Marana News 08/02/2023

Marana fair shares how

www.Maranaweeklynews.com

Spots filling fast for Ed Stolmaker tourney

BY VERONICA KUFFEL Tucson Local Media Contributor

Those who knew Ed Stolmaker, former president and CEO of the Marana Chamber of Commerce, fondly recall his passion and dedication to the local business community. They also remember good times shared with him on the putting green.

“Golf was a passion of his,” said Amanda Wiggins, current chamber president. “We hope to continue to honor the legacy of Ed Stolmaker, a longtime and very beloved member of our community, through a tournament that he loved putting on each year.”

BY VERONICA KUFFEL Tucson Local Media Contributor

As a parent and Marana’s aquatics supervisor, Kevin Goodrich is concerned about drowning. He also knows what happens when the focus shifts more to school than to kids in the pool.

“We tend to bring our guard down a bit as

those fall months approach… but families are enjoying the water because it’s still hot out,” Goodrich said. “We just need to be reminded to be safe around the water, especially during August when we’re so busy with back to school.”

To help families prepare for emergencies, Goodrich introduced #SplashSavvy, an award-winning campaign that teaches

On Friday, Aug. 25, the Marana Chamber of Commerce will celebrate its annual golf tournament in memory of Stolmaker. Part of the proceeds will go to its nonprofit sponsor, Sol Dog Lodge. Local businesses are encouraged to register as spots are filling fast.

Participants can register through the Marana Chamber website and commit to varied sponsor levels, everything from golf balls and tournament towels to

Sammy the Seal and the #SplashSavvy team visit schools across Marana to teach kids about drowning awareness. (Kevin Goodrich/Submitted)

Find out why more and more seniors are joining our Life Plan Community’s pioneer group of residents. Join us for lunch and learn more.

Find wonder. Find community. Find yourself.

Limited seating available, so RSVP today. ORO VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB

300 W Greenock Dr., Oro Valley

Friday, August 4

Tuesday, September 12

Thursday, October 5

Tuesday, October 10

Choose the date and location most convenient for you Call (520) 531-3480 now to RSVP. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m.

38735 S Mountain View Blvd., SaddleBrooke

Friday, August 18

Thursday, September 14

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 nd out where you can pick up a free copy of the Explorer and Marana News, go to www.TucsonLocalMedia.com

STAFF

ADMINISTRATION

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EDITORIAL

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Karen Scha ner, Sta Reporter kscha ner@tucsonlocalmedia.com

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NATIONAL ADVERTISING

Zac Reynolds, Director of National Advertising Zac@TimesPublications.com

Hot Picks

BY LINDA RAY Tucson Local Media Sta

“Anastasia: The Musical” TO AUG. 6

The Art Express Theatre presents the Broadway hit, “Anastasia: The Musical” for three weekends. The musical is at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Arts Express Theatre, 5870 E. Broadway Boulevard, tickets start at $35, various times, 520-319-0400, arts-express.org

Cool Summer Nights TO AUG. 26

Every Saturday night, the Sonora Desert Museum celebrates summer with families.

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney Road, tickets start at $20, free for members, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., 520-833-1380, desertmuseum.org

Dog Days of Summer TO SEPT. 30

the Biosphere as something like a passive “zoo” of biomes, but now the focus is on climate change and sustainability research. Interdisciplinary scientists from all over are finding ways to “increase resilience and sustainability of Earth systems and human quality of life.” Ecosystems under glass include the world’s largest controlled tropical rain forest, desert, savanna, mangrove, ocean biomes. Eye-popping fact: 7.2 million cubic feet are sealed within 6,500 windows. Those systems have now seen 30 years of evolution.

Biosphere 2, 32540 S. Biosphere Road, Tucson, $25, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., biosphere2.org

La Santa Cecilia AUG. 5

Pity our distant friends who have no opportunity to enjoy cumbia, norteña

see HOT PICKS page 4

5-DAY

Guests can take their dogs to Tucson Botanical Gardens through Sept. 30. Imagine the smells they’ll enjoy and the fun of exploring new trails, most shaded by the gardens’ old-growth trees. No doubt they’d also welcome a bite from whatever you order from Edna’s Eatery on site. It’s run by Westward Look Resort.

Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way, Tucson, tickets start at $15 with discounts available, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., tucsonbotanical.org

Biosphere 2 DAILY

We may have experienced an earlier iteration of

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

Tucson, AZ - When it comes to chronic pain and/ or neuropathy, the most common doctor-prescribed treatment is drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin. The problem with anti-depressants or anti-seizure medications like these is that they offer purely symptomatic relief, as opposed to targeting and treating the root of the problem. Worse, these drugs o en trigger an onset of uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes harmful side effects.

The only way to effectively treat chronic pain and/or peripheral neuropathy is by targeting the source, which is the result of nerve damage owing to inadequate blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet. This o en causes weakness and numbness.

As displayed in figure 1 above, the nerves are surrounded by diseased, withered blood vessels. A lack of sufficient nutrients means the nerves cannot survive, and thus, slowly die. This leads to those painful and frustrating consequences we were talking about earlier, like weakness, numbness, tingling, balance issues, and perhaps even a burning sensation.

The drugs your doctor might prescribe will temporarily conceal the problems, putting a “BandAid” over a situation that will only continue to deteriorate without further action.

(above 95% nerve loss is rarely treatable)

3. The amount of treatment required for the patient’s unique condition

Arrowhead Physical Medicine in Tuscon, AZ uses a state-of-the-art electric cell signaling systems worth $100,000.00. This ground-breaking treatment is engineered to achieve the following, accompanied by advanced diagnostics and a basic skin biopsy to accurately analyze results:

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

The treatment works by delivering energy to the affected area(s) at varying wavelengths, from low- to middle-frequency signals, while also using Amplitude Modulated (AM) and Frequency Modulated (FM) signaling.

It’s completely painless!

THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT THIS TREATMENT IS COVERED BY MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND MOST INSURANCES!!

Depending on your coverage, your peripheral neuropathy treatment could cost almost nothing – or be absolutely free.

The number of treatments required varies from patient to patient, and can only be determined following an in-depth neurological and vascular examination. As long as you have less them 95% nerve damage, there is hope!

Thankfully, Tuscon is the birthplace of a brand new facility that sheds light on this pressing problem of peripheral neuropathy and chronic pain. The company is trailblazing the medical industry by replacing outdated drugs and symptomatic reprieves with an advanced machine that targets the root of the problem at hand.

Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:

1. Finding the underlying cause

2. Determining the extent of the nerve damage

Arrowhead Physical Medicine begins by analyzing the extent of the nerve damage – a complimentary service for your friends and family. Each exam comprises a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and comprehensive analysis of neuropathy findings.

Arrowhead Physical Medicine will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until August 31st, 2023. Call (520) 934-0130 to make an appointment.

Due to our very busy office schedule, we are limiting this offer to the first 10 callers. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER MINUTE, CALL (520) 934-0130...NOW!!

We are extremely busy, so we are unavailable, please leave a voice message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

and waila music on the regular as we do here. We’re privileged by unique mashups, too, like Navajo punk and Spanish-language rap. Rising in the midst is La Santa Cecilia. Their multicultural sounds are highly accessible, in all the rhythms, especially the dance rhythms, of the western hemisphere. Their passion and their sense of fun make for an engaging stage presence, too — warm and rascally, like favorite cousins.

The Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson, tickets start at $25, 8 p.m., rialtotheatre.com

Southeast Arizona Birding Festival

AUG. 9 TO AUG. 13

Field trips, presentations, events, lectures, a nature expo — it’s like SXSW for bird lovers. All day, every day, shoulder to shoulder with folks whose passion for birding may be even greater than your own, your binoculars may fix on more species here than anywhere else in the Southwest. The fest’s website offers tips on how to prepare, including descriptions of Arizona’s “Specialty Birds” and their habitats. Headquarters is The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tucson-Reid Park, 445 S. Alvernon Way, Tucson, $30, various times, tucsonaudubon.org/festival

KXCI Benefit House Party: Black Cat Zydeco

AUG. 4

“The Black Cat,” Dwight Carrier, rocks the house with his unique blend of zydeco, blues,

SPLASH

from page 1

drowning response and awareness alongside community partners. Marana Aquatics will present its first #SplashSavvy Safety Resource Fair at the Marana Pool on Saturday, Aug. 5.

The fair will feature booths and presentations sharing up-to-date information on water safety. The town has also invited its community partners, the Northwest Fire District, Marana Police Department, Marana Health Center and city of Tucson Public Safety to hand out resources at the event.

country music and R&B. His accordion playing is arguably the most energized in any genre. He comes by it naturally. His family, like the music they helped popularize, is steeped in Cajun Creole culture. This event benefits Tucson and Southern Arizona’s community radio station, KXCI, whose programming includes music from all genres and eras as well as locally produced news and entertainment programs.

El Casino Ballroom, 437 E. 26th Street, Tucson, $25 in advance, $30 at the door, 7:30 p.m., kxci.org

Heirloom Farmers Market

SATURDAYS IN SEPTEMBER

Fresh fruits and veggies deliver the cool on these summer days. Find all your favorite local produce for a dessert, a salad or a slaw and stock up on pork, beef and eggs from nearby farms and ranches. The Heirloom folks now operate all five of the biggest farmers markets hereabouts. In this Oro Valley event, food vendors and artisans spread their wares among the historic structures and gardens of Steam Pump Ranch.

Historic Steam Pump Ranch, 10901 N. Oracle Road, Oro Valley, free admission, 8 a.m. to noon, heirloomfm.org

Tucson Jazz Summerfest

AUG. 4

Hotel Congress features five jazz bands on two stages on Friday. Tucson Young Lions open things at the plaza at 6:30 and are followed by jazz/blues/R&B/soul/funk favorites, The

During the festivities, the Marana Pool will be open as usual from noon to 5 p.m. Food trucks and lawn games will be provided, and #SplashSavvy mascot Sammy the Seal will also be in attendance.

While it’s the first year of the safety resource fair, Goodrich and his team have provided information on drowning awareness for the past three years.

“Each year, we want to focus on a different topic or area where we can educate people,” Goodrich explained. “Then we keep this stuff on the #SplashSavvy webpage, it’s like our little library of resources and information.”

Coolers, at 8:30 p.m. In the plush and air-conditioned confines of The Century Room, find the Jason Carder Quartet at 7 p.m., the Arthur Vint Sextet at 9 p.m. and a late-night jazz jam hosted by Pete Swan at 10:30 p.m. Hotel Congress Plaza and The Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson, $10, free for members of the Tucson Jazz Festival, 6:30 p.m., hotelcongress.com

Short Rest Tavern: Ramones Night

AUG. 5

Tucked inside the Tucson Games and Gadgets gaming store, the Short Rest Tavern is named for its counterpart in the Dungeons & Dragons game. A paradise for geeks and gamers, its IQ ambience is above average, but you don’t have to be a brainiac to enjoy the craft brews, snacks and special nights such as this one, dedicated to punk icons The Ramones. The bar also has 600 board games to try. Surely, you’ll be an expert at one of them. Short Rest Tavern, Tucson Games and Gadgets, 4500 N. Oracle Road, Suite 253, Tucson, free admission, 8 p.m. to midnight, shortresttavern.com

Magic Moon Talent Show

AUG. 5

The Valley of the Moon’s charm is ageless. For over a century, it has stood as a single artist’s tribute to Tucson’s fairy population. Its castles, cottages and ponds have provided a welcome respite for fairies, elves, nymphs and gnomes of all ages. Volunteers maintain

It’s this priority on taking action that has garnered #SplashSavvy awards for outstanding program with the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association.

“There are a lot of drowning prevention campaigns that tell parents and caregivers how to prevent drownings,” Goodrich noted. "But we’re also very aware that accidents happen. We want to teach people how to respond to drowning.”

The #SplashSavvy Safety Resource Fair will occur a few days after the town council meets to discuss an important decision for drowning safety.

it today, providing tours, plays and birthday parties. Now we’re invited to share our talents among our magical friends. The website also details a casting call Aug. 11 and 12 for an upcoming Valley of the Moon play.

Valley of the Moon, 2544 E. Allen Road, Tucson, admission by donation, 5 to 6 p.m., tucsonvalleyofthemoon.com

Swim With a Mermaid

AUG. 5 AND AUG. 26

Mermaid Odette just loves Hotel McCoy’s saltwater pool. She’s been holding forth there every other Saturday, talking to kids about ocean conservation, creativity and following their dreams. Find her there on Saturday Aug. 5 and Aug. 26. She expects to spend the intervening weekend in Bisbee, where in lieu of their annual Return of the Mermaids on Fourth Avenue, Tucson’s mermaid cohort will descend upon Bisbee’s annual Pirate Weekend. It’s high time someone taught those pirates some manners.

Hotel McCoy, 720 W. Silverlake Road, Tucson, free admission, 6 to 8 p.m., hotelmccoy.com, themermaidodette.com

Movies on the Lawn: “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” AUG. 19

Join the Oro Valley Community & Recreation Center for a top-notch film. “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” is shown on Aug. 19. Oro Valley Community & Recreation Center, 10555 N. La Canada Drive, Oro Valley, free, 7:30 to 9 p.m., orovalleyaz.gov

in water safety, and it's his job to prepare lifeguards and other aquatics staff for water-related emergencies. In the past few years, however, the supervisor has spread that knowledge to all corners of Marana. With #SplashSavvy, Goodrich ensures that those who swim in pools, public or private, are equipped to deal with a drowning emergency.

#SplashSavvy Safety Resource Fair

INFO: maranaaz.gov/splashsavvy HOT PICKS from page 3

“Our #SplashSavvy partners are what we’re rallying around,” Goodrich said. “These are all organizations that we know share the same values as (Marana Aquatics) when it comes to drowning awareness on both ends, being preventative and preparative.”

For this year’s theme, #SplashSavvy will teach proper CPR during a drowning emergency. While compression-only techniques have become popular in the past few years, Goodrich explained the importance of providing oxygen to the victim.

At its regular meeting on Aug. 1, the town was scheduled to name August as Drowning Awareness Month, following the lead of other Arizona towns and cities.

“That’s why we’re doing it in August,” Goodrich explained. “To capitalize and spread that knowledge.”

Goodrich is one of the town’s leaders

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5

WHERE: Marana Pool at Ora Mae Harn Park, 13250 N. Lon Adams Road, Marana

COST: Free

THE 94.9 MIXfm MORNING SHOW

Project at La Cañada, Naranja gets final OKs

BY DAVE PERRY Tucson Local Media Contributor

Development of three office buildings and a coffee shop with drive-thru on the northwest corner of Naranja and La Cañada in Oro Valley has earned its final, unanimous approval from the Oro Valley Town Council.

In February, the council said “yes” to the drive-thru use near the busy intersection. A month later, the governing board expressed its worries about traffic flow, and asked the applicant to move the proposed Naranja Drive access farther from La Cañada.

In this latest rendition, Naranja access to and from the 2.8-acre site has been moved 90 feet west of its original location.

Paul Oland of Paradigm Land Design, representing property owner Bob Schwartz, told the council on July 19 that he worked for months with town staff to modify the site plan.

When proposed, the access point to and from Naranja Drive was 180 feet from the La Cañada/Naranja intersection. Now it is 270 feet west.

“The suggestion we got from this body, and the town engineer, was a good suggestion, despite any grumbling I may have done at the time,” Oland said. “The turn lane is now code compliant.”

According to a town staff report, the 90-foot move adds capacity to the righthand turn lane entering the development, enhances safety for motorists heading east on Naranja from the development, and improves safety at the intersection during peak periods, when commuters are using La Cañada, and when motorists are moving to and from Ironwood Ridge High School along Naranja.

One neighbor, Rob Wanczyk, expressed his disappointment that more attention has not been given to traffic control and safety at the intersection.

“I can’t see how that won’t create chaos on Naranja Drive,” Wanczyk told the council. “I’m all for development” of the

site. But he said the town should “be more diligent in trying to mitigate the safety issues along Naranja.”

“Traffic has been an extreme focus of this development,” Vice Mayor Melanie Barrett said. The requested change of access point “demonstrates and shows how seriously we are trying to take any traffic concerns,” she added.

Property owner Bob Schwartz moved to Oro Valley years ago. “I noticed this really ugly piece of property, right across from city hall,” he said. Schwartz soon learned materials from the site had been excavated to build La Cañada and Naranja; it was known as the “snake pit.”

“I thought it would be a great community infill project, so I bought it” in 2011, Schwartz said.

It needed 25,000 cubic yards of fill. “I patiently waited, as materials became available,” he said. Much of the dirt came from the site of LA Fitness when it was built along Oracle Road. “It took me about seven years to fill this property.”

Schwartz used a walker to get to the council podium. “You can see the toll it’s taken on me,” he quipped. “Just kidding.” That said, Schwartz is “anxious to get moving after working on this property for 12 years,” he said. Schwartz has had a number of inquiries about it. He showed the council a wall technology, using insulated concrete forms, that he’d use on the three office buildings, which are intended for medical office uses. “I’m pretty confident I’ll have the most energy-efficient buildings in town,” he said.

The council took up three separate motions for the project. Each passed on a 7-0 vote.

lunch and coffee sponsorships.

Wiggins explained how most spots, including minimum registration, usually fill up a week or two before the tournament.

“We’re excited to host another popular event,” Wiggins said. “We are selling our sponsorships quickly and have a lot of support from our business community for it.”

The tournament will begin with a shotgun scramble at 8 a.m. when all golfers tee up at different holes on the course. Stretch Lab will lead a group stretch beforehand, and a lunch and award ceremony will follow the tournament.

About 144 golfers will step onto The Golf Club courses at Dove Mountain to play for fun, camaraderie and charity.

“The neat thing about a golf tournament like this is that the participants aren’t looking for an award,” Wiggins said. “They’re really looking to give back to the community with it.”

This is the chamber’s third year naming the tournament in memory of Stolmaker, but it hosted the event for many years before.

After the former president’s death in

2021, the chamber invited his family to be a part of the tournament, presenting the check to a select nonprofit each year.

“We partner with a nonprofit in our community to give a portion of the proceeds from the golf tournament,” Wiggins noted. “Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about this local organization as well as support them with their involvement in the event.”

For this year’s tournament, the chamber chose Sol Dog Lodge as the local nonprofit sponsor. Along with training, boarding and grooming the canines of greater Tucson, the lodge is dedicated to keeping dogs

with their owners.

They prioritize training as a better alternative for misbehaving dogs and have swayed many owners from surrendering dogs to shelters.

“Our support of the Marana chamber has been ongoing for years,” said Shelley Harris, marketing director at Sol Dog Lodge. “Our respect for Ed Stolmaker was deep, and we knew we could help expand the golf tournament to reach a wider audience: our customers and friends.”

On the day of the tournament, Sol Dog Lodge will help chamber staff. In the meantime, they are helping to collect items

for the silent auction.

A portion of the proceeds from the auction and raffle will go to the nonprofit. Sol Dog Lodge will use the funds raised from the golf tournament towards their capital campaign. Construction is soon to begin on its new and expanded dog center in Marana. Harris and her team hope to meet their goal of $150,000 by the end of the month.

“Having the Marana chamber give a nod to Sol Dog Lodge is huge for us,” Harris explained. “We are so excited, in the midst of our capital campaign, to be in front of even more people to learn about the community services we provide.”

WHEN: 8 a.m. Friday, Aug. 25

WHERE: The Golf Club at Dove Mountain, 6501 W. Boulder Bridge Pass, Marana

COST: Sponsorship varies, starting at $400

INFO: https://rb.gy/4ch72

Participants of the Ed Stolmaker Golf Tournament of 2022 prepare for a day on the green. (Amanda Wiggins/Submitted)

The Ed Stolmaker Golf Tournament

HoofsnHorns competes in Goat Games benefit

Supporters of the HoofsnHorns Farm Sanctuary work on a project for its goat population. (Shelby Brawley/Submitted)

BY VERONICA KUFFEL Tucson Local Media Contributor

Talking with animal lover Shelby Brawley, it’s no wonder her rescue, the HoofsnHorns Farm Sanctuary, was invited to Goat Games 2023.

“We took in a herd of 17 Nubian goats last summer,” Brawley recalled. “Although they were all very thin and many are older, eight were pregnant, so 17 expanded by 12 between Christmas Eve and New Year.”

HoofsnHorns Farm Sanctuary will join 16 other large animal rescues in the fourth annual Goat Games from Monday, Aug. 7, to Sunday, Aug. 13. The sanctuary will compete in the virtual competition to raise $250,000 for participating rescues across the country.

Created by New York-based Catskill Animal Sanctuary, the Goat Games welcomes selected sanctuaries and their communities to celebrate the joy of farm animals.

“Goat Games 2023 will inspire friendly competition among participating

sanctuaries, raise critically needed funds and inspire those who believe that all animals deserve to live lives free from exploitation and suffering,” Catskill Animal Sanctuary stated on its upcoming competition webpage.

Throughout the six-day online competition, each sanctuary will raise funds within its community and throughout the country. Supporters can donate directly to a sanctuary, raise money via social media or recruit friends and family through the DonorCharms texting tool.

The Goat Games webpage will include a leaderboard to show how much each sanctuary has raised and its standing.

“No matter where they place in the competition, each sanctuary will keep the funds donated in their name,” Catskill Animal Sanctuary stated.

The sanctuary also invites its fellow rescues to host onsite or virtual events to support their fundraising efforts. HoofsnHorns has chosen to celebrate virtually due to the summer heat and monsoon season.

Brawley and her team will manage a vast social media campaign for their

followers and host a few live streams with their animals.

Although their need for funds is great, Brawley explained they don’t ask for donations too often.

“We try not to do a fundraiser every time we go to the vet or with every intake,” Brawley said. “We try and give our amazing supporters a break from the constant need. We just do Arizona Gives Day every spring and a couple of small fundraisers unless we really have an emergency.”

She and her mother started HoofsnHorns in 2013, but their work spans decades before the sanctuary. Brawley joked that she inherited “the animal gene” on both sides of her family.

She grew up riding horses, tending to injured animals and even raising piglets in her childhood home. In her early career, Brawley bounced from work in business management, the legal field and emergency care.

It was during this time she partnered with veterinarian offices and took in surrendered animals.

“I was sad at how many people couldn't

care for orphans or weren’t willing or able to get care for sick goats,” Brawley said.

“Or even when they became ‘useless,’ meaning they weren't winning ribbons or making money so I would offer to take them,” she continued.

Brawley and her team now help in large animal cases throughout the community, from working with the Animal Cruelty Task Force of Pima County to partnering with the University of Arizona Veterinary Program.

To date, HoofsnHorns houses 150 goats and sheep, 40 pigs, eight horses and donkeys, seven cows, different species of fowl, a llama, an alpaca and a macaw. With all of those animals, Brawley commented on the challenges of funding.

“A standard rescue can hope to adopt out animals and recoup some costs, but we aren't able to count on that,” Brawley said. “Most of our residents live into their twenties. The animals we take in and commit to will be here for a long time. That's a lot of hay, feed, water and medical care.”

The Goat Games provides the Marana sanctuary a chance to rally funds for all of their furry and feathered friends. Starting Aug. 7, HoofsnHorns Farm Sanctuary will showcase its herd and rally the community behind its rescue. After the fundraiser, Brawley hopes to bring people back down to the farm to resume tours and meet its residents in cooler weather.

HoofsnHorns Farm Sanctuary

9740 W. Lariat Drive, Tucson

520-661-2495

hoofsnhornsfarm.org

The Goat Games 2023

WHEN: Monday, Aug. 7, to Sunday, Aug 13

WHERE: Online

COST: Donation

INFO: https://app.donorcharm.org/ campaign/5VwBv/total

URGENT CARE

ORO VALLEY URGENT CARE

• URGENT

• COLDS & FLU

• ALLERGIES & ASTHMA • NAUSEA/VOMITING • RASHES

• PEDIATRICS

• SPRAINS & STRAINS

• SPORTS PHYSICALS

• STD, PREGNANCY & DRUG TESTING

• URINARY SYMPTOMS

• MEDICATION & SUPPLEMENTS

• ON-SITE X-RAYS

HoofsnHorns Farm Sanctuary is excited to show o its herd in the upcoming Goat Games 2023. (Shelby Brawley/Submitted)

Mustain graduates from Merchant Marine Academy

BY TUCSON LOCAL MEDIA STAFF

Charles Edward Mustain Jr. of Oro Valley recently graduated cum laude from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.

Mustain earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission in the U.S. armed forces. He also earned a Merchant Marine officer license, qualifying him to serve as an officer on any vessel in the U.S. flag merchant marine fleet.

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is one of five U.S. federal service academies. It educates and graduates licensed Merchant Marine officers to serve the nation during peace and war. In addition to the rigorous academic and physical requirements for admission, applicants must be nominated by their congressman or senator.

All U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduates incur an obligation to serve the United States. The U.S. Flag Merchant

fleet — manned exclusively by American mariners — is essential for securing the country’s commerce in peacetime and delivering warfighters, weapons, and military supplies in times of conflict. The majority of “Kings Pointers” serve for eight years as Navy reservists in the Strategic Sealift Officer Program while working aboard U.S. flag vessels; others will serve on active duty in our nation’s armed forces.

By virtue of their elite training and real-world experience, graduates are ready to go on day one in service of American military strength and economic power. As part of his four-year education, Mustain spent one year training as a cadet aboard oceangoing vessels.

The academy welcomed Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks as the commencement speaker.

Hicks told the graduates “Again and again throughout history, America's merchant mariners have delivered. And today, merchant mariners remain an indispens-

able component of our national defense, because they continue to deliver: To Europe, where more than 70 vessels have helped bring supplies and equipment to U.S. allies and partners after Russia once again invaded Ukraine; and to the Indo-Pacific, where multiple strategic sealift ships provide critical maritime pre-positioning of U.S. military equipment and supplies. What so many of you will do as merchant mariners enables our ability to project power globally, to respond to crises and contingencies on short notice, and to campaign in support of joint operations.”

Your Source For Community News!

“Julianna definitely knows what she’s doing. She’s patient and very detail oriented. She exceeded my expectations”

Charles Edward Mustain Jr. hails from Oro Valley. (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy/Submitted)

The price of refusing to prosecute

BY AUSTIN VANDERHEYDEN

Violent criminals are roaming free, and the public servants charged with putting them away refuse to do anything about it.

In a disturbing movement that’s plaguing major cities across America, progressive prosecutors are simply refusing to prosecute crimes. Unfortunately, Tucson is not immune to this dangerous trend.

Time and time again, the prosecutors responsible for protecting their communities and enforcing the law make headlines for the wrong reasons. Last year in San Francisco, District Attorney Chesa Boudin was ousted by arguably the most liberal voters in America due to his notorious soft-on-crime policies.

Most recently, according to the Associated Press, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned in May after the Missouri attorney general filed a lawsuit against her for failing to prosecute existing cases; failing to pursue charges in cases brought by the police; and failing to properly communicate the status of cases to crime victims and their families.

Sadly, the people of Tucson are all too familiar with these types of failures.

Pima County District Attorney Laura Conover proudly claims she wants to “revolutionize” the operations at the Pima County Attorney’s Office. While she is in a position to protect the rights of all citizens and file charges brought by police, she seems more intent on letting criminals walk, leaving law-abiding citizens to fend for themselves, and harming the Tucson Police Department’s ability to uphold law and order.

Requesting anonymity for fear of backlash, multiple Tucson police officers even spoke out against the way Conover conducts business. “It’s like they don’t want us enforcing drug offenses. They will just refuse to prosecute anyone facing drug charges,” one officer said.

Another officer painted a picture of a never-ending cycle of lawlessness and lack

of enforcement. “If we arrest someone that has had drugs in their system anytime within the two hours before their arrest, we are required to take them to the hospital. We will drop them off at the entrance of the hospital, only for them to walk back onto the street once we drive away. We will see that same individual an hour later doing the same thing that got them arrested in the first place. These people know that the police cannot do anything. We have our hands tied behind our back because of these soft-on-crime policies coming out of the county attorney’s office.”

One possible reason for Pima County’s failure to prosecute violent crimes? That would be money: the county has happily raked in nearly $4 million in grants over the past eight years from the left-leaning MacArthur Foundation to reduce the county’s inmate population. The county is literally getting paid to keep criminals out of jail — and Conover’s policies suggest the county is taking full advantage of that financial incentive.

As one Tucson police officer put it: “Why prosecute crimes brought by the police when there’s millions of dollars coming in telling you to do the opposite?”

The job of the county attorney is to file charges, irrespective of political ideology, in cases brought by the police and to prosecute existing cases. Yet too many of these elected officials use “prosecutorial discretion” as an excuse not to enforce the laws that voters entrusted them to uphold. While prosecutorial discretion is an important tool, it has been hijacked and manipulated by rogue county and district attorneys to bend the law to fit their own personal ideologies. The result has been massive spikes in crime as criminals — many of whom are repeat offenders — are allowed to roam the streets free from the fear of prosecution. Meanwhile, law-abiding citizens whose taxes are supposed to be used for law enforcement continue to suffer.

Pima County voters elected Conover to

CUT• S ON UNIFIED SCHOOLDIS

A football return to glory?

BY TOM DANEHY Tucson Local Media Columnist

High school football practice started a couple days ago, which means that, in three months (or so), temperatures will drop below 90 degrees. Right about the end of the season, we’ll have something somewhat resembling football weather.

ings have actually gotten a little bit better the past couple years. Football season had been starting earlier and earlier, with practice starting in mid-July and games being played in 100-degree temperatures in mid-August.

It was part of the never-ending tug of war being high school coaches. Baseball coaches want basketball season to get over sooner so they can have a longer spring season. Basketball coaches wanted football season to not stretch well into November. And soccer coaches wanted the

high school season to be shorter so that they could squeeze a few more bucks out of parents’ wallets by having club tournaments around anksgiving.

It is an unfortunate fact that high school football has morphed into something that would have been inconceivable a couple decades ago and is largely unpalatable today. You don’t just have the Haves and Have-Nots; you have the grotesque miniature college programs playing a quasi-national schedule backed by outlandish booster clubs, and the inner-city teams struggling to eld a squad of 20 or so players. And the disparity is increasing every year.

I was talking to some (nonfootball) athletes from Amphi High School a couple weeks ago and asked them if they were football fans. Most said no. ey knew some of the guys on the team, but they usually found something else to do on Friday nights. I asked them if they were

aware of Amphi’s football legacy and most of them knew little to nothing about it.

One kid told me, “I heard that Amphi was sorta’ good back in the day, but I don’t know what that means. Did they go to state or something?”

His eyes popped when I told him that in one stretch, Amphi went to state 20 years in a row. By comparison, the top program in Southern Arizona these days — Salpointe Catholic — has been to state seven years in a row. Amphi is the last Tucson team to win a state title in the top division (which is now called 6A). But that happened more than 40 years ago and some of the players on that team are probably grandfathers by now.

Amphi made it back to the state title game a couple more times. In 1997, they actually led Mesa Mountain View with a couple minutes le but gave up a late score and nished state runner-up. Even back then, the disparity was starting to

show up. Amphi had an enrollment of around 1,600 back then. Mesa Mountain View had a separate campus for its 1,000 freshmen students!

But it’s not just Amphi. All of the other Northwest schools — Canyon Del Oro, Ironwood Ridge, Flowing Wells, Marana, Pusch Ridge, and Marana Mountain View — all have state football championship trophies in their cases. But it’s been a while (and in some cases, a long while). It’s time to get back in the arena. e team most likely to challenge Salpointe for Southern Arizona dominance this year will be the Marana Tigers. Last year, the Tigers had their perfect regular season spoiled by a truly bizarre 59-58 loss at Mesa Westwood. ey made it to the second round of state but are hoping to go further this season. ey lost their quarterback to graduation, but they see FOOTBALL page 13

return All-Everything two-way player Dez Roebuck (who has already been o ered a scholarship by the UA).

Canyon Del Oro is coming o a whatif season that initially appeared to be ruined when several players were kicked o the team a er having attended a party where alcohol was consumed. ( e Amphi District has a strict zero-tolerance policy in that situation.) But the Dorados regrouped, made it to state, and then got to the semi nals before su ering a heartbreaking 16-13 loss in overtime.

e Mountain View Mountain Lions lost four of their rst ve games last year before turning things around in the second half of the season. ey’re hoping to

make a playo push this year under coach Matt Johnson, who won a state title while coaching at Ironwood Ridge.

Speaking of the Ridge, the Nighthawks had a dismal 1-9 record last year but should have an easier time of it this year. ey’re in a new, oddly shaped region that stretches from Nogales on the Mexican border up to Phoenix exurb Maricopa.

Flowing Wells, which is in the same region as Ironwood Ridge, hopes to improve on last year’s 3-7 record. And Amphi, whose 2-8 record last year re ected a very young roster (including a then-freshman at quarterback) is poised to make a run this year. e other six teams in Amphi’s region had a combined record last year of 14-46. It’s the Panthers’ for the taking.

do an incredibly important task: ensure the safety of Southern Arizona’s residents. Instead, she has used prosecutorial discretion to bend the law to her own ideological will. By “revolutionizing” the county attorney’s office, Tucson is starting to look

more and more like San Francisco and St. Louis — an outcome that only benefits lawbreakers.

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Incubus surprises fans with each gig’s setlist

BY L. KENT WOLGAMOTT

Sound checks are generally just part of a band’s daily routine — get to the venue, play a few songs to dial in the sound, then get out until the show hours later.

But that’s not the case for Incubus.

“A lot of new music ideas that we have actually come from sound checks when we’re on tour,” says turntablist Chris Kilmore.

“There was a period of time where all we did was tour, almost 10 years straight. We didn't really have much time other than when we stepped off the tour bus to write a record real quick.

“So, over the years, once we get our sound check kind of straight on stage, we just start jamming and we always record. After sound check, we might say, ‘Oh, that was a cool idea’ and go back and revisit it and then work on it for a couple days. The process of writing songs for us, that’s kind of what it is. It’s just a rough idea until it sparks an idea with somebody else. And then it starts going around the rest of the guys and before long it whips up into a song.”

So, Kilmore says, he expects the veteran alternative rockers will have some new material to work on this year, after having been on the road last year.

Getting kicked off the road by COVID-19 was a shock to the system for Incubus, whose bread and butter is touring, year after year after year.

“It felt like somebody just slammed the brakes on,” Kilmore says. “We’re riding on this really cool tour bus and somebody just slams the brake on and says, ‘OK, you’re done. Stop, get out.’ And we’re in the middle of the desert or something, there’s no direction. What can we do?’”

What Kilmore did during the down time from the road was to work at the keyboards, which he picked up later in life, learn some more music theory and, of course, try to further the turntable skills and sounds he’s been making since he was a pre-teen growing up in Pennsylvania.

“I saw Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince when I was young and Jazzy Jeff blew my mind,” Kilmore says. “At that moment, I was like, ‘Man, I want to try to do that.’”

He started DJing at 13, continued through high school and college in Washington, D.C., before he moved to Los Angeles and became part of the Jedi Knights DJ crew.

“We would link all of our turntables together,” he says. “We’d make beats and things like that live together. While we’re scratching, and it kind of (became), ‘We’re a band’ – You’re playing the bass on a turntable. I've got a kick drum. This guy's got a hi-hat and snare and so on. I’m like,

‘We’re a band.’ That kind of opened up my mind.”

That mind opening led to invitations to join rock bands, which were adding DJs to the sound mix in the “nu metal” movement. Eventually, an invitation came from Incubus, who were looking for a replacement for Gavin Koppel.

Joining Incubus for its 1998 tour behind the band’s album, “S.C.I.E.N.C.E,” Kilmore went into the studio with Incubus to create “Make Yourself,” 1999 dou-

ble-platinum breakthrough album that yanked the band out of the nu metal mass and into the rock mainstream.

“I feel like just having my personality and the fact that I'm the DJ kind of pulled us out of that a little bit,” Kilmore says. “There was a point there where I felt like a DJ in a rock band was really cliché. Every band out there was trying to come up with a DJ. But I felt like I was always a lit-

Brandon Boyd is the lead singer of veteran rock band, Incubus. (Submitted)

from page 14

tle different than those guys.”

In large part, that difference was rooted in Kilmore’s musical approach, which aimed at incorporating the turntables almost like another instrument in the group.

“I always felt like when you scratch on top of music, regardless of what genre it is, it’s equivalent to a guitar solo,” he says. “It sticks out. It’s loud. It’s hard to sing over it or do other rhythmic things over top of it without that (scratching) being the focal point. So, I was always conscious of that.

“There’s a bunch of solos and things like that, but there’s a lot of other stuff going on that are blended in. That was actually the hardest thing to achieve with this band – how do I get into this and not stick out and blend in just like everybody

else is blending in? I think through that process, it was like, ‘OK, now our sound is developing, and our sound is getting bigger and we’re not a nu metal band.’”

That change wasn’t just evident musically. It could be seen in the Incubus audience, which Kilmore initially saw on the “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.” tour.

“Back then it was all guys,” he says. “It was the mosh pits. It was guys shaking the barricade and everything like that. And then we wrote ‘Make Yourself’ and ‘Pardon Me’ came out and you started seeing a little bit more girls. As that album went on, and the singles came out, ‘Stellar’ came out and now that front row was all girls, with those guys behind them. And then a crowd developed.”

That audience has stayed with the band through its hit making years, with its 2000's albums “Morning View,” “A Crow Left of the Murder” and “Light Grenades,”

and as Incubus has entered its fourth decade as a band.

Kilmore, who had a bout with COVID-19 last June – “It took me out for a little bit, it’s definitely the sickest I’ve ever been,” he says – missed the band’s rehearsals and had to play a pair of shows in Spain cold.

“It’s really funny how mentally you forget things,” he says.

“You're like, ‘Oh, what song is this or what setting is that?’ Once you get into it and don’t think about what you have to do, it’s almost like muscle memory. Your body just takes over and it's like this is how you do it.”

Kilmore’s muscle memory, however, can’t become rote repetition on tour. Unlike the majority of artists, Incubus plays different songs every show.

“We usually have a structure, obviously,” he says. “It’s a coordinated event kind

of thing. It’s not just us up there jamming. We’ve got sound guys and lighting guys all trying to do their jobs as well. So, we usually keep a good outline, how we're going to start, maybe a middle section and then switch out some songs in between.

“We’re pretty flexible as a band,” Kilmore says. “Obviously, we've been around for so long, we have so many songs we could play, we can throw in audibles as often as we like. We try to keep it fresh every night and do our thing.”

Incubus w/Paris Jackson and Bad ower

WHEN: 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, August 23

WHERE: Tucson Arena, 260 S. Church

Avenue, Tucson

COST: Tickets start at $53 INFO: 520-791-4101, tucsonarena.com

INCUBUS

Incubus will perform Wednesday, Aug. 23 at the Tucson Arena. (Submitted)

Know the symptoms of heat-related illness

BY DR. MARK ZAETTA

Tucson’s blistering 110-plus-degree temperatures are upon us with little relief in sight, and it is imperative that we address the potential health risks associated with extreme heat. Pima County reported 28 deaths from extreme heat in 2022.

Despite the alarming statistics, heat-related deaths and illnesses are preventable. Certain groups are at greatest risk for heat-related illness including infants and young children, adults 65 and older, those taking certain medications, people with certain medical conditions and people who are obese.

It is important to know that elevated body temperature from heat-related exposure is di erent from fever caused by infection or illness.

Some of the most common heat-related illnesses and their warning signs are as follows:

• Heat stroke is a potentially life-threatening emergency and is the most serious heat-related illness. is occurs when the body is unable to control its temperature and the sweating mechanism fails. is condition can cause death or permanent disability if emergency treatment is not provided. Body temperature can rise to 106 degrees or higher within 10 to 15 minutes.

• Symptoms of heat stroke can include high body temperature, typically 103 degrees Fahrenheit or higher; losing consciousness or passing out; dizziness; nausea, confusion or headache; hot, red, dry or damp skin or profuse sweating. If you observe someone exhibiting signs of heat stroke, call 911 immediately. Move them to a cooler place and help lower their body temperature quickly with cool water if possible.

Dr. Mark Zaetta is an internal medicine specialist in Tucson with Optum Arizona. (Optum/Submitted)

• Heat exhaustion is the body’s response to an excessive loss of water and salt, usually through excessive sweating. It is most

likely to occur in elderly people, people with high blood pressure and those who work or exercise in a hot environment.

Symptoms can include heavy sweating, cold and clammy skin; nausea or vomiting; fast or weak pulse; dizziness and headache; tiredness or weakness; and muscle cramps. If you observe someone who may be su ering from heat exhaustion, get medical help right away if symptoms are severe, worsening or not improving. Pregnant women and people with underlying medical conditions should touch base with their health care provider. It is also important to note that heat exhaustion could be a continuum to heat stroke, since both conditions share similar symptoms.

• Heat cramps are muscle pains or spasms (typically in the abdomen, arms or legs) that may occur with strenuous activity. People who sweat a lot during activity are more prone to heat cramps as sweating depletes the body’s salt and moisture, which can cause painful cramps. Symptoms include heavy sweating during intense exercise and muscle pains or spasms. If you or someone you observe is su ering from heat cramps, stop physical activity and move to a cool place, wait for cramps to dissipate before doing any activity, and drink water or a sports drink. If symptoms are severe or persist or if you have a heart condition or other medical conditions, medical evaluation may be needed.

•Heat rash is skin irritation caused by excessive sweating. Look for red clusters of small blisters that look like pimples on the skin, typically on the neck, chest, groin or in elbow creases.

If you think you or someone you observe is su ering from heat rash, stay in a cool, dry place, and keep the rash dry. Use of powder may help soothe discomfort.

Dr. Mark Zaetta is an internal medicine specialist in Tucson with Optum-Arizona.

Diabetes: The illness with few symptoms

BY MIA SMITT Tucson Local Media Columnist

Imagine having an illness that can destroy parts of the body … and not know this is happening. Is this even possible? The answer is a resounding “yes” and the disease is type-2 diabetes.

Approximately 20% to 30% of the 37.3 million people who have diabetes are not yet aware that they are affected. Prediabetes affects 96 million adults in the United States and most also do not realize this. Physical symptoms can start gradually and can be mistaken for normal aging, fatigue or other illnesses.

An increase in urination could be an enlarged prostate or overactive bladder but this also is a sign of diabetes. Slow healing skin infections, frequent vaginal infections, blurred vision, increased thirst or hunger, and sudden weight loss are all possible symptoms of diabetes. A worsening malaise or fatigue, erectile dysfunction, frequent headaches, and irritability can point to a possible diabetes diagnosis and should be investigated.

Family history and being overweight or obese are two important risk factors. Central obesity (abdominal rather than thighs) with a waist size greater than 35 inches in women, and 40 inches in men is of particular risk. Hispanic, Black and Native American people have a greater risk. More than 90% of people with type2 diabetes are overweight or obese, and some studies have concluded that obesity accounts for over 80% of the risk for developing the disease. Obese people may be up to 80 times more likely to develop diabetes than people with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 22, according to a publication by the Global Diabetes Community (diabetes.co.uk) in September 2022.

Usually by the time diabetes is diagnosed significant damage to various organs is underway. Up to half of all functioning beta cells in the pancreas which help to regulate sugar and insulin levels may have been destroyed. Nerve injury and kidney damage may have already begun. Diabetic eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and retinopathy can occur.

Gum disease and tooth decay can arise.

Blood vessel damage can lead to heart diseases, strokes, and foot problems due to poor circulation. Several studies have shown the relationship between diabetes and the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Diabetes is easy to detect through simple blood tests. A fasting (no food or beverages other than water) blood-sugar level higher than 126 (the measurement is milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood) signifies diabetes. A normal reading is less than 100 and anything in between is considered “prediabetes.”

A reading two hours after eating (postprandial) should stay below 145. This impaired glucose tolerance, or metabolism, should be checked for a definitive diagnosis; after a specific glucose load is ingested, serial measurements of blood sugar is tested.

A glycosylated hemoglobin blood test (hemoglobin A1c) assesses the average blood sugar over the preceding two to three months and can measure the progression of the disease for better or worse. There is a genetic test to identify a person at risk of developing type-2 diabetes if they have a family history of the disease. Approximately 54 million Americans are considered prediabetic. Moderate exercise, such as a brisk 30-minute walk daily, healthier eating habits, and a weight loss of five to 10 percent of current body weight may prevent the progression to diabetes in over 60% of people with impaired glucose metabolism. Recent studies have shown some benefit in intermittent fasting (14 to 16 hours with no food),

eating two meals a day rather than three, and eliminating most snacking to optimize glucose and insulin levels.

Risk factors for diabetes complications include smoking, high blood pressure, elevated non-HDL cholesterol levels, obesity, a lack of physical activity and poor diet. Diabetes was the eighth leading cause of death in the United States in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 507,000 emergency department visits for diabetes complications were recorded in 2022. The direct (medical treatment, hospitalization, health care visits, etc.) and indirect (such as lost work productivity, worker replacement and disability) costs of diabetes in 2017 were $327 billion.

Good control of blood pressure and cholesterol is essential in preventing diabetes complications. Simple blood tests can measure blood sugar and kidney functioning and yearly eye exams should be scheduled. Regular visits to a health care provider should include a foot exam to assess possible nerve damage. Your health care provider should keep you abreast of new treatment strategies, offer diet counseling, and help with staying on track.

The key is prevention and early awareness to avoid complications. Then appropriate treatment and follow up to ensure optimal health. Get that blood sugar checked as a part of your good health habits.

Mia Smitt is a longtime nurse practitioner who writes a regular column for Tucson Local Media.

While diet and exercise are the foundation for diabetes treatment, many medications are now available to help control blood sugar and insulin levels. There are now about 12 classes of medications that treat high blood sugar. Most are covered by insurance plans and Medicare and Medicaid (AHCCCS in Arizona).

Guests pile into Stacks Book Club

BY DAVE PERRY Tucson Local Media Contributor

Within 10 minutes on a recent afternoon, Crispin

Jeffrey-Franco sliced a bagel for a guest, greeted a local author who wants to sell her book, and received a plant with congratulatory card from a grateful customer of Stacks Book Club.

This was day five of business for the Oro Valley Marketplace bookstore/café. Crispin, who owns Stacks with wife, Lizzy, suggested there’s typically a lull from about 2 to 4 p.m. weekdays. Yet on this hot mid-week afternoon, Stacks has a dozen customers who are browsing new books, lining up for a cold-brew coffee, and ... visiting. Connecting.

“It’s all about human interaction in here,” Crispin said. “We’re bringing humanity back,” after the pandemic’s forced isolation.

Stacks Book Club is a new, locally owned, independent bookstore and full-service café, years in the thinking and making. Its official opening day, Saturday, July 8, was “better than we could ever have dreamed of,” Crispin said. The store conducted 440 transactions that day, “and not a single person came through the door by themselves.” He figures 1,000 guests came to Stacks. Pastries and oat milk were gone far earlier than anticipated. “It was amazing,” he said. And guests keep coming.

“We’ve been so busy, busier than we ever could have predicted,” Crispin said. “We’re battling shortages on the bookshelves and the coffee bar, but it’s a good problem to have. We are feeling very, very welcomed and loved.”

“It’s the best people,” said Lizzy, who popped in briefly from a backroom meeting.

Crispin is a Marana High School graduate, Lizzy a Mountain View High School alumna. They love books. They remember the days of The Haunted Bookshop, behind Tohono Chul Park, and have long been acquainted with Bookman’s, and the Friends of the Oro Valley Library bookstores. But Northwest Tucson “hasn’t had a new bookstore,” he said, and they longed for one.

COVID reaffirmed for both that

nothing in life is guaranteed, that you can say “‘one day, we’ll do this,’ and that day never comes, for whatever reason,” he said. So, in late 2019, they began percolating the idea.

Crispin, who was highly employed as director of workforce development for Pima Community College, and Lizzy, who continues to work in communications at the University of Arizona, began their industry research during COVID-19-created free time. They asked, “if a bookstore works, how does it work?” They joined the American Booksellers Association, started talking to booksellers all over the country, and studied the business side with StartUp Tucson and the Small Business Development Centers at Pima Community College.

“We asked as many people as we could to poke holes in the idea,” Crispin said.

Both wondered – “would the community get excited about the idea?” To gauge the market, they held pop-up book-selling events at Charred Pie, within Oro Valley Marketplace, the Oro Valley Farmers Market, and elsewhere. “Those were phenomenal,” Crispin said. Encouraged, the couple secured a federal Small Business Administration loan through Pima’s SBDC. And they plunked down “capital we had spent decades growing.

“We wanted to build something, take our futures into our own hands, and better ourselves,” he said. They knew the risk. The couple has a 4-year-old son,

tries from Cal’s Bakeshop on the weekdays, Prep & Pastry on Saturdays, and Breadsmith on Sundays. Salads, sandwiches, and snack trays come from Flora’s Market Run. Stacks’ eight part-time “booktenders” do it all. They are “first and foremost book lovers who also serve all the food, Crispin said. “They’re all wearing dual hats.”

And they’re busy. At 10 a.m., every day, “every seat is full.” A cyclists’ group stops by every other day. When it cools, Stacks expects its outside front patio to attract guests.

Crispin II, and Lizzy is pregnant with their second child due this fall.

“There were moments where I thought, ‘am I really willing to put it on the line?’” Crispin said. He gets emotional speaking about Lizzy, his source of strength and encouragement. “She was the one, she never lost faith in the idea, and always believed it would be a success,” he said.

So far, it has been.

The Stacks Book Club model begins with new books, at least 90 percent of all books on the shelves, of all genres and for all ages. There are 2,000 titles at any given time, with plans to get to 3,000. Stacks can order books. And it has the flexibility to change its offerings. Poetry has proven “more popular than we originally thought,” he said. “We will be growing it.”

Guests can also find games, puzzles, and gifts.

“When we can, as much as we can, we buy local,” Crispin said. Art, candles, and earrings are the creations of small, independent vendors, only a few of the “hundreds” who have asked to stock products.

A vital leg on the business stool is Stacks’ full-service café, with locally roasted coffee, espresso and nitro cold brew from Yellow Brick Coffee, teas from Maya Tea Company, wine from Arizona vineyards, and Tucson or Arizona beers, “save for the Bud Light, my dad’s personal request,” he said.

Guests can enjoy Bubbe’s Bagels and pas-

Crispin and Lizzy delight in seeing two people visit, then engage with a third person, talking about something they’ve read. Soon, “they’re exchanging phone numbers and social media accounts,” he said. Teachers have come to Stacks to talk about lesson plans. A knitting club wants to meet in the space. Parents bring their children.

“We want people to come and make it theirs,” Crispin said.

Scheduled book discussions have exploded so an August talk about Barbara Kingsolver’s book “Demon Copperhead” has become four August talks. Stacks is launching a “’tween” book club for young people ages 9 to 12 accompanied by an adult. “We want to get kids of that age learning to talk,” to participate in dialogue, to hear different ideas and perspectives, Crispin said. “We have big plans for what this could be as an event space.”

The early success is gratifying; Stacks Book Club wants to sustain it. “It starts with making sure” customers have “the best experience we can possibly provide them, a great selection of books, fun, new things, great coffee and amazing pastry,” he said. “Consistency.”

Has there been a surprise?

“It’s the kindness we’ve been shown,” Crispin said, before diving back to serve guests.

Stacks Book Club

1880 E. Tangerine Road, Suite 140, Oro Valley

On the west end of Oro Valley Marketplace

stacksbookclub.com

7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily

Crispin Je rey-Franco, co-owner of Stacks Book Club with his wife Lizzy, are amazed by the reception to their bookstore, Stacks, which opened July 8. (Dave Perry/Contributor)

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay

Edited by WIll Shortz

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Notice how you have so much of what you once dearly desired! Now you want di erent things, but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate this moment and acknowledge the capable person who got you to this place. You had help, sure, but you were the one smart and humble enough to accept it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Your overarching aim for the week is simple, and yet massive in scope. You want a good experience for as many as possible. Don't be too quick to decide what people need. It may not be right to ask them directly, but your keen powers of observation will teach you well.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)

You cannot control how quickly you learn, change or build yourself, but you do have control over the behavior that will lead to your development. Focus on creating a better routine. Systems and schedules are the practical logistics that later make it seem that something magical has occurred.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)

Your powers of imagination, combined with great emotional range, will let you project yourself into a different kind of life. You'll relate to people who are very different from you. Knowing your supertalent for empathy can either bring you up or down, you'll be careful what and whom you align with and aim strictly for an elevated experience.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

New habits form quite by accident. Whether or not you mean to repeat an action, each recurrence strengthens the neural pathways in your brain, making the next round easier. It works the same for good and bad habits alike. So before you get too far into a behavior, consider what life will be like when this is a regular thing.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Don't let responsibility scare you. You're more qualified and capable than you know. You're imagining those who went before you were gifted, but if you only knew how untrue this was, you would be far more confident. No one is expecting you to have answers. For now, just being available and open to learning is enough.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

There's a great bene t to being able to hold the attention of others. You apply what you know about fun and entertainment to persuade people to your cause and add to your team. What's new is fascinating, but each exposure to a thing makes it a little less interesting. This is why you change up the energy -- a twist keeps it fresh.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21)

Limitations are like the rails that keep your engine headed to the destination. Staying on track is easy when the rules are enforced and the systems are maintained. This week, there will be plenty of rules that seem unnecessary, but if you follow the program, you'll get where you intend to go.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

There is nothing sel sh about learning yourself well. Take the time to gure out what you like and want and you'll actually be doing everyone else a favor. You'll be better able to provide things like opportunities, boundaries and meaningful contributions as you get in touch with your delights.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

It's so easy to honor those around you with your words and actions because your heart holds deep respect and admiration. When you don't feel this way about someone, it's possible that you just don't know enough about them yet. You'll become lighter and brighter by either learning more or focusing elsewhere.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

You'd like to know that you made a di erence in the experience of others. But something about asking for feedback diminishes the e ect. It's much cooler to do what you do with con dence and then walk away, leaving the others to make up their own minds. It's a move of trust. It's a way of honoring the intelligence and soulfulness of others.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

It's harder to fix things from the place where they got broken. It takes a brave and adventurous person to set out seeking help from faraway realms, and an even bolder person to start anew. The latter approach will be the most expedient route to your goal and the luckiest for your social life, too.

PUZZLE BY KATE HAWKINS

Worship Guide

GF and Son Contractor

Summer Special

Family Business 25 yrs. BBB Member & licensed. Specialize in all types of(New/Old) Roof repairs, Coating, Rotten Wood, Fascia Boards, Remodeling & Additions, Permit plans.

Family Business 25 yrs. BBB

GF and Son Contractor

Now Accepting Credit cards Gary or Chase 520-742-1953

Family Business 25 yrs. BBB

Member & licensed. Specialize in all types of(New/Old) Roof repairs, Coating, Rotten Wood, Fascia Boards, Remodeling & Additions, Permit plans.

GF and Son Contractor

GF and Son Contractor

Member & licensed. Specialize in all types of(New/Old) Roof repairs, Coating, Rotten Wood, Fascia Boards, Remodeling & Additions, Permit plans.

Family Business 25 yrs. BBB

Now Accepting Credit cards

Gary or Chase 520-742-1953

Family Business 25 yrs. BBB

Member & licensed. Specialize in all types of(New/Old) Roof repairs, Coating, Rotten Wood, Fascia Boards, Remodeling & Additions, Permit plans.

Now

Now Accepting Credit cards

Gary or Chase 520-742-1953 

Gary or Chase 520-742-1953

Member & licensed. Specialize in all types of(New/Old) Roof repairs, Coating, Rotten Wood, Fascia Boards, Remodeling & Additions, Permit plans.

Now Accepting Credit cards

Gary or Chase 520-742-1953

Now Accepting Credit cards

Gary or Chase 520-742-1953