According to a press release from Planned Parenthood Advocate of Southern Arizona today, in response to the House GOP introducing the Affordable Care Act repeal bill in favor of TrumpCare, petitions in support of Planned Parenthood will be delivered today, Wednesday, March 15, from 2 to 3 p.m. at Congresswoman Martha McSally's Tucson office, 4400 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite 600.

From the release:

Today as part of the growing response to the House GOP officially introducing their ACA repeal bill, which also contains provisions blocking patients access to Planned Parenthood, Planned Parenthood supporters in Arizona will take action and deliver petitions to Rep. Martha McSally’s office in Tucson. On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their score of the ACA repeal bill. The report detailed the dangerous and harmful fallout of the plan that would leave 14 million people without coverage by 2018.

The CBO estimates that the “defund” Planned Parenthood provision would result in reduced access to care for patients who live in areas where Planned Parenthood is the only health care option or where Planned Parenthood serves low-income populations. Fifty-four percent of Planned Parenthood health centers are in health professional shortage areas, rural or medically underserved areas.

When politicians say they want to defund Planned Parenthood, what they are really saying is they want to block millions across the country and thousands of people in Arizona from access to basic health care — cancer screenings, birth control, well woman exams — that they depend on. Planned Parenthood supporters are rallying and organizing to make sure this does not happen. A delegation of 12 advocates went to Congresswoman’s McSally’s office last night to demand she discuss the facts regarding this legislation. The claims made by GOP leadership that this is not a targeted attack are false. CBO is totally clear that the provision singles out Planned Parenthood. It states: "CBO expects that, according to those criteria, only Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates and clinics would be affected.” This undermines proponents claim that the provision does not violate the Byrd Rule because it affects a “class of providers,” and not just Planned Parenthood.

The fact is, one in five women in America has relied on Planned Parenthood, and their health care shouldn't get caught up in congressional Republicans' extreme agenda to undermine access to preventive care. The political attacks on Planned Parenthood are very real and will harm the over 33,000 patients in Arizona that rely on Planned Parenthood Arizona for care every year. The bill being considered would only serve to deny Medicaid patients in Arizona from lifesaving health care. Our leaders in Congress have the responsibility to keep Americans safe and healthy. Without a doubt, cutting access for Planned Parenthood patients on Medicaid will put people’s lives at risk. Supporters are asking that Congresswoman Martha McSally listen to her constituents and reject any attempt to cut off millions of women from essential health care at Planned Parenthood.

Patients do not go to Planned Parenthood to make a political statement. They seek compassionate, affordable, high-quality health care. Every person, no matter who they are or how much money they make, deserves that kind of care.

Everyday lost creatures, pure heartbreak. "Our 2 young children are devastated."


"Streets of This Town" is a little daily photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.

I love going hiking on Sundays, but I also like sleeping in and slowly adjusting to civilization with a cup of coffee and a copy of the New York Times and our local daily. Sometimes brunch is involved and later a nap. If that goes into the late morning, it's hard to get to Sabino Canyon or anywhere that's going to take more than a couple of hours. That's why the Yetman Trail was the perfect pick two weeks ago, even on a day that was a big windy and overcast.

We packed a quick lunch and headed west on Speedway Boulevard and parked at the Camino de Oeste trailhead. Veer left on Speedway/Gates Pass Road fork, then make an immediate left onto Camino de Oeste. A narrow dirt road goes to a small parking area at the trailhead.

The trail is named after David Yetman, host of KUAT's "The Desert Speaks," and an environmentalist who served three ter ms on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Our goal this hike was to visit the stone house of the Bowen Ranch built in the 1930s by a typesetter-turned-newspaper-editor. I love the family's story and what remains of the house really does look like it is part of the   ills and desert that surround it—as if it's been there all along.

It's an easy mile that I'm told was about 5.9 miles—part of Tucson Mountain Park's 62-mile trail system. Even if it's on the easy scale, it's still the desert, so bring plenty of water and wear good shoes.

The trail goes over washes and into some beautiful   aguaro-filled scenery. The Bowen House ruins are amazing and the perfect spots to have lunch. While we were there several families had the same idea, and I'm pretty got up too late for a larger hike. We did go up one of the peaks north of the house to get a look from above and see what was on the other side.  Not much, but still beautiful. The climb down, however, reminded me to bring that walking stick I keep in the car for such moments (but always seem to forget).

On the walk back, someone with extra Peeps decided to share them with the desert. Hope they got devoured. Get outside.

More info here.

Music has the power to stir up vivid memories, unlock creativity, inspire the unmotivated, and evoke within us the entire spectrum of human emotion. It connects people across cultures and eras and helps us celebrate, mourn, and entertain. On occasion, it aids us in showcasing subpar dance moves.

In certain instances, music facilitates healing. Such is the case for 13-year-old Trey Vincent.

Trey’s life was filled with music even before his autism diagnosis at age two. Right around the time Trey’s mother, Marthajane Vincent, began noticing her son’s atypical development, she also observed his natural inclination toward music.

Trey did not make eye contact, became stiff when comforted, remained nonverbal and ignored others speaking to him. But he paid attention to The Wiggles and Baby Einstein videos.

“One thing we hit on that he really engaged with was music,” Marthajane said. “He would clap his hands and do normal baby things while listening.”

Entering neurologic music therapy as a toddler strengthened Trey’s social functioning and cognitive skills, according to Marthajane. In Trey’s program, the music therapist’s guitar playing gave the children something to interact around. Through peer modeling, Trey learned how to pick up on social cues. While playing the percussion in music therapy, Trey worked on crossing the midline. By following certain rhythms and instructions, Trey developed his motor skills and improved his left-right brain connections. Music therapy can help individuals across the autism spectrum.

Yesterday, the Islamic Center of Tucson posted this idiot's picture on their Facebook page, claiming that this man is a suspect in a break in at the university area mosque and center.

From their post:

Yesterday morning, March 13th, the Islamic Center of Tucson (ICT) was broken into and vandalized. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

The camera footage leads us to believe the sole intent of this individual was to damage the center's religious property. The Tucson Police Department responded quickly. As always, they were kind, courteous, and thorough with their investigation.

Although we are disheartened by this incident, we understand that this is an isolated incident. The ICT has been a part of the Tucson community since the late 1980’s and since then, the Tucson community has been kind, welcoming, and supportive.

Unfortunately the vandal has not yet been caught. We are asking the supportive Tucson community for their help. Please see the image below. If you know who the individual is: Call 88-CRIME or 911.

We thank the Tucson Police Department for working hard on this investigation. We thank the Tucson community for their continued support.

The Congressional Budget Office's Trumpcare score has been all over the headlines in recent days, so by now, you know the basics: The winners are America's wealthiest citizens, who will pocket a nice tax cut, and the losers are folks on the end of the economic spectrum, who will likely lose their Medicaid coverage or find that private insurance is now too expensive to afford. Hey, freedom isn't free, people.

So who is supporting and who is not?

Congresswoman Martha McSally (R-AZ02) is on the fence. McSally District Director C.J. Karamargin didn't respond to our specific questions about the much-criticized cuts in Medicaid for low-income Arizonans, but he did send along a generic statement that has been shared with various nosy news organizations that are wondering where McSally stands:

Congresswoman McSally is encouraged that the American Health Care Act includes provisions she fought for: It keeps in place coverage of pre-existing conditions, allows young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance until age 26 and maintains the prohibition of putting lifetime caps on benefits. The congresswoman is carefully reading the 123-page bill, listening to local stakeholders and in the days ahead will work with House leadership for a viable solution to the healthcare challenges facing Southern Arizonans and all Americans.

BTW, there's another protest against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act outside of McSally's Tucson offices at 4400 E. Broadway at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 15. Organizers—including Indivisible Southern Arizona, McSally Take a Stand and the East Side Bad Hombres and Nasty Women—are calling it an "open mic" where you can share your story about the ACA.

Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ03) compares Trumpcare to the scandal-plagued Trump U:

CBO confirmed this week that the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with "TrumpCare" is nothing more than an attack on the poor and elderly. Twenty-four million people will lose coverage if the GOP manages to force this bill through Congress. Many will choose to forgo health insurance because this bill incentivizes young, healthy people without coverage to remain uninsured. That means higher premiums for everyone else, and particularly the elderly who will no longer be protected from price gouging the way they currently are under the ACA.

The only winners under the GOP’s healthcare repeal are wealthy Americans who stand to pocket a $600 billion windfall in tax breaks. Those cuts, and the meager deficit reduction in this scheme, come at a heavy price for working families and people on Medicaid. For millions of Americans, "TrumpCare" will go down in history as the healthcare equivalent of Trump University – that is to say, a complete and utter sham.

Congressman Tom O'Halleran wants to find a bipartisan agreement to improve the Affordable Care Act:

On this week's radio edition of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel, author Phillip Patrick talks about his book author of Blood at the Root, a nonfiction account of a 1912 racial cleansing that took place in Forsyth  County, Georgia. The book has been celebrated as one of the best of 2016 by The New York Times, Boston Globe and many others.

Then author Pamela Rotner Sakamoto discusses Midnight in Broad Daylight, an fascinating account of a Japanese Amercian family caught between two worlds during World War II.

Both authors were in town over the weekend at the Festival of Books.

Zona Politics airs at 5 p.m. Sunday on community radio KXCI, 91.3 FM, and at 1 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sundays on KEVT, 1210 AM.

Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a young African-American man, is a little nervous. He’s going to visit the parents of Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), his white girlfriend. Rose is relaxed about the trip, but Chris is a little anxious. His anxiety proves justified shortly into the trip.

Upon arrival at her large estate, her parents like Chris. They really, really like Chris. Actually, parents Missy and Dean (Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford) like Chris at a level that’s a bit unsettling. Chris shrugs it off at first, as does Allison, but strange things start happening.

Writer-director Jordan Peele, the comedic performer from TV’s Key & Peele, and the adorable, funny cat movie Keanu, delivers a huge cinematic surprise with Get Out, a twisted, darkly satiric, nasty little horror film that pulls no punches when it comes to race relations and dating. Peele has cited Night of the Living Dead and The Stepford Wives as inspiration for this journey to the dark side of his creative soul.

Those films’ influences are detectable, and I’d say you could throw in a pinch of Rosemary’s Baby with a side of Being John Malkovich as well.

Two of the hardest things to accomplish with a movie are to make people laugh and get them legitimately scared. Get Out manages to do both for its entire running time. Peele takes taboo subjects and stereotypes and doesn’t let his pen get restricted by fear of offending anybody. This is an appropriately evil, scabrous movie.

Lisa Graham Keegan is the bluebird of "education reform" happiness. Keegan, former state legislator who sponsored Arizona's original charter school bill (and got it passed by threatening Democrats that a voucher bill was coming next if the charter bill failed), then the Superintendent of Public Instruction who got charter schools rolling (and budgeted as little as possible for charter school oversight to make sure the "invisible hand of the marketplace" could work its magic), isn't one of those privatization proponents who spends all her time talking about "failing government schools" and abysmal standardized test scores. She'd rather write, as she did in a recent op ed in the Capitol Times, that you can find excellent schools everywhere.

These models of excellence can be found in charters, traditional district schools, and district magnet schools. They’re in likely and unlikely places: affluent areas and low-income communities, rural, suburban, and urban.

Isn't that nice? Yes it is. And I have to say, I agree with her wholeheartedly — up to this point, anyway. Unfortunately, though, her sunny depiction of educational excellence is a soft-sell setup for her real point: that we should give more money to the schools she defines as "excellent," a definition that just happens to favor district and charter schools with lots of kids from high-income families.

Keegan, who has played a major role as an educational advisor to both former governor Jan Brewer and current governor Doug Ducey, is pushing Ducey's "results-based funding model" which awards "excellent" schools with more money. She and Ducey maintain that successful schools deserve to be rewarded for their success.

The reward system ignores a few education-related points. First, in most European and Asian school systems—the ones that eat our schools for lunch, "education reformers" never tire of reminding us—extra money is funneled into schools where student performance is low to cover the cost of improving the quality of the schools, not into schools where students are already doing well. Second, the Keegan/Brewer/Ducey definition of "excellence" leans heavily on standardized test scores, and, as virtually every reasonable study indicates, in the U.S. and around the world, test scores rise as family income rises.

Writing music is like falling in love. It’s totally unplanned and sparks something—a drive, said Crista Ru, half the POWERS duo.

Her and Mike Del Rio, the guitarist and singer, fill the voice memos on their phones with 15-second song ideas when inspiration strikes.

Headlining a showcase at Bar 96, on Rainey Street, on Monday—the first taste of some SXSW music—they make the crowd dance while breaking all their hearts.

One of South by’s badass babes, Crista plays bass and sings. Headbanging her bright red hair and stomping her platformed tennies, her voice is like dark chocolate. The audience swoons.

I wait to talk to her after the show while a guy chats her up about sunglasses. He doesn’t want to let her go.

Crista tells me music comes to them like a magical light from heaven that shocks both Mike and her in the brain. I tell them that is very convenient, and they agree.

From New York, the duo is now based in L.A., and despite being over-the-top babealicious and having 1.5 million followers on Spotify, they are sweet and down-to-earth.

When I ask them if they’re a couple, Crista responds, “A couple of nuts.” They look at each other lovingly.