This past Saturday, thousands of bicyclists converged on Fourth Avenue near Downtown Tucson. While many of the two-wheeled legions rode to the semi-annual Bicycle Swap Meet, there was more looking than riding. With so many people gathered in one place, it was hard to get more than a couple of pedal strokes in. Besides, there…
Last month, Tucson became the first American city to require water harvesting for new commercial developments. The new city ordinance requires new developments to meet 50 percent of their landscaping water budget with water that falls on the property. To show how the ordinance will work, the Ward One City Council Office is creating a…
Tucson’s dearly departed got a unique tribute during the 19th Annual All Souls Procession. This one-of-a-kind parade started shortly after sunset this past Sunday. Marchers gathered at 4th Avenue and University Boulevard, then wended their way Downtown for a grand finale at the Franklin Street Docks. I divided my time between being an observer/photographer and…
If you have a mesquite tree in your yard, you know that they’re just full of beans. And, every summer, those beans come a-tumbling down to the ground. You’ve probably wondered if there’s something better to do with them than raking them up and throwing them away. The good news is that there is. You…
Today is Election Day, and today’s bicycle ride took me through much of central Tucson. I took advantage of the opportunity to seek out long lines at polling places. And I couldn’t find any. I was also looking for those clusters of campaign signs that spring up at just about every major intersection. Wouldn’t ya…
This past Saturday, Tucsonans held a huge party for the earth. Thousands came to Downtown to celebrate La Vida Verde. The festivities included tasty solar-cooked meals like this stew… Our furred and feathered friends also got into the act. Meet Hopi, the career-changing Harris Hawk… Hopi is a two-year-old male that came into the Forever…
September 2015 update: The website has been redesigned since this post was published. Incorporated in 1981, the Friends of Western Art is dedicated to supporting awareness of and promoting Western Art in Tucson and Southern Arizona. I have been working with FWA on the redesign of their website. The new site is based on Web…
Tucson is bisected by one of the busiest freight rail corridors in the country. The Union Pacific tracks run just north of Downtown Tucson, which is where I spied two freights heading in opposite directions…
Today is National Park(ing) Day in Tucson and other cities. It’s an an opportunity to celebrate parks in cities and promote the need for more parks by creating temporary public parks in public parking spaces. Tucson’s insta-parks were created by a wide variety of public and private entities. City High School set up an outdoor…
Here in Tucson, we have an ample supply of sunshine. Which means that we can harness that natural energy and put it to good use. I’m part of a small group called The Solar Society. It’s made up of people who want to develop and build devices that use solar power for home use. Examples…
Was on my way to an early morning meeting just north of Tucson’s Rillito Creek. We had yet another rainstorm last night, which meant that the creek was running. But it wasn’t running as briskly as it had been on Labor Day weekend. So, no creek photos. This time, the eye-catcher was a construction site…
Was pedaling around the University of Arizona late yesterday afternoon. Had the camera draped around my neck so I could quickly catch anything interesting. Went by the entrance to the business school, and the late afternoon sun and shadows got my attention…
This just in: The Arizona Daily Star says, “The three-month period from June through August tied for the 16th-warmest and was the 40th-wettest summer on record.” The Star also notes a summer rainfall of 5.28 inches, which is 0.67 of an inch above normal. The Star is reporting the rainfall measured at the Tucson International…
If you’ve ever been up close and personal with a cactus, you (ouch!) know that (yeow!) it takes a pretty tough critter to crawl all over one. Permit me to introduce you to the fig beetle. Not only does it like to do the cactus crawl, it also munches on them. This one’s chowing down…
This past Saturday, the Phoenix Mars Mission’s Science Operations Center had an open house. Being a space geek of many years standing, I couldn’t stay away from that one. As of Saturday, the Phoenix Mars Mission was up to Sol 88 — that’s mission-speak for the 88th day on the Martian surface. The plucky little…
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Tucson Lobos have basketball practice at the Northwest Center. The Tucson Lobos are Tucson’s only community-based wheelchair basketball program. They strongly believe that if you use a wheelchair, or if you’re missing a limb, you can still play sports. The Lobos play against teams in the western U.S. and northern…
Do you have some old stock certificates laying around the house? Well, don’t throw them away! They could be worth a lot of money. Stock Search International has helped investors recover millions of dollars from old stocks and bonds thought to be worthless. This Tucson-based company has been a Web design client since the late…
This past Tuesday, communities all over the United States gathered for National Night Out Against Crime and Drugs. Tucson’s festivities included a get-together at the Northwest Center in Mansfield Park. Severe thunderstorms kept attendance below the usual triple digits. They also forced the cancellation of several other NNO events. Weather notwithstanding, we enjoyed some high-quality…
This past Saturday, the Watershed Management Group helped me get my yard into better shape. Permit me to explain… After I moved in here, I set about the task of planting a xeriscape so I wouldn’t spend a fortune on water bills. In addition to planting low-water use plants, I tried to contour the property…
Went past a former place of employment a few weeks ago. The place has been out of business for almost eight years, and it’s been six years since any other business occupied the space. The landlord’s attempts to lease aren’t going very well. It’s been for rent for a couple of years… Before it rents,…
A few days after I moved to Tucson, I heard that my neighborhood was having a July 4th parade. Being the new kid in town, I was curious to see what a parade in 100-degree heat would be like. So, I ventured over to the corner of Camden Street and Palo Verde Boulevard to see…