Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page A002

ArtzotutBatlji Star WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013 PAGE A2 Editor: Hipolito R. Corella 520-573-4101 metroazstarnet.com Can Kwasman avoid the Glassman model? 0 age points. Kwasman is hoping to challenge the incumbent Democrat, Ann McCain in 2010. That ended in a flameout that left Glassman exiled from public 1- Tim Steller office until his recent hiring as interim town manager of Cave Creek. Like Kwasman, Glass-man was young and am -bitious though a Democrat when he quit the Tucson City Council in 2010, after less than three years in office to run for the party's nomi Kirkpatrick, in the vast Congressional District 1, which reaches from his hometown, Oro Valley, through Pinal County, eastern and northern Arizona to Flagstaff.

Kirkpatrick may not be the formidable force McCain was in fact, the National Republican it's always difficult to unseat an incumbent. "These are tough races because these are entrenched, experienced incumbents who know how to win races," said Daniel Scarpinato, the Tucson man who works as spokesman for the national committee. Kwasman, an economic consultant for a local financial advis -er, is treating his relative inexperience as irrelevant. "It doesn't matter whether you're 30, 60, 90, good ideas are good ideas," he said. See STELLER, A6 Adam Kwasman formally announced his desire to run for the Republican nomination for Congress Monday, but his ambition has long been plain to see.

Kwasman is a young lover of politics who spent a year as a congressional page for then-Rep. Jim Kolbe at age 16, later interned for Kolbe worked for the Cato Institute and managed Jesse Kelly's congressional campaign at age 28. It's in his blood. So it shouldn't surprise you that he decided to explore running for Congress just eight months after winning his first political seat Adam Kwasman state representative from the northwest side. Still, there's risk in such a move When talking to the now-30 -year- old Kwasman Monday and Tuesday, I kept thinking of another surprising run by a young, ambitious local politico: Rodney Glassman 's challenge to Sen.

John nation for Senate. He was 31 when he launched the suicide mission against McCain, which he lost by about 24 percent- Congressional Committee is targeting her seat as one of its top-priority races and plans to fund whoever challenges her. But 1st new class on minority issues gets board's OK Culturally relevant lit course set for some TUSD schools in fall PHOTOS COURTESY OF PIMA COUNTY The town of Ajo welcomes visitors and commerce in the newly refurbished historical train depot in the town plaza. The makeover was financed by a $500,000 state grant and $150,000 in Pima County bond funds. Old building gets new lease on life as visitor center, chamber office By Alexis Huicochea ARIZONA DAILY STAR Tucson Unified School District will offer culturally relevant literature classes in the fall to select high school juniors and seniors.

The TUSD Governing Board voted 3-2 to approve the curriculum for the courses Tuesday night. The courses are taught from the African American and Mexican American perspectives. Board Members Mark Stegeman and Michael Hicks dissented. The classes will be offered for core credit through pilot programs at Cholla, Tucson and Pueblo high schools, and students will still have the option of taking traditional literature courses. Topics covered by the literature courses will include race and privilege in America, the birth of the civil rights movement and the pursuit of the Amer -ican dream, contemporary issues in the African American and Mexican American cultures, racial identity and other issues.

Specific books and teaching materials are not identified, but will be drawn from works previously approved by the board and other selected works yet to be determined. There will be a focus on how literature can serve as a vehicle for addressing issues related to race and racism; how literature reflects the social and political struggles of African Americans and Mexican Americans and how literature helps readers to understand the human condition. Debate over the culturally relevant courses has been heated, as some worry they will be too similar to Mexican American Studies classes, which were deemed illegal by the state, while others feel that the courses may be watered down to avoid similar scrutiny. "This curriculum is political and racially motivated," one community member commented as part of an online curriculum review. Other critics questioned why the classes weren't being offered from other cultural perspectives like Asian American and Native American, or why one class couldn't cover all of the viewpoints.

On the other end, a commenter wrote the curriculum will expose students "to a variety of points of view, give them opportunities to develop critical thinking skills teacher from New York also praised the curriculum, despite being "dismayed by what happened to the Mexican American Studies program." The unidentified teacher said the curriculum explored well- selected topics. With all of the work that has gone into putting the classes together, former TUSD Deputy Super-See CULTURAL, A6 ARIZONA DAILY STAR The historical train depot in Ajo has been transformed into the Ajo Visitors Center and Chamber of Commerce office. Pima County supplemented a $500,000 Arizona Department of Transportation grant with $150,000 in bond funds approved by voters in 2004 to complete the project. The Ajo Train Depot was used by the Tucson, Cornelia and Gila Bend Railroad for many years following its construction in 1916. When the mine near Ajo closed in the 1980s, the depot and many other historical buildings were vacated.

The Ajo townsite, including the depot building, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, making it eligible for various grants, Pima County officials said in a news release The nonprofit International Sonoran Desert Alliance purchased the building in 2008 to rehabilitate it for the town's visitor center and Chamber of Commerce, to stimulate tourism and attract businesses to Ajo. The building needed mechanical and system upgrades, as well as restoration The depot, built in 1916, was used by the Tucson, Cornelia and Gila Bend Railroad before it closed in the 1980s when the nearby mine closed. of its architectural details and interior, The Tucson-Pima County Historical the county news release said. Commission honored the project with The depot now has several new of- its Historic Preservation Award earlier fices, meeting spaces and a gift shop. this year.

Council OKs TCC improvements, new management By Darren DaRonco ARIZONA DAILY STAR Things may be looking up for the moribund Tucson Convention Center after the City Council unanimously approved measures Tuesday to update the facility and bring in an outside management company to curb costs. First up was a measure giving the green light for Rio Nuevo to spend $7.8 million on TCC "This is only the beginning of correcting the mistakes of the past." Councilman Paul Cunningham project manager. Some of the key improvements include replacing seats, improving lighting, adding a video scoreboard and renovating the breezeway, bathrooms and As part of the city and Rio Nue-vo's agreement to end years of bickering, the downtown improvement district board agreed to put at least $6 million into repairing the TCC, with the provision any plans must be approved by the council. Most of the renovations focus on "aesthetic and cosmetic" touch-ups to make visits to the TCC a little more pleasant for patrons, said Elaine Weaver, TCC concession stands. While it's a good these initial improvements are about to get underway, Councilman Paul Cunningham said, there's still a lot more to be done if the TCC wants to become competitive again.

"This is only the beginning of correcting the mistakes of the past to develop a convention center we can be proud of," Cunningham said. "There is still a considerable amount of work to be done," such as widening the concourse and luxury seating. Councilman Steve Kozachik said the limited budget means focusing on relatively inexpensive "fan amenities" to get people back to the TCC. More ambitious projects can be considered later, he said. The improvements are tenta- See COUNCIL, A6 Water service changes approved A5 City OKs settlement in fatal mix-up A6 Aramut Hatty Star Newsroom: 573-4142 TIPS: metroazstarnet.com 4850 S.

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