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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Sports You Should Go Watch Soccer on Saturday
Posted by Dan Gibson on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 5:00 PM
Your hometown semi-pro soccer club FC Tucson kicks off its home campaign in the Premier Development League this Saturday night with a match against the truly unfortunately named SoCal Seahorses this Saturday night at the Kino Sports Complex. The guys behind the team have really given local sports their all, developing and staging the Desert Diamond Cup this February, making their own renovations to some of Kino's unused baseball fields, and in general, trying to bring high quality soccer to town. The least you can do is buy some tickets and cheer the hometown side, right? Gametime is at 7 pm and there's an after-party at Playground following the match.
Politics Fighting for Family Unity and Immigration Justice
Posted by Mari Herreras on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 4:00 PM
Below is a video Tucson filmmaker Brenda Limon put together to further explain the May 10 caravan that left Tucson for Phoenix to demand Pat Vroom, ICE chief counsel for Arizona, issue administrative closure for about 10 local families' immigration cases.
In this week's issue, Tim Vanderpool tells one family's story and explains what immigration activists and these families are up against.
Chow Mega Food-Truck Action Tonight and Friday
Posted by Adam Borowitz on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 3:00 PM
The local caravan of mobile eateries will descend upon the Lazydays RV at 3200 E. Irvington Road this evening. There will also be beer and margaritas for sale. More on that here.
There's another food-truck event this Friday at the Bookmans Entertainment Exchange on Grant Road at which there will be a screening of a silent movie. More on that over here.
Politics Federal Judge to Tombstone: No H20 for You!
Posted by Brian J. Pedersen on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 2:00 PM
Looks like Tombstone will have to make due with the water it can get to.
So says a federal judge, who earlier this week denied the city's motion for a preliminary injunction related to it being denied access to a series of water sources in the Huachuca Mountains west of Tombstone.
Tombstone filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service in December, saying the agency was preventing it from repairing busted water lines by slowing down the permitting process necessary, according to court records. The water lines were damaged during wildfires in summer 2011 that led to rock slides crushing the pipes.
Tombstone officials claimed in their suit that without proper access to those mountain springs, which it claimed rights to dating back to the 1800s, the popular Cochise County tourist destination could dry out.
In his ruling, though, U.S. District Court Judge Frank Zapata said Tombstone's doom and gloom claims were "overstated and speculative," and in actuality it appeared the city was attempting to "engage iin activity resulting in new construction" that would require excavators and other equipment cutting swaths through the Coronado National Forest.
The lawsuit remains active, though, pending any settlements or withdrawal of claims. Both sides have until June 15 to file a joint status report with the court, after which time a scheduling order will be made to determine when a trial would happen, if needed.
Music You'll Enjoy This Justin Bieber Article More Than You'd Think
Posted by Dan Gibson on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 1:00 PM
There's no particular takeaway to Drew Magary's profile of Justin Bieber in the new issue of GQ other than the fact that he seems to be kind of dull, doesn't want to be punched in the face and likes to draw penises on things, although his failed attempt to do something adult and cool with the Canadian pop sensation makes for a fascinating read:
I ask Bieber if he'd like to venture outside the studio to talk over dinner, but he declines. "It's just a pain in the ass," he says. Bieber exists inside what amounts to a series of interconnected skyways: He goes from his secluded house to his secluded Range Rover to his secluded studio, rarely setting foot in the exposed world. Suggesting that we pop down the block to a restaurant is insane. Stupid, even. I have been assured by Scooter Braun, Bieber's manager, that Bieber is "very normal, very regular," which is nonsense. No one can be normal living under the circumstances that constitute daily life for Justin Bieber.
News Overlay Zone Challengers Go Back to Court
Posted by Mari Herreras on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Remember, Weekly World Central contributor Dave Devine's guest commentary on the city's adoption of an overlay zone near the UA and the city's botched rejection of the signatures collected for a referendum to go to the voters? (Tim Vanderpool also did an excellent story further explaining the issue that you can read here).
A lawsuit was filed last month, and although an argument to protect the petition process and to determine the signatures were valid was rejected by the court — plaintiffs went back to court yesterday to appeal represented by Tucson Attorney Bill Risner.
Below is a video of the arguments made before the appellate court. Go to the YouTube page here to look at other relevant legal documents.
Comics Talking Comics: Supercrooks Edition
Posted by Dan Gibson on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM
As a Republican, I personally find the idea of being sympathetic to super-criminals offensive, but apparently sticking up for disorder and mayhem is no problem for Eric and Arnie. A real shame what's happening with the kids today.
Politics / News Running Against Grijalva? No Voter Database for You!
Posted by Mari Herreras on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 10:00 AM
The Arizona Democratic Party refused requests from two Democratic Party candidates for the party's voter file — both candidates, Amanda Aguirre and Manny Arreguin are running against incumbent Raul Grijalva for U.S. Congress.
Hat tip to Huffington Post writer Alex Brant-Zawadski , who followed up on a story that first ran on conservative blog Western Free Press.
Each political party maintains their own voter data base, and is typically available to candidates who use the information to reach registered voters during a campaign and to increase voter turn-out.
Monday, I called the state party's executive director Luis Heredia to get more information. I spoke briefly with Frank Camacho, chief of communications, and was told he'd have Heredia get back to me. I never heard back from Heredia, so I called again yesterday and left a message on his voice mail. Still no word.
Heredia never called the Huff-Po writer back either, but Camacho said this:
... that the decision was made by a vote of the state Executive Committee. I was told the executive director, Luis Heredia, would call me back to explain. Heredia never called me back. The next day, the gracious Mr. Camacho apologized profusely for the lack of a response, then relayed what he was told to relay about the incident.It seems that because Raul Grijalva is an incumbent with the endorsement of the White House, the Executive Committee somehow felt it necessary to empower Heredia with the ability to deny access to VAN or Voter File. "The party has invested in that file and it contains proprietary information," said Camacho. "So when the executive director was given authorization by the Executive Board, he exercised that authority and decided to deny [Arreguin] access." It should be noted that Heredia is a former aide to Congressman Grijalva.
On Monday, I talked with Arreguin, the Tucson doctor who is one of the two Dems running against Grijalva, and Tuesday morning I talked with Aguirre, the other candidate from Yuma who served as an state Senator from 2006 to 2010 and a state Representative from 2003 to 2006. Yesterday, I left word with Grijalva's media contact Adam Sarvana asking for comment, but he directed me to the Huff-Po piece and Camacho's comment.
Arreguin said his campaign talked with the state Secretary of State's office to obtain the voter file and filled out what they thought was the necessary paperwork. "We were waiting to hear back, but when we hadn't heard anything we found out in an e-mail that the state (Democratic) party denied access to the (voter database) because (Grijalva) is an incumbent and he had received a presidential endorsement."
Arreguin said he didn't know the state party would be involved in the request. He called Heredia to get more information and also sent an e-mail asking if the state party's office would reconsider the decision. But he never heard back from anyone.
"When we sign up and register with a political party, one reason why we do that is to keep abreast of the candidates - 'Perhaps they will call me when it's election time comes along and I might be able to volunteer, donate money and participate.' That's the expectation," he said.
Isn't this just politics?
Gardening Getting Potted in the Desert - No Job is Too Big... or is it?
Posted by Marylee M. Pangman on Wed, May 16, 2012 at 9:00 AM
- Plant Care and Photo by Kara Smith of The Contained Gardener
- A Well Grown Winter Potted Garden
If you are just starting out with creating a potted garden for your desert home, think through what commitment you want to make right now. If your attitude is that you can do anything and you are just starting out, you may find yourself biting off more than you can chew. I have seen people go to the nursery and come away with five pots, soil and 100 plants; only to discover that they are already exhausted by the time they get everything home. The plants sit for a day…or two and when the newbie gardener goes out to finally plant them, they often find their plants are in very poor shape if they are even still alive.
The beauty of pots is that you can always add more. Go shopping for a couple pots today and maybe even pick up the soil. Get them set and then go to the nursery another day - and be ready to plant no later than the very next morning. Be sure to water your plants when you get home as the trip in the car may have dried them out. Remember, the nurseries are watering 4" annuals two to four times a day in the heat.
Our Potted Garden classes are taking a break for the early part of the summer. If you have something you would like us to offer, let me know!! In the meantime, stay cool and stay connected right here!
Have a question? Email Marylee.
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Science Today in Gross Things People Say Are in Cigarettes
Posted by Dan Gibson on Tue, May 15, 2012 at 5:00 PM
From a Mother Jones article about the book Golden Holocaust, a compendium of terrible things the tobacco industry has done, by Robert Proctor [bold added]:
By his own estimate, Proctor spent a decade poring over more than 100,000 tobacco industry documents unearthing details such as a primer on how to reach "young starters" and a 1970 Lorillard memo suggesting that "Negroes" smoke menthols to "mask" their "real/mythical odor." The 57-year-old prof is a walking encyclopedia of tobacco arcana, apt to mention things like "beaver," a rodent anal secretion sometimes added to cigarettes, perhaps to enhance "pack aroma." Or that as much as 90 percent of America's licorice supply is used as a cigarette sweetener. (Honey, chocolate, and sugar are also employed to make cigarette smoke more inhalable—and thus more addictive.) Or that around 4 percent of a cigarette's weight is made up of humectants like propylene glycol—basically antifreeze. "You can put things in cigarettes you can't put in dog food," Proctor says.
