Site back live after four month freeze

Arizona Indymedia is back up and running after having been frozen as a result of technical difficulties since May 2008. Over the coming weeks we'll be going through a back-log of features and updating the site regularly

In the meantime, please be patient with us. And please, keep publishing your content!!

Dozens Denied Chance to Comment in Packed City Council Meeting

On July 8 the Tucson City Council voted unanimously to approve "Downtown Links", a new roadway connecting Aviation Parkway (and Davis Montham Air Force Base) to I-10. Neighborhood groups, downtown residents, artists and representatives of local businesses packed the meeting, and though a few claimed that the roadway would bring private investment downtown, dozens were prevented from speaking against the roadway when comment was cut off after only 30 minutes.

As a result of the roadway the Dunbar/Springs neighborhood will be almost completely isolated from the downtown area. Dunbar/Springs has been among the most ecologically forward-thinking neighborhoods in the city, setting the model for Tucsonʻs sustainable city initiative. The neighborhood will be rewarded for its efforts with a highway built through the middle of it. Click here to read a letter from the Dunbar Springs Neighborhood Association opposing the new roadway.

The current Downtown Links alignment was railroaded through after only six weeks of exploring alternatives. The Community Advisory Committee had previously pledged in May to spend three months investigating the full cost of the roadway and alternative routes by which it could be constructed. As of yet it is still unclear whether funding will be available for the amenities promised to neighborhoods in exchange for the road. Downtown Links is not scheduled to be completed until 2021, although construction could begin within three years. Many neighborhood groups have vowed to continue fighting against what they call an ill-conceived project.

For more information visit www.rethinkthelink.com

Rally to tell city council not to balance their budget on the backs of the poor

On Tuesday, June 17 at 5:15 pm demonstrators will gather in front of the Tucson city hall (255 W. Alameda) to demand that the city council not increase Sun Tran bus fares. The city council is due to vote on the issue the same day.

Given the economic downturn the city is facing a budget crisis. While the city continues to subsidize developers and pump millions into hair-brained schemes like a new stadium and convention-center, the Democrat-dominated city council wants to balance the books by hiking bus fares on the already cumbersome Tucson bus system. With gas prices as high as they are, and the rising threat of global warming, it is strange that the city would choose now as the time to discourage bus transit and make it more difficult for those who have no other options.

Tuesdayʻs rally is being organized by Casa Maria Catholic Worker Kitchen, and will feature speakers, music, and free hot dogs and lemonade.

Council people that can be contacted and pressured:
Nina Trasoff - 791-4601
Shirley Scott 791-3199

Solidarity Event to Include Art Auction, Film, Potluck and More

On Friday, May 30th, a benefit will be held at the Dry River Collective (740 N. Main) to support political activists facing repression in Aotearoa (New Zealand). On 15th October 2007, over 300 police invaded Maori villages and arrested 17 indigenous, anarchist, environmental and anti-war activists across the country. The police initially wanted to charge 12 activists under the Terrorism Suppression Act, however to date no evidence of a so-called terrorist plot has been revealed. After 4 weeks in jail, everyone was released and new charges concocted. A trial is set to take place for alleged possession of weapons.

The Tucson event will include a screening of 'Tuhoe: A History of Resistance' which provides background for the recent repression and illuminates the richness of indigenous resistance in Aotearoa. There will also be an art auction, potluck dinner, and a presentation on the raids providing current information. English/Spanish translation will be provided.

For more information visit october15solidarity.info

Chairman testifies that border wall construction violates federal law, destroyed graves

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS -- Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned Norris, Jr., testified at a Congressional hearing that the construction of the border wall has plowed through the graves of the Hohokam and fragments of human bone have been found in the contractor's heavy equipment tracks.

"Imagine a bulldozer in your family graveyard," Norris testified at the Congressional field hearing on April 28. "In the words of the U.S. Supreme Court, Indian tribes predate the United States. We are older than the international boundary with Mexico, but our nation is now cut in half."

Norris said Homeland Security's desire to move forward with inflexible time guidelines has damaged the environment and cultural areas. Norris testified that the contractor, Boeing, has destroyed graves, cultural sites and created a barrier of the Tohono O'odham ceremonial route. When the Tohono O'odham Nation acted to delay construction of the border wall in endangered jaguar territory, the construction continued as planned, despite promises to the contrary.

"I am here to urge you to restore the rule of law," Norris said, adding that the price being paid is too high for the people and their ancestors for the border wall. "Today it is as if Congress never passed NEPA," Norris said, referring to the National Environmental Policy Act. "We support border security, but not at the price that is now being paid." Norris said the US/Mexico border crossed the Tohono O'odham people and their land. Today, the border construction has divided a salt pilgrimage route and Tohono O'odham families. "We didn't cross the 75 miles of border on our reservation, the border crossed us."

Read more at: bsnorrell.blogspot.com, or click here to see video of the hearing.