Tag: Tucson

Día de Muertos comes to Pima
News

Día de Muertos comes to Pima

By JOE GIDDENS  and ANGEL CANEZ It was a celebration of life and death at the Pima Community College West Campus Nov. 1 with the Pima Native American Student Association’s first celebration of the Day of the Dead. It was a fundraising event with an array of activities including face painting, music, photo booths and “altares de ofrendas” also known as offering altars.  The Student Social Services Organization and ARC Pantry also attended the event to solicit donations for their food pantry donation box, but the main attraction was the University of Arizona folklorico dance group Grupo Folklórico Miztontli.  “I wanted to start Native American Heritage Month,” said NASA president Alexandra McKenna. “By sharing with the community, the indigenous roots of the holiday many people know toda...
Tucson looks to help residents thrive
News

Tucson looks to help residents thrive

Photo and story by JOE GIDDENS The “Thrive in the 05” initiative was formed last fall to revitalize the Oracle corridor, an area from the Pima Community College Downtown Campus going north to Miracle Mile and bounded by I-10 to the west.  It’s an area that is steeped in indigenous history with some of the Pascua Yaqui’s Tribe’s earliest residences.  The area saw a boom with the advent of the automobile’s arrival in the American West as the northern gateway to Tucson. The route followed Miracle Mile; then turned on Oracle Road; then turned onto Drachman Street and went Downtown before exiting the area on South Sixth Avenue.  The completion of Interstate 10 in 1961 left residents facing a number of challenges with their customers routed elsewhere. Presently, this area of Tucson has roughl...
Hop into east side’s Hop Street Lounge
Stomping Grounds

Hop into east side’s Hop Street Lounge

By JOSHUA SHAVER From the outside, Hop Street Lounge looks like a smaller bar. But once I walked in, I saw a really big, clean bar. Impressive. There’s a lot of room for people to lounge around, socialize and feel comfortable while drinking a variety of alcoholic beverages.  Hop Street opened about six months ago. It has seen an influx of people that are there to play various games and drink craft beers.  The very clean bar and new equipment give off a comfortable vibe. I loved the setting and the lighting of the bar, which gives off a smooth and chill environment.  The eight TVs that Hop Street features is a bonus for people who want to drink and watch sports.  The owner of the bar, Damien Jenkins, talked about opening his first bar. “It was an exciting risk that has paid off due t...
Pima College increases security measures
News

Pima College increases security measures

Photo and story by JOE GIDDENS Security at Pima Community College is an ongoing concern but several initiatives are in place.    Text Alerts Mass alerts from Pima Police go out by email and text alerts. About 70,000 people in Tucson get the emails, but 7,000 to 9,000 get the text alerts because people must volunteer their numbers for the alert system, according to Pima Police officer Michelle Nieuwenhuis.   Pima Police wants to increase the number of people receiving text alerts, because people are more inclined to check texts than they are email. Plus, there won’t be the issue of messages accidentally ending up in the spam filter.  Students’ information will be entered into Omnilert, which is Pima’s text alert vendor and people will then have the ability to opt out if they don’t want to...
Women in Industry Summit convenes Downtown
News

Women in Industry Summit convenes Downtown

Photo and story by JOE GIDDENS Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history Oct. 18 with the first all-female space walk to replace a power controller on the International Space Station. Some 254 miles below at the Downtown Campus, Pima Community College hosted its first Women in Industry Summit. The goal of the event was to promote women in STEM fields and in fields that have been historically male-dominated.  The event was organized by Pima program adviser Anthony Hinckley. He had several female students inform him of difficulties they’ve faced and their concerns about entering into these types of fields.  “It all kind of boiled down to ‘Am I going to be OK in a male-dominated industry?’ ” The students’ issues were not so much about breaking into these fields. Instead, they were a...
Arizona starts to eye the 2020 election
News

Arizona starts to eye the 2020 election

Photos and story  by JOE GIDDENS  The national spotlight has come to Tucson as both parties compete for Arizona’s potential swing state status in the 2020 election.  Mike Pence Arrival   Vice President Mike Pence, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Sen. Martha McSally arrived at Tucson International Airport Oct. 3 to stump for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. The USMCA is the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement.  The agreement hasn’t yet been put to a vote in Congress because of the Democrats’ concerns with its enforceability and on labor matters.   Pence’s other objective for this visit was to campaign for McSally ahead of her expected matchup next year against Democratic frontrunner candidate Mark Kelly. The most recent poll by OH Predictive Insights in August had M...
Ackerley: JUMPIN FOR A SAFE, CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
Opinion

Ackerley: JUMPIN FOR A SAFE, CLEAN ENVIRONMENT

  By Dr. ED ACKERLEY The future of Tucson rests with the important election for Mayor on November 5.  Tucsonans have the opportunity to vote for one of three candidates who have differing views on Tucson’s future.  I am running as a Tucsonan, not as a Republican or Democrat or any other party. The vision that I have for Tucson is one that is safe, with good roads and clean, green parks – as this is what the Charter for the city instructs Mayor and Council to prioritize.  The founders of our community envisioned a Tucson where the citizens were protected and safe, where the roads were complete and in good shape, and that the parks would be accessible in every neighborhood to provide families an outdoor area to come together as community.     The discussion of climate change has ...
Pima Police take carjacking suspect into custody
News

Pima Police take carjacking suspect into custody

By JOE GIDDENS Pima Community College Police took a person into custody this afternoon around 5 p.m. at Grant Rd. and Stone Ave. This carjacking suspect damaged six vehicles before wrecking according to Tucson Police Department.
Men and Women’s teams boast winning records
Sports

Men and Women’s teams boast winning records

By COREY McMULLEN The Pima Community College Soccer teams continue hot streaks. The women’s team is playing exceedingly well, winning the last five road matches and shutting out four of the last seven. Men’s Soccer also is winning, although not in such dramatic fashion. Men’s Soccer The returning national champs continue to roll through the competition by outscoring their opponents 26-2.  Oct. 5: PCC 5, Glendale CC 0  The No. 7-ranked Aztecs turned up the volume on the Gauchos in the second half of play, scoring all 5 goals in the second half. Freshman Saul Lopez scored his first goal of the season in the 88th minute. The Aztecs’ defense impressively held the Gauchos to only one shot on goal. Oct. 3: PCC 0, Phoenix College 1 Once again, the Aztecs find themselves once again in ano...
Chapman Auto gives Pima a jumpstart
News, Sports

Chapman Auto gives Pima a jumpstart

Story by ANGEL CANEZ and JOE GIDDENS Additional interviews  by JOUSHA SHAVER Pima Community College is investing over $500,000 in upgrades to its athletics facilities in as a cost-saving measure and to attract recruits. The athletics department also has signed a $210,000 sponsorship deal with the Chapman Automotive Group for three years.  However, despite both of these events, there’s consideration by Pima administration to terminate additional sports programs. Golf, tennis and track are the most commonly discussed.  This comes near the end of the first year of the Jim Monaco era of Pima Athletics.  Monaco took over the job from former Athletic Director Edgar Soto, who held the position for 11 years and now serves as Desert Vista Campus vice president. Soto also will remain as dean o...