I concur. It is inappropriate for Jeff Rodgers to compare opposition to the Mexican-American Studies program with the wholesale slaughter of millions of innocent civilians and the reign of destruction that followed Hitlers' campaigns in Europe. By doing so Mr. Rodgers belittles the victims of the Nazi holocaust, he belittles the veterans and the casualties of WWII and all people who stand up and fight against bigotry and hatred everywhere.
His characterization of the opposition to the MAS program is also hateful and belittling. There is a large amount of vocal opposition to the MAS program coming from TUSD parents here in Tucson, many of whom are registered Democrats. While Rodgers deftly avoids any direct alignment of MAS opposition and Nazis, simply by making the analogy he implies the association and thus also implies that any opposition to MAS is akin to being pro-Hitler. This kind of vitriol has no place in the discourse and Mr. Rodgers does a disservice to the Democratic party with his marginalization of TUSD parents, he does not even acknowledge them, leaving the reader to lump them in with "The Extremists based in Phoenix".
He offers no insight or expertise, just another empty opinion full of fear and hatred. If anyone is a bully it is Jeff Rodgers, a party official NEVER elected by the public, he does not answer to the people, he answers to the far left; Democratic Party Committee-persons. (The theory: This is a byproduct of having party primaries elections which exclude Independent voters, meaning that committee-persons are typically elected by the polarized elements of voting public, especially in non-presidential primary years, in turn this leads to committee-persons being more extreme politically. This is true for both parties in this state.)
Mr Nintzel,
I have been trying to find book lists and curriculum for the Mexican American Studies program but it has not been easy. I do not think that we should be judging the conceptualization or ideology of having ethnic studies (We already have them and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon); I think we need to access the curriculum and coursework itself. Any links that you may have or maybe a future feature article in the weekly would be great. We do not need more opinion pieces but an investigative journalistic approach, and I think the TWeekly is uniquely able to accomplish that. The discourse needs to change from subjective emotional feelings on racial/ethnic issues to an objective examination of what is actually being taught in the classrooms and what the results in terms of student performance have been.
By taking MAS courses what are these students missing out on in other courses? And vice-versa? Basically what are the costs/benefits of the MAS curriculum on a students overall education?
Does the MAS program better prepare the students for a University education? How do their reading comprehension scores, writing scores and math scores compare with non MAS student both locally and nationally?
How is performance on standardized tests effected by participation in MAS courses?
I am sure there are many more important questions that need to be answered in a methodical and objective manner. Everything I have seen or read up to this point in the papers are self serving opinions which twist statistics and do not provide any clarity on the curriculum or the results. I hope you have some insight/elucidation into this!
"Heinz has several other bills that have passed the House, including a measure that restores funding for hospice stays for terminally ill patients."
I do not know the details of this bill but hospice is an amazing service. They provide an environment where people can die with dignity and closure is a wonderful thing. Lets hope we continue to fund hospice programs in perpetuity. Thank you Rep. Heinz.
"That is not downtown, its a neighborhood there is no high density building there except Goodman's mini dorms."
Where did you learn your tactics, from the tea party and conservative right? Lie, lie, lie until you lie enough and people start to believe you?
There are a lot of high density housing excluding the few properties Goodman has developed. There are apartment complexes along Park avenue and Mountain Avenue. There are guest houses in many backyards, many of them 2 or 3 bedroom guest houses. Homes have been converted to duplexes for the purposes of renting them out and many other developers have built newer, bigger homes to rent out to students. There are Fraternity and Sorority homes, studio cottage developments, student housing complexes and I am sure there are a lot I am missing. To portray this neighborhood as purely a family neighborhood without high density housing is disingenuous and does not properly portray the demographics and the reality of the area.
Your use of historical analogies is inappropriate, period. This is a legal issue and with legal issues we refer to laws, codes, regulation and prior court decisions. Historical analogies only serve to reveal your own biases , which is why you chose to compare this to racism and another poster compared it to slavery. Refer to the law, to the city codes and to court decisions. That is all that is germane.
Seeing as you live so near to this "giant and powerful institution" I would suggest you attend a few classes on basic property law. Property Law is a complicated system of rules, regulations and stare decisis court decisions. These institutions, like the city of Tucson and the University of Arizona (including UMC) in general have the right to your property as long as they can demonstrate that it is for the greater good and that you are paid a fair market value (not what you think it might be worth, unfortunately, but what the surrounding areas values reflect its worth as.) I will again refer to your prior post;
"The so-called mini-dorms have been built within the technical bounds of the code that define what a single family home should look like."
Boom. You said it yourself. I won't attack you or your intellect because I do not have to, you did it yourself. Your property rights are not under assault. Your property rights are not determined by you, they are determined by city codes, regulations and courts. Goodman is a PRIVATE citizen developing property that he owns, according to the codes and regulations. You are trying to deny him his property rights!!! The irony here is a beautiful thing.
Just a few thoughts.;
1. This "giant and powerful institution" which you live near is the only reason why you have high property values. Your home is worth far more money than similar homes in other parts of town, because you live in close proximity to the University and that raises the demand for space. Your property values have also not plummeted to the same degree as other parts of Tucson, you should thank the "giant and powerful institution."
2. As a result of this added value there are people who want to develop and capitalize off of it. That development, according to you, was done in accordance with city code. Now you are upset because other private citizens want to enjoy the increased property value that you enjoy.
3. The advancement of the University of Arizona, UMC and the continued widening of roads by the city of Tucson will continue to eat away at Jefferson Park, which already has a very high number of rental units and most of the residents are only here as students. This is not a family neighborhood anymore. The elementary school has been shut down, even TUSD recognizes that enrollment rates have dropped and would have continued to drop at this school, thus they shut it down. This neighborhood is destined to become a student housing zone, with some families and older folks sticking around.
4. Goodman recognizes this trend and is capitalizing off of it. It is a shame that you do not see the inevitability of this trend. It is not an institution who is attacking your neighborhood, it is not an individual who is lowering your property values, and it is not the city either. This is economic progress and growth. You have benefited from it with high property values, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.
I completely understand and empathize with the people who have been living in that neighborhood and have raised families there. You are emotionally attached to your homes and the memories you have had in that neighborhood. I understand this well, a home I once lived in is now a parking lot for the University. I also understand that the University and the surrounding area have to change, they have to grow and the only directions that make sense economically are to the north and to the south. This is for the greater good of Tucson. Private developers like Goodman, who has been an institution in the Jefferson Park area for decades, are key to this. The city and the neighborhood should be working with him to ensure that he develops in accordance with the architectural standard that exists, instead they have chosen to fight him and he has built cheap, ugly homes. You reap what you sow.
"We have changed our minds in many areas of public policy over the history of our country after deciding we were wrong---like slavery, for example, or more recent instances of discrimination against certain groups." -TShupa
"By his logic, the enormous investment this country had in segregation would have justified keeping Jim Crow." -Cassie
Why all the references to racism and slavery? What is the implication? Do you think Kazachik is a racist? Is Jefferson Park a black neighborhood that is being disenfranchised? (No, it is an upper-middle class white neighborhood!) Is this because Kazchick is white? What's next? Accusations that Goodman is part of a world wide Jewish conspiracy to destroy Jefferson Park? Come on already people.
I empathize with your situation but Goodman is not your problem, living in the shadow of an ever growing University, at the heart of a growing city and in a neighborhood where students outnumber you is your reality. You can't change any of that.
Again I think this quote is significant in light of some of these hateful, vitriolic comments posted by these prideful people;
I will give you a definition of a proud man: he is a man who has neither vanity nor wisdom --one filled with hatreds cannot be vain, neither can he be wise.
John Keats (1795-1821)
Did you really just compare this issue to slavery? Wow......
I do not like these "mini-dorms" (homes) as they do not have any architectural integrity and they do not fit into the neighborhoods. I would not want one of these structures built next door to me. BUT Goodman is one of the few people actually contributing to the redevelopment of downtown Tucson and the University area. There is a serious lack of housing, and unless population density increases in the area not much is going to change. He has invested large sums of money, has not received hand outs from the city and he is actually building structures that increase the population density, the tax base and will help local businesses in the area and hopefully lead to lower rental prices in the area. We need more infill development, but it needs to be done with direction and guidelines. There should be approved designs and architectural components in new development that must mirror the previous structure on the lot. Goodman has also been there to buy homes from people in foreclosure, offering more money than other buyers. It is a shame that he knocks these historic structures down and builds stick and stucco boxes, but that is progress. Remember when the University knocked down dozens and dozens of historic homes, entire blocks!, to make way for parking lots in Jefferson Park, invoking eminent domain nonetheless to take peoples homes away from them? The grant road redevelopment plan will forcefully take peoples homes away from them in Jefferson Park.
My advice to the people of Jefferson Park is to just sell to Goodman now, or build your own mini dorms, and use the profits to move to an area where growth and progress won't impede your small mindedness. By the time your fight with Goodman is over (Many more years!) the city will already be planning to widen Euclid and Park, Grant road widening will have already shaved off a street and lowered property values. The University will advance all the way North past Drachman and what was once a family neighborhood 20 to 30 years ago will finally become the student housing zone it is destined to be. I would guess that the neighborhood is already 50-60% students today. You are fighting a loosing battle for your pride.
I will give you a definition of a proud man: he is a man who has neither vanity nor wisdom --one filled with hatreds cannot be vain, neither can he be wise.
John Keats (1795-1821)
Recent Comments
His characterization of the opposition to the MAS program is also hateful and belittling. There is a large amount of vocal opposition to the MAS program coming from TUSD parents here in Tucson, many of whom are registered Democrats. While Rodgers deftly avoids any direct alignment of MAS opposition and Nazis, simply by making the analogy he implies the association and thus also implies that any opposition to MAS is akin to being pro-Hitler. This kind of vitriol has no place in the discourse and Mr. Rodgers does a disservice to the Democratic party with his marginalization of TUSD parents, he does not even acknowledge them, leaving the reader to lump them in with "The Extremists based in Phoenix".
He offers no insight or expertise, just another empty opinion full of fear and hatred. If anyone is a bully it is Jeff Rodgers, a party official NEVER elected by the public, he does not answer to the people, he answers to the far left; Democratic Party Committee-persons. (The theory: This is a byproduct of having party primaries elections which exclude Independent voters, meaning that committee-persons are typically elected by the polarized elements of voting public, especially in non-presidential primary years, in turn this leads to committee-persons being more extreme politically. This is true for both parties in this state.)
Mr Nintzel,
I have been trying to find book lists and curriculum for the Mexican American Studies program but it has not been easy. I do not think that we should be judging the conceptualization or ideology of having ethnic studies (We already have them and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon); I think we need to access the curriculum and coursework itself. Any links that you may have or maybe a future feature article in the weekly would be great. We do not need more opinion pieces but an investigative journalistic approach, and I think the TWeekly is uniquely able to accomplish that. The discourse needs to change from subjective emotional feelings on racial/ethnic issues to an objective examination of what is actually being taught in the classrooms and what the results in terms of student performance have been.
By taking MAS courses what are these students missing out on in other courses? And vice-versa? Basically what are the costs/benefits of the MAS curriculum on a students overall education?
Does the MAS program better prepare the students for a University education? How do their reading comprehension scores, writing scores and math scores compare with non MAS student both locally and nationally?
How is performance on standardized tests effected by participation in MAS courses?
I am sure there are many more important questions that need to be answered in a methodical and objective manner. Everything I have seen or read up to this point in the papers are self serving opinions which twist statistics and do not provide any clarity on the curriculum or the results. I hope you have some insight/elucidation into this!
Thanks!
I do not know the details of this bill but hospice is an amazing service. They provide an environment where people can die with dignity and closure is a wonderful thing. Lets hope we continue to fund hospice programs in perpetuity. Thank you Rep. Heinz.
Where did you learn your tactics, from the tea party and conservative right? Lie, lie, lie until you lie enough and people start to believe you?
There are a lot of high density housing excluding the few properties Goodman has developed. There are apartment complexes along Park avenue and Mountain Avenue. There are guest houses in many backyards, many of them 2 or 3 bedroom guest houses. Homes have been converted to duplexes for the purposes of renting them out and many other developers have built newer, bigger homes to rent out to students. There are Fraternity and Sorority homes, studio cottage developments, student housing complexes and I am sure there are a lot I am missing. To portray this neighborhood as purely a family neighborhood without high density housing is disingenuous and does not properly portray the demographics and the reality of the area.
Your use of historical analogies is inappropriate, period. This is a legal issue and with legal issues we refer to laws, codes, regulation and prior court decisions. Historical analogies only serve to reveal your own biases , which is why you chose to compare this to racism and another poster compared it to slavery. Refer to the law, to the city codes and to court decisions. That is all that is germane.
Seeing as you live so near to this "giant and powerful institution" I would suggest you attend a few classes on basic property law. Property Law is a complicated system of rules, regulations and stare decisis court decisions. These institutions, like the city of Tucson and the University of Arizona (including UMC) in general have the right to your property as long as they can demonstrate that it is for the greater good and that you are paid a fair market value (not what you think it might be worth, unfortunately, but what the surrounding areas values reflect its worth as.) I will again refer to your prior post;
"The so-called mini-dorms have been built within the technical bounds of the code that define what a single family home should look like."
Boom. You said it yourself. I won't attack you or your intellect because I do not have to, you did it yourself. Your property rights are not under assault. Your property rights are not determined by you, they are determined by city codes, regulations and courts. Goodman is a PRIVATE citizen developing property that he owns, according to the codes and regulations. You are trying to deny him his property rights!!! The irony here is a beautiful thing.
Just a few thoughts.;
1. This "giant and powerful institution" which you live near is the only reason why you have high property values. Your home is worth far more money than similar homes in other parts of town, because you live in close proximity to the University and that raises the demand for space. Your property values have also not plummeted to the same degree as other parts of Tucson, you should thank the "giant and powerful institution."
2. As a result of this added value there are people who want to develop and capitalize off of it. That development, according to you, was done in accordance with city code. Now you are upset because other private citizens want to enjoy the increased property value that you enjoy.
3. The advancement of the University of Arizona, UMC and the continued widening of roads by the city of Tucson will continue to eat away at Jefferson Park, which already has a very high number of rental units and most of the residents are only here as students. This is not a family neighborhood anymore. The elementary school has been shut down, even TUSD recognizes that enrollment rates have dropped and would have continued to drop at this school, thus they shut it down. This neighborhood is destined to become a student housing zone, with some families and older folks sticking around.
4. Goodman recognizes this trend and is capitalizing off of it. It is a shame that you do not see the inevitability of this trend. It is not an institution who is attacking your neighborhood, it is not an individual who is lowering your property values, and it is not the city either. This is economic progress and growth. You have benefited from it with high property values, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.
I completely understand and empathize with the people who have been living in that neighborhood and have raised families there. You are emotionally attached to your homes and the memories you have had in that neighborhood. I understand this well, a home I once lived in is now a parking lot for the University. I also understand that the University and the surrounding area have to change, they have to grow and the only directions that make sense economically are to the north and to the south. This is for the greater good of Tucson. Private developers like Goodman, who has been an institution in the Jefferson Park area for decades, are key to this. The city and the neighborhood should be working with him to ensure that he develops in accordance with the architectural standard that exists, instead they have chosen to fight him and he has built cheap, ugly homes. You reap what you sow.
"By his logic, the enormous investment this country had in segregation would have justified keeping Jim Crow." -Cassie
Why all the references to racism and slavery? What is the implication? Do you think Kazachik is a racist? Is Jefferson Park a black neighborhood that is being disenfranchised? (No, it is an upper-middle class white neighborhood!) Is this because Kazchick is white? What's next? Accusations that Goodman is part of a world wide Jewish conspiracy to destroy Jefferson Park? Come on already people.
I empathize with your situation but Goodman is not your problem, living in the shadow of an ever growing University, at the heart of a growing city and in a neighborhood where students outnumber you is your reality. You can't change any of that.
Again I think this quote is significant in light of some of these hateful, vitriolic comments posted by these prideful people;
I will give you a definition of a proud man: he is a man who has neither vanity nor wisdom --one filled with hatreds cannot be vain, neither can he be wise.
John Keats (1795-1821)
Did you really just compare this issue to slavery? Wow......
I do not like these "mini-dorms" (homes) as they do not have any architectural integrity and they do not fit into the neighborhoods. I would not want one of these structures built next door to me. BUT Goodman is one of the few people actually contributing to the redevelopment of downtown Tucson and the University area. There is a serious lack of housing, and unless population density increases in the area not much is going to change. He has invested large sums of money, has not received hand outs from the city and he is actually building structures that increase the population density, the tax base and will help local businesses in the area and hopefully lead to lower rental prices in the area. We need more infill development, but it needs to be done with direction and guidelines. There should be approved designs and architectural components in new development that must mirror the previous structure on the lot. Goodman has also been there to buy homes from people in foreclosure, offering more money than other buyers. It is a shame that he knocks these historic structures down and builds stick and stucco boxes, but that is progress. Remember when the University knocked down dozens and dozens of historic homes, entire blocks!, to make way for parking lots in Jefferson Park, invoking eminent domain nonetheless to take peoples homes away from them? The grant road redevelopment plan will forcefully take peoples homes away from them in Jefferson Park.
My advice to the people of Jefferson Park is to just sell to Goodman now, or build your own mini dorms, and use the profits to move to an area where growth and progress won't impede your small mindedness. By the time your fight with Goodman is over (Many more years!) the city will already be planning to widen Euclid and Park, Grant road widening will have already shaved off a street and lowered property values. The University will advance all the way North past Drachman and what was once a family neighborhood 20 to 30 years ago will finally become the student housing zone it is destined to be. I would guess that the neighborhood is already 50-60% students today. You are fighting a loosing battle for your pride.
I will give you a definition of a proud man: he is a man who has neither vanity nor wisdom --one filled with hatreds cannot be vain, neither can he be wise.
John Keats (1795-1821)
Pride is the mask of one's own faults.