If the Tucson office's blog entires have been few and far between, it's because we've been too busy all semester to post. We've grown in so many ways since our first semester, and for those of us who have been here since the office opened the transformation has been amazing to watch.

We added an additional program, Speeches and Public Statements, to our previous lineup of State Key Votes and Federal Ratings. We also brought on three new staff members, so now everyone has time for a lunch break at least a few times a week. We're always striving to improve our programs in order to provide a challenging internship opportunity to University of Arizona students, and we must be doing something right because several have signed up for a second tour of duty!

We've also increased our involvement in the Tucson community, co-sponsoring a series of political forums with the UA Political Science Department. The "First Tuesday Forums" are the latest incarnation of the Project's "Off The Record Debates", which were also held here in Tucson when the Project was just getting off the ground. Fall forum topics included voting technology, media coverage of presidential campaigns, and the upcoming presidential primaries. This spring we have three more exciting forums scheduled and hope to attract even more community participation.

The Tucson office has also been instrumental in the latest incarnation of Project Vote Smart's multimedia reach. This project will be unveiled very soon, so keep your eye out for that!

The Tucson crew has been hard at work all semester, but as you can see from the photos, we didn't forget to have fun! Thank you to all the Fall 2007 interns who made this semester so rewarding!

We are still accepting interns for Spring 2008. If you are interested in joining our crew for the semester you can get more information HERE

Stay tuned to find out what amazing feats we accomplish next semester!