E-NEWSLETTERS
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), Arizona Chapter
Physicians for Social Responsibility is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning international organization that advocates for the end of nuclear war, nuclear weapons development, and the use of nuclear energy as a substitute for renewables like wind and solar. As editor of the newsletter, I provided topic updates, coverage of key issues, and monitored legislation at the state level that affected the health of the community, whether nuclear- or climate change-driven. My work included designing and managing the newsletter on the EveryAction CMR platform and attending webinars and meetings with similarly focused nonprofits in Arizona as a PSR representative.
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Honoring America’s Cold War Survivors
PSR-Arizona has been tracking the fate of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) since House Speaker Mike Johnson held it back from budget talks last year. He said then that RECA, which supports Americans sickened by the nation’s nuclear weapons testing, was too expensive.
Over the past year, the RECA Working Group hosted by the Union of Concerned Scientists has labored practically non-stop to get the bill back in this year’s budget, meeting weekly, coordinating and planning strategies including rallies, calls to legislators, trips to Capitol Hill, interviews with media — in other words, all the tools in the activist toolbox.
They succeeded.
Arizona Utilities Seek DOE Funding for Small Nuclear Reactor Projects
As 2025 began, Arizona’s three largest utilities, Arizona Public Service (APS), Tucson Electric Power (TEP), and the Salt River Project (SRP) sent off a proposal to the Department of Energy for a grant to co-develop a nuclear power plant using small module reactors (SMR) — truck-sized nuclear technology that has been inching its way into the market for years.
And that’s exactly what the offer is about: through this $900 million grant, DOE is hoping to give a clear and rapid boost to these long-ballyhooed compact reactors to keep the power on as energy demand continues to rise.
Gov. Hobbs Uses Her Veto Power Generously
Gov. Katie Hobbs is staying the course in a state where the legislature is red by a slim 17-to-14 margin, vetoing 52 bills to date in the 2025 session. Combined, she killed 216 bills between 2023 and 2024, giving rise to her nickname, the “Veto Queen.”
Among the bills that were tanked was one crafted to ensure that once the market was ready, small modular (nuclear) reactors (SMR) would be fast-tracked for use in rural Arizona. Sponsored by Majority Leader Michael Carbone (R), the bill paralleled efforts by the state’s three largest utilities, APS, TEP, and SRP, to secure funding from the DOE to help build out the truck-sized nuclear reactors.
Opposed by many of the state’s environmental organizations, including PSR, the reactors are a reaction to the projected growth of data centers and AI factories in the state, both of which consume prodigious amounts of energy and water.
Midland Cabinet Co., San Carlos, CA
Midland Cabinet is a 60-year-old, family-owned and operated company founded in the heart of Silicon Valley — and grew up with the boom times. Today, Midland is a valued contractor for millwork and cabinetry in the multi-multi-million dollar homes that riddle the suburban hills. We use content marketing to tell stories to our readers about how the company builds. Analysis of our Constant Contact deliveries indicated that readers were curious about the people behind the handsaws and cutters: the craftsmen and their trade. Our preference, too.
Houzz, Palo Alto, CA
Houzz.com took off like a cat dancing on TikTok when it launched a decade ago. A dream site for those obsessed with beautiful homes, interiors, architecture, furniture, just about everything to do with the good life, Houzz is like thumbing through endless issues of Architectural Digest. I have written about homes and gardens throughout my career as a newspaper and magazine feature writer. Here are samples of living "naturally" that that I wrote for Houzz.
Mysticism and Meaning Meet in an Ohio Artist’s Gardens
Follow Nature’s Lead for Artful Stacked Stones
Mesquite: The Brawny Beauty for All Over the Home
It can be a hardscrabble life for a mesquite tree growing up in the American West. Nature hits it with everything she’s got, from the good — plenty of sunshine — to the harsh. Punishing sandstorms, monsoon deluges, winter frost and sometimes snow, thermometer-popping summer heat … the mesquite weathers it all, and thrives.
Mesquite is a survivor; it’s also a proud product of its environment. “Droughts, floods, temperature changes — mesquite goes through all sorts of weather,” says Julie Taber of Taber and Company, a custom mesquite design and millwork company in Tucson, Arizona.