Tucson Speaks Out: July 1

Masks for ICE agents

I remain perplexed by ICE agents being masked while making arrests for suspected illegals. I know I know they say that were their faces and identities known some might retaliate against families of agents. Every day police officers across the nation make arrests without masks and somehow are able to withstand the possibility of revenge. I’m also bothered that the agents often wear jeans and sweatshirts often with no apparent identification. Please at least post POLICE on clothing so that a suspect can be sure that you are who you say you are. The agents are doing a job and I respect that but I believe they can do so without looking like 3rd world bandits.

Philip Reinecker

East side

Daniel Hernandez experience

Daniel did in fact save Gabby’s life, with his EMT training, otherwise she would not have made it to the hospital, where lifesaving surgery occurred. There was a LTE that questioned that, and I was appalled by the letter. Yes Daniel supports Israel the only democracy in the Middle East, yes he has empathy for loss of life on both sides, but has always wanted the hostages returned, and Hamas lay down their weapons, before peace could be attained. Daniel is also concerned by loss of Medicare, Medicaid, loss of jobs, everything a decent Democrat is for. I know all three candidates, Daniel has had on hand experience in the Legislature, and on hand experience in Washington D.C. dealing with gun violence, he fills all the boxes. Daniel is qualified and deserves to be our next Congressperson from CD 7.

Andrew Kunsberg

East side

You can’t make this up

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported without due process to El Salvador. Garcia was in the United States legally and not convicted of a crime. Our Judicial system brings him back to the US to give him due process rights guaranteed by our Constitution. The DOJ finds a real criminal named Jose Reyes to testify against Garcia for smuggling. Reyes is a convicted smuggler and was deported only to return to commit gun crimes in Texas. Reyes is the criminal we were all promised that would be removed from the United States. Instead, Reyes will not be deported if he testifies against Garcia. DOJ gives Reyes a “Get Out of Deportation Free” card if he testifies against Garcia. DOJ will “script” the testimony of a criminal to get the political outcome Trump wants. I hope the DOJ “script” of what Reyes testimony is supposed to be will be in Spanish and English.

Richard Bechtold

West side

History lessons

For a change I am almost in complete agreement with the frequently published opinions of our conservative friend Mr. Johnson re. his “history lesson” letter. The criticisms of Trump’s bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities were not that it was a bad idea, but rather that he ordered it without congressional authorization as required by law, and he erroneously bloviated about their “complete destruction” before the facts were in. The most optimistic intelligence analysis is that, at best, the bombing set their program back an estimated 6 months. He is correct: “only history will tell” whether the strike had any effect on Iran’s ambitions.

Morton Smith

Foothills

To quote the bard...

... something is rotten in Washington, D.C. Donald Trump has threatened two-term Republican senator Tom Tillis with being primaried in the senator’s next election. In response, Tillis has announced that he will not seek reelection. We can consider Tillis a coward for not being willing to be primaried but there is something more at work: Tillis, a staunch conservative, opposes Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” because it threatens the welfare of his constituents and raises the national debt by more than $3 trillion. He is more concerned about his constituents than fealty to Trump. Isn’t that the way our elected representatives are supposed to behave? The something rotten is that we have a wannabe mob boss acting as president, deciding who should represent states instead of citizens selecting their representatives. Is this thuggish president so powerful that his own party members are terrified of performing their constitutionally ordained job? We really are in trouble and it is more than rotten. It stinks.

Barbara Benjamin

Foothills

Ciscomani’s vote will change his career path

Hello Juan.

If you vote in support of the Senate-revised BBB, your career in Congressional politics will be over forever.

Southern Arizona is swarming with voters outraged by your initial vote to support this outrageous bill. Have you noticed the weekly protests outside your Tucson office (can you see them from your hideout in the basement?) and the No Kings protests?

A vote to kill this bill means:

• 130,000 of your constituents will not lose their health care
• Our budget deficit will not be increased by $3.3 trillion
• The billionaires won’t get their $4 trillion tax breaks extended
• Lower- and middle-income constituents won’t be hit with $15,000 tax increases
• And thousands of impoverished children here won’t go hungry by protecting SNAP

A vote for this bill means:

• You will forever be a pariah in southern Arizona
• Your reputation for being a corrupt and cowardly hack will grow
• And your career representing us will be over

Your choice, Juan ... We are watching you.

Jeff Herr

North side

Oro Valley, read my lips

The Town of Oro Valley is launching a community engagement effort to gather public input on new proposals to introduce a broader tax base and adjust select fees. When our town begins discussing the possibility of new taxes and user fees, it’s usually a clear indicator that current revenue streams are no longer sufficient to meet ongoing operational costs and future obligations.

Previous Oro Valley administrations addressed rising costs not by imposing new taxes, but by encouraging responsible growth through strategic annexations. Regrettably, it seems the Winfield administration viewed growth as an obstacle.

On Joe Winfield’s official campaign website in May 2022, they proudly asserted a record of “fiscal responsibility with taxpayer funds.” If that’s truly the case, then a straightforward question arises: Why are new taxes necessary? After all, the campaign also made a clear commitment: No New Taxes.

This moment might be remembered in Oro Valley history as Joe Winfield’s equivalent of a “read my lips” declaration, a statement that will define his leadership.

James Prunty

Oro Valley

Silverbell Golf Course

The condition of the Silverbell Golf Course is deplorable. It has always been overwatered, but lately the course is near unplayable due to standing water, puddles and mud everywhere. The cart paths are deeply rutted with numerous potholes. This has been going on for years, but in the past 1-2 years, maintenance at Silverbell has declined significantly. The condition of the course is an embarrassment to a city that attracts many thousand of out of state golfers to play our city courses. A great deal of taxpayer money has been spent on concepts to remodel the Randolph complex. Some of that money would have been much better spent on the maintenance and improvement budget for Silverbell.

Duane Romer

East side

Who sent youth tourists to a war zone?

While most of us applaud efforts of Senators Gallego and Kelly and others that rescued Jewish high school students from Phoenix trapped in Israel as the regional conflict worsened, questions remain about who sponsored what amounted to a propaganda junket to a war zone, putting the youth at risk.

Additionally, did the students receive factual information about conditions in Gaza? A June 25 Star article indicates witnesses and hospitals reported attacks by Israeli forces on Palestinians seeking food at distribution sites in Gaza killed at least 44. Estimated death toll in Gaza since the Hamas attack on Israel October 7, 2023, exceeds 56,000, preponderantly civilians.

Taglit Birthright Israel, which promotes free “educational tourism” for Jewish youth, helped effect the rescue, but who sponsored the Phoenix group? Who paid the fares? A conflict zone is no place for youth to study “Jewish religious traditions and Israeli history and culture,” biased or unbiased.

Ila Abernathy

Midtown

Clarification

It appears that some readers interpreted my Sunday Tucson Opinion piece, “A couple hundred thousand saguaros won’t be missed,” as a direct reply to the Star’s editorial, “Our public lands must be preserved.” Let me set the record straight: it wasn’t.

To those perplexed by my intent, I invite you to familiarize yourselves with a few literary devices. Try Googling:

• Irony
• Sarcasm
• Cynicism
• Satire

Howard Weiss

Midtown

Medicaid cuts hurt my patients

In May of 2025, Juan Ciscomani voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which:

Cuts Medicaid just under $1 trillion;

Cuts Medicare up to $500 billion;

Applies more fees to be paid by Medicaid recipients;

Places the onus of funding Medicaid on the states — hurting Arizona due to a trigger law that takes over when spending surpasses 6% of the budget. The trigger law would balloon the deficit by $1 billion to maintain Medicaid rolls;

Requires 80 hours of work a month to stay on Medicaid. If a single adult loses their job, they are at the whim of the job market for medical coverage;

Reduces funding for teaching and rural hospitals, resulting in hospital closures and overrun emergency rooms;

Increases the frequency of Medicaid eligibility verification causing disruption in care and access to medications;

Results in 1.22 billion in job losses and $12 billion in revenue to states.

Ciscomani said he supported Medicaid and instead has voted to gut Medicaid, hurting his constituents.

Diana Perry

Northwest side

Federal budget/deficit

Let me get this straight. The President and Congressional Republicans are, with a straight face, proposing a Federal Budget with a projected deficit of $3-4 trillion over ten years while reducing business and individual tax revenue. Wealthy taxpayers will see the greatest benefit from the cuts. And our safety net of critical services such as food and medical services for low resource citizens will also be cut to accommodate the tax cuts.

It is remarkable the the proponents of this budget have yet explain the need for the tax cuts in terms of the public interest. I guess the only rationale, which they choose not to discuss, is greed.

A sad day for America.

Jim Greene

Northwest side