Briefly

‘Congress on Your Corner’ features Giffords Saturday

If you want help dealing with a Washington issue, or want to vent about a vexing government problem, you can take to it Congress on Saturday.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., will hold one of her “Congress on Your Corner” meetings with local constituents from 10 a.m. to noon in front of the Safeway Supermarket in Continental Shopping Plaza.

This will be the 11th Congress on Your Corner event Giffords has held since taking office in 2007.

Press aide C. J. Karamargin said people tell her about problems they have with federal government agencies or ask questions about programs they don’t understand. Some just like to tell her she’s doing a good job, and, he said, some will give a piece of their minds about what they don’t like about her and Congress.

About half a dozen aides will accompany her, taking notes so they can start following up on constituent issues the next business day.

Karamargin said at previous events in various parts of the district as many as 150 showed up and stood in line to voice their sentiments. This will be Giffords’ second such event in Green Valley.

How the condor survives topic of GV talk Jan. 19

The California Condor is a very large North American Bird that was nearing extension before efforts helped bring it back in the late 20th century.

Currently, there are about 150 living in the wild, mostly in the Grand Canyon area and western coastal mountains of California and northern Baja California.

Robert Mesta, a board of directors member of the Tucson Audubon Society, will describe the giant bird and provide some insights into the book he wrote of the bird in a lecture at Green Valley, 10 a.m., Jan. 19.

Admission’s free. His book, “Condor, Spirit of the Grand Canyon” will be for sale, and he’ll sign copies that visitors bring with them.

Mesta is a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and has spent most of his professional career working to protect, conserve and recover threatened and endangered North American bird populations.

Trico trust donates $60,000 in 2007

The Trico Charitable Trust, a non-profit organization, reported last week that it gave more than $60,000 to those in need in 2007.

The trust offers this financial assistance throughout the year to needy schools and community groups as well as private individuals.

The trust gave nearly $20,000 to people needing one-time financial help for things like rent and mortgage payments, car and insurance payments.

Interfaith Community Services received trust funds for its Job Readiness Program, which assists people looking for work. ICS helps with a variety of job-related items, such as paying for pre-employment drug testing, gas vouchers or bus passes, driver’s license fees and the cost of uniforms or steel-toed boots.

The trust also helped several groups in Sahuarita and Green Valley, including the Sahuarita High School and Sahuarita Middle School.

Since 1997, the trust has raised more than $350,000.

jlamb@gvnews.com |547-9749