Cover Story
Big Mac Attack
The four Democrats who want a shot at John McCain’s Senate seat have one thing in common: Most Arizonans don’t know who any of them are. A June Rasmussen poll showed that 60 percent of the voters had yet to decide which candidate to support. A survey that same month by ArizonaGuardian.com showed that more…
The Tillman Story
The Tillman Story Trailer from Blurb Books on Vimeo. Let’s hope The Tillman Story comes to the Loft Cinema.
CD8: Invoking the Power of Sarah Palin
Well, it wouldn’t be a Republican primary if Sarah Palin didn’t somehow get involved. Robert Mayer, the former Tucson Tea Party activist who is now backing Jonathan Paton in the Congressional District 8 race against Jesse Kelly, has posted two videos in which Kelly busts on St. Sarah for endorsing too many moderates. Kelly responds…
Brewer: “Terry Goddard is Obama’s Arizona Apostle.” And Those Half-Dozen Debates? Not So Much
Brewer shoots down Goddard’s call for a half-dozen debates: “The voters of Arizona know who Governor Jan Brewer is and her record of accomplishments over the past 28 years. “Similarly, the voters of Arizona know who Terry Goddard is and his 30-year record of failures: Wrong on Prop 200, wrong on SB1070, wrong on Obamacare,…
CD8: Conservatives for Congress TV Ad Against Paton
Here’s the Conservatives for Congress ad busting on Republican Jonathan Paton that we talked about yesterday. Check out what’s written on Paton’s sash. Paton spokesman Daniel Scarpinato: Jonathan thought a caricature in the Weekly was flattering, but a marionette? Wow. If this group’s phony push poll were even remotely accurate, why would they still be…
McCain: “I Don’t Change My Positions”
Jill Lawrence profiles U.S. Sen. John McCain for Politics Daily: Then I ask him about Sen. Lindsey Graham’s remark to The New York Times, that Graham understands his friend’s moves away from risky past positions because “John’s got a primary. He’s got to focus on getting re-elected.” McCain interrupts me. “Lindsey knows that I don’t…
Goddard Wants Debates With Brewer
Democrat Terry Goddard is challenging Gov. Jan Brewer to a half-dozen debates. Guess that means he believes she’ll beat Matthew Jette next week. Here’s the release from the Goddard campaign: Attorney General Terry Goddard today issued a challenge to Jan Brewer, calling for six public debates in locations across Arizona before the General Election on…
California Pizza Kitchen Coming to Tucson Mall
A spokeswoman for California Pizza Kitchen said this morning that the company is opening a location at the Tucson Mall. An opening date has not been set, but the restaurant is expected to start hiring sometime this fall. It should be noted that the restaurant serves far more than pizza. Recent additions to the menu…
‘Tucson Weekly’ Launches Happy Hour App
The Tucson Weekly, the alternative to bland daily journalism in the Sonoran Desert, has partnered with GoTime.com to launch a definitive Tucson Happy-Hour Guide—on the Web (happyhours.tucsonweekly.com), on mobile Web (hh.tucsonweekly.com) and as apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. “This Weekly happy-hours app may just change my life,” said Tucson Weekly editor Jimmy Boegle.…
CD8: Paton’s Ad Hitting Kelly on Stimulus and Earmarks
Here’s the Paton TV ad we wrote about earlier today.
CD8: Roll Call Looks at the Southern Arizona’s Hottest GOP Primary
Roll Call examines the CD8 race: One of the hottest House races in the country right now is in Tucson, Ariz., where two Republicans are battling for the chance to take on Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords , an incumbent high on national GOP takeover lists. “It’s been competitive for a while,” said Republican state Sen.…
Conservatives for Congress Committee Hits Paton in TV Ad
Conservatives for Congress, the independent campaign committee that has recently been taking some swipes at Republican Jonathan Paton in CD8, has a new TV ad that criticizes Paton for hitting a fellow Republican “below the belt.” The script follows that radio ad that we wrote about here. Meanwhile, we hear that another independent campaign committee,…
Democratic Senate Race: Parraz Debuts TV Spot
Randy Parraz, one of four Democrats running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican John McCain, debuts a bio ad for TV.
CD8: Paton Hits Kelly on Stimulus Dollars in New TV Ad. Special Guest Star: Tucson Weekly!
Are deep pockets in the GOP establishment responding to the call to help Jonathan Paton in his GOP primary against Jesse Kelly in Congressional District 8? Despite having more experience in the political ring as a state lawmaker from District 30 and more money to spend on his campaign, Paton remains in a fight for…
Why You Should Not Vote for Andrew Thomas in the Arizona Attorney General Race, Part IV
Espresso Pundit explains why Republican Andrew Thomas, who wants to be Arizona’s next attorney general, is “unfit to serve”: Andy Thomas seem like a great guy…but there’s absolutely no chance that I’m going to vote for him. I’m voting for Tom Horne in the primary and if Horne doesn’t beat Thomas, I’ll be voting for…
Another Andrew Thomas-Tom Horne Wrestling Match in the AG Race
Just imagine: If Andrew Thomas becomes Arizona Attorney General, we can have four years of this kind of bullshit in law enforcement.
Mission Creeps at Preen for Project Close-Knit
Just down the street from downtown, at 9 p.m., the Mission Creeps will perform tonight at Preen on Fourth Avenue, between Eighth and Ninth streets, to benefit Project Close-Knit. Suggestion donation is $5. From the event invite on Project Close-Knit: It is a service project that brings fiber artists together with local outreach organizations, to…
2nd Saturday: Concert Honoring Cele Peterson
As part of the Tucson’s 235th birthday events and 2nd Saturdays Downtown, there will be a concert at the Fox Theatre honoring the late Cele Peterson at 7 p.m., tonight, Saturday, Aug. 14. The event will include a screening of a short film by former Tucson Citizen staffer Daniel Buckley, Cele Peterson: La Doña del…
Friday Roundtable: CD8 Down to the Wire, Andrew Thomas’ Bad Headlines & More
The Roundtable gang talks about the fight between Jesse Kelly and Jonathan Paton in CD8, Andrew Thomas’ troubles in the AG race and more on Arizona Illustrated’s Friday Roundtable.
Friday Roundtable: Councilman Steve Kozachik
Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik stops by Arizona Illustrated’s Friday Roundtable. It doesn’t sound like he’s planning on voting in favor of the half-cent sales tax hike or supporting the idea of building a downtown hotel. He also hasn’t heard about the Tucson Police Department’s absurd crackdown on downtown jaywalkers.
New Democratic Senate Race Poll: Glassman 20%. Parraz 17%. Dougherty 11%. Eden 8%
I noted in this week’s cover story that polls have shown that most Democratic voters still don’t know who they’re voting for in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican John McCain. A new poll released by Democrat Randy Parraz confirms that nearly half of the voters still haven’t made up…
Why You Should Not Vote for Andrew Thomas in the Arizona Attorney General Race, Part III
Arizona Republic columnist Rob Robb—who is by no definition a lib—weighs in on yesterday’s revelations about Andrew Thomas’ obsessive legal pursuit of his political opponents: We have a dense thicket of criminal laws, way too many of them loosely worded. Prosecutors can wreck people’s lives. A dismissal or an acquittal doesn’t get things back to…
Why You Should Not Vote for Andrew Thomas in the Arizona Attorney General Race, Part II
The Arizona Republic unpacks the revelations from yesterday’s press conference by Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley: Maricopa County’s top prosecutor says sheriff’s Chief Deputy David Hendershott and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas obsessively pursued criminal cases against county officials despite a series of legal rebuffs including a rejection by a grand jury. But Hendershott and…
Lake Mead Levels Drop; Arizona Farmers Among First to be Affected
Shaun McKinnon of The Arizona Republic has the story: Drought-stricken Lake Mead has dropped an additional 10 feet since summer 2009, and now Colorado River users are scrambling to keep the reservoir full enough to avoid water rationing. Before year’s end, the lake will likely sink to within 9 feet of the level that would…
CD8: Kelly Out-Raises Paton in Latest Reporting Period
Jesse Kelly, the insurgent Republican candidate fighting for the GOP nomination in Congressional District 8, out-raised former state lawmaker Jonathan Paton in the most recent reporting period. Kelly brought in $78,528 between July 1 and Aug. 4. Paton, as we reported yesterday, had raised $46,405 in the same period. Both men are in a furious…
Air War Update: Paton Up With New Ad Today. Plus, New Fundraising Numbers
Republican Jonathan Paton has a new ad in the Congressional District 8 primary. We couldn’t find an embed code, so you’ll have to click here to watch it, but it features his former Sunday school teacher and other friends talking about him and concludes with fellow CD8 candidate Brian Miller, who dropped out of the…
Ben Quayle: “Somebody Has To Go to Washington and Knock the Hell out of the Place”
Congressional candidate Ben Quayle, son of former VP Dan Quayle, has a new ad in which he argues: “Somebody has to go to Washington and knock the hell out of the place.” Meanwhile, someone complained today that we don’t do enough tawdry gossip around here anymore. (Personally, I think that poster used to do a…
U.S. Senate Race: Glassman Enters Air War
Democrat Rodney Glassman puts up TV ads in his four-way Democratic primary in hopes of geting some name ID before Election Day. More on the candidates in TW’s cover story this week.
Why You Should Not Vote for Andrew Thomas as Arizona Attorney General
We’re far removed by the strange political-legal circus that was underway in Maricopa County while Republican Andrew Thomas was county attorney, so we’re not even going to try to summarize Thomas’ crusade against the judges and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, other than to say it appears to have been a gross miscarriage of…
A State Treasurer Candidate Who Can’t Keep Track of His Own Finances?
Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times dishes on former Cold Stone Creamery CEO Doug Ducey, a Republican running for state treasurer who failed to pay taxes on his own home. Given that he’s running for the job of keeping track of the state’s books, saying that he couldn’t keep track of paying taxes on…
CD8: Paton Doesn’t Snag Olson’s Endorsement
When Republican Brian Miller withdrew from the race last night, former UA basketball coach Lute Olson was on hand to say a few words. “Brian is going to continue working toward goals he feels are critical,” said Olson, who had endorsed Miller earlier in the campaign and appeared in a campaign ad with him. “I’m…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week ending Aug. 8, 2010
Messina
Call me a relic, but I’m still a little uneasy about texting. I admit it’s a handy tool to use to send a greeting or a quick bit of information; a few taps, and you’ve bridged a communication gap. But I have to wonder: At what cost? For one thing, these little messages aren’t free.…
Hammering Hayworth
Sen. John McCain has long had trouble with the conservative wing of his own party here in Arizona. McCain’s critics were angered that he supported a Bush administration immigration-reform package that included a guest-worker program and a plan to grant legal status to many people who had crossed into the United States without proper paperwork.…
Kids These Days
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a film that nicely encapsulates the state of current young adult lives—a world where patience is lost, music and technology rule, and boys apparently dig girls with constantly changing hair colors. Edgar Wright’s adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novels is a kinetic visual feast, and an often hilarious…
Guest Commentary
In past years, Sandra Hernandez, executive director of the Colorado Springs nonprofit Centro de la Familia and a licensed clinical social worker, spent her days helping Hispanic and immigrant families with run-of-the-mill issues: parenting skills, marital problems, children struggling in school. But recently, Centro has given its free or low-cost counseling to families with bigger…
Mexican Classics
Throughout the years, now-classic films have given audiences enjoyable experiences from start to finish—but not all of those classic movies were made in the United States. The Pima County Public Library and the Consulate of Mexico in Tucson are partnering up to show classic Mexican films through September. “Cine en tu Barrio—A Mexican Film Fiesta”…
Now Showing at Home
Kick-Ass (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack + Digital Copy); Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Blu-ray); Louie Bluie
Police Dispatch
Out of order; Snake in the complex
The Grownup Noise: Shall We? (Self-Released)
Boston’s The Grownup Noise are anything but noisy. For them, maturity means a contemplative focus of sound. They’re a band that revels in the beauty of a simple melody delivered with minimal enhancement for maximum emotional effect—it’s grown-up in its precision. On Shall We?, The Grownup Noise’s latest release (an EP), lead vocalist and guitarist…
Italian on the Move
When a restaurant makes the kind of big move that Tavolino recently accomplished, one wonders: “Why mess with a practically perfect situation? Why risk it all?” Maybe it’s like Edmund Hillary and that famous mountain: “Because it’s there.” Tavolino in its original setting was tiny and intimate (tavolino means “small table”), and that was part…
Weekly Wide Web
I’m the mayor of a gas station
Arcade Fire: The Suburbs (Merge)
If you can find it in your heart not to begrudge the spinning of mythology out of suburban sprawl, then you’re cleared to fall for The Suburbs—and the Arcade Fire aren’t joking about their 16-song, hour-long mini-opus about the connection between planned communities and youthful ennui. The signature anthem here is “We Used to Wait,”…
Noshing Around
An del Sol; New Brew Store; New Chef at Acacia; Corona de Tucson Farmers’ Market; Noshing Notes
Take Your Pick
You’re sitting in your home in Legislative District 28—somewhere between the Rillito River and 22nd Street, and between First Avenue and Camino Seco—when you hear a rapping at your door. A dark-haired man with a dab of sunscreen on his nose and a big smile is standing on your doorstep. Incumbent state Rep. Steve Farley…
Hillstomp: Darker the Night (In Music We Trust)
The third studio album by this raw country-blues-punk duo from Portland starts with “Hammer Ring,” which sounds like a field chant filtered through a beat-up old transistor radio, with shots of shallow bucket drums walloping through the distortion. That wallop, provided by Lord Johnny Bucket (aka John Johnson), is the heart of Hillstomp’s Appalachia-meets-the-Delta sound,…
Seeking Standards
The San Francisco-based country-rock band Or, The Whale is trying to create music that will be appreciated decades from now. After all, singer, guitarist and de facto leader Alex Robins doesn’t listen to a lot of music that has been made since, say, 1984. “So much of the best rock ‘n’ roll music is from…
Educating Arizona
John Huppenthal wants to be Arizona’s next superintendent of public instruction—even though a report shows he voted against education 100 percent of the time in 2009 while he served in the state Senate. That report, released by the nonpartisan Arizona Education Network, said Huppenthal was one of 32 state politicians who voted unanimously against public…
Media Watch
Waddell signs three-year extension with KGUN; Big news day: TV news balances stories, new technologies, local vs. national coverage
Soundbites
Unorthodox orthodox; bluegrass bonanza; short takes; on the bandwagon
Live
Tokyo Police Club
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: As a proud New Yorker, I gotta ask: What the FUCK is up with Mexican food in this city? Sure, we’re used to getting owned by California, Texas and even Chicago when it comes to getting kick-ass, cheap, regional Mexican food. But I just got back from Philadelphia, where I was able to…
Nine Questions
Daniel J. Rylander
Ministry and Music
It’s not often that you can spend 40 minutes on the phone with a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and come away thinking, “Wow, what a decent, regular guy.” But such was the case for me with Richie Furay, a founding member of Buffalo Springfield and Poco, two groups whose collective…
Top Ten in Music
Toxic Ranch Records top sales for the week ending Aug. 7, 2010
City Week
“A Night of Three Short Plays”; Readings by Rebecca Seiferle and Dolores Connelly; God on Trial by Richard Morris; India Independence Day Celebration
Mailbag
Tom Danehy: Not Only Ignorant, but a Fool, Too; Cynical Actions by the Right Have Harmed Discourse; A Comment From a Reader at TucsonWeekly.com
T Q&A
Stephanie Parker
Real Reform?
Amid all the chest-pounding over immigration law, a few politicians have quietly pushed a humble measure offering certain young people a shot at legal residency. But a new study shows this proposed reform to be even more modest than its proponents had hoped. The so-called DREAM Act, or Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors,…
A Life Laid Bare
The first principle of playwriting is that you create drama by having a character pursue a particular objective. The more passionate the character’s pursuit and the greater the obstacles, the more compelling the drama. The great beauty, and the great weakness, of The Eating Disorder Talent Show—the latest late-night production by Etcetera at Live Theatre…
The Skinny
Is Jesse Kelly leading the CD 8 GOP race? … A Tea Partier takes on Jesse Kelly … Get schooled with the superintendent of public instruction candidates.
School Is Murder
So how does a reviewer who was a public-school teacher review a book by a novelist who was a public-school principal, and whose work is touted by other public-school folks she knows? Carefully? With correct grammar? Certainly candidly. Fortunately, this former principal, Gerry Hernbrode, has produced a mystery novel that ain’t half bad. Gerry Hernbrode…
Confidentially Speaking…
Confidential to the reader who called me last week and, after I answered the phone, said: “Oh, um, I was hoping to get your voicemail”: I’m sorry for actually answering my phone. I have no idea what I was thinking. Confidential to the racist loons who try to leave comments at TucsonWeekly.com: Can you please…
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books best-sellers for the week ending Aug. 6, 2010
Danehy
Several weeks ago, I wrote a column stating that I was underwhelmed by President Barack Obama’s first 18 months in office. A handful of people responded positively to the column, with most of those comments along the lines of, “By questioning the leader of your own party, at least you’re not like most Republicans, who…
Swedish Suspense
Swedish writer Stieg Larsson’s crime novels are now so popular that, to the surprise of snooty Europeans, actual Americans have been found reading them, in spite of the fact that the novels are written in words. However, for the true American, only moving, talking pictures are a fit form of entertainment. Thus, the notoriously crafty…
Return of the Artists
The building at 35 E. Toole Ave., which opened in 1928 as a plumbing-supply warehouse, is known for its arched façade—and it will soon become another artists’ gallery/studio venue in downtown’s Warehouse Arts District. “The idea is to create a community for this block,” says Steven Eye, who will act as the master leaseholder for…
Meet John Dougherty
I profiled the four Democrats running for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s seat this week. If you want to know more about John Dougherty, here’s a 10-minute bio piece that tells you a lot of about his career. After watching it, you’ll understand why TW endorsed him.
CD8: Miller Drops Out, Endorses Paton
The rumors are true: Republican Brian Miller dropped out of the Congressional District 8 race tonight and endorsed fellow Republican Jonathan Paton. “I simply do not have the financial resources to continue,” said Miller at a meet-and-greet at Skybox Bar and Restaurant, 5605 E. River Road. Miller, who thanked a roomful of enthusiastic supporters, says…
Dress Like a Librarian and Get Down to the Rialto
Powhaus Productions get all literary at the Rialto Theatre tonight. Dress like a librarian and come DANCE. TO. LITERATURE. (collaborations between local authors and musicians, spun for you by DJs Andrew Shuta and Robert Felix), immerse yourself in the nonstop literary multimedia environment we’re creating for you, for you. Just for you. LIVE READINGS! by…
