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July 5, 2023
DESERT TIMES The Voice of Southwest Tucson
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Volume 36 • Number 7
My Best Friend
Our Annual Celebration of Pets! | Special Section INSIDE
War efforts driving rapid growth locally
BY JIMMY MAGAHERN Tucson Local Media Contributor
Chow Pastries fill the cases at La Baguette Parisienne
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__________ Sports Did the Phoenix Suns really have a chance? Probably not.
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__________ Health Beware of OTC melatonin; labels can be deceiving
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O
n the day Inside Tucson Business spoke with Lynndy Smith, the 29-year-old president of the Arizona Defense and Industry Coalition had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, where she and other members of the group talked with the country’s department of defense to find out how Arizona could aid in its war effort.
It was the first time the political wunderkind, who improbably segued into government affairs after a promising college career in varsity women’s ice hockey (a post-grad stint as a staff assistant to Sen. John McCain did the trick), had actually been in a war zone. The experience, she said, was an eye-opener. “We had one night of full sleep without an air raid,” she said of her week-long stay with the U.S. Embassy in a bunker at a Kyiv hotel. “But then the second night, there was an alarm
that went off around midnight that lasted until about 4:30 in the morning. From what I gathered and could understand, it sounded like there was a (Russian) drone in the area.” Smith admitted she didn’t get a lot of sleep that night but said overall she “felt really safe. After all, Raytheon built those missile defense systems — that’s what’s being used in Ukraine. And the missile defense systems are working great.”
see UKRAINE page 4
Tucson Museum showcases the state’s best artists
BY VERONICA KUFFEL Tucson Local Media Contributor
F
or Julie Sasse, chief curator at the Tucson Museum of Art, summer is the time to highlight some of the best artists in Arizona. It’s this focus on local art that has helped establish the museum as a southwestern cultural mecca. “(Museums) seemed to feel they had to go outside the region to show New York or Chicago artists because that was the important stuff,” Sasse said. “That idea is over; people are saying the art right in front of us is valid, it’s important.” The Tucson Museum of Art showcases emerging Arizona artists through Oct. 1 as part of its renowned Biennial Exhibition. The gallery not only allows artists to exhibit their
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see BIENNIAL page 7
This year’s Biennial Exhibition displays over 50 emerging artists across Arizona. (Veronica Kuffel/Contributor)
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