Manzo Elementary identified as top 'green' school in nation

TUSD's Manzo Elementary has been recognized as a Best Green School for 2012.

Projects at 2 Tucson schools are hatcheries of knowledge

Manzo Elementary third-grader Lena Lieu, 8, pets a bird's feathers while fourth-grader Alexis Morales 9, fills the feeder. They're accompanied by third-graders Araceli Fuentes, 9, in the background, and Jayden De La Rosa 8, right.

Projects at 2 Tucson schools are hatcheries of knowledge

Manzo students Jayden De La Rosa, left, and Lena Lieu get up close and personal with one of their avian charges.

Projects at 2 Tucson schools are hatcheries of knowledge

Chickens have descended upon Borton Magnet and Manzo Elementary schools, winning over students, parents and teachers alike. The two TUSD schools have been running chicken coops on their campuses for two months.

Big Oaxacan expansion for Teresa's

The "whimsical, fun" interior redesign of Teresa's Mosaic Cafe after expansion of the restaurant and the bar area will include an abstraction of a bird, artsy panels, and a wall of mosaic tiles in the bar.

Big Oaxacan expansion for Teresa's

The entrance of the renovated restaurant will be framed by abstracts representing the "Arbol de Tule" tree in Santa Maria de Tule in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Big Oaxacan expansion for Teresa's

Local chef went up against Bobby Flay in Food Network "throwdown."

Big Oaxacan expansion for Teresa's

After enjoying a surge in business following its Food Network exposure a year ago, a west-side restaurant is expanding. Teresa's Mosaic Cafe and its chef, David Matias, were thrilled to go up against celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a huevos rancheros "throwdown."

Manzo students welcome desert tortoise to new digs

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum found a home for a 20-year-old desert tortoise at Manzo Elementary School on Friday.

Manzo students welcome desert tortoise to new digs

Students, faculty, volunteers and community members gather around the new Manzo Desert Tortoise Habitat at Manzo Elementary School. Plants needing a lot of water were replaced.

Manzo students welcome desert tortoise to new digs

The 20-year-old male desert tortoise checks out his new home, which is filled with cacti, wildflowers, grasses and vines.

New casino resort starts to blossom

At 4 a.m. six days a week, nearly 400 construction workers begin arriving on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation to build the Casino del Sol Resort, Spa and Conference Center.

Sunnyside school board member defends eligibility

A newly elected Sunnyside board member plans to be sworn in Tuesday despite an ongoing investigation into whether he lives in the district.

Tucson Oddity: Rocky niches, slopes of 'A' Mountain are high spots of devotion for faithful

Several years ago, Josefina Cardenas sent her husband up the side of "A" Mountain off South Mission Road with a rosary and a note in hand. Luis Javier Cardenas walked up the steep pathway and left both in a small grotto where a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe stood on the slope.

Man sought in 2008 homicide case overturns car during chase, police say

Police say Miguel Rosas Sanchez tried to get on Interstate 10 at Speedway where his vehicle, at right, rolled onto the frontage road. Earlier, police had tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver fled, leading officers on a chase.

Man sought in 2008 homicide case overturns car during chase, police say

A police chase involving a man wanted for questioning in a homicide ended in a crash Tuesday on Tucson's west side.

Fruit trees re-create Tucson's birthplace

Jason Elam, a Desert Survivors nursery employee, checks on irrigation emitters to make sure that water is getting to these pomegranate trees. Desert Survivors grows clones of a number of centuries-old fruit trees.

Fruit trees re-create Tucson's birthplace

Quince is one of the fruit trees that will be transplanted at Mission Garden in a re-creation of the orchards and gardens of Mission San Agustín. Mission Garden is at the base of "A" Mountain.

Fruit trees re-create Tucson's birthplace

A black mission fig is one of the trees to be transplanted at Mission Garden.

Fruit trees re-create Tucson's birthplace

The trees came from Spain, Morocco and the Canary Islands, surviving months of sea and overland travel to find homes in the infrequent oases of New Spain. They were planted wherever the presence of water allowed establishment of missions and presidios.