A Very Special Issue

There's lots of good stuff in this very special episode issue of the Tucson Weekly.

First off, this is our eighth annual Local Heroes issue. Now, I can be a bit of a hardened cynic, so it's rather significant when I say that I actually got slightly choked up as I edited these profiles of 10 wonderful Southern Arizonans.

It's really an amazing group, ranging from a longtime Tucsonan in his 80s who is dedicating his time to preserving the historic Dunbar School, to a Casa Maria volunteer who sold her house and moved next door to the Catholic soup kitchen/charity organization so she could better help the organization.

Some people may not agree with the politics of all of these Local Heroes. But I don't think anyone can dispute these folks' drive—and the fact that simply by caring so much for our community, they're making Tucson a much better place.

Check out Local Heroes on Page 16.

And in the center of this week's issue, you'll find our special New Year's Guide. This thing is always a lot of work to do, and I'd like to acknowledge the efforts of Stephen Seigel, Anna Mirocha, Gene Armstrong and Irene Messina. However, special recognition needs to go to Adam Borowitz, who gathered all of the listings information for the guide. He doesn't just input whatever listings requests we receive; he actually goes looking for event information to include, and well more than half of the listings in this year's guide are there because of his work to make the guide as inclusive as possible.

Thanks, Adam B. And happy holidays, everyone.