Read or Die

My fabulous client Daphne Russell has had a huge impact on her students, inspiring them to read as if their lives depend on it, which of course is true. She is having a book signing of her book Read or Die at Borderlands Brewery this Friday from 6 to 10 PM

Three Budways

My fabulous client Kathy Budway's new CD is reviewed by another of my fabulous clients, Jim Lipson, on page 39 of the December issue of Zocalo. I have wonderful CDs by Kathy and each of her siblings, Maureen and David, but haven't heard all three together. I need to get this CD. These are three talented musicians.

The Mavericks in Cuba

My fabulous client Ed Friedland is the bass player in the Grammy award winning band The Mavericks. They went to Cuba this year to play with some of the masters of Cuban music and record a special for PBS. Check out Rolling Stone magazine's cool video.

Popular Mitman Neighborhood

This home has been in the same family for 58 years. You can almost sense the many good times & celebrations that occurred here. Now a new family will start their own traditions.

The cozy fireplace invites you in, while the wall of windows frames the private back yard. The trellised patio is just right for for large parties under the mature trees. Nice little courtyard off the family room.

 10,800 SF lot may allow guest house construction; buyer to verify. Raised planters & shed await your urban farmer dreams.

The Mitman neighborhood is sought-after because of the well-built brick homes on quiet streets close to Park Place, UofA & DMAFB. Lots of upside potential for sweat equity in this lovely enclave of more expensive homes.
The floor plan is here. Three bedrooms. The main bath has a shower and tub. Powder room is between kitchen and family room.

Sold April 10, 2017 for $153,068. We immediately had five offers over the list price! I'm sad to say good bye to this home of a dear friend, raconteur and defender of civil liberties, Corny Steelink.

A Special Family

Arizona Public Media's Story Corps was in Tucson to interview people about their perspective on love. Eli and Ben Schneider talked about what it was like to have two gay parents. Eli is now the manager of one of my favorite restaurants, Bentley's House of Coffee & Tea, which was founded by his mother Joanne Schneider, who now owns one of my other favorite Tucson restaurants, LaCocina. It was a pleasure for me to help  Eli buy his first home. 

Here the Story Corps interview here. 

Tucson's 40 Under 40

I am so pleased that the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Arizona Daily Star honored my fabulous client Moses Thompson as one of their 40 under 40. He has done wonderful work at Manzo Elementary School, helping the children learn about gardening and poultry. The school cafeteria will soon be serving the produce the children grow. Imagine how exciting that must be for them, and what a positive influence it will have on their eating habits.

This is a good time to point out that you can get a state tax credit for contributing up to $200 to a public school as an individual, and up to $400 as a couple filing a joint return. A tax credit means if you give $200 to a public school, you can reduce the amount of income tax you owe to the State of Arizona by $200. I know Manzo will use my money much more productively than the State will, so I always give my tax credit to Manzo. You can even pay by credit card.

A 245 Pound Bundle of Joy

The birth of the largest creature ever born in the State of Arizona was announced by my fabulous client Vivian VanPeenen.

Pistola, si. Cerveza, no.

My pal and fabulous client Alison Jones made a music video with her friend, Grammy-nominee Linda Chorney. You can see Alison at 0:35 and 0:45 wearing one of my tie dye dresses and peace necklace.

Linda and Mariachi Sol Azteca ask the musical question: You can carry a gun into a restaurant in Tucson, but you can't carry a beer out? The answer, sadly, is si, senor.

Sanctuary at Southside

Southside Presbyterian Church is the home of the Sanctuary Movement started by Reverend John Fife in the 1980s. Southside recently went back to its roots by housing a family that was threatened with deportation. I am so proud of my fabulous client Kat Sinclair, who stayed with the family during their two weeks of sanctuary. Her devotion to civil liberties is inspiring.

Padma Viswanathan

My fabulous client Padma Viswanathan was just awarded a National Endowment of the Humanities  Enduring Questions grant.

Strictly Tabu

I'm so proud that I helped both the author of this article, Jim Lipson, and the subject, Gary Mackender, buy their houses. Now buy Gary's CD!

Living in a World with Limited Water

My fabulous client and birding pal, Alison Jones, connects the dots between water shortages and meat production with her guest commentary in the Arizona Daily Star. I added a few remarks, knowing that some carnivores will be offended by the idea that their diet is harmful to themselves,  the animals they consume, and the lovely planet we are destroying.

The Bass Whisperer, Ed Friedland

Check out this marvelous history of reggae music by my fabulous client, Ed Friedland. I helped Ed and his wife Dawn buy and sell their house in Tucson. Unfortunately for Ed and Dawn's Tucson friends and admirers, these groovy people moved to Austin for the cooler climate. That hasn't quite worked out the way they expected, but Ed is touring with Clay McClinton and still writing the last word on bass playing as a monthly columnist and gear reviewer for Bass Player magazine. He has also written 21 bass playing instruction books for Hal Leonard.

Godspeed, Chief Chuck

I'm so glad that my fabulous client Chuck George has finally decided to focus on getting his doctorate. As chief meteorologist at KOLD, he enriched Tucson with his lively approach to teaching us about the weather. He was always generous with his time and made innumerable public appearances at community events. He will be a extraordinary professor, and we all hope he chooses to stay here in the city that loves him.

Odyssey Storytelling

My fabulous client Kat Sinclair will be telling a story of disobedience at Odyssey Storytelling http://www.storyartsgroup.org/odyssey/Odyssey/Welcome.html on Friday, July 12, 2013. Dr Sinclair describes herself as researcher, statistician and activist. I met her through a wonderful group of people who are very involved with helping people deal with Arizona's anti-immigrant policies. The stories she has told me and the kindness she has offered to people stuns me. This will sell out.

Johanna Skibsrud

My fabulous client Johanna Skibsrud will be at Antigone Books, 411 N 4th Avenue, promoting her second book on Friday, March 29 at 7:00 PM. The reading will be followed by refreshments and a question and answer session. This is from the flyer promoting the event:

Join us for a literary short story collection double header with Johanna Skibsrud, author of This Will Be Difficult to Explain (Norton, $14.95) and Jamie Quatro, author of I Want to Show You More (Grove, $24.00). Skibsrud’s collection of masterful stories introduces a cast of characters experiencing life-defining moments that weave throughout their everyday lives. Time and again they find themselves confronted with what they didn’t know they didn’t know, at that point of intersection between impossibility and desire. Her first novel, The Sentimentalists, won the Scotiabank Giller prize, Canada’s most prestigious literary award.

John Melillo

Just as cool as his wife Johanna Skibsrud (see post above), my fabulous client John Melillo is creating a buzz as singer/guitar player of Algae & Tentacles. Is that a marvelous name or what? Check out this review in the Tucson Weekly

Two Turtle Doves

Yesterday morning I was delighted to find a Ringed Turtle Dove strolling around my back yard. The doves we usually see in Tucson are Mourning Doves and White Winged Doves. Both of our common doves have black cheek stripes and blue eye rings and are darker gray than the Ringed Turtle Dove. The black collar and lack of cheek stripes are the most diagnostic features of the Ringed Turtle Dove.

This is only the second time I have seen a Turtle Dove. They were domesticated in Los Angeles from an African dove species. The ones we see are escaped or released pets or their descendants.

The really weird thing is that my fabulous client, David Kuster, emailed me a photo he took of a Ringed Turtle Dove in his yard just a hour after I took my photo! David's dove has a darker neck ring. Maybe it's more mature than mine? Anyway, I thought that was remarkable because David had never before emailed me a photo of anything.

Update: Just got this from another fabulous client, Jonathan Horst.

Hope you're getting rain tonight; sprinkling here.

I think the bird you saw is a Eurasian Collared Dove - their range is spreading pretty quickly and they're getting more common each year in Tucson (the first I saw was four years ago; now they're all over my back yard). Might be a Ringed Turtle Dove, but that'd be a super-rarity. And apparently they're generally difficult to tell apart (song is easiest) though this page is helpful : http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/EucdovRitdovID.htm
I could be wrong though, maybe it's a Turtle Dove...if so, rare bird indeed.
Jonathan's an ecologist, so he knows what he's talking about.

I sent photos to the Rare Bird Alert at the Tucson Audubon Society.  I received this very informative email from Andrew Core:

Thanks for the pictures. Ringed Turtle-Doves are occasionally released into the wild and have on a few occasions bred in Arizona, but they don't show any signs of becoming established; their numbers are continually replenished by more releases.
However, the two pictures show what I think is the closely related Eurasian Collared-Dove. Only a view of the underside of the tail would be conclusive, but Eurasian Collared-Doves are generally darker and a little larger than Ringed. Eurasian Collared-Doves have a very interesting history in the United States. You can read more about them here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Collared-Dove/id

Okay, so not as rare as I thought, but Turtle Doves just the same.

Odyssey Storytelling

This very cool group just received a rave review from the Tucson Weekly.

I am especially proud that one of the producers of the event is my client Adam Hostetter.

At Our Border

Tucson and the State of Arizona have been in the news in recent years for reasons that give the world an inaccurate impression of us. Those of us who live here, especially in Southern Arizona, know that most people are kind and accepting. We are dismayed by the hatred, violence and bigotry that grab the headlines.

I recently had the honor of helping an amazing group of people, Casa Mariposa, buy a home where they will provide hospitality to people who have been released from detention. I was introduced to this group by one of my fabulous clients, Hannah Hafter. You can see her in this PBS video at 13:00.

While the focus of the video is the alleged abuses of immigrants, the bright spot is the generous people who are helping people who weren't lucky enough to be born on this side of the border.