Tucson Speaks Out: September 6

Gaza

In conformity with conditions established at the UN Convention of 1948, the “International Association of Genocide Scholars” declared the indiscriminate extermination of Gaza’s population a genocide. By definition, it follows that Israel is committing war crimes. It is unfortunate and irresponsible that the U.S. is complicit in this act, which started as a legitimate retaliation for the murderous attacks on innocent Israelis and morphed into an outright massacre of mostly innocent civilians.

Donald Trump arrogantly promised to end the Ukraine war in the first 24 hours of his presidency. He miserably failed but continues to insist that Putin, the aggressor, wants peace and that the president of Ukraine stands in the way of a resolution. In his quest for the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump brags that he settled seven wars, without getting into specifics. The one war he has the power to end is Gaza. One phone call to Netanyahu would end the genocide and could possibly qualify him for the Nobel.

The world is still waiting and hoping.

Frederick Leinfest

Oro Valley

Banning high cap mags?

Ms. Palotay, where were you in 1994? I ask because that was the year the Crime Bill took effect. It banned the manufacture and importation of all assault type guns in the US. It also banned high-cap mags except for law enforcement. Can you guess what happened? One year later, there was no change in the crime rate. Let’s fast forward to the year 2004. In the spring of that year, President Bush #2 told Congress the Crime Bill would sunset. He also told them that if they would pass it again, he would sign it back into law. Can you guess what Congress did? Nothing. They were too busy campaigning to keep their cushy jobs so they could vote themselves pay raises every year. September 2004, the bill sunset. The guns and high cap mags hit the market again. One year later, again, there was no change to the crime rate. Banning the guns and mags made no difference. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.

Steven Barker

East side

Opposing articles

Sept. 2nd’s WSJ and Arizona Star featured two opposing articles, TEP’s Susan Gray’s “Project Blue power deal positive step for Tucson” Opinion and WSJ’s front-page article “Planned AI Centers Strain Energy Grid”. We know how Project Blue benefits TEP. WSJ states “US utilities....requests equal or surpass — by multiples — the existing electricity demand in a utility’s entire service region.” A power company in Texas’s current peak requires 31 gigawatts. Data centers require 186 gigawatts (equivalent power use of at least 48 million homes), while industrial firms have requested 19 gigawatts. That’s just for power. Imagine the actual amount of water used, the heat and noise produced by data centers. TEP stands to profit, but the rest of us will lose and likely end up paying higher prices on electricity. TEP has already requested a 14% rate hike without Project Blue.

Christie Cummins

Midtown

Response to energy opinion

A recent op-ed is misleading about the cost of providing reliable electricity.

It’s true that clean energy is important to Arizona’s future, but it’s disingenuous to claim solar plus short-duration batteries can replace natural gas’s reliability. Solar with four-hour storage struggles to deliver even one-third of its rated capacity when most needed. At those times, natural gas can reliably produce around-the-clock electricity. It’s ludicrous to think utilities can meet their needs entirely with intermittent renewables, which would require significantly more battery storage, at much higher cost.

Arizona’s rates are lower than many other states, especially those with aggressive renewable mandates.

Arizona’s utilities recognize the value of cleaner resources, which is why they’re building more renewables than the 15% mandate. Arbitrary targets, like 50% solar by 2035, ignore the flexibility utilities need to build resources to meet growth and increased electrification, including EVs. Arbitrary and aggressive targets risk higher rates while compromising the reliability Arizona’s economy depends on.

Todd Hixon

North side

Discrimination

You are right, Mr. McConnell, equal treatment has become discrimination.

Once was the day, men were hired instead of women. White men were hired instead of any other race. Once was the day, men were paid more for the same job regardless of qualifications or performance. Once was the day, where white men were admitted to colleges before any others.

Obtaining equal treatment was and is why DEI exists. Now, white men, lamenting days gone by, feeling the loss of their “advantage,” cry discrimination.

If the administration of a DEI program has run amok, fix the administration, don’t trash the concept. Admission, hiring, and pay should be based on qualifications/performance, on equal treatment.

Let’s not return to times past where men and white men, in particular, got preferential treatment because they were born male and white.

Clarence Johnson

Oro Valley

The Epstein files

Editor,

This morning (Sept. 3), a press conference was held in which Epstein survivor after survivor courageously spoke. They shared their stories and asked Trump to release the Epstein files.

Trump, in real time, called the press conference a hoax. Some of the survivors said right then and there that they were not a hoax, that they were real.

Later in the day, I recalled the time when Trump declared that he was going to protect women whether they liked it or not. Survivors expressed bewilderment that he would hinder their need to heal by refusing to keep his campaign promise to release the Epstein files. Some of them said they voted for him because of his promise.

I support the Epstein survivors and think Trump has done a lot of stupid stuff ever since his Attorney General told him he was mentioned in the Epstein files.

Dave Gallagher

Foothills

Protecting our schools

Nationally, who coordinates safe schools? The FBI, Homeland Security, The Secret Service, The U.S. Marshal’s Service? All of these agencies have “programs” and websites to support the provision of information, but little to no boots on the ground participation. The Arizona Department of Education is the coordinator for school safety operational plans and grants funding. We discover though that they did not conduct important monitoring programs until recently. The intent of the program is good, improving first response on scene, more counselors and social workers. But ADE, tasked with monitoring these programs, cannot keep up — resulting in school safety gaps due to little oversight. We have been lucky so far. In Arizona, “multiple people — including elementary, middle and high school students, as well as one adult — have been caught bringing a gun to school campuses in the past 15 months.” (AZ Mirror, Aug. 12, 2025). Governor Hobbs, should DPS and the National Guard assume control of the school safety programs? Let’s close any existing school safety gaps.

Richard Harper

Northeast side

Absurd demand to justify COVID treatment

Trump demanding that drugmakers “justify” the success of their treatments for COVID-19 is absurd. He initiated Operation Warp Speed to produce this lifesaving treatment at a time of crisis. To try and protect/defend Robert F Kennedy’s ridiculous denial of vaccines with this childish demand is disappointing. Trump himself is a result of the drugmaker’s success. How hypocritical! One more deflection from us noticing his dangerous choices of leadership for our institutions.

Christie Cummins

Midtown

Responsible reporting

Had Tim Steller not outlined the five reasons our Secretary of State is alarmed about next year’s elections, would we have learned about Mr. Fontes’ concerns? Why is news of such importance relayed in an opinion column rather than on the front page? Is “Space Command will move to Alabama” more important to Star readers than our ability to vote next year?

The media is failing us. By not sounding the alarm about the president’s health, about the impact of illegal tariffs, about the attempt to illegally remove children from the country, & so much more, readers are not getting the full story. “Unbiased reporting” does not mean half-truths and “sane-washing.”

Leslie Kanberg

Downtown

Blaze

The Republican leadership (?) from Trump on down, Federal and state, create so much smoke attempting to screen “something” about Epstein, one has no choice but to believe there must be a conflagration at the center of this cloud of obfuscation.

Spencer Elliott

Oro Valley

ICE cartel recruits

Trump justified militarizing the border to stop Mexican cartels from smuggling fentanyl and an invasion of rapists and murderers. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum recently reported that 18,000 immigrants were deported to Mexico this year. Most of them lost their possessions and arrived penniless. Cartel sicarios (assassins) are usually poor young men 14-17 years old because they are not prosecuted as adults. If 1% of the deportees to Mexico are in this age group, and half are rebellious, defiant male teenagers angry at the U.S., ICE is potentially providing the cartels with 900 U.S.-savvy recruits each year. If ICE deports 200,000 immigrants each year, it will take 60 years to remove 12 million undocumented people — not the four years of his Presidency. And provide unlimited cartel recruits. The real goals of Trump’s agenda are fear, intimidation, punishment, personal enrichment, and seizing power, not immigration reform.

Tom Van Devender

North side