From Baghdad to Tucson

By Katelyn McIntyre/Arizona Sonora News It’s 4 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon in early fall and Amna Alquaisi heads into Sinbad’s Restaurant on Tucson’s University Blvd. for her daily dinner shift. The 52-year-old business owner was up early that day, carefully prepping the food that her son and her husband, Mulsmani, would cook all day….

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A teacher with a ‘Grande’ heart

By Nicholas Trujillo/Arizona Sonora News Listen to the audio version of this story above. In an empty classroom at Tucson’s largest public high school a teacher can’t quite reach the top of the white board. James “Jimmy Grande” Bourland (yes, Grande is his nickname) has used his love of journalism to teach the art of storytelling…

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Running for local office as an independent

Listen to the audio version of this story above. “I’ve been kind of a political junkie all of my life. I’ve enjoyed national politics and certainly local politics. I’ve been in business for 44 years and I’ve kind of watched the parade go by,” says Ed Ackerley, who ran for mayor in Tucson. “And so…

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A day in the life of Coach Wanaka

Coach Wanaka has been the volunteer assistant coach for the Arizona baseball program for the last 4 seasons. Working as the hitting coach and exclusively with the catchers and outfielders, Wanaka’s mentorship has not gone unnoticed. Last year the combination of talent and coaching allowed University of Arizona baseball team to be ranked the best offense…

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