🚌 DeSimone Labels Sun Tran as "The Devil" and "Crime Bus" in Latest Attack on Public Transit
Conservative host ignores how bus system serves vulnerable populations while focusing on isolated incidents
This is based on Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone, a MAGA-conservative podcast in Southern Arizona, which was broadcast by Live The Dream Media on 4/29/25.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
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A Tucson radio show talked about a big company called Live Nation getting $2.1 million from the city to open a comedy club downtown, which will replace local businesses that have been there for many years. They also talked about helping animals by making stricter laws against animal cruelty, and complained about Tucson's free bus system and how the city isn't creating enough jobs. The radio host keeps saying Tucson is in bad shape, but doesn't talk about how to fix the real problems that make life hard for people who don't have much money.
🗝️ Takeaways
🏢 Rio Nuevo is providing approximately $2.1 million in tax dollars to Live Nation for a 230-seat comedy venue downtown, displacing local businesses, Borderlands Brewing and Play Formants
🍺 Laugh's Comedy Club on Broadway has paid into the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for over two decades and is now essentially funding its corporate competition
🐕 Tucson Action Team founder Laura Paris highlighted efforts to improve animal welfare laws, including a federal push supported by Congressman Ciscomani to make animal cruelty a federal offense
🚔 Sheriff Nanos has increased patrols in areas where dogs are frequently abandoned, according to Paris
🚍 DeSimone continued his attacks on Tucson's free bus system, calling it "the devil" and "the crime bus," using isolated incidents to undermine public transit
💼 DeSimone claimed Sun Corridor has created only "25 jobs since last July 1st" without providing context or verification
Desert Drumbeats: Tucson's Melody of Mismanagement
In the unrelenting heat of our Sonoran landscape, another scorching episode of "Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone" hit the Live the Dream network, offering the usual conservative cacophony that's become all too familiar in our polarized media ecosystem. The show—a veritable carnival of complaints about Tucson's progressive leadership—maintained its predictable rhythm, lamenting crime rates and infrastructure while conveniently ignoring the systemic inequities at the root of our community's challenges.
Listening to DeSimone feels like witnessing someone complain about the smoke while actively fanning the flames.
The Rio Nuevo Riddle: Corporate Comedy at Local Expense
DeSimone's most passionate diatribe yesterday targeted the Rio Nuevo board's decision to provide approximately $2.1 million in tax dollars to support Live Nation's plan to open a comedy venue downtown, displacing local businesses Borderlands Brewing and Play Formants, who claim the development blindsided them.
"Borderlands has been through all the dog crap that place has been through over the last 15 years," DeSimone explained, highlighting how the longtime local brewery is being unceremoniously pushed aside for a corporate entertainment giant.
The venue—reportedly a mere 230-seat space, "one-fifth the size of the Fox Theater"—is hardly the economic powerhouse Edmund Marquez and other Rio Nuevo board members claim it will be. Yet Marquez had the audacity to suggest bringing "top acts like Dave Chappelle would help keep U of A students in Tucson."
DeSimone's calculation cut through the absurdity: "Let's do some math on the air. So let's say how many Live Nation comedy shows could they really do in a week that anyone would worth a crap go to? I'm going to go, I feel magnanimous. Two. That's 104. Twelve million divided by 104. That means each show is going to bring $115,000 of economic impact... that means when they come downtown, each one of those people are going to spend $576 while they're downtown."
The irony is thicker than monsoon humidity: Laff's Comedy Club on Broadway, which has faithfully paid into the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for over two decades, is now essentially funding its corporate competition. In DeSimone's words, "Laff's comedy club is subsidizing its competition... Live Nation needs more money."
Welcome to late-stage capitalism, Tucson style: where your tax dollars go toward ensuring multibillion-dollar corporations can crush the local businesses that built our community's character in the first place.
For once, I find myself nodding in agreement with DeSimone's assessment of this situation. It represents a perfect microcosm of how capital flows in America – from local communities to corporate giants, from small entrepreneurs to wealthy conglomerates, all with the blessing of public officials who've been convinced that handing tax dollars to corporations constitutes "economic development."
What DeSimone fails to acknowledge, however, is how this pattern perfectly aligns with the broader conservative economic philosophy he typically champions. The Rio Nuevo board's decision isn't an aberration; it's precisely what happens when we treat corporate interests as sacred and view public resources as handouts to be redistributed upward.
Patricia Schwabay, referenced in the show, disputed Borderlands' timeline, claiming meetings about the potential tenant change happened as early as March. Yet the whole affair reeks of the insider dealing and corporate favoritism that have characterized development in Tucson for decades.
Public Safety Theater and Canine Compassion: A Conversation with Laura "Booch" Paris
The show's second segment featured Laura Paris (nicknamed "Booch") of the Tucson Action Team, an animal welfare advocacy group. Paris discussed her organization's efforts to improve animal welfare laws and hold people accountable for animal cruelty.
"We're really holding people accountable," Paris explained. "We hold rescues accountable. We try to work with all the rescues. We're trying to get everybody under one powerful voice because the voices of animal welfare is loud if we all get together."
She highlighted a recent federal push, supported by Congressman Juan Ciscomani, to make animal cruelty a federal offense, noting that "animal cruelty is a gateway to more crime," according to FBI and Homeland Security studies.
"The studies are showing that animal cruelty is a gateway to more crime," she explained. "You can't abuse a dog or a cat or a horse or whatever and then not move on to other things. You're just sick."
Paris also noted Sheriff Nanos has increased patrols in areas where dogs are frequently abandoned, a positive development she credited to her organization's advocacy.
While animal welfare is undoubtedly important, notice how conversations about public safety in conservative media inevitably focus on punishment rather than prevention. Instead of discussing the economic conditions that might lead someone to abandon a pet they can no longer afford to feed, we jump straight to criminalization.
While animal welfare deserves our attention, the conversation quickly devolved into the familiar conservative refrain about crime and public safety. Paris repeatedly emphasized that Tucson police "aren't showing up" to calls and lamented the condition of the city's infrastructure.
"When you look at some of these Facebook pages about like Tucson emergency or things like that, person after person after person, I mean, hundreds of people say the cops aren't showing up," Paris stated, reinforcing the right-wing narrative of urban deterioration.
She continued, "What bothers me about Tucson leadership, though, is that they're not. They don't have their finger on the pulse of what's happening. We're talking about this when we should be talking about this. And it almost makes me feel like, are you even living in the same town I am?"
This selective framing conveniently ignores that police budgets continue to increase while social services are gutted. If we're genuinely concerned about public safety, perhaps we should be funding mental health services, addiction treatment, and affordable housing instead of expecting armed officers to solve every community problem.
What's missing from these conversations is context – the systematic defunding of social services, the rise in income inequality, and the housing crisis that pushes more people into desperate circumstances. Instead, we get surface-level complaints about potholes and nostalgic yearnings for a mythical past when Tucson was supposedly thriving.
The Selective Memory of Sonoran Storytellers
Throughout the show, DeSimone performed his usual ritual of cherry-picking crime stories from Google News searches to paint Tucson as a lawless wasteland. This technique – selecting the most sensational crime stories while ignoring positive developments – is a staple of conservative media's portrayal of urban areas, especially those with diverse populations and progressive leadership.
"I decided to just go on Google news and just put the word Tucson in and let's see what news stories come up," DeSimone explained, before reading a litany of crime headlines: "Man found dead at intersection. Homicide investigation at West Corona and Missiondale. Police sinking information after a man dies in court, uh, South Side Saturday night. Homicide investigation underway at shooting at Rillito River Trail. Man fatally shot on popular bike path in Tucson..."
This performative recitation of crime stories—without any statistical context or analysis of trends—serves only to stoke fear and resentment toward city leadership.
Notice how in DeSimone's world, every crime is evidence of progressive failure, while economic decline is never connected to decades of conservative economic policies that have hollowed out the middle class and concentrated wealth at the top.
What DeSimone conveniently ignores is that crime is a complex social phenomenon with deep roots in economic inequality, lack of opportunity, and systemic racism – precisely the issues that progressive policies aim to address. The solution isn't simply "more police" or replacing current leadership with conservative alternatives; it's addressing the underlying conditions that lead to crime in the first place.
The Bus Stop Blues: Public Transit as Public Enemy
DeSimone reserved particular venom for Tucson's free bus system, which he repeatedly characterized as "the devil" and "the crime bus."
He highlighted recent violent incidents at bus stops and used them to attack Council Member Regina Romero, who had previously defended the transit system.
"So, Regina Romero just keeps telling you that you don't understand her greatness. So she said, Oh, we have the, it's she said, people talking about anything about crime on the bus is ludicrous, and they don't have the data," DeSimone mocked.
He proceeded to cite three recent violent incidents at bus stops, including an assault on a Gridley Junior High student, concluding, "Come on. The heart of this mayor is stone cold just rock."
This framing of public transit as inherently dangerous ignores how essential these services are for low-income workers, students, elderly residents, and people with disabilities. The conservative solution seems to be eliminating services that help marginalized populations rather than making them safer.
Not once did DeSimone consider that perhaps inadequate lighting, insufficient security measures, or the general disinvestment in public infrastructure might contribute to safety issues at transit stops. Instead, the mere existence of public transportation becomes the problem in his narrative.
Economic Development Delusions
Perhaps most telling was DeSimone's mockery of economic development efforts, claiming Sun Corridor has created only "25 jobs since last July 1st." Without context or verification, this statistic becomes another weapon in the conservative arsenal against public institutions.
"So, at that point, fix everyone. This is my, it was a, what do you want? Everyone in the business, private sector, non, I don't care who you are. You say you care about Tucson. You must work to replace people in the seats because they won't," DeSimone declared, making his political agenda explicit.
Paris echoed this sentiment, saying: "I said 20 years ago, if we don't start getting some good jobs in Tucson and we don't start really doing the things right, public safety, schools, things like that, then we're going to be a, you know, what hole in 20 years? Well, guess what? And magically that's where we are."
This narrow focus on "job creation" as the sole measure of community health conveniently ignores questions about what kind of jobs are being created, who benefits from them, whether they pay living wages, and how their environmental impact affects our desert community.
What remains unexamined is how conservative policies themselves—tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation of corporations, and the systematic dismantling of worker protections—have contributed to Tucson's economic challenges. Instead, we get simplistic narratives about "job creators" being stifled by regulations, as if the path to prosperity is simply getting the government out of the way.
The Question of Responsibility
As I listen to these conservative commentators bemoan the state of our city, I can't help but wonder: Who bears responsibility for creating constructive dialogue? DeSimone positions himself as Tucson's truth-teller while simultaneously contributing to divisive rhetoric that frames complex urban issues through a simplistic lens of "mismanagement" by progressive leadership.
"I've had people in the media world say that I'm, quote, a Tucson hater. Right. I'm not a Tucson hater. No. I hate what they've done to the town," DeSimone claimed, attempting to distance himself from the very discourse he perpetuates.
The irony is palpable—claiming to love Tucson while constantly portraying it as an irredeemable hellscape isn't love; it's a toxic relationship.
Real solutions require recognizing the structural inequities that shape our urban landscape, from who gets economic development dollars to which neighborhoods suffer from crumbling infrastructure. They require acknowledging that public safety isn't just about policing but about creating communities where people have their basic needs met.
Looking Forward: A Call to Action
Despite the challenges we face, Tucson remains a community of resilient people committed to creating a more equitable future. By engaging in honest dialogue about the systemic issues affecting our city, rather than simply pointing fingers, we can begin to craft solutions that serve all Tucsonans, not just those with wealth and influence.
The desert has always been a place of stark contrasts and surprising beauty emerging from seemingly harsh conditions. Our community, too, contains this potential for transformation—if only we have the courage to imagine and build a future beyond the limited visions offered by conservative commentators.
How can you be part of the solution? Start by staying informed through independent media sources that offer context rather than sensationalism. Support local businesses and community organizations working to create a more inclusive Tucson. And when you hear narratives that demonize public services or marginalized communities, challenge them with compassion and facts.
Your support for Three Sonorans helps us continue providing this critical analysis and progressive perspective on Tucson's evolving landscape. Consider becoming a subscriber to our Substack to receive in-depth coverage and join our community of engaged citizens committed to building a more just and vibrant Tucson for all.
What are your thoughts on the Rio Nuevo decision to fund Live Nation? Do you believe public transit is essential infrastructure or a luxury? How would you address safety concerns while maintaining accessibility? Share your perspective in the comments below, and let's continue this important conversation.
Quotes:
"Laff's comedy club is subsidizing its competition... Live Nation needs more money." - Chris DeSimone on how a local comedy club is paying taxes that are being given to its corporate competitor
"Edmund Marquez... added that bringing in top acts like Dave Chappelle would help keep U of A students in Tucson." - DeSimone quoting Rio Nuevo board member making dubious claim about student retention
"That means each show is going to bring $115,000 of economic impact... that means when they come downtown, each one of those people are going to spend $576 while they're downtown." - DeSimone calculating the implausible economic impact claims
"The studies are showing that animal cruelty is a gateway to more crime. You can't abuse a dog or a cat or horse or whatever and then not move on to other things." - Laura Paris discussing the connection between animal abuse and broader criminal behavior
"When you look at some of these Facebook pages about like Tucson emergency or things like that, person after person after person, I mean, hundreds of people say the cops aren't showing up." - Laura Paris on police response in Tucson
"I've had people in the media world say that I'm, quote, a Tucson hater. Right. I'm not a Tucson hater. No. I hate what they've done to the town." - DeSimone defending his constant criticism of Tucson
People mentioned:
Chris DeSimone - Host of "Wake Up Live," conservative commentator critical of Tucson leadership who claims to love the city but hates "what they've done to the town"
Laura "Booch" Paris - Founder of Tucson Action Team, animal welfare advocate who stated "animal cruelty is a gateway to more crime"
Edmund Marquez - Rio Nuevo board member who claimed the Live Nation venue would bring "$10-12 million in economic impact annually" and that "bringing acts like Dave Chappelle would help keep U of A students in Tucson"
Patricia Schwabay - Connected to Peach Properties, disputed timeline of when Borderlands was informed about potential displacement
Regina Romero - Council Member criticized by DeSimone for defending the bus system and allegedly saying concerns about "crime on the bus is ludicrous"
Sheriff Nanos - Credited by Paris for increasing patrols in areas where dogs are abandoned
Congressman Juan Ciscomani - Mentioned as supporting legislation to make animal cruelty a federal offense
Dave Chappelle - Famous comedian mentioned by Edmund Marquez as the type of act that might perform at the new venue (unlikely given the small size)
Bob Lee - Friend of DeSimone who provided analysis of the Rio Nuevo board meeting on Facebook
Shane (from Tucson Foodie) - Described as having a "Yahoo! Serious haircut," criticized the Rio Nuevo decision for not prioritizing local businesses
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The Live Nation plan is idiotic and DeSimone should be shut up in a lunatic asylum!