Tucson Weekly June 11, 2020 by Tucson Weekly

BEST OF TUCSON 2020: VOTE NOW!

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Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Constable Bennett Bernal wants to help people, not evict them A Tale of Tucson Salvage By Brian Smith

CURRENTS: Lip Reading and Face Masks

CANNABIS 520: Want Criminal Justice Reform? Vote To End Prohibition

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JUNE 11, 2020

Southern Arizona

COVID-19

THE LOCAL NUMBERS: The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Arizona had topped 28,000 as of Tuesday, June 9, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 3,161 of the state’s 28,296 confirmed cases. One week earlier, on Tuesday, June 2, the state had 21,250 confirmed cases. The death toll had topped 1,000 in the last week, with 1,070 people dead after contracting COVID-19, including 212 in Pima County, according to the June 9 report. In Maricopa County, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had risen to 14,374. Roughly three weeks after Gov. Doug Ducey lifted Arizona’s stay-at-home order, Arizona hospitals were seeing a rise in the number of people hospitalized with COVID symptoms, as well as more people visiting emergency rooms. ADHS reports that as of June 8, 1,243 Arizonans were hospitalized and 438 people were in ICU units. The report shows 848 people arrived at emergency rooms with COVID-like symptoms on June 8. THE NATIONAL NUMBERS: Nationwide, nearly 2 million people had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which had killed more than 111,000 people in the United States as of Tuesday, June 9, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University. THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED SPACE: Banner Health’s chief clinical officer Marjorie Bessel hosted a special briefing about the rapidly increasing numbers of COVID hospitalizations in Arizona on Friday, June 5. Bessel warned that if current trends continue, Banner will soon need to exercise its surge plan to increase ICU capacity. Bessel highlighted a steep increase of COVID-19 patients on ventilators: On June 4, Banner’s Arizona hospitals had 116 COVID-19 patients on ventilators, up from roughly 15 a month prior. WHO DIDN’T SEE THIS COMING? At a June 4 press conference, Ducey said he and Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ anticipated the current increase in positive COVID-19 cases because testing has “dramatically increased” within the state. Christ down-

Roundup

played the alarm about the recent increase in cases, which some have attributed to the end of the stay-at-home order on May 15, saying “as people come back together, we know there will be transmissions of COVID-19.” While they admitted new cases are to be expected when people begin to interact again, Ducey and Christ said their main focus was to ensure that hospitals had the capacity for an increase in cases. They reported that the current use of hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators were all within capacity last week. “The fact that we were going to focus on having more tests means we were going to have more cases,” Ducey said. “We anticipated that. What we wanted to do was to be prepared for this.” Christ revealed two days later that the state had been miscalculating the percentage of available bed space in hospitals by counting potential “surge beds” that could be brought into use as already filled. Christ said the error had been caught and would not be repeated moving forward.

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN: Fire crews are currently battling two blazes that have each burned more than 1,000 acres north of Tucson: the Bighorn Fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Tortolita Fire in the Tortolita Mountains. Lightning storms caused both fires, which are growing worse thanks to gusty weather and high temperatures. The Bighorn Fire ignited on the evening of June 5, burning across the Pusch Ridge in clear view of Oro Valley. The fire grew from 200 acres on June 6 to more than 2,300 on June 8. Approximately 100 fire personnel and multiple helicopters are fighting the Bighorn Fire, which is 10 per-

cent contained as of Monday afternoon. The Tortolita Fire also started on June 5 and quickly spread to an estimated 3,500 acres. Ninety fire personnel and a dozen pieces of aircraft are fighting the Tortolita Fire. According to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, parts of Cochise Spring Road have been closed. The Tortolita Fire is two miles from the Cochise Spring area, west of Tortolita and Christopher Ranch, east of Marana. There were no evacuations as of TW’s print deadline.

INTO THE NIGHT: Gov. Doug Ducey lifted his curfew order via Twitter on Monday, June 8. Ducey had declared the curfew Sunday, May 31 after protests in Tucson and the Phoenix area turned into riots and looting sprees. Protestors gathered for several demonstrations in Tucson despite the heat and the curfew order during the week. The protests here and across the nation were triggered by the killing of George Floyd, who died in police custody after a Minneapolis cop kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes as the man gasped for air and said he couldn’t breathe. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired and now faces charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, while three other officers who watched as Floyd was held down were also fired and face charges of aiding and abetting murder, but the protests have continued. ■ By Jim Nintzel Additional reporting from Kathleen B. Kunz, Austin Counts, Jeff Gardner, Logan Burtch-Buus and Tara Foulkrod

RANDOM SHOTS By Rand Carlson

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JUNE 11, 2020 | VOL. 35, NO. 24 The Tucson Weekly is available free of charge in Pima County, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies of the current issue of the Tucson Weekly may be purchased for $1, payable at the Tucson Weekly office in advance. To find out where you can pick up a free copy of the Tucson Weekly, please visit TucsonWeekly.com

STAFF ADMINISTRATION Jason Joseph, President/Publisher jjoseph@azlocalmedia.com Jaime Hood, General Manager, Ext. 12 jaime@tucsonlocalmedia.com Casey Anderson, Ad Director/ Associate Publisher, Ext. 22 casey@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 Logan Burtch-Buus, Managing Editor, Ext. 36 logan@tucsonlocalmedia.com Jeff Gardner, Associate Editor, Ext. 43 jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com Tara Foulkrod, Web Editor, Ext. 35 tara@tucsonlocalmedia.com Austin Counts, Staff Reporter, Ext. 37 austin@tucsonlocalmedia.com Kathleen Kunz, Staff Reporter, Ext. 42 kathleen@tucsonlocalmedia.com Contributors: Rob Brezsny, Max Cannon, Rand Carlson, Tom Danehy, Emily Dieckman, Bob Grimm, Clay Jones, Andy Mosier, Xavier Omar Otero, Linda Ray, Margaret Regan, Will Shortz, Brian Smith, Jen Sorensen, Eric Swedlund, Tom Tomorrow PRODUCTION David Abbott, Production Manager, Ext. 18 david@tucsonlocalmedia.com Louie Armendariz, Graphic Designer, Ext. 29 louie@tucsonlocalmedia.com Madison Wehr, Graphic Designer, Ext. 28 madison@tucsonlocalmedia.com Ryan Dyson, Graphic Designer, Ext. 26 ryand@tucsonlocalmedia.com CIRCULATION Alex Carrasco, Circulation, Ext. 17, alexc@tucsonlocalmedia.com ADVERTISING Kristin Chester, Account Executive, Ext. 25 kristin@tucsonlocalmedia.com Candace Murray, Account Executive, Ext. 24 candace@tucsonlocalmedia.com Lisa Hopper, Account Executive Ext. 39 lisa@tucsonlocalmedia.com Brek Montoya, Account Executive, Ext. 20 brek@tucsonlocalmedia.com Tyler Vondrak, Account Executive, Ext. 27 tyler@tucsonlocalmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING VMG Advertising, (888) 278-9866 or (212) 475-2529 Tucson Weekly® is published every Thursday by 13 Street Media at 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, Arizona. Address all editorial, business and production correspondence to: Tucson Weekly, 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, Arizona 85741. Phone: (520) 797-4384, FAX (520) 575-8891. First Class subscriptions, mailed in an envelope, cost $112 yearly/53 issues. Sorry, no refunds on subscriptions. Member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN). The Tucson Weekly® and Best of Tucson® are registered trademarks of 10/13 Communications. Back issues of the Tucson Weekly are available for $1 each plus postage for the current year. Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement at his or her discretion.

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JUNE 11, 2020

CURRENTS

BIGSTOCK

Facemasks can be a challenge for people who read lips.

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

Tucson’s deaf and hard-of-hearing community speaks out about the increased difficulty they face communicating with the public due to COVID-19 masks and other precautions taken during the pandemic. By Austin Counts austin@tucsonlocalmedia.com SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS grabbing a cup of coffee from your local Starbucks can result in frustration and misunderstanding for everyone involved these days, said Treasurer for the Adult Loss of Hearing Association Stanley Kruggel. Seven years ago, Kruggel received cochlear implants to help him recover his hearing after a time of decline, he said. “Last week, I was at a Starbucks and their front door was closed but they had a table outside with a bell to ring for service,” Kruggel said. “I thought they were taking orders there.” Before the pandemic hit, Kruggel said he could typically understand conversations due to his cochlear implants and speech-reading. Now, SPECIAL the situation is much EVENT more challenging since a sizable populaSUBSCRIBE TODAY tion is communicating with half their face

covered, Kruggel said. “I told (the employee) I would like to order a drink and she started going on and on. The only word I could understand was drive-thru,” Kruggel said. “Then I realized the table I was at was for pick-up only. I usually do pretty well, but with the mask being muffled and not seeing lips, that’s a JEN SORENSEN huge factor for us to communicate.” Kruggel said he then had a similar problem going through the Starbucks drive-thru—employees kept asking questions about his order while wearing masks. Kruggel flashed the button pin he often sports that states “Please Face Me, I Lip Read” at the employees. They obligingly remove their masks and finish the transaction. “The first lady and two others came to the drive-thru window to ask me questions about it,” Kruggel said. “She asked if it was hard trying to lip-read when they had a $ 35.00 ‘Yeah, it’s near impossible.’” 1 mask Year on. 50I said, $ 85 masks are not the only problem 2 Years COVID

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for Arizona’s deaf and hard-of-hearing community these days. ALOHA President Karl Hallsten said the pandemic has “only made a bad situation worse.” He too received cochlear implants but said they only have an effective range of a few feet. Today’s six-foot social distancing guidelines are putting many from Hallsten’s community out of range for everyday conversation, he said. “The best cochlear implants have an effective range of three to six feet. Why is that? Because it’s like a P.A. system. How far you are from the microphone matters,” Hallsten said. “Social distancing puts us out of range.” Another issue Hallsten points out is the difficulty of wearing a COVID mask with cochlear implants. The implant is stationed behind the ear and typically uses a hearing aid device as a microphone that sits in and around the ear. There isn’t much room for anything else, Hallsten said. “The masks are more difficult for us to wear because I might have run out of real estate behind my ear,” Hallsten said. “I have big cochlear processors and I have my glasses. Now I’m going to put something else back there and try not to get it tangled up?”

While the masks may be cumbersome for those with cochlear implants, they are still vital to protect his community, Hallsten said. ALOHA put in an order for special masks that use clear plastic to expose the mouth area which helps aid speech-reading. The only problem is the COVID masks—like most PPE—are on backorder and the group doesn’t know when they’ll arrive. “ALOHA ordered some and the first thing we heard was they would be in sometime in June. I just saw the other day on their website they were way behind on the June order,” Hallsten said. “I’m hoping we might actually get them before the pandemic is over.” Kruggel said when the group does receive its PPE, he hopes the community will take notice of these special clear COVID masks to become more aware of their situation during the pandemic and after. More than 1.1 million Arizonans are deaf or hard-of-hearing, according to the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard-ofHearing. “If we could start seeing more (clear masks) during the pandemic, then hopefully they will realize the importance of our situation in the future,” Kruggel said. ■

JUNE 11, 2020

DANEHY

MASKS, PROTESTS AND EVEN A KIND WORD FOR GEORGE WILL: WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE By Tom Danehy, tucsonweekly@tucsonlocalmedia.com WE ARE BLESSED AND CURSED to live in very interesting times. Some notes from the Pandemic/Protests: I wear a mask in public and, to be perfectly honest, part of why I do so is that I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a Trump supporter. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve got The Look—old, fat, white, bald, kind of a blank stare. The only things missing are a Hawaiian shirt and an assault weapon. I don’t enjoy wearing the mask, but I do it. Having suffered multiple broken noses in my completely unexceptional athletic career, I developed into a mouth-breather over time. I am immediately uncomfortable when I put the mask on and, as my breathing becomes more and more irregular, I blow air up into my eyeballs. What keeps me going are the stares of derision I get from people who look like me as they realize that I don’t share in their worship of the would-be dictator. Two quick mask stories: I went into Sprouts the other day and every single person in the store was wearing a mask. It was cool. But then I got different stares, as in “Why is this obvious Trump guy trying to infiltrate our healthy environment?”

CLAYTOONZ By Clay Jones

I mean, geez, I just wanted to get some strawberries. One thing I learned while I was there was that the aisles off to the side of the vast produce section aren’t really designed for a fat person (and definitely not for two). The other night, my son and his buddies were going to play Halo or some other video game, so I was dispatched to a wing place to pick up the sustenance for what promised to be a long evening. The place didn’t have curbside service, so I went in to pick up the order. When I walked in, I saw an African-American guy with whom I used to play City League basketball 20 years ago (before time, gravity, and the ravages of a fried-chicken diet took their inevitable toll). We chatted for a while and then he asked me why I was wearing a mask. I laughed, “I just want to make sure I live long enough to see Trump get his ass beat in November.” Another guy who was standing off to the side rather clumsily entered the conversation with, “I’m voting for Trump!” I said, “Well, that’s certainly your right. You and I will cancel each other out, so that leaves it to (my friend) Ray to break

the tie.” Ray laughed, anyway. The guy said, “Well, why wouldn’t you vote for Trump?” (The Look, yet again.) I said, “Well, I know and get along with black people, so there’s that…” Kudos to Jim Click. Over the past couple months, he has helped to prop up Arizona Daily Star by taking out full twopage ads almost every day, and (much more importantly) by offering free oil changes to all of the front-line workers. It was a classy move. The late Emil Franzi used to tell me that Jim Click’s politics were somewhere to the right of Attila The Hun, but I really don’t care. He does many good things for this community. My only regret is that he has never owned a Honda dealership. Having lived through turbulent times and being secure in my belief that protesting is patriotism played out in public, I’m happy to see young people taking to the streets. Oh, there will always be the handful of knuckleheads who try to ruin it for everybody. They lack common sense and discipline. When I was growing up, they’re the ones about whom we would say, “They ain’t got no mama.” All they do is give the pathetic right-wing talkers some crumbs on which to nibble. A sad example thereof is the young woman who had a college scholarship to play lacrosse at Marquette. Apparently thinking that she was being cute or bold or something, she posted on social media, “Some ppl think it’s ok to (expletive)

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kneel during the national anthem so it’s (also) ok to kneel on someone’s head. come at me. y’all brainwashed.” It did show the magic of the internet, because in an instant, her four-year scholarship vanished into thin air. To its credit, Marquette came at her. I have always read George Will, even when I vehemently disagreed with his position (which was most of the time). But he’s so good at what he does. He does great research and carefully builds his case. Plus, he’s almost as good at moving words around as Eminem is. Quite impressively, he refused to renounce his conservative beliefs and quit the Republican Party rather than jump on the Trump Cult Bandwagon. Last week, he wrote a column about how it will not be enough to vote Trump out of office in November. He added, “Voters must dispatch his congressional enablers, especially the senators who still gambol around his ankles with a canine hunger for petting.” Wow, that’s some serious Slim Shade. He finished it off with something from T.S. Eliot, who foresaw the silent sycophants who lust for power colors their every move (and lack thereof): We are the hollow men ... Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass or rats’ feet over broken glass.. ■

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JUNE 11, 2020

Story & photos by Brian Smith

DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER CONSTABLE BENNETT BERNAL has stories of the broken and the dead. He arrived alone to a trailer park one day to serve a woman an eviction notice. He knocked on the trailer door, no answer. Moments later he entered the place using the landlord’s key. The tin-foiled windows made everything dark so he flicked on his flashlight. A window air-conditioner humming in the back bedroom meant the power wasn’t shut off. Thank god, he thought. Still, the trailer’s interior, grim and private, smelled foul like raw meat in a dead refrigerator. He shone his light toward the bedroom and the mannequin on the bed had the same comforter he owns, the very one he uses for his sole companions, dogs Zeus and Nation. Weird. He stepped closer, swore to himself it was a mannequin on the bed, its dark-circled eyes and black-and-white face looked painted on, a prop for some other horror show. Closer still and he saw the small-caliber gun, clutched in the mannequin’s hand, up and parallel to her head. The poor thirtysomething woman, who he had hoped to help, is cold and dead. Even the coroner said later she looked mannequinesque, strange and kept. Must have been the airconditioner. A suicide ride, and Bernal was shattered. That was his third day as a constable, nine years ago. I AM RIDING SHOTGUN TO the constable and we pull up to an apartment complex on a hot June morning and he asks if I want to slip on his bulletproof vest. “If you don’t, I will,” he says. You need it more, I say. We see a trio of tight-faced Oro Valley detectives waiting at the apartment office, one woman, two gents, all wearing vests. It is a faceless stucco tenement on Yavapai Street in

a dispossessed section of Tucson. The detectives are here to arrest a woman, said to be squatting in the same apartment in which Bernal is serving a final eviction. There might be guns, dogs. The complex manager tells us people go in and out all hours, “drug activity.” We walk around to the back of the complex, arrive at the apartment door. Constable Bernal begins pounding on it, shouting “Larry, open the door.” No response. He pounds some more. Nada. I’ve hidden from eviction folks before in my life, so I know the drill, at least the part about hiding inside until the knocking goes away. But this guy and wanted woman have been squatting here since February. They are not going away. The detectives position themselves at three separate points, 10 feet back from the door. One tells me he’d feel better if I stood behind an exterior wall. You never know, a single shotgun blast to a vest-free chest. Finally, Bernal inserts the door key but the lock has been changed. The manager appears with a drill but the lock won’t budge, so Bernal pushes his full limbs in through the window and falls inside, things topple over. The door opens. Cops enter. No one home. All clear. The interior shows a place flagrant with need, its silence a breathing thing of desperation. A soiled red-velvet chair and a table hosting an unopened mini-box of Corn Pops. A dirty COVID-19 mask on the un-swept floor, a dark and disheveled African tapestry of sundry animals covers a wall. A bookshelf holding a single high-top sneaker occupies an otherwise empty dirty bedroom. You can smell shed skin of the anxious, almost taste the DNA. The apartment as a quick metaphor for busted times: the Great Depression-rivaling unemployment rate, the 110k dead, a country burning, an illiterate racist Mook-In-

Bernal is a kind of conduit between the poor and the law gatekeepers.

Chief, a vacancy of soul. This one-bedroom apartment is America doing great again. BERNAL IS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL with a bulletproof vest. He is a constable, an elected county peace officer in Justice Precinct 6, one of 10 constables in Pima County. Essentially a constable serves civil and criminal papers from Pima Justice Court and attendant agencies. He is not a law-enforcement officer, he tells me. Yes, his work is divided up serving criminal summons for court appearances, civil infractions, orders of protection, as well as evictions notices. Much of his is shoe-leather work, knocking on door after door to experience despair face-to-face. He is a person no one wants to have knocking on their door, because he is the person who brings bad news. He knows this. He tells of one crazy who came at him with a baseball bat, the one time Bernal drew his weapon, and he was scared. He has his share of enemies too, namely landlords. But here is the thing: Bernal’s work extends well beyond the constable job description, every day of the week and many nights. He works with (and for) the ill, the mentally challenged, the addicted, the unemployed, the broken, while negotiating strict rules and sometimes arrogant judges on

behalf of said undeserving, the redtape of state statutes and funding. His working relationships with all manner of organizations run deep, from fight-the-good-fight nonprofits such as the Gospel Rescue Mission and the Old Pueblo Community Services to the federally funded Tucson Section 8 Housing Program and many others. The dozens of animal-rescue organizations. It is nonstop effort with no seeming center, and no endgame in sight except saving people from homelessness. We are riding in Bernal’s gray Hyundai midsize. He wears black tactical pants, and his badge hangs over his heart. His shorn gray-black hair presses flat to his head and forms spiked bangs over a widow’s peak and a rich brown forehead. He has the kind of expression that suggests he’s about to tell a joke and I’m forever waiting for one. I’m guessing his face helps in his work. He sips from his unsweetened iced tea, makes a turn, and says, “Poor people deserve better.” He adds, “The process itself is not working.” He will go off on specific people not doing their jobs, a few cops or judges or landlords. It stands to reason; those types get in his way. To balance, he’ll credit the good ones, and there are many. He boils his work down to a simple essence: He only wants to help people,

JUNE 11, 2020

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Bernal and his baby: Jacob’s Park in Tucson.

he loves people. I’d call bullshit on most anyone else saying that in such work, the PR gab, but I believe him. I’ve seen it. Folks who know him and work with him say the same goddamned thing. He sees his role as vessel for help rather than an enforcer of laws, and has been known to push boundaries of those laws to delay evictions of those in need, doing right in lieu of the expedient. Terry Galligan is the deputy director of the City of Tucson’s Housing and Community Development Department, after years spent grant writing and directly helping the homeless with Old Pueblo Community Services. Galligan met Bernal 20 years ago when Bernal was a City Council aide. He doesn’t see Bernal in the traditional role of constable, just serving papers, getting people out. “He’s more advocacy, helping to head off the evictions,” he says. “But he is not naïve. If someone is selling drugs he’s not going to help them keep their apartment.” Bernal, along with other Pima County constables, including Indivisible Tucson organizer Kristen Randall and former political reporter Joe Ferguson, represent a new breed of local constables, a kind of social worker tuned into needs of the hurting who

listen to understand the problems and establish solutions inside a fairly complex set of rules, ordinances, routes to aide and grayer areas of discretion. Bernal is a kind of conduit between the poor and law gatekeepers. “It is in their best interest to go to court to help get resources and a stay of eviction,” he says. “A huge percentage of the people who get evicted don’t go to court.” Last year the constable’s office implemented an effort called “minute entries,” which means hand-delivered pamphlets for community services and advance court notices so people are better prepared for an eviction, which can happen in a matter of days in Arizona. Right now, in the coronavirus era, if a tenant proves COVID-19 hardships or conditions that make them susceptible, or cares for a home-bound school-age child, they could get a reprieve under Gov. Ducey’s short-sighted executive order, delaying eviction enforcement until July 22. But there are forms to fill out and proof to provide, which isn’t easy for some. Between mid-March and June 1, Bernal served no evictions due to the pandemic unless there was proof of criminal activity or damage to the property. Beginning June 1, he had to

begin serving notices to those who have not qualified for the Ducey order. He knows the handful of situations and names in his district of those in danger of eviction right now, the few evicted have secured places to go. Problem is, Bernal elaborates, there is a confusing amount of paperwork for eviction prevention, pandemic or no, and now an agonizing long wait for financial assistance and a backlog of applications, and many, including some we talked to today, are only just now receiving their unemployment checks, after waiting weeks or months. This after the $1.4 billion pumped into unemployment assistance through the state’s Department of Economic Security. Long waits for assistance, Bernal adds, need to be communicated to landlords. He knows and works with many, the good ones, as well as the mercenary ones who don’t want to deal with this. Worse, a tenant’s unpaid rent will be due when Ducey’s order expires, unless a landlord steps in and negotiates. The shit hits the fan on July 23 and Bernal’s job will get much more difficult. June and July 2019 in Pima County there were 656 total evictions, now it’s on track to be a few hundred more, even with the pandemic moratorium.

“You know what?” he says. “That is another story. I am hopeful, though. You got the city working on things, the county, the state and new federal funding, the non-profits. And the landlords.” “We need to learn from this pandemic,” he adds. “What we need is more time. There needs to be state statute that allows more time for the evicted. It would save so many from losing their homes. Everybody needs to play a part in this.” Fear is the best motivator, he tells me, if a landlord loses 10 tenants, and then 10 more, and then 10 more… “They don’t want to see people leaving, who’s going to fill in the gaps? The landlords are smart, they know the numbers, they are better served working with the tenants.” But tenants behind in payments will be kicked out on July 23, as it stands now. This is a fraction of the news Bernal delivers today. And I’m shocked at the number of people facing eviction now unaware of Ducey’s order, but who easily qualify. Bernal is not surprised. It fuels his work. One of his concentrated areas, Ward 3, is an impoverished section of Tucson that includes the North Oracle Road corridor and areas between Stone and CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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First Avenue. He estimates the rental properties are split 50-50 between family owned and corporate owned. The family-owned ones are suffering too. In the hours I accompany him, it is a vaudeville of driving, parking and knocking in those dispossessed Tucson neighborhoods, no bulletproof vest needed. The weight of the stories and humanity he faces each day, each hour, this close-up view into a preventable aspect of the wretched nature of the world, would be an emotional burden of godless proportion for anyone. A dread wells up inside me before each door. Bernal steps in an unjaded gait. He says he would never evict a single mother or elderly person, there is always a way to get them shelter. BERNAL GREW UP ON TUCSON’S southside, a kid of Mexican, Yaqui and Irish descent, and never knew he was poor until he found work as a teen in the late 1970s, starting as a dishwasher at the Tucson Racquet Club. He would bring home food others would throw away, dubbed himself “the human disposal,” and he was appalled at the crap privileged kids would leave behind, pricey kicks and tennis racquets, clothing and jewelry. The haves and the have nots. From there he met folks, landed his first community work, constituent service, for the storied Ed Moore, the former Pima County supervisor, in 1993. He went on to work for many others, including City Council members Paul Cunningham and Kathleen Dunbar, and sweated one-on-one with neighborhood associations. He worked with tenants to solve problems, such as adding streetlights in dark neighborhoods (“You have no idea what one has to go through to get even streetlights”), getting electrical and plumbing structures up-to-date, working inside community-investment programs to help countless folks, including native tribes battling obesity and diabetes, even organizing chess clubs. His accomplishment list of service is endless. Bernal never got on with his old man, a tough ex-Marine and sheriff’s deputy abusive to his librarian mother. He spent much time growing up with his grandma on 22nd Street directly across from Santa Rita park. Watching his

Bernal affixes paperwork to tenant door.

father’s treatment of his mother helped him develop empathy for abandoned or abused mothers. Cirrhosis got his grandfather, who, prior to his death, made the young Bernal promise, at age 9, to never drink. Bernal kept his pledge, a lifelong teetotaler. He learned certain kindnesses at a tender age. His grandparents were always feeding folks in the neighborhood. Though they never had much, “We always had beans and tortillas.” He had baseball, football and basketball across the street at the park. “It was heaven.” It’s not that trouble never found him as a kid, he was just never arrested. Bernal was bused to Catalina High and graduated, attended Pima Community and UA but left for public service. His knowledge of the nuances, the nooks and crannies and people of interior Tucson, the hardened and the broken, could never be schooled. He was born in Tucson and never left: “I never wanted to live anywhere else.” His career dream? To become a city councilman. HIS CELLPHONE RINGS AND it is on speaker, a woman with a shaky voice hardened into aggressiveness. She is confused and frightened about the eviction paperwork he left on her

door. She is not well, a fissure in her intestines complicated by whooping cough, immune-system compromised. He talks her calmly through the steps, the health checklist he left with her and Ducey’s executive order, the note she needs from her doctor, her court date, all in a calibrated work lingo tinted with concern. The sound of his voice calms her, the unsaid understanding Bernal is on her side. By call’s end, she thanks him, profusely. We are facing a couple in the open doorway of their apartment. The pressurized interior, the trapped lives, despair, fear and agitation. A shirtless dad with a chest-length beard and toddler at his knees, the nervous wife who lost her caretaking job due to the pandemic. A prepubescent boy peers through a gap in the blinds, his hands flat against the smudged window, as if hoping for Santa Claus. They are a banana-peel slip from homelessness. She just received a long-delayed unemployment check and their eviction was postponed. Bernal facilitated their communication with the landlord. He reiterates their need to contact the court to let them know an arrangement is in place. They will, they say, nodding. I watch their faces downshift from distress to something resembling joy, which I see as relief. It is easy to catalog this couple’s

circumstantial shortcomings and it would be easier for Bernal to tell this family everything will be great, a lie they would be grateful for. But it might not be OK. A soothing fib will only come back and bite him. He won’t lie, a rosy scenario will not help these situations. Another call reveals the ongoing saga of the woman with cerebral palsy and sundry health issues with a young daughter and a partner with drug problems and severe type-1 diabetes, and a roach infestation. The complaint from a landlord’s lawyer about Bernal to the Constable Ethics Standards and Training Board involves a judge’s rule of eviction “in the name of justice”— thereby circumventing Ducey’s stay of eviction order, all because of the roaches. It is an ugly scenario, and Bernal is pissed. For one thing, their health issues qualify them under Ducey’s COVID-19 order. “Until the judge comes to this woman’s place and sees for himself,” Bernal says, “I’m not touching these people.” When Bernal assessed their place, he worked to get the exterminators, “it took all of 30 seconds.” Beyond the humane, Bernal asks himself aloud, what if this woman dies if we evict her? He knows his stance on such moral dilemma. He adds, “Anybody can do the job of kicking people out, this is about getting things done.” We drive over to Jacobs Park in Tucson, which was a grassy field until Bernal got his hands on it in the early aughts, as a lowly aide to Tucson Councilwoman Dunbar. This park represents him only trying to help, with no financial reward. He led the way in the park’s total rebirth, which may not sound like much to a jaundiced ear, but it took a herculean effort, a few years and some desperate optimism on his part to put this three-tier project together. Tucson’s first wheelchair accessible park features a modern swimming pool, a well-lighted Little League park which took Arizona Diamondbacks funding, myriad playground gear courtesy of the Catalina Rotary Club. “This is my baby,” he tells me. It is his baby. The park is a physical manifestation of his adult life. No wife or partner, no children, only his dogs Zeus and Nation, and the people he serves. ■

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CHOW MARKET FORCES By Austin Counts austin@tucsonlocalmedia.com FANS OF RINCON MARKET MAY soon have their gourmet bodega back. In spite of being locked out of the building, market owner Peter Wilke said, “This is essentially an ongoing negotiation.” Last week, Tucson’s food-loving social media pundits exploded with sadness and confusion after learning the beloved grocery store—a fixture in the Historic Sam Hughes Neighborhood since 1926—closed over non-payment of rent. A lock-out notice posted the market’s door served as an inanimate envoy of the landlord, Monforte, L.L.C. Wilke declined to comment further about the negotiations and requests for comment from the landlord remain unanswered. Wilke, who also owns Time Market on University Boulevard, acquired Rincon Market in Spring 2018. The owner said he hopes to have Time Market reopened by the end of the week. Both Time Market and Rincon Market closed in March, adhering to Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive order to combat the coronavirus pandemic. While Ducey lifted the order on May 12, Wilke’s markets have remained closed with no set reopening date, he said. Let’s hope the negotiations go well—Rincon Market had the freshest seafood and one of the most exquisite salad bars in the Old Pueblo. ■

JEFF GARDNER

Local restaurants like Wildflower are reopening with new dishes and precautions.

By Jeff Gardner jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com As businesses slowly get back to (the new) normal, we’ll be highlighting local restaurants that are reopening, as well as talking about what new foods and regulations they have. If you have news about restaurants reopening, email jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Wildflower. With reworked dining areas, Fox concept’s Wildflower American Cuisine is open for dine-in service one more. However, they are still offering curbside pick-up and delivery options as well. Part of that to-go eating is their new Family Meal, which includes lasagna bolognese, heirloom tomato salad, garlic bread, and butterscotch cream cake with vanilla gelato, all for $50. Plus, all bottles of wine and beer and 50 percent off when ordering to-go. Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. (520) 219-4230. 7037 N. Oracle Road.

Tamarind. The Northside’s Indian restaurant is open for dine-in, offering meat, vegetarian and vegan dishes. Elliott’s On Congress. This downtown eatery They’re back cooking their favorite dishes like chicken reopened with a new menu and hours, but are still biryani, chili paneer, tandoori tava mushroom, shrimp offering many guest favorites. The menu includes a curry and lamb sheek kebab. Dine-in hours are 5 to wide variety of burgers and sandwiches, such as the 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 5 to 9 p.m. jalapeño-bacon cheeseburger, the patty melt, the Buffalo Friday through Sunday. Delivery and takeout are still bleu cheeseburger, salmon BLT and fried shrimp po’ available 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. boy. They’re also bringing back their infused vodka by every day. (520) 797-7799. 7265 N. La Cholla Blvd. the bottle to-go, jugs of Mexican Candy shots. Elliott’s is open for dining in, takeout, or curbside pickup. 4 to 10 Caruso’s Italian Restaurant. Fourth Ave’s p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. 135 E. Congress St. Italian eatery is open for dine-in with a few updates. Mama Louisa’s. While their do-it-yourself salad bar is gone, Mama Louisa’s is still offering side salads and soups for dine-in. They are still operating a pasta bar with pesto, alfredo, marinara and meatball sauces, because it is operated and served by an employee. Their dining room has also been rearranged for social distancing; no parties larger than 10 are allowed. And while they were closed, Mama Louisa’s also took the opportunity to repaint the restaurant and tables, and added new lighting. And for the first time, they’re offering their pasta bar to go: choose two different pasta dishes, a soup and a side salad for $9.75. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. throughout the week. (520) 790-4702. 2041 S. Craycroft Road.

Dine-in services are only provided through reservations and call-ahead, and their capacity is reduced for social distancing. They are still offering their famous “spaghetti, ravioli, chicken, veal, pizza pie,” but some items will not be available due to product availability, popularity and prep time. So when you call ahead to reserve, see if they are serving the foods you want. Also, physical menus have been removed, but you can access the menu online. Their hours are tentatively: 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. (520) 624-5765. 434 N. Fourth Ave. Frog & Firkin. Frog and Firkin is open for dine-in eating and hosting local musicians on their patios once again. However, if you’re not ready for dining it, they’re still operating curbside pickup and free delivery daily from 4 to 8 p.m. Their special delivery/pickup menu includes classics like their chicken and bacon sandwich, the avocado and havarti burger, the chicken and bleu cheese pizza, the Mediterranean salad, and fish & chips. (520) 623–7507. 874 E. University Blvd. ■

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JUNE 11, 2020

END PROHIBITION Legalizing cannabis in November can help equalize racial disparity

By Nick Meyers tucsonweekly@tucsonlocalmedia.com WITH LAST WEEK’S FOCUS on protests over police brutality, writing this week’s column about anything else feels remiss. But as a white guy, the last thing anyone needs is a lecture from me on racism. What the cannabis community might need is the reminder that the fight to end prohibition is part of the same fight

Black Lives Matter has been fighting since its inception. Peppering the crowds at BLM rallies you’ll see signs that read “tu lucha es mi lucha.” It’s a powerful demonstration of solidarity, as are the rallies themselves. But beyond the sentiment lies a deeper truth. The societal, political and economic barriers black people in this country have faced for centuries affect many of the rest of us, too. While racial equality is the cornerstone of BLM, there are at least parts of the movement the rest of us can support and benefit from as well. Black people are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis than white people, according to the American

JUNE 11, 2020

Civil Liberties Union’s 110-page report on racial disparity in cannabis law enforcement released in April. In Arizona, black people are 3.04 times as likely to get arrested for cannabis, an increased rate since 2010. In Montana and Kentucky, they’re more than nine times more likely. Seven of Arizona’s counties had rates higher than the national average. The worst were Mohave, Navajo and Maricopa, which had rates of 4.14, 4.1 and 3.89, respectively. Though the report indicates cannabis possession arrests have decreased compared to other drug arrests, they still make up 43 percent of all drug arrests in Arizona. But the report also demonstrates that the legality of cannabis is only part of the problem. Racial disparity in cannabis arrests maintain even after legalization, though lower. Black people were still 1.72 times more likely in legal states and still 3.02 times more likely in decriminalized states to get arrested for cannabis. Though the cannabis industry has a long way to go in rectifying economic racial disparities, we have a chance in November to make massive strides in addressing legal disparity.

A poll released June 1 by Highground Public Affairs Consultants showed 65.5% of voters would “probably” or “definitely” vote for the Smart and Safe Arizona Act in November. That includes a little more than 80% of Democrats and independents. (The margin of error is 4.9%.) As might be expected though, Republicans came in a little lower at 56.5%. While it’s incredible more than half of Republican voters might support cannabis legalization, it just goes to show how deeply rooted anti-cannabis sentiments are in the party. While prohibitionists may pretend to stand on the moral high ground, there are clear lines of racial impetus for the war on drugs in the Nixon White House. Accounts vary in exactly how big of a role race played in Nixon’s policy, but he was a well-known racist, and drug policy has disproportionately affected black people in the past 50 years. When Black Lives Matter starts talking about a political system designed to oppress racial minorities, this is what they’re talking about. Cannabis prohibition is a painfully small part of that system, but part of it, nonetheless. Voting won’t solve every problem, but it can make a big difference in this one. ■

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TUCSONWEEKLY.COM

JUNE 11, 2020

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

By Rob Brezsny. Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY HOROSCOPE 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700 $1.99 per minute. 18 and over. Touchtone phone required.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): During her 90 years on the planet, actor and singer Marlene Dietrich reinvented herself numerous times. She had superb insight into the nature of shifting rhythms, and a knack for gauging the right moment to adapt and transform. Good timing, she said, came naturally to people like her, as well as for “aerialists, jugglers, diplomats, publicists, generals, prize-fighters, revolutionists, financiers, and lovers.” I would add one further category to her list: the Aries tribe. Make maximum use of your talent in the coming weeks. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Author and theologian Frederick Buechner writes, “There is treasure buried in the field of every one of our days, even the bleakest or dullest, and it is our business to keep our eyes peeled for it.” In alignment with current astrological potentials, Taurus, I’ll name that as your key theme. More than usual, breakthroughs and revelations and catalysts are likely to be available to you in the midst of the daily slog—even when you’re feeling bored. Make it your business to be on high alert for them. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): According to novelist Octavia E. Butler, “Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you’re afraid and full of doubts.” That’s what I wish for you in the coming weeks, Gemini: positive obsession. It’s also what I expect! My analysis of the astrological omens suggests that you will have the pluck and craftiness necessary to veer away from murky, disturbing versions of obsession. Instead, you’ll embrace the exhilarating kind of obsession that buoys your spirit in moments of uncertainty. I foresee you making progress on your most important labor of love. CANCER (June 21-July 22): William Thomson, also known as Lord Kelvin (1824–1907), was a Cancerian physicist and mathematician who contributed to the understanding of thermodynamics and other

areas of scientific and engineering knowledge. Despite his considerable intelligence, however, he was myopic about the possibility that humans might one day fly through the air while seated inside of machines. In a 1902 interview—a year before the Wright Brothers’ breakthrough experiment—he declared, “No aeroplane will ever be successful.” I suspect you could be on the verge of passing through a Lord Kelvin phase, Cancerian. You may at times be highly insightful and at other times curiously mistaken. So I urge you to be humbly confident and confidently humble! LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Author Marianne Williamson tells us, “Spiritual growth involves giving up the stories of your past so the universe can write a new one.” And what exactly does it mean to “give up the stories of your past”? Here’s what I think: 1. Don’t assume that experiences you’ve had before will be repeated in the future. 2. Don’t assume that your ideas about the nature of your destiny will always be true. 3. Even good things that have happened before may be small and limited compared to the good things that could happen for you in the years to come. 4. Fully embrace the truth that the inherent nature of existence is endless transformation—which is why it’s right and natural for you to ceaselessly outgrow the old plot lines of your life story and embrace new ones. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Philosopher and astrologer Marsilio Ficino wrote, “Mortals ask God for good things every day, but they never pray that they may make good use of them.” I hope that in the coming weeks, you Virgos will disprove that cynical view of human beings. As I see it, you will be more likely than usual to actually receive the blessings you ask for. And I hope—in fact, I predict—that when you receive the blessings, you will then aggressively seek the help of God or Life or your deepest wisdom to make good use of them.

SAVAGE LOVE STREAMERS

By Dan Savage, mail@savagelove.net

Hey, Everybody: We had our first Savage Love Livestream event last Thursday night and I had such a blast! A huge crowd of Savage Love readers and Savage Lovecast listeners got together on Zoom for a live online Q&A that raised more than $14,000 for Northwest Harvest, an organization that supports food banks in my home state. I got more questions than I could answer in our allotted time and so I’m going to answer as many as I can squeeze into this week’s column. Here we go… Is it a red flag or sign of deeper attachment or commitment issues if your long-term partner never tells you he loves you?

I’ve heard people describe relationships that were three months old as “LTRs.” Assuming you’re not one of those people— assuming you’ve been with this guy for more than a year—and you’ve already said “I love you” to him and he hasn’t said it back, well, that’s a bad sign. But I wouldn’t describe it as a red flag. Early warning signs for physical or emotional abuse are red flags; not hearing “I love you” from someone you’d like to hear that from does suck, I know (because I’ve been there), but it’s not a sign that you’re in danger, girl. It’s also not proof your partner has attachment or commitment issues; he just might not

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I was hiking under a blue sky in a favorite natural location: the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just north of San Francisco, where sublime vistas provide views of ocean and mountain. Although I was in a good mood, at one point I spied empty Budweiser cans amidst the wild jewelflowers. “What kind of nature-hater was so careless as to despoil this wonderland”? I fumed. For a few moments I was consumed with rage and forgot where I was. By the time I recovered my bearings, the bobcat and red-tailed hawk I’d previously been observing had disappeared. That made me sad. My anger was justified but wasteful, irrelevant, and distracting. It caused me to lose touch with some glorious beauty. Don’t be like me in the coming days, Libra. Keep your eyes on the prize. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “I have more memories than if I were a thousand years old,” wrote poet Charles Baudelaire. Was he bragging or complaining? Did the weight of his past feel like a burden or did it exhilarate him and dynamize his creative powers? I’m hoping that in the coming weeks your explorations of your past will feel far more like the latter—a gift and blessing that helps you understand aspects of your history that have always been mysterious or murky. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’re primed to navigate your way through a sweetly gritty, tenderly transformative, epically meaningful turning point in the history of your relationship with your favorite collaborator or collaborators. If that sounds too intense, you could at least accomplish an interesting, stimulating, educational shift in the way you fit together with your best ally or allies. It’s up to you, Sagittarius. How much love and intimacy and synergy can you handle? I won’t judge you harshly if you’d prefer to seek the milder version of deepening right now. Besides, you’ll probably get a chance to go further later this year. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Actor Emma Thompson tells us, “I wish I wouldn’t have to say this, but I really like human beings who have

be interested in attaching or committing to you. But whatever the case might be, if you’re unhappy being with someone who can’t bring himself to say “I love you” then you shouldn’t be with that person. Is there a safe way to date/be slutty now? Will there ever be again? I’m poly but live alone so I haven’t had sex in twelve weeks. HELP! While health officials in most places are urging all to only have sex with people we live with—mom and dad excepted—over in the Netherlands health officials are advising single and horny Dutch people to find “sex buddies.” One sex buddy per person, someone you can meet up with for sex, ideally someone who isn’t interacting with too many other people. If you can

suffered. They’re kinder.” Adding to what she observes, I’ll say that for many people, their suffering has also made them smarter and more soulful and more compassionate. Not always, but often, it’s the pain they’ve suffered that has helped turn them into thoughtful companions who know how to nourish others. I urge you to make a special point to converse with people like this in the near future. In my estimation, you will benefit from intense doses of empathetic nurturing. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Lake Elsinore is a city in southwestern California. Last spring, torrential rains there caused a “superbloom” of poppies. Millions of the golden-orange wildflowers covered many acres of Walker Canyon. They attracted another outbreak of beauty: thousands of painted lady butterflies, which came to visit. The magnificent explosion was so vast, it was visible from a satellite high above the earth. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re experiencing a metaphorical superbloom of your own right now, Aquarius. I hope you will find constructive ways to channel that gorgeous fertility. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Lucumi is an AfroAmerican religion with Yoruban roots. Its practitioners worship their ancestors, and seek regular contact and communion with them. According to Lucumi priestess Luisah Teish, “Sometimes the ancestors deem certain information so important that they send it to the subconscious mind without being consciously asked.” It’s my belief that all of us, whether or not we’re members of the Lucumi religion, can be in touch with the spirits of our ancestors if we would like to be—and receive useful guidance and insight from them. The coming weeks will be a time when you Pisceans are especially likely to enjoy this breakthrough. It’s more likely to happen if you have an intention to instigate it, but it may come to pass even if you don’t seek it. ■ Homework: This devastating moment in history has the redemptive effect of calling forth our deepest longings to care for each other. Do you agree? RealAstrology.com.

find someone you trust—and if you are someone who can be trusted—you could go Dutch. My fiancé has an ex-girlfriend who just can’t let it go. He’s blocked her on social media but his mother still follows his ex and is friends with her and they interact at least monthly. Likes, comments, etc. Can I address the issue with his mom or is that just somewhere you don’t go? Why are you monitoring your fiancé’s ex-girlfriend’s social media? I mean, if you weren’t lurking on her Instagram, you wouldn’t know your future MIL is liking and commenting on her photos. You fiancé’s mom is an adult and she can follow anyone she likes on Instagram. And if you don’t want her to think you’re the toxic

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One shouldn’t share a toy one hasn’t cleaned—and one should make sure one’s toys aren’t made of porous materials that are hard or impossible to clean. But if one has, say, a silicone toy that can be run through a dishwasher, well, one can share that toy. A fluid-bonded couple can safely share toys during sex, of course, so long as toys aren’t going from assholes to vaginas between cleanings. You also shouldn’t put a dildo in your spouse and then turn stick it in your very special guest star. But if you obey those simple rules—clean toys, no ass-to-vag, no used toys in thirds or toys used by thirds in primaries—it’s safe to share your toys.

one, you won’t address this with her. Be the change you wanna see in your fiancé’s ex: let it go. I’ve always wanted to know more about your history with circumcision. My history with circumcision isn’t that interesting: I was present at one circumcision (my own), I’ve never performed a circumcision (that I recall), and I’ve encountered both circumcised and uncircumcised dicks in the wild (enjoyed them all). My wife and I are lesbians who just found out we’re having a baby boy! We’re super excited but had some penis questions. My wife wants to circumcise our son because she says that if he’s uncircumcised he’ll get made fun of in the locker room. Does this happen? How often do boys look at each other’s dicks growing up? The circumcision rate among newborn boys has been falling for decades and now only a little more than half of boys are circumcised at birth. So even if boys were comparing their dicks in locker rooms—and they’re not—your son won’t be alone. And for the record: the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend the procedure and the supposed health benefits—a lower risk for urinary tract infections and a lower risk for some sexually transmitted infections—aren’t a convincing argument in favor of the routine circumcision of male infants. And while the complication rate is low (1.5%), those complications can range from easily treatable infections to “amputation of the glans,” “necrosis of the penis,” and “death.” Risking your son’s life and most important limb to spare him a moment’s awkwardness in a locker room seems unreasonable to me— particularly since your son can’t consent. My partner wants me (F) to peg him! Hooray! Any advice? He is very hot! Thanks! You rock! He should douche! Plenty of lube! Take it slow! Film it for HUMP! I’m a bisexual male in California. When is the right time to tell someone I just started dating that I’m bisexual? And how? Mention your bisexuality on dating apps—which is where most couples meet

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these days—and you won’t have to tell someone you’re bisexual after you’ve started dating them. If you meet someone the old fashioned way (school, work, through friends), tell ‘em right away. It’s nothing you should be ashamed of or have to roll out carefully. And being with someone can’t embrace and celebrate your sexuality is bad for your mental health; the more out you are about being bi, the lower your odds of winding up with someone who has a problem with it. It ups your odds of winding up with someone who fetishizes your bisexuality, of course, but if you had to choose between a partner who disapproves (and polices) and a partner who drools (and wants to watch), you’re gonna way better off with the droolers. Cis poly woman here. My quarantine sexpod contains me and my two male partners. We’ll call them A and B. My partner B has another female partner that we’ll call C. Since we’re already “connected” anyway, would it change anything for me to have a threesome with B and C? If B is fucking C and then coming home and fucking you and then you’re running down the hall to A, then C is essentially already in your sexpod. The bigger your sexpod, the more people you’re in contact with, the greater your risk of contracting and/or spreading COVID-19. Ideally C would move in with you and A and B if you’re all going to be fucking each other. But not having a threesome

with B and C while B is out there fucking C won’t protect you and A from whatever B might bring home from C. Gay black male from NYC here. Two months ago I lost my partner of seventeen years to COVID19. I have a pretty strong support system but it’s really hitting me really hard right now because my partner was very politically active and supportive of the struggles of black and brown people. I’ve been in therapy but any suggestions or resources for how to deal with such a loss in the midst of all this chaos? I’m so sorry for your loss—and I apologize for not spotting your question during the show. I’m glad you have a strong support system and that you’re working with a therapist. If you need more support, your therapist should be able to refer you to an online grief support group. And I’ll just add… grief isn’t something we “deal with” and then we’re done. It’s something we carry with us. And in my experience time doesn’t lighten the load. Still, the longer we walk with it, the stronger we get, and the lighter it feels. My heart goes out to you. Longtime listener and magnum subscriber! We will keep this short: We are in a happy monogamish marriage and have heard one is not supposed to share toys under any circumstances. What are your thoughts on this?

I’m a 25-year-old lesbian trans woman in Chicago. I had a long video chat two weeks ago with a woman I met at the Chicago Age Players Convention—think International Mister Leather but for Adult Babies/Diaper Lovers—and we really hit it off. It felt like we were about to pull a U-Haul despite being in quarantine. We even discussed a visit. But since then I haven’t heard from her. I’ve tried texting and calling. My question is what should I do? How can we reconnect? You can’t reconnect if she isn’t interested in reconnecting. I know that sucks, but you’ve already done everything you can—you texted, you called. She knows you’re still interested and you have to accept that you’ll hear only if she wants to reconnect. Hopefully nothing’s wrong and she’s safe. I don’t think ghosting is ever nice but a lot of people are struggling right now and some people who wouldn’t normally ghost are ghosting. If she offers you an apology when she reaches out to you again—if she reaches out to you again—don’t hold the ghosting against her. If you never hear from her again, well, then she wasn’t who you hoped she was. Okay, thank you again to everyone who bought a ticket to the Savage Love Livestream! All proceeds—every single cent raised—went to Northwest Harvest. If anyone reading this in a donating mood right now, you can donate to Northwest Harvest directly at northwestharvest.org/donate. ■ On the Lovecast, Slate writer L.V. Anderson on why we don’t have better condoms: savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter

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JUNE 11, 2020

Comics

Last Week’s Crossword Answers BOOT

C A M P S

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JUNE 11, 2020

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