Fans of sci-fi, comic books, manga: Get ready for Libcon
BY COUNCILMAN RENÉ LOPEZ
The Chandler Public Library is hosting the sixth annual Libcon on Saturday, March 26. Teenagers are invited to experience a unique convention specifically designed for fans of sci-fi, comic books and manga. It’s a celebration just for them as adults won’t be allowed past the registration desk.
I’m excited Chandler is able to offer the Libcon series in our community. My family and I are huge fans, and plan some of our vacations around the San Diego Comic-Con. We’ve also attended the New York Comic Con events. Various panels are scheduled throughout the day, including button making, candy sushi and a special Dr. Who craft. Plan on attending the zombie panel discussion where I’ll be talking about the zombie apocalypse and plans of survival with other panelists. Teens also will engage in storytelling, all-day video gaming, card and table-top gaming, panels for role-playing games and cosplay. They also can test their knowledge of all things anime by participating in the “Anime Family Feud.”
Forbidden Kingdom Seamstry and many more.
Participants are encouraged to dress in costume as their favorite character. This is a fun way to break the ice and meet some amazing people.
I had the pleasure of speaking with the event coordinator, Elisia Simmons, Sunset Library assistant, during my recent Chandler In Focus show. Growing up, she was never able to attend this type of convention because the cost was too high or the event was too far away. She felt this was a great way to involve the Chandler Library by providing a venue where youth can experience the world of pop culture, but also learn about the resources available through the library. It’s another opportunity to promote reading and the importance of literacy.
Big Brothers Big Sisters committed to recruiting male mentors
BY LAURA CAPELLO, CEO & PRESIDENT OF BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF CENTRAL ARIZONA, LAURA PASTOR, PHOENIX COUNCILWOMAN
KATE GALLEGO, PHOENIX COUNCILWOMAN
The U.S. Education Department reports that 19 percent of high school students didn’t graduate in 2012-2013. Alarmingly, Arizona is above the national average with 25 percent of adolescents not graduating. Reports show children who spend time with a mentor are less likely to engage in risky behavior and 52 percent less likely to skip school. In hopes of raising awareness about the essential benefits of mentorship, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona (BBBSAZ) and My Brother’s Keeper Phoenix have joined together and forged a yearlong commitment to recruit 300 new male mentors.
BBBSAZ matches underage children, who are referred to as “Littles,” with adult role models or “Bigs.”
The My Brother’s Keeper Initiative came to Phoenix when Mayor Greg Stanton accepted President Obama’s call to empower young men of color from the classroom to the workplace. Two of us, Councilwomen Laura Pastor and Kate Gallego, have the privilege of chairing the implementation.
organizations afraid, lost and in need of encouragement. But in a matter of months and just a few consistent hours spent with a male mentor, their dispositions change for the better and they begin to hope again, aspire for more and see beyond their current circumstances.
Being a mentor is easy, and contrary to popular belief, doesn’t take much time. A mentor only needs to devote a few hours a month to having fun with a young person. It can be as simple as sharing a quiet conversation over a warm meal or attending an action-packed football game.
Additionally, mentorship is a prevention measure that helps deter a life of crime and financial burdens on taxpayers. According to a 2014 study by Justice Policy Institute, it costs Arizona taxpayers a staggering $106,098 a year to confine one young person in the juvenile court system. The long-term cost of confinement is even greater as many of the juveniles will suffer long-lasting negative effects on their mental health and self-esteem.
Libcon 2016 allows youth, ages 12 to 18, to express themselves creatively, while learning about the world of conventions in a safe environment. This event is organized as a mini-con and will include a vendor hall and gaming area. Artists and organizers will include Phoenix Comicon, Christine Jepsen Fine Art,
Libcon 2016 is a free event for teens only and will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at the Boys and Girls Club, 300 E. Chandler Blvd. There is still time to be involved as an attendee, vendor or volunteer. For more information, visit chandlerlibrary.org/libcon and watch my Chandler in Focus show at www. chandleraz.gov/newsroom.
I look forward to participating and engaging with the teens as they explore the world of Comic-Con.
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There are more than 300 “Littles” waiting for a mentor in the Phoenixmetro area. Seventy percent are young boys, but only three out of every 10 volunteer inquiries are from men, according to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Eighty-three percent of the children on the BBBSAZ waiting list are minority males.
Studies show that pairing adult males with young boys leads to a stronger bond, uniting the individuals and allowing them to relate to genderspecific challenges. It is for that very reason that we implore all males in the Phoenix-metro area to step up, help to shape a young man’s life and become a mentor today.
Oftentimes, young men enter our
preferred submission method, to Letters@ SanTanSun.com.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America found that children who have a mentor relationship are less likely to engage in risky behaviors, 46 percent less likely to use illegal drugs and 52 percent less likely to skip school. For the sake of our young men, we implore males, particularly males of color, to do more than just think about making a difference in 2016, but to instead, actually make a difference by signing up to be a mentor with one of the great mentoring organizations in the community. Help get our young men on track. Help our young men thrive. Help our young men have a prosperous future.
Learn more about the volunteer process and mentorship programs at www.bbbsaz.org/volunteer or www. phoenix.gov/mbk.
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Community Commentary
Arizona should think twice with Clean Power Plan
BY TERRY JARRETT
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court took the unprecedented step of issuing a stay against President Obama’s massive “Clean Power Plan” (CPP.) The court determined that states should not be compelled to pay the exorbitant costs of the plan until a federal court determines its legality. The ruling produced a huge sigh of relief from the 27 states currently suing to halt a large-scale transformation of their energy grid through one of the most far-reaching regulations ever imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Essentially, states no longer need to scramble to achieve a 32-percent reduction in power sector carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. However, the power plan had required interim targets in 2022, and many states were already bracing for the costs of building new power sector infrastructure.
Thankfully, states have been granted a reprieve. But Arizona has chosen to move forward with the task of rebuilding its entire power generation sector. This means the state will still undertake the construction of new grid infrastructure, including the many new transmission lines and towers needed to carry electricity from planned wind and solar assemblies. Ironically, wind and solar power have yet to prove reliable in terms of scalability for power generation. Such “renewable” sources of energy are intermittent—the sun doesn’t always shine, the wind doesn’t always blow—
and require backup power generation from coal or gas plants. And so, even as Arizona—a state that derives 40 percent of its power from coal—begins to shutter its coal-fired power plants, it will need to build new coal or gas systems to backstop these projected wind and solar plants.
The question is why Arizona would bear this cost when it is currently under no legal obligation to do so. Higher utility bills will fall hardest on low-income families and America’s seniors, 70 percent of whom live on a fixed income. The stay by the Supreme Court means that all compliance deadlines are now suspended, and the stay will remain in effect until the court has a chance to review the case following action by the D.C. Circuit. In fact, the earliest decision from the court on the merits of the case would likely come in mid to late 2017.
But the stay is only part of the reasoning here. More importantly, the rule could be struck down on judicial review. Many legal observers view this as likely since the point of granting the stay was to alleviate the obligation of states to develop plans (and thus incur further economic harm.) The Supreme Court’s issuance of the stay can only be read as reflecting a high level of dissatisfaction with the EPA’s legal basis for the rule.
Even in the very unlikely event that the EPA ultimately prevails in court and the stay is lifted, the new compliance dates will most likely be delayed by the period of time that the stay was in effect. Or, a
new, less sympathetic administration may set aside the entire rule.
Apart from the costs, Arizona should consider that the goals of the Clean Power Plan are of questionable practicality. While the plan, as envisioned by the Obama Administration, would shut down roughly 40 percent of America’s coal-fired power generation, it would yield only a trivial reduction in carbon dioxide that could soon be overwhelmed by emissions from China, India and other developing nations. That may be viewed as cost-effective for Washington, but not for Arizona.
The clean coal that currently powers much of Arizona—and much of America— has proven to be durable, affordable, and reliable. Renewable energy, in contrast, has proven to be expensive and low-yield. Arizona would be wise to follow the example of those states that are rejecting the CPP as a costly overreach of federal authority—and one with little practical or environmental benefit.
Terry Jarrett is an energy attorney and consultant, and is a former commissioner of the Missouri Public Service Commission.
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