Tim Steller: 2 carpetbaggers hang their hats in Tucson

Embrace the carpetbaggers. That's the message sent last night by the boards of Tucson's two biggest school districts, both of whom made new commitments to superintendents.

Tim Steller: More questions on reintroducing bighorns

You could imagine the eye rolls around Tucson when it emerged June 7 that Arizona Game and Fish may end up killing some mountain lions in order to repopulate the Catalinas with bighorn sheep.

Tim Steller: Public locked out of trial in former ATF agent Jay Dobyns' suit

I walked into a "sealed" courtroom in downtown Tucson Thursday afternoon and saw something interesting: six Justice Department staffers at one table, two plaintiffs' advocates at the other.

Tim Steller: It's Isquierdo or (not and) a budget override

The majority on the Sunnyside school board seems to want it both ways.

Tim Steller: Getting help for mentally ill is a grind

Jeri Taylor didn't hesitate to take charge of her son's medical care when University Medical Center discharged him in February.

Tim Steller: Eagle shows sharp legal talons to patent bullies

An attorney general, three photocopier manufacturers and the White House all are confronting patent trolls, but what really demonstrates the trolls' retreat is their response to The Eagle.

Tim Steller: At this coffee shop, being a Commie is cool

The place was packed on Sunday at Revolutionary Grounds coffee shop, which every first and third Sunday of the month hosts a Marxism discussion group.

Tim Steller: At this coffee shop, being a Commie is cool

Talk of "proletarian revolution" may sound antiquated, but it remains topical every two weeks at a Tucson coffee shop.

Tim Steller: Infant's death leads to tragedy for 5 kids

The death of a three-month-old Tucson baby named Izayah Garcia was tragic in itself. But the tragedy has deepened in the aftermath, leaving five more children in foster care.

Tim Steller: Arbiter of proper prayer showed arrogance

If you want to know The Truth, you know whom to ask. Steve Smith, a talent agent from the town of Maricopa, apparently has a corner on it.

Tim Steller: Misbehavior at firehouses needs to stop

Children learn quickly that it isn't a valid excuse for misbehavior to say "Everybody was doing it."

Tim Steller: Every leaker acts out of own interests

Dennis Burke, the former U.S. attorney for Arizona, tried to undermine a whistleblower in the Fast and Furious gun-trafficking case by leaking a document to a journalist, but he failed.

Tim Steller: AZ grading system hurts 3 Edge schools

You can't say that schools for lower-performing students get no recognition.

Tim Steller: Grand Canyon University Tucson campus a great idea, but that doesn't mean it will work

The city of Tucson has an opportunity and a problem.

Tim Steller: VA backlog keeps wounded Tucson vet from getting the surgery he needs

At 26, Reno Roethle is going through a time of life when people make big decisions - about careers, lovers, moves.

Tim Steller: McSally 'a proven candidate,' but for what office?

For more than half an hour Tuesday, former Republican congressional candidate Martha McSally spoke enthusiastically to Pima County GOP activists.

Tim Steller: Picacho Peak Park already has noise problem, so rail yard plan deserves careful attention

The view from Picacho Peak's slopes, looking east, shows the surrounding man-altered terrain. A large Union Pacific rail yard is proposed for the same area. Critics say it would have signficant harmful impact on the area, already affected by visual pollution and traffic noise from Interstate 10.

Tim Steller: Picacho Peak Park already has noise problem, so rail yard plan deserves careful attention

PICACHO PEAK STATE PARK - As you climb the northeast side of Picacho Peak, distant noise accompanies you: Interstate 10 traffic, the long passing trains, the occasional flyover by F-16s apparently using the mountain as a landmark.

Tim Steller: Column about Basis, UHS hits nerves on both sides

No school arouses passions around Tucson like Basis does.

Tim Steller: Dialogue about border deaths now based on data

June 8, 2002 was the day when, for me, border-crosser deaths changed from an issue into a crisis.

Tim Steller: Let's keep the top ratings for Basis, University High schools in perspective

It's an annual rite of self-congratulation. U.S. News and World Report ranks Basis Tucson and University High School among the best in the country.

Tim Steller: Turnover rampant in CPS jobs, keeping agency in crisis

It's not the recruitment video you'd expect. One by one, workers hit you with the tough reality of working for Child Protective Services.

Tim Steller: Board should reject required 9th-grade multiculturalism class proposed for TUSD

Tucson Unified School District administrators surprised the school board last week by revealing they want to require a ninth-grade multiculturalism course at three high schools - before the board has even seen or approved the curriculum.

Tim Steller: With more aerials drones, our privacy in border region is up in the air

Residents of Southern Arizona's borderlands are on a frontier, but it's not the one they're used to.

Tim Steller: Sunnyside Superintendent Isquierdo must go; district issue separate

At Sunnyside Unified School District's raucous board meeting Tuesday night, critics of the financially troubled superintendent continued their calls for him to be fired. The non sequitur of a response from his defenders: But the district's performance is improving.

Tim Steller: Parents need to support their kids - to a point

"What happened is a terrible thing, but I know that my kids have nothing to do with it. I know it. I am mother. I know my kids. I know my kids. Really, my kids would never get involved with anything like that."

Tim Steller: Is the Eckstrom era really over?

South Tucson leaders call it a new era for the city. We'll see.

Tim Steller: County puts its 'corazón' into park's name

Tucson's English-speakers have long loved throwing Spanish words onto a new street or subdivision to give the place-name some panache.

Tim Steller: Sunnyside should dismiss Isquierdo

It's hard to pick the best symbol of Manuel Isquierdo's nearly six years as superintendent of the Sunnyside Unified School District.

Tim Steller: Big 'A' will revert to white, so let's color this battle over

Ten years ago the passionate debate over the newly launched Iraq War found a touchstone in Tucson - the giant "A" on Sentinel Peak.

Tim Steller: I went out on an African sumac limb - and fell off

So much for working from home. Sitting in my backyard and writing last week, I was seduced by a pretty tree waving at me in the breeze. It was an African sumac, and I pointed to that species in last Wednesday's column - on the scourge of palm trees - as an example of a good non-native tree t…

Tim Steller: Cunningham aide Katie Bolger might not deserve another second chance

On Sept. 15, 2006, Katie Bolger promised her boss, Tucson Councilwoman Karin Uhlich, that she would do better if she could have her job back.

Tim Steller: Smuggled guns are history of border

Merchants from Fronteras, Sonora, gave the man a wad of money to spend on guns and ammunition in Douglas and smuggle them back south.

Tim Steller: No job too small for Brewer, apparently

Arizona's Department of Veterans Services has 366 employees.

Tim Steller: This is Tucson, so let's ditch the palm trees

Enough with the palm trees, OK Tucson? For almost a century, this city has indulged its sense of itself as an oasis in the desert by trying to make the Old Pueblo look like one.

Tim Steller: Parents of the mentally ill are often in denial

Reports released last week show that Jared Lee Loughner's parents remained in denial about their son's mental condition up until Jan. 8, 2011, when he shot 19 people.

Tim Steller: No Tucsonans at risk, just yet, of taking water walk of shame

It horrified Tucson native Sean Elliott to learn in December that he and his wife were the second-biggest users of water in San Antonio.

What Loughner's parents knew: They watched his decline but didn't arrange for treatment

Jared Lee Loughner's parents took away his shotgun and disabled his car nightly but didn't make sure he got a mental-health evaluation in the months before his Jan. 8, 2011, Tucson shooting rampage.

Tim Steller: Border trip gives Brewer compatible viewpoints

When Gov. Jan Brewer toured the Arizona-Sonora border area last month, she met only with people who share her view of the borderland as out of control.

Tim Steller: Yet another child dies - Are we doing all we can?

We're already forgetting Adyson Gaxiola. When the toddler died of abuse March 15, at 18 months old, it merited a short item in this paper.

Tim Steller: Mean-spirited bathroom bill singles out transgender people

You've probably been traumatized over the last 14 years by all the transgender people in locker rooms and public restrooms around Tucson.

Tim Steller: Shootings by border agents: Cases drag on and on

Thursday marks two years since U.S. Border Patrol Agent Lucas Tidwell shot and killed Carlos LaMadrid at the border fence in Douglas.

Tim Steller: Dicey certification business cuts into medical pot's credibility

The day after police raided the Get Legal Cannabis Certification Center, 6647 E. 22nd St., a crowd of about 20 angry customers gathered outside.

Tim Steller: Will ethnic classes' return be peaceful?

We can hope now for a relatively peaceful return of ethnic studies to the Tucson Unified School District.

Tim Steller: Locked-up firearms in schools just could work

Stashing and locking guns in schools may seem a laughable response to school shootings like the one in Newtown, Conn.

Tim Steller: Former astronaut Kelly assumes new role: a political voice for gun control

Dozens of reporters and onlookers in Tucson witnessed a key transition last week, one that may affect us all for years to come.

Tim Steller: Group sets meeting to foil patent trolls

The patent-trolling effort that threatened a Tucson firm is drawing a national response.

Tim Steller: Ariz. GOP unites against its own

A galvanizing opponent is finally bringing Southern Arizona's fractious Republican Party groups together into a nearly united front.

Tim Steller: ICE must lay out facts on detainee releases

Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants us to trust them. Since Friday, Feb. 22, ICE has released 2,000-plus detainees nationwide in anticipation of budget cuts connected to the sequester - 302 of the releases in Arizona. The detainees released were not dangerous, the agency says, and that…