Tucson Weekly: Best Of Tucson�

Best of Tucson� 2009

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Jimmy Boegle) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

25th Anniversary Edition by Jimmy Boegle We really wanted to make this Best of Tucson® something special. For one thing, it's the Tucson Weekly's 25th anniversary year. For another, as you know, the economy as of late has been ... well, I'll just say challenging, and leave it at that—and therefore, we feel it's more important than ever to highlight the people, organizations, places and businesses that make Tucson a fine place to call home. Well, here is the final result of all our efforts for…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Tana Kelch

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Sarah Jacoby) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Sarah Jacoby Tana Kelch has lived in Tucson since 1973. In 2003, she opened the consistently quirky art emporium Bohemia. Dedicated to promoting talented local artists and creating a community around locally produced art, Bohemia has managed to capture Tucson's unique Southwest style without bringing in the coyote motifs or turquoise Kokopelli designs. Best Annual Festival? My absolute favorite festival is the All Soul's Procession. It is just the most amazing combination of mourning and celebration, costume and puppets, and fire and…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Jeff Yanc

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Jim Nintzel) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Jim Nintzel Jeff Yanc is the program director at the Loft Cinema. He was a co-owner of the late, lamented Readers' Oasis bookstore. Best appetizer? Fried avocados at Pastiche. It's creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. It's two distinctive kinds of fat: You get the grease fat, which is the bad fat, but then you get the good fat from the avocado, so you feel like it's a healthy snack, but it's really not. I think I'm hooked on…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: J.A. Jance

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Irene Messina) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Irene Messina J.A. Jance is a best-selling author and has written 38 novels—plus a book of poetry. Raised in Bisbee, Jance had a lifelong dream to become a writer. Before her start at the age of 39, she taught high school English, was an elementary school librarian and even sold life insurance. Jance wrote her first three novels between the hours of 4 and 7 a.m., before she got her kids ready for school. Jance lived for several years on the Tohono…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Jonathan Paton

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Jim Nintzel) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Jim Nintzel Republican Jonathan Paton is the state senator from District 30. Best place to get beer supplies? Brew Your Own Brew. The guy who runs it knows you. He takes an interest in finding out who you are. He's really excited about brewing beer, and he always has samples of things he's making and wants to show you this and wants to show you that. He's got unbelievable stuff and all kinds of tips for making anything you've ever thought of.…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Ray Carroll

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Mari Herreras) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Mari Herreras Sometimes we call him Sugar Ray, because Ray Carroll has a certain fighting style that his District 4 constituents have liked ever since he was first appointed to the seat in 1997. However, many folks in Pima County government wish he'd just get along with the Democratic majority. It's not only Democrats he clashes with; Carroll is a Republican who sometimes doesn't even follow his own party. Carroll says he spends most of his workdays in his downtown Tucson office…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Dr. Richard Carmona

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Adam Borowitz) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Adam Borowitz Dr. Richard Carmona has led a busy life. Raised in Harlem, he dropped out of high school and joined the U.S. Army, where he earned his GED and joined the Special Forces. He went on to become a paramedic, registered nurse, physician, educator, SWAT-team training officer, surgeon and public-health administrator. He was named the 17th surgeon general of the United States by former President George W. Bush. He currently lives in Tucson, where he serves as vice chairman of Canyon…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Richard Elías

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Mari Herreras) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Mari Herreras Democrat Richard Elías serves as the chairman of the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Elías, a fifth-generation Tucsonan, worked as a housing activist for Chicanos por la Causa before being appointed in 2002 as the supervisor for District 5 when then-new U.S. Congressman Raúl Grijalva left for Washington, D.C. When asked about his favorite place in Tucson, Elías first looked to the Tucson Mountains, and then to his stomach. Best/favorite place in Tucson? I'm going to say Tucson Mountain Park…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Charles Bowden

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Adam Borowitz) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Adam Borowitz Charles Bowden moved to Tucson in August 1957 and attended Mansfield Middle School and Tucson High School; he later took a job at the Tucson Citizen. He eventually embarked on a writing life that's produced numerous acclaimed books, including the recently published Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing. He is also a regular contributor to Mother Jones, GQ, Harper's and a number of other publications. An eight-hour conversation at his secret outpost south of Sonoita was a winding trip…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Jack Dykinga

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Irene Messina) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Irene Messina Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga has lived in Tucson since 1976. He merges large-format landscape-art photography with documentary photojournalism and is a regular contributor to Arizona Highways and National Geographic. An advocate for protecting the natural world, his books include The Sonoran Desert, Jack Dykinga's Arizona and Images: Jack Dykinga's Grand Canyon. His work will be on display at Etherton Gallery in March 2010. If you had to take a publicity shot to represent Tucson, what would be thebest place…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Gary Patch and Darren Clark

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Jim Nintzel) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Jim Nintzel Gary Patch and Darren Clark are partners in Patch and Clark Design, a multimedia and interior-design firm which has done work at Hotel Congress, the Rialto Theatre and the Tucson Weekly midtown bureau. Best way to swap and shop with your neighbors? Darren: Brush-and-bulky pickup. It's cathartic. Gary: You can get rid of your shit, but you can get more shit. Darren: And you also get insight into your neighbor's private lives that they wouldn't readily share. I go around…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

The BOT Interview: Dmitri Bartlett

mailbag@tucsonweekly.com (Aleksa Brown) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Aleksa Brown Dmitri Bartlett (also known as Mr. Free), of Tucson's eclectic Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout, knows the Old Pueblo like the back of his microphone-gripping hand. Born and raised in Tucson, Bartlett has been in the music scene for almost 10 years and has toured the country on the band's vegetable-oil-fueled school bus. He took some time off between working the coffee counter at Time Market and playing a show at Vaudeville to reveal his very own Best of…]]> [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]