and certainly a lot of the campaign material that talks about the fact that not everybody is happy with the direction Tucson has gone. I think there's been some great work on by Mayor Rothschild. He wasn't opposed, and I believe that was justified in that. He has really done a lot of outreach and worked closely with a lot of the different business groups in the community. Unfortunately, the challengers in the City Council election have not raised enough money. I think it would be a long shot to see one of them win. We did host a candidate forum where each of the challengers had a chance to speak to the small business community about some of the things that are our priorities. I think Margaret Burkholder was pretty impressive, but I don't know if she's got enough steam behind her, enough energy in terms of grassroots effort to pull through in this election.

It's something like being at a Jimmy Buffett concert, and, up front, a Justin Timberlake concert (is he still relevant to reference?). Everyone just wants to sing along and sway and forget being an adult. Things don't have to be so hard. Or, conversely, they want to get tangled in a mess of limbs that can only be described as a human pretzel. For Mac Demarco fans, both dreams became realities last night at Rialto Theatre at a sold out show.

Mac Demarco has a way about him. It could be the boyish smile, Canadian chill vibes or that gap between his teeth (sigh), but the moment "Mac Daddy" (yes, someone called him that) took the stage voices were blown and phones were up. I had expected this sort of crowd response from Father John Misty, but Demarco's giddy fanbase came as kind of a surprise.

His simple, relaxed and distorted stoner rock is realistically not the most impressive or technically intricate thing I've seen. In fact, (and I do listen to his music enough) some of his songs sound almost exactly the same before the lyrics kick in. Certain choruses progress the same as others. Sorry, it's true.  But, to his credit, dude can pack a room. If I were to guess why, it's because everyone kind of just wants to hang out with him and his goofy bandmates, smoke some stuff and get real weird. Their stage banter was the right amount of inclusive to make any audience member feel like, "Oh hey, me and this dude could totally kick it."

So, pull up a chair and kick it with Mac Demarco:

 

(Story updated to include ICE's statement and other information from the agency.)

Tanya Guzman, a transgender woman who was imprisoned in an all-male pod at Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Eloy Detention Center, was sexually assaulted in 2009 by a guard who was later convicted.  After that event, and even though Guzman repeatedly complained about the harassment and abuse she endured, the detention center did not transfer her to an all-female facility. She was assaulted again in 2010, this time by a detainee. 

It took some time, but the asylum-seeker finally reported the events to the police. She hadn't done so earlier because she feared retaliation. She was released from ICE custody shortly after she filed her complaint. Two years later, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona filed a lawsuit on behalf of Guzman against ICE, Corrections Corporation of America and the city of  Eloy. 

(Read about Guatemalan transgender woman Nicoll Hernandez-Polanco, who also endured severe harassment and assaults in an all-male facility in Florence.)

Four years ago was the first time ICE's Eloy Detention Center was found in compliance with sexual assault prevention and intervention standards. And it might have been because in the 14 months prior to that inspection, there were two sexual assault cases that were "highly publicized," including Guzman's, according to a new report from the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Detention Watch Network, which also found that ICE hides information from the public, and pretty much investigates itself when it comes to allegations of human rights violations from detainees.

The report is the compilation of five years worth—between 2007 and 2012— of inspection documents from a handful of major detention centers, obtained by the NIJC and DWN thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request and litigation. (The authors note that the documents were not willingly released by the Department of Homeland Security. If it hadn't been for the FOIA request, and a federal court order after three years of litigation, this information would have remained in the dark.)

ICE issued this statement, “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will review this report. ICE remains committed to ensuring that all individuals in our custody are held and treated in a safe, secure and humane manner, and that they have access to legal counsel, visitation, recreation, and quality medical, mental health and dental care.”

The agency says in an email that in 2009, ICE implemented "a major effort" to improve management and oversight of detention facilities. ICE created the Office of Detention Oversight, which conducts facility audits and investigate allegations. Those reviews are independent from the annual inspections, the statement says. "This enhances investigative and inspection capabilities and ensures more immediate access to facilities, especially those located in Texas and Arizona that are close to large populations of ICE detainees."

There's also an onsite compliance program made up of more than 40 federal detention site monitors at ICE's major detention facilities. They oversee facilities to ensure they comply with ICE's detention standards, and report and respond to any issues. Oftentimes, those problems are fixed immediately, the statement says. 

"In other instances...ICE...implements remedial plans, and ensures corrective actions are taken to address deficiencies identified by (the Office of Detention Oversight) and by other oversight entities such as the Office of Civil Rights and  Civil Liberties and the Department of Homeland Security  Inspector General," the statement says. 

From the statement:

ICE has created a Detention Monitoring Council, which engages ICE senior leadership to review problems uncovered by the agency’s oversight entities or through other avenues, such as the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line, where live operators are available to respond to inquiries from ICE detainees and family and community members.

In cases where more serious problems have been identified, ICE leadership can determine whether ICE should discontinue using particular facilities or impose monetary sanctions.

Finally, ICE has centralized detention facility contracts under ICE headquarters supervision to ensure more uniform contracting processes.

ICE has developed a new Intergovernmental Service Agreement template to standardize detention services contracts and to improve compliance with their terms by clearly identifying sanctions associated with non-compliance. 

Congress' 2009 DHS Appropriations Act

When Congress passed a 2009 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, the legislation included a section that said ICE can't fund immigration detention facilities that fail two consecutive inspections. 

From the report:

This mandate signaled congressional intent that immigration detention facilities be monitored for adherence to humane standards of detention, and ICE subsequently acknowledged its understanding of this obligation. According to 2010 congressional testimony by former ICE Director John Morton, eight facilities had been closed because they had failed to achieve acceptable ratings.

However, because ICE does not share information publicly about which facilities it uses or contracts with at any given time, it is unknown which facilities Director Morton was referring to or how many additional facilities, if any, have since had contracts terminated on the basis of failure to meet adequate standards.

This lack of transparency makes it difficult for taxpayers or members of Congress to ascertain whether ICE is indeed adhering to the intent encompassed in the Appropriations Act language. Further, passing ratings based on cursory checklists cannot be what Congress intended as a condition for expending taxpayer money to subsidize the detention of immigrants.

These inspections determine whether or not ICE should keep a facility open or not. Each detention facility is notified of the inspections some time in advance, the report says. Also, facility administrators are able to negotiate their ratings with ICE, according to the report. In 2010 and 2012, no detention centers failed inspections, and merely four failed in 2011. ICE has not failed any facility twice in a row since the 2009 law was established, the report adds. 

"Public and private contractors who run detention facilities continue to make money without adequate oversight, and troubling conditions of detention persist for the more than 400,000 individuals who pass through ICE custody each year," the report says. In any given night, about 34,000 immigrants are in ICE's custody. "In fact, detailed reviews of six facilities known to have troubling human rights records suggest that in some cases, ICE inspections allow facilities to obscure severe conditions problems and their inability to protect the rights and lives of detained immigrants."

 In the first nine months of this year, ICE reported six deaths in detention centers. 

Read the entire report, here.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas says she doesn't support with the U.S. Department of  Education's new recommendations to improve the academic achievement of undocumented youth.

Earlier this week, the department released a guide for secondary schools, community colleges and universities on how to better support undocumented students. With approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduating high school every year, according to the department, the tool is much-needed because undocumented students are one of the most vulnerable groups in U.S. schools.

Some of the suggestions the federal education department has for secondary schools and higher ed institutions are: To create an open and welcoming environment; build staff capacity and knowledge about undocumented youth; share information and resources with youth and families; engage families and community organizations; provide additional academic supports for undocumented youth if needed. 

Here's the statement from Douglas' office:

The Arizona Department of Education is not involved with, and does not support, activities outlined in a recent publication from the U.S. Department of Education regarding undocumented youth.

The Resource Guide Supporting Undocumented Youth was not published by Arizona Department of Education.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas’s recent AZ Kids Can’t Afford to Wait! Plan addresses the special needs of the undocumented youth who flooded the Arizona education system due to actions by the federal government.

Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller has taken to Facebook to express her criticism of the idea that some Republicans are concerned that real estate tycoon Trump is hurting the GOP's chances of retaking the White House.

Miller posed a simple question: "Again...doesn't the constitution read: "of the people, By the people, for the people."

Is this a trick question?

Guess somebody didn't watch enough Schoolhouse Rock as a kid. No worries, Ally: The world will little note, nor long remember, what you say on Facebook.

Now that Kalvin Catlin's brother Kyle has been convicted on three felony drug charges, the 23-year-old doesn't have much hope about the outcome of the trial the two will tackle together in December. 

The husband and father of two—a daughter who will turn 3 years old in December, and a son who will be 1 next month—says he's been trying to hide from the legal hell. Now that his brother sits in jail while he awaits for sentencing, all of the feelings are reemerging. 

"It is devastating," he says, wiping the tears from his face with paint-stained, white T-shirt. "I just lost my brother. It is unspeakable. To know that one day my entire life is going to (change)...everything I have been working so hard for."

If it weren't for the upcoming trial, Kalvin would be well on his way to a very successful career racing cars. His hobby and family have kept him happily distracted. But in two months, he'll have to walk into Pima County Superior Court Judge Javier Chon-Lopez's courtroom and pray for the best.

Three years ago, the brothers—both of whom are medical marijuana cardholders—partnered up in a caregiver project called Arizona Medical Marijuana Caregivers. They were arrested in late 2012, a few months after Kyle was arrested on separate counts. The brothers' residence was searched, after investigators overseeing the case found recent information about the healing center online. That's how they justified another search warrant. (It was a site with tons of reviews about the weed Catlin sold and his services, as well as customer testimonials, Kyle told the Tucson Weekly in September.)

Some of the felonies the brothers face are: Illegally conducting an enterprise; conspiracy to commit sale of marijuana; conspiracy to commit possession of marijuana for sale; possession of marijuana for sale; possession of drug paraphernalia. 

The indictment refers to Kyle as the "Boss," who employed an "associate" to deliver marijuana, and "arranged appointments between the runner and customer for the purpose of selling marijuana." While Kalvin, "could facilitate and/or arrange appointments and meetings between the runners and the customers for the purpose of selling marijuana and/or cannabis."

"Kyle and/or Kalvin would maintain a secure residence(s) and/or phone lines to further the goals of the enterprise. Such residence(s) would be used as a base of operations to 1. Secure cash and/or proceeds of the enterprise; 2. Store marijuana and/or cannabis for purpose of sale; 3. Store and use equipment for the purpose of manufacturing cannabis; 4. Manufacturing cannabis; 5. Packaging and inventorying amounts of marijuana and or/cannabis that would be sold by the enterprise, and; 6. Provide a clandestine and secure location to conduct the affairs of the enterprise," the indictment says. 

Kyle and Kalvin's attorneys are going to work together to come up with a defense. Unfortunately, if Chon-Lopez heads the same route he did in Kyle's first trial, they probably won't be able to mention the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act as part of that defense. 

In Kyle's case, he's already been convicted on three felonies, which means that if he is convicted in trial 2, the sentence will only double. 

Medical marijuana laws aside, this is a time when President Obama, his administration and bipartisan members of Congress are asking for sentencing reform on nonviolent drug offenders. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice released 6,000 of them. 

The Loft Film Fest is in full swing today. There are plenty of films showing all day today, but the highlight, at least for me, is the screening of Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi's Taxi at 5:30 tonight. Here's how the Loft describes the film:

Internationally-acclaimed director Jafar Panahi (This is Not a Film) drives a yellow cab through the vibrant streets of Tehran, picking up a diverse (and yet representative) group of passengers in a single day. Each man, woman, and child candidly expresses his or her own view of the world, while being interviewed by the curious and gracious driver/director.

His camera, placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio, captures a spirited slice of Iranian society while also brilliantly redefining the borders of comedy, drama and cinema. Taxi is a gently rebellious film, a blend of documentary and narrative that riffs on the contentious life of the artist in modern Iran. Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Taxi is another modern classic from master director Jafar Panahi. (Dir. by Jafar Panahi, 2015, Iran, in Persian with subtitles, 82 mins., Not Rated) Official Selection: Berlin International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival

And hey: Jules and Jim is playing for free outside tonight! Full schedule of the Loft Film Fest can be found here.