In the wake of a divided governing board driving out Superintendent H.T. Sanchez, the Tucson Unified School District is now celebrating Kindness Week.

The TUSD board spent weeks discussing the fate of then-superintendent H.T. Sánchez before Sanchez worked out a deal to resign. Many will miss him, including Stefanie Boe, TUSD’s communications director. And while district employees adjust, they’re making an extra effort to stay positive.

“We are a kind community, and we’re here for each other,” she said. “We’re all in it together, and we make up the ‘unified’ in ‘Tucson Unified.’”

Bearing the tagline “find the kind,” the communication team will go to the schools and look for stories of kindness. They’ll be documenting these stories and buddy benches and murals on Facebook Live.

“People are doing these things already, but we just want to go find the kind,” Boe said.

The district usually does kindness week in May but decided the added focus on goodwill would be good for the district.

TUSD families and employees can share their school’s kindness stories by emailing [email protected] or posting on the district’s Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #FindTheKind.

Since Election Day ’16, legions of dissatisfied have taken to streets everywhere, protesting Trump’s ugly racist policies and reacting to the authoritarian-yet-needy/solipsistic timbre in that dude’s deceptive voice. They’re seeking comfort too in the company of the like-minded. Last Saturday, hundreds of Tucson activists and peace seekers gathered to build community solidarity and strengthen movement work, and hell, to just have a good time. It was actually inspiring.

The shady, tree-lined walkways and mown lawns of historic Armory Park set the scene for the 2017 Peace Fair & Music Festival, hosted by Tucson Peace Center. The sights, sounds and aromatic scents of food trucks, face painters, frolicking children and live music wafted through the sun-drenched park for Arizona's largest gathering of Peace, Justice and Environmental groups.

Up on the bandstand entertaining the afternoon crowd─ranging from spry senior citizens to very young children who were rollerskating, dancing and hula-hooping─were Flagstaff’s Navajo pop/punk outfit Sihasin, Tucson’s salsa soulsters Spirit Familia and the local Latin fusion of Santa Pachita.

Jeneda Benally, Sihasin’s singer and bassist, sports an outlook that embodies the spirit of the fest. Note that she, along with her brother Clayson, performed together as Blackfire for 21 years, yet something was missing. “We recognized that although there is a lot to be angry about,” Benally says. “Something in us changed. Where we realized that … What is the legacy that we are leaving for our future generations, if it is one of anger?”

“We need to leave a legacy of hope and love,” Benally adds, “And yes, there are injustices. But you can never lose sight of the hope that each person is in order to create those positive solutions against the injustices.”

When asked what drove them to take part in this year’s festival, Benally says, “We are looking for events that are hopeful, that bring positive energy to communities. That bring people together. It is really important in this day and age that we celebrate our freedoms, that we celebrate music and art. It is so important to support those that are striving to build healthy and respectful communities.”
Sihasin
The band shined as they delivered an energetic set that mixed infectious percussive elements, on top of a bed of pop/punk rock, and native chant with lyrics about “tearing the wall down.” “It doesn't matter what side you are on...”
Spirit Familia
With a brass heavy, percussive laden sound that combines soul, Latin and sounds from the Hawaiian Islands─where founding member Jomo lived for 17 years─the band had the crowd swaying and delivered a message of unity as they called out from the stage, “Let’s get together now…”

Santa Pachita
Drawing their inspiration from salsa, cumbia, rock, ska and bands like Manu Chao. Fronted by bassist/singer Victor Cruz and guitarist/singer Miguel Reyes, Santa Pachita had the audience dancing to their sultry Latin grooves and Reyes’ stinging lead guitar that recalls Carlos Santana, bringing the festival to a close.

Peace, Justice and Environmental groups
Handing out pamphlets and eager to engage in conversations with interested attendees, organizations comprised of community members on the move for change, tabled at the 2017 Peace Fair & Music Festival including: Sustainable Tucson, Black Lives Matter, Code Pink, Healthcare Not Warfare, Green Party, Speak: The Voice for the Rights of Animals, Occupy Tucson, Water is Life, ¡Resistencia! Tucson May 1st Coalition, Veterans For Peace, and many others.

KXCI radio (91.3) and Tucson poet society Words on the Avenue teamed to create a video series that highlights the powerful work of local poets. And the first episode is now available, and damn is it lovely. It rises on writer Roch Mirabeau's beautifully paced verse and graceful in-person performance of "My Pops Told Me," tackling themes of freedom, equality, fatherhood and "Trumped-up" politics in a little more than two minutes. It's easy to fall in love with Mirabeau's subtle power and empathy. Watch it below. 

This new series, by the way, is generated by Words on the Avenue founder Teré Fowler-Chapman (who happens to be on the cover of this week's Tucson Weekly) as well as videographer Julius Schlosburg, and KXCI Director of Content Hannah Levin. Fowler-Chapman says at KXCI.org that she's "excited to collaborate with KXCI within this vivid new format because like Words on the Avenue KXCI is a community-based platform. This collaboration allows us to archive and re-listen to some of the most powerful lines performed in our space. This collaboration is magic."


 

The Rhythm and Roots Concert Series is showcasing a variety of folk genres including Americana, blues, bluegrass and Celtic. The series, which gives musicians the space and resources to share their craft, is taking place this week at Hotel Congress with two free shows.

“‘Music is medicine’ is our motto,” says the series director Susan Holden. “Rhythm and Roots wants to bring—especially in this day and age—some healing with music.”

Monday night features a Mardi-Gras-themed party featuring the Carnivaleros. The band pulls from Eastern European sounds, with remnants of old western movies, as well as borrowing from genres like zydeco, waltz and swing. The event starts at 5:30 p.m., with the Carnivaleros on at 7:30.

Don Armstrong with Friends will play on Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. A longtime, local folk musician, Armstrong spent 42 years performing with his wife Victoria Armstrong until her death in 2014. They recorded nine albums together, empathetic songs that could make you cry or want to hop in your car just to feel wind in your hair. His debut album comes out later this year on Ronstadt Records.

“When you hear his music, it kind of transports you to either where he was when he wrote it or what he was thinking,” Susan says. “He just has his own unique style, and you can hear sort of the history of folk music come through him.”

The concert series was founded in 1996 by Susan’s husband Jonathan Holden. Before his death in 2012, Jonathan brought some big-name folk and blues artists to the Southwest, including Richie Havens, Dave Van Ronk and New Riders of the Purple Sage. Holden was also known for his part in founding Tucson community-radio station KXCI.

The Southern Arizona Anti-Trafficking Unified Response Network task force, known as SAATURN, received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to research, track and combat human trafficking in Tucson for three years. The grant and task force began in October 2015.

Tucson Police Department is one of three grantees for this task force, joining CODAC Health, Recovery and Wellness and the University of Arizona’s Southwest Institute for Research on Women.

Detective Jennifer Crawford has been investigating violent crime for nearly 17 years, and currently works in TPD's Street Crime Interdiction Unit—the unit responsible for studying human trafficking in Tucson.

Crawford said events like the Gem Show or large sporting events can draw more trafficking activity because the exploitative industry tends to "follow the money" and crowded events can attract an influx of trafficking of girls from other cities.

She said one of the main ways police keep tabs on trafficking is through online sites such as Backpage, where third-party contributors, such as escorts, can sell "dates."

The money from the grant allocated for TPD is spent on operational equipment as well as training and outreach programs, according to Crawford. The Street Crime Interdiction Unit is comprised of four detectives and two federal agents, and grant money will also be spent on funding the team's investigative hours should they have to work overtime.

"They help support us and we're able to do a lot more than we used to and also work at a federal level if we need to," Crawford said.

Crawford said trafficking tends to be a harder crime to prosecute than others. Reasons being victims can be hesitant to disclose information and it can be difficult to keep victims on track during an unfortunately tedious court process.

"I'd say we've definitely made a lot of strides and we've moved forward a lot in the last year since we've gotten our task force up and running and with our support service people as well," Crawford said.

The Tucson Unified School District Governing Board announced last night they were once again postponing the agenda item concerning Superintendent H.T. Sánchez’s job.

The Duffy Community Center was so packed that overflow crowds had to wait outside. For over three hours, the board and superintendent were in executive session. At about 7:45 p.m., Sánchez somberly took his seat with the board and was met by loud applause from the audience. But not everyone was clapping.

For an hour, community members spoke for and against Sánchez with either raised-voice rancor or grateful tears on topics such as superintendent turnover rates, student-enrollment numbers, Prop 301 spending, childhood bullying, dropout rates, race and unsuccessful desegregation measures.

Several people spoke in Spanish with an English translator, recounting times Sánchez had personally helped their children.

Cassandra Becerra, a mother of TUSD students, is one of Sánchez’s supporters. While waiting for the meeting to start, she told the Tucson Weekly she’s seen the superintendent in the schools and fighting for the good of the district.

“I strongly believe he’s here because he cares about this district,” she said, holding a sign with a red, white and blue drawing of Sánchez, copying the iconic “hope” poster representing Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

Since 2001, thousands of migrant have died in the desert of the U.S.-Mexico border. Activists, professionals and migrants talk about the continuing humanitarian crisis in the Arizona borderlands.

The TUSD Superintendent’s job is still at risk, although discussion of it was absent from Tuesday night’s board meeting.

The crowd of more than a hundred people cheered at the beginning of Tucson Unified School District’s regular board meeting when the controversial item was removed from the agenda. For an hour and a half, one after the other, community members stood at the podium to thank Superintendent H.T. Sánchez and commend the work he’s doing with the district.

Nonetheless, a special meeting has been called for Tuesday, Feb. 21, where the question of Sánchez’s job will be back on the agenda, according to Rachael Sedgwick, the board’s newest member.

At the Feb. 14 meeting, 20 people spoke in support of the superintendent and three in opposition.
Community member Brian Flagg said Sánchez is present at school events and people like him.

“He brings his family, he hangs out, and he talks to people until the last person leaves—and he does it in Spanish,” he said. “I think the guy’s got real popular support.”

On Tuesday, the board received more than 75 emails in support of the superintendent and two in opposition, according to Board members Adelita Grijalva and Kristel Foster. Supporters of Sánchez include Michael Varney, President of the Tucson Metro Chamber, and Mayor Jonathan Rothschild.
Sedgwick, who put the item on the agenda, would like to see Sánchez make some changes but says it’s apparent he’s not open to working with her.

“It’s really not about firing H.T.,” she said. “It's really is about exploring the different opportunities and giving him a choice.”

She would like to see the board create a performance plan to assess progress the superintendent makes with the district. In particular, Sedgwick is concerned with enrollment numbers, standardized testing scores, AP scores, graduation rates and drop-out rates.

Sedgwick also thinks Sánchez spends too much time at the Arizona Legislature.

“The superintendent’s job is really not to be lobbying the legislators in Phoenix,” she said. “I believe the superintendent does not visit the schools very often and that it means that we, as a district, have sort of lost sight about the reasons that TUSD exists.”

Sánchez could not be reached for a response.

Sedgwick says she has the backing of Board member Mark Stegeman and that Board President Michael Hicks is open to discussion.

Other board members think bringing the superintendent’s job into question right now distracts the board from more important things and opens them up to possible legal problems.

“What we’re doing here is a side-show circus,” Grijalva said. “If I’m a parent of a kindergartner or someone who’s coming from a charter school and looking for a middle or high school for my child, why would I pick TUSD? Because all I see in the headlines is this drama.”

Foster says terminating the superintendent with no backup plan is a dangerous decision, and putting that option suddenly on the agenda is not the way to solve a problem.

“We’re, right now, in the middle of a legislative session, trying to advocate on behalf of public education,” Foster said. “This shows absolutely no understanding of what we do as public officials that represent a school district.”

Spend the night of Saturday, Feb. 25 from 6-9 p.m. helping the sweet companions at Pima Animal Care Center find their forever homes and getting crafty at the same time. Win-win.

An art class sponsored by Tipsy Picassos will teach you how to paint this "Starry Night Dog" masterpiece for $35. All art supplies are included in that price, and food and drink will be available for purchase at the event. Pima Animal Care Center receives $10 of every purchase.
You can purchase your tickets here: https://www.paypal.me/tipsypicassos/35, and make sure you write you're planning to attend "Starry Night Dog" in the notes.

What could be more fun and rewarding than helping the pups at PACC who are as adorable as the one you'll be painting? Maybe only adopting a new best friend, too.

Have you got game show ambitions? If you think you've got what it takes to be on Wheel of Fortune. Well, this is your chance because the Wheelmobile is rolling into Tucson and looking for contestants on their next show.

The Wheelmobile is the show’s promotional bus that travels from city to city in search of the most, high energy, fun and spunky contestants in America.

The event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 11 and Sunday, Feb. 12 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Casino Del Sol’s AVA Amphitheater. Gates to AVA will open at 10 a.m.

“We usually have about 1,000 to 3,000 people a day. All attendees are welcome to fill out an application which are then chosen at random from a raffle drum,” said Rachel Hartz of Wheel of Fortune media.

Once people are selected, they will come up on stage and do a speed round of the game. Hartz said it is not possible for everyone to be selected on stage but everyone who fills out an application can still become a contestant and can be contacted at a later date for an audition.

The majority of contestants who appear on the Wheel of fortune are chosen from these events in their hometowns. Since this began in 1999, the Wheelmobile have driven over 350,000 miles which has visited more than 300 cities.

If you or a family member is chosen and want to get the DVR ready, Wheel of Fortune airs weeknights at 6:30 p.m. on KGUN 9.

So don’t miss your opportunity to potentially wins thousands of dollars by visiting the Casino del Sol this weekend.