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Activism increases with new abortion laws

6/9/2019

Tucson High student Eliana Fife wears earrings made by students to raise funds for Planned Parenthood. The coat hanger design draws attention to self-induced abortions common before Roe v. Wade.

Isabela Gamez

By Isabela Gamez

Recent changes in abortion laws in Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio and elsewhere in the United States have stirred emotions and an increase in teen activism around reproductive health care.

“The idea of Roe v. Wade being repealed just scared me so bad...the idea of women not having full control over their bodies,” said Pilar Edilia, an incoming senior at Tucson High Magnet School.

She decided to make her voice heard. Drawing from the days when abortion was illegal and some women inserted coat hangers in their vaginas to induce miscarriages, Edilia said, she knew she wanted to use a coat hanger symbol and wanted a way to raise money.

She met up with a group of friends to make coat hanger earrings out of paper clips, selling them at Tucson High for $5 a pair. Edilia raised $200 in just four days and donated the proceeds to Planned Parenthood.

“I wanted a way for kids who can’t vote to be able to have a voice and get involved,” Edilla said.

Eliana Fife, another incoming senior at Tucson High, is friends with Edilia and heard about the earrings. She bought a pair, donating $5 to Planned Parenthood.

“It’s really important that women have a voice and a choice when it comes to their body,” Fife said. “Men in power shouldn’t have a say when it comes to women’s bodies because they can’t ever fully understand.”

Fife took part in the local women’s march on Jan. 20. She said she thought it was an amazing experience and she enjoyed “everyone coming together and supporting diversity, equality, and equity in our society.”

Equity is an issue in the abortion arena. Not everyone has access to abortion in Arizona.

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Put Your Best Foot Forward Now for a Smooth Walk Later

6/9/2019

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By Faith Chadwick

Sharp, jagged nails digging into your heel. A feeling like marbles pressing hard on your tendons. Arches swollen like balloons, creating constant throbbing from heel to toe.

This pain is Yvette Peña’s life.

“It’s a vicious cycle,” Peña said. “You don’t want to move around because your feet hurt so much, but if you don’t stay active, the pain will only get worse.”

Peña, 50, and a mother of two, has always had flat feet, a condition where most or the entire sole of the foot touches the floor while standing, as opposed to having a natural arch. Although flat feet can be benign, in many cases fallen arches can cause intense back, hip and knee pain later in life, especially for those who engage in daily exercise.

Arched feet, however, don’t necessarily spare a person from foot-related afflictions. An irregular gait, improper footwear and muscle imbalances can have a detrimental impact on parts of the body that absorb the footfall, such as the back.

A line of fashion-forward Josef Seibel shoes is displayed on shelves at Alan’s Shoes, 5632 E. Speedway Blvd., in Tucson. Alan’s offers a wide variety of arch-support shoes and soles to accommodate the needs of customers seeking to improve their foot health.

Faith Chadwick

At some point in their lives, 75 percent of people in the United States will have foot pain, according to an article on the website for Powerstep, an orthotic shoe company started by a podiatrist who was also a foot surgeon and a runner. About 25 percent have flat feet, the major culprit in latent health issues, according to the article.

Not paying attention to early signs could be detrimental to a person’s later foot health.

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Businesses reduce single-use plastic

6/9/2019

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By Amanda Mourelatos

Plastic is a common, synthetic material used for almost everything, but some places in Tucson are starting to change that for the better of our environment.

Plastic may seem ideal because it’s cheap and convenient, but it is a substance that never breaks down, harming wildlife and contaminating the air we breathe.

“Plastic is a very useful material,” said Emily Rockey, director of sales and marketing for Tank’s Green Stuff, a company that deals in recycled materials for garden and lawn. “It can be pretty destructive, as well, if we don’t handle it properly and value it.”

Awareness is growing about the buildup of plastics in the environment, and some individuals, businesses and governments are working to limit the use of single-use plastic products, such as straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles, food packaging and shopping bags.

Businesses such as Woops!, a shop that sells macarons and pastries on East University Boulevard, have switched to paper straws and are packaging to-go items in paper products.

“We try hard to make everything as sustainable as possible,” said Ashley Raujol, Woops! manager.

Woops! made the change to paper straws in April. For customers dining in, they also provide washable dishes instead of single-use products.

Many retail stores, restaurants and other Tucson business are selling products that are alternatives to single-use plastic, such as the metal straws at the Food Conspiracy Co-op, 412 N. Fourth Ave.

Amanda Mourelatos

Other businesses also are aiming at creating less waste for the landfills.

At Tank’s, the staff takes landscape trimmings that would consume space in landfills and makes them into an organic compost product, which customers can purchase and use as a potting mix, Rockey said.

Tank’s keeps 100,000 cubic yards of green leaves out of the landfill every year, and they expect production rates to triple when their fourth site is opened, Rockey said. “We don’t have an endless amount of space (for landfills),” Rockey said. “We should use our space wisely.”

Another local business that’s helping to preserve the environment by reducing waste is the Food Conspiracy Co-op, on North Fourth Avenue. Nick Super, the team lead for the front end at the Co-op, said reducing or recycling has a “ripple effect.”

“Every little bit that everybody does kind of spreads and expands,” Super said.

The Co-op sells various types of reusable products instead of plastic, including cloth bulk or produce bags, glass jars, take-out containers, Hydro Flasks and metal straws. They also sell bamboo products, such as forks, knives, toothbrushes and straws, which will decompose when thrown away.

One of Super’s major concerns is using glass over plastic. He suggested people try to buy products in glass instead of plastic and to use reusable mugs, cups and straws.

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Border wall threatens ceremonies

6/9/2019

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By Mendrel Fauyant

The Tohono O’odham people have been living in the southwestern part of Arizona for as long as history is documented.

But the Tohono O’odham Nation, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, is now at the center of a modern controversy: whether to allow a wall to be built between the two countries and through the middle of the Native American nation.

The history of the area is often overlooked. In 1848 after Mexico had ceded to the United States, remnants of the Mexican government were forced into a cession, in which they gave up 827,000 square miles of their land, according to the U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. A portion of this land was occupied by the O’odham people, which they handed off to the United States.

A century later the O’odham continue with their ceremonies, with an official nod when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed in 1974. Since then they have been allowed to continue their practices in peace.

The Tohono O'odham Nation straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, with tribe members living on both sides. Many oppose a border wall, like the one in this picture along another border section, especially because of challenges posed to spiritual rituals, such as the Salt Pilgrimage.

Courtesy Creative Commons

But some say that these practices are being put in jeopardy with the push for a border that is more structural and militarized

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The 2019 Paper

6/9/2019

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Mental illness myths cause harm

6/9/2019

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By Kenya Sykes

The way mental illness is portrayed on television and in movies can have a deep impact on how people think about what may be a sensitive subject, as well as can harm people who live with mental illness.

“I think television does a pretty poor job representing mental illness in a non-stigmatizing way,” said Gisela Telis, an Emmy award-winning mental health reporter for Arizona Public Media who has focused much of her career on covering mental health.

The portrayal of mental illness in popular culture gained wide attention with “13 Reasons Why,” a popular drama on Netflix, based on a 2007 book, viewed by teenagers across the U.S.

The show’s main character, Hannah Baker, is a fictional high school student who suffers from depression and eventually ends up taking her life. Before her death, she records 13 cassette tapes explaining the 13 reasons why she commits suicide. The show includes heartbreak, trauma, bullying, sexual assault and a graphic suicide scene.

A display of broken television sets can be seen on North Fourth Avenue. Myths about mental health in TV programs and in other popular culture can hurt audience members especially those living with mental illness.

Victoria Grijalva

While “13 Reasons Why” was a huge hit, the show has faced criticism for romanticizing mental illness. Media representation of mental illness typically creates “more negative than positive effects,” according to Otto F. Wahl in a 2012 journal article in Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

An inaccurate representation of mental illness in the media has negative effects on impressionable audiences, Telis said.

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Markets produce opportunities for selective consumers

6/9/2019

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By Elijah Perez

You might have to shop around if you are looking for a star fruit or a jicama. Not all things are equal in the produce sections at local supermarkets.

Distribution of produce in Tucson-area markets largely depends on where in the metropolitan area a store is located. Produce managers and those who work in produce distribution to retail stores agree the availability of much produce depends on the ethnicity in store neighborhoods.

If you want to buy a nice ripe mango, El Super on the southside is the place to go, but if you are looking for a good exotic mushroom AJ’s in the Catalina Foothills is the store for you.

Christopher Ciruli, chief of operations for the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, with offices in Nogales, Arizona, said retailers often order food for individual stores, so not all stores carry similar fruits and vegetables. This isn’t just a modern business model, Ciruli said, but can be seen historically

Shoppers will find organic mushrooms, among other special produce, at the Food Conspiracy Co-op, 412 N. Fourth Ave.

Victoria Grijalva

Most of the first local grocers in Tucson were “oriental markets” that served Asian residents who were cooking Chinese and other eastern foods. Eventually, the concept of localizing stores and making them serve a broader audience developed, but still most markets order specific to their customers’ ethnic and economic backgrounds.

John Watkins, produce manager at Food City at 2950 S. Sixth Ave., said that store gets a lot of Mexican produce and tropical fruits that other stores don’t get, such as guava, Mexican papaya, aloe vera and others. Some of their produce comes from Yuma and Phoenix, as well as Mexico.

At the Food City at 1221 W. Irvington Road, a customer can choose from a vast array of chile peppers, with shiny yellow, green and red peppers filling bins spanning a wall about 10 feet long.

Saustino Martinez, produce manager for the El Super on 3372 S. Sixth Ave., also gets Hispanic goods from its main supplier.

Some local grocers, like Fry’s, carry produce from local growers. But most comes from around Arizona, other states and Mexico.

Many stores around Arizona are part of large grocery chains, meaning products are ordered and distributed from a centralized, corporate office and then shipped to the stores for produce managers to handle.

While square footage of a market or grocery store is also a factor for what produce is carried, variety is often a result of where a store located.

“Location is where it’s at,” Ciruli said.

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Forward>>

Activism increases with new abortion laws

By Isabela Gamez

Put Your Best Foot Forward Now for a Smooth Walk Later

Businesses reduce single-use plastic

Border wall threatens ceremonies

The 2019 Paper

Mental illness myths cause harm

Markets produce opportunities for selective consumers

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