Explorer, June 2, 2021

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EXPLORER The Voice of Marana, Oro Valley and Northwest Tucson

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V  • N 

A Dream At Arm’s Length

O. Local ,  musician Brian Berggoetz gathers the good from last year on

his new album ‘Wildflower’ | Page 13

INSIDE

MUJERES, MUJERES, MUJERES

Our Town

Fini’s Landing expands north | Page 4

A new virtual art exhibit of various work by women is at Raices Taller Gallery. Pictured here is “River Magic Matryoshka” by Rachel Espinoza. Read more on page 14.

Virtual Games

Athlete of the Year

Tucson Local Media

Isaiah Roebuck follows in father’s footsteps | Page 19 $

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niversity of Arizona economist George Hammond said Thursday morning that overall, Arizona’s job recovery continues but “we’ve still got a long way to go.” Hammond, director of the Eller College’s Economic and Business Research Center, told a breakfast crowd that from February to April

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2020, more than 330,000 jobs were lost in first months of the pandemic. Then over the next two months, Arizona “saw really substantial increases with callbacks once the stay at home order expired and since June we’ve seen continued recovery but at a much slower pace than than those first two months.” As of April, Arizona has recovered over 71% of the jobs lost between February and April last year,

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better than the U.S. reported 63% recovery of jobs lost, said Hammond. But Arizona is still about 95,000 jobs below pre-pandemic numbers. Job recovery also varies across the state. Tucson is just over 19,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels, better than Phoenix at 64,000 jobs below where it was before the pandemic. See ECONOMY, P11

See COVID WINDING DOWN, P6

Arizona economy continues recovery but still below pre-pandemic levels C D

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t may be hard to imagine a time when 20 confirmed COVID cases in the entire state was newsworthy, but thanks to the diligence of an associate professor out of the University of Arizona, the public can look back on weekly reports tracking how the virus spread throughout Arizona. Joe Gerald, PhD, who works in the UA’s College of Public Health, has written weekly COVID reports that listed the number of Arizona COVID cases, forecasted the virus’ growth, and kept up to date on health guidelines. But with nearly half the state vaccinated and cases at a low plateau since March, Gerald ended his regularly scheduled reports on Friday, May 21.

Photo courtesy Raices Taller

UA starts eSports league | Page 15

UA COVID researcher:‘We’re past the worst of it in Arizona’

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EXPLORER

The Explorer and Marana News is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout the Northwest Tucson. To find out where you can pick up a free copy of the Explorer and Marana News, go to www.TucsonLocalMedia.com

STAFF ADMINISTRATION Steve T. Strickbine, Publisher Michael Hiatt, Vice President Jaime Hood, General Manager, Ext. 12 jaime@tucsonlocalmedia.com Claudine Sowards, Accounting, Ext. 13 claudine@tucsonlocalmedia.com Sheryl Kocher, Receptionist, Ext. 10 sheryl@tucsonlocalmedia.com EDITORIAL Jim Nintzel, Executive Editor, Ext. 38 jimn@tucsonlocalmedia.com Jeff Gardner, Associate Editor Ext. 43, jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com Mike Truelsen, Web Editor Ext. 35, mike@tucsonlocalmedia.com Christina Duran, Staff Reporter, Ext. 42, christinad@tucsonlocalmedia.com PRODUCTION David Abbott, Production Manager, Ext. 18 david@tucsonlocalmedia.com Ryan Dyson Graphic Designer, Ext. 26, ryand@tucsonlocalmedia.com Emily Filener, Graphic Designer, Ext. 28 emilyf@tucsonlocalmedia.com CIRCULATION Alex Carrasco, Circulation, Ext. 17 alexc@tucsonlocalmedia.com ADVERTISING Kristin Chester, Account Executive, Ext. 25 kristin@tucsonlocalmedia.com Lisa Hopper, Account Executive, Ext. 39 Lisa@tucsonlocalmedia.com Candace Murray, Account Executive, Ext. 24, candace@tucsonlocalmedia.com Tyler Vondrak, Account Executive, Ext. 27 tyler@tucsonlocalmedia.com EDITORIAL & AD CONTENT The Explorer and Marana News expresses its opinion in the editorial. Opinions expressed in guest commentaries, perspectives, cartoons or letters to the editor are those of the author. The content and claims of any advertisement are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. Tucson Local Media assumes no responsibility for the claims or content of any advertisement. Publisher has the right to edit for size or refuse any advertisement at his or her discretion. 7225 N. Mona Lisa Road, Ste. 125 Tucson, Arizona 85741 PHONE: (520) 797-4384

Hot Picks

New Art for Your Life. A new month means a new exhibit at the Wilde Meyer Gallery, something we always look forward to ’round these parts. This group show features a variety of the gallery’s painters and sculptors, including Jody Choate, Ka Fisher and Sarah Webber. Plus, some new arrivals by folks like Wayne Salge, Ryan Hale and Peggy McGivern. Come treat yourself to some art (whether you’re in the market to buy or just to look) at this exhibit, up throughout June at the Wilde Meyer Gallery, 2890 E. Skyline Drive. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

Purple Mountain Majesty. I think there’s a shade of Crayola crayon with that name. I didn’t always get it as a kid, because, you know what? Mountains aren’t purple. But, you know what, again? When that sunset light hits them just right, or when the clouds pass overhead in just the right way, they kind of are purple. And “majestic” is the perfect word to describe it. In this exhibit at the Madaras Gallery, see a collections of paintings by Diana Madaras in which her violet hues, with their special way of bringing the desert to life on canvas, are front and center. On display through June 30 at the Madaras Gallery, 3035 N. Swan Road. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The Desert Museum at Night. The Desert Museum is probably one of the coolest parts about living in Tucson, but the blazing heat of the desert itself is not necessarily one of the coolest things about living

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in Tucson. This June, the Desert Museum will be open until 9 p.m. so you can explore when it’s not so dang hot! Treat yourself to an evening at the Desert Museum, watching the sunset and then the stars come out. And don’t forget your flashlight so you can explore! If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can add a beer or wine tasting to your evening by going to desertmuseum.org/visit. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney Road. GA is $23.95, with discounts for seniors, youth, military and residents. Reserve your ticket online! Local Book Signing. Author and Tucson Local Media employee Lisa Hopper has released her new book, “Confess Thy Sins,” a story of money and lies in the church. She will be signing books and meeting readers at Rosati’s Pizza 2 to 5p.m. Saturday, June 5. 12152 N. Rancho Vistoso. The book is now available on Amazon, Kindle, Audible and paperback.

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OUR TOWN

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Fini’s Landing set to open sister restaurant, The Landing, in OV this month K M

Special to Tucson Local Media

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ans of seafood and beach bars will want to set sail for The Landing when it opens in Oro Valley later this month. The new restaurant is the latest venture from University of Arizona alums Scott Mencke and Douglas “Fini” Finical, who see it as a sister restaurant to their popular Baja-California inspired Fini’s Landing. The Landing will be located at 8195 N. Oracle Road, in the former home of Oro Valley’s Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler. The two friends-turnedbusiness-partners met while lifeguarding at the Amphi Pool in the ’80s. Sharing a mutual love for all things “water, escapism and Jimmy Buffett,” the pair would part ways to pursue various creative projects after their college years. But when a mutual friend presented a business opportunity regarding available property on the Historic Fourth Avenue downtown, Mencke and Finical began their business partnership with a lasting Tucson legacy. Known to locals as The Hut, the neo tiki-themed bar was a “perfect storm” of opportunity and happenstance. The venue hosted live music in an acoustic and tropical atmosphere that would allow the two partners an opportunity to develop the unique brand of Fini’s Landing. Six years later, they were

Katya Mendoza

The Landing, a new coastal-modern restaurant will open later this month at 8195 N. Oracle Road.

approached by a broker whose client wanted a neighborhood sports bar in the Foothills neighborhood of Swan and Sunrise. “Fini,” an architect by trade, would be able to collaborate with his father one last time for this project. The late Irv Finical was a prominent local architect responsible for the 1976 addition to Arizona Stadium and UA’s Cancer Center. “For me it was a very special thing to be able to sort of have his legacy live on through this restaurant,” Finical said. Before passing, his father spent time at Fini’s, enjoying watching the circulation and response to the restaurant’s success. Officially opening its doors in February 2012, Fini’s catered to the beachbum/ surfer/sailor demo-

graphic, indulging in coastal decor with a boat-shaped bar. Mencke said that the idea was to build a place that would fill “this escapism niche, based upon authentic life experiences.” John Petrone, a Tucson local, is a bar regular at Fini’s who has enjoyed the amicable atmosphere, staff and clientele over the years. Making friends with army veterans and fraternity brothers, Petrone says he knows more regulars at Fini’s than any other bar in Tucson. “The size of the bar is very conducive to being able to socialize; so when you’re down at the front of the ‘boat,’ it’s very easy to talk across the bar since the distance isn’t that far,” Petrone said. Drawing inspiration from places such as Southern Cal-

both Fini’s Landing and The Landing, is looking forward to the Coastal-Modern feel of the new menu. Sourcing the Australian barramundi fish from Arizona’s Desert Springs barramundi fishery is one of the unique aspects of the future menu. Similar in flavor to cod or rockfish, the barramundi will offer a fresher taste, only being out of water for approximately 48 hours upon arrival. “[We’re] focusing on our sustainability, in hopes of opening Tucson’s eyes, only sourcing certain [fish] that can be produced and done correctly,” Jones said. The barramundi will be the foundation of fish tacos, with a blackened seasoning, house rojo salsa, smoked cilantro-lime crema, corn and avocado, and maybe even as a main entree dish to “shine on its own.” Inevitably, the pandemic brought on big challenges. An initial real estate deal fell

through, leading Mencke and Finical to the Oro Valley location, which turned out to be a better fit. Mencke said he “didn’t realize how bad it was going to be.” Using the lag in restaurant supplies as an example, the acquisition of booths for the new space took seven weeks due to a backlog in supplies, instead of a “normal” three weeks. In terms of the hiring process, Mencke said the majority of their staff has been hired through referrals due to the “tentacles” their restaurant has had in the local community. “Contractors can’t get help, demands are really high, supply of labor is really low, people have their different beliefs of what’s going on, and it [has] slowed down the ability to get things done,” he said. The Landing will open with limited seating and other COVID precautions in the third week of June.

ifornia, the Florida Keys and the Carribean, the restaurant-bar serves savory and sustainably sourced seafood. Mencke, a long-time advocate for ethical food sourcing, takes pride in the company’s cooperation with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, a program that helps consumers and businesses make informed environmentally conscious seafood choices. Given Fini’s Landing’s decade-long achievements, the two knew that they wanted to open another restaurant with the goal of having a few of Fini’s favorites, but also a menu unique to The Landing, while offering an homage to authentic Katya Mendoza Mexican cuisine. Executive chef Ryan Co-owner Scott Mencke stands inside of his new restaurant space as it undergoes Jones, who will oversee construction. The Landing is set to open mid-June 2021.


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Do voting laws protect or restrict access? House echoes state debate B N Cronkite News

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hey came with studies, they came with polls, they came with statistics. And after more than two hours of a congressional hearing Monday, May 24, they walked away no closer to agreeing on how voting restrictions affect ballot access. Democratic and Republican members of the House Administration Committee stuck largely to their talking points during a hearing on the effect that voter ID laws, proof-of-citizenship requirements and lack of language assistance have on elections. Republicans dismissed suggestions that voting ID laws have a disproportionate impact on minority voters, pointing to the turnout in the 2020 elections as proof. “In 2020 we saw more people cast a vote than any other presidential election in history, further dispelling the myth that voting ID requirements deter people from legally voting,” said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisc. But Democrats and

some witnesses at the hearing pointed to a long list of studies that they said demonstrate, in the words of Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., that, “Voting ID laws have been shown to disproportionately decrease minority turnout.” The committee debate comes as the Arizona Legislature is considering several election bills that echo the national debate, with one side saying the changes protect and the other side saying they restrict voting. The state had 23 restrictive voting bills for the 2021 legislative session, the third-most in the nation, according to a report by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. It also had 15 Democrat-backed voting-expansion bills, but those were quickly killed in the Legislature. State lawmakers have already passed one measure that would stop the practice of automatically mailing ballots to voters on the state’s Permanent Early Voting List—now called the Active Early Voting List—if they had not voted in at least one election over

a four-year period. Gov. Doug Ducey signed that bill into law on May 11. Democrats blasted the measure as an effort to purge voting rolls. But Ducey said the move only brings Arizona into line with other states that have early voting lists, like California, and that the law requires election officials to reach out to those voters, who can still request a mail-in ballot. Another pending proposal would stiffen voter ID requirements for absentee ballots. Voters would have to provide their date of birth along with either their driver’s license number or a voter registration number. Sponsors of the bill did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, but critics said the measure, if passed, would confuse voters and increase the chances that their ballots would be thrown out for minor errors. It would also make mail-in voting harder for minority voters, thousands of whom do not have driver’s licenses. “Driver’s license possession is skewed towards wealthier and white vot-

ers,” said Ryan Snow, an attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who said voting needs to be treated as a right, not a privilege. “This new restriction will have a disproportionately higher burden on minority groups, which is very concerning.” Snow also said that under the mail-in voting bill, SB 1713, enrolled members of Native American tribes who can now use their tribal ID as a valid form of identification at a polling place would be prohibited from using it to vote by mail. Aaron Payment, the vice president of the National Congress of American Indians, called the proposed mail-in voting requirement little more than “the haves wanting to prevent the have-nots from receiving the American Dream.” “Wealthy people have been filling out absentee ballots for a long time now, the privileged class has been doing it for generations,” Payment said Monday. “Now that lower-income and people of color are doing it and we’re watching politicians com-

plain about it while they cast their absentee ballot.… It’s a special brand of American politics.” But, in Washington, witnesses and lawmakers at the House subcommittee hearing differed on the impact tighter election security laws have on voter access. Each of the nine witnesses cited studies or surveys to back up their case, with Republicans arguing that election security laws do not disenfranchise anyone when applied evenly, and Democrats arguing that color-blind application is rarely the case. Matt Barreto, a political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said his studies have shown that white voters were statistically more likely to have the ID

required for voting than any other racial or ethnic group in the country. Butterfield said that something as simple as the cost of getting a government-issued ID for voting—as well as that costs to get the documentation needed to apply for that ID—can pose financial barriers that prohibit minorities voters, who are otherwise eligible to vote, from casting a ballot. Harmeet Dhillon, founding attorney for Dhillon Law Group, agreed that costs can be a factor for such voters, but that does not mean the law should be relaxed. “If cost barriers do exist, and I see that as true, then the government should work to eliminate the barriers and not the safeguard,” Dhillon said.

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Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

COVID Winding Down: Gerald Ends Reports Continued from P1 “I have a pretty high degree of confidence that we’re past the worst of it in Arizona,” Gerald said. “We did a good job of predicting what the coming weeks would be like, but we could never accurately predict the inflection points [when curves change direction].” Gerald is a health services researcher who serves as the director of UA’s Public Health Policy & Management program. For decades, he has studied the cost-effectiveness of respiratory illness-related interventions, such as tuberculosis contact screening and school-based asthma management. The information in his reports was intended to help guide response to the outbreak, not predict exactly how the pandemic would evolve,by showing what might occur if current conditionsremainedunchanged. Gerald began his reports in mid-March 2020, back when confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pima County could be counted on one hand, and no deaths had yet to be reported. Despite this, his first report projected Ari-

zona could see more than 60,000 new cases daily by May 2020 if no prevention measures were taken. He acknowledged that such “unabated growth” was extremely unlikely, but figured such projections could help gauge the extent to which public health interventions would “flatten the epidemic curve” by delaying the peak and reducing the number of new cases. Of course, Arizona never saw this extreme number of cases per day thanks to shutdowns and mask mandates. And while stay-at-home orders in Arizona and other states helped reduce cases, new infection numbers skyrocketed from hundreds to thousands per day after Gov. Doug Ducey declared Arizona was “clearly on the other side of this pandemic” in May 2020. Gerald and other public health researchers expressed concern in May when Arizona’s stay-at-home orders were lifted, increasing social interactions with the potential to transmit infections. And while cases did increase following the orders being lifted, the spike wasn’t

even close to what the state would see in late 2020. “We were aware many of the necessary shutdowns and mandates were difficult politically, and that after things reopened, additional future shutdowns were almost impossible,” Gerald said. “Even though we had a realistic and pragmatic view, we were angry and frustrated that the Governor didn’t step in during December. We thought he’d institute targeted interventions when the cases were that high.” As the reports continued, they took on data like testing efficacy, infection delays, medical burdens—and finally, vaccine distribution. His reports also indicated that COVID-19 ranked as the leading cause of death in Arizona since the pandemic began. He noted how by February 2021, a pressing challenge would be “holding the line” on public health mitigation practices in the face of improving conditions, and buying time for more of the population to get vaccinated. And while vaccination rates rose with Pfizer and Moderna grad-

ually becoming available to more sections of the population, Gerald and others noted that vaccination rates slowed as most who wanted vaccines received them, and many of those hesitant remained unvaccinated. “I’ve been thinking about what happened in 1918 with the influenza pandemic versus 2020,” Gerald said. “A big difference is that science has come a long way. That’s not to say science is perfect, but we were able to develop a vaccine and get it delivered within a year. The press has also been very important for information, and even critical of lawmakers they viewed weren’t taking the pandemic seriously enough. And while we’ve made progress in human behavior, it’s still the weak link in our pandemic preparedness plan.” With Arizona’s current vaccine rates and infection numbers nearing a “moderate” spread of COVID, Gerald says the greatest threat is a virus variant with vaccineand immune-resistance properties that could reset the clock, and put us back at “ground zero.” Luckily, most variants, such as the B1617

variant first identified in India and now in Arizona, have not been found to be vaccine resistant—although evidence shows some are more transmissible. “Even with a more transmissible virus, there’s not a lot of opportunity to find a new host because so many are already immune,” Gerald said. “So I don’t think a more transmissible virus will lead to a full resurgence. It just means we’d take longer to get from substantial spread down to moderate, and then moderate to low.” Along with other public health professionals, Gerald supports wearing masks as one of the easiest and most effective methods of reducing infections. However, similar to shutdowns and mandates, he acknowledges their political difficulty. “The CDC is in a tough spot. They’re trying to thread a needle; the medical science says masks work, but there are still many so strongly opposed,” Gerald said. “With these polar opposites, it’s almost impossible to have a non-controversial mask mandate.” Gerald is closing his

regularly scheduled weekly reports, but has said he will return if something unforeseen develops. In his place, there are multiple other public health professionals still modeling and writing COVID reports, including a research group out of Arizona State University. “The ASU COVID-19 Modeling group estimates the doldrums to continue for most of the summer before materially improving. This is the result of continued normalization of behavior, more prevalent highly-transmissible variants and slowing vaccination rates,” Gerald’s final report reads. “Even though too many Arizonans are not fully vaccinated as we would like, another summer resurgence seems off the table. That doesn’t mean though we won’t experience thousands more COVID-19 cases and hundreds more COVID-19 deaths over the summer. So, please get vaccinated if you haven’t already.” To read Gerald’s former reports, visit publichealth. arizona.edu/newsroom


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Loyola University Chicago that revealed that people who took steps to savor their life lessons—reflecting on events in their past that led to knowledge that they wouldn’t want to give up— Psychological Well- specifically “grew” their Being: Older adults with positive perceptions of aging. more negative perceptions of aging reported greater Y You can try this on your increases in depressive own. Research has shown symptoms three years later, that practicing savoring, but high levels of optimism or increasing awareness, helped protect against this intensity, and duration effect. of positive feelings, can boost your happiness and Healthy Behaviors: life satisfaction. Focusing Those with more positive this practice on positive perceptions of aging tend to reminiscence can affect engage in more preventive perceptions of aging health behaviors and specifically. physical activity compared to those with more negative T To savor your life lessons, perceptions of aging. make time to reflect on a meaningful past experience, Change Your Views then write down what you The good news is that, learned from it. Take time even if you’re not feeling to consider the wisdom very positive about aging, you obtained, then identify you can take steps to change how that wisdom has had a your attitude and enjoy the positive impact on your life. health benefits above. All it Repeat this exercise with takes is consciously focusing other experiences from any on appreciating positive time in your life. You can experiences. Dr. Smith led a also tell family members or study in collaboration with friends about some of your

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ealth care coverage in Arizona under the Affordable Care Act is at its highest level in three years, as enrollment continued to climb in April during a special open enrollment period, according to the latest government data. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported that 17,081 Arizonans had selected insurance plans for 2021 from Feb. 15 through April 30. They were just some of the 939,575 Americans who got coverage during that period. The new enrollments come on top of the 154,504 Arizonans who signed up during last fall’s regular open enrollment for 2021 coverage and the 8.25 million Americans who signed up in the same period. The special open enrollment period was announced by the Biden administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue through Aug. 15. Despite the apparent success of the early going, however, advocates and experts say there are still challenges—particularly for those in underserved communities. Claudia Maldonado works at Keogh Health Connection, helping people navigate through different insurance marketplaces to find the plan that best fits their needs. The process can be overwhelming, she said. “When you see that there is the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), there’s Arizona’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (KidsCare) and the marketplace, and you’re sitting there kind of like scratching your head saying, ‘Well, which one is for me?’” Maldonado also shined a

light on the importance of not sticking to one specific health care option, stating that the Affordable Care Act extends enrollment for all marketplaces Arizona has to offer. “It’s important for people to have options for health care, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act—it has a lot of different pieces,” she said. “So basically, for us, it’s been able to give people another option that could potentially work for them.” The purpose of a health insurance marketplace is to make everything a “one-stop shop” for choosing different options, according to HealthCareInsider. In Arizona, many organizations that help with connecting people to health insurance have navigators who guide them through the process. As a navigator at Keogh Health Connections—which also provides nutrition assistance and financial support in times of personal struggle— Livby Pearson works directly with individuals looking for health insurance, especially as the enrollment period closes. “And to have another open enrollment, right now, it’s also important because of those clients that didn’t get the opportunity or because of all the uncertainties with COVID, they didn’t get to sign up,” Pearson said. “This gives them another opportunity to do so, view their options, and get enrolled, and get the health care that they need.” Census data showed that nationally, Hispanics had the lowest rate of health insurance coverage in the nation, with the number of uninsured Latinos rising from 16.2% in 2017 to 17.8% in 2018, more than twice the national average of 7.9% and 8.5% for those years. Cynthia Aragon is the executive assistant at Helping Families in Need, an organi-

zation that works with people who might not have access to the resources. “They are facing a lot of barriers, addressing even more barriers and how can we help change those barriers or move them… be there for the community,” Aragon said. Keogh Health Connection and Helping Families in Need have had to move away from direct community outreach to a virtual setting, due to the pandemic, but are still working with those who now qualify for Affordable Care Act benefits. The number of people who have been able to get coverage in this special enrollment period has been two to three times as high as it was during the same time in previous years, when enrollment was limited to those losing job-based policies or experiencing other major life events, such as a birth or divorce. According to data from CMS, enrollment from Feb. 15 to April 30 nationally stood at 391,000 people last year and 266,000 in 2019, compared to the almost 940,000 this year. In Arizona, the numbers went from 6,046 in 2019 to 7,725 in 2020 to this year’s 17,081. After several years of steady premiums, the five firms offering insurance coverage under the ACA marketplace offered plans for 2021 that ranged from a 7% decrease in premiums to a 9% increase, according to HealthInsurance. org. But the government says that additional aid approved in the American Rescue Plan in March should help lower many consumers’ monthly premiums. The special COVID-19 related open enrollment for Arizona health insurance marketplaces will close on Aug. 15 but will reopen in November for 2022 coverage, and will follow pre-pandemic qualifications.


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Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

Arizona’s current historic drought may be ‘baseline for the future’ Alyssa Marksz Cronkite News

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rizona and other Western states just lived through the driest year in more than a century, with no drought relief in sight in the near future, experts told a House panel Tuesday. The period from last April to this March was the driest in the last 126 years for Arizona and other Western states, witnesses said. It caps a two-decade stretch that was the driest in more than 100 years that records have been kept—and one of the driest in the past 1,200 years based on paleohydrology evidence, one official said. “We have never seen drought at the scale and intensity that we see right now, and it is possible that this may be the baseline for the future,” Elizabeth Klein, a senior counselor to the secretary of Interior, said in her testimony. More than half of Arizona is currently experiencing “exceptional” drought conditions, the most severe level of drought, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. The Arizona Department of Water Resources said most of the state got less than 25% of average precipitation for April. The water shortage can affect everything from the amount of power generated by hydroelectric dams on the Colorado River to the risk of wildfire. Tiffany Davila, public affairs officer for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, said that this year’s drought is much more severe than what Ar-

izona saw at this time last year. “Vegetation is stricken across the state; there isn’t one area that isn’t impacted by the drought,” Davila said. “It’s pretty much kindling at this point.” Low water levels are also likely to trigger reductions in water agreements with agencies like the Central Arizona Project and the Salt River Project. But SRP officials said Tuesday that they have long been taking steps to mitigate the immediate impact of those reductions. “It’s important to understand this is not a crisis but a drought that is expected when you live in the desert,” said SRP spokesperson Patty Garcia-Likens. “Salt River Project, Arizona cities and Central Arizona Project have planned for times like this.” Charlie Ester, SRP’s manager of watershed management, said that from the agency’s perspective, Arizona has been in drought conditions since 1995. “One of the things that we do at SRP is we always plan for drought conditions,” Ester said. “That sounds very simple, but it was not always the case.” Ester said areas of the state that are not served by SRP or CAP could be hit hardest. “They don’t have an abundant surface water supply that they can rely on, many areas are dependent upon groundwater,” he said. “As the water levels decline, it becomes harder and harder to pump their water supplies, and sometimes wells will even dry up.” Ester said there is no obvious precipitation trend in Arizona, but higher tem-

peratures contribute to more severe drought conditions due to increased levels of evaporation. While he believes that droughts are a natural occurrence, he also said that factors such as greenhouse gases have significantly aggravated the situation. “I think even if humans were not here, the Southwest would be in a drought right now, but I think it has become worse because of anthropogenic causes,” Ester said. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, acknowledged the importance of the issue, saying, “There is no simplistic response to the droughts that we are confronting out West, it is a comprehensive response that’s needed.” Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and chairman of the Subcommittee for Water, Oceans and Wildlife that held the hearing, said it was about “continuing our work to identify the most critical drought response needs, and to help connect those in need with available resources to get them through a crippling drought.” Possible solutions cited at the hearing included tools to monitor and predict droughts while collecting data on water resources, programs to increase funding for infrastructure improvements, and programs to recycle water and restore aquatic ecosystems. In Arizona, preparations for drought include reducing water waste by maintaining systems to run at peak efficiency, and introducing a two-way connection between SRP and CAP that Ester says will allow the two agencies to “share water supplies with each other.” The state has also

Courtesy Photo

Hills showing the change in water level at Lake Mead. been “banking” water in its groundwater reserve. “SRP has … put nearly 3 million acre-feet of water

into the groundwater reserve to use during severe drought conditions,” Ester said. “It’s roughly four years worth of

water that we have banked for future use. Conditions have not gotten bad enough yet to use that water.”

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Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

UA economics prof: Climate change will bring big upheaval to society, markets Christina Duran Tucson Local Media

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University of Arizona economics professor made a case for taxing carbon emissions to help solve the significant challenges that climate change poses to the U.S. and world economies. Dr. Derek Lemoine, associate professor of economics at the UA Eller College of Management, presented his research on the intersection of the climate and the economy at the 2021 Breakfast With the Economists last week. Climate is a distribution of weather, which we “live through and experience,” matters for the economy, said Lemoine. Lemoine presented the rise of carbon emissions, and said “we are really restoring carbon conditions from way before even pre-humans ever existed, like we’re really taking the planet pretty far back.” By 2050, carbon dioxide could reach levels unseen in 50 million years.

The increase in carbon emissions causes an increase in global temperature. In the early 1900s, Tucson months were cooler than the 20th century average, and by the early 21st century, more months were warmer than the 20th century average, according to data from the National Weather Service of Tucson. In order to track the relation between climate change and the economy, Lemoine provided graphs showing the increases in temperature in relation to something humans would care about, like mortality, corn yields, electricity use, labor supply or even math scores. The graphs presented for two different countries, India and Italy, showed extreme heat correlated with an increase in mortality— more deaths. Lemoine also presented how corn yields suffered due to extreme heat, he said the data provides robust results and has been replicated for other crops around the world. Although not clear as to why, he said minutes of labor per day fall

as temperatures increase. More closely related to economic growth is productivity, which Lemoine finds is affected by temperature. “I don’t entirely understand what the channel is but it does seem to be true that productivity does fall in both extreme cold and extreme heat, and that has important implications for the economy as productivity growth is one of the main sources of economic growth in the medium and long run,” said Lemoine. Truly understanding the impact of climate change on the economy means tracking how people react not in the short-run to weather, but in the long-run to permanent changes in the climate. “This is the economics of it. People react differently when things are happening over and over and when they expect them to happen over and over, and that’s what we call adaptation,” said Lemoine. He explains how someone in Arizona would install air-conditioning, thus adapt,

knowing they would experience hot temperatures over time or after experiencing hot temperatures over time. “Both of these are relevant to climate change, and both make climate differ from like the one-off kind of weather shocks we’ve been looking at, because people are going to live with hot weather over and over and over and over with climate change, and it’s going to be hot over and over and over with climate change,” said Lemoine. “It’ll drive longer run investments than what you might see otherwise.” In his recent work, Lemoine finds adaptation actually increases long‐run costs in U.S. agriculture, when they adapt by using scarce resources. “You might think at first, adaptation is going to reduce the cost of climate change, but what I’m showing is that there’s really is dynamic trade offs, where people are doing things in the short run, that do take the edge off extreme heat, but those short-run things they do impose long-run costs,”

said Lemoine. “I might use more groundwater in order to offset the effects of heat. In the long-run, I have less groundwater and my costs are going to go up. What I think is actually happening in the data, is in the short run, people are not rotating their crops or expanding their acreage. In the long run their soils are depleted and their crops aren’t as productive in the future.” When projecting the average acre of the current distribution of farmland, Lemoine projects climate change will eliminate profits from the average acre of current eastern U.S. farmland by 2100. He also points to a growing literature studying the effects of climate change on real estate, with some studies tying rising sea level projections to housing prices. Most of the literature plots the discount in house pricing to the amount of sea level rise that would sink the house underwater. According to Lemoine, the sea level is expected to rise at least 2 to 3 feet before 2100. Lemoine admits this may

not be a concern for Arizona, but rising sea level could cause migration, which would impact real estate markets. “Where are people migrating to from the cooler parts of the country, and who’s going to have to migrate away from the coast?” asked Lemoine. “Florida’s coast is much flatter than California’s and that coastline is going to be changing a lot over the century. That’s going to affect how people move to Florida, and where people who were in the coast of Florida are going to go.” Despite the dire consequences of not addressing climate change, Lemoine said we still have options in order to control emissions. Normally when prices are working well, the market will reflect the consumer preferences about cost and firms will allocate resources accordingly, explains Lemoines. But with environmental challenges, the market faces the problem of pollution, because its cost is See Climate, P12


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Economy: Tucson down 19K jobs Continued from P1 Cities like Lake Havasu City, Kingman and Sierra Vista are back to the employment levels before the pandemic. Hammond also notes job growth is disproportionately concentrated in Phoenix, accounting for about 80% of the growth in Arizona. The question now is how to return to pre-pandemic levels? “What would happen if we continued to add jobs at the same pace that we have from June of last year to April of this year?” asked Hammond. “That pace is about 9000 jobs per month and if we can keep that pace up, going forward, we’ll be back to that pre-pandemic peak in March of next year.” However, maintaining a pace of 9,000 jobs a month is actually rapid growth for Arizona, said Hammond. On average Arizona’s monthly job group during the five years before the pandemic was over 6,000 jobs per month. Hammond estimated we would not return to the pre-pandemic peak until August 2022

at that rate. Although there is uneven impact from the pandemic across industries, Hammond said across most industries unemployment is below the pre-pandemic peak. The biggest gap continues to be in leisure and hospitality at about 46,000 jobs below pre-pandemic levels. Other industries down in employment include government jobs, primarily in state and local jurisdictions; professional and business services, like call centers; engineers, lawyers and management consultants; and education and health services, down about 8,000 jobs from where it was before the pandemic began. The one industry that did well during the pandemic was trade, transportation and utilities, due to the growth in transportation and warehousing, said Hammond. “This reflects in part the shift of our activity to more online activity, more online shopping, and to more delivery services. This really boosted employment in this sector,” said Hammond. “We are going to see and have al-

ready seen the beginnings of a little bit of retrenchment there as activity gets back to normal. We’re going to reduce our online shopping a little bit and our reliance on delivery services as things get back to normal but for the longer run this sector will continue to add jobs at a pretty rapid clip.” As of April, Arizona’s unemployment rate is a little above the national average at 6.7%, with both the state and national average returning to the unemployment rate last seen in 2014. With significant slack in the state and national labor markets, Hammond asks, why are we hearing so much about labor shortages? “Some of it’s being driven by fear. Workers, particularly in the travel and tourism sectors, where you have a lot of close contact with strangers, they may still be afraid of contracting the virus. We have made progress in terms of vaccinating residents but we still have a long way to go,” said Hammond. “In addition, people in the industries that were most affected by the pandemic, if they were close to retirement, they may have

chosen to retire. They may have also switched industries and may not want to go back.” Hammond speculates some workers may have transitioned to the rapidly growing sector of transportation and warehousing. Labor force participation of women could also be impacted by reduced childcare options. He notes the more generous unemployment insurance benefits created during the pandemic through the various federal coronavirus relief aid could also contribute to the labor shortage reports. “There are a lot of factors driving the reports of labor shortages that we’re seeing. One thing to keep in mind is that those are temporary,” said Hammond. “They’re gradually going to dissipate as we move forward through the summer, and we should see job growth pick up some steam and the unemployment rate continue to trend down.” The center launched a set of weekly indicators in the travel and tourism sector, tracking U.S. weekly hotel occupancy rate, weekly U.S. box office sales and movie theaters, people passing through TSA checkpoints,

and seated diners and restaurants using the OpenTable app. The travel and tourism industry, hit hardest during the pandemic, continues to recover. “Hotel occupancy rates still are much better than it was last year at this time but it’s still significantly below where we’d normally be at this time of year,” said Hammond. “Arizona’s hotel occupancy rate is significantly above the national average. But even there, we still have some work to do.” Overall movie box office sales are incredibly lower than where they would expect them to be at this time of year, since there are not as many people heading to theaters and studios are not releasing the same slate of movies, said Hammond. He expects it would improve with increased vaccinations and as people feel more comfortable. For the week of Memorial Day weekend, Hammond expected around 16 million passengers per week during normal times, but for the last week there were more than 11 million passengers, which is better than the same time last year. According to Hammond,

restaurants and bars are faring better, with taxable sales at pre-pandemic levels. He also noted gas sales are up as people begin to drive more, but certain segments of travel and tourism remain way below where they were before the pandemic, like hotels and motels along with the amusement and recreation sector. Over the past year, the housing market stayed strong, with rapidly rising housing prices. Housing permits increased for both single and multifamily to over 60,000 permits, the highest level of permit activity since 2006, Hammond said. While Hammond said the outlook is strong for Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, with job and population forecasted to gain over the next couple of years, the recently released Census 2020 data showed disappointing results. Over the past decade, Arizona added almost 760,000 new residents for an 11.9% growth, ranking the state 10th among all 50 states and D.C. However, Hammond said relative to Arizona’s own history the past decade was the slowest growth rate during any decade since 1900.

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12

Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

Climate Change: Economic Impacts Continued from P10 an externality. “Firms that pollute and don’t actually see the true costs of their pollution because it’s often free to dump into the atmosphere or dump into the water or abuse the land, and there are real costs associated with that, but those costs don’t show up in the price that we all pay,” explained Lemoine. “So these costs are external, it makes the price we see look artificially cheap. It’s not actually reflecting the true costs of something and when something’s cheap we tend to buy a lot more of it. So we’re in effect buying more pollution than we would want, because we don’t see the true cost of pollution.” Lemoine suggests the economic solution to climate change is fixing prices. “Prices should reflect cost, that’s why we have market economies,” said Lemoine. “In this case, the market’s not going to work on its own. You have to add the cost back in because that cost is an externality, which means we have to calculate that cost.” If emissions were priced to reflect cost, Lemoine said fuels like coal, with a lot of carbon, would become more expensive. The market would favor less carbon-emitting fuels, for example natural gas over coal, or favor renewable and nuclear energy. When driving on a grid fired by gas and

renewables. electric vehicles would look more attractive because they could be lower carbon than gasoline. Also, raising the price of carbon intensive energy may make energy more expensive, leading people to use less fuel and possibly purchase more efficient appliances and cars. Most importantly, Lemoine said that by sending a price signal for nuclear technologies, firms would invest more in new, cleaner technologies and in technologies to remove carbon from the air. “We’re almost certainly going to have to do that, to prevent some pretty large degree of climate change, and we need those technologies to be ready by the middle of the century if we’re really going to meet those goals,” said Lemoine. “For them to get ready, you have to give them a market.” However, providing the correct price for emissions, depends on the damage from climate change, which is difficult to quantify and calculate as their “knowledge of the damages from climate change is staggeringly incomplete.” Lemoine offered some of what we know, like affected fisheries due to acidic water, the cost of droughts and floods, more intense tropical storms, the loss of coral reefs by the mid-century, and rising sea levels that could lead to social tension and economic disruptions. There could also be costs for the use of less heat but

more air-conditioning and some costs to outdoor recreation. The area facing the largest damage from climate change would be the loss of biodiversity, but how to calculate that cost? “We are going to lose a whole bunch of species at this point no matter what we do, whether we lose an extremely large number of species, or just a large number of species is still in our control and how do you put a price tag on that? That number could plausibly overwhelm a lot of the others we’ve already talked about,” said Lemoine. “We have to project so far to sample such a different kind of planet, it’s really hard to pin that down. But we do know the right number is not zero, and the right number is probably not something like a million, like we can pin it down into some range in between that,” said Lemoine. He offered a model to measure the cost of carbon emissions by pricing uncertainty. “We do this all the time in financial markets, almost what financial markets do is price uncertainty. And so I take that kind of approach to pricing emissions in a recent paper and I showed that accounting for uncertainty actually really raises the cost of emissions,” said Lemoine. “Reducing emissions looks like insurance. They look like reducing the risk we have to live with and in general are willing to pay

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for insurance because we don’t like living with risk.” He said once you account for uncertainty, it is about a 20% effect on the cost of carbon emissions. According to Lemoine, the U.S. government is currently recalculating the carbon price it uses for internal regulation analysis, and it may actually adopt this approach to dealing with uncertainty. There currently is policy in different countries where around 20% of global emissions are covered by carbon prices, said Lemoine. China has a cap-and-trade program, Mexico has a carbon tax, and for about 15 years the European Union has implemented its own capand-trade program. However Lemoine said most of the

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carbon prices, apart from the European Union, are too low to drive significant action, but could lead to more realistic prices in the next five or 10 years. According to the International Energy Agency report, in order to achieve the goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 and limit global temperatures to 1.5º C countries would need to avoid new investments in fossil fuel supply, making large investments in other energy infrastructure, and get all large countries on board. While Lemoine said we need an emission price, the world currently subsidizes fossil fuels and on net makes the externality worse globally. “If you actually tally up the amount of subsidies, payments from governments to people to burn fos-

sil fuels, and compare that to current carbon prices, on net, governments around the planet currently spend more money paying people to burn fossil fuel than they do actually recovering money by pricing carbon,” said Lemoine. Although he said economists love pricing emissions as a “clean solution,” pricing emissions must go through Congress—and previous efforts to pass legislation have failed. “There now is a broad international consensus of doing something. The U.S. is actually a little bit of an outlier in the amount of internal debate we have. The international consensus is much stronger than what you’d see in domestic politics and so it looks like things are moving, but whether they move fast enough is an open question,” Lemoine said.

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LIVEN UP

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Musician Brian Berggoetz gathers the good from last year on ‘Wildflower’ J G Tucson Local Media

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rian Berggoetz can lay claim to something few can: He had a good 2020. Though the past year gave the Tucson songwriter his fair share of difficulty, it also provided ample time for music and the inspiration to write his first official solo album. Berggoetz fronts the Brian Berggoetz Band, which plays a blend of rock and blues, but this past year resulted in a series of romantic and uplifting ballads that are better suited for a solo project, “Wildflower.” “I’ve got to say, this past year has actually been an amazing year for me, outside of losing the best job I ever had just after the virus hit,” Berggoetz said. “But after that, I found that a prostate cancer I’ve had for a couple years started growing and we had to take it out. So it gave me time to heal up, and I was writing these songs with all this time I’d never had before. We got rid of the cancer all together, and it triggered me to not screw around anymore, to do what I needed to do.”

The opening title track, featuring a flute layered atop acoustic strumming, sets the stage for the warm folk present throughout the album. Berggoetz sings of a woman dancing in the wind as a violin adds on to the central melodies. Though the second track picks up where the first left off, a heavier string presence and electric guitar stops the songs from sounding one-note. “Just A Dream” goes further, with vocal harmonies and some subtly psychedelic guitar over surreal lyrics of reaching out to touch a woman who continually floats away, these words given buoyancy by quiet flute notes. But even with this lyrical change, the song maintains the soft optimism inherent to “Wildflower.” If these sound like love songs, it’s because they are. Berggoetz wrote and recorded the album for his girlfriend, a muse of sorts, and another gift to him from 2020. “What really got it going was meeting Karen at the first of last year. It really inspired me to start writing a bunch of songs, and I found my groove as a songwriter. All of the sudden I had all these great songs that were not for the

rock band we have, so I tried to do something completely different and go the opposite direction,” Berggoetz said. “It came out so much better than I thought it might.” The record’s title and theme have two meanings, referring to the individual but also the concept. This is exemplified on the back artwork, a woman’s silhouette fading into the sunset above a field of flowers. “The wildflower is that sweet wild child that inspires a yearning for ultimate love, but always seems to be at arm’s length,” Berggoetz said. “Like the song ‘Just A Dream’ is in the same vein. It reaches deep inside each one of us at some point in life. We all know people who have that personality. It’s kind of unattainable, but we all reach for it.” The album’s pleasance is due in large part to guest musicians Michelle Constanza Miner on vocals and flute, and Shanti Foster on violin. Fellow Monterey Court regular Craig Green also appears on the album, co-writing the bluesy “I Will Go,” rife with imagery of life on the road and self-sacrifice, plus a powerful violin passage from Foster. “We figured out there’d be

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four songs that Michelle, the vocalist and flute player, would be on. Then the violin came in behind her, because Shanti is so good at playing around the flute,” Berggoetz said. “But as far as the lead parts on different songs, they kind of figured themselves out. One song would sound better with a lead violin, others have a lead guitar. We looked at each song by itself to see what it would need and kind of figured it out on the fly.” Berggoetz’s lush country style even reinvents Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” with steady acoustic picking in place of the original acid-washed guitar. The quasi-cover stems from Berggoetz enjoying taking the lyrics from classic rock tracks and making entirely different songs out of them. He does similar work on Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” with his band. “Wildflower” was recorded with Duncan Stitt at A Writer’s Room studio here in Tucson. Recorded during the pandemic, Berggoetz says the musicians never even rehearsed together. Everybody came into the separate rooms of Stitt’s studio and recorded their parts when it was their

turn. Berggoetz says he appreciates Stitt as an engineer due to his help guiding musicians, rather than directly changing elements of the songs. “He’s kind of a filter, telling us what works or to try things over again,” Berggoetz said. “I remember one time, Frank [Filipo], the guitar player, was playing ‘Purple Haze,’ and he was at the solo section. He played it three or four times but couldn’t really find it. Then Duncan said to start it with the same notes that the melody does, and as soon as he did, Frank ripped out the solo in one take. It was awesome.” Though many of the songs on “Wildflower” have a warm and grounded style, they still manage to be soothing, opting for an evening in the Sonoran Desert as opposed to the powerful midday of other dusty folk music out of Tucson. The landscape has a place in the album deeper than the front cover. According to Berggoetz, there’s a lot of allegory with the terrain of Tucson. Although the plants are often spiky and dangerous, they contain a unique beauty. And although it’s difficult for plants to survive here, they still do, and do it amazingly.

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Brian Berggoetz Monterey Court Studio Galleries & Cafe 505 W. Miracle Mile 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 22 7 p.m. Friday, June 25 $5 “I couldn’t have done it without all the players and Duncan. They’re all amazing musicians,” Berggoetz said. “I was blown away by what everybody did. When Michelle started singing for the first time, I got tingly. And with Shanti’s violin playing, my heart melts as soon as she hits that first note.” The productive streak stemming from 2020 continues. Berggoetz says he is still writing, and is already planning to record a second album in the same style of “bright songs.” “There’s so much good in this world, and I think a lot of times it gets lost,” Berggoetz said. “I like to see the other side.” Wildflower is available on Spotify, Apple Music and more. For more information, visit brianberggoetz.com


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LIVEN UP

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Female Gaze: This year’s ‘Mujeres, Mujeres, Mujeres’ exhibit tackles old injustices in a virtual gallery ders and disappearances are scarce, but the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center says that or centuries, the Akimel Native women suffer from O’odham—the River the highest rates of vioPeople—lived on the lent crime in the country. banks of the Gila River. Non-Indians commit the The bountiful river atmajority of these felonies, tracted birds of all kinds, NIWRC points out, yet fedand its waters irrigated eral law limits the ability the Akimel’s crops—corn, of tribal police to stop and beans and squash and, question possible perpetraeventually, white winter tors on the reservation if wheat. The river provided they are non-Indians. them with food to eat and The water laws threatwares to sell; by the 19th ened the lives and livelicentury they were the most hoods of the Akimel; more dominant venders of white than a century later, under wheat in Territorial Arizothe crime laws of today, the na, as anthropologist Tom murderers of Native women Sheridan writes in the book can too easily flee. Paths of Light. In Espinoza’s art, the But by the 1860s, white ancestors watch over the settlers arrived in droves and women who have suffered. began cultivating their own Her fierce doll figure is crops along the Gila, divert“acting as a guardian,” she ing the water to their fields Courtesy Photo writes, “…though some sis- River Magic Matryoshka” by Rachel Espinoza, acrylic on fiberboard east of the Akimels’ land. ters have been stolen from The laws of the day failed to us here, they are comforted protect the Akimel, and by to COVID 19.” by our ancestors, and no of this world.” 1887 a major canal dug outThe gallery has been Espinoza’s rich and laylonger confined to the pain side Florence permanently ered piece is just one of closed since March 2020 51 artworks by women in but as the pandemic sumRaices Taller’s annual Mu- mer wore on, Salgado began jeres, Mujeres, Mujeres making online exhibitions. exhibition. (“Mujeres” is Since then, he’s developed Spanish for “women.”) For first-rate virtual shows that the first time, the show has have attracted artists from Cleaning, Exam & X-Rays around the world. gone totally virtual. (Cleaning can only be done in the absence of periodontal disease.) “The Mujeres exhibition “We have hosted the includes artists not only show for 16 years, ” says John VOTED BEST DENTIST 9 YEARS RUNNING! from United States and Salgado, who runs the co2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 operative gallery with Ceci Puerto Rico,” he says, “We Garcia. “This year would also have artists from India, 10550 N. La Cañada Dr., #106 • 575-5576 have been the 17th year, but Must mention coupon at time of appointment. Expires 6/14/2021 See MUJERES, P19 last year’s was canceled due displaced the waters of the River People. Without water, they could no longer grow their own food and they were left parched and in dire poverty. Tucson artist Rachel Espinoza descended from these Akimel O’odham (she’s also part Chicana). Her work in Raices Taller’s lively Mujeres, Mujeres, Mujeres show is mostly about the murders of Native women in today’s America. But it also honors her river ancestors. A doll representing Native women is at the center of her “River Magic Matryoshka,” an acrylic painting on fiberboard. Espinoza has painted the O’Odham traditional water pattern—a chain of white waves—in a circle around the woman. A snake inside the waves honors desert nature; floating red roses represent the women who are dead or missing or both. Statistics on the mur-

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MUJERES, MUJERES, MUJERES EXHIBIT Raices Taller’s annual exhibition of art by women Through June 12 Staged virtually this year; to access go to raicestaller222.com Also see Facebook.com/ RaicesTaller for artist statements and images Free Gallery is temporarily closed 881-5335; raicestaller222.com EXTRA: Mujeres que Escriben, a Latina writers’ group, follows the annual tradition of giving poetry readings during the Mujeres exhibition. This time, the readings will be videotaped and placed on the website beginning June 5. This year’s poets are poet Mariel Masque, Valerina Quintana, Maria Elena Wakamatsu and Silviana Wood.


S PORTS &RECREATION Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

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UA launches varsity eSports team as videogame landscape expands during pandemic Christina Duran Tucson Local Media

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uring a town hall meeting last year, University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins asked for ideas because so many activities were put on hold because of the pandemic, mainly traditional sports. Manager for Information Technology Services and now eSports Program Interim Director Walter Ries submitted his suggestion of creating an eSports program. Although not active in the community himself, Ries has two teenage sons, one of whom casually said, “I wish the university had an eSports program.” The idea sat in the back of his mind until the opportunity came up. On March 29, the university officials announced they would launch an eSports program, looking to provide a holistic approach to the billion-dollar industry of competitive gaming. While a college varsity eSports program is new for the university, the nearly

decade old eSports club has built a foundation of eSports in the community and ranked highly in competitive gaming tournaments. The club has built several teams across almost 14 titles or games, with a Rocket League team that won the 2018 College Rocket League Championship Final and was runner up in the following seasons in the Western Conference. Last fall, every school in the NCAA PAC-12 except UCLA joined to create PAC-U to fill the gap left by “traditional sports.” Unaffiliated with the official Conference of Champions, the PAC-U organized a series of games in October and Ries hopes it will spur on more intercollegiate competition. While the eSports industry continues to grow, the pandemic spurred on greater interest. President of Arizona eSports Club Liam Koenneker saw a rise in participation for the club. Prior to the pandemic, the club was looking at how to accommodate for their size, which occupies one of the largest rooms at

their Discord. “COVID as a whole, and societally, grew gaming. Gaming was already really large, whether it’s mobile gaming or actual PC gaming, but I think that everyone was like, ‘Well, this is a cool avenue that I can kind of just chill to. I can explore other worlds.’ I think gaming definitely grew during COVID, and I’m excited for the future because that growth is going to continue,” Koenneker said. Courtesy Photo

A competitor plays the game Overwatch during 2019’s Winter WonderLAN event.

the university and requires the set up of hundreds of computers. The pandemic resolved the issue as the club no longer had to place a cap on club members. The club also began to focus on online community events. Over the past year, they moved most of their activities to their Discord channel and offered micro-incentives to their members in the form of collectible limited edition roles. “We were worried about physical in person space, and then COVID hit and it

kind of took that cap away, so we really focused on how we engage our members through our events,” said Koenneker. “Creating those micro things, I think actually boomed our events.” Previously for in-person events, Koenneker said they averaged about 120 to 130 people, but around 140 check-ins for online events. Their social media following also grew from about 1,700 Twitter followers pre-COVID, and recently passed 2,000, and more than 1,800 people in

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ith the community and the competitive gaming teams the club has built, it was important for Ries to work hand-inhand with them to create the eSports Program. “We have worked very closely with the club as we created this program. We have a really great working relationship with them, and pretty much kind of a synergistic relationship,” said Ries. “Their focus is gonna be a lot more on the community, whereas ours is going to be focused a little bit more on the competitive aspect of eSports.” Per Koenneker’s recom-

mendations, the eSports Program built on established highly competitive eSports teams in the club, with teams competing in Call of Duty, Smash Bros, League of Legends, Valorant, and Rocket League. Tryouts for the teams will begin in the fall. Koenneker said Ries had reassured the club that the program would not interfere with the club as “that’s always a concern right, ‘is the university going to take over what we’ve built, and it’s just gonna collapse.’” He said the club is exploring opportunities to create a dual system in which the club will have two branches, one focusing on the community and the other on the competitive varsity team. “Currently we have like one big intermingled one, but we want to create two different segments, one that really doubles down and focuses on a casual community experience because, let’s be honest, competitive varsity level players are the top 1% of the pyramid,” said Koenneker. See eSports, P16


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Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

eSports: ‘Much more than recreational gaming’

Continued from P15

“So we create a two branch system where people can go to get professional experience and actually add valuable items to their résumé or where people can just chill and meet other people.” However, this does not exclude the club from competing alongside the university team. Unlike “analog” sports, eSports does not have one league setting the rules for the game titles. The rules are made by tournament organizers, who may be backed by the game developers themselves, and not every school has a varsity team representing their university, although the number of programs continues to grow. For example Blizzard Entertainment, which organizes Overwatch tournaments, has a separate league for varsity players, where they only play other varsity teams. On the other hand, the Rocket League tournament, where the club has stayed within the Top 16, includes club players, players supported by their university and even professional players, said Koenneker. “I’m pretty sure we have around 50 people that are competitively interested in Rocket League. It’s a lot of people.The top three will go on to play for the university, but everyone else the rest of the 47 people can make their own teams and play at their own discretion in the same leagues

that our varsity team is playing in,” said Koenneker. “We don’t want to say no to anyone competing, they’ll just be competing underneath the club if they’re not varsity.” Since the announcement, many club members have contacted Koenneker about trying out for the varsity team. Koenneker participated in several committees as the one student representative among faculty and staff working to build the program. As a committee member, Koenneker hoped to educate others on Collegiate eSports and the industry to build a lasting program. “A lot of schools tend to see the value in collegiate eSports and universities will always take an opportunity to make some money and I think that some people get a little bit of misinformation and the fact that they can jump into collegiate eSports, make a quick buck and then jump out,” explained Koenneker. “So you see these programs that pop up and they have a couple of varsity players, they offer some scholarships, but they’re not really founded correctly. They don’t have people who fully understand the space behind them, and they collapse really quickly.” Koenneker wanted them to understand the value of taking a “holistic approach” for the students involved in the program, “so not only just creating an environment where people feel safe, but also

creating an environment where people feel like they’re getting value and enhancing their education at the University of Arizona.” Ries envisions Arizona eSports partnering with academic programs, like the School of Journalism or the Eller College of Management’s sports management program. “eSports industry is a growing industry. There are new jobs being created all the time,” said Ries. “We want to prepare our students for those new careers in eSports, whether it be journalism, broadcasting, whether it be sports management, whether it’s the players themselves, the coaching, the analyst. All these different aspects are part of eSports.” In the fall, students will have the opportunity to add an eSports minor, said Catherine Brooks, director and associate professor at the iSchool. The minor builds on existing programs and courses offered at the iSchool, in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, including a B.A. in Games and Behavior and a B.S. in Game Design and Development, with courses on Gamification in Society and eSport Industries offered in the Summer. According to Brooks the minor is broad in design, as an addition to a student’s major. “The future of eSports is much more than just recreational gaming,” said Brooks. “They can be a major in communication or

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Arizona eSports Club President Liam Konneker: I think gaming definitely grew during COVID and I’m excited for the future because that growth is going to continue.”

sport journalism or marketing, and get a minor in eSports, which will help them focus on the eSports industry itself. So things like event planning are going to be very important, marketing via games in the esport environment and also, again exploring matters of representation in the games and who plays, like who’s invited to play, who participates, who doesn’t participate.” Koenneker himself, influenced by his psychology major, introduced the idea of partnering with the School of Psychology, not only for research on the mental health of gamers but also providing mental health services to the Varsity eSports players. “Video games despite how easy they may seem, at a high level it’s extremely

mentally draining, so providing them with resources like that was a really big approach,” said Koenneker. Partnering with other schools is not seen very often, said Koenneker but “growing the program horizontally throughout the University of Arizona is a really good way to holistically grow it because you’re providing value throughout the entire university, versus just in your program.” Ries said the program hopes to build on student engagement by offering leadership and development roles, as well as other career opportunities. “We want students to get real world industry experience while they’re still in college,” Ries said. “What does it take to actually put on a tournament? What

does it take to produce the videos, to broadcast them? What’s it like being a shoutcaster? Those sorts of things.” Other than the director and assistant director, Ries said the majority of the staff within the program will be students, including the coaches and production team. Ries believes the program will continue to grow and gain sponsors to provide scholarships to their students. “My goal is to put number one, across the board, whether it’s community, whether it’s how progressive we are, whether it’s the player resources we offer, whether it’s the professional pipelines, whether it’s competitive. I want to be number one across the board,” said Koenneker.


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HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis

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Lead-in to love or care 5 Begins to wake 10 Part of a frame 14 Cowboy boot feature 15 “Pagliacci” baritone 16 “Vesti la giubba,” in “Pagliacci” 17 Number that, in Chinese languages, is a homophone for “longevity,” and is thus considered good luck 18 Man with morals 19 Something you might do “over backward” 20 Poem subtitled “A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888” 23 Discard 24 Hidalgo honorific 27 One greeting others with the shaka sign 31 Day-___ paint 32 Family room fixture 1

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nickname Accessory for Wonder Woman 40 Greeting in Portuguese 41 ___ pants 43 Some winter travelers to the U.S. 46 Restaurant request 47 “The Louisville Lip” 49 ___ culpa 50 Goof 51 Hokkaido honorific 54 Spokes, say 56 ___-Coeur (Paris basilica) 58 Easy-to-resolve situation … or a hint to the progression found in 20-, 23-, 43-, 46and 58-Across 64 Fix 65 Sign of spring 66 Player that debuted in 2001 67 Chaka Khan, vocally 68 David of the Talking Heads 37

Know Us, Know Your Community

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There’s a different way of solving your problem, and you’ll pick it up quickly once you decide that’s what you want to do. It’s not about studying so much as just paying attention to people who have the skill set. Much can happen through the magical osmosis of being around those who have what you desire.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Don’t waste a minute envying other people’s celebratory photos, epic travel pics and the like. An amazing life isn’t built in exciting events (which are never quite as momentous as they seem like they should be). The big joys are born of daily improvements and lifestyle choices. Build small wins into each day.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Friendship takes focus. No matter how many friends you have, you can always have more because each broadens your relationship skills and capacity to love. You relate to others so easily partly due to increased powers of empathy and excellent timing. You make life better for others; your attention is a sweet balm. CANCER (June 22-July 22). It’s said that you can catch more flies with honey, although no one has figured out why you’d want to. For now, don’t worry about how sweet you are being. Keep your mind on what you want, and your feelings will process themselves. Just allow them to flow through. You’ll attract what you need -- not flies! LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Everyone has words that are more difficult for them. For some, it’s “sorry,” for others “love.”“Goodbye” can be a hard one or awkward enough that you’d rather others say it first. And yet, there are situations that need to be moved along now or you’ll miss out on opportunities only catchable to those whose hands are free. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You love a challenge, especially one that fits your strengths. You can be sure that others feel the same way. To give them the chance to come through for you is to offer them a gift. So don’t be too proud to ask others for what you need. They just may be delighted by the challenge.

Crossword Puzzle Answers

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I.R.S. ID 2 The “Mahabharata” or the “Ramayana” 3 Moon goddess 4 Certain Michelangelo work 5 Patronizes, as a hotel 6 Ready-___ (convenient food option) 7 Where Ariana Grande has 230+ million followers, informally 8 Hoots 9 Specious reasoner 10 Talk nonsense 11 Floor plan info 12 Ideal condition for collectibles 13 “___ dog!” 21 Pencil holder, at times 22 End of a professor’s address 24 ___ Pepper 25 “The Book of ___” (2010 film) 26 Done intentionally 28 Where the “balcony scene” takes place in “West Side Story” 29 Scratch (out) 30 “Out of Time” band 33 The spirit of Russia? 34 Haphazardly assemble, with “together” 35 Two concentric circles, on a golf scorecard 38 Fan noise 39 Target for iron supplements 41 Inspiration for Citizen Kane 42 ___-backwards 44 Crackerjack 45 Always, to poets 47 Something you might pick up at a bakery 48 Place for a pin 52 Basis of some insurance fraud 53 High-maintenance, in a way 55 ___-European languages 57 What’s anything but basic? 59 Catch 60 Like some wine and humor 61 “Aaron Burr, ___” (“Hamilton” song) 62 Female lobster 63 Manipulate 1

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Instead of striving for happiness, cut out striving altogether. The energy of reaching, trying and hoping yields poor results. Making excellence happen is simple. Decide what to do and be in a good mood while you execute the plan. Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Everywhere you look, people are taking care of one another. You’ll witness it in displays of gentleness, good manners, friendliness... You’ll also see it in the security people feel while out and about, and their trust in one another to uphold the rules of common decency. Your heart will swell with community pride. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The reason people don’t listen well is because, deep down, they are afraid of being moved by what they hear. They are afraid they’ll have to get involved, be inclusive of something new or change in some way. These fears are warranted. Listening well does have a way of changing things -- usually for the better. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Avoid the drastic and dramatic moves. Thinking that you need to do something huge to shake things up is wrongheaded; it’s the equivalent of a sensational headline for an underwhelming story. Big gestures can also be costly. The real excitement is created through incremental and affordable improvements over time.

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). When something is this new, it has a specific energy to it, as unmistakable as a “new car” scent. Opportunities arise this week. While there’s no need to rush, if you wait too long, you lose that effervescence. It’s like the vacuum seal pops causing a freshness leak. So act on your impulses. Move crisply forward.

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ARIES (March 21-April 19). Remind yourself of your good qualities. The reason is not to pump yourself up; rather, it’s an inventory process that gets you in touch with what you have to offer the world. To refamiliarize yourself with your numerous gifts helps you move forward in confidence. Bonus: This week will match you with ideal receivers.


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SPORTS EXTRA POINT WITH TOM DANEHY &RECREATION Looking back at how sports—and fans—handled the pandemic T D

Special to Tucson Local Media

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ast year at this time, we were fingers-crossed hopeful that the pandemic would flatten out and maybe run its course in (or maybe even because of) the heat of the summer. A lot of us are again hopeful as we head into June. However, it’s not a matter of “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Most of us weren’t fooled last year; we knew that it was going to be a tough fight, one that would require sacrifices on a near-universal basis. Instead, we were sabotaged by fools and have had to endure a long year of pain and heartache. Because of the reasonable actions of a majority of Americans, there is much to look forward to, perhaps foremost being the opportunity to recalibrate ourselves so that we no longer take commonplace and everyday occurrences for granted. How cool will it be to have to stand in a line where you’re not socially distanced or wearing a mask? Sorta cool, anyway. But before we get caught up in looking ahead, let’s take one last look back at how some people (and groups) did during the

truly awful past 15 months. The letter grades are determined and given by me, so if you strongly disagree with them…well, sorry. • Parents of high-school athletes: This past year, most parents get grades in the A to A-plus area, while a few get a D-minus. The high-school basketball season was delayed multiple times, then canceled, then brought back from the dead only to be delayed again. Officials in the Tucson Unified School District decided that one way to cut down on the risk of COVID spreading was to not provide transportation to and from away games. If parents of a Sahuaro player wanted their kid to play in the game at Pueblo that night, the parent(s) would have to drive them across town. And when they got to their destination, there was a chance that the home school was not allowing any fans in the gym. That’s some dedication there and some A-plus parenting. At the other end of the spectrum were the parents who flouted the restrictions and/or allowed petty politics to shove aside common sense and decency. When Salpointe’s girls were playing for the state championship in volleyball, the Mesquite High

Tucson Local Media file photo

School gym was filled with parents and fans from Phoenix Notre Dame Prep with no social distancing and almost no masks. It was the ultimate display of the toxic Phoenix Uber Alles mentality and it was absolutely shameful. • High School Sports Officials and Referees: A-Plus Plus. Nobody wants to risk his/her life for 75 bucks. But, after taking extreme measures (including blowing a whistle through a special mask), refs did spectacular things this past year, showing up to make sure that young people would be able to play at least part of a season. They should all be proud. • The NBA: A-minus. There was some grousing

about having to stay in the “bubble” in Orlando (and that one knucklehead snuck out under false pretenses so that he could grab some wings at a strip joint), but for the most part, the playoffs were compelling and just what sports fans needed. And they were accomplished against the backdrop of massive social upheaval in the country. Well done. • Major League Baseball: C-minus. They came close to bringing about their own demise by arguing over nickels and dimes before starting their severely truncated regular season. They finally pulled it off, but on the last day of the World Series, a member of the Dodgers broke

COVID protocol and then “So what?!”-ed it like a jerk. • High school coaches: A. You would not believe the amount of paperwork that had to be completed so that a game could be played. Every kid had to have a temperature check and answer a questionnaire and the coaches had to catalog everything and exchange paperwork with the opposing coach. It was maddening…and heartwarming. • The NFL: A-minus. What can you say? It’s the NFL. They have special dispensation from above. Everything worked out perfectly, except for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who, due to COVID violations by the Baltimore Ravens,

had to play three games in 12 days. • The NCAA: C-plus. Lots of good things, lots of bad stuff. Apparently football games will be played in the South on the day of Armageddon. While the SEC underreacted to the pandemic, the Ivy League overreacted by canceling the entire year of sports. My beloved Cornell could very easily have fielded their nationally ranked hockey and lacrosse teams. • The Olympics: A. Smart move, postponing the Games for a year. Now, for an A-plus, the IOC can tell China that it will lose the 2022 Winter Games if it doesn’t stop torturing people because of religion. Now, let’s go!


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E  M N, J , 

Mujeres: Raices Taller exhibits international women’s art Continued from P14

the Netherlands, Mexico, Canada, and Croatia.” Artist Ana Sneeringer, for example, is a Slovenian who now lives and works in India, after trying out Jordan, France, Russia, the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands. The bold colors of India have found their way into her paintings of women. Her three arresting portraits in the show are painted in brilliant blues, oranges, greens and violets. Interestingly, though Sneeringer has not yet added Arizona to her itinerary, the painted women are surrounded by cacti. Her artwork did not travel to the U.S. either. In a digital show, a highres photo is all the gallery needs. But a fan has now purchased “Red Bow”—a work that features a saguaro cradling a woman’s head—so Sneeringer is

sending it winging to a new land. Cristina Cardenas, a talented local painter who has lived in the U.S. for years, looks back to her native Mexico in a series of deft ceramic pieces. Colored images of people cover each of the plates: one has two young adult sisters; another is a woman wearing an agave crown; and still another is a man in a classic Mexican outfit, including a big sombrero. The affectionate works, she says, arise from her dual life along the borderlands. Painter Jennifer Smith of Minnesota made a delightful painting of a St. Paul landmark. The “Keg & Case Beer Trailer” sits out front of the old Schmidt Brewery, once the largest brewery in the state. Smith’s painting has a crystal blue northern sky, a deep green pine tree

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and the glistening trailer reflecting all the colors and shapes around it. At a time when masks have been saving lives, Tucsonan Lauren Raine has been making striking ceramic mosaics of women’s heads. Part painting, part sculpture, her timeless figures honor midwives, a goddess and a figure she calls “The Memory Keeper.” Beautifully colored in gold, rust and green, the majestic mask-like faces push out from the ceramic and into the air. Glory Tacheenie-Compoy, a Tucson artist of Navajo heritage, brings the circle back to Native women. Her lovely piece, Botánica, is a collage of plant materials, flowers, corn husks and handmade paper. It honors the work of the Navajo women who make extraordinary blankets, artworks they create from the gifts of their own land.

Tucson Local Media’s Athlete of the Year: Isaiah Roebuck Athlete of the YEAR

T D

Special to Tucson Local Media

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round 25 years ago, Isaiah Roebuck’s dad, Sean, was a standout athlete in three sports—football, basketball, and baseball. It was around that time that club teams began emerging from the shadows and specialization in one sport (year-round) began to take hold. Back in the mid-1990s, it wasn’t totally weird for someone to play three sports for his/her high school, but it was certainly unique to excel in all three (as Sean did). Fast forward to the present and in a rare like father/ like son moment, Marana High’s Isaiah Roebuck has not only managed to play the same three sports for the same high school, he somehow was able to be named First Team All-Conference in all three. For his accomplishments, he is named the Tucson Local Media Athlete of the Year. In a truncated football season consisting of only three games, Roebuck had 18 pass receptions for 361 yards (over 20 yards per

catch) and three TDs. He also had two punt returns for touchdowns and nearly 200 all-purpose yards per game. But he was even better on defense, where he had two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and 36 solo tackles. He then played basketball, leading his squad to an 8-4 record (the Tigers missed out on several big games due to COVID restrictions). Marana finished second in their region, behind only Catalina Foothills, which went on to win the state championship. Then it was on to baseball, the sport at which he probably excels the most. He was named All-Conference and was also named the Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Out there in the Cloud somewhere, there is a video of him (long-range, taken from a phone from behind home plate) tracking down what should have been a home run. He catches the ball and then effortlessly, without breaking stride, jumps over the outfield fence. When looking around

Tucson Local Media file photo

for a college, Isaiah was adamant that he wanted to play at least two sports in college (preferably football and baseball). That scared away a lot of recruiters who don’t like investing a scholarship on a kid who isn’t hopelessly devoted to just one sport. So, he’s off to the University of Jamestown, an NAIA school in North Dakota, where he will play his beloved football and basketball…and freeze his butt off.


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Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

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LUTHERAN

Reconciliation: T-F at 7:30 AM, Sat at 2-3:30 PM and by appointment.

8am - 1pm @ St. Mark Parish Hall No appointment or insurance needed Adults 18 years or older

Don't miss your shot! Scan for more info or call our office

Saturday Vigil: 4 PM Sunday: 7 AM* and 9 AM 11 AM Bilingual (4th Sunday is Spanish Mass) 5 PM

to celebrate Mass with us!

Saturday: 5-5:30 PM Sunday: 10-10:45 AM

Saturday 8AM Vigil Mass 4PM

Sunday d 7:00 AM 8:30 AM* 10:00 AM 11:30 AM *Masks required

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

LUTHERAN ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON CATHOLIC CHURCH

Catholic ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON CATHOLIC CHURCH

8650 North Shannon Rd, Tucson 85742 (520) 297-7357 church@seastucson.org † www.seastucson.org 8650 North Rd, Tucson 85742 Office Hours: Mon. -Shannon Fri. 8am-12:30pm & 1:15pm-4:30pm (520) 297-7357 Closed Saturday & Sunday church@seastucson.org Due to Covid-19, the Parish Office will †bewww.seastucson.org closing to the public for walk-ins Office Hours: Mon. - Fri.email 8am-12:30pm 1:15pm-4:30pm until further notice. Please or call and&we will assist you. Closed Saturday & Sunday Due to Covid-19, the Parish Office will be closing to the public for walk-ins until further notice. Please email or call and we will assist you.

RESURRECTION LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER

11575 N. 1st Ave. Oro Valley, AZ 85737 (520) 575-9901 Welcome to Resurrection Lutheran! Come join us every Sunday for worship!

OUR DOORS ARE OPEN!

Daily Mass - online & in person

Oro Valley Location

Monday - Friday: 8:15am Watch Online

7:45 am and 9:15 am Traditional Worship and our 10:45 am Contemporary Worship!

FB.me/ChurchSEAS

SaddleBrooke Location

Weekend Saturday:Masses 5pm Saturday: 5pm (Spanish), 5pm Sunday: 7am, 9am, 11pm, 1pm

SaddleBrooke 9:00 am Worship in HOA 1 Clubhouse Vermilion Room.

Monday - Friday: 8:15am Daily Mass - online & in person seastucson.org Watch Online YouTube.com/SEASTucson seastucson.org FB.me/ChurchSEAS YouTube.com/SEASTucson

Weekend Masses

Sunday: 7am, 9am, 11pm, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm

Communion Distribution Communion Distribution Sunday 8-8:30am & 12pm-12:30pm Sunday 8-8:30am9:15am & 12pm-12:30pm Monday-Friday: - 9:30am Monday-Friday: 9:15am - 9:30am

St. St. Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Ann Seton Seton Catholic Catholic School School Daily Daily in-person in-person instruction instruction Pre-K – 8th Grade www.school.seastucson.org † (520) 797 - SEAS

Or join us in your home for online worship or visit our website for for information. www.orovalley.org

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST


21

Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

WORSHIP GUIDE SERVICE DIRECTORY METHODIST Methodist

VISTA DE LA MONTAÑA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Please joinWorship us for for In-Person Vista Church Sunday at 10 amand Please join us LIVE! Online service Children’s Sunday School Live Streamed Worship Service Sunday @ 10am @ 10:00am at 10:15 am after the children’s www.vistaumc.org www.vistaumc.org time in the church service or watch anytime using the the previor watch anytime using ous broadcast button! previous broadcast Adult Sunday School –button! 11:15 am Please visit our website and/ 3001 E. Miravista Catalina or VistaUMC onLane, Facebook for Facebookfor viewing and daily updates updates on our our viewing on Locatedand on daily Oracle Rd. between Sunday services. Sunday services.

Wilds Rd. & Golder Ranch Rd.

(520) 825-1985 www.vistaumc.org

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22

Explorer and Marana News, June 2, 2021

LANDSCAPE/ MAINTENANCE

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23

E  M N, J , 

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