YOUR THOUGHTS: IS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION INDEPENDENT?

posted by Melanie Huonker

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission continues to hold public meetings this week. Today it will meet in Phoenix at noon and tomorrow in Tempe at 10 a.m.

The commission remains under fire for alleged violation with the open meeting law and destruction of documents.

The commission’s once-in-a-decade task at hand involves redrawing Arizona’s nine congressional district lines and the state's 30 legislative district lines to comply with the U.S. Census and redistricting requirements.

Currently, the commission is in the mapping phase. Plans call for the commission to submit a final map to the Justice Department by November. Last week, state Attorney General Tom Horne asked a judge to order the commission's two Democrats, Linda McNulty and José Herrera, and independent chairwoman Colleen Mathis to cooperate with his investigation.

This action brings to light again Arizona’s rough history when it comes to redistricting. That’s what prompted voters to initiate Proposition 106, which took away the Legislature’s power to redraw district lines and transferred it to an independent commission.

Do you feel that the commission has done its job to depoliticize the task? If you could address the commission what would you say? Arizona Week wants to hear from you.

Next week we find out if the political influence on redistricting has diminished as was the intent of the voters.

AUSPICIOUS LANGUAGE? NOT FROM AUDACIOUS HOST

posted by Michael Chihak

Sharp-eared viewers of Friday's Arizona Week likely heard me use the wrong word -- twice -- in an interview. The word: auspicious, defined as "showing or suggesting that future success is likely."

Wrong word, wrong usage, wrong placement in the interview. Just plain wrong.

Here's the context: I was speaking with Rana Singh Sodhi, brother of a man murdered in Mesa four days after 9/11 in a hate crime when he was mistaken for being Muslim because he wore the turban of the Sikh religion. I was asking Mr. Sodhi about his wearing of the turban:

"In your religion, you wear the turban and the beard as part of your religious symbolism. But it makes you auspicious, shall we say, and people may not understand that. How do you deal with that ... ?" See it at the 3:48 mark of the program.

Again, at the 6:01 mark, I said: " ... someone suggested to you that you not wear it (the turban) because you would be less auspicious ... "

Early in the video editing process -- and too late to redo the interview -- I spotted the wrong usage and couldn't believe my years! I had used the wrong word, twice. How could that happen? I knew and know the meaning of "auspicious."

The word I meant to use is "audacious," meaning "daring, bold, marked by originality." Its usage in the context would have been more appropriate. Wish I had used it.

On reflection, the most appropriate word in the context would have been "conspicuous," meaning "obvious to the eye or mind ... attracting attention."

Apologies to one and all, especially those of you offended when someone brutalizes the language. I'm usually in your camp, yet I find myself meekly casting my linguistic eyes downward.

REMEMBRANCES OF 9/11 AND MOVING AHEAD

posted by Michael Chihak

Contemporary generations of Americans will remember Sept. 11, 2001 in the same way our oldest living generation recalls Dec. 6, 1941.

9/11, another "day that will live in infamy," is still fresh in mind and heart. Several Arizonans whose lives were intertwined with the events of that day and their aftermath, talked with us about how life has changed for them, about tolerance and about the uncertainty in our world.

Rana Singh Sodhi, a Mesa restaurateur whose brother Balbir was murdered at his Mesa gasoline station four days after 9/11 when he was mistaken for being Muslim, says he lives the memory of his brother by working to educate others about different religions and people.

And Singh Sodhi says he doesn't want to live in fear because his Sikh religion requires that he wear a turban and a beard. The United States affords religious freedom, and that is why he is here.

"I take off my turban for a little while -- I'm safe? No," Sodhi says. "The other side: There are hate crime victims who do not have a turban. But their skin color: How do you change your skin color?"

Also on the program will be John Kavanagh, an elected member of the Arizona House of Representatives who is a retired New York-New Jersey Port Authority police detective. Port Authority officers involved in the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center were his colleagues, and he knew many who died.

Maqsood Ahmad, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Center of Tucson, and Samuel Cohon, senior rabbi at Tucson's Temple Emanu-El, appear together, discussing their efforts to unite the community and maintain peace in the days after 9/11.

Watch at 8:30 p.m. MST PBS-HD-6 or online at azweek.com.

HOW DID 9/11 CHANGE ARIZONA AND ARIZONANS?

posted by Michael Chihak

The stinging rebuke that the 9/11 terrorist attacks sent to Americans' safety, security and freedom has lessened somewhat with the passage of a decade. But memories of that day and what it wrought for all remain vivid.

On Friday's Arizona Week, we will ask Arizonans their personal stories and remembrances, and we will pursue information about how some of them have acted upon their thoughts and emotions in the aftermath.

On the program:

-- Maqsood Ahmad, a Tucsonan and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Center of Tucson.

-- Rabbi Samuel Cohon of Tucson's Temple Emanu-El.

-- Rana Singh Sodhi, a Gilbert, AZ, businessman whose brother Balbir was killed four days after 9/11 in Mesa in what authorities called a hate crime.

-- Rep. John Kavanagh, of Fountain Hills, AZ, a state representative and retired police detective with the New York Port Authority, which was headquartered at the World Trade Center.

RANA SINGH SODHI REMEMBERS HIS MURDERED BROTHER

posted by Lucy Valencia

Four days after watching the televised collapse of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, a man took one look at Balbir Singh Sodhi's turban and beard, a custom of Sikh faith, and fatally shot him at a gasoline station the Indian man owned in Mesa.

Sodhi and his brother, Rana Singh Sodhi, left India to escape ethnic violence and find a better life in America, and instead found themselves caught in more ethnic violence. Rana Singh Sodhi will tell the story on Arizona Week Friday, recounting memories of his older brother nearly 10 years after the incident.

On the morning of Sept. 15, 2001, Frank Silva Roque, then 42, drove his truck to a Chevron station and fired five or six shots at Balbir Sodhi, who was outside speaking with a landscaper.

Roque continued his rampage by firing his .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol at a home he had previously owned and which he had sold to an Afghan couple. Though family members were home, no one was hurt.

Roque then drove to a Mobil gasoline station and sprayed bullets through the convenience store window at the clerk, who was of Lebanese descent, but missed.

The rampage shook an already mourning country, leaving many feeling harassed because of their race or ethnicity.

Roque told police he was lashing out at "Arabs," according to The Arizona Republic. He was arrested on the evening of the shootings.

Police charged Roque with one count of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, reckless endangerment and three counts of drive-by shooting. He was sentenced to the death penalty for the murder.

“I stand for America all the way,” Roque said as he was being handcuffed by Mesa police, according to the East Valley Tribune. He pleaded insanity but was judged sane and a jury found him guilty.

Roque's sentence was reduced to life in prison without parole in 2006.

FIVE LEADERS IN SEARCH OF A FOLLOWER

posted by Michael Chihak

The annual conference of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns presented both an opportunity and a challenge for us at Arizona Week.

A roomful of politicians, all and always with plenty to say, especially in these difficult times for local governmental officials.

We lined up five mayors from around Arizona, from cities and towns big, medium and small. University of Arizona journalism senior Melanie Huonker, as an Arizona Week intern, did the yeoman's work of making the arrangements. Melanie also did the majority of the background research work on the issues, both generally and for each participant's municipality.

All five showed up as promised, and we dove into what turned out to be a sustained, 32-minute interview covering a wide range of municipal, financial, economic and political issues.

Bottom line: They played well together. To see for yourself, go to azweek.com.