Tucson Weekly July 16, 2020 by Tucson Weekly

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JUDGMENT DAY Three Democrats want to be Pima County’s next top prosecutor. By Austin Counts CURRENTS: Another Death in TPD Custody CHOW: Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze for Local Restaurants? SAVAGE LOVE: Virtual Reality Benefits

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JULY 16, 2020

Southern Arizona

COVID-19

THE LOCAL NUMBERS: The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Arizona continued to skyrocket, topping 128,000 as of Tuesday, July 14, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. Pima County had seen 12,114 of the state’s 128,097 confirmed cases. A total of 2,337 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 338 in Pima County, according to the July 14 report. Arizona hospitals continued to see a rise in the number of people hospitalized with COVID symptoms, as well as more people visiting emergency rooms. ADHS reported that as of July 12, a record number of 3,517 Arizonans were hospitalized with COVID symptoms, a record 970 people were in ICU units and a record 674 people were on ventilators. The report shows 1,553 people arrived at emergency rooms with COVIDlike symptoms on July 12. THE NATIONAL NUMBERS: Nationwide, nearly 3.4 million people had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which had killed more than 136,000 people in the United States as of Tuesday, July 14, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University. HALF MEASURES: In response to the rising cases, Gov. Doug Ducey said last week that restaurants would be limited to 50 percent capacity, though he took no other steps to reduce the spread of the virus other than announcing that the state would be stepping up its testing program in the weeks to come. In late June, Ducey ordered the closure of movie theaters, gyms, tubing operations and some bars. Ducey said the state was reaching a plateau since local officials had begun requiring masks in some communities but stopped short of mandating the wearing of masks himself. Ducey said it would be better if Arizonans decided to do that without his mandate. Democrats in the Arizona Senate released a joint statement saying they were “profoundly disappointed” in Ducey’s failure to take further action. “The newest actions to curb COVID-19 in Arizona are reactionary, piecemeal half measures that are inadequate to substantially slow the spread of the virus,” the lawmakers wrote. “If we truly care about the health and economy of the state, then we need another statewide stay at home order. Only limiting indoor dining to less than 50 percent is woefully inadequate to

Roundup

significantly curb the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona.”

BUT ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, HE CAN’T SEEK ANOTHER TERM: Ducey’s handling of the virus has caused a steep drop in his job approval numbers, according to a poll released this week by OH Predictive Insights. Pollster Mike Noble noted that his latest survey of 600 likely 2020 voters, conducted July 6-7, showed that voters had sharply turned on Ducey’s handling of the coronavirus, with his approval dropping to 35 percent with 63 percent disapproval. In a similar June poll, 59 percent of Arizonans approved of Ducey’s handling of the coronavirus and only 37 disapproved. “As goes the coronavirus so goes Doug Ducey’s fortunes among Arizona voters,” said OHPI Chief of Research Mike Noble in a prepared statement. “When the outbreak was being contained, Ducey was popular. Now that cases are on the rise, his disapproval rating is too.” Those polling numbers echod a survey released last week by the COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States, which showed that Ducey had gone from 57 percent approval in early May to 32 percent in late June. AS LONG AS YOU STAY SIX FEET AWAY FROM YOUR KIDS AND DON’T LET THEM TOUCH ANYTHING IN THE HOUSE,YOU’LL BE FINE: Despite pressure from the Trump administration to open schools to all students on their regular schedule, some local school districts have announced that they will only offer “distance learning” or online instruction when school starts next month. Unlike in spring, when schools moved online following spring break, districts

are planning stricter instructional time designed to mirror traditional in-person classes. Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, said last week that while states that have taken more aggressive steps earlier to slow the spread of the virus will be able to reopen schools, he can’t see the same thing happening in Arizona. “School districts have some really creative folks and I think they could put some effective mitigation measures in place that would make it safe to open schools if we didn’t have so much community spread,” Humble said. “Because we have the level of community spread that we have, I just don’t see that mitigation measures, which help but don’t eliminate transmission, are going to be adequate to make it a safe environment for teachers and schools and families.”

GET TESTED: Pima County has launched a new testing site at Kino Event Center. After the registration portal opened, this week’s slots filled up in 10 minutes, according to a memo from Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. In other testing news, Pima County announced last week that officials have contracted Maximus Health & Services, Inc. to boost contact tracing efforts in the region. Maximus is an outsourcing company that provides business support to government health agencies such as the Pima County Health Department. They will hire about 150 local residents to perform “extensive” contact tracing as directed by the health department, in order to “alert, educate and isolate” individuals who have come in close contact with a person who is COVID-19 positive. ■ —Reporting from Jim Nintzel, Kathleen B. Kunz, Austin Counts, Jeff Gardner and Tara Foulkrod.

RANDOM SHOTS By Rand Carlson

Cover design by Ryan Dyson

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JULY 16, 2020 | VOL. 35, NO. 29 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 Austin Counts, Managing Editor, Ext. 37 logan@tucsonlocalmedia.com Jeff Gardner, Associate Editor, Ext. 43 jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com Tara Foulkrod, Web Editor, Ext. 35 tara@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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Alvarado and the first officer who arrived at the wall. At one point, the officer’s body camera was hit and malfunctioned. Police said Alvarado grabbed the officer’s magazine from his belt, and the officer struggled to retain his weapon and punched Alvarado three times with “no apparent effect.” He was eventually held on the ground in a A second episode of a death in TPD custody face-down position. As other officers arrived, footage shows Alvarado being tased but still surfaced last week struggling to break free. He can be heard yelling “Stop! Stop!” By Kathleen B. Kunz As more officers arrived to help restrain kathleen@tucsonlocalmedia.com him, Alvarado said “I can’t breathe” to which an officer replied “Yes you can, you’re THE TUCSON POLICE talking.” Department released details last week about After he was handcuffed behind his back, the death of 29-year-old Damien Alvarado, his legs were restrained using two Total who died in police custody on March 22, Appendage Restraint Procedure devices. 2020. Alvarado continued to resist, moan and yell The revelation came following communi- out “I can’t breathe.” ty outrage over a different in-custody death Officers dismissed his complaints, and of Carlos Adrián Ingram-López, a 27-yearone said “If you can complain, you can old who died one month later. breathe just fine.” Alvarado’s March death came after TPD A spit hood was placed over Alvarado’s responded at 5:15 p.m. to a multiple-vehicle, head before Tucson Fire Department medserious-injury collision at Campbell Avenue ics arrived at the scene. Alvarado continued and Prince Road. When officers arrived at to resist and moan as medical responders the scene, they learned that a Hispanic male assessed him. suspect, later identified as Alvarado, had According to police, TFD performed an fled the scene of the crash on foot. initial medical examination and cleared him Police said two civilians, a father and son, for transport to the jail. followed Alvarado and prevented him from Alvarado was silent for several minutes as climbing over a cement wall until officers the medics left the scene and officers talked caught up to him. to each other. Then, one officer asked “Is A compilation of body camera foothe still breathing?” Another responded “I age shows a violent struggle between dunno.”

CURRENTS

DEADLY RESTRAINT

CLAYTOONZ By Clay Jones

The officers rolled him on his back and began administering CPR. They noticed he was gurgling and his eyes were rolled back. Tucson Fire was called back to the scene, and the officers removed his restraints and carried him to a gurney where medics took over CPR. Alvarado was declared dead at 6:30 p.m. at Banner University Medical Center. The Office of the Medical Examiner determined in Alvarado’s autopsy that the contributing causes of his death were sudden cardiac arrest due to acute methamphetamine intoxication, restraint and dilated cardiomyopathy, which is a heart condition. The manner of death was determined to be accidental. The details of Alvarado’s death are similar to Ingram-López, who suffered cardiac arrest from a combination of physical restraint by Tucson police officers and acute cocaine intoxication. Ingram-López’s grandmother called 911 at 1 a.m. on April 21, 2020 to report that her grandson was “drunk, yelling and running naked.” Body camera footage from that encounter shows officers arriving at the home and screaming at Ingram-López to “get on the fucking ground.” Ingram-López is shown running to the garage, where officers handcuff him behind his back and lay him face-down on the floor. The audio captures Ingram-López screaming in distress, saying repeatedly “no,” “please” and “I’m sorry.” Magnus said Ingram-López was “highly erratic” at the

beginning of the encounter, but became more compliant. The officers in the video repeatedly told Ingram-López to “relax” as they restrained him, while he is heard breathing heavily, moaning and calling out for his nana (grandmother) asking for water. Ingram-López asked the officers repeatedly for water and they ignored his requests. At one point, he told the officers he couldn’t breathe. After a few minutes of silence, officers can be heard asking “Is he breathing?” They rolled his unconscious body over and distributed NARCAN, a drug that is used to reverse overdoses. When Ingram-López didn’t respond to that, the officers began administering CPR and continued to do so until Tucson Fire Department paramedics showed up. Ingram-López was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. TPD Chief Chris Magnus said the three officers involved in detaining Ingram-López violated department policies for interacting with people who are in mental distress or under the influence of drugs. All three officers have resigned; Magnus added that they would have been fired otherwise for “multiple policy violations.” With Alvarado’s death, Tucson police determined the officers’ use of force was appropriate in that situation. Magnus said there have been five in-custody deaths over the past decade where some type of restraint was used by the officers involved. ■

NEVERMIND

ly prohibit filming their interactions with the public. While the ordinance itself does include Tucson City Council repeals ordinance that language intending to protect the right of citizens to film police officers, it still gives could have limited filming of cops officers the ability to bring criminal charges against someone who is trying to film the By Kathleen B. Kunz police, which did not sit well with communiKathleen@tucsonlocalmedia.com ty members. In countless cases of police brutality THE TUCSON CITY COUNCIL VOTED across the country, filming the police’s inter6-1 last week to repeal an ordinance that actions with citizens is often the only way allowed Tucson police officers to establish to gain justice when excessive force is used. restricted areas and administer penalties By allowing officers to set a boundary size to individuals for “interfering with police of their own discretion and inflict penalties investigations or enforcement activity.” on those who may want to get close enough Adopted on April 21, the ordinance was to film an arrest, the community felt that the passed unanimously by the council in ordinance was a move to prevent filming the response to a video TPD showed them of police. “First Amendment auditors” screaming proThe death of 27-year-old Carlos Adrian fanities at Tucson police officers and filming Ingram-Lopez (which was revealed by TPD them at a crime scene. in June but actually took place in April) was Based on the vulgarity of the video they used as evidence for the department’s lack were shown, the council quickly adopted of transparency with the public and a reason the ordinance without much input from the for why citizens need to be able to film popublic. lice without the threat of the ordinance. Since then, critics have claimed that the The only council member to vote against officers could use the ordinance to effective- repealing the ordinance at the council’s July

JEN SORENSEN

JULY 16, 2020

7 meeting was Ward 6’s Steve Kozachik. At the meeting, he said TPD has a need and a right to establish a crime scene, and that “interfering with that does not make us a safer community.” “My sense is that overturning it might feel good because of all the political pressure, but it’s not in the best interest of our city,” Kozachik said. Councilmember Paul Cunningham said he understands where Kozachik is coming from, but said now is the time for widespread conversations about community safety. “On a philosophical level, when we passed this ordinance, we understood some of the needs,” Cunningham said. “But there’s also some places in this ordinance where some of the members of the community felt they had been left out, and part of that was because of the pandemic that we’re in. While he admitted changes need to be made, Cunningham said institutions are built up over a long time and will need to be taken down incrementally. He believes change won’t happen immediately, it will be an ongoing process. “Over the next year, we’re going to have a lot of discussions,” he said. “We’re going to have tense and very wide philosophical discussions about our society, about law

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COURTESY PHOTO

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that elected officials maximize community involvement and transparency.”

enforcement, about our budget.” But Cunningham left open the possibility for this issue to come back to the council. He said there was a possibility that a version of the ordinance could be passed in the future, but “now is not that time.” Mayor Regina Romero said the council needs to listen to community input about topics such as community safety and the city budget. “Now more than ever, it is imperative that elected officials maximize community involvement and transparency in the development of public safety policies and practices,” Romero said in a statement. “Mayor and Council decided to repeal the ordinance and seek additional community input and feedback on how to move forward.” ■

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JUDGMENT DAY Three Democrats want to be the next county attorney as a national movement for criminal-justice reform takes center stage By Austin Counts austin@tucsonlocalmedia.com

administrative experience and “a strong devotion to serving the public while holding criminals accountable” are the basic requirements needed to be the THE TOP SPOT AT THE PIMA next Pima County Attorney, according to County Attorney’s Office is opening up LaWall. for the first time in nearly a quarter of “All of my previous experience a century after Pima County contributed enormously to Attorney Barbara LaWall my ability to do the job announced her intenand I think this job tion to retire last requires more than October at the end just having a law of her sixth term. degree,” LaWall The competisaid. “It requires tion in this year’s someone who Democratic demonstrates primary is stiff: leadership and Former public dehas proven fender and local administrative defense attorney experience. SomeLaura Conover one with a strong faces veteran county devotion to serving prosecutors Jonathan the public while holding Mosher and Mark Diebolt. criminals accountable.” To make the race even Furthermore, to be an effective more interesting, whichever cancounty attorney the proper candidate didate wins the primary on Aug. 4 will should have the “mindset” of a prosecubecome the next county attorney since tor and be well steeped in “a prosecutor’s no Republican challengers threw a hat culture,” LaWall said. into the ring. “I strongly believe that somebody But before we take a look at the candineeds the experience of being a prosdates, let’s examine what the job entails ecutor. It’s not an easy job. It requires through the eyes of the woman who presided over the position for more than immersion into a prosecutor’s culture and mindset,” LaWall said. “A lot of peo23 years. In 1996, LaWall became the first wom- ple who have a law degree think they are an elected as Pima County Attorney after qualified to run the office simply because they’re a lawyer and that’s really not the previously spending 20 years as a trial case.” prosecutor, head of the office’s criminal Other than having a prosecutor’s division and administrative chief deputy. mind, LaWall believes management and Her predecessor, Stephen D. Neely, also served a 20-year term as the county attor- administrative experience are the next most important skills a county attorney ney before that. To be a county attorney should have. means having the power to decide what “With the exception of making really sort of crimes will be prosecuted and how tough prosecution decisions, manthey will be prosecuted, once a case is referred to the office by law enforcement. agement is the job,” LaWall said. “For instance, just implementing a case LaWall said her cumulative experimanagement system that is effective and ence before taking office “contributed efficient requires a great deal of knowlenormously” in being able to perform her duties at the top. The job takes more edge of running an office. ” On top of that, LaWall said her staff than a law degree, she said. Leadership,

would have “a greater respect” for the incoming candidate-elect if they have a track record of “proven administrative experience and demonstrative leadership in prosecution.” “I’m going to be frank,” LaWall said. “This is not a job for somebody who has been defending criminals and doesn’t have any prosecution experience whatsoever.”

JONATHAN MOSHER Jonathan Mosher made a name for himself as a skilled prosecutor whose work ethic helped him rise from deputy county attorney to chief criminal deputy during his 15 years serving the county attorney’s office. Mosher also has LaWall’s full support to take over as county attorney should he win the primary. “Jonathan is someone whose preparation for and commitment to serve in this office is beyond a doubt and neither of his opponents begin to match his qualifications to do the job,” LaWall said. “He has supervised the entire general division, he’s been on my leadership team for well over a year, working at the highest levels as chief trial counsel and then chief of the criminal division.” Mosher said his fascination with being a prosecutor blossomed during his middle school years when he was a “skinny, little debate nerd who would get bullied.” Instead of fighting back, Mosher channeled his anger into his ability to debate and won the state championship his first year on the

debate team. “When I saw I was good at (debating) I started to think I wanted to be in the courtroom going after people who do horrible things to other people,” Mosher said. “Long before law school, I knew this is what I wanted to do for sure.” However, Mosher’s dream of becoming a prosecutor stalled after law school when he started working as a corporate attorney for large law firms in Los Angeles. While the money was good, Mosher said he began to notice other areas of his life were in disarray due to alcohol addiction. “Once I sobered up and took a look at my life I was like, ‘Oh this is all about money.’ I don’t want to be a part of this workaholic, alcoholic lifestyle,” Mosher said. “I decided I wanted to be a prosecutor, so I went and did that.” Mosher decided to make a new start in Tucson by accepting a job with the county attorney’s office in 2005. “As soon as I came to Tucson and started prosecuting I went straight into major violent felony prosecutions and I’ve never looked back,” Mosher said. “I love helping my community and serving the crime victims that have been horribly harmed. It’s a passion.” Mosher said his experience with being an addict and his experience as a prosecutor has shaped his opinion on how to implement criminal justice reform in Pima County.

JULY 16, 2020

Jonathan Mosher

Mark Diebolt

Laura Conover

Mosher’s reforms include ending the prosecution of possession of marijuana cases on his first day and expanding the county’s Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison program (DTAP) so drug addicts get treatment instead of jail time. The program currently has 60 participants, but Mosher said he would like to expand that number to 1,600. His goal is for County Attorney’s Office to focus on more serious offenses like gun violence, domestic violence and scams against the elderly, he said. “We don’t want prosecutors who don’t have the time to devote to serious crimes because they’re dealing with personal possession of marijuana. We will simply stop prosecuting those cases if I’m elected whether the decriminalization effort passes or not,” Mosher said. “Even if it’s heroin or methamphetamine. I simply won’t allow somebody who possesses that to go to prison.” Critics of Mosher point out the prosecutor recently had a murder conviction overturned by the Division 2 Arizona Court of Appeals for making an “improper argument” during the closing statements of State v. Dansdill, a first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery case. Mosher argued that felony murder was less severe than first-degree murder which might insinuate to a jury the penalty would be less severe if the person was convicted. In 2019, the appellate court agreed with Dansdill that Mosher made an improper argument which may have misled the jury. Dansdill’s convictions were overturned and he was awarded a new trial. Chief Judge Peter Eckerstrom penned the court’s opinion. “The prosecutor’s references to punishment were also inaccurate and misleading. Felony murder is not, in any meaningful

respect, a ‘less serious’ or ‘lesser’ offense than premeditated murder. Rather, under Arizona law, they are ‘simply two forms of first-degree murder,’’ Eckerstrom wrote. “We acknowledge the prosecutor was entitled to argue that the state bore no burden to show Dansdill intended to kill. But the state has failed to explain how remarks about the comparative ‘seriousness’ of premeditated and felony murder were logically pertinent to making that point.” Mosher maintains his argument was “a technical error of language” and said he respects the court’s decision but finds it “difficult to swallow” that he knew what he was saying was wrong. In fact, Mosher made the same argument during a previous case, State v. Urbina, and the same appellate court upheld Mosher’s argument stating in their 2017 opinion, “the prosecutor did not misinform the jury that the consequences of the verdict were minimal.” “Urbina was a case before Dansdill where I made that same argument and it was appealed,” Mosher said. “The appellate court said, ‘No problem, we’re not reversing.’ Strangely in the Dansdill opinion, they say that somehow I was on notice and knew it was wrong when in fact I previously had an appellate court say it was ok and reject the challenge?”

Diebolt said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do, is hold people accountable for the violent crimes they commit.” Diebolt has also received several letters of reprimand in his over two decades working for the county, ranging from mishandling of prosecution and failure to disclose exculpatory evidence to retaining and viewing emails of a pornographic nature on his work computer. In 2019, Diebolt was reprimanded for “neglect of duty” and “failure to satisfactorily perform job duties and responsibilities” for failing to file a response to the defense’s motion to suppress evidence in a first-degree murder case, even after asking the court for an extension. Diebolt said the oversight was due to prosecuting another homicide case which lasted longer than expected, as well as a heavy case-load. “In that period of time, I did complete a homicide trial which took me into a second week and that trial I was doing all by myself so I didn’t get caught up with the paperwork,” Diebolt said. “That happens sometimes, but there is no requirement that a response is required after every single motion that’s filed.” The Pima County Attorney’s Office disagreed with Diebolt’s reasoning in their 2019 Letter of Reprimand, insisting “There is no excuse for not responding to the motion in the first instance. Nor is there any excuse for not responding after the extension was granted.” The letter went on to state, “Your actions have discredited the office and may have caused significant harm to the state’s ability to prevail at trial in a first-degree murder case.” In 2015, the prosecutor found himself in hot water after failing to disclose a “free-talk” conversation that may have potentially exonerated a person being tried for murder in a separate case. The case in

MARK DIEBOLT Candidate Mark Diebolt believes his 23-year record as a deputy county attorney speaks for itself. The prosecutor has over 320 felony jury trials—including 50 homicide cases—under his belt since beginning his career with the county attorney’s office in 1997. Due process, fairness and accountability is his creed as a prosecutor, he said. “I’m probably one of the most prolific violent crimes prosecutors in Arizona,”

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question was being prosecuted by Diebolt’s supervisor at the same time. “We sit down and talk with somebody who gives us information. Whether it’s credible or not, whether it’s truthful or not, I don’t know. I rely on the detective I work with to get to the bottom of it,” Diebolt said. “Later on, when the issue was brought to my attention I didn’t believe that it was new information because we already had a name. Going back, I definitely would have handled it differently.” The county’s 2015 Letter of Reprimand points out, “It is important to note that Tucson Police Department Detective Brett Barber was present for the free talk. Detective Barber asked a number of questions during the free talk that indicated he knew about the murder of Roger Catalan. You failed to ask Detective Barber about the Catalan homicide case to determine whether that case was being prosecuted by this office. Had you done so, you would have learned that, in fact, this office was prosecuting the case. Your lack of attention to detail and failure to exercise due diligence on this issue is inexcusable for a prosecutor with your years of experience.” In 2009, Diebolt received a Letter of Counseling for having used his office email account to “receive, intentionally view during work hours, and retain in your in-box materials of a pornographic and X-rated nature, as well as transmit email of a discriminatory nature,” according to the letter. “I never opened it. I never looked inside of it. It was sent to me by someone...you can’t block them or at least you couldn’t then,” Diebolt said. “But the rule doesn’t say you can’t receive those because you can’t control who sends those to you. It says you may not download it, you may not open it, you may not forward it. All of which I did not do.” The 2009 Letter of Counseling indicates there were approximately 20 other occasions in a 60-day period where Diebolt had “received, viewed during work hours, and retained in your email inbox emails and attachments containing pornographic photographs and videos that had been sent to you.” The letter also said Diebolt made no attempt to reach out to IT staff to correct the matter. The office restricted Diebolt from receiving personal messages to his business email and his account was monitored for a one-year period. The prosecutor complied fully with the department’s corrective actions and his Letter of Counseling was CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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JUDGMENT

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ultimately removed from his departmental personnel file by 2010. “I think we’re all human and make mistakes,” Diebolt said. “Certainly we see that every day in every life.”

LAURA CONOVER Laura Conover’s journey into the world of criminal justice began with following the Louis Tayor case when she was a teenager in the 1990s. Taylor, who is Black, was convicted of the 1970 Pioneer Hotel Fire at 16 years of age and spent 42 years in prison on 28 arson murder charges. His conviction was ultimately overturned and Taylor was released in 2013. “I wanted to study the system of justice from the ground up. As much as I could, I wanted to devote all my studies and career to it,” Conover said. “The Louis Taylor case was part of that because starting in the ’90s, every two years he would come before the parole board and that case haunted so many of us who grew up here.” By the time she was 19 years old, Conover began interning with the federal public defender’s office, which led her to study at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law, she said. Conover then worked for Pima County as a public defender for four years after graduating from law school. As a bilingual speaker, she easily made the jump from the county to become a federal public defender

for eight years. The self-proclaimed policy geek said those eight years inspired her to run for county prosecutor after watching the Obama Administration implement sweeping reforms at the Department of Justice. “I’m such a policy geek. I watched the Obama Administration make massive changes that we had been trying to achieve in federal court. Bringing in best practices and moving people into probation instead of prison,” Conover said. “I saw a lot of reforms I devoted my life to start to take shape and I saw head prosecutors making it happen.” In 2016, Conover started her own private practice as a criminal defense attorney but eventually became a criminal justice attorney, helping anyone she could regardless of their financial situation. Soon, she became a victim’s legal advocate and worked with larger companies to employ recently paroled prisoners. When the 2018 federal shutdown loomed, Conover received a judicial appointment to manage 400 defense attorneys who are contracted by the United States District Court for the Federal District of Arizona. These 400

PROSECUTORIAL PREDICAMENTS The Pima County Attorney’s race is heating up as the candidates—and their allies—fiercely try to discredit each other as mail-in ballots hit mailboxes last week By Austin Counts Austin@tucsonlocalmedia.com THE PIMA COUNTY ATTORNEY’S race is heating up as the candidates— and their allies—fiercely try to discredit each other as mail-in ballots hit mailboxes last week. Last month, Chief Deputy of the Pima County Attorney’s Office Amelia Cramer filed a complaint with the State Bar of Arizona—as a private citizen—against candidate Laura Conover over an apparent misrepresentation of the time length Conover has been an attorney. Cramer said she takes issue with Conover’s insistence she’s been a practicing attorney for 17 years in campaign ads

and public forums, despite graduating from law school 2005. “She had stated different numbers of years that she had been an attorney,” Cramer said. “I went to the state bar’s website where they publish the dates of admission for attorneys and found a discrepancy there between what she is saying and what the state bar is reporting.” Conover maintains she’s practiced law for 17 years, even while in law school due to Supreme Court Rule 38. At the time the rule allowed law students to practice while interning under the supervision of law professors. However, Supreme Court Rule 38 has since been updated to not allow students to practice law.

attorneys didn’t know how they were getting paid for their services due to the federal shutdown and it was Conover’s job to try to answer their concerns while making sure they continued their duties. “These were 400 dynamic, colorful, unique personalities and it turns out, I love herding cats, so to speak. I absolutely love it.” said Conover, using an expression about the difficulty of managing different temperaments. “The government did shut down as predicted and they went unpaid for a full financial quarter, with no notice, over the holidays. That was the start of my management training. It was a baptism by fire.” Conover said all of these experiences have prepared her to lead the Pima County Attorney’s office. As a reform candidate, she said she would begin offering more treatment-based solutions for non-violent crimes—especially non-violent drug-related arrests—that tend to cost less than incarceration. “There are people in our community that shouldn’t be in our system at all. The system is not a place to treat addicts,” Conover said. “The system should be reserved for those who are engaging in separate criminal conduct that is an

ongoing harm to the community and needs to be in the system.” Conover also plans on focusing on consumer protection. If elected, she said she’ll prosecute fraud cases and scams by reopening the county’s financial crimes unit that’s been shuttered for 20 years. Additionally, Conover said she’ll prosecute wage theft, and mortgage and loan application discrepancies. “We let it go and now fraud and scams are rampant all over our county. It’s a kind of elder abuse that makes my blood boil,” Conover said. “On the other side of it, wage theft and mortgage applications and loan application irregularities only keep our hard-working families down, instead of advancing. While all of this year’s candidates are promising reform, Conover said her reforms will be “outcome-driven” by tracking data and sharing it with the community. She cites law enforcement complaints about not having reliable data from the county attorney’s office to determine if their policies are working or not. “The community needs actual results. We are going to be transparent and share data with the public so outcomes can be tracked,” Conover said. “These men devoted their careers to an office that broke the all-time record in felony filings last year, as a Republican Sheriff told us crime was down. They had their chance to stop the machine and that didn’t happen.” ■

“I arrived in Superior Court in 2003 and started appearing in court, arguing cases, cross-examining witnesses and representing clients,” Conover said. “That was a very big year for me and 18 months later I became licensed.” Intake Bar Counsel for the State Bar of Arizona Tom McCauley seems to agree with Conover in his response to Cramer’s complaint on June 29. McCauley verified that the former rule did allow law students to practice at the time. However, Conover voluntarily pulled her ads to not add to the controversy and the state bar has closed the matter. “Under the circumstances I do not believe we would have concluded that Ms. Conover’s statement in the subject ad constituted a misleading communication,” McCauley wrote in an email response to Cramer. While Cramer might be chief deputy for the office Conover is trying to take over, she said she filed the complaint as

a private citizen. Cramer is also a volunteer for candidate Jonathan Mosher, who is also chief criminal deputy for the Pima County Attorney’s office. Meanwhile, the Mosher campaign is facing its own potential violation of campaign laws after mailer a campaign flier without disclosing who paid for the advertisement or whether the mailer was approved by the Mosher. Local attorney Jim Fein filed a complaint with the Pima County Election Department. Mosher strategist Rodd McLeod said the issue was due to a production oversight when designing the mailer. As soon as they noticed the mistake, McLeod said they notified the county elections department. “It happened in the design process. It just got covered up by another layer,” McLeod said. “The important thing is that any voter who receives it can clearly tell who sent it by reading the return address label.” ■

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COURTESY PHOTO

Hotel Congress and its associated restaurants hope to reopen by Labor Day weekend, or maybe even October.

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As Gov. Doug Ducey slashes restaurant occupancy down to 50 percent to curb the spread of coronavirus, some restaurants are concluding the juice isn’t worth the squeeze By Austin Counts Austin@tucsonlocalmedia.com AS RESTAURANTS BEGAN resuming table service after the lifting of Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order, the Cup Cafe at Hotel Congress seemed positioned to make a comeback. The hotel has a large patio to offer outdoor dining, which health experts say is much safer than indoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic. But on July 1, hotel management made the decision to temporarily shutter The Cup altogether, along the hotel itself. The ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases in Pima County—and Arizona—alarmed the hotel’s management, said General Manager Todd Hanley. While Southern Arizona summers are typically slow for businesses, this summer is on another level, according to the manager. “The driving factor behind the decision was a concern for the health and safety of

our staff and community,” Hanley said. “We’re obviously seeing a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases and that put a lot into perspective for us. It’s also the fact that it’s summer and a really tough time of the year to be in any position successfully, but especially when you have COVID-19 starring you in the face.” The famed hotel does plan on reopening by Labor Day weekend—sans their annual HOCO fest—but it all depends on how the coronavirus situation progresses, said Hanley. Should the reopen date be delayed, Hanley said Hotel Congress would like to be back in business by October. “If we can open by Labor Day weekend, we’ll have a hard opening in early October unless something is mandated,” Hanley said. “Our cash flow and cash reserves and PPP will be exhausted by mid-September, so at some point soon we have to be up and running.” Hanley said he has no doubt the hotel will return stronger than ever, considering the hotel has survived for everything from a major fire, the Spanish Flu pandemic of

1918 and the Great Depression. “Hotel Congress has now at this point survived a fire and two pandemics,” Hanley said. “We look forward reopening soon as the real cultural and historical institution downtown needs.” Hanley did decide to keep Maynards, the market and restaurant he runs across the street in the historic train depot. But other downtown restaurants such as Hub, Playground and DOWNTOWN Kitchen + Cocktails have closed temporarily in recent weeks as the number of coronavirus cases have skyrocketed in Arizona. In response, Gov. Doug Ducey last week ordered restaurants to limit their capacity to 50 percent. The temporary closures aren’t limited to downtown. Eastside Tucson’s Fire and Smoke Wood Fired Pizza and BBQ also decided the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze and closed down at the start of this week. Co-owner Lindy Reilly said personal health problems, slow business and the public’s attitude toward wearing a mask contributed to the decision. The owner said they had planned to shut down for a few weeks during the slow month of July, but after being diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and/or heart failure, Reilly decided a

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long break was needed. “I’m just overworked, overstressed and it’s taken its toll. My heart is in AFib right now and I just need to figure this out,” Reilly said. “Sales are down and people aren’t getting take out. Maybe some businesses are surviving, but I... I give up.” Reilly said he isn’t sure at the moment if Fire and Smoke is going to reopen at the end of summer. With business slowing down, customers refusing to wear masks and the overall dismal climate of Tucson’s restaurant community, Lindy may soon be looking for other options, he said. “With to-go sales dropping off and dine-in not working at this point, I think people are squeezed. Bills are piling up, the money has run out and people are out of work, “ Reilly said. “I’m also watching restaurant owners turn against each other. We used to be a family in this town but it doesn’t feel like that anymore.” When some doors close, others open. Ken Dandoy, owner of the TTT Truckstop right outside of Tucson on Interstate-10 decided to reopen his restaurant, Omar’s Hi-Way Chef, on Monday. Dandoy said he and his staff are doing what they can to make sure his customers are safe while in his establishment. “We’re using every precaution known to man. Truly we are,” Dandoy said. “Everyone is gloved and masked. We have a sanitizing station. We also remodeled the restaurant. We’ve set tables up six feet apart and every other booth is closed.” Dandoy said management is also checking the temperatures of all staff and vendors as they enter the building and logging temperature checks as well as sanitation practices. So far, no one on Dandoy’s staff has been diagnosed with COVID-19, he said. “We’re keeping a good logbook on both sides of the house,” Dandoy said. “Knock on wood, we haven’t had any problems yet.” The decision to bring back his employees in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t taken lightly, said Dandoy. But he felt it was the right thing to do because many of his employees did not receive unemployment and are feeling the financial hardships during this difficult time. “The ultimate bottom line was I think we had many of our employees not receiving any form of unemployment,” Dandoy said. “Our biggest goal was to get the restaurant open but we want to make sure we do it safely. We want to be a part of the solution, not the problem.” ■

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TUCSON AREA DISPENSARIES Botanica. 6205 N. Travel Center Drive. 3950230; botanica.us. Open: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center. 8060 E. 22nd St. 886-1760; dbloomtucson.com. Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily; delivery available. Downtown Dispensary. 221 E. Sixth St. 8380492; thedowntowndispensary.com. Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily D2 Dispensary. 7105 E 22nd St. 214-3232; d2dispensary.com. Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily

Earth’s Healing North: 78 W. River Road. 3951432. earthshealing.org. Open: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Delivery available. Earth’s Healing South: 2075 E. Benson Highway. 373-5779. earthshealing.org. Open: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Delivery available. The Green Halo. 7710 S. Wilmot Road. 664-2251; thegreenhalo.org. Open: Sunday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

JULY 16, 2020

TUCSON AREA DISPENSARIES Green Med Wellness Center. 6464 E. Tanque Verde Road. 520-281-1587; facebook.com/GreenMedWellnessCenter. Open: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hana Green Valley. 1732 W. Duval Commerce Point Place. 289-8030. Open: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Harvest of Tucson. 2734 East Grant Road. 3149420; askme@harvestinc.com; Harvestofaz.com Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily Nature Med. 5390 W. Ina Road. 620-9123; naturemedinc.com. Open: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily The Prime Leaf. 4220 E. Speedway Blvd. 44-PRIME; theprimeleaf.com. Open: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Purple Med Healing Center. 1010 S. Freeway, Ste. 130. 398-7338; facebook.com/PurpleMedHealingCenter. Open: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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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): “If the time is not ripe, we have to ripen the time,” wrote Aries educator and activist Dorothy Height. This approach worked well during her 98 years on the planet. Her pioneering advocacy for African American women generated a number of practical improvements in their employment opportunities and civil rights. In accordance with the current astrological omens, Aries, I highly recommend her guiding principle for your use. You now have the power to ripen the time, even if no one else believes the time is ripe. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous ‘I don’t know.’” A wise and talented woman said that: Nobel Prize-winning poet Wisława Szymborska. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it’s excellent advice for you to embrace during the coming weeks. You’re close to finding and accessing a mother lode of inspiration, and one of the best ways to ensure that happens in an optimal way is to make “I don’t know” your mantra. In other words, be cheerfully devoted to shedding your certainties. Lose your attachment to the beliefs and theories you tend to overly rely on. Make yourself as empty and clear and spacious as you possibly can. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini-born author Djuna Barnes (1892–1982) was a world traveler who wrote in several different genres, ranging from lesbian fiction to essays on boxing to plays that used poetic language. She was experimental and empirical and experiential. On one occasion, she voluntarily submitted to the force-feeding endured by hunger-striking suffragists so she could write about what it was like to be tortured. Another fun fact about Djuna: Every morning, she did up her hair and put her make-up on, then climbed into bed and wrote for many hours. In the coming weeks, Gemini, I recommend you draw inspiration from every aspect of her life—

except the torture part, of course. The coming weeks will be a fine time to be versatile, exploratory, and committed to expressing yourself purely in whatever ways make you comfortably excited. CANCER (June 21-July 22): As a Cancerian, you have a natural propensity to study and understand what author Margaret Atwood describes as “echoes and emptiness and shadow.” I believe this aspect of your repertoire will be especially active and available to you in the coming weeks. For best results, regard your attunement to these echoes and emptiness and shadow as an asset, even a precious talent. Use it to discern what’s missing or lost but could be recovered. Invoke it to help you navigate your way through murky or confusing situations. Call on it to help you see important things that are invisible to others. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Time can turn a scab into a beauty mark,” said actor and screenwriter Nia Vardalos. That’s a rousingly poetic speculation—and more metaphorically true than literally. But I suspect that if it ever might have a useful and meaningful application to an actual human struggle, it will be yours in the coming months. In my view, you are in fact capable of harnessing the magic necessary to transform a wound into a lovely asset. Be bold and imaginative as you carry out this seemingly improbable feat—which is actually not improbable. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Would you like to boost your mental and physical health in the coming weeks? Try this: Immerse yourself in the understanding that you’re interconnected with everything in the world. Tell yourself stories about how the atoms that compose your body have previously been part of many other things. This isn’t just a poetic metaphor; it’s scientific fact. Now study this passage by science writer Ella Frances Sanders: “The carbon inside you could

SAVAGE LOVE UNPLUGGED

By Dan Savage, mail@savagelove.net

My wife asked me to write to you about our situation. We’ve been married for 15 years. I am 50 years old and my wife is a decade younger. We are a heterosexual couple with kids. I am a submissive male and I like to play with my ass using different sized dildos. I enormously enjoy being penetrated with sex toys. A few years ago I introduced the idea of a FLR—female led relationship—to my wife and she accepted it. We are a happy couple! My wife is more on the traditional side of sex and I respect that. We have PIV sex twice a week and I try to give her a pleasure as much as I can. Looks like everything is

OK, right? But recently she complained that I have stopped ejaculating when we have sex. And it’s true: When we engage in vaginal penetration, I no longer ejaculate. I like it this way because I don’t lose my sex drive and I can continue. But she doesn’t like it. For her, my ejaculate is the “cherry on top” of the sex and my coming during sex is important for her pleasure and satisfaction. My wife thinks that I stopped ejaculating because I developed the habit of pleasuring myself with dildos and butt plugs in the shower. My wife thinks the toys are distracting me. Do you think it’s true? If that’s the case, what

have existed in any number of creatures or natural disasters before finding you. That particular atom residing somewhere above your left eyebrow? It could well have been a smooth riverbed pebble before deciding to call you home. You are rock and wave and the peeling bark of trees, you are ladybirds and the smell of a garden after the rain.” LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): It’s a favorable time to celebrate the fantastic privilege of being alive. Are you willing to believe that? Will you cooperate with my intention to nudge you in the direction of elation and exaltation? Are you open to the possibility that miracles and epiphanies may be at hand for you personally? To help get yourself in the proper mood, read this passage by Libran author Diane Ackerman: “The great affair, the love affair with life, is to live as variously as possible, to groom one’s curiosity like a high-spirited thoroughbred, climb aboard, and gallop over the thick, sunstruck hills every day.” SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): ‘”Deciding to remember, and what to remember, is how we decide who we are,” writes poet Robert Pinsky. That’s useful counsel for you right now, Scorpio. You’re entering a phase when you can substantially reframe your life story so that it serves you better. And one of the smartest ways to do that is to take an inventory of the memories you want to emphasize versus the memories you’d like to minimize. Another good trick is to reinterpret challenging past events so that you can focus on how they strengthened you and mobilized your determination to be true to yourself. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “A person must dream a long time in order to act with grandeur,” wrote Sagittarian author and activist Jean Genet. “And dreaming is nursed in darkness.” According to my analysis of your astrological omens, this is an apt description of what has been unfolding for you, Sagittarius—and will continue to play out for you in the next two weeks. If you’re aligned with cosmic rhythms, you have been nursing your dreams in darkness—exploring and cultivating and learning from the raw creative energy that is simmering and ripening in your inner depths.

should we do? I love my wife but I also love my butt plugs and dildos. —Spouse Unpleased By Husband’s Un Blasts You should come in your wife. If your wife is in charge—you proposed a “female-led relationship” and she accepted—then she gets to give the orders and you’re supposed to do what she says. (Within reason, of course.) So when she says, “Come in me,” you should say, “How high up your vaginal canal would you like me to come?” Even if you weren’t in a female-led relationship, SUBHUB, refusing to come in your wife when you know that feeling you come inside her is important to her pleasure is a weirdly literal kind of

Keep doing this important work, even if there are not yet any productive results. Eventually, it will enable you to “act with grandeur,” as Genet said. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau said, “There are truths that one can only say after having won the right to say them.” In my estimation, you have recently earned the right to express a fresh batch of scintillating and useful truths. Please do us all a favor and unveil them—preferably with both candor and tact. In behalf of everyone who will benefit from your insights, I’m sending you congratulations for the work you’ve had to do on yourself so as to win them. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “After you make a fool of yourself a few hundred times, you learn what works,” testifies musician and singer Gwen Stefani. In my own life, I’ve had to make a fool of myself more than a few hundred times to learn what works. My number is closer to a thousand—and I’m still adding new examples on a regular basis. In the coming weeks, Aquarius, I highly recommend that you try what has served me and Gwen Stefani so well. You’re entering a phase when your foolishness will generate especially useful lessons. Being innocent and wildly open-minded will also be very useful. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “It is better to err on the side of daring than the side of caution,” wrote author and futurist Alvin Toffler. While I hesitate to declare that idea to be absolutely and always true, I do recommend it to you in the coming weeks. Given the fact that you have recently been expanding possibilities and cultivating breakthroughs, I’d love to see you keep on pushing forward until you climax your momentum. To boost your courage, try to think of a crazy cry of exhilaration you might exclaim as you make your leaps, like “YAHOO!” or ‘HELL YES!” or HERE I COME!” ■ Homework: What’s the best change you’ve experienced since the beginning of the pandemic? FreeWillAstrology.com

withholding behavior—and considering how GGG your wife has been, SUBHUB, refusing to come in her so you can “continue” presumably without her isn’t something a loving submissive would do. It’s something a selfish asshole does. Your wife doubtless suspects the same thing I do: You aren’t coming in her because you’d rather blow your load in the shower. She sees you when you slip out of bed to go cram sex toys in your ass and blow your load down the down the drain instead of finishing in her. And if that’s what you’re doing—and I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re doing—then you’re treating PIV sex with your wife as foreplay and the time you spend alone with your ass toys as the main event. If I were your wife, SUBHUB, I would find

JULY 16, 2020

that annoying too. And however much you love your plugs and dildos and I would hope you love your wife more. At any rate, you aren’t submissive to your plugs and dildos—you’re submissive to your wife, who isn’t made of silicone and who has needs and feelings that have to be taken into account. At the very least, SUBHUB, your wife’s pleasure should be your first priority during PIV sex—and it’s not like you can’t combine PIV with a little butt play. You can always shove one of your beloved plugs in your ass before you have PIV sex with the wife. And if you didn’t refrain from ejaculating every single time you had PIV, SUBHUB, if it was something you were allowed to once in a while with your wife’s permission, she might be willing to accommodate your desire every 10th time you have PIV. I am a 53-year-old guy. Since I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety all my life, I’ve never been in a situation where sex was a possibility. I’m really dying to know what it’s like. I’ve gotten much better over the years and the women who know me think the world of me. But they aren’t in a position to help me out. Other women seem to want someone much more outgoing and confident than I am or ever will be. Confidence comes from experience and I don’t have any. My one girlfriend could not hide the fact that my inexperience offended her. Other people on blogs and such have recommended a prostitute. But that’s not really what I’m looking for. It’s about more than sex. I want someone to care for me as I am. Is there hope for me? Or has the world just left me behind? —Very Inexperienced Relationship Guy In Need I know it’s not what you want to hear, VIRGIN, but I agree with other blogs and such: I think you should find a sex worker. Find a nice, patient woman who does sex work and be completely upfront about why you’re seeing her: you’re so painfully self-conscious about your sexual inexperience that you find it

hard to date. It may take some searching, VIRGIN, but there are sex workers who want to help their clients grow and heal. “Many people have the stereotypical misconception that all sex workers are disconnected, uncaring, and only there for the money,” said Ruby Ryder, a sex worker and sex educator. “While money is indeed a part of it, many of us understand that human beings need touch, connection, and acceptance. We provide an opportunity for clients to be vulnerable, whether it’s fulfilling their kinky fantasies or simply having sex.” And while the relationship you have with a sex worker you might see regularly for a year or two is certainly transactional, VIRGIN, it’s still a relationship and about more than sex. I’m not suggesting you see sex workers exclusively for the rest of your life (even if I’m not not suggesting that either), VIRGIN, I’m only suggesting you see a sex worker to find out what sex is like, gain a little self-confidence, and maybe feel a little more hopeful for your future. Ruby Ryder is on Twitter @Ruby_Ryder and online at www.peggingparadise. com. I’m a longtime reader who’s never had a question that your archives couldn’t answer. But there is something I wanted to share with you and your readers! My wife and I have incorporated virtual reality (VR) goggles into our sex life with great success, Dan, and they could be the answer to a range of questions that you get at the column. They’re so useful, in fact, that your failure to mention them is starting to look like a glaring omission! Because let’s say someone writes in who wants to open their relationship or explore a cuckold fantasy (like one of last week’s letter writers!) but they’re worried about the emotions involved, potential STIs, or COVID-19? VR goggles! While the offerings for female POV VR porn is pretty paltry I’ve never seen my wife come harder than she did with me inside her and a pair of goggles on her face giving her the perspective of a man get-

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seeing a sex worker and much less time consuming than engineering a consenting affair. And there’s no risk of STIs or COVID-19! Just wanted you to consider VR as a possibly overlooked tool for your otherwise always-outstanding advice in the future! —Very Recent Purchase Optimizes Reality Nicely

ting fucked by a beautiful trans woman. I love the idea that this turns her on and I actually think she looks hot with goggles on! Besides the cost of a subscription to a VR porn site, the financial barrier is really pretty low—most people can use their smartphone and a $20 headset to get started, which is much cheaper than

The

Listen to Dan and comedian Jay Jurden on the Lovecast! www.savagelovecast. com mail@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage savagelovecast.com

Coming Oc tober 22!

res u s a e r st T o L e on! h s T c u T of

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Thank you for writing in, VRPORN, and you’re right: VR porn sounds like a great way for an adventurous monogamous couple to have a little virtual variety— whether that couple is monogamous by choice or monogamous for the duration of this stupid pandemic. In addition to the technology, of course, you’ll need a partner who not only knows you fantasize about other people (like they do, like everybody does), but who’s also excited about helping you explore those fantasies. Thanks again for sharing, VRPORN! ■

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BODY RUB

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Paul Andrew Wilzbach, 67, left us June 14, 2020 in his home in Tucson, AZ. Born and raised in Evergreen Park, IL, Paul attended Evergreen Park High School and the University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana, IL, where he studied geographical science. Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth E. and Eileen, nee Marcin. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Mindy Bernstein; his siblings Kenneth Scott (Melva) of Cape Coral, FL; Peter (Charlotte) of Charleston, SC; Mark (Maureen) of Fort Myers, FL; and Margaret of Fort Myers, FL.; as well as seven living nephews and nieces and their children. His best friend and father-in-law Menashe Bernstein considered Paul the son he never had. Brother-in-law to Jessica and David Feldman, Elizabeth Bernstein and Uncle to Michael and Daniel. Paul fiercely loved his family and many friends. Paul astonished the medical community, courageously battling and surviving 17 cranial surgeries for brain tumors. He faced his challenges with grace and equanimity, retaining a strong sarcastic and silly sense of humor throughout life. Paul developed expertise in master woodworking, welding, building and information technology. He assisted, often gratis, numerous clients in local nonprofits and small business with computing needs. Paul’s computing and skills were integral in every way to the establishment and continuing operation of Our Place Clubhouse, Cafe 54, and Cafe 54 in the Botanical Gardens in Tucson, for which his wife Mindy served as executive director. These non-profit facilities, provide recovery and employment support for resilient indigent adults living with serious mental illness. Paul touched many hearts. He is remembered by family and friends for his non-judgement of people of all creeds and colors. He helped people feel safe and accepted, his generosity, uncountable random acts of kindness, inclusivity, brilliance, humor and tenacity are a few words to describe this exceptional human being. He loved animals, valued the natural world, and held a special regard for the Sonoran Desert and the Redwood Forest. He thrived on reading and speaking with friends and family about science, economics, politics and social injustice. Celebrations of Paul’s life will be held in various parts of the country. Please contact Mindy Bernstein (mindel@cox. net) for more information. In lieu of flowers, donations to The Nature Conservancy, Planned Parenthood or Coyote Task Force, Our Place Clubhouse and Club 54, would be much appreciated.

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM 15

JULY 16, 2020 OBITS

Vivienne Jane Kattapong died June 26, 2020, at the age of 58, in Tucson, Arizona from cancer. She was born July 1, 1961 in Carmel, California. A neurologist for the State of Arizona, Jane loved chatting with strangers and learning their life stories, be it while cycling along Tucson’s Loop path or at neurological advocacy trips to congressional leaders in Washington D.C. A world traveler, Jane lived in Okinawa, Japan until she attended high school in San Antonio, TX. She valued her Chinese-Mennonite German heritage and looked at the world through a multi-cultural lens. Jane earned degrees from Unv. of Chicago, Unv. of Washington, and Unv. of Texas (Galveston). Always quick witted and often hysterically funny, she also had a serious side. She appreciated deep discussions about everything from politics to medicine to relationships. An active member of two book clubs (Tucson and Albuquerque), Jane valued both the friendships she formed and the literary discussions. Most of all, Jane adored her four children. She leaves Ione (of Ann Arbor), Yon, Chaiyo, and Voth Locher (all of Tucson), her sister Kristienne Kattapong (Adam Graber) of Ann Arbor, her brother Paul Kattapong (Sarah Kattapong) of Houston, father Paul Chaiyo Kattapong of Ann Arbor, and her nieces and nephews: Kimberly (Ross) Dettling, Lauren Kattapong, Seth Kattapong-Graber, and Evan Kattapong-Graber, and many cousins both in the US and Thailand. She was predeceased by her mother Verna Anna (nee Voth) Kattapong. Donations may be made to the “Jane Kattapong Children’s Education Memorial Fund” in person at Wells Fargo Bank, or via the Zelle app (yonlocher@gmail or 5202404971). Paper checks made out to “Jane Kattapong Children’s Education Memorial Fund” can also be mailed to Kristi Kattapong, 3987 Warren Ct, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105.

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