TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Star
By Stephanie Innes
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
St. Augustine Cathedral and the crumbling walls and buildings that surround it are slated for a $4 million makeover.
Financing for restoring the Downtown cathedral is being handled by a private group that calls itself Friends of St. Augustine's and has stepped in to raise funds and oversee the restoration.
The group will operate in a way similar to Patronato San Xavier, which was founded in 1978 as a nonprofit group dedicated to the preservation of Mission San Xavier del Bac.
"We are hoping that people of all faiths will come forward and help us," said Rosie P. Garcia, a 51-year-old Sunnyside High School teacher who is chairwoman of the new group's nine-member board of directors. ...
But attorneys for a majority of the plaintiffs in the pending legal actions are critical.
Tucson attorney Lynne M. Cadigan, who with law partner Kim E. Williamson is representing plaintiffs in 18 of the 22 lawsuits, called the funding plans a clear manipulation of the legal system.