Cover Story
Spring Club Crawl™ Saturday, April 18
* SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE; GO TO CLUBCRAWL.NET FOR UPDATED SCHEDULES AND MAPS * Bud Light Music Stage 8 p.m.: Black Tuesday 9 p.m.: Grams and Krieger 10 p.m.: Mr. Boogie Woogie (Holland) 11 p.m.: Crosscut Saw Midnight: Whole Lotta Zep Kicking things off on the Bud Light Music Stage tonight at 8 p.m. is…
Earth Day at Dinnerware
Besides planting a tree or giving up plastic bags today in honor of Earth Day, why not take in some art? Head out to Dinnerware Artspace, 264 E. Congress from 5 to 8 p.m. to check out Carbon Neutral, an unjuried show, open to all, using found objects. It costs $5 for the artists reception,…
Charges Dropped: Happy Birthday
Tuesday was election-integrity activist John Brakey’s birthday, and while we hope he got a chance to spend it with his wife, children and grandchildren (who he is fond of talking about when he’s not talking about election-integrity issues), I’m certain he wasn’t thrilled with Attorney General Terry Goddard’s announcement that day (at the press conference…
RTA: On the Subject of Penance, Kromko…
I’ve got a few things to say about the RTA election fiasco that I’ll get to soon, but first I’d like to post this odd letter that editor Jimmy Boegle and I got from political gadfly John Kromko back on Monday, April 13: From: J. Kromko Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 8:53 AMTo: Jimmy Boegle;…
A Tucson Slogan
In his latest “Ward II Weekly” e-mail bulletin, Ward 2 City Councilman Rodney Glassman says he was recently talking to Bob Bookman and the question of a new Tucson slogan came up. Rodney writes: Bob had a great idea for a Tucson slogan and vision, but first we would like to hear yours! “Ithaca is…
AG: No Tampering In RTA Election
After all the sound and fury over allegations that the 2006 Regional Transportation Authority election was rigged, Attorney General Terry Goddard announced today that a recount showed the sales-tax increase was, in fact, approved by voters. This should put an end to all those allegations—based on what was, at best, flimsy evidence—that the county flipped…
AG: RTA Report Today
Attorney General Terry Goddard is having a press conference at 2:30 p.m. to report the result of the Regional Transportation Authority ballot investigation. We’ll have details soon after. In related news: John Brakey, one of the activists who has suggested the RTA count was rigged, called TW staff writer Mari Herreras today to let her…
McCain Has Challenger, If We Use The Term Loosely
Politico is reporting that Chris Simcox, founder of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, wants to challenge Sen. John McCain in the 2010 GOP primary: Social conservatives tolerated John McCain as the party’s nominee, but never trusted him, and he now appears to be facing a serious primary from the right in Arizona next year. Chris…
Wilco Update: Movie Night at the Rialto
We mentioned last week that Wilco is coming to town in June. To help prep us for the show, our friends at the Rialto Theatre are debuting their new movie projector with a Wilco concert film, Ashes of American Flags, on Thursday, April 30. To get our Wilco fix early and to temporarily subside our…
Fish Stories: Learn About the Gulf of California
I’ve written before about our friends at CEDO (Centro Intercultural de Estudios de Desiertos y Oceanos, or Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans), a non-profit research station located in the community of Las Conchas in Rocky Point. CEDO is now doing a lecture series about the Gulf of California. The next talk,…
Meghan McCain Has That Maverick Gene
Meghan McCain, the daughter of Sen. John McCain, has harsh words for her own party: Speaking to an affectionate crowd of Log Cabin Republicans on Saturday evening, Meghan McCain ridiculed the party her father headed this past election, declaring that “old school Republicans” were “scared shitless” of the changing landscape. The Senator’s daughter, who has…
Robert Robb: No Magic State Budget Fix
The Arizona Republic’s Rob Robb splashes cold water on the idea that it’s possible to create a magical taxing system that’s immune to downturns: There are improvements that can be made in Arizona’s tax structure that would enhance the prospects for long-term economic growth, which in turn could increase state revenues. But they would not…
The Economist: Immigration Breakthrough?
The Economist has a succinct round-up of the national politics of immigration reform: Now Washington may try again. With a wretched economy and long to-do list, it hardly seems an opportune moment. Yet on April 14th America’s two biggest unions, including one that helped block reform in 2007, unveiled a plan to push it forward.…
State Schools Chief Tom Horne: No Stand on Tax Increase
State Schools Chief Tom Horne visits KUAT-TV’s Arizona Illustrated to talk about school funding. He sidesteps questions about how to pay for it. It’s all after the jump.
Tales From the Naked City
Playboy puts the UA at No. 5 in the list of Top Party Schools. Congrats, Zona! The Zona school that traditionally gets the love is ASU, and though we think Tempe is a great place to spend a three-day weekend, four years are better spent at U of A in Tucson. Consider some of its…
Watch the Skies!
Just got this in the mailbox. Wish they’d turn off the CAPS LOCK. I can’t shake the feeling that this information is being given to me by Grandpa Simpson: ATTEND THE SEDONA UFO SKY WATCH CONFERENCE AND MEET ED GRIMSLEY, AS HEARD ON “COAST TO COAST” AM WITH GEORGE NOORY, AND AN ALL STAR LIST…
This Could Be a Great Campaign To Cover
Scarp brings us the news today that Karen Johnson wants to run for governor.We don’t disagree with her own estimation of her chances: “I don’t have any grand illusions about winning.” Well, if she just wants to make sure social issues are a big part of the 2010 GOP primary, we say: Bring it on!…
The Coldest Beer in Tucson
Local advertising man William Ackerley has one of the coolest Web sites in town. Check it out at www.coldestbeerintucson.com. Taco Bron at 6910 E. Tanque Verde Road has the coldest one so far, but the thermometer-wielding Ackerley is hot on the trail of cold ones all over town. The findings will eventually be published in…
No Reason To Stay Home
Man, there’s a lot to do in this town this weekend! At the top of our list, of course, is the Tucson Weekly’s Club Crawl, which is the biggest night in downtown all year. A hundred bands, 20 stages, and cold beer in the streets. All for eight bucks! There’s the Pima County Fair, featuring…
But Bow Ties Are Definitely Acceptable
America’s stuffiest columnist, George F. Will, is outraged that Americans wear blue jeans: On any American street, or in any airport or mall, you see the same sad tableau: A 10-year-old boy is walking with his father, whose development was evidently arrested when he was that age, judging by his clothes. Father and son are…
Taxing Logic
Last week, The Skinny made the point that increasing income taxes on people earning more than $250,000 a year would be a more progressive alternative to instituting a statewide sales-tax increase (although we should point out that such an income-tax hike would raise considerably less money.) Now the Arizona Republic has done an analysis that…
Thanks to All
Heartfelt thanks to the many friends who have reached out following my tribute to Cricket, the TW newshound who passed away a few weeks back. We scattered some of her ashes up in Flagstaff over the weekend and we still miss her a lot.
Caffeinated Crusade
In the late-1990s, Cochise County emerged as the nation’s illegal-immigration hotspot. Border Patrol agents were catching crossers by the busload, and humanitarian groups struggled to help a flood of travelers lost in the desert. To Douglas resident Tommy Bassett, it was sometimes overwhelming. “We were busy putting Band-Aids on the situation,” says the former industrial…
Record Collectors
The Horrors are a music geek’s dream come true. Their earliest singles three years ago paid tribute to Joe Meek, The Cramps and Screaming Lord Sutch, and the band has evolved to balance musical elements borrowed from My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Killing Joke, and Echo and the Bunnymen, not to mention Neu! and Brian…
Positive Signs
Pedestrians passing beneath a casino-advertising billboard in the 5000 block of South 12th Avenue shouldn’t look up. If they do, they’ll be gambling that there aren’t any pigeons about to poop on them from above. According to the city of Tucson, this billboard, which displays two 672-square-foot signs, was illegally built many years ago over…
Live
Mark Olson and Gary Louris
Cannabis Cultivation
Media references to Mexican drug cartels are invariably followed by some variation of the phrase “spill over into this country.” Those five words are key to the flak currently being sent up by the federal government—most recently by Janet Napolitano, former Arizona governor and now head of the Department of Homeland Security. She wants you…
Nine Questions
Lucas Moseley A founding member of Tucson’s notorious Bloat Records, Lucas Moseley has been playing and writing music locally since 1990. In addition to his longtime gigs as head honcho of The Pork Torta and drummer for Al Foul and the Shakes, Moseley is now stage front, singing for the explosive Blackwood and Co. Future…
City Week
In Defense of Weed AZ4NORML’s Worldwide Marijuana March 3:30 p.m., Monday, April 20 Safeway parking lot1940 E. Broadway Blvd. www.az4norml.com Strange events have been known to happen on April 20. The date is Adolf Hitler’s birthday and the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. However, April 20—aka 4/20—also has a special meaning for pot smokers.…
Top Ten in Music
Zia Records top sales for the week
Indie Marathon!
When it comes to things to do on warm spring nights, Tucson can’t compete with a metropolis like New York City. And if we’re talking cool independent movies, Tucson’s got nothing on Los Angeles. But for the next 10 days, Tucson’s got both of those cities beat. For the next 10 days, no movie fans…
Noshing Around
Papa’s Knows Best If we had an “Eatery of the Week” award, I’d be handing it to the hard-working guys at Papa’s Jerk Center (2030 S. Park Ave.). From the hand-scrawled sign outside, to the sumptuous jerk chicken, beans and rice, oxtail and steamed vegetables inside, the place is pure Jamaican gold. Those who’ve tried…
Police Dispatch
POSSIBLY TIME TO QUIT WEST VALENCIA ROAD MARCH 20, 2:58 P.M. A scrupulous nicotine user ferociously refused to tolerate less-than-fresh tobacco despite his apparent desperation for a smoke, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report stated. A cashier at the Circle K at 4605 W. Valencia Road told a sheriff’s deputy that a short, bald, middle-age…
Danehy
It would be easy (and perhaps even justified) to go the ad hominem route in pointing out just how stupid it was for four City Council members to vote to fire City Manager Mike Hein. I thought of doing a Wizard of Oz thing, but they all would have been the Scarecrow. It could be…
O’Sullivan
Whoa. After my last column (“Americans Are Already Too Distracted … and Now We’re Talking About Legalizing Pot?!), I got lots of letters. Weekly readers be a pot-smokin’ bunch. One of them even called me a “chemical bigot,” which is like calling someone a “political coffee table,” but semantics aside, let me make something perfectly…
Now Showing at Home
Marley and Me: 3-Disc Bad Dog Edition (Blu-Ray) 20TH CENTURY FOX MOVIE B+ SPECIAL FEATURES B+ DVD GEEK FACTOR 7.5 (OUT OF 10) The previews for this one had me preparing for maximum suckage—and it didn’t help that the unreliable Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston were starring. The two of them, though talented, have been…
Dancing Queen
Sara Braslow grew up in New Jersey, in the suburban tangle across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, but she was immersed in a venerable showbiz tradition from the earliest age. From 3 to 18, she studied tap with an old-time teacher, Jay Dash. Then in his 70s and 80s, he taught a number of big…
Brothers at Odds
We certainly don’t take pleasure in spoiling a plot twist when discussing a novel—especially an exceptional genre novel like the ones Tucsonan Johnny D. Boggs tends to write—but we sense that letting everyone know they shouldn’t take the familial relationships in Soldier’s Farewell at face value won’t hurt the enjoyment. Very often, the blow that…
Leadership Needed
For years, I’ve had an Oscar Goodman bobblehead doll on my desk. Goodman is the mayor of Las Vegas, where I lived before I moved to Tucson. Like Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, Goodman is in his third term as mayor after taking office in 1999. There, the substantial similarities between Goodman and Walkup end. Goodman…
Just Genius
Genius is the subject of two plays that opened downtown last weekend. It’s musical genius at work in Arizona Theatre Company’s Beethoven, as I Knew Him, whereas mathematical virtuosity lies behind Beowulf Alley Theatre Company’s Proof. But in each case, human failings and aspirations are what really drive the stories. Beethoven, as I Knew Him…
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz!
Three albums into their career, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs can proudly boast no repeats. Strangely, each stylistic shift has suggested a different band: loud, dirty garage rockers (Fever to Tell), electro-rock noisemakers (Show Your Bones) and now, a disco-pop studio outfit. As the group’s cleanest album to date—fittingly co-produced by TV on the Radio’s David…
Bloodbath at City Hall
When Mike Hein took the reins of city government in 2005, he was hailed as a man who could reach out to feuding jurisdictions and bring peace to a troubled region. The business community, led by restaurateur Bob McMahon, loved him. Environmentalists like Carolyn Campbell, who dealt with him when he worked for Marana and…
Soundbites
CRAWL, LIPS, RECORDS, ETC This week is jam-packed, with a little something for everyone, but the biggest day of all is Saturday, April 18. Of course, there is the Weekly’s own Spring Club Crawl™, which features roughly 100 acts on stages and in venues all over the downtown/Fourth Avenue district. You can read all about…
Dale Watson: The Truckin’ Sessions: Vol. 2
In the tradition of Springsteen’s paeans to the blue collar everyman, Dale Watson’s new album, The Truckin’ Sessions: Vol. 2, is a hearty, good-times tribute to working men and women—the ones who drive the big rigs. Maybe you’ve seen his “Hollywood Hillbilly” video with Johnny Knoxville; maybe you’re aware of his status among peers (Willie…
Guest Commentary
Sir, if you’d lost service, you would have been compensated. Since you weren’t compensated, you never lost service,” she said, triumphantly. On some level, I admired her creative logic, but on another level, I wanted to bash my head against a telephone pole, for I was deep in the trenches of Qwest customer service. It…
The Skinny
SCRAMBLEWATCH ’09: IN-AND-OUT EDITION The City Council’s decision to fire Mike Hein earned Ward 3 Councilwoman Karin Uhlich a brief primary challenge: Bennett Bernal, who was known for providing some of the best constituent service in the city under the previous Ward 3 councilwoman, Republican Kathleen Dunbar, pulled papers to launch a campaign last week.…
Cannibal Corpse: Evisceration Plague
The problem with Cannibal Corpse is twofold: First, there are many bands today aping the blood-smeared gore-grind metal that the Buffalo, N.Y., band pioneered 20 years ago, causing the Corpse to sound less inspired with each passing release. Second, the band members’ musicianship is so accomplished at this point that the raw energy that made…
T Q&A
Rachelle Diaz is a painter and graphic-design artist who moved to Tucson from Austin last July with her husband, César. She wanted to find out what was going on; it was during the summer, a time when everything seems to slow down—but once summer ended, Diaz didn’t see much of an improvement. She was inspired…
Latin Invasion
Sur Real offers some of the best views of Tucson and has added a needed Latin-American spin to the restaurant “row” at the intersection of Skyline Road and Campbell Avenue. We stopped by for a Saturday lunch. The server greeted us quickly and delivered chips, salsa and a tiny bowl of the house bean dip.…
Mailbag
Banks’ Article Uses Legit Environmental Concerns to Spawn Prejudice The cover photo accompanying Leo W. Banks’ sensationalist opinion article (“Trashing Arizona,” April 2) indicates the garbage is much deeper than the author’s comprehension of the issue. Banks describes legitimate environmental concern stemming from our broken and punitive immigration system, and then bastardizes the issue with…
Media Watch
‘EXPLORER’ ENDURES ANOTHER ROUND OF LAYOFFS The phrase “bare bones” might not do the Explorer justice. The weekly publication, which covers Marana, Oro Valley and Northwest Tucson, cut more employees at the beginning of the month, including managing editor Ty Bowers. “My position was ‘absorbed,’ I was told. It’s like what a lot of journalists…
Compelling Case
In the Soviet Union, people would stand in line for hours just to buy some bananas. This shows that Russians are very patient people; perhaps that’s why their films are so long. 12 runs for about 2 1/2 hours. It also takes place almost exclusively in a single room. And the cast is almost all…
Club Crawl™:Modern and Timeless
Listening to singer-songwriter M. Ward’s stunning recent record, Hold Time, artifacts and sounds from the past are blended liberally to create something both thoroughly modern and utterly timeless. Talking to him for a few brief moments, his love for the past was obvious, with the gruff-voiced songster extolling the virtues of his favorite artists as…
Mall Nut
In Observe and Report, Seth Rogen plays a man so unnervingly insane, it’s sometimes hard to figure out whether you should laugh or scream at him. His complete lack of stability gives the film—a hilarious effort from director Jody Hill—that wonderful and somewhat scary vibe that anything can happen. The funny-film rulebook was thrown out…
Top Ten in Books
Mostly Books best-sellers for the week
Club Crawl™:Speaking Truth
Reggae music is a genre in which artists are generally not afraid to speak truth to power. The music has a storied tradition of rebellious singers, from Bob Marley to Burning Spear to Lucky Dube, who railed against society’s ills and often suffered persecution for speaking out on behalf of principles they believed in. It…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: In an earlier column, you mentioned that conservatives can’t have an argument against illegal immigration without it degenerating into a diatribe against culture. Here’s an argument that has nothing to do with culture: In California, we now have a severe water shortage. I work for a municipal water agency. We are asking that…
Anderson Cooper Goes There
We skipped the teabagging fest downtown today in favor of touring the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab, which is a way-cool operation. (Details coming soon in a TW near you.) But we had to laugh at Anderson Cooper’s line in this clip: “It’s hard to talk when you’re teabagging.”
Club Crawl™: Eat, Drink, Revel
As springtime arrives in Tucson, downtown is also starting to blossom. Trolley tracks have been laid down; cool retro light posts and stoplights have been installed; new trees and plants are being planted to help create a hip urban landscape. But the best news of all is that brand-new restaurants are popping up around downtown.…
Club Crawl™: Getting There
The good news: By the next Club Crawl™ in October, there will be a big, beautiful new Fourth Avenue underpass connecting the two entertainment areas (Fourth Avenue and Congress Street). Also coming soon: a large, new parking garage next to Hotel Congress. But, alas, the new underpass and parking garage won’t be finished in time…
