Topics in This Issue:

-Goodwill Thanksgiving Youth Meal

-Refugee Needs

-Plastic Blocks

-Reid Park Holiday Craft Fair

-Holiday at the Transportation Museum

-RTA Update

-Sol y Luna

-Monarch Update

-Fentanyl Meeting

-Tom Gehrels on Stage

-22^nd Street Bridge Revitalization

-Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)

-COVID

Goodwill Thanksgiving Youth Meal

Please pass along to anyone you know – ages 12-24 years – who is in need of a meal on Thanksgiving Day that Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona is hosting a free meal giveaway. The event will take place on Wednesday, November 23^rd from 2pm until 5pm at their Metro Youth Center on 4^th Ave. It’s located at 300 N. 4^th Ave. These will be to-go meals, not a sit-down event.

We at the ward 6 office are grateful to the Goodwill team for all they do throughout the community. This effort is one example among many. For more information about the meal please contact Myleigha at [email protected].

Refugee Needs

In August 2019, Tim Steller wrote a piece about a Trump tweet in which he was warning about terrorists in our midst. Here’s the tweet:

“Somali refugees arrested in Tucson on way to Egypt. They were in touch with an agent posing as a terrorist. One of them stated, “The best wake up call is Islamic State to get victory or another 9/11.” Get smart people! #MAGA #KAG @foxandfriends”

What he was referring to was a report issued by FBI agent Michael Mutari citing undercover agents posing as a terrorist and engaging with two Somali’s here in Tucson. Based on comments they made to the agent they were arrested.

In the recent past I’ve been made aware that FBI agents are approaching members of our migrant and refugee community and offering cash if they’ll ‘come to work as an agent.’ Preying on the most vulnerable population in our community – people who are 9 times out of 10 will need and accept the money just to be able to make rent or buy food. Cash under the table would immediately make them subject to various tax evasion implications which in turn places them in a compromised position with respect to doing the will of the agency. None of our refugee or asylum-seeking population can risk being deported for violation of US laws, and yet our own FBI is making offers that effectively place them in that risk.

I have spoken with several representatives of resettlement groups and others letting them know this is going on, and to advise any refugee who’s here to avoid anything remotely resembling that sort of interaction with anybody – law enforcement or otherwise. If you know any resettled families, please put them on notice as well.

Thank you to the many of you who continue bringing blankets, hygiene items, and kids’ toys. It’s all being passed along to needy families. It’s great to see the spirit of Tucson in action each time one of you arrives at the ward office with a donation.

This week there’s an addition to the hygiene list – towels. New or used, but if they’re used, please wash them. And of course, we still need the hygiene items I’ve been listing:

New and unopened underwear (men’s and women’s and children’s,) new socks, and personal hygiene products. That’s shampoo, sunscreen, lotion, toothpaste, feminine products, soap – that sort of thing. New children’s toys.

NO CLOTHING PLEASE. Just the items listed. We’re located at 3202 E. 1^st Street – across Speedway from the Loft. Our office is open until 1pm every weekday. We appreciate the responsiveness of the community.

We’ll be working through the Tucson Muslim Alliance to get the blankets distributed. This effort will continue through the end of the year to be sure we’re doing our part to help our new residents stay warm as the temperatures begin to drop.

Reuters ran an article recently that described the refugee resettlement challenges families in Germany are facing. They’re much the same as here. Too few resources to process the requests for refugee and/or asylum status. More than 6,000 Afghans are stranded in Afghanistan waiting for the German government to assist with an evacuation. You remember this image of where we piled people into transport planes. Evidently, the world has stepped aside and is largely leaving those left behind to the pleasure of Taliban.

Here’s a quote from the Reuters article:

Bünger called the situation a "disaster," telling Spiegel that the government had criminally failed to fetch endangered people from Afghanistan in time.

She also reproached the new government for not bringing at least those people to safety who had been told they could come to Germany.

The pullout of NATO-led troops from Afghanistan in 2021 was widely perceived as chaotic, with evacuations of Afghans seen as being in danger from the incoming Taliban rulers taking place with a general lack of preparation.

Many in Germany and elsewhere have since been concerned about the fates of those people who had aided foreign forces, whom the Taliban likely view as traitors.

tj/nm (Reuters, dpa)

Last week I received more contact from a woman stuck in Afghanistan. I’ve removed her name, but here’s the plea:

Greetings,

Thanks, I am very happy to received your nice email.

SIV program is  too long process and still toooooo slow but here they kill people 24 hours especially during nights and announced commands against women.

Right now Afghanistan is like prison and women are prisoners.

Please be our voice in America.

Regards,

This from a contact of mine who is helping get people out: 

Oh tragic indeed.  I talked to my folks at the Pentagon about 2 weeks ago and they indicated that US evacuation flights for approved SIV applicants are now months delayed.  (There was an uptick in flights throughout October, but they essentially stopped - or were severely curtailed on/around 29 Oct -- as Qatar, the destination/ processing country started back-pedaling on accepting more refugees w/ the FIFA/ World Cup distractions.) 

The information that any flights had been happening was news to me – and to the many people, I’m still in touch with who have family stranded in Afghanistan.

These are the stories of the people you’re helping with your donations. The one’s here continue to live the trauma of lost family members. And our FBI approaching them with cash if they’ll work undercover leaves a very bad taste. Thank you for your part in welcoming the families – Afghans, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, and all others who come here to start a new life.

And of course, the Community Food Bank collection box at our front entry is being filled and emptied pretty regularly. Especially as we approach the holidays the CFB is stretched thin in terms of what they are being called on to provide in support of the community. Your donations are an important part of meeting the growing needs.

All non-perishable foods are in need – particularly those you’ll think of around Thanksgiving. We recognize that making trips to the ward office with things for all of these groups is an added chore in your day. Having interacted with families represented by each of those for whom we’re gathering items I can say that the gratitude expressed makes that extra effort worth it.

Thank you to all of you who are helping meet these ongoing needs in the community.

Plastic Blocks

Word is getting out around the state about the Tucson pilot project. Last week, former state legislator Sarah Liguori tweeted out this message. I’ve also had a guy drive down from Phoenix asking how we can do the project up in Tempe.

Sarah and I had a lengthy conversation about the project. Her initial interest was an effort to gather campaign signs in bulk and getting them to us. As we spoke though the conversation naturally evolved into how this could and should be a statewide effort. We’ll get there, but first we need to figure out our own local logistics. That can and will serve as a model for taking this show on the road. Sarah will be coming down for our December 3^rd tree ‘planting’ event when we build the ByTree in front of the office. I’ll also join her in inviting other state legislators so they can see it, hear about the program and take the idea back to the state for possible legislative action.

The reason word is getting out is that people generally understand that we’re burying ourselves in trash. This graphic shows that the weight of all living things is exceeded by the weight of all non-biomass materials ‘we’ have produced. I know it’s hard to see, but if you’d like to read the full article check this link:

https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-the-accumulation-of-human-made-mass-on-earth/

Click here to View the More Information About City Of Tucson A Message From Steve K Newsletter - November 21, 2022