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Neighborhood BriefingCar wash The Salvation Army Tucson South Corps will host a car wash from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 2448 E. Broadway, weather permitting. There is no set cost for the car wash, but donations will be accepted. Proceeds from the car wash will benefit The Salvation Army Missionaries Fund. Tree Smarts The Arizona State Land Department announced the award of $52,000 in U.S. Forest Service federal grant funds to benefit the urban and community forestry programs in Arizona. The Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way, is the third recipient of the Title VIII funds. The garden staff will develop "Tree Smarts," a series of seminars and education materials that will focus on the best trees for the Tucson area and how to plant and care for them. The program will be targeted to newcomers and new homeowners in Pima County, but it will be open to the entire population. In addition, an exhibit on trees will be created for the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association's Spring Home and Garden Show. The "Tree Smarts" program will serve as the pilot project for the garden's newly created speakers bureau. The two other recipients receiving grants are in Glendale and Flagstaff. Fall soccer The final call to sign up for the American Youth Soccer Organization's fall soccer season will be from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. July 28 at Peter Piper Pizza, 3989 E. Grant Road. Boys and girls ages 5-18 are eligible. A $55 registration fee covers the uniform. Players must provide their own shoes (tennis or soccer shoes) and shin guards. Parents must take a copy of the player's birth certificate. | |
People* The American Legion Auxiliary, Morgan McDermott Unit No. 7, selected the essay of Lisa Beach, an eighth-grader at Townsend Middle School, as the local winner of a national contest sponsored by the auxiliary. The essay was also chosen as the Arizona winner. * Madeline York Stephens has received the Ellis Shapiro-Public Relations Scholarship from the communication department at Trinity University in San Antonio. She attended St. Gregory College Preparatory School. * Three Tucson students have received degrees from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. They are: Valerie L. Agnew, master's degree in business administration; Kathleen Marie Bonato, bachelor of science in computer science; and Christine Anne Ure, master's degree in business administration. * Two Tucson students have made the dean's list and honor roll at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. They are: Helen Davis, a senior in elementary education, and Isaac Keith Kershner, a senior in computer science and engineering. Has someone you know been recognized with an award? Drop us a line at People column, Neighbors, P.O. Box 26807, Tucson, AZ 85726, send faxes to 573-4140 and e-mail to severson@azstarnet.com. Please title your e-mail or fax "Neighbors," and in all correspondence include your name, address and daytime phone number. | |
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Midtown projects include library, learning center to open by 2003By Adam BorowitzARIZONA DAILY STAR Members of the Midtown Neighborhood Association plan to build a
combined library and learning center and take other steps to improve
their neighborhood. Residents also have become more involved in the neighborhood
after working together to make their streets safer, said Anna Marie
Patti, special projects coordinator for the association. The association is working with Tucson Parks and Recreation and
the Tucson Library Department to develop the center, which is
expected to open by 2003, Patti said. The city bought about three-quarters of an acre of land for a
small library and learning center near East Fairmount Street and
North Catalina Avenue, Patti said. A panel of teen-agers and children will help plan the center, she
said. Several committees were developed at the association's last
meeting, each with a different community-strengthening mission. One committee will seek ways to enhance safety in the
neighborhood and reduce the amount of graffiti. Another committee will work to better communication between
residents and businesses. "When a new business goes in, instead of fighting over how tall
the building is and how it will affect traffic, we could already
have a dialogue," Patti said. "If you already have a dialogue going,
then you can work with them and not against them." Another committee will pursue grants for more neighborhood
improvements, Patti said. The association will use grant money from TMM Family Services to
help keep residents in the neighborhood. The money will pay for repairs and improvements to eight homes,
at a maximum of $22,000 for each home, Patti said. Association officials are interviewing potential candidates and
looking for families that qualify. "What we're trying to do is enable people to stay in their houses
for a long time," Patti said. "It creates stability." The Midtown Neighborhood Association wrapped up a year of street
improvements last August, funded by the Green Retrofit program. The program helped residents make public and private improvements
to their streets, homes, yards and alleyways to achieve better
energy and water efficiency and safety. Now that the improvements are done and traffic slowed because of
curbed extensions that hold trees and plants, concrete islands and
speed tables, residents, who became close during the work, stayed
close. "It was wonderful how we got to know our neighbors better," said
Patti, "Some of these people lived on the same block for 30 years
and never talked to each other." Patti says she has three times as many volunteers for the
neighborhood's October Chili Festival Fundraiser as in previous
years and residents now take care of and watch out for each other.
Attendance at neighborhood meetings also has increased, she said.
Homeowners who volunteered to participate in the program came
from the following three areas: the 1700 and 1800 blocks of North
Desmond Lane; the 3900 and 4000 blocks of East Justin Lane; and the
4000 and 4100 blocks of East Bellevue Street. The city's grant went toward $80,000 in actual street
improvements and $85,000 in public and private improvements to
homes. Residents were asked to match government funds with time and
effort of equal value, Patti said. Thirteen residents have taken care of the new trees and plants
included in the improvements, Patti said. Grant money was used to
pay them between $250 and $750 a year for their work, said Patti.
Many volunteers also took it upon themselves to help out, Patti
said. Volunteers also turned out to help when some of the improvements
were destroyed by vandals. Someone ran over the plants and landscaping inside traffic
circles on East Bellevue Street between North Sycamore and North
Bryant boulevards. Volunteers replanted the areas and the Tucson Department of
Transportation placed concrete parking blocks and reflectors around
them. Trees For Tucson donated replacement trees. BICAS, a nonprofit
organization that recycles old bikes, gave the neighborhood a
discount on repairs to 11 metal sculptures. "In a way, even though the vandalism was bad, it did make the
neighborhood come closer together," said Patti. Since the repairs, the neighborhood has had no more vandalism and
all the trees and plants are flourishing. The association recently bought 10 pounds of wildflower seeds
that will be spread throughout the neighborhood. "We like to think of ourselves as the garden district because the
Tucson Botanical Gardens are located within our limits," Patti said.
* Contact Adam Borowitz at 629-9412 or borowitz@azstarnet.com.
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Neighborhood association meetingsThe schedule for this month: * The Harlan Heights Neighborhood Association will meet at 6:30 p.m. July 19 at Valley Christian Church, 5968 E. Fairmount St. * A meeting for the Alvernon Heights Neighborhood will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Columbus Branch Library, 4350 E. 22nd St. Another meeting is scheduled at the same location and time July 24. * A Swan Lake Neighborhood Association meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the Covenant House, 4414 E. Second St. * The Highland Vista/Cinco Via Neighborhood Association will meet at 7 p.m. July 19 at the Highland Vista Pool, North Cloverland Avenue and East Seventh Street. * The Broadmoor-Broadway Village merchants benefit will be at 1 p.m. July 21 at the southwest corner of East Broadway and South Country Club Road. |
Neighborhood information onlineThe Midtown Neighborhood Association's "Encourage Participation" committee is launching neighborhood communication into cyberspace. The committee has developed a Web site that gives residents access to information about area events, Midtown Neighborhood Association meetings and volunteer opportunities. It also give residents access to information about what area businesses do, job listings and other business-related information. "We have so many stores and businesses that have been here for many years, but we need people to know what there is so we can use them," said David Kha, committee coordinator. Ten neighborhood youths were trained and hired to gather the information for the database. Howard Ward, a Midtown resident, volunteers as the database's Web master, Kha said. He said hiring neighborhood youths serves two purposes: It keeps them busy and gives them real-world experience. "Crime comes into the neighborhood because kids don't have anything to do," said Kha, 60. "They interview managers and learn about businesses and the work world." The Midtown Neighborhood Association's Web site is at www.terrasw.com/terrasw/midtown/index.htm. Adam Borowitz |