Between massive damage from a fire earlier this year and the demolition work required to fix it, the owners of Takamatsu restaurant at 5532 E. Speedway Blvd. thought anything of value had been incinerated or disposed of.

But then the thieves started breaking in, and they realized they were very, very wrong.

“We’ve had issues with vandals — actually I should call them thieves — who’ve been breaking in and stripping the copper piping and electrical wiring,” said Peter Koga, who manages the Tucson location and others in the Phoenix area. “We (demolished) the building until we thought there was nothing left, but then these thieves came. They even took TEP’s meter.”

Despite the almost nightly raids on the restaurant, repairs continue. The early morning fire in June was contained to one part of the building, but heat and fire damage weren't. The entire inside of the building had to be gutted, deodorized and sandblasted, and most of the furniture and equipment had to be discarded.

Koga said he planned to have the restaurant open by now, but the thieves and other setbacks have made it far more difficult than expected. He’s shooting for a March reopening now, and said he’ll post updates on the restaurant’s Facebook page when he knows more.

“People are thinking it’s abandoned, but it’s not,” said Koga. “We’re definitely opening up, and we’re going to be better than before.”

Dispelling DREAM Act myths, courtesy of the Immigration Policy Center:

Myth: The DREAM Act uses taxpayer dollars for scholarships and grants to undocumented students.

Fact: The DREAM Act states that undocumented youth adjusting to lawful permanent resident status are only eligible for federal student loans (which must be paid back), and federal work-study programs, where they must work for any benefit they receive. They are not eligible for federal grants, such as Pell Grants.

Myth: The DREAM Act allows undocumented students to pay cheaper tuition than citizens.

Fact: The DREAM Act gives states the option to offer in-state tuition to students registered under DREAM, but it does NOT guarantee cheaper tuition. At most, the DREAM Act allows undocumented students to access the same benefits as their peers. The DREAM Act allows undocumented students to access in-state tuition, but only if they would otherwise qualify for such tuition, and if state law permits undocumented students to receive in-state tuition.

Myth: The DREAM Act gives undocumented students and their families access to public benefits.

Fact: DREAM Act students receive no special benefits and are subject to the same public benefits eligibility requirements as other legal immigrants. This means that DREAM Act students and families are NOT immediately eligible for

Slate's Fred Kaplan dismantles New START critics:

Clearly, their article is nothing more than a call for indefinite delay and therefore defeat. They are not serious about amending the treaty or tightening some conditions. They just want to kill the thing; they want to deal Obama a defeat. Above all, they want to quash the budding détente that Obama has fostered between the United States and Russia, before it gets too deep.

If the Republicans follow this sentiment and fail to ratify New START, they will be making a huge mistake that could have dreadful consequences for national security.

These consequences have little to do with the treaty itself—both sides' nuclear arsenals are large enough to deter an attack, regardless of the fate of the treaty—but rather with international politics.

Sen. Jon Kyl, why are you really withholding support?

The Fox Tucson Theatre will be screening the 1969 film Alice's Restaurant in conjunction with a benefit for the Community Food Bank on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is canned goods or a donation to the Food Bank.

Movie Synopsis (from Fandango):

Intrigued by the counterculture tale of Arlo Guthrie's epic 1968 talking-blues record The Alice's Restaurant Massacree, director Arthur Penn, co-scripting with playwright Venable Herndon, adapted the song into the 1969 feature Alice's Restaurant. Hippie outsider Arlo (Guthrie, playing himself) encounters suspicion from the straight world; visits his dying father, renowned leftist activist/singer Woody Guthrie (Joseph Boley), in the hospital along with friend Pete Seeger; and hangs out in the title converted church/commune created by his friends Alice (Pat Quinn) and her husband Ray (James Broderick). After Alice's "Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat," Arlo is arrested for littering by rule-following Officer "Obie" Obanhein (William Obanhein, playing himself). That littering arrest helps Arlo avoid the Vietnam draft, but the commune is threatened after more personal, old-fashioned conflicts over sex and partnerships permeate Alice and Ray's alternative world.

If you're a vegetarian, don't press play. Seriously.

A group of degenerate Canadians called Epic Meal Time decided to combine far too much meat into one absurdly self-destructive meal. I don't approve of their choices, but I applaud their decision to share their stupidity on YouTube.

The Associated Press reports:

Senate Republicans' ban on earmarks—money included in a bill by a lawmaker to benefit a home-state project or interest—was short-lived.

Only three days after GOP senators and senators-elect renounced earmarks, Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Senate Republican, got himself a whopping $200 million to settle an Arizona Indian tribe's water rights claim against the government.

Kyl slipped the measure into a larger bill sought by President Barack Obama and passed by the Senate on Friday to settle claims by black farmers and American Indians against the federal government. Kyl's office insists the measure is not an earmark, and the House didn't deem it one when it considered a version earlier this year.

But it meets the know-it-when-you-see-it test, critics say. Under Senate rules, an earmark is a spending item inserted "primarily at the request of a senator" that goes "to an entity, or (is) targeted to a specific state."

Can we please stop talking about earmarks as if all of them are bad now?

This week is a little strange as far as live music goes, since there's something happening on Thursday that seems to have pre-empted any concerts in town (possibly the 7:30 p.m. performance of Cirque du Soleil's Alegria?), but there's at least one highlight tonight.

If you value your sanity, skip wildly misogynist rap/dance act 3OH3! at the Rialto and outdated rap/rock act HedPE at the Rock. Instead, go see Black Carl and What Laura Says at Club Congress.

Indie-rock takes on soul music are often troubling exercises, devoid of actual funkiness, but Black Carl pull the blend off well, especially live. They might just be Phoenix's best live band, and while they play in Tucson quite a bit, you never know when they might bolt Arizona for a bigger pond.

Black Carl, "The Wolf":

What Laura Says are an interesting Phoenix-area band as well, although not quite as dynamic as Black Carl. The upside is that their melodic "hey, let's blend classic rock and Phish-like jammy stuff!" sound makes for a compelling live show. You're never quite sure where they're going with their songs, but they're always pleasing to the ear.

What Laura Says, "Training":

Black Carl and What Laura Says play at Club Congress at 10 p.m. for $5.

Apologies to anyone camping out in front of a store and skipping Thankgiving at home to buy something at a discount ... but doing so is a terrible idea.

Then again, Lori Davenport isn't sleeping outside a St. Petersburg Best Buy to get anything in particular, she's doing it for the feeling of "firstness."

For some reason, Best Buy didn't realize they're only encouraging this sort of thing and gave Davenport a free iPad—and not the psychological consult she really could use.

I can't believe we didn't think of this before, but the massive number of foreclosed homes in Arizona gives the rattlesnake community a perfect place to hide, multiply and eventually rise up and retake the state for themselves.

This guy caught a few of them, but clearly, it's only a matter of time. I, for one, welcome our new rattlesnake overlords.