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Zaira Livier, executive director of the People's Defense Initiative, speaks to a reporter after a news conference on July 3, 2019, at which the group announced it had collected more than 18,000 signatures for its "sanctuary city" initiative.

Organizers submit petitions for Tucson 'sanctuary city' initiative

The group says it has more than twice the number of signatures needed to get initiative on city ballot.
Archie is a big brown bat, and has been taken care of by Bob & Debbie Beucher since being rescued more than sixteen years ago.

Bat night at the Mission Garden

Also: A new facility in Nogales, Sonora to help migrants following the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy; and strangers find common ground with "One Small Step".
1,100 backpacks represent the number of college students who died by suicide in 2018. This event was designed to raise awareness about mental health and encourage suicide prevention.

Can 1,000 Empty Backpacks Save Lives?

Also: How Pima County could pay for newly opened migrant shelters; Bridging cultural divides with the Persian language; Tucson author Janni Lee Simner reads from her new book.
Guatemalan father with his 5 year old daughter. It took father and daughter almost two weeks to get to the Arizona border. They are asylum seekers staying at a temporary shelter opened by the City of Tucson to relieve the overflow of migrants at Tucson shelters. (April 18, 2019)

The City of Tucson Offers Hope to Migrants in Need

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Go backstage at Tucson High Magnet School to preview "Our Border Town"; Tucson poet laureate TC Tolbert receives grant from the Academy of American Poets; And, what would you do with the blessing of extra time to be alive?
AZPM is partnering with StoryCorps for One Small Step to record conversations between strangers who hold different political beliefs.

Finding Common Ground with "One Small Step"

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Free speech debate on campus; "I Dream in Widescreen Returns"; and thoughts on kindness from the Mission Garden.
"Hold On To Your Weaves" (2018) / photograph by Kennady Schneider

#Black - Exploring Identity with Photography

Also on Arizona Spotlight: A "Go Fund Me" campaign for the border wall; An author's journey in search of her Sephardic Jewish heritage; and the world debut of the play "The Hall of Final Ruin."
Thomas Thwaites' documents his quest to take a break from being a human in his book "Goatman". Photograph by Tim Bowditch.

Becoming a Goat?

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Trials begin for "No More Deaths" volunteers; How photographing Bears Ears National Monument became a passion for a retired astronomer; and remembering when Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Tucson.
Actor and playwright Jim Brochu portrays actor and artist Zero Mostel in "Zero Hour".

Exploring "Zero Hour", and the Rebellion of Zero Mostel

Also on Arizona Spotlight: A family separated for 6 years by the U.S. / Mexico border; Gary Paul Nabhan on "Food from the Radical Center"; and the Zoppè Family Circus legacy.
Challenger Rep. Nicolas Pierson and incumbent Dem. Raul Grijalva await the start of their televised debate in the Congressional District 3 race, Wednesday, October 17, 2018, Tucson, Ariz.

CD3 Candidates See Separate Paths Forward on Immigration

One of 9 U.S. House districts that border Mexico, the topic looms large in Southwestern Arizona.
Nayla Altamirano, a lawyer, an activist, and a performance artist with Zapotec and Chilean roots, is one of dozens of artists participating in the 2018 Binational Encuentro, October 11 - 19, 2018.

Women Migrate Across More Than Borders

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Borderlands Theater explores"Sanctuary"; Pima County's Master Gardener program celebrates 35 years; and Tu Nidito presents an art show by youth coping with grief.
"Sanctuary" a new play by Tucson's Borderlands Theater (September 2018)

'Sanctuary' Play Revisits Tucson History

The theater company re-enacts the story of the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s. Tucson religious leaders risked going to jail for their beliefs and actions.
The Pima County Sheriff's headquarters on E. Benson Highway.

Federal Law Enforcement Grants Appear on Supervisors' Agenda Again

Operation Stonegarden grant debate began in February and has been put off numerous times.
Christine Vivona

A Bright Touch: Harpist Christine Vivona

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Voices of protesters in Nogales; and a conversation with NASA nurse Dee O'Hara on the birth of the space program.
Father and teenager daughter make dangerous trip from Guatemala to the Arizona border.

Separated & Reunited on the Border

Also on Arizona Spotlight: An update on the poaching of a male jaguar sighted in the Huachuca Mountains; meet Ciara Peterson, a Tucson girl who is a national champion at using braille.
Protestors outside a Southwest Key facility near Oracle Road and Drachman Street in Tucson hung signs in preparation for a visit by First Lady Melania Trump. Mrs. Trump did not tour any of the facilities that house migrant children in the Tucson area.

First Lady's Visit a Chance for Protestors to Voice Opposition

Protestors gather at immigrant children detention sites as Melania Trump tours immigration-related stops.
First Lady Melania Trump arrives at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. June 28, 2018

First Lady Visits Border Patrol, Migrant Child Center in Arizona

Melania Trump makes stops in Tucson and Phoenix during her visit.

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