Author: asnsadmin

Large trafficking of illegal immigration and drug cartels are the highlighted topics in media outlets, but residents along the United States-Mexico border believe that often times these topics are taken out of context.

To them, it’s a just a place to call home.

Ada Wilkinson-Lee, a Latin American Studies professor at the University of Arizona, grew up in Douglas, along the Southwest border. She said she could hear crossers, but never feared them. Wilkinson- Lee’s research today is in Latino health and border communities.

[caption id="attachment_349" align="alignleft" width="138"]Terri Proud[/caption]A former Tucson lawmaker just hired to coordinate a female veterans’ conference isn’t sure women belong on the front lines, at least partly because combat is no place to be dealing with menstrual cycle issues.

Terri Proud, a one-term state representative, was recently hired as an administrative assistant with the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services at a salary of roughly $40,000, said Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services spokesman Dave Hampton. The conference is one of several responsibilities she’ll be undertaking, he said.

When asked about women on the front lines, Proud said that is a tough issue she didn’t want to talk about.

She said her position is drawn partly from her family’s military background and partly from biology.

Imagine taking a leap of faith 13,000 feet in the air out of a plane and free falling for 60 seconds at 150 mph. Yes, this is a sport and not for the faint of heart. It’s skydiving.

 SkyDive Arizona located in Eloy between Phoenix and Tucson is one of the biggest and busiest drop zone in the world. Over 100,000 jumps are made here each year.

 “The experience was like nothing I have ever felt. Looking through the window on the way up watching the ground getting farther and farther away. Then seeing the person in front of you just get sucked out of the plane,” said Kyle Flynn of Scottsdale about his first jump at SkyDive Arizona.

In 2012 34,800 men and women were members of the United Parachute Association and the numbers will continue to grow with the popularity of the sport. 

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(To view larger photos or video clips of barrel racing and team roping, click on the image during the slideshow)

It’s rodeo season again in Arizona and the Southwest.  That means heavy competition for thousands of athletes who strive to get the most points or the best time in their events to win cash prizes and hopefully move on to the regional and national finals.

Last month, Tucson held the 88^th Annual La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros, which is a nine day event and one of the top 25 professional rodeos in North America, according to the Tucson Rodeo’s official website. While attending the final day of this rodeo, patrons were overheard complaining of the size of the crowd, stating, “Seems like it gets worse every year.” In fact, this year’s rodeo had a record attendance, according to Dr. John Marchello, who coaches the University of Arizona rodeo team and has been a meat scientist at the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences since 1965.