Cover Story
Vote Yes On Prop 100
Let us begin by saying we’re not crazy about hiking the state’s sales tax by a penny per dollar for the next three years. But we’re a lot less crazy about the alternative, so we’re urging you to vote yes. The state of Arizona is facing its most serious economic crisis in modern history. The…
Coming to Downtown: Monkey Burger
Monkey Burger is opening a downtown location, according to a post on the eatery’s Facebook page. It looks like the new location is scheduled to open in July somewhere around the corner of Sixth Avenue and Congress Street. If it’s going in at the former Burger City, which we’ve heard is the case, that would…
Jane Goodall Speech Tonight
World-famous primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall is in Tucson tonight to deliver a speech titled “Gombe and Beyond: The Next 50 Years.” The lecture is free and open to the public; seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Get the details here.
Our Porous Border (video)
Our April 29 cover story, by Leo W. Banks, concerns the fallout from the murder of Cochise County rancher Robert Krentz by a killer who is believed to have fled into nearby Mexico. From various sources, Banks received video of some of the other people coming across our border, namely backpacking drug-smugglers and truckloads of…
New Poll: Brewer Gets Bounce From SB 1070
Rasmussen provides new numbers on Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in the wake of her signing of the immigration law that has captured the nation’s attention: Last week, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed an immigration law that launched a national debate. It has also at least temporarily helped her own chances of remaining Arizona’s governor. A…
Un-American Is What Un-American Does
In the discourse over Arizona’s new and nasty and utterly un-American immigration law, one point is often overlooked: the crushing desperation of masses of people in our very own backyard. I snapped the photo above while zipping through the outskirts of Mexico City where millions of poor souls live in “homes” like this one. Locally,…
About the Rasmussen Poll on Immigration
Nate Silver dissects the Rasmussen poll showing that 70 percent of Arizonans favor the immigration measure signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer last week: But Rasmussen’s portrayal of the law is very gentle. There’s no mention of the provisions that liberals and civil libertarians find most odious: that the law would charge legal immigrants…
Cholla Bud Season!
Cholla buds! Ever tried cholla buds? The tiny flower buds of cholla cactus taste like asparagus and are extremely nutritious. A two-tablespoon helping has as much calcium as a glass of milk, and the mucilage they contain is reported to help balance blood-sugar levels. Good stuff, and if you know what you’re doing, you can…
Tucson’s Everyday People: Baking for a Community
Small Planet Bakery baker Aaron French talks about his experience with baking in this multimedia piece by Kellie Mejdrich, a UA School of Journalism junior.
Blogislature Update: Tax Bill in Death Throes; End Nigh
It looks like House Speaker Kirk Adams’ big tax-cut plan is on its death bed. Mary Jo Pitzl lets us know that Senate President Bob Burns showed an admirable admission of fiscal reality: On Monday, Burns said budget analysts estimate the state will be grappling with deficits for the next three years. If the tax…
New Poll: Goddard Leads Republican Rivals
In contrast to last week’s Rasmussen survey, Public Policy Polling puts Arizona Attorney General ahead of his GOP rivals in the Arizona governor’s race: The Governor’s race in Arizona continues to shape up as a rare opportunity for Democrats this year to pick up a major office they don’t already have control of. But although…
Colbert: “When You Make Huevos Rancheros, You Have To Violate the Civil Rights of a Few Eggs”
The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c <td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'The Word – Docu-Drama www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News Arizona’s new immigration law got a second shot as the subject of The Word on Colbert last night.
Jon Stewart: “Turns Out Arizona is the Meth Lab of Democracy”
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Law & Border www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party The Daily Show tackles the last week in Arizona politics. Those nuts at the Capitol, after years of trying, have finally made the Big Leagues of Crazy. Next up: Colbert’s take.
Missing English Bulldog: Have You Seen Kobe?
Nicole Schwartz didn’t think twice of taking her English Bulldog, Kobe, along for a ride as she made a quick trip to pick up some takeout at P.F. Chang’s. Since she picked Kobe up in early February, the puppy had been her constant companion. He’d join her for drinks on the patio at Hotel Congress…
Tucson Police Chief Discusses Immigration Law on National Public Radio
Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor discusses how police officers will handle the new immigration law recently signed into law during this National Public Radio interview that aired today. Meanwhile, San Francisco leaders call for a boycott of Arizona over the law, according to the SF Weekly’s blog.
Tucson Episode of Andrew Zimmern’s ‘Bizarre Foods’
A Travel Channel spokeswoman dropped us an e-mail to confirm that Tucson will be featured in the episode of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods scheduled to air Monday, May 17. We already reported some months ago that Zimmern was taping an episode about the carne seca at El Charro, but the recent e-mail said the Travel…
New Downtown Restaurant: 47 Scott
A new restaurant called 47 Scott is scheduled to open next month at 47 N. Scott Ave., according to its website. Information is scarce regarding the restaurant, but a press release says 47 Scott will debut a “comfort food” menu at the upcoming 2nd Saturdays event, which features concerts, food, performances and loads of other…
New Chef’s Garden for jaxKitchen
Brian Metzger, who owns and operates jaxKitchen with his wife Sandy, says homegrown vegetables could be showing up on his menu as early as this summer, thanks to a new chef’s garden. Metzger said via e-mail that the entire staff of the restaurant and Noel Patterson (formerly of Hacienda del Sol and VinTabla) pitched in…
Free Tickets to the Monterey Jazz Festival
Russell Malone will be appearing tomorrow night at Centennial Hall as part of the Monterey Jazz Festival. UApresents tells us: The Festival returns with an all-new line-up. Elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms inspired Jazz Weekly to call Kenny Barron “the most lyrical piano player of our time.” TIME writes that violinist Regina Carter…
Democrat Randy Parraz Jumps Into Arizona Senate Race
Politico reports that Democrat Rodney Glassman may have company in the primary for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican John McCain: An Arizona civil rights advocate jumped into the state’s Senate race Monday, pointing to the strict anti-illegal immigration law just signed by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer as a central theme of his…
DISCOVER Profiles Our Future Robot Overlords
Timothy Archibald Friend of the Range Timothy Archibald photographs robots being built by David Hanson for this month’s Discover magazine. Discover photo director Rebecca Horne notes on her blog: David Hanson’s robots are by now somewhat familiar faces, including his Einstein robot currently being used as a research tool at Javier Movellan’s Machine Perception Lab…
Tucson’s Everyday People: Heat It and Blow
Alex Tichauer, a UA School of Journalism junior, talks to Fathead employee Kate Ritter. Ritter talks about how she got started and what she does at Fathead, a popular blown-glass retailer.
Pima County Fair: Food
Throughout the week, we’ll be posting slideshows of some of the sights at this year’s Pima County Fair, which is concluding today, Sunday, April 25. See all our photos at Flickr.com/TucsonWeekly. Here’s the food.
NYT on John McCain: “No Election Is Worth Winning If You Have To Abandon What You Believe”
From today’s New York Times: During the 2008 presidential campaign, Mr. McCain did his share of contortions to win over a right-wing base that never trusted him. Now he is fighting for survival against a radio host endorsed by border vigilantes. But this pandering is tragic for a man who was one of the architects…
Friday Roundtable: Immigration Crackdown, Sales-Tax Prop & McCain Vs. Hayworth
KUAT-TV’s Arizona Illustrated’s Roundtable gang talk about the events of the week, including the illegal-immigration crackdown bill signed by Gov. Jan Brewer today, the Senate race between J.D. Hayworth and John McCain, and the upcoming vote on the sales tax. Watch it after the jump.
Friday Roundtable: Owen “Buz” Mills
Owen “Buz” Mills stopped by the Arizona Illustrated’s Friday Roundtable. He promises to balance the state budget with more cuts. Watch the segment after the jump.
McCain Vs. Hayworth: Republican Civil War
I was one of the guests on Warren Olney’s To the Point radio show to discuss the “battle for the soul of the Republican Party.” You can listen below or download a podcast from his Web site.
Crawfish Festival With a Vietnamese Twist
Curious things can happen when a church with a largely Vietnamese congregation has a pastor with a penchant for Louisiana cooking. Such is the case at Our Lady of LaVang Parish (800 S. Tucson Blvd.), where the second annual Crawfish Festival takes place this weekend. The event features traditional Vietnamese food prepared by church members…
New Restaurants at Oro Valley Marketplace
One locally owned eatery and two chain restaurants are coming to Oro Valley Marketplace, a shopping center on the corner of Tangerine and Oracle roads. Harvest Moon, a Chinese restaurant that our food reviewer really enjoyed, is moving from 12985 N. Oracle Road to the shopping center. Quincy Zhang, who opened the restaurant back in…
Pima County Fair: Art
Throughout the week, we’ll be posting slideshows of some of the sights at this year’s Pima County Fair, which is running through April 25. See all our photos at Flickr.com/TucsonWeekly. Next up: The art.
Sierra Club Update: Weakening Water Protections & Saving the Incandescent Light Bulb
Sierra Club lobbyist Sandy Bahr delivers another depressing dispatch from the Arizona Legislature: Hi everyone! We keep hoping that the end is near for this legislative debacle known as the 49th Legislature, second regular session, but apparently there is yet more harm to be done. This week they passed along HCR2008 NOW: hunting and fishing;…
Obama on AZ Immigration Bill: It Could “Threaten to Undermine Basic Notions of Fairness That We Cherish as Americans”
President Barack Obama has spoken out against the immigration bill now on Gov. Jan Brewer’s desk: President Barack Obama on Thursday criticized a pending Arizona law that would make it a state crime to be in the United States illegally and require anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant to produce identification. Such legislation could…
Friday Night at the Rialto: The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers return the Rialto Theatre on Friday, April 22. Steve Seigel has the lowdown in Soundbites.Ticket info here.
Tucson’s Everyday People: Auto Works at Sooters
Working under the hood of a car can be dangerous and unsafe; just ask Sooter’s shop foreman Paul Wesner in this multimedia slideshow by Corey Lueker, a sophomore from the UA School of Journalism.
Megafaun at Club Congress
North Carolina band Megafaun is in the Old Pueblo! Check out their show tonight at Club Congress, details here.
Colbert: No One Will Want to Live in Arizona
Amidst birther bills and immigration clampdowns, Stephen Colbert adds another entry into Arizona Embarrasses Itself Week on last night’s The Colbert Report. After explaining how the border is “(lined) with the crappiest states,” Colbert said if SB 1070 were to pass, it “will make sure no one will want to live there.” The Colbert Report…
Pima County Fair: Attractions
Throughout the week, we’ll be posting slideshows of some of the sights at this year’s Pima County Fair, which is running through April 25. See all our photos at Flickr.com/TucsonWeekly. Next up: The attractions.
Arizona House Passes Birther Bill, Declares All Other Problems Solved
It’s a good thing the Arizona House of Representatives solved all the state’s problems (debt, immigration, etc.) so quickly. How else could they find time to send Obama back to Kenya innocently require all presidential candidates present a birth certificate if they want to appear on the Arizona ballot? From the Associated Press: The Arizona…
Martian South Pole
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona The UA’s HiRISE camera brings us photos of the Martian South Pole and a bunch of other cool shots in the latest release. HiRISE team member Shane Byrne tells us about the above shot: The south polar layered deposits are a stack of layered ice up to 3000 meters (9800 feet) thick…
Guest Opinion
News stories have repeatedly framed the election-integrity efforts of the Pima County Democratic Party as a “fight over the 2006 Regional Transportation Authority election,” an illogical assertion, since the party endorsed the RTA. That frame diverts attention from the truly serious systemic problem. Whether the RTA was fraudulently rigged is certainly a big deal, but…
Harnessing the Sun
In the bowels of the UA Chemical Sciences Building, a solar-energy revolution is brewing. Solar research at the UA could soon redefine how Americans power their homes, cars, personal computers and iPods. How? UA chemist Neal Armstrong envisions rooftops, cars and clothing covered with a light, flexible plastic infused with microscopic solar cells. In the…
Mailbag
Jesse Kelly + References to Christ and Wealth = Moron
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
Orderly Societies
At the old Mountain Oyster Club building, at Stone Avenue and Franklin Street, a mural painted above the door conjures up old-time Mexican hospitality. Refined ladies in Colonial Mexican dress, complete with full skirts, fans and frilly hats, pose prettily under a painted tree laden with fruit. Well-dressed, well-behaved children sit at their feet. Above…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I have a friend who frequently wears a T-shirt that boldly states in big, bad-ass, Old English letters, “Hecho en México.” Five facts: He was born 23 years ago in the United States, in Bellflower, Calif. His truly Mexican parents were nowhere near Mexico when he was conceived. His Spanish is worse than…
Tragic Remake
I was informed by reliable sources that Death at a Funeral is a comedy, which, if true, means that I’ve been misusing the word “comedy” for years now. For example, the following events form central plot points in this film: a man is drugged and beaten; a man attempts to rape a woman; a man…
Noshing Around
Tavolino Ristorante’s New Digs; Gluten-Free Food Faire; Café Passé Doubles; Out and About
Unspoiled Utopia
From Lost to Cast Away to Robinson Crusoe to The Odyssey, islands have played out in human stories and art as meditations on journeys, discovery and how people respond to the frightful unknown. The title and deeply evocative cover art of Shearwater’s new record, The Golden Archipelago, not to mention the expansively spooky music, signal…
The Skinny
The race between John McCain and J.D. Hayworth may be tightening … Gov. Jan Brewer is starting to pull ahead in the GOP primary … The Legislature twists the screws on illegal immigrants … and more!
T Q&A
Dr. Mark Sneller
Media Watch
KUAT misses fundraising goal; KOLD names new GM; azjazz.net hopes to fill Tucson’s jazz-radio void
Art Picnic Time!
Cynthia Hansen, now Ballet Tucson’s board president, was seduced by one of the company’s performances six years ago. “I went to a performance, and I was just so moved,” Hansen said. “It was the wonderful quality of the dancing, and the obvious collaboration. I was so impressed, and I just wanted to become involved.” Hansen…
Cantankerous Cowboy
He was 70. She was 55. He was an old-time New Mexico rancher, guide, outfitter, hunter, storyteller, oral historian, ladies’ man, drunk, emotional cripple and World War II veteran. She was a patrician New England horsewoman, educated, well-traveled—someone who traced her ancestors back to the Revolutionary War. He hunted mountain lion and bear, yet groused…
Soundbites
Avetts again!; good causes, great music; a non-endorsement of Spit; arena mariachi!; series’ starts; short takes; on the bandwagon
City Week
Author Jeffrey Kaye speaks about Moving Millions; King Corn with director Aaron Woolf; Bob Alper’s “Laughter: The Antidote to Recession”; GreenFest
Dr. Dog: Shame, Shame (ANTI-)
There’s always been an off-kilter joy in Dr. Dog’s music, but on the Philadelphia quintet’s first album for the eclectic ANTI- Records, there’s also an impressive crispness that only enhances the endlessly catchy songs. Dr. Dog enlisted an outside producer (Rob Schnapf, who has also worked with Beck and Elliott Smith) and recorded in an…
Stupid in Tucson
Some random acts of stupidity that have recently occurred in our lovely city: • Fast-food giveaways at the gym. LA Fitness allowed a fast-food place to give out free eats to gym-goers at the Park Place Mall location last week. And by “eats,” I mean hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. Look … I work…
Content Mania!
We’ve got so much online-only content this week that staring at the little video boxes printed on the lower right-hand corner of this page just isn’t enough. At our semi-annual Club Crawl® music event on Saturday, April 17, there were more venues, more bands and a more organized eastern event entrance. But you don’t want…
Man/Miracle: The Shape of Things (Third Culture)
The San Francisco Bay area has seen an explosion of young bands that play music with an eye toward finding new rearrangements of rock’s early influences. Part of the scene is the quartet Man/Miracle, whose sound incorporates myriad styles: jam band, world-music rhythms, melodic pop choruses, raw-edged roadhouse rock and plenty of loud guitar. The…
Police Dispatch
Move over, Keith Richards; dirty dancing
Journey to Nowhere
So this is the good news: The UA School of Theatre Arts is chock-full of fine student talent. The bad news is that it all goes to horrible waste in a lengthy attempt to make a terrible play—a musical, no less—an entertaining night at the theater. Lord knows, these kids tried. But Violet, with music…
MGMT: Congratulations (Columbia/Sony)
Everything about MGMT’s second album is counterintuitive. The album art is weird, a cross between rejected cover art for an early-’90s Sega Genesis game and a DayGlo surfing poster from a head shop. Stylistically, it’s a retrospective record whose fealty lies with ’60s California pop, classic surf music and late-period Beatles. Oracular Spectacular is one…
Live
Okie Dokie Karaoke
Shades of Gray
An unexpected contradiction lies at the heart of White People, the current offering from Live Theatre Workshop’s late-night Etcetera series. Contradiction isn’t surprising in a play about white people confronting race. As they trip over what they feel (or shouldn’t feel), or even what’s acceptable to talk about, these characters sometimes struggle just to get…
Nine Questions
Steven Soloway
Preservation vs. Profit
The Art of the Steal makes a damn good argument for having kids if you’ve amassed a fabulous art collection during your time upon this Earth. The documentary focuses on the fight over the Barnes Foundation, an arboretum and educational facility in a Philadelphia suburb that houses one of the world’s most incredible art collections.…
More Spice, Please
Although it’s true that you can’t judge a book by its cover, I’ve found that you can usually judge a Mexican restaurant by its margaritas. And when the margarita tastes more like bottled sweet-and-sour mix than tequila and lime, that’s not a good sign. The décor at Ventana Mexican Kitchen is much improved over the…
Danehy
So, this guy calls up the radio show that I’m on and invites me to attend the Tea Party rally at El Presidio Park on Income Tax Day. I figure, what the heck? I’m an old, fat white guy; I should be able to blend right in. I got some grief over the previous Tea…
Downtown Reservations
Two recent headlines in other cities are not welcome news for supporters of a publicly owned, 525-room, $170 million Sheraton hotel proposed for downtown Tucson. In September, The Oregonian declared, “Portland Convention Center Hotel Is Dead.” In March, Standard and Poor’s bond-rating service announced, “Downtown Phoenix Hotel’s Outlook Is Revised to Negative.” In response to…
Now Showing at Home
Brothers; It’s Complicated; Frank Zappa: The Freak-Out List; The Twilight Saga: The New Moon
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books best-sellers for the week
Messina
Tucson’s past has met the present. No, UA scientists haven’t discovered how to travel back in time; instead, local historic preservationists have discovered a way to bridge the gap. The recent unveiling of Dirk Arnold’s “Gateway Saguaro” at the interchange of Oracle Road, Main Avenue and Drachman Street has brought old-fashioned neon back into style.…
Totally Unpredictable
You can’t see Mexico from the Louise Foucar Marshall Building. But you feel it every day in this enclave of the UA Journalism Department. Prodded by nervous campus administrators, journalism professors have ratcheted up their warnings to students about working in Mexico—a cautionary stance that sometimes strains the boundary between necessary reportage and excess caution.…
Top Ten in Music
The 17th Street Guitar and World Music Store top sales for the week
Lawmakers Move to Reverse KidsCare & Health Care Cuts
Jim Small at the Arizona Capitol Times brings us the news that lawmakers are reversing the spending cuts they made to KidsCare and AHCCCC: The bill would authorize the state to accept additional federal stimulus money to pay for the programs, which would allow 310,000 people to continue coverage under AHCCCS and another 47,000 children…
An Evening of Poetry With Rebecca Seiferle
The Art Center Design College is proud to present “An Evening of Poetry with Rebecca Seiferle.” Rebecca is a renowned poet and a member of the core faculty at the Art Center. Rebecca is a winner of the Western States Book Award and a recipient of the Lannan Fellowship. This year, she was she an…
Pima County Fair: Animals
Throughout the week, we’ll be posting slideshows of some of the sights at this year’s Pima County Fair, which is running through April 25. See all our photos at Flickr.com/TucsonWeekly. Next up: The animals.
Picture This: Local Natives at Solar Culture
Aleksa Brown Local Natives rocked Solar Culture last night. Learn more about the band here. Can’t wait until these guys come back!
Picture This: Steel Tears at the County Fair
JOSHUA MORGAN John Shaw, a sideshow performer from New York, shows off a bit of his talents at the Pima County Fair. The Pima County Fail goes on until April 25. John Shaw’s freak show performs three times a day at 5, 7 and 10 p.m. at the fairgrounds.
