28Sep 
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26Sep No Comments
No Comments Youth Climate Strike rallies Downtown
By JOSHUA SHAVER
and JOE GIDDENS
Inspired by teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, a series of international protests demanding action have taken place in the lead up to the United Nations Climate Action Summit on Sept. 23.
Other topics raised by protesters included indigenous rights and inequality.
Globally, over 2,500 events were scheduled in over 160 countries, according to Vox.
Tucson residents came out with signs in hand for the Arizona Youth Climate Strike rally Sept. 20 in Downtown Tucson in El Presidio park. The event was co-led by University of Arizona students Daniel Casanova and Lyle Klein.
“Climate change is one of the areas we’ve worked on the edges on,” said Tucson mayoral candidate Regina Romero. “But we really need to have a much mor...
26Sep No Comments
No Comments Aztec Press editor fact checks local politician
By JOE GIDDENS
Locally, Ally Miller, Pima County District 1 supervisor, took to Twitter to weigh in on climate rallies and teenage activist Greta Thunberg.
“To to all the young folks screaming that the end is near! To follow this woman??? Kidding right? In the ’70s, when I was a young high school graduate they said the Ice age (sic) was coming. Yes ... they said that. Don’t be a tool! #GlobalWarmingHoax,” Miller tweeted on Sept. 23.
However, Miller represents Pima County where the climate now has 24 more days above 100 degrees than it had in the 1970s. This makes it the second-largest increase in the nation, according to Climate Central.
As previously reported in the Aztec Press and the Phoenix New Times, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey repeatedly has balked at using the phrase “climate cha...
26Sep No Comments
No Comments E-scooters hit Tucson streets
Story and photos
by JOE GIDDENS
The City of Tucson Department of Transportation launched a six-month E-Scooter Pilot Program on Sept. 12.
Two companies, Bird and Razor, each have deployed 500 scooters with an additional 250 in designated “opportunity zones,” or areas of the city that lack motor vehicles and where residents have a low income.
The program aims to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and provide revenue to the city government.
The City of Tucson’s income from the project is a 20-cent-per-ride fee and a $4,000 application fee from Bird and Razor. The company’s annual fee is $15,000, which will be divided into the initial six-month pilot program. The remainder will be applied if the pilot is extended, according to city documents.
“I just rode both now for the fir...
2May No Comments
No Comments Chancellor spends $20.5K+ on Spring travel
By AMARIS ENCINAS and JOE GIDDENS
During the April 3 governors board meeting, Chancellor Lee Lambert made an announcement about his travels for Pima Community College.
“And then I know there was concerns about my travel,” he said. “So as a result, we’re going to enhance the current board’s travel policy. So we will be bringing an amendment to the board travel policy, just to provide a little more oversight and transparency.”
The amendment hasn’t been introduced yet, but it will modify Board Policy 4.06 and it includes: The chancellor will inform the board chair of the purpose or overall end goal for travel; following the trip, the chancellor will inform the governing board of the insight acquired from the trip itself; and lastly, the chancellor will at least provide an annual written...
2May No Comments
No Comments Journey to commencement
Story and photo
by ERIK MEDINA
On May 23, Pima Community College will host its annual graduation ceremony at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.
At each graduation, one student is chosen to speak to the student body at the beginning of the ceremony, this student is known as the the commencement speaker.
This year, that student is Nicole Werner.
Werner is originally from Philadelphia, but moved to Arizona at a young age. Although she grew up in Philadelphia, she considers Arizona her home.
At 16, Werner was on her own, so she decided to move to Arizona because that’s where her father resided.
“I had heard my dad was living out here, so I came and stayed with him and his girlfriend, which was kind of weird,” Werner said. “After a while, I just kind of worked my ...
2May No Comments
No Comments Maddy Jeans: fighting for a seat at the table
By KYLE KERSEY
A Pima Community College student was honored by the college for her pivotal role in changing the graduation policy of Tucson Unified School District, allowing Native American students to wear culturally significant attire at their graduation ceremonies.
Maddy Jeans, a 2017 graduate of Pueblo High School and current Pima student, was instrumental in bringing the issue before TUSD. At a TUSD board meeting on Dec. 11, Jeans and fellow members of the TNYC spoke in support of changing the district’s policy on graduation attire.
“I was the student that emailed and contacted all of you my senior year to be able to have this opportunity for all native youths in your district,” Jeans said at the meeting. “I wanted to do this, because I felt like throughout my life, I did not get t...
2May No Comments
No Comments Some administrators get salary hikes
By JOE GIDDENS
Since summer 2015, the average Pima Community College administrator salary has increased 3.5%, while the average faculty salary has dropped 0.5%, according to a report released by the Pima Community College Education Association, the group that represents the college’s full-time faculty.
Budget woes have been brought on by declining enrollment, yet expenditure limits haven’t been felt equally across college’s employees, according to PCCEA. This is partly because the college is in the middle of a multiyear plan to cut $15 million from its budget.
However, the college did increase staff salaries by 2.5% in fiscal year 2017 as a temporary salary increase.
The severe budget cuts apparently haven’t affected some administrators’ salaries, though, with a third of adminis...
2May No Comments
No Comments A pioneer for Mexican-American Studies
By ALEXZANDRIA MARTINEZ
Rosalia Solorzano was honored with emeritus status on Feb. 6 at the district District Office.
Solorzano is the 37th faculty member to receive this honor at Pima Community College. Distinguished individuals who have retired are nominated by former colleagues and faculty members confidentially.
The faculty emeritus award is the most important award to be given at Pima Community College and recognizes faculty and their contributions and services to the college.
“I’m very proud and very honored to have received the faculty emerita award,” Solorzano said.
She has been a instructor for 40 years and has taught thousands of students at Pima. She retired as a Pima sociology instructor after 21 years.
During Solorzano’s teaching career, she also has been a rese...
2May No Comments
No Comments GOHS awards Pima a $10,000 pedestrian safety grant
Story and photo illustration
by ALEXANDER LOPEZ
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) has awarded Pima Community College a “GOHS Pedestrian and Bicyclist Focus Education and Enforcement Efforts” grant, for the amount of $10,000 and will be paid out through the 2019 year.
So far, Pima Community College Police Department had conducted three pedestrian and bicycle safety traffic campaigns, all were paid for by the grant.
The three safety campaigns have taken place at the Downtown Campus, because of its high numbers of collisions involving pedestrians and bicycles, described Officer Josh Blum.
The Downtown Campus isn’t the only affected area. Due to the large volume of traffic the West Campus sees on a weekly basis as well as the adjacent streets and neighborhoods, which PCCPD...