Tucson Speaks Out: April 28

Delusional Democrats

Those who state that Iran is winning the war need to address the facts. All their means of defense has been destroyed. Their source of income is their oil, which we are now blockading, and soon they will have to shut down wells as they will not have a place for storage. The U.S. has been acting as big brother for NATO since WW2, no longer. All of Europe is dependent on sourcing their oil though the strait. NATO now realizes it and will have to take measures. Iran will soon be bankrupt with no money flowing in. Trump states Iran will not have a nuclear weapon he can continue to wait until Iran crumbles and agrees to hand over the uranium. The hate for Trump is seen daily as the media says Iran is winning and the U.S. will have to compromise. When this is over the complex of the Middle East will change. More Arab nations will join the Abraham accord possibly allying with Israel.

Bill Dowdall

Oro Valley

Gerald Farrington, (partisan) historian

Gerald Farrington's April 7 opinion piece (Slavery, history and censorship part of our story) is breathtaking in how he 'sees' American history. "I see urine stain on black judicial robes" certainly jumps from the page. I shuddered when I contemplated that his use of the idiom employed throughout the body of this piece may have also been employed in a classroom somewhere. Surely the Star editorial board can make better use of the space on its editorial page than this type of thing.

Dewey Bidwell

Northeast side

Who is the Common Sense Institute?

Your recent coverage of the Common Sense Institute’s report on Tucson’s economy left out one fact that changes the story: CSI is not a neutral research organization.

CSI Arizona is a three-year-old affiliate of a Colorado think tank and a dues-paying member of the State Policy Network — a national coalition of conservative organizations with documented funding ties to the Koch network and allied foundations that oppose public transit investment in every city they operate.

When the Star quoted its director calling free transit a “relative luxury” without disclosing that context, it wasn’t reporting. It was doing the organization’s distribution work.

Tucson is a top-10 aerospace manufacturing metro, home to a $3 billion optics cluster, anchor of a binational trade corridor of growing national importance. It deserves independent economic analysis — the kind Brookings has produced for Cleveland and Pittsburgh. What it got was a pre-packaged report whose conclusions were set before the research began.

Meredith Aronson

Midtown

Military preparedness?

Pete Hegseth claimed sobriety and promised to continue that behavior as War Secretary. Ostensibly, that isn't enough; his ability to think logically is compromised.

Hegseth has now allowed soldiers to forgo Flu shots. Having previously experienced the flu does nothing for future immunity because the flu rapidly evolves thereby avoiding the human immune system's defense against it. That is why the vaccination medicine is reformulated frequently.

Allowing soldiers, who are compelled to routinely congregate in large groups, to eschew immunization is insanity. What happens to "military preparedness" on the day when battalions of troops report to sick call?

It's unknown if his decision is due to his previous behavior or to taking health advice from RFK Jr., but, if this policy is allowed to continue, it will surely come to the welcome attention of Xi Jinping.

Rick Cohn

West side

No accountability

The moment he got away with January 6th, he knew he could get away with anything.

Terry Louck

East side

Project Blue — Lucky timing or timely execution

Between 2020 and 2023, TEP undertook upgrades to the Vail Substation and associated transmission lines to "enhance electrical reliability and support the development of a cleaner and greener energy grid." Recent testimony during TEP’s ongoing rate case hearing revealed that from 2024 to 2025, TEP completed and upgraded the infrastructure requirements to a system capacity six times that required for regional growth in the Vail area. It might be entirely coincidental, but a sixfold system capacity expansion, the County’s approval of the sale of the Project Blue site to Beale Infrastructure, and the TEP rate hike request all occurred within months, some occurring within days of each other. It strains credulity that the TEP rate increase has nothing to do with Project Blue. Makes you wonder who knew what and when they knew it. Hopefully the rate case hearing will provide answers, but that information is probably subject to a nondisclosure agreement.

Sheldon Clark

Vail

Growth

I am so proud of Tucson rejecting the "economic development" carrot!

Tucson has always had its own identity and does not want more urban sprawl such as is happening in Phoenix. My only hope is that their irresponsible,

water-guzzling sprawl does not reach us!

Tucson has geographic limitations to growth; we are in a valley surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides: we retain smog.

Elected officials need to continue to heed the voters' expressed desire to reject more and more growth. Growth simply does not equal improved quality of living.

Patricia Cattani

East side

Local talent at Tucson Botanical Gardens

Today, Sunday, April 26, I attended a performance by Zuzi Dance, a local dance organization, at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Accompanied by beautiful vocal and instrumental music, the dramatic and lyrical dance portrayed stories from Frida Kahlo’s life. At a time when we are often overwhelmed by current events, this beautiful, emotional and intimate performance reminded me that dance, music art and nature can combine to inspire, soothe and entertain. Thank you to all the performers, to Nanette Robinson for her contributions to our community and to the Tucson Botanical Gardens for hosting this event.

Susan Bovre

Foothills

Ciscomani, Trump yes man

Many LTEs say Juan Ciscomani is a man of his word. Yet, he often finds himself in conflicting positions before the vote. Despite calling the OBBB an “abomination bill” and urging others to vote against it, he ultimately voted in favor.

Ciscomani, contemptuous of his voters, simply appeases them. He "opposed" the OBBB, which would have cut Snap, Pell, and Medicaid coverage for 342,000 Arizonans. Five Arizona hospitals could close and jobs could be lost. He voted yes. Publicly he opposed Trump's war, but he voted yes in support. Moreover, he voted for inflationary tariffs. He will oppose Trump's war request for $1 trillion and say yes when the vote occurs.

Although he repeatedly emphasizes his loyalty to his constituents, he has voted with his party over 275 times. In addition, he supports Trump-promoted issues despite publicly opposing them. C-SPAN says Ciscomani has voted against his party 0% of the time (as of 4/16/26), but he’s 40 for 40 in support of Trump.

Sheldon Metz

Northeast side

ESA vouchers not a right

I have dedicated my time to collecting signatures for the Protect Education Act since March. I want all students to be safe and learning, and I want accountability for taxpayer funds. Most people are happy to sign, as they understand that universal vouchers (ESA) have little accountability built into the program and siphon money away from public education. Now, wealthy families can use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private schools, even though they can afford to without help. One person, with whom I had a civil discussion despite our differences on vouchers, claimed that millionaires should have the same rights as everyone else.

I believe millionaires already have the same rights as everyone else, and taxpayer handouts for private education are not a right. Rights are things like freedom of speech, the press, assembly and religion. Vouchers should be for those who need help.

Please sign the Save Our Schools Arizona sponsored Protect Education petition and support good public schools for everyone.

Nancy Smith

Midtown