The Explorer, May 5, 2021

EXPLORER The Voice of Marana, Oro Valley and Northwest Tucson

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V  • N 

Mystic Blues

New album commemorates the ‘Liminal’ nature of Southern Arizona | Page 13

INSIDE

MAKE IT SEW A new installation at the Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art shows three works by Mexican artist Pia Camil, who combines paintings, fabrics and sculpture.

Read more on page 12.

Our Town

County attorney says shooting justified | Page 6

Installation view, Pia Camil: Three Works (Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, April 10 – September 19, 2021). Photograph by Logan Havens.

Courtesy the artist; Blum & Poe, Los Angeles/ New York/ Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson

Voices

Letter to Editor and Reader photo | Page 8

Sports & Rec AIA got it mostly right for high school athletes in 2020 | Page 14

Pima County rolling out mobile vaccination sites C D Tucson Local Media

P

aul Madero walked into the Fox Tucson Theatre mobile vaccination site following almost a month in the hospital after a mountain bike accident.

Madero’s daughter, April Madero, had already gotten her family vaccinated, but was unable to get her

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father an appointment. April saw the Fox Theatre offered vaccinations without an appointment and brought her father.

Madero, 65, did not have much hesitation as his daughter made the appointment for him.

“She’s the one that made the appointment, so I figured it was safe,” said Madero.

On Friday evening, as some

people were heading home from their jobs and others were headed out for a night at now-open bars and clubs, downtown’s Fox Tucson Theatre opened its doors not for a show, but to provide vaccinations.

Over several Fridays, the Fox will offer no-appointment walkin Moderna vaccinations.

See VACCINE, P10

Pima JTED balances handson learning in a virtual year J G Tucson Local Media

S

tudents in Demi Vaughn’s medical assisting class learn a variety of healthcare skills, from drawing blood to checking vitals. And at the end of a school year, they can earn multiple medical certifications that can lead to direct employment in the healthcare field. But when the pandemic hit, all of this became uncertain; how can students meaningfully practice giving injections over the computer? For Vaughn, shifting to a virtual classroom came with its obvious difficulties—but also some lessons that she continues to utilize even now that her students are back to learning in person.

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Upcoming Events • GOODBYE COVID EVENT! In partnership with SAACA • THE REAL ESTATE MARKET: A TIME TO SELL? The market is at an all time high. It is a sellers market.

Buyers interest is very high. Covid, interest rates and lack of inventory are driving the market.

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EXPLORER

The Explorer and Marana News is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout the Northwest Tucson. To find out where you can pick up a free copy of the Explorer and Marana News, go to www.TucsonLocalMedia.com

STAFF ADMINISTRATION Steve T. Strickbine, Publisher Michael Hiatt, Vice President Jaime Hood, General Manager, Ext. 12 jaime@tucsonlocalmedia.com Claudine Sowards, Accounting, Ext. 13 claudine@tucsonlocalmedia.com Sheryl Kocher, Receptionist, Ext. 10 sheryl@tucsonlocalmedia.com EDITORIAL Jim Nintzel, Executive Editor, Ext. 38 jimn@tucsonlocalmedia.com Jeff Gardner, Associate Editor Ext. 43, jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com Mike Truelsen, Web Editor Ext. 35, mike@tucsonlocalmedia.com Christina Duran, Staff Reporter, Ext. 42, christina@tucsonlocalmedia.com PRODUCTION David Abbott, Production Manager, Ext. 18 david@tucsonlocalmedia.com Ryan Dyson Graphic Designer, Ext. 26, ryand@tucsonlocalmedia.com Emily Filener, Graphic Designer, Ext. 28 emilyf@tucsonlocalmedia.com CIRCULATION Alex Carrasco, Circulation, Ext. 17 alexc@tucsonlocalmedia.com ADVERTISING Kristin Chester, Account Executive, Ext. 25 kristin@tucsonlocalmedia.com Lisa Hopper, Account Executive, Ext. 39 Lisa@tucsonlocalmedia.com Candace Murray, Account Executive, Ext. 24, candace@tucsonlocalmedia.com Tyler Vondrak, Account Executive, Ext. 27 tyler@tucsonlocalmedia.com EDITORIAL & AD CONTENT The Explorer and Marana News expresses its opinion in the editorial. Opinions expressed in guest commentaries, perspectives, cartoons or letters to the editor are those of the author. The content and claims of any advertisement are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. Tucson Local Media assumes no responsibility for the claims or content of any advertisement. Publisher has the right to edit for size or refuse any advertisement at his or her discretion.

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Hot Picks Old Pueblo Playwrights 30th Annual New Play Festival. One of the silver linings to the pandemic is how many forms of art are now available to enjoy online, from home.

Throughout May, enjoy some thought-provoking literary theater for free!

Both monologues and multi-character scripts, all written by Tucson authors and which tie in themes related to the pandemic and marital fidelity, will be performed in staged readings. The monologues are “Quarantine Poem,” “Confronting Delusions of Self-Sufficiency” and “The Letter.” One-acts are Nana and Paige and Zoom Intervention. No tickets or reservations needed: Just tune into the Old Pueblo Playwrights YouTube channel anytime throughout May to view the selections.

Art Institute Spring Student Exhibit. Are you familiar with the ArizonaSonora Desert Museum Art Institute? This show is a good way to get familiar!

The show includes more than 50 original pieces by the Art Institute’s students, in mediums including mosaic, oil, scratchboard and photography. Each of them aims to reflect and interpret the unique beauty of the Southwest desert.

The show also features portfolios from two Nature Certificate Graduates, Scott Adams and Karen Nealon. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturdays and Sundays.

On display through May 16. Arizona-Sonora Desert

Museum Art Institute, 2021 N. Kinney Road. Entrance to exhibit included with museum admission.

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Explorer and Marana News, May 5, 2021

Pima JTED: Hybrid learning and new programs Continued from P1 “It took a lot of adjusting, because I usually taught everything hands-on right in front of them,” said Vaughn, a medical assistant instructor for the Pima Joint Technical Education District. “Now, I’ve learned so much this year that I want to bring into my teaching going forward that I never would have known about or thought about. I’m a relatively new teacher, but I was already kind of stuck in the way I taught. I liked that I was pushed to try something new, like technology and different ways of teaching. And now I get to bring it all together and I think it will make me a stronger teacher because I have so many perspectives.”

Pima JTED is a technical education district that serves more than a dozen public school districts throughout Southern Arizona, including Amphitheater, Marana, Tucson, Nogales and Flowing Wells school districts.

The high school students who enroll in Pima JTED’s extracurricular courses can earn class credit, industry certifications, and even college credit.

For Pima JTED, 2020 looked similar to other schools: information about the virus came trickling in through February and early March, and by spring break the decision was made to not return to in-person classes. The hands-on learning stopped, and nursing students were pulled from their required clinical hours— many of which took place at long-term care centers.

“This was probably the hardest thing our teachers and students ever had to do, but they made the best of it,” said Pima JTED superintendent Kathy Prather. “We were really impacted because everything we do revolves around hands-on. It provided special challenges because students come to us for that kind of hands-on experience.

But we immediately went into a mode of maximizing what we were doing.”

The first hurdle was to make sure virtual classrooms would work. Many students and even staff did not have adequate internet at home. The district sent out a survey regarding hardware and internet needs that would allow virtual learning. In the end, Pima JTED spent roughly $250,000 on software (such as Swift K12, Remind and Big Interview) and hardware (internet hotspots) for online teaching.

For the reduced school staff who continued to work in-person, the district also spent $200,000 on protective equipment (plexiglass and face shields), but that cost was lowered thanks to government reimbursements, loans and donations.

Pima JTED’s classes range from aviation technology to HVAC to cosmetology and dental assisting.

Prather says a critical piece for these classes moving online was YouTube videos.

Teachers would film themselves doing an activity, then the students would make their own videos replicating the activity.

“When you go to an online environment, one of the

Photo courtesy of the Pima JTED

JTED Health Care Foundations student Clarissa Salas takes the blood pressure of instructor Robert Nemec while student Jonathan Bonilla Leon participates in online learning. biggest challenges is communication and engagement. With this, it was as if they were in class, but it was all through remote YouTube videos,” Prather said. “Another cool thing was when our culinary instructors would record a video like a cooking show. But then we heard that when the students were making theirs, the family would join in.”

Another surprise the teachers found is how much the students could educate them about the computers they were using. Prather describes modern students as “digital natives,” those who grew up with technology in their hands nearly from birth. Vaughn says her students would help her with various tech issues, from

the new software the class was based around, to simply being muted during video calls.

“We kind of worked as a team through the online process. It unified us and helped us become closer by getting through it together,” Vaughn said.

Fully online learning continued through the beginning of the fall 2020 semester. Students only returned to Pima JTED’s campuses with a hybrid learning model in October 2020.

Vaughn’s medical assisting classes are traditionally four hours long: roughly one hour of lecture, then three hours of lab time. But after so much online learning, she realized with a hybrid schedule she could keep all

the lectures online, and save in-person time exclusively for hands-on work.

“When they came to class, they knew exactly what they were supposed to do because we were able to go in such depth online,” Vaughn said. “I actually do want to bring some of that back to the classroom, because it was nice to have them look at it from that perspective and then go into the lab. I feel like they were more confident.”

Pima JTED also expanded their eight-hour Skills Saturdays, where students meet with instructors on the weekends for extra hands-on time.

“We have really stepped that up this year, trying to get kids more time with hands-on skills. Programs

that didn’t normally have a Skills Saturday now do, such as HVAC,” said Greg D’Anna, director of public relations for Pima JTED. However, Pima JTED did have to cancel their in-person certification ceremony that usually takes place at the end of the school year.

Despite this, Prather says the district “did not skip a beat” with licensing and credentialing for 2020. She says this is because the district was doing so well up until the pandemic hit. She does admit that the 2020-2021 school year may not have as many licenses and certifications because it was mostly online.

These complications have not stopped Pima JTED’s growth, however. Despite the pandemic, the district’s student body increased. In the 2019-2020 school year, all Pima JTED central and satellite sites constituted 16,406 students. For 2020-2021, that number increased to 16,446.

“As technology and the growing need for teaching skills has increased, there’s a growing understanding and appreciation for these skills. At the same time, students really want more of an engaging, hands-on experience. Sitting in the classrooms and being lectured to doesn’t work for them anymore. They want hands-on and relevancy,” Prather said. “It is clear from the support we’re receiving from the community that the pandemic actually drove more students to our programs. What we do is more important than ever, and it’s viewed as more important than ever by our students and families.”

Explorer and Marana News, May 5, 2021

Photo courtesy of the Pima JTED

Flowing Wells High School Senior Sara Erraji performs a blood draw on classmate Jessica Hernandez, a Marana High School Senior, while JTED Medical Assistant instructor Demi Vaughn observes.

Beyond an expanded student body, Pima JTED has also added new programs over the past year, and plans to add another. Their new Comprehensive Health Care Technician emphasis, which started August 2020, was designed as a result of worker need in the local medical industry. Through it, high school students can earn three certifications: Phlebotomy Technician, Electrocardiogram Technician and Electronic Health Record Specialist. The inaugural Comprehensive Health Care Technician cohort includes 44 high school students.

The Pharmacy Technician program, which is set to begin in August 2021, was designed with the University of Arizona’s College of Pharmacy.

“We’re constantly evolving and changing, but our teachers do a fantastic job of keeping up with industry,” Prather said. “A lot of people think that JTED is only for kids that will go to work right after high school. And yes, we do have a number of students with that goal. But

a majority of our students plan to go onto post-secondary, and we want to make sure we are offering a pathway approach and continue our partnerships with Pima Community College and the University of Arizona.”

Pima JTED also started an Air Transportation/FAA Drone Operator program, where students can learn the principles of aircraft design and performance, aircraft flight systems and controls, and radio communication.

Through this, they can earn FAA certifications for drone pilot, ground school and basic ground instruction.

“With the college loan crisis that has grown in this country, a lot of people are looking for a career in technical education. Students can enter good-paying jobs.

And that’s not to say they won’t go to college, but they can now afford to pay for it,” D’Anna said. “We’ve become more and more attractive over the years. Our students are in high demand.”

Following the swell of infection numbers over winter, students were forced to

return to virtual-only learning once more.

“They were more upset in December because they had already gotten a taste of what it was like to be back,” Vaughn said. “But they understood why it was necessary, and I kept reassuring them that no matter what it takes, I’d get them to that finish line.”

Fully online learning continued through February. Then the students were able to return to hybrid learning, and finally, in April, students were able to return to class full-time. Despite the school year almost being over, Vaughn says that first full day back felt like the first day of school, with many students seeing their classmates face-to-face for the first time.

“I am grateful, because I learned a lot through it: connecting with students, my teaching, the school system overall,” Vaughn said.

“And if anything, we need to come out of this as a positive that we became stronger. I think it made all of us better teachers.”

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Explorer and Marana News, May 5, 2021

OUR TOWN

County Attorney determines Arizona Pavilions shooting was justified under the law Jim Nintzel

Tucson Local Media

T

he Pima County Attorney’s Office said an April shooting in the Arizona Pavilions shopping center parking lot was justified because the victim was threatening the shooter with a gun.

“The shooting of Mr. Smith was justified under the law,” wrote Pima County Attorney’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Dan South, who reviewed the case file.

South said the office’s Supervisor of Community

Protection, Mark Hotchkiss, independently reviewed the file and came to the same conclusion.

Multiple witnesses and video surveillance revealed that Jarron Smith, 30, and Ali Almazouie, 27, got into an argument after their cars nearly collided around 12:30 p.m. on April 10 in the parking lot in front of the Ross Dress for Less store at 8040 N. Cortaro Road, according to South’s memo explaining why charges would not be filed.

Both men exited their vehicles and Smith punched Almazouie before telling him: “I’ll put you to sleep”

and “I’ve got something for you,” according to the memo.

Smith then grabbed a gun from his car and chambered a round before Almazouie drew his own gun and fired one shot at Smith, hitting him in the abdomen.

Almazouie then joined other bystanders to give Smith first aid and when one witness tried to seperate the two of them, Smith told them: “He’s helping me, helping me,” according to South.

In interviews with Marana police officers, Smith confirmed “most of the accounts of multiple witness-

es, including that he fought with Mr. Almazouie and that Mr. Smith had his own gun in his hand when he was shot,” South said.

Smith was transported to UMC Banner Hospital after officers provided first aid on the scene.

Smith’s family members had launched a GoFundMe page to assist with medical bills and disputed the details released by police and prosecutors but the fundraising effort was not visible on the website as of Sunday, May 2.

Marana Adonis Road extension opens to public

Courtesy Photo

Staff Report Tucson Local Media

O

n Friday, April 23, the Marana Town Council celebrated the grand opening of the Adonis Road Extension project with a ribbon cutting. The road project includes a two-lane roadway that provides secondary access to the Adonis Austin Counts contributed and San Lucas communities from west Grier Road to to this report.

west Tangerine Road. This new road is approximately three miles long with two travel lanes and corresponding shoulders. According to the Town, the extension also allows access to Tangerine Road and provides a vital safety outlet in the event of an emergency at the railroad crossing. Additionally, the project encourages economic development east of I-10.

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esidents at Splendido, an all-inclusive community in Oro Valley for those 55 and better, have been traveling the world, courtesy of a program that offers an immersive exploration of the culture and cuisine of a different country each month. The Passports Program has included guest lecturers such as noted food historian Francine Segan; collaborative art projects, including one led by an art department at the University of Belfast in Ireland; musical performances including a group of taiko drummers; and, of course, delicious food.

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German, Japanese, and Italian • 1.5 lbs. small red beets, dishes. cooked, peeled, and sliced • 6 strips of bacon “We try to cook every dish • 1/2 lb. baby spinach from scratch, as with our • 6 oz. Cashel Blue cheese, regular menu,” says Chef crumbled Masood. “We’ve gotten a • ½ cup toasted hazelnuts positive response from • 4 Tbsp. fresh chives, residents. So far, it’s been chopped exciting.”

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beets, Cashel Blue cheese crumbles, bacon, chopped nuts, and chives. Drizzle with dressing.

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Beef and Guinness Stew Serves 6.

• 3 ½ lbs. beef chuck stew meat, 1 ½ inch diced • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour • Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste • 3 ½ Tbsp. suet or vegetable oil • 1 lb. yellow onion, ½ inch diced • ¾ lb. white mushrooms, quartered • 2 cups Guinness extra stout • 1 ½ cups beef stock • 1 tsp. brown sugar • 1 tsp. dried thyme • 1/8 tsp. nutmeg • 3 bay leaves

blend out

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Heat oil in a Dutch oven until very hot, add meat and brown well, then remove the meat from pan and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and cook for three to four minutes over medium heat. Return meat to the brasier, add mushrooms, beer, stock, sugar, thyme, nutmeg, and bay leaves. Bring Directions: to boil, then reduce to simmer.

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Oro Valley, AZ

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VOICES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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read about what is currently happening in the commencing audit of Maricopa county’s election processing and results, and seeing one side throwing every possible roadblock to prevent this from happening. If that faction was so sure that the election was performed without fault, would they not be anxious to prove their point and salvage a victory over those

taking the opposite position? It doesn’t make sense, but it does!

With half our nation suspicious about last November’s election, to know that at least our election in Arizona was processed with absolute integrity would go a long way towards voter trust. Without trust in our voting processes, what kind of a State or Nation are we heading for?

Granted, with a completed audit, one side becomes emboldened, while the other side relents their

argument to the truth. But all aside, wouldn’t you want to know if the horse you’ve been riding and feeding is the right horse?

John Spitler Tucson Want to see your opinion in the paper? Send your letter to the editor to jimn@ tucsonlocalmedia.com. Submission does not guarantee print. Limit your letter to 350 words. Guest commentaries should be limited to 600 words.

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READER PHOTO OF THE WEEK Reader Jerry LeMay shared this photo of a vibrant cactus blossom in Oro Valley. Happy spring! Send your photos to readerphotos@tucsonlocalmedia.com. Include your name, contact information and details about the photo, including who took it, where it was taken and the subject. Not all photos can be printed. See other photos online at www. tucsonlocalmedia.com.

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ith a major research university right in our backyard, a strong military presence and innovative companies throughout the metro region, there’s often a plethora of interesting science and technology news to be found in Southern Arizona. Here’s a breakdown of the most interesting recent developments.

Mapping the Invisible.

Researchers at the University of Arizona have released a new map of the outermost reaches of our galaxy. The vast, distant area beyond the Milky Way’s spiraling arms is known as the “galactic halo,” and is believed to contain a large amount of dark matter—a mysterious invisible substance believed to make up the bulk of the matter in the universe.

The new map is based around the “wake” made by a smaller galaxy (the Large Magellanic Cloud) passing through our Milky Way. The Large Magellanic Cloud’s gravity disturbed the galactic halo and the stars behind it. Although dark matter does not emit light, its gravitational influence can be observed. According to UA, the stars seen trailing the Large Magellanic Cloud are thought to be the outline of this dark matter wake, like foam behind a ship. UA reported that the map’s authors were inspired to hunt for the

Large Magellanic Cloud’s wake after a computer model predicted what the dark matter in the galactic halo should look like. As it turns out, the model was accurate with regards to the general structure and location of the star wake.

According to Gurtina Besla, study co-author and associate professor of astronomy at UA’s Steward Observatory, what has been a purely theoretical prediction has now been validated by observational data, providing a compelling argument for the existence of dark matter.

Because there is still so much to learn about dark matter, various theories exist about its nature. The team used the “cold dark matter” theory, the most commonly accepted. Had the team built their map based on a different theory, the wake’s shape may have looked different.

The paper, “All-sky dynamical response of the Galactic halo to the Large Magellanic Cloud” was published in the journal Nature, and was co-authored by researchers from the University of Arizona and Harvard University.

Measuring Cancer Treatments. A new test that uses artificial intelligence may lead to better treatment for advanced bowel cancer patients. The test is a collaboration between the United Kingdom-based University of Leeds and Oro Valley-based Roche Tissue Diagnostics.

The technique uses AI to measure the levels of two proteins, AREG and EREG, which are produced by some colorectal cancers. According to the University of Leeds, algorithms driven by AI enabled the researchers to show that patients with higher levels of these proteins received significant benefit from a treatment which inhibits a different protein (EGFR) involved in cancer cell growth. There was also evidence that patients with low levels of the proteins did not benefit from the treatment that inhibits EGFR protein. Currently, anti-EGFR treatments are only given to patients with advanced bowel cancer, but thanks to better understanding from this research, scientists hope the treatment can be given to patients more effectively.

According to study lead author Christopher Williams, as more treatment options become available for advanced colorectal cancer, it is becoming increasingly difficult for patients and their doctors to choose the treatment that’s right for them.

This test will help patients navigate this decision-making process more easily.

The study “Artificial intelligence-assisted amphiregulin and epiregulin immunohistochemistry predicts panitumumab benefit in RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer,” was published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

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Continued from P1

But last Friday, the theater vaccinated only 18 individuals, although health officials had about 300 doses of Moderna allocated for the event.

Heading to a dinner downtown, Maria Mendoza declined a vaccination, because she did not think it was necessary for her to get vaccinated at the moment.

She said she would wait until the government makes it mandatory.

Some people walking past the theater said they had already been vaccinated while others were waiting to see if there were adverse effects, like Mendoza.

As health officials work to overcome such “vaccine hesitancy” in the community, Pima County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are teaming up to launch mobile vaccination units to reach vulnerable communities with high risks of COVID-19

exposure and infection.

The operation includes two mobile vaccination units (MVUs), able to administer 250 vaccines per day each, along with administrative staff and federal vaccinators with 70 personnel from FEMA, Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Labor, according to a county press release.

The units will run through June 26, operating at two concurrent locations for three days, with one day to tear down and move to the next location. The locations were selected based on census tract data and the Social Vulnerability Index of the area to identify highly vulnerable communities.

“We’re extremely grateful to FEMA for partnering with us on this effort to reach pockets of the community who may not have easy access to this lifesaving vaccine,” said Pima County Administrator

Chuck Huckelberry. “The ability to offer vaccines during evenings and weekends will enable us to reach folks whose work or school schedules prevent them from getting a vaccine now. With this effort, there’s truly no reason not to roll up your sleeve and get your shot so we can start putting this pandemic behind us.”

The sites will offer walkup vaccinations of both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine for those 18 and older on a firstcome, first-served basis.

Vaccinators will return to the same mobile site 28 days after their first visit to receive their second dose, following CDC guidance.

Help will be available to all who need assistance with mobility, language or other accommodations.

The county continues to offer vaccinations at several vaccination centers, mobile pop-up clinics and pharmacies. Visit pima.gov/ covid19vaccine for more information.

11

Explorer and Marana News, May 5, 2021

Asymptomatic infections among vaccinated people also will occur.”

In a statement released Wednesday, Rep. Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson, District 3) said she tested positive for COVID-19, despite being vaccinated.

“I have taken COVID-19 very seriously and have worn my mask, washed my hands, socially distanced.

Yet despite those measures and being vaccinated I have come down with the COVID,” she said. “I encourage all to take this seriously and continue practicing COVID protocols. Be courteous to your colleagues and loved ones who are more susceptible. The pandemic has not come to an end. Be safe, take care, do not let your guard down even after you have been vaccinated.”

Hernandez tweeted that she tested positive 11 weeks after being fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine.

She said she had a severe migraine, fever, cannot taste or smell and felt “terrible right now.”

She emphasized that as a health professional she is encouraging people to still get vaccinated.

“If you have not already done so, please do so as soon as possible. This is just to let you know that just because

NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY FOR THE UA VAX POD

Photo courtesy of UA

The University of Arizona’s drive-thru vaccine center closed because of rising temperatures, but their walk-in clinic is still administering with no appointment needed. you got vaccinated does not mean you are immune to contracting COVID. I happen to be one of the few who still got it. Hopefully, my symptoms don’t worsen; however, I am very fortunate to have been vaccinated.”

Hernandez said she would remain in quarantine until Wednesday, May 5.

Her case is not the first in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Health Services has 947 similar cases across the 15 counties with no deaths, said ADHS Communications Director Steve Elliott.

70% of patients were symptomatic and 16% were hospitalized, said Elliott.

They were able to get information for about half of the cases. He also noted

that the increase from previous reports “has more to do with classification of cases since vaccinations began than a spike in recent weeks.”

As of Thursday, the state has fully vaccinated 2,241,092 people, “breakthrough” cases account for 0.04% of fully vaccinated individuals.

Breakthrough cases are expected, as “no vaccines are 100% effective at preventing illness,” according to the CDC As of April 20, the CDC reported 7,157 breakthrough infections in the U.S. with more than 87 million people fully vaccinated nationwide. Of those reported cases, 64% were female and almost half

You no longer need an appointment to get a shot at the UA vaccination point of distribution. The POD will now accept anyone over the age of 16 who comes in for a shot.

The pod has closed its drive-thru clinic because of rising temperatures, but still offers a sit-down clinic. No appointment is necessary to get a shot at the state POD on the UA campus in the Ina E. Gittings Building (1737 E. University Blvd.) from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

If you’d prefer an appointment, the state has been opening new firstdose appointments daily at podvaccine.azdhs.gov. Call 602-542-1000 or 844-5428201 for help in English or Spanish.

For more information about Pima County’s vaccination clinics, visit pima.gov/ covid19vaccineregistration or call 520-222-0119.

were people 60 or older.

Further, only about 7% of the breakthrough infections resulted in hospitalization and 1% led to death. On Wednesday, the CDC presented data that showed fully vaccinated adults, age 65 and older are 94% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19.

“COVID-19 vaccines are effective and are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control,” said Elliott. “All of the available COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths.

As a result, symptomatic Many local pharmacies vaccine breakthrough cases will tend to be less severe are now receiving vaccine than infections in people doses. To find one near you, who are not vaccinated. visit the ADHS website.

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12

LIVEN UP

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Make it sew: MOCA-Tucson features exhibit of reclaimed T-shirts M R

Special to Tucson Local Media

D

uring the last few weeks, when the evening sky starts to dim, a downtown building has been beaming out gorgeous colors into the streets: magenta, pink, green, yellow, royal red.

The nightly light show comes through the big glass doors of MOCA-Tucson contemporary art museum.

But the source of this rainbow beauty, astonishingly, is a batch of tossed out T-shirts.

Inside the museum’s enormous Great Hall, the shirts— brilliantly dyed and sewn together into giant tarps— dangle from the ceiling. Tethered to ship rigging, they shift and sail high above the gallery.

In honor of the T-shirts’ lowly origins, the artist, Pia Camil of Mexico City, calls the work “Bara, Bara, Bara,” the chant used by Mexican street vendors. It’s short for “barato,” Spanish for “cheap.”

Part painting, part soft sculpture, this bold fiber work is visually dazzling and intellectually intense. “Bara” has entirely taken over the Great Hall, once a garage for mammoth fire trucks, back when

Installation view, Pia Camil: Three Works (Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, April 10 – September 19, 2021). Photograph by Logan Havens. Courtesy the artist; Blum & Poe, Los Angeles/ New York/ Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson. the building was a fire station. It’s big enough to house her immense, three-part installation.

Below the swinging “Bara,” there’s a floor component, the “Autonomous Space Rug,” where visitors can sit or lie down and gaze up at the color canopy. The carpeting came from a remnant outlet in Phoenix, and Camil designed its swirling patterns.

A third piece of the installation, “Air Out Your Dirty Laundry,” is outside on the museum’s front patio. Instead of a flag blowing in the breeze on the outdoor flag pole, old shirts and jeans flutter on a laundry line. Locals are invited

to donate old clothes of their own to fly on the laundry line.

They can also apply to use the rug as a place to conduct socially distanced books clubs or other events.

The work is beautiful and even joyful. But it levels a critique of consumption, labor exploitation and the environmental destruction wrought by the manufacture of clothing, especially the use of dyes and way too much water. It’s estimated that it takes some 713 gallons of water to make one T-shirt, from cotton field to factory to final washing. Those gallons would be enough drinking water to sate one thirsty adult for well over

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two years.

Camil’s work follows the life cycle of the shirts. The Tees begin with orders made in the U.S. when a football team, say, wants to celebrate a win, or a dealer wants to sell Irish shirts on St. Patrick’s Day. The job typically goes to underpaid workers in Latin America. The shirts they make, emblazoned with words, and thick with slogans, travel to the U.S. The proud Irish Americans and the happy football fans wear them for a while, but soon enough they pass them on to a charity or otherwise get rid of them. As curator Laura Copelin says, “they become waste in the U.S.” Back to Mexico they go, to be sold to the poor or thrown into dumps. But through the intervention of the artist, some of these ragtag T-shirts are destined to return once more to the U.S. (“Bara” has also made appearances in Dallas, in 2017, and in Glasgow, in 2019.)

Camil buys up second- and third-hand Tee’s at a cut-rate shop outside Mexico City.

She overdyes the old shirts in the brilliant colors, then sews them together by color, reds with red, green with green, and so on, making giant tarps.

Once they arrive at their designated gallery, the tarps are hung so that the words are placed face down, so visitors can read them and ponder their meaning. To Camil, these texts are a kind of poetry.

The wordless side of the cloth faces the ceiling. The artist also provides peep holes so fans can pop their heads through and marvel at the pure unsullied colors.

COVID-19, not surprisingly, disrupted Camil’s usual

practices. Instead of coming to Tucson to oversee the installation of the work, she was stuck in Mexico. It was up to the museum to put “Bara” together, under Camil’s instructions.

“We communicated by phone and had a lot of conversations,” curator Copelin says. The piece is meant to be site-specific, and “it changes over time. The way the sails work they look different in every venue.”

The pandemic also led to major changes in “Autonomous Space Rug.” When the work was in Scotland in 2019, Camil created a comfortable floor space by converting dozens of pairs of old jeans into comfortable pillows. Photos show visitors curled up together, side by side, lolling or resting or gazing up at the fabric canopy. Obviously, that iteration was not going to work in corona times.

For the Tucson show, Camil asked for cushy carpeting to cover the entire floor of the Great Hall. She designed an elegant pattern of circles and lines that spool across the rug. Inspired by images from 18th-century French gardens to maps, Camil settled on lines that would serve as boundaries to remind guests to keep social distance.

The outdoor laundry piece also has a COVID origin.

Last fall, Marfa, an art institution in rural Texas, offered commissions to artists “to do something that they CAN do during the pandemic,” says Copelin, who also works with Marfa. Camil won one of the fellowships. Working from Mexico, Camil came up with a piece that “exploded what a flag could be,” Copelin says. In-

PIA CAMIL: THREE WORKS Through Sept. 19 MOCA-Tucson, 265 S. Church Ave. Noon to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; noon to 4 p.m. Sunday Free during pandemic 624-5019 moca-tucson.org EXTRA: Starting in early May, you can participate in the installation two ways. You can apply to MOCA for a mini-grant to use the carpet space temporarily for your own event—book club, dancing, etc. And you can join the Laundry piece outside by donating a piece of clothing, recording a story about that shirt or jeans garment and allowing it to fly high in the sky on the laundry line. See website for details.

stead of national flags, discarded real-life clothes billowed in the open air; the piece started all over again in Tucson, with different clothes.

Camil, who got a BFA at Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA at Slade School of Fine Art, London, has been getting attention internationally for “Bara, Bara, Bara” and other works that evoke the “Mexican urban landscape,” she writes in a her bio.

“I’ve been interested in her for a long time,” Copelin says.

After learning of Camil’s exhibition at Dallas Contemporary museum, the curator got in touch with the artist and eventually invited her to show her work at MOCA. COVID permitting, “We’re hoping to get her here before the show ends.”

13

E  M N, M , 

Keith Allen Dennis commemorates the transitional nature of Southern Arizona on new album J G Tucson Local Media

B

isbee is located roughly 10 miles from the Mexican border, but a stroll through its colorful architecture and storied downtown proves the city is influenced by much more than governmental transitions.

On his latest album “Liminal,” musician Keith Allen Dennis traces the transitional nature of Bisbee’s history, culture, spirituality—and yes, geography—in a musical style he calls “mystic blues.”

The musical style, with influence from folk and psychedelia, stems from a lyrical emphasis on the metaphysical, periods of “creative illness” and a healthy dose of experimentation—all held together with a 12-string blues playing style inspired

by Delta greats.

Dennis began writing the songs for Liminal in 2015, concurrent with a growing interest in spirituality and rumblings of political change on the horizon. The album’s conception continued into 2020, so there are referenc-

es to quarantine, but it is far from one-note. Dennis and fellow Bisbee musician Stuart Oliver began recording the album in February 2020 as global upheaval neared its apex. But despite this, Liminal makes room for quiet reflection, and even a bona fide love ballad.

“You know Bisbee is my home, it’s where I really hit my stride as a human being, in my ‘Jesus year’ of 33. I was couch surfing in Tucson before I snagged a job here, basically homeless and it’s been a long, slow climb out of all that,” Dennis said. “In my own little world I live in, the Mule Mountains are the omphalos, the place where heaven and earth meet, and so much of my music is about the heavens. But you know heaven implies earth, which implies heaven, etc. They’re one of those binaries, there’s that boundary between the two, and to cross it you gotta go to the ‘high places’ where they touch.”

One such “high place” is featured on the album’s cover art: the iconic “B Mountain” that rises above the city’s

main drag. The mountain is even featured on the cover of his previous album, also titled “Mystic Blues.”

“Liminal” opens with “Twilight Zone,” a blues song in the grooving desert style that sees Dennis reflecting on quarantine and political division, singing how left is right and black is white, all while mixing red pills and blue bills into purple lines. The most overtly timely song on the album, it’s also the most familiar for fans of Arizona folk/ rock.

This style changes on the erratic song “Wikiup,” which features a jerking central melody, percussion of handclaps and clacking background instruments, and some of Dennis’ wildest vocals on the album—a fitting style for a song named after raggedy brushwood huts.

But after the energetic opening songs,“Liminal” transitions into a more mellow and lush direction. Rather than commenting on current politics and the “border militarized zone,” Dennis reflects on nature and the stories filling the land around him.

“There’s ‘Haunted,’ which is about the paranormal, ghosttour industry you find in so many of these little mining towns like Bisbee, or Jerome,” Dennis said. “Towns built in that dreamtime of ‘American greatness’ when the empire was ascendant, and now the places where tourists and TV crews go to engage in this sort of pop-necromancy trying to catch a glimpse through the veil separating living and dead, and doing it in these small mining towns which usually carry the whiff of the semi-abandoned ‘ghost town’ in their architecture and their declining populations—again, a place where the loss or change in status is literally part of the landscape.”

The central track, “Eventide,” is a gorgeous representation of day to night—again with the transitions—with a steady frame drum beat, subtle shakers, and a warm slide string guitar backing.

Anyone who’s spent a dusk in the Sonoran Desert should be able to hear the purples and oranges flowing from this romantic song that finds beauty

on both sides of a division.

“It is in those in-between spaces, those liminal spaces, where the divine comes into manifestation. So maybe dividing everything up is Jehovah’s way of giving himself some breathing room to actually do what he does—and since there’s no pantheon, no ‘division of labor’ in monotheism, well, Jehovah wears all the hats: wrathful judge, merciful redeemer and trickster. For us mortals though, it gives us a chance to do the ‘great work’ of healing and reconciling those divisions,” Dennis said.

“I think it was T-Bone Burnett that said all songwriting comes down to mommy issues or daddy issues, and the ‘Heretic’s Song’ definitely falls in the latter camp.”

“Heretic’s Song” is a seven-minute folk epic that closes out “Liminal,” rife with Biblical references, existential ponderings, and some of the most passionate guitarwork on the album. It’s a far cry from the quirkiness of “Wikiup” or the close country harmonies of “Stay With Me,” indicating a true journey across the titular threshold by way of

the mystic blues.

“In my reckoning, the difference between magic and mysticism is that the former is something that one would do willfully, and the latter is something that happens to you whether you like it or not. And I guess for some people, you know, maniacs and what not, when you go through those changes they can be accompanied by some paranormal episodes, synchronicities popping off all over the place, a dire need to metabolize all the pain into some sort of personal mythology or allegory just to make it make sense and to try to navigate your way back to solid ground. I mean, the root of all myth is trauma, right?”

Dennis said. “William Blake said, ‘The fool who persists in his folly will become wise.’

Not gonna lay claim to any great wisdom, but I will say in my case Humpty Dumpty did indeed put himself back together again.”

For more information and to listen, visit KeithAllenDennis.bandcamp. com or OldBisbeeRecords.com

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SPORTS EXTRA POINT WITH TOM DANEHY &RECREATION In a year of disappointments, the AIA got it mostly right for high-school athletes T D

Special to Tucson Local Media

I

n this world, there are lots and lots of thankless tasks, things that must be performed for the good of society in general or a group of people, in particular. Going in, the people performing these tasks know that there is a high possibility of being criticized and a very small chance of being praised.

When someone finds him/ herself in such a position, the first rule is to not make things worse.

For much of this century, the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) failed to heed that advice.

Tasked with providing a framework for competition and fairness for over 250 Arizona high schools, the AIA had a regrettable reputation for overreaching and under-performing. Some of the blunders and self-inflicted wounds would have been laughable were it not for the fact that they resulted in profoundly negative consequences for the student-athletes whose experiences they were supposed to be enhancing.

A couple of examples: • One time, the softball teams from Pueblo and Sunnyside—two schools

separated by less than four miles on Tucson’s south side—were scheduled to play each other in the state tournament, which was to be held in Kingman, almost 300 miles away from Tucson. Both schools asked the AIA if the game could be played in Tucson with the winner moving on to Kingman for the second round. The AIA said no.

Both teams had to make the trip to Kingman, with the loser turning around and heading back to Tucson immediately after the game.

• Then there was the time in the state championship baseball game between Bisbee and Benson where a Benson guy hit a dramatic game-winning home run in the bottom of the seventh. As the Benson players celebrated their state championship, an AIA official who was in charge of refs and umpires came out of the stands and said that the ball had bounced over the fence and should only be a double, not a home run. The umps on the field changed their call and, of course, Bisbee went on to win in extra innings.

But those were just minor blips compared to the path of structural self-de-

Tucson Local Media file photo

struction that the AIA later embarked upon. There was a time, not that long ago, when the AIA was actually in danger of being dissolved. The organization had dug itself into a deep financial hole, spending huge amounts of money on vanity projects like renting the NFL Cardinals’ stadium for a high-school playoff game.

Their solution was to take an ax to things, causing long-term damage in the process. Arizona had grown so large that there were seven different classes of competition, based almost completely on enrollment numbers. To save money, the AIA cut the seven down to four. All of a sudden, small-town

schools like Patagonia and Joseph City, instead of playing other schools with similar enrollments in the range of 100-150, were playing schools with 600 or 700 students.

The impact was immediate and devastating.

There were football scores like 84-6 and basketball blowouts by 60 or 70 points were not uncommon. The decades-old, small-town tradition of gathering at the high school game, where kids could watch their older siblings play and dream of playing for the school when they got older was shattered. Entire programs shut down.

It didn’t help that the face of the AIA at the time was a guy named Chuck

Schmidt, who was about as popular as a narc at a Grateful Dead concert. It took several painful years (and a very real threat of mass secession) for the AIA to come around.

They’re back to six classes in some sports and under new management.

When the pandemic hit, it created challenges (and opportunities) for various associations and governmental agencies.

Some adapted on the fly and handled things as well as could be expected under trying circumstances. Others did not.

With a couple notable hiccups, the AIA has handled the pandemic with professionalism and compassion. In the worst year in a century, the AIA has provided Arizona’s student-athletes with at least a semblance of normalcy.

Of course, there were mask mandates and social distancing. Crowd sizes were severely limited or banned altogether. Schedules were changed on the fly and COVID protocols decimated rosters and shredded dreams.

(One example: Marana’s boys basketball teams lost a chunk of their season after a JV player from previous opponent Sunnyside

LOCAL SCOREBOARD Baseball April 29 Catalina Foothills 5, Nogales 7 Marana 11, Tucson 6 April 30 Ironwood Ridge 4, Tucson 5 Salpointe Catholic 10, Sabino 1

Softball April 29 Catalina Foothills 8, Nogales 2 Marana 4, Tucson 3 April 30 Ironwood Ridge 6, Tucson 3 Salpointe Catholic 10, Sabino 0

tested positive. Marana ended up missing the state tournament. Because of the Power Point formula, Marana would have made it to state had they been able to play the games they missed, even if they had lost all three.)

As the 2020-21 school year comes to an end, the people at the AIA, who have been flexible and competent, have reason to be proud of the service and leadership they have provided. We salute them.

15

E  M N, M , 

worship guide

contact: 520-797-4384

at 9:45 a.m.

Sundays Join us Sundays at 9:45 a.m. forfor ONLINE WORSHIP LIVE WORSHIP from home home at at from umcstmarks.org/live-worship

umcstmarks.org/live-worship

Lutheran

Catholic ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON CATHOLIC CHURCH

8650 North Shannon Rd, Tucson 85742 (520) 297-7357 church@seastucson.org † www.seastucson.org Office Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8am-12:30pm & 1:15pm-4:30pm Closed Saturday & Sunday Due to Covid-19, the Parish Office will be closing to the public for walk-ins until further notice. Please email or call and we will assist you.

Daily Mass - online & in person Monday - Friday: 8:15am

Watch Online

seastucson.org YouTube.com/SEASTucson FB.me/ChurchSEAS

Weekend Masses

Friday: 5pm Saturday: 5pm Sunday: 7am, 9am, 11pm, 1pm (Spanish), 5pm

Communion Distribution Sunday 8-8:30am & 12pm-12:30pm Monday-Friday: 9:15am - 9:45am

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School Daily in-person instruction Pre-K – 8th Grade www.school.seastucson.org † (520) 797 - SEAS

RESURRECTION LUTHERAN CHURCH AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER

11575 N. 1st Ave. Oro Valley, AZ 85737 (520) 575-9901 Welcome to Resurrection Lutheran!

Come join us every Sunday for worship!

Oro Valley Location 7:45am 9:15am 10:45am

Arise and Shine outdoor service in the Memorial Plaza In-person Sanctuary Service Contemporary In-person Sanctuary Service

SaddleBrooke Location 10:00am HOA 1 Vermilion Room Watch online, scan the QR Code or visit our website www.orovalley.org

16

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Becomes less important by comparison 6 Newspaper unit 10 “The Garden of Earthly Delights” painter 15 Bitcoin, e.g.

16 Hubbubs 17 Bear who sings “The Bare Necessities” in a 1967 Disney film 18 City near St. Petersburg 19 Bellyache 20 Benjamin Franklin is depicted on the first U.S. one (1847) 21 Virtuoso 22 “C’mon, open the door!”

25 1990s supermodel with a palindromic name 26 Like regular exercise and happiness, per research 28 Put one’s trust in 30 Fill to the gills 31 43rd prez

53

70

34 Mrs., on Majorca 35 Japanese salad herb 36 Pint-size 39 Something to believe in 41 Smaller parts making up a

larger whole … with a hint to the six groups of shaded squares in this puzzle 45 Brand of knives touted in classic infomercials 46 2006 Winter Olympics host 47 Diamond stat 48 Dance move that went from trendy to cringey in the 2010s 51 Heracles, to Zeus 52 Stitch’s pal, in film 56 “Two thumbs up!”

59 Key of Beethoven’s Ninth 61 Above-the-knee skirt 62 Brown loaf with an earthy taste 65 Pet rocks, once 66 They turn litmus paper red

Know Us, Know Your Community

Potpourri pieces Tree that’s a favorite of giraffes 3 Bemoan 4 Paranormal power, for short 5 Thin-layered sedimentary rock 6 Covenant 7 One who raised Cain 8 Wounded by a bull, say 9 Catches sight of 10 Tiny ammo 11 Like some breakfast cereals 12 Emphatic two-pointer 13 Going places?

14 “Heaven forbid!”

23 Sidled (along) 24 “Fresh Air” broadcaster 27 French military headwear 29 Use, as dishes 32 Conflict that ended at 11:00 on 11/11 33 Crooked 37 Slip past 38 Swelled heads 40 Food-spoiling bacterium 41 Like Sodom and Gomorrah 42 Abraham Lincoln, for one 43 Modern lead-in to -grammer 44 ___ hop (swing era dance) 45 Not a happy face 49 Put two and two together?

50 Mayim who played Amy Farrah Fowler on “The Big Bang Theory” 53 “Believe it or not …”

54 Abhor 55 Herculean undertaking 57 Many a smartphone recording 58 Far from original 60 Soccer great with a statue in Buenos Aires 63 Topple (over) 64 Posterior 67 Nine-digit ID, in brief 70 Shade of brown 1 2

46

61

1

DOWN

35 39

43

47

66

29

38

45

56

33

25

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Back then, you wanted to fit in and experience the popular thing, feel the comfort of belonging and the strength in numbers. Now, you’re craving something else -- an experience that’s magical and meaningful because it’s only for you. The star exchange of the week is one you’ll prize for its singularity.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’re not responsible for other people’s reactions, but it sure feels that way. The instinct to take credit for joy or assume blame for disappointment speaks to the connectedness you feel with others. Feelings will be sorted in the name of clarity and a more comprehensive understanding of your reality.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). If you want someone to blame, then you’ll have at least three strong contenders, although no good comes from that route. It’s quicker to take a breath and clean it up like it was your mess. It’s not, but that’s not the point. The point is you can still make your goal if you just keep moving forward.

Let nothing stop you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Things are the way they are because someone thought they should be. You have your own opinions, and you’ll get behind them to make things happen around you. This is what believing in yourself means this week -- accepting the fact that you are no different from anyone who’s made things happen in the world.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your wish list is filled with items particular to you. The others have no interest. Check your list often to remind yourself of your wishes and plans. This is no time to drift into the tide of commonality. There’s nothing wrong with conformity, but you can’t have what you want and be like everyone else at the same time.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’re bold this week and in no mood to hide out. Of course, you take a risk when you tell the truth about who you are what you want. It could go over brilliantly, in which case you’ll be warmly embraced. It could be drama, in which case you find out where you don’t belong -- good information. Either way, you win.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You prize humor, though it’s not the only quality you’re after now. With this current ambitious mood, you seek the kind of company that is comfortable with, if not stellar at, giving and receiving encouragement.

Sharing ideas with positive and proactive people will inspire you to new heights.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You know that you do a brilliant job looking after yourself.

Therefore, you feel pretty confident that you can look after others in a nurturing way. This week, you’ll see how the relationship you have with yourself colors every other relationship, providing obvious standards and boundaries.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The main event this week is a metaphoric potluck banquet. And while the situation feels free and generous, you can bet you’re being judged for your contributions. Does it give you pause? It’s time to think seriously about what you bring to the table. Find where your talents intersect the group’s need.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). The revelry begins the moment you start paying attention to the beauty in front of you. There are important matters that steer your attention, but you will also be a stickler for noticing how long they actually need to hold it. If life is a highway, then getting off at the correct exits dictates much of your experiences.

Crossword Puzzle Answers

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roll call Checks out, in a way Thingy Satirist ___ Baron Cohen Singer John whose middle name is Hercules 75 Food for a sea urchin 76 Company behind the first microprocessor 71 72 73 74

B B S

19

68 Stead 69 Part of a political convention

P E T A L S

18

14

E A T O N

17

13

A L E C A S A M P C E I N K A T E P I S

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12

O S C H A L O O T A M P E MM E N D O N U D O E N E T C K S O L I L O I N O R F A D T A T E A C H A N T E L

15

11

M E S S I

10

A G E D O S A R P M E I N D E P B S R E E N G B L T O R I S O N D R Y U M P

9

K E E L

8

T R I T E

7

S P H A A C L E T E D G W E E W L D I U D A B E D I D A L I K

6

S S N

5

V I D E O

4

U N I O N I S T

3

B I B L I C A L

2

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You don’t have to make yourself more lovable to please anyone else, so the fact that you want to anyway will bring up questions. Where is this desire coming from? Is it unworthiness, ambition or a wish to fulfill a particular aesthetic? What is the difference? Does it matter? What are you driven to do about it?

G R I M A C E

1

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You already want to do what’s best for all. So relax and don’t overthink the rest. Tap into the wisdom of nonhuman organisms -- you know, the ones who don’t bother with a preoccupation of their own importance. They do, to the best of their ability, what they were meant to do, and so will you.

17

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A special thank you should be mentioned to all of the kind and caring Medical Personnel at Carondolet Hospital in Marana.

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irst of all, she goes by her full name, which is pronounced Mee-May. There has long been that problem with pronouns, as in when someone asks the tennis coach “Who’s playing Number One singles today?” and the response is “Well, that would be Mi.” (It was recently suggested that they hold a fundraiser to buy her more letters and/or syllables for her name, but she says that she’s good.)

Mi Meh is a non-stop whirlwind of activity. Violinist in the orchestra; member of the Links crew that mentors freshman students; stalwart on the soccer team; volunteer for the Interact group that does projects around the campus; half of the top tennis doubles team that closed out the season winning five straight matches; and, oh yeah, number one in her class academically with a full slate of AP courses.

She has also achieved the (unofficial) rank of four-star general in the BTS Army of fans. She knows every song the group has ever recorded and even knows what they’re saying in Korean. She does

have a favorite member of the group, but quickly adds, “They’re all so pretty.”

Mi Meh was recently honored by the STEP program and this summer will be spending a month in the Alaska Wilderness Leadership Expedition. It sounds very challenging, like her first-place award was a month in Alaska and second place got TWO months in Alaska. However, she’s really looking forward to it as the program promises to “cultivate self-confidence, courage, independence, and personal responsibility.”

She hopes that the experience will help her get into an Ivy League school.

She has a preference, but it doesn’t really matter.

They’re all so pretty.

20

Explorer and Marana News, May 5, 2021