The main image here might not get your appetite going, but sometimes food isn't just about perfect plating. Like yellow-helmeted sentries lined up in a row, dozens of food waste containers await pickup. However, unlike much of the food that's discarded in this country, the contents will be composted rather than joining crowded landfills.

In a world where nearly 800 million people don't have enough food to sustain a healthy life (49 million in America, including 16 million kids)—fully 40 percent of food purchased by consumers in the U.S. ends up in landfills. But, it doesn’t have to be that way if we change our attitudes, habits and policies, according to two presenters at this month’s Controlled Environment Agricultural Center seminar.

“Over a third of Mexico’s winter produce comes through the Nogales port and is warehoused on this side of the border until it’s ordered,” says Dr. Pat Sparks of the UA’s Nutritional Sciences Department. “Unfortunately, a significant portion of that produce is never sold and ends up in a landfill…a significant waste we need to eliminate.”

Sparks says new ways of packaging that food are being explored that could extend its shelf life. Co-presenter Torey Ligon of the UA’s Take Charge America Institute says that if consumers shopped more frequently and bought less each trip, part of the problem would go away.

The Tucson City Council voted 5-0 yesterday to appeal the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the city's election system is unconstitutional. Council members Shirley Scott and Paul Cunningham recused themselves from voting on the decision because they are the targets of a lawsuit filed in Pima County Superior Court to strip them of their seats because, even though they won the citywide election, they lost within their wards.

Meanwhile, Arizona Republic conservative columnist Rob Robb says the Ninth Circuit got it wrong and chides Republicans for celebrating the victory:

State Republicans cheered a recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down the city council election system in Tucson. In reality, however, the decision reflected the sort of judicial activism GOP orthodoxy decries.

More from Robb:

Now, there is a great question in municipal governance about how city councils should be elected. Should they be elected by district, ensuring diverse geographical representation and greater attention to local concerns? Or should they be elected citywide, to ensure that parochial interests don’t overwhelm what’s best for the city as a whole?

Some cities try to create a blend, electing some city council members by district and some at-large. And some use a so-called hybrid system such as Tucson’s, with nomination by district and election at-large. That, theoretically, results in all members of the council being attentive to both local and citywide concerns.

Political scientists can debate all day about which is best in what circumstances. But the notion that a hybrid system is per se unconstitutional, and cities can’t even consider using it, would strike the framers of the 14th Amendment as a perversion of their handiwork.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas is visiting Tucson this week for two forums, where constituents can tell her what they think about the "AZ Kids Can't Afford to Wait!" plan she unveiled early in October.

In the 156-page plan, Douglas put forward several proposals—including demanding the state to invest $400 million on teachers and gutting Common Core, among other solutions to the problems she sees in the state's education system. 

The plan was created after the statewide "We Are Listening Tour." Douglas traveled to several cities throughout Arizona, hearing "concerns and suggestions" of parents, students and educators. After a total of 14 meetings, Douglas then compiled all of those comments, as well as suggestions made on the Arizona Department of Education website, and developed the proposals in the plan. 

The "We Heard You" tour began in October, and will be wrapping up in Tucson on Thursday, Nov. 19.

Douglas' first forum in the nearby area is on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at Canyon del Oro High School's auditorium, 25 W. Calle Concordia, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The following day, she'll be at Catalina Magnet High School's auditorium, 3645 E. Pima Street, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Read the entire "AZ Kids Can't Afford to Wait!" plan here. 

Two Palestinian asylum seekers have been imprisoned for one year in an immigration detention center in Florence, Arizona—one could be deported at any time, and the other's fate is in limbo, according to the immigrants' rights advocacy group Not One More Deportation. 

The organization, with the help of the UA's Students for Justice in Palestine, No More Deaths and other advocacy groups, is rolling around a petition to demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release Hisham Shaban Ghalia and Mounis Hammouda, both of whom, about five years ago, fled intense violence and poverty in the Gaza Strip. 

According to Not One More Deportation, it has been determined that Ghalia and Hammouda have "credible fear they could face indefinite detention or be killed if deported back to their region of the world.

Both men migrated undocumented through more than a handful of countries between the Middle East, Europe, and made it all the way over to South and Central America, before arriving at the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, where they requested humanitarian asylum this past November. (Check out this October 2015 article on The Guardian for more information about the big wave of Middle Eastern and African refugees and migrants trying to reach the U.S. through Mexico. The article features Ghalia and Hammouda's story.)

"Even though both men were determined to have 'credible fear,' the first step in claiming humanitarian protection from persecution, they are still being held in indefinite detention," the petition says.

Ghalia's asylum claim was denied by immigration officials, who issued a final order of removal, "but are unable to deport him due to restrictions that prevent U.S. immigration authorities from dealing directly with the Palestinian authorities," the petition says. "Although both men meet 'low priority' criteria under the Department of Homeland Security’s own standards, they remain in limbo, and subject to indefinite detention."

A protest demanding their release was supposed to take place today, but was canceled. Another is in the works, according to Gabe Schivone, an immigration rights activist, member of Students for Justice in Palestine, and co-author of The Guardian article I pointed out. In the meantime, you can find the petition on the Not One More Deportation website.

Channel 12 brings us cute footage and some fun facts about Tolivar, the Baird's tapir calf that was born at Reid Park Zoo in August.

Looks like local rock quartet Katterwaul is getting a little national love this morning, as CMJ premiered the video for the band's new single, "Sound of My Name." The song is one of nine tracks on the band's first full-length LP, 15 Forever, which was released via Commercial Appeal Records in September 2015.

In a recent interview with TW, Brittany Katter, the band's frontwoman and namesake, explained the song's message as such:

Katter references people referring to her music as “sexy” and even how the members of other bands treat her after performing, exploring that idea further in “Sound of My Name.”

“I don’t want to be objectified for expressing my sexuality,” Katter continues, “At first it’s flattering, especially if it’s a band you respect, but then you start to ask, ‘do you know who I am?’ and you start to think of your own self worth like ‘am I taking advantage of my own sexuality?’” While she looks forward to seeing more women taking the lead in shaping the sound of rock ‘n’ roll and becoming less of a spectacle, she admits she sees why it can be a little tough to get up there and take charge. “It’s hard for women to get up on stage. It’s an aggressive statement and aggression is seen as unattractive for women,” she says.

You can watch the groovy, sun-warped video, which was directed by Daniel Martin Diaz, right here, right now:

In February, ISIS released a video of a captured Jordanian pilot being brutally murdered. Outrage grew in the small country throughout that week, until Amman’s main Imam called for protests following the Friday prayers at noon.

King Abdallah, a fighter pilot and former head of Jordanian special forces (which probably had nothing to do with family connections) rallied the country, quoting Unforgiven in his calls for vengeance. The average Jordanian has no clue how perverted and awesome it is that he is quoting Clint Eastwood, by the way. The queen herself vowed to attend the protests, which sounds all cool and solidarity-like until you realize we’re already in the capital. The whole country put aside political, nationalistic, and religious differences to unite in outrage at ISIS’ barbarism.

I learned of the upcoming protests while serving breakfast to a Russian couple who work for state media. They discovered this while combing twitter at work the day before and immediately bought tickets for Amman. (Note to self: get a job with Russian state media)

Much of Amman began gathering at the Al-Hussein Mosque as early as 9 a.m., draped in banners and Jordanian flags.


Flyers and posters remembering the pilot were everywhere. The poster I snagged to remember the protests ended up causing me significant problems with the Department of Homeland Security nine months later, but that is another story and shall be told another time.


The crowd swelled for the next three hours. The police were keeping things relatively calm as everyone gathered, with someone bringing in a pallet of refrigerator boxes to be used as prayer mats. A small crowd converged and started ripping the boxes into sections and handing them out to bystanders.

Some whimsical news out of France: LEGO has heard your midnight cries and is working to protect your venerable feet. 

Well, not your cries unless you've been crying in Europe.

According to Huffington Post (and their hopefully reliable translators!), 1,500 LEGO customers who fill out the company's Christmas wish list will win a pair of foot-savin' slippers. The slippers are made with extra padding on the bottom to make walking through a recently LEGOed room less horrifying.

Want a pair? Move to France, fill out your wish list and hope you're one of the lucky 1,500.

Or just, you know, wear regular shoes when entering the danger zone.

Filmmaker Jafar Panahi is not allowed to make films in his native Iran. He’s got about 15 years left on that sentence. Plus, he can’t give interviews or travel. His ideas are too dangerous, you see. Even though he’s forbidden from making movies, he’s still churned out three in the past four years, each of which has been smuggled out of the country. His latest, “Jafar Panahi’s Taxi,” picked up the prize for best picture at the Berlin International Film Festival this year, although a lot of that is likely symbolic. There’s some ingenuity in “Taxi,” but it’s not an all-timer. Forbidden to pursue his art, Panahi poses as a cabbie and talks to Iranians about all sorts of things. It’s certainly interesting—and worth the watch just to give the finger to oppressive theocratic rule and support free speech—but “Taxi” doesn’t offer much but good conversation.

Hi I'm Koa! If you're looking for a really god boy with manners and skills I might be the perfect pet for you!

I am seven years old and am great on a leash. I also know how to sit and shake. I'm very gentle and love snuggles!

I'm sad that my previous owners couldn't keep me anymore but I know that my new adopters will be the best! Stop by the Humane Society of Southern Arizona Main Campus,  3450 N. Kelvin Blvd to meet me, and when you do make sure you remind them that you get a lower adoption fee since I'm considered "senior!"