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First Friday may be the last for Tucson merchant

TUCSON — Kelly Hadd heard of First Fridays and wanted to spread the word about her own company, a clothing and crafts boutique on North Campbell Avenue.

After all, the festival at the Tucson Museum of Art went all night and drew a crowd, said the two marketing reps from Tucson Young Professionals club. Everyone was doing it.

Hadd agreed, but couldn’t attend. So she sent her goods to the marketing reps, who agreed to set up and manage an exhibitor table for Hadd’s company, Kelly Rae Boutique.

She never saw her stuff again.

At least that’s how the story goes in Hadd’s 11-page complaint in Pima County Superior Court. She is suing the Tucson Young Professionals and two of the club’s members, Sarah Stranton and Shannon Franklin.

Hadd claims the women set the table up and left her stuff at the art museum overnight. Tucson lawyer Monica Derrick is suing for breach of contract on her behalf.

Miner accuses ASARCO of harassment, discrimination

TUCSON — A two-year employee of one of the largest mining outfits in the state claims other employees harassed and discriminated against her and another female miner, and that the company looked the other way.

Angela Aguilar is suing ASARCO after her case was reviewed by the Arizona Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, which investigated her claims and found them to be valid.

In December 2005, Aguilar went to work for ASARCO at the company’s Tucson and Sahuarita locations. While working at the company’s filter plant in January, she claims other employees subjected her to "vulgar and pornographic drawings" that included a specific reference to her.

In her complaint, Aguilar says she complained to her supervisors about this, but to no avail. She also claims they gave her conflicting work instructions to set her up to fail and gave preferential treatment to male miners.

She took a leave of absence in September 2006, less than one year after she was hired. When she returned to work, she claims she was reassigned to "a supervisor known to set up employees for discharge," according to the complaint.

When she reported that another female worker was being harassed, that worker was allegedly terminated. Aguilar eventually resigned.

She is represented by Tucson lawyer Karla Starr, who is suing on the grounds of harassment and a hostile work environment.

Conservationists take Madera Canyon project to court

TUCSON — A massive housing project that backs up against one of Southern Arizona’s prime wildlife sites breaks several development rules, and planning officials were wrong to give it the OK, a recent lawsuit claims.

The complaint from Friends of Madera Canyon stems from a 744-acre subdivision called Cielo Madera that, ironically, is backed by one of their own members.

The nonprofit group includes avid birdwatchers, nature photographers, biologists and archaeologists from all over the world. Also in that group is Mike Kettenbach of Tucson, a lifetime member who owns much of the grassland area at the foot of Madera Canyon, which rises up 5,000 feet from the desert floor 40miles southeast of Tucson.

In January, Pima County officials approved a tentative plan to build a “conservation subdivision” on the land east of Madera Canyon Road, the main entryway for hikers and other public users of the canyon.

The county has special rules for these types of subdivisions. They force developers to build a project that preserves peaks, riparian habitat, native plants, wildlife corridors and archaeological sites, for example. The biggest stickler is that they must set aside at least 50 percent of the project area as permanent, natural open space with deed restrictions.

The complaint claims the approved project breaks those rules. Preliminary plans filed with the county show a new 65-foot-wide roadway slashing through the northern reaches of the project’s conservation areas. It also shows another 65-foot-wide roadway running east-to-west off the end of this road and leading out to far-off housing parcels.

Then there’s the 20-foot driveway connecting those parcels together, the complaint states. And a 30-foot-wide “utility easement” whose purpose is not indicated in the plans. And one-acre lots that are configured so densely to make up for open space that they block wildlife corridors.

“The new roadways require substantial grading in the [conservation] area, including grading for wash crossings,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit is the latest step in an effort that began this spring when the group filed two appeals of the project with Pima County officials. The first was rejected while the second one failed in June because of four of the five mebers of the Pima County Board of Adjustment, a citizen panel that presides over development cases, were present.

The vote ended in a 2-2 tie. Under rules of parliamentary procedure, the appeal is rejected.

So Pima County Superior Court Judge Paul Tang now has the case. Tucson lawyer Katharina Richter is representing Friends of Madera Canyon.

Graham Co. pol wants challenger bumped

SAFFORD — A Graham County supervisor seeking re-election is trying to have his competition bounced from the ballot by claiming his signatures are invalid.

The lawsuit from Democratic incumbent Drew John claims petition circulators working for his challenger, Steven D. Bingham, did not actually witness several voters signing the petition.

The six-page complaint also states that some of the voters who signed are not actually registered in Graham County, an area that includes Safford and parts of the San Carlos Indian Reservation in southeastern Arizona.

Because of these issues, the complaint states, Bingham falls short of having the required 61 valid signatures to be on the Sept. 2 ballot.

As a result, John is asking a Graham County Superior Court judge to block Bingham’s name from appearing on the paperwork. His cousin’s wife, Wendy John, is the county recorder.

John is represented by Mesa lawyer William R. Richardson.