The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch, Tucson Weekly

The Desert Museum's Newest Addition Needs a Name!

Alison Dorf — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:30:00 -0700

A contest began today to name an adorable mountain lion cub that was recently adopted by the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum.

The cub, found in the backyard of a residential home in San Jose, CA., weighed only 15 lbs.…

The Continuing Saga of Amy's Baking Company; No Press Conference, No PR Firm

Dan Gibson — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:06:00 -0700

The Weekly had someone set to cover it, but apparently the press conference set for tomorrow at Amy's Baking Company (complete with guy-who-enjoys-attention Rev. Jarrett Maupin as host) in which the public would get the chance to decide who they wanted to side with "a famous celebrity chef or the marketplace that has supported the small, locally-owned business for six years" is now off. According to today's press release, the presser is off due to "threats" from the producers of Kitchen Nightmares and, of course, online threats.…

Can Someone Save This Dog?

Dan Gibson — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:33:00 -0700

I'm not particularly an animal person, but seeing Hope, a Labrador Retriever Mix, online, facing euthanasia if she isn't adopted by 7 pm today at Pima Animal Care Center is heartbreaking, even for me.

Info from Hope's Petfinder page:

Poor Hope hasn't lost hope yet but she has developed "Kennel Cough" and there is NO ROOM in Sick Bay to treat her. She must be rescued by 7 PM on 5/20 or she will be euthanized.…
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Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Talk Nature

Mari Herreras — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:28:00 -0700

Aw, check out Macklemore and Ryan Lewis talk about growing up in Seattle's outdoors for the Nature Conservancy. They grew up on Capitol Hill in Seattle and hung out freestyling at local parks at night.…

Shows About Women Shouldn't Just be About Being a Woman

Chelo Grubb — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:31:00 -0700

About a year ago, a YouTube channel started up, promising to tell women’s stories.

Since then the channel, WIGS, has accumulated nearly 40 million video views and 180,000 subscribers.…

Yahoo Buys Tumblr; Tumblr Users Flee Like Rats From a Sinking Ship

David Mendez — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:42:00 -0700

Ah, Tumblr: the source of our hopes, dreams and nightmares.

Yet Tumblr's soon-to-be-parent company, Yahoo, invites only one thing: abject horror.…

Resolve this Summer - No Empty Pots

Marylee M. Pangman — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:07:00 -0700

Don’t let your pots go empty all summer. There is still plenty of time to plant everything!!…

'Space Oddity' Video Proves Chris Hadfield Is Worthy of 'King of Space' Crown

Alison Dorf — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:19:58 -0700

I've always wondered why modern day astronauts don't have the celebrity status like they did just a few decades ago. But today, it finally dawned on me. Social Media.…

Today: 50th Anniversary of the First Publication of MLK's “Letter from Birmingham Jail"

Mari Herreras — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:30:00 -0700

Martin Luther King Jr. in jail in Birmingham, Alabama for campaigning against segregation. He wrote this letter on April 16, 1963 in response to a statement by eight Alabama clergymen who felt his actions were unwise and untimely:

MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN …

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.…
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Wildcat Pride: Arizona Tops ASU For Brag-Worthy But Otherwise Irrelevant Territorial Cup

Brian J. Pedersen — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:17:56 -0700

How, truly, does one measure which is better between Arizona and Arizona State?

Mascots? School colors?…

AZ Illustrated Politics: Medicaid Expansion, Election Bills, Rosemont Mine & More

Jim Nintzel — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:16:00 -0700

On this week's AZ Illustrated Politics: Host Jim Nintzel, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Lea Marquez-Peterson, former Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers and Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphies talk about the chances that Gov. Jan Brewer's Medicaid expansion can get through the Arizona House of Representatives; the pros and cons of election overhaul bills that are still alive at the Legislature; the IRS scrutiny of Tea Party groups; the question of whether the proposed Rosemont mine should get CAP water; the uproar over a proposal to lease El Rio golf course to Grand Canyon University; and more!

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'Pooping In Reverse': Another One of the Terrible Things People Hope to Put on Cable Access TV [NSFW]

David Mendez — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:31:00 -0700

So here's one of the absolute worst things I've ever seen: 'Pooping in Reverse,' a Vimeo-hosted video uploaded by a user called "Ringo Boomschlicka" and supposedly coming to Access Tucson at some point in the future...though in checking the Access Tucson alphabetical schedule, it appears that (thankfully) this show isn't on the air. I mean, it might be in the future, but this is awful.…

The Chernobyl-Like Fallout of Amy's Baking Company Is Comedy Gold

David Mendez — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:36:31 -0700

Let's recap: In 2010, Amy's Baking Company, a Scottsdale bistro, became "famous" for going after a reviewer on Yelp. Late last year, during the taping of Fox's Kitchen Nightmares, Scottsdale PD were called to the scene to defuse a shouting match between owner Samy Bouzaglo and a patron who waited more than an hour for his food.…

Gutzy Wear: What You Wear to Clubs to Confuse and Confound Potential Mates

David Mendez — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:14:00 -0700

In another case of a Scottsdale-idea-gone-terrible, we present Gutzy Wear, a clothing line made especially for singles who are ready to mingle — and desperate enough to do so that they're wearing specifically branded clothing saying that they want a date now, please-and-thank-you.

The idea behind Gutzy Wear, according to creator and Kickstarter creator Kari Holt, is that married people wear wedding rings to show that they're unavailable — single people can wear Gutzy Wear to say "hey, you should approach me!"

Which is a great idea.…

TV Ad Hammers Flake on Background Checks

Jim Nintzel — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:34:00 -0700

A new TV ad featuring Caren Teves, who son was slain in the Colorado movie theater massacre, hits Sen. Jeff Flake for not supporting the Manchin-Toomey background-check legislation.

Flake responds via Facebook:

If you are anywhere close to a television set in Arizona in the coming days, you’ll likely see an ad about gun control financed by NYC Mayor Bloomberg.…
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UA's OSIRIS-REx Space Mission Gets Green Light

Jim Nintzel — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:00 -0700

Daniel Stolte of the UA Communications team reports that the UA's OSIRIS-REx mission, which will send a space probe to an asteroid for a few years before returning to Earth, is a go:

OSIRIS-REx, the $1 billion asteroid sample return mission led by the University of Arizona, reached a major milestone on May 16: The project passed the agency-level confirmation review called Key Decision Point-C, or KDP-C. KDP-C authorized continuation of the project into the next phase of development, giving the team the authority to proceed toward launch in 2016.…
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This Week in Tucson Bicycling

Michael McKisson — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:06:00 -0700

It's hot and getting hotter. Check out these five tips for riding in Tucson summers and the three reasons why summer riding rocks.…

Brewer Calls Medicaid Vote "The Single Most Critical Policy Issue That Has Faced Our State in Years"

Jim Nintzel — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:35:59 -0700

Gov. Jan Brewer's statement on tonight's Senate vote to expand Medicaid:

I thank the Arizona State Senate for acting in bipartisan, courageous and collegial fashion today to approve the single most critical policy issue that has faced our State in years: the restoration of our Medicaid program in accordance with the wishes of Arizona voters.

Now, I look forward to a similarly lively and productive debate in the Arizona House of Representatives.…
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Budget Bills and Medicaid Expansion Pass Senate

Jim Nintzel — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:14:00 -0700

It appears that Sen. Al Melvin left his fireworks in his other pants. The Arizona Senate passed the budget bills tonight in a relatively quiet third-read session and has adjourned until next week.…

Sen. Melvin on Medicaid Expansion: "We're Not Going To Roll Over and Play Dead on This"

Bethany Barnes — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:32:00 -0700

Sen. Al Melvin is promising GOP fireworks when the Arizona Senate goes to a third read vote on the budget, which was amended—against Senate President Andy Biggs' wishes—to include Medicaid expansion.

A GOP-led roll call vote on all of the Medicaid bills that would have put senators on the record for supporting or opposing the amendments was thwarted and followed by a hasty recess.…

Farley on State Budget: "This Is the Type of Budget That the People of Arizona Have Been Waiting For"

Jim Nintzel — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:19:52 -0700

State Sen. Steve Farley is feeling downright ebullient about the state budget that made it through the Senate's Committee of the Whole after a marathon session today.

"It's an amazing day," the midtown Tucson Democrat told The Range in a phone interview after the COW session wrapped up.…

Eat Bugs: They are Tasty, Healthy and Part of the New World Order

Mari Herreras — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:18:43 -0700

I've gotten to know a few meal worms in my time—namely, the ones I used to feed to my son's lizard. I was the only one in my household bold enough to take them out of their containers, pick them up and toss them in the lizard's dish.…

'SF Chronicle' Calls Tucson Cool, So It's Time to Abandon the City

David Mendez — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:34:58 -0700

A week or so ago, the San Francisco Chronicle was nice enough to consider Tucson a vacation destination — but unfortunately, we at Weekly World Central happen to lack subscriptions to the Chron, making it difficult for us to access their paywall-locked content.

Thankfully though, it was made free a few days ago, giving us the opportunity to read that we're apparently (sigh) a hipster paradise: "A kind of Portland without the rain.…

Say It Ain't So: Kai, the Hitchhiking Hatchet-Man, Wanted for Murder [Update: He's Been Arrested]

David Mendez — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:45:10 -0700

Oh, how the crazy have fallen: Kai Lawrence, the vigilante hitchhiker who warmed all of our hearts by beating the mess out of people who are attacking other people, is wanted for questioning in the murder of a New Jersey man.

According to Gawker, 73-year-old Joseph Galfy was found dead in his home on Monday as a result of blunt-force trauma—which is what worries us, considering that Kai is a man who isn't afraid to smash, smash, SUH-MASH his way through problems.

Kai, we hope that this isn't true, that your name will be cleared and that you will return to weirdly serenading television news reporters—and not just because we really want to get paid for "Kai Lawrence Hatchets Through History!"

Mostly because of that, though.…

Hey (Aging) Hipsters, Let's Start a New Summer Tradition

Mari Herreras — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:15:00 -0700

I haven't been to as many shows at the Monterey Court Studio Galleries as I'd like, but it's a nice little space, especially for the summer season. I guess Reid Park symphony nights have their place and all, especially in our childhood.…