For a long time, the Amtrak station was a Downtown Tucson afterthought. There wasn’t much reason for going there unless you had to catch a train or you were meeting someone arriving by rail. And did I mention that rail service to Tucson is not a daily thing? The station was renovated not too long…
My preferred mode of travel is the bicycle. As wonderful as it is, the bicycle isn’t ideal. Especially for really, truly getting to know a place. For that, you need to get off your bike and walk around. This Downtown Tucson photo is a classic example. Had I been bicycling along Cushing Street, I would…
February 2022 update: After the July 2021 death of the client, this website went offline. Longtime client Sheila Tobias has made an art and a science of being an outsider to science and mathematics. Hers is a household name for books like Overcoming Math Anxiety, which is still in print more than 30 years after…
This past Friday, Habitat for Humanity Tucson had a four-house dedication ceremony at its Corazon del Pueblo project. Like many other Habitat events, the media were included… Habitat Tucson’s executive director, Michael McDonald, checked last-minute details with the clergymen who blessed the houses… The crowd joined in a prayer for the houses and families…
In addition to being the coolest station in Tucson, KXCI-FM 91.3 has some marvelous community events. This past Saturday, KXCI deejay Cathy Rivers played the tunes while Sunflower Market served burgers for a buck… Burgers for a Buck proceeds benefitted KXCI.
In Tucson’s Armory Park neighborhood, I came upon this gate sculpture. Obviously done by a bicyclist wishing to find another use for all of those old bike parts… March 2019 update: Oops! Looks like that photo went bye-bye when I had this blog redesigned. But, never fear, here’s a bit of bike part art.
I live and run my studio in a house that’s 53 years old. Like most houses its age, it has issues. (Translation: It’s an emotionally needy house.) Earlier this spring, I was repairing the plumbing in the shower. When I went outside to shut off the house water, I noticed that the water line was…
Since mid-April, I’ve been participating in the weekly Meet Me at Maynards social run and walk through Downtown Tucson. A record number of 212 people participated this past Monday, bringing the total participation in the six events to 1,087. Not bad for almost summer in Tucson! Here is a look at Monday’s action, starting with…
In the interest of helping its members grow more of their own food, the Food Conspiracy Co-op just presented a composting workshop at Tanque Verde Gardens. Our Professor of Compost was none other than Leo Mercado, owner/operator of Tanque Verde Gardens… Leo talked about his farm and his philosophy for creating great compost. He showed…
This past weekend was a busy one in Tucson. The Downtown scene was enlivened by the 24th Annual Tucson Folk Festival, which featured two days of music, workshops, and food and craft vendors. The Folk Festival attracts talent from near and far, and here’s the really cool part: There’s no charge to attend any of…
Permit me to start this post with a disclaimer: I’m not an economist, and I don’t play one on TV. But I have been noticing that, despite all the news of economic turmoil, locally-based, community-oriented businesses are doing just fine. Take Tucson’s Food Conspiracy Co-op, for example. Despite its location on parking-scarce 4th Avenue, sales…
Last month, I blogged about the weekly Meet Me at Maynards (MMM) social walk and run around Downtown Tucson. MMM #4 happened this past Monday, and the crowd voted overwhelmingly to keep going throughout the summer. And now, here’s a MMM retrospective: The crowd gathers before the start… Gotta set that watch… MMM co-founder Randy…
Late last month, I joined Judy Vorfeld and her brother, David Crook, for a couple of photographic days. Our first stop was the Desert Botanical Garden, which is located in the southeastern corner of Phoenix, Arizona. The cactus flowers were out in force… The saguaro cactii will bloom in a few weeks… Meanwhile, over at…
Ever been to a wheelchair basketball game? It looks like a cross between basketball and roller derby. Just look at the chairs. They’re built to withstand hard collisions, tip-overs, and other forms of mayhem. The players are pretty rugged too. I recently caught a Tucson Lobos practice. Thirty minutes into the scrimmage, the guys were…
Downtown Tucson has been under revitalization (read: construction) for many, many moons. Despite all of the dust and detours, things are happening Downtown. One of the newest and most promising is the Meet Me at Maynards social run and walk. The inaugural version happened last night, and it attracted 184 participants. The three-mile course featured…
This past Saturday, the northeast portion of the University of Arizona campus played host to several hundred fast bicyclists and interested spectators. The occasion was the UA Criterium, a street race over a course that was closed to motorized traffic. The Criterium competitors far outnumbered the spectators, so it was easy to find a place…
One of the necessities of event planning is anticipating the crowds that show up. Take, for example, Tucson’s popular 4th Avenue Street Fair. The most recent edition drew around 300,000 people over three days. While 4th Avenue was closed all but pedestrian traffic, 6th Street was still open. Crowd control was provided by police officers…
This past weekend, 300,000 people converged on Tucson’s 4th Avenue for the 2009 Spring Street Fair. Amidst all the arts, crafts, and food booths were some great musicians. Here’s Chip Ritter performing with the reggae band Neon Prophet…
Tucson’s 2009 St. Patrick’s Day Parade happened a couple of days ago. But an Ides of March Parade just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Like any notable Tucson parade, it had its own touch of weirdness. If such an award were given, the Green Man Group would have won first prize for having…
When you live on an eroding hillside, you’ve got a problem. Whenever it rains, valuable topsoil is being carried away. This past Sunday, members of the Watershed Management Group’s co-op program were hard at work, restoring a homeowner’s hillside. The goal is to prevent erosion and stabilize the hillside so that native plants can grow…
Been doing a window upgrade on my house for the past four years. The old casement windows are of the single pane variety. And they leak like a sieve. Last Friday, I cleared out my design studio and let the window replacement crew move their gear in. Then it was time to bid two more…