Arizona Daily Star columnist Tim Steller's top 5 columns of 2021
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We are sharing Arizona Daily Star reporters' and photographers' favorite work from 2021.
Tim Steller is an opinion columnist. A 25-year veteran of reporting and editing, he digs into issues and stories that matter in the Tucson area, reports the results and tells you his conclusions.
(5) updates to this series since Updated
Linda Mendibles was a stalwart survivor on the streets south of Tucson's downtown. That she was killed in the spot where she often slept shocks and puzzles the people who knew her.
The GOP has increasingly turned against the principle of majority rule and yearned for an America as it used to be. No wonder the party denied an election result so painful as Biden winning Arizona.
Kelly Walker, who operates Viva Coffee Shop in Tucson, portrays himself as a masculine protector of the persecuted, but he has thrived on above-the-law intimidation over pandemic policies, columnist writes.
As hard as it is for anyone to live in Tucson's record heat wave, it's harder for people who live outside. Though the city and other entities are offering cooling stations, few are using them.
In Tucson, we have plenty of water to maintain green landscapes, and we've done so eagerly in the pandemic. But in the surrounding desert and mountains, the water is quickly disappearing, threatening plants and animals.
Tim Steller
Columnist
An off-duty police officer took two women to the ground outside a Tucson restaurant, kneeling on the neck of one. His colleagues investigating the incident made a troubling choice about whom to charge.
Why am I feeling hopeful? In part, it's just a New Year's resolution — try to focus more on the good while maintaining my natural skepticism. But also, I think optimism is justified, even now, even if it is a struggle to sustain it.
Tim Steller's opinion: Path to Jan. 6 came from Arizona, circled backFor Star subscribers: The efforts to undermine Arizona's election results looked laughable in late 2020. Now we can see they were part of an aggrieved electoral minority's effort to seize illegitimate power.
For Star subscribers: Arizona schools re-opened last week amid a wave of COVID-19 infections, an existing staff shortage, and complex, changing pandemic rules. The governor's response: Seek political advantage.
For Star subscribers: The City of Tucson wants to scale back a Regional Transportation Authority project to expand North First Avenue. The practical proposal would cost less and help pedestrians, but RTA is resisting.
For Star subscribers: Pima County is considering adopting an acknowledgment of the area's indigenous people and history. These simple acknowledgments are common lately but can be pointless, or worse, if done wrong.
For Star subscribers: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is right to worry about political polarization, but that isn't the reason states are imposing voting restrictions. And she ought to push for filibuster reforms herself.
Cochise County symbolizes the country's struggles with COVID-19. With schools closing and hospitals overfilling, elected officials rejected COVID-19 grant money, citing their own research.
For Star subscribers: Across Tucson school districts, teachers and staff are stretched thin, racing to cover for each other. But the governor and Legislature are exploiting public schools as political targets.
Some Honduran migrants say the end of the 12-year narco-dictatorship in their home country is likely to ease the conditions that have led to periods of mass migration.