The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar van will be in the following areas on Thursday, Oct. 25:
As a former Southern California resident, the Santa Ana winds have never been a friend of mine.
Look at this map of San Diego. I wonder what will be left.
And I wonder how the insurance companies will worm out of it? They always do. There are some insurance companies back East who are refusing to insure homes in hurricane zones.
It's the time of the year when we all start thinking about the beaches in Las Conchas, down Rocky Point way. I won't be going this fall; got a trip to Metropolis instead.
You may recall that the TW Blog reported last spring that former TW staff writer Saxon Burns got popped for "driving angrily" on his way out of Puerto Penasco last year. It sounded like a cheap shakedown to us.
It appears that may be ongoing problem in Rocky Point, according to De Frente, a great resource for English translations of the Penasco news.
Such a shame to see paradise lost, little by little.
OK, so I've been meaning to write about Pushing Daisies since the debut, what, three weeks ago? Or is it four? I can't do the math.
Anyway, I've been remiss. The fourth episode is tonight, 7 p.m. on ABC. Channel 9 in our bioquadrant.
The premise? Hard to do justice. There's a piemaker who can bring people back to life with his touch. But there are consequences. And he solves crimes with his childhood sweetheart, but he can't touch her, or she'll die. Forever, this time.
I'm still not sure how they're going to keep it up, but the first three shows have been a spectacular mix of fantasy, comedy and drama. A fantadramedy! Added bonus: Enough sweetness to break your heart, or at least your pancreas. You might be able to find an episode somewhere around here, if you've got 42 minutes to spare.
The show is from Bryan Fuller, who has had a hand in everything from Dead Like Me to Heroes to the all-too-short-lived Wonderfalls (A thorn to the Fox execs who canceled the brilliant Wonderfalls after just a handful of episodes!)
Pushing Daisies has just been greenlit for a full season, so get in on it now. They just love it over at Television Without Pity.
The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar van will be in the following areas on Wednesday, Oct. 24:
The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, of which the Weekly is a member, issued this news release today.
Dozens of AAN Members Show Solidarity with Phoenix New Times, Provide Web Links to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Home AddressMember papers of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) this week are providing links on their Web sites that direct their readers to the many places on the internet where the home address of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is listed.
AAN papers are doing so to show solidarity with the Phoenix New Times, which was threatened with felony prosecution for publishing Sheriff Arpaio's address on its website in 2004. After an adjoining jurisdiction declined to press charges, Arpaio's political ally, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, convened a grand jury to "investigate" charges the paper broke the law when it published Sheriff Arpaio's address.
Last week, Phoenix New Times founders Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin were arrested and jailed after the paper published a story about the grand jury and subpoenas they had received that demanded detailed internet records of any person who had visited the newspaper's website since 2004, as well as all notes and records from any reporter who had written about the sheriff in the preceding three years.
After Larkin and Lacey were arrested, an outpouring of shock and anger accompanied widespread media coverage of the case. The response created a groundswell of support for New Times. The charges were dropped less than 24 hours later after Thomas admitted that his office had made "serious missteps" in the case.
"The actions of Mr. Thomas and Sheriff Arpaio in this case are beyond outrageous," said AAN executive director Richard Karpel. "They abused their offices by engaging in Gestapo-like tactics designed to silence a newspaper that has been highly critical of them in the past."
Added AAN First Amendment Chair Tim Redmond, executive editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian: "Our association and its members won't tolerate this sort of attack on the right of a member paper to publish information that is and ought to be public record."
"This was a victory for the First Amendment, the constitution and for our readers right to read our newspaper without the government spying upon them," said Larkin and Lacey in a joint statement. "As the federal press shield legislation moves from the House to the Senate, we hope people will remember what happened to reporters, editors and readers in Phoenix."
Phoenix New Times has published dozens of stories critical of both Thomas and Arpaio. In fact, the paper maintains an archive on its Web site of its coverage of Arpaio since he was elected sheriff in 1992.
New Times published Arpaio's home address in a story arguing that he abused a state law that allows law enforcement officials to keep their addresses from being made public. New Times said Arpaio used the law to hide nearly $1 million in cash real-estate transactions.
Thomas convened a grand jury to investigate the case even though Arpaio's home address was then and continues to be easily accessible on a number of other websites, including the Maricopa County Recorder's official Web site (see first link below):
Maricopa County Recorder (click "2004 Financial Disclosure Statement" for PDF)
Arpaio continues to resist New Times' request for information relating to his real estate holdings.
Here is the list of AAN papers that have agreed to post these links this week on their Web sites:
Artvoice (Buffalo, NY)Arkansas Times
The Beat (Greenville, SC)
Birmingham Weekly
Boise Weekly
Boston's Weekly Dig
Charleston City Paper
Cincinnati CityBeat
City Pages (Minneapolis)
Colorado Springs Independent
Dallas Observer
Houston Press
Independent Weekly (Durham, NC)
Independent Weekly (Lafayette, La.)
L.A. Weekly
Louisville Eccentric Observer
Memphis Flyer
Metro (San Jose, Calif.)
Metro (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
Metroland (Albany, NY)
Miami New Times
Monterey County Weekly
Nashville Scene
New Times Broward-Palm Beach
North Bay Bohemian
Nuvo (Indianapolis, Ind.)
OC Weekly
Philadelphia Weekly
The Pitch (Kansas City)
Portland Mercury (Portland. Ore.)
The Pulse (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
The Reader (Omaha, Neb.)
Riverfront Times (St. Louis)
San Antonio Current
San Francisco Bay Guardian
Santa Barbara Independent
Santa Fe Reporter
Scene (Cleveland)
Seattle Weekly
Seven Days (Burlington, Vt.)
SF Weekly
Shepherd Express (Milwaukee)
The Source Weekly (Bend, Ore.)
The Stranger (Seattle)
Syracuse New Times
Tucson Weekly
Urban Tulsa Weekly
The Village Voice
Westword (Denver)
Willamette Week (Portland, Ore.)
The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar van will be in the following areas on Tuesday, Oct. 23:
Before the Iraq War began, there seemed to be a growing anti-war movement, with huge demonstrations across the country. The war started, and then only sputters of anti-war activism occured. I even count the 10,000 who showed up in Washington, D.C., in early 2007 as a sputter.
This Saturday (Oct. 27), United for Peace and Justice is organizing another annual day to protest the war. In the past, this day has gone by without much fanfare, but national organizers are calling this the National Mobilization to End the War in Iraq.
Beyond the lone roadside vigils and the efforts at armed forces recruitment centers, I've wondered what happened to the anti-war movement. A friend told me he thinks there can't be a movement when most of the country is against the war. He points to Bush's low ratings of late. We've also had no draft, he said.
Part of me has also wondered if those who say they are against the war are also scared into silence. This is a different time with citizens bullied by level orange, homeland security laws and watch lists, and inane politicians from all parties who betrayed every one of us and continue to do so.
Little has been asked of us during this war, and until a draft is put in place, only a small percentage of citizens can claim they've been touched by war's sadness when loved ones return home in coffins. Unlike during World War II, we haven’t had to live with rations or plant Victory Gardens. I guess we can thank China for helping Americans live normally during a time of war. We owe them a ton of gratitude for lending us the cash to make Iraq possible. You know, if you think about it, with all they've done for us, a little lead paint on toys isn't as bad as having your face or legs blown off by an IED.
Have I joined the lady by the side of the road with the signs? No. Have I joined the groups at the recruitment centers? No. In the beginning, I was out there. When Congress approved the war, I remember wondering how they could support the war when everyone knew there were no WMDs. I think it's been a state of a depression ever since.
On Oct. 27, there will be 11 regional demonstrations: Boston, Chicago, Jonesborough, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, San Fransico and Seattle. Solidarity protests will take places in Fairbanks, Alaska, San Diego, Denver, Evergreen, Colo., Des Moines, Iowa, Smithfield, NC, Oklahoma City, and Tucson, Arizona.
The local event begins at 10:30 a.m. inside the UA Main Gate at Park Avenue and University Boulevard. The march begins at 11 a.m. and travels along Speedway from the UA to De Anza Park at Speedway Boulevard and Stone Avenue. A rally takes place there at noon with speakers and music.
The rally MC will be Molly McKasson, and speakers include County Supervisor Richard Elias, Isabel Garcia of Derechos Humanos, and City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff. Organizers are awaiting confirmation from Congressman Raul Grijalva. For more info, call 624-4789 or e-mail stelnik@webtv.net.
There have been protests in other countries that have put us to shame. But Oct. 27, we can make up for it. What happens after that? Will we have ourselves an anti-war movement? Perhaps we'll feel we've done our share after Oct. 27 and let the lady on the roadside continue to protest alone.
If we're wondering if giving up a Saturday is enough of a sacrifice, perhaps we need to think more about this and this. If you need additional encouragement, read this latest from Slate.
I just received an e-mail from Hotel Congress asking people to e-mail the City Council. Hotel Congress wants to open a neighborhood market and eatery where Central Bistro failed.
That sounds like a good idea to me, because there is no neighborhood market downtown. The train depot has a parking lot which is a necessity for a neighborhood market. And the owners of Hotel Congress (Richard and Shana Oseran) certainly are experienced business owners, unlike the previous proprietors of Central Bistro who failed to create a buzz and were handed the business on a silver platter including heavy subsidies—and still failed.
If you support this idea, please e-mail City Council ASAP. For all we know, they may have some other prospects in mind. Last time, their decision was not made on history and business accumen. At least get someone in there who has a following and experience as successful business owners.
City Council:
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas folded yesterday afternoon once he got a taste of the public backlash generated after his henchman's preposterous legal abuses were exposed to the public. All the ludicrous charges against Phoenix New Times reporters and staff have been dismissed.
New Times has video of the press conference where Thomas channels Michael Scott as he backpedals and sidesteps while still defending his buffoonish special prosecutor. It's must-see TV!