Conveniently located right near campus for those broke as a joke college kids in town, China Pasta House is a haven of quick, cheap and tasty eats. Even if you're not in school, the modest restaurant, located at 430 N. Park Ave. just south of 6th Street, is a good spot to check out for authentic eats for anyone who's thrifty. 

Case in point: the pork bao. I'm well aware no one really wants to see my hand next to tasty food, but for the sake of scale, I included it. The lightly sweet, pillowy buns filled with seasoned pork are massive, but, best of all, they're only $1.50 each with or without bok choy. You can also opt for the veggie-friendly sweetened bean paste filled or mushroom bao for the same price.

Another inexpensive must-try item at China Pasta House is the tea egg. Tasting the black tea boiled egg is well worth the 50 cent price tag and the special blend of seasoning that goes along with it really makes the egg unique.

Then, of course, there are the dumplings. If you bring a friend and you each get a few of the smaller appetizer dishes, you definitely only need to split a half order of dumplings for a full meal. Half orders come with 15 perfect little steamed pouches filled with pork and cabbage, leek and egg, shrimp, veggies or more for right around $6.

For those dining solo, the pork and pickled vegetable noodle soup or sum sun noodle soup are both solid options if you have no one to share with. Both massive noodle-filled bowls run at about $7.

Since many of the menu items are such a steal at this little Chinese joint, it really gives you the opportunity to sample many different things, maybe trying something you wouldn't typically order. The service is very fast and friendly, and, since you aren't shelling out for pricey dishes, that means you can leave a nice tip even if you are generally a cheapskate, right?

China Pasta House is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m . You can also order items for pick-up by calling 623-3334.

Today is the first day that candidates for this year’s city election can file their nominating petitions with the city—and Mayor Jonathan Rothschild plans to celebrate by dropping of the maximum number of signatures as well as all the paperwork to max out the city’s matching-funds program.

The signature part demonstrates solid campaign organization, but the fact that the mayor has already raised enough money—$115,838.65—to qualify for the maximum amount of public dollars is unprecedented in city politics.

That means Rothschild—a Democrat who first won the mayor’s office four years ago—doesn’t have to do any more fundraising for his campaign as the amount he’s already raised (provided he passes an audit) will be doubled by Tucson taxpayers. And because he signed a contract to participate in the city’s matching-funds program, he can’t spend any more than $231,677.30. (At least of right now; city officials will determine the final limit in July.)

The question remains as to whether he’ll have to spend very much at all. With the clock ticking—nominating petitions are due by May 27—the Republican Party has yet to field a candidate.

Leo—5-years-old —Pit Bull Mix—M—#798406


Leo is nothing short of a doll! This handsome man came to Humane Society of Southern Arizona in the beginning of January looking for his own new beginning. Leo is a sweet boy that just wants to be at your side. He can be nervous in some situations, so he is looking for someone that can offer him plenty of patience, attention, and care. Leo will do well with a family that can offer a daily walk, learning opportunities, and stable and loving home that is forever. Leo is more than happy to share his friendship with a family that will return it. Come by HSSA today to meet this wonderful pup!

I don't normally recommend films, but I'll make an exception here. The Salt of the Earth, a documentary about photographer Sebastião Salgado playing at The Loft, is a terrific film for anyone interested in photography and social justice—and photography used as a tool for social justice. For my money, Salgado, born in Brazil and trained as an economist, is the foremost living black and white photographer. He's turned his camera on the teeming gold mines of Brazil (pictured above), famines and immigrant camps in Africa, oil fires in Kuwait and, most recently, the Earth in an almost primal state. His photos have brought worldwide awareness to social and economic problems. They're powerful, often painful, and stunningly beautiful.

The documentary is directed by Wim Wenders, a first rate director, and Salgado's son Juliano. The images alone are worth the price of admission (you can see a small selection in the gallery on the film's website), and the story of Salgado's evolution as a photographer and a human being, as well as the stories of the places he photographed, are moving and informative.

It appears someone thought it was a great idea to vandalize a Tucson historical landmark, The Fox Theatre. A few photos were posted on the Facebook page Weird Stuff You'll Only See In/Near Tucson late last night and this morning. 

Now, this isn't weird, it's just an asshole move. If you recognize the tag from other places in town, the folks in the group ask that you come forward and call 88-CRIME with information that could lead to knowing who did this. 

A report was already filed with the Tucson Police Department. 

One of my favorite of my Best of Tucson® categories is probably one of the more challenging ones: Best Local Legend. I love it because of the huge range of answers we're getting so far. Sadly, I can't share those with you. Well, not the specifics, at least.

I love that some of the people being nominated are national icons that hail from the Old Pueblo—They're not so much ours any more, but we're happy to watch them shine. Other people are a few years gone. Not dead, necessarily, but done being in the spotlight. These business icons and sports heroes still define our city years after their names stopped appearing in the papers. And, of course, we've got our current Tucsonans. Those people you know by stage names, through cartoons and appearances at the Loft. The people who pull you off the couch and out on the town every weekend.

What do you think? When you think of Tucson legends, do you think rainbow unicorn stickers or kick ass basketball seasons? Iconic radio personalities or people the whole nation has learned to love? Perfectly greased up hair, piles of used books or the best local musicians? What and who are our legends?  

Make your case in the comments, but don't forget to cast your vote where it counts.

It's no secret that Penca's Bryan Eichhorst has a passion for agave distillates. Recently, he created a full menu for the downtown restaurant listing all of their mezcals—there are 32—in categories with notes on how it's made and from where it originates.

With a few new spring cocktails and old favorites like the housemade tepache, Penca's cocktail menu is modest, but ranges from bold and spirit forward to sipable and tart with just a few drinks.

One of the menu's stand-out new drinks is the Jicaro—a cocktail that shows both Eichhorst's knowledge of the history of agave spirits and his penchant for making them into balanced cocktails.

The four ingredient cocktail uses infusions to give the simple drink an extra edge. Eichhorst infuses Del Maguey Vida mezcal with elote (you know, corn). He also infuses, er, macerates aguamiel with chiltepin chiles.

Unsure of what to do tomorrow? The eighth annual Unity Festival is happening—a day of hip hop, urban art, cultural events and workshops, lots of food and aguas frescas to celebrate youth, and encourage them to express themselves in a a positive and creative way. 



It is put together by Tucson High and the school's M.E.Ch.A—Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan—in honor of Consuelo Aguilar, who founded the festival. She died of cancer in 2009 at the age of 26. (The Consuelo Aguilar 2015 Scholarship Walk/Run is also tomorrow.)



Donations for the scholarships, which are given to students majoring in Mexican-American studies, and next year's Unity fest will be accepted at the gathering at Tucson High happening from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.



There's going to be some mariachi music, hip hop and folkloric dancers, and spoken word goodness by the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam. 

KVOA posted a story last night with the headline, "Downtown Businessman Said He Was Threatened by Homeless Camp Founder."

The businessman is Maker House's John Jacobs, and by "homeless camp founder" they refer to John McLane, one of the creators of Safe Park—an advocacy group made up of Tucson's houseless residents.

Read McLane's message below:


McLane is trying to put a forum together—he invited me, too—to discuss the way homelessness is dealt with at a city level, the lack of resources there are for some people, and debate possible long-term solutions to get individuals off the streets. All very relevant, fair and non-offensive conversations to have. 

ZonaPol4-23finalb from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo.

On this week's episode of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Professor Dante Lauretta, the principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx mission, stops by the set to talk about the plans to send a robotic spacecraft to explore the asteroid Bennu. You can learn more about the mission at this award-winning website. Then Anne-Marie Russell, the outgoing executive director of the Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, stops by to say goodbye. Watch it online above or tune in at 9 a.m. Sunday morning on KGUN-9.