“I have missed so much of life, my face like a doormat, has so often seen the undersoles of travelers’ shoes and boots, smelled the greens and dirts in their cleats, and I have spent a life imagining their travels.” — ‘Influences’ by Jimmy Santiago Baca
I told her I feel naked in the day.
‘Wait for the streetlights to spark,’ she says. ‘Remember that’s me calling you home, baby.’
After six years of research that sent Kate Stewart trekking around the globe, the local author’s first biography offers a dazzling view into the life of a librarian who refused to walk the line.
A Well-Read Woman: The Life, Loves and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport archives the harrowing, and at times brazen, tale of a librarian who championed access to information and balked at sexism in the workplace years before the Western feminist movement came to be.
Her ambition would drive her further still.
Born in Leipzig, Germany, Rappaport was only 10 years old when the Nazi Party rose to power. And in 1933, she needed to see for herself the book burnings that took place in her hometown, a world-renowned city of books at the time.
What truly intrigued Stewart was Rappaport’s flawed nature.
“And I wanted to include these things about her that were negative,” Stewart said. “There’s plenty that people can still learn even though she’s not a totally wonderful, loving or perfect person all the time. Plus, I think a lot of people can identify with her struggles of feeling like an outsider.”
Read the entire Tucson Weekly article here. Originally published May 23, 2019.
I needed a break from
While there’s no perfect answer to staying fiscally sound when the summer heat blankets Tucson, various businesses in the service industry have adapted to the triple-digit temperatures.
Whether it’s a business baking sweets or offering a soft pillow to an out-of-towner, relishing in what the Old Pueblo can offer appears to be the cornerstone to success.
What sets the Downtown Clifton hotel apart from the competition is it offers a quiet getaway that’s walking distance from Tucson’s nightlife, said Erin Cox, guest and community relations manager at the local lodge. Moreover, their staff, some of whom live in the neighborhood, offer a welcoming, family feel, she said.
“So we have a lot of return guests, who are very loyal to us,” Cox said.
Read the entire Inside Tucson Business article here. Originally published May, 10, 2019.
Signed, sealed, delivered—the new Ina Road interchange is yours.
After more than two years of construction, the Ina Road revamp at Interstate 10 is now open, although workers are completing some final details.
Ruthrauff Road at I-10 is next on the list for construction, but that project won’t begin until September.
The $128 million project at Ina Road had a handful of goals: widen I-10 to three lanes in each direction at the interchange; expand a 1.6-mile stretch of Ina Road to two lanes from North Silverbell Road to North Camino De La Cruz, which is just east of the freeway; create new bridges to carry Ina Road over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks; and create two new bridges over the Santa Cruz River. The project also lowered I-10 at Ina Road and called for renovation to the corresponding frontage roads.
The Arizona Department of Transportation managed the project.
Tom Herrmann, public information officer at ADOT, said although this type of undertaking is “daunting” it was “tremendously important” for two main reasons: the exponential growth in the Town of Marana, and to create a safer throughway.
“We can look back now and think it was a lot of hard work, but it was absolutely worth it from our perspective,” Herrmann said. “We hope the community feels the same way.”
Read the entire Tucson Local Media article here. Originally published May 1, 2019.
The art of developing innovative medical treatments can simply consist of reassigning how a compound is being used.
Just ask Dr. Evan Unger, who co-founded NuvOx Pharma, a Tucson-based research and development company.
Since 2008, NuvOx Pharma has focused on treating life-threatening diseases involving hypoxia, where oxygen is prevented from traveling to body tissue which disrupts metabolic functioning.
The company’s journey began when Unger licensed the rights to dodecafluoropentane emulsion, or DDFPe, which was originally developed for ultrasound technology. The company repurposed the compound for oxygen delivery therapies for patients who suffer from stroke, traumatic brain injury and hemorrhagic shock.
The company’s flagship program is for stroke treatment, Unger said, because of the size of the market. They believe the effectiveness of their therapy could make it the next standard of care. Approximately 795,000 Americans suffer from strokes each year.
Read the entire Tucson Local Media story here. Originally published April 24, 2019.
From soothing physical ailments to liberating patients to creating local sustainability—that’s the impact the medical marijuana industry can have, said Aari Ruben, owner of Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center.
For many people living with a chronic disease, medical marijuana is a last-ditch effort, Ruben said. When new patients trudge through his door believing they’ve exhausted the gamut of treatments, he prescribes something different: hope.
“Instead of them going to a doctor who’s giving a grim prognosis, I’m trying to educate them and inform them what their different options are,” said Ruben. “It’s very empowering. And it starts to give them some faith in themselves that they can manage other areas of their lives.”
Almost six years ago, Ruben opened Desert Bloom, which started as a family-run medical marijuana dispensary operating out of 1,200-square-foot storefront.
Read the entire Tucson Weekly article here. Originally published April 18,2019.
I felt it the perfect day to snake through saguaros on the westside of town, whilst howlin’ along to The Velvet Underground.
