/ Modified oct 19, 2022 4:05 p.m.

Young Arizona filmmaker makes epics in miniature.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Making Tucson more accessible for those with visual impairments; Neighbors come together and transform their alleyway as a means of coping with grief; and a look at the rarely enforced "Stupid motorist" law.

Tobias Godzilla hero A screenshot from "Godzilla vs. Moguera" (A Short Stop motion battle), produced by Jurassic studios (aka Tobias).
Courtesy of Jurassic studios

Featured on the July 7th, 2022 edition of ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT with host Mark McLemore:

  • What are some ways that Tucson can improve quality of life for people living with visual impairment? Mark talks with Dr. Penny Rosenblum, a Tucsonan who is a national leader in the field of vision impairment, who has also been the Director of Research at the American Foundation for the Blind. In April of 2020, she was the primary researcher for the Flatten Inaccessibility Study. Its purpose was to learn how those who are blind or have low vision were impacted in the early stages of the pandemic.
penny bike Dr. Penny Rosenblum suited up for one of her daily bike rides around Tucson.
Courtesy of Penny Rosenblum
  • 12-year-old filmmaker Tobias from Parks, Arizona has created his own epic movie studio at home. Using dinosaur models, Godzilla toys, and LEGO, Tobias is creating digital films -- and sharing them with monster-lovers around the world.

  • Flash floods that accompany monsoon rain create life-threatening situations on Tucson streets. Christopher Conover looks into the effectiveness of the “stupid motorist law”. Should drivers be responsible for paying for their own rescue operations?

Monsoon driving Cars drive through flooded streets during a monsoon storm. From July 2017.
Sandra Westdahl, AZPM

  • And, meet neighbors who became unlikely friends during the pandemic. They founded The Art Alley Gallery as a way to beautify their neighborhood and build up their local community.

Webpage by Leah Britton

Arizona Spotlight
Arizona Spotlight airs every Thursday at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm and every Saturday at 3:00 pm on NPR 89.1 FM / 1550 AM. You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, or the NPR App. See more from Arizona Spotlight.
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona