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.

HOW ARE AZ CITIES STACKING UP AGAINST THE ECONOMY?

posted by Melanie Huonker

University of Arizona economist Marshall J. Vest projects Arizona’s economic outlook to rise 45.5 percent by 2015 through personal income, retail sales and employment. That’s a sign for economic prosperity in the future, but how do cities stack up in the economy and job growth now, in 2011?

Friday’s Arizona Week broadcast will address that question with a panel discussion of five mayors reacting to an address by Gov. Jan Brewer at the League of Arizona Cities and Towns Annual Conference as well as discussing their local economic and public policy issues.

Arizona Week most recently confirmed Mayor W.J. “Jim” Lane’s participation in that discussion. A recent editorial in The Arizona Republic written by the mayor illuminates his confidence in Scottsdale’s ability to control the budget amid the financial crisis. Lane is so convinced of his city's ability that he thinks “Washington could learn a thing or two from Scottsdale.”

Others who confirmed for the program earlier this week are Mayor Byron Jackson of Eloy, Mayor Fernando Shipley of Globe, Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers of Avondale and Mayor Sara Presler of Flagstaff.

In early August, Avondale approved an expansion of the Phoenix International Raceway. The City Council said the move would bring new employment and national marketing exposure. Avondale also made a leap to increase small-business productivity through a partnership with Chandler’s Gangplank Collective, a non-profit organization that gets businesses on their feet without having to pay overhead costs.

Other cities like Eloy and Globe are looking to “lock up” to increase local job opportunities. Mayor Jackson told TriValley Central that the city’s four private prisons are good business. Despite high unemployment, Jackson said “the jobs are here.” While, Mayor Shipley was pro-prison for Globe, his city was divided. Added agreements if Globe housed a private prison would have drawn business into the community, Shipley said to TriValley Central.

In Flagstaff, Standard and Poor’s dropped the economic outlook for the city from “stable to “negative.” Despite the drop, Flagstaff sold $15.9 million in general-obligation bonds.

For more on AZ cities’ economic and job outlook and to hear from the mayors of each city, watch Arizona Week this Friday.

AZ MAYORS GATHER TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC, PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES

posted by Melanie Huonker

Mayors from across Arizona will gather for the Arizona League of Cities and Towns Annual Conference this week at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort. The conference will provide a series of workshops for mayors to address their local economic and job outlook, local budget and services issues, taxes and trust in government.

Gov. Jan Brewer will speak at the conference Thursday, Sept. 1. Following her address, Arizona Week will interview five Arizona mayors in a panel discussion to get their reactions to the governor.

So far, Mayor Byron Jackson of Eloy, Mayor Fernando Shipley of Globe, Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers of Avondale and Mayor Sara Presler of Flagstaff have confirmed their participation in the discussion.

That discussion will air on Friday night's episode of Arizona Week.