Tainted Info To the Editor: Where do you folks get your information about politics and history? Jim Nintzel's story on the Ward 6 race ("The Six Pack," Tucson Weekly, September 4) indicates that Sharon Hekman was my "hand-picked" successor when I left the Ward 6 office to run for mayor. It may interest you to know that: a) I didn't know Sharon Hekman when she had applied for the job; b) I was off the City Council when she was picked; and, c) she was not my first choice for the appointment. Equally important, one of the major reasons I ran for mayor was because, and like Molly, it was nearly impossible to get four votes from the Ward 6 seat, and winning the mayoral position would change all of that. "Picking my successor" was the last thing four votes would have agreed upon in my absence. Nintzel and the others on your staff write interesting and provocative pieces about politics and life in Tucson. The Weekly adds a great new dimension of reading for our community. But when you report "facts" that aren't even close to reality, then such reporting undermines the credibility of everything you write. It wouldn't hurt to double check on what you do write. In this specific instance, no one bothered to call and ask. I would have been happy to respond; and frankly, the facts of appointment and when the decision was made are matters of factual record. Please keep up the provocation. But surely you can challenge conventional thinking and still be accurate and fair! It doesn't hurt, either, to double check your memory or your source. --Tom Volgy Dirty Politics To the Editor, On Monday, September 15, I received in the mail a reprint of your editorial opposing Carol Zimmerman for city council along with an article by Jim Nintzel on Molly McKasson's opposition to Zimmerman. I am not voting for Zimmerman for some of the reasons stated in these articles, but I feel this mailing was highly unethical and constitutes dirty politics. No return address was given on the material I received, and the implication is that The Weekly itself had it printed and distributed. Is this the case, or has someone used this material without your permission? If material like this is mailed to constituents, its sender should be clearly marked. If you sent it, you should have clearly stated that it was from you. I believe this incident merits investigation and that the party who sent it should be reprimanded, certainly for the violation of your copyright if it was not you. --Norman M. Meader Editor's Note: Thanks for your concern. The mailing was not ours--everything we have to say in print, we say in our regular editions, each of which reaches an estimated 170,000 readers every week--many of whom are actually conscious. Had the sender bothered to ask for reprint rights in this instance, we would have gladly granted them for free, in the spirit of furthering political debate in our community. Reprint rights for most other articles appearing in The Weekly must be obtained from the writers themselves. In this case, however, because the sender failed to obtain our permission, he now owes us $4.8 million, which we will gladly accept in cash, no questions asked. Crawford Fans To the Editor, Regarding Jim Nintzel's "Faltering Heights" (Tucson Weekly, September 4): We are a small business operating in Ward 3. We have been in the same location for 45 years, so we are not new to Tucson, nor are we neophytes to the political scene here. We were appalled at your misrepresentation of Michael Crawford's role on the City Council and his contributions to our neighborhoods. We have watched and worked with Crawford since he was appointed. He and his staff have worked tirelessly to bring the neighborhood surrounding our business together over and over again. He has increased teams to help neighborhoods and Ward 3 businesses solve issues that affect us all. Michael and his staff have been more than conscientious in implementing programs to help our neighborhood progress in positive ways for families and children. Your coverage is transparent and shallow. --Jayme Fabe Zimmerman Zig-Zag To the Editor, Regarding " 'Take-Credit' Carol" (Tucson Weekly, September 4): I understand that Carol Zimmerman, ran for the open council seat in Ward 6, stated in her campaign literature that she "worked to provide traffic diverters for the Blenman-Elm and Broadmoor neighborhoods to slow speeding traffic." I don't know about Broadmoor, but as Vice President of the Blenman-Elm Neighborhood Association in 1989, when we worked to implement the traffic diverters for Blenman-Elm, I do know she was not involved in our neighborhood. In fact, this fiasco was one of the saddest examples of waffling by the Mayor and Council that I've had the misfortune of observing--and in the 27 years I've been involved in my neighborhood and in city boards and commissions, I've seen a lot of waffling. Blenman-Elm had been promised by Mayor and Council that we would have a six-month trial period of the diverters, but due mostly to the city manager and two outside neighborhoods, who did not want us to continue the project, a smoke screen of horror uttered by the fire chief canceled what was proving to be successful, after only a month or so, and never, in all of the time we were fighting this issue, did Carol Zimmerman, aide to then-Mayor Tom Volgy, offer any assistance. In fact, in an unanswered letter I wrote to Volgy in May of 1989, I said, "One would think that city staff would be there to help its citizens and provide assistance in their efforts to protect their homes and their neighborhood. However, that does not seem to be.... Our efforts have met with nothing but blockades from the word go." Councilwoman Molly McKasson listed numerous other misrepresentations by Ms. Zimmerman, and it was a shame that the Star has endorsed her. --Peggy Lockard Gracias! To the Editor, Just a quiet note to say "thank you" for such a good little paper. I can't tell you enough how refreshing it is to read the truth, especially referencing The Skinny. I hope your paper will not stop printing the truth. I also hope other people appreciate reading the truth as well. --Gigi Brown We Want Letters! Thrilled by our brilliant insights? Sick of our mean-spirited attacks? Need to make something perfectly clear? Write: tucsonweekly@tucsonweekly.com

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