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 / Modified jan 15, 2015 7:18 p.m.

Arizona Spotlight for January 16th, 2015

Volunteers unite to help students in danger of dropping out; how the ecological war against buffelgrass is waged; restoring the legend of Vaudeville-era entertainer Sophie Tucker; a look back at the films of Sir Alec Guinness.
by Mark McLemore

Featured on the January 16th edition of ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT with host Mark McLemore:

  • Dozens of volunteers hoping to reduce high school drop-out rates recently spent a day going door-to-door in Tucson neighborhoods. Their mission was to encourage and motivate hundreds of students in danger of dropping out, and Fernanda Echavarri brings us the story...

  • It’s invasive, prolific and tough, but an army of volunteers is trying to win the battle against buffelgrass - an imported plant that is causing ecological problems in the Sonoran desert. Tony Paniauga talks with the organizers of "Beat Back Buffelgrass Day", which is being held on January 24th...

  • Who was Sophie Tucker? Known as "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas", she was a big, bawdy actress and singer who had a wildly successful career in the first half of the twentieth century. Mark McLemore meets the husband and wife team behind a new documentary about Tucker that will be featured this weekend as part of the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival...

  • And, film writer Chris Dashiell looks back at the diverse career of Sir Alec Guinness, a classically trained British actor who preferred that his younger fans watched movies other than Star Wars...

Listen:

ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT airs every Friday at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm, and every Saturday at 5:00 pm, on NPR 89.1 FM / 1550 AM. Stories are also available online at AZPM.org.

MORE: Arizona Spotlight, Arts and Life, Culture, People and Places, Tucson
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