Cover Story
East Side Story
Rocked by complaints about its handling of Rio Nuevo, the City Council is now looking to come up with a winning plan supporting new development on the east end of downtown. The city has already invested large sums of money to encourage development there, including buying and renovating the train station, purchasing the Rialto Theatre…
Southern Exposure
Slate has a nice package of stories about Mexico. One piece examines why the drug war is spiraling out of control: The Mexican drug cartels have been prospering for decades. This is not a problem that appeared overnight, as some of the more sensationalist media accounts in the United States might suggest, nor is it…
Bogus Tax Freedom Day
Every year, the Tax Foundation announces Tax Freedom Day—the day that Americans have supposedly worked enough days to pay their taxes. And every year, some poor saps in the media fall for it.It’s a bogus statistic because of the progressive nature of income taxes. The rich pay a whole lot more than the poor, so…
A Little City Election Excitement: Realtors File Cops-and-Firefighters Initiative
The Tucson Association of Realtors want to strip budgeting power away from the Tucson City Council by mandating a certain percentage of general fund dollars be spent on police and firefighters. The group filed has filed paperwork for the Public Safety First Initiative to give voters a chance to approve the proposition in November. Here’s…
Roger That: Wilco Is Coming To Tucson
Yep, you heard that right: The alt-country-and-then-some wonder boys in Wilco are coming to Tucson—and it’s their only show in Arizona. They’ll be playing at Centennial Hall on Thursday, June 18. It’s the first time they’ve played Tucson in 12 years. Let’s make sure they wanna feel like stars, OK? UPDATE: A few details we…
The Human Impact
The Children’s Action Alliance has launched a YouTube channel with stories of Arizonans who have turned their lives around thanks to state social programs that are now facing budget cuts.
Uhlich’s Life Gets Easier: Bernal Abandons Primary Challenge
Well, that didn’t last long. Bennett Bernal tells The Range that he has abandoned plans to challenge City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich in the Ward 3 Democratic primary. Bennett says the prospect of campaigning quickly became “overwhelming.”
Another Break With the Past
The Washington Post is reporting that President Obama will lift travel restrictions on Cuba. An announcement is due later today, according to the paper. We should be hearing howls of protest from supporters of President Bush’s policy of isolation shortly. I just can’t wait.
Meet the Candidates: Steve Kozachik
Republican Steve Kozachik, who is making his political debut with his effort to unseat Democratic City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, has a Web site up.
Big Business
There’s a saying: “As California goes, so goes the nation.” The Washington Post asks if Arizona’s neighbor is fomenting a revolution in drug policy that will sweep the country. Shops with neon-green marijuana leaves in their windows are popping up all over California, and now graduates of Oaksterdam University can get degrees “certifying passage of…
Rescuing The Rich, Hammering the Poor
The Skinny talked about Sen. Jon Kyl’s effort to kill the estate tax this week. More on the fight to give yet another big break to America’s richest from The New York Times. The NYT also investigates, with a Phoenix dateline, state cuts to social services this weekend: Perhaps nowhere have the cuts been more…
Friday Roundtable
As long as we’re posting clips from Arizona Illustrated: You can watch the Roundtable segment after the jump. We discuss City Manager Mike Hein’s firing, the budget mess at the Capitol and more bad headlines for TUSD.
More Hein Fallout: Uhlich Picks Up Republican Opponent
We reported a few days ago that Bennett Bernal was challenging City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich in the Ward 3 Democratic primary this year. Now Republican Ben Buehler-Garcia has filed to run against her as a Republican. Before Tedski tells me I’m making too much of this, let me say that Uhlich certainly remains the favorite…
Uhlich on Arizona Illustrated: No Plans To Run for Mayor
Ward 3 City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich stopped by KUAT-TV’s Arizona Illustrated studio last night to talk about Mike Hein’s firing. There’s a lot of speculation that Uhlich made the move as part of a larger effort to consolidate her power base as she look to run for mayor. When I asked her about her mayoral…
Weekend Picks: Al Perry, David Lynch and the Valley of the Moon
Don’t forget: Al Perry has that CD release party Saturday night at Plush. Black Velvet is the late-night cult classic over at The Loft. And Princess Bride continues over at Valley of the Moon.
More On Dick Cheney: An Expanded Q&A with Barton Gellman
As promised in the print edition, here’s an expanded interview with Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman, author of Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency. Gellman talks about Cheney’s impact on the administration, his environmental record and more. Gellman also tells us whether he ever feared that someone would put polonium-210 into his lunch. Gellman will speak…
Tune In: City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich on Arizona Illustrated Tonight
City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich will be our guest on the Friday Roundtable on Arizona Illustrated http://tv.azpm.org/kuat/tonight. Lots to discuss! The show airs at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 6.1 on your digital receiver and Channel 27 on your analog set. Today on Arizona Illustrated, Legendary Land Speculator Don Diamond stopped by to tell Bill Buckmaster that…
Nina’s Spin on Hein
City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, who was on the losing end of a 4-3 vote to fire Mike Hein, was somber in her weekly bulletin, which normally carries short notices of the good and happy news from Ward 6: Friends ~ I will be brief today. This is has been a rough week for our community.…
Help Wanted at the “Citizen”?
Looking for work? The Tucson Citizen reports that a possible buyer of the afternoon paper has placed an ad looking for salespeople: The publisher of the Culver City (Calif.) Observer has placed an ad online with craigslist looking for “highly motivated” newspaper advertising salespeople to work in Tucson.
Hein Fallout: Uhlich Faces Primary Challenger
UPDATED on Monday, April 13: Bernal abandons campaign!It appears that Ward 3 City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich’s decision to fire City Manager Mike Hein has bought her some political trouble already: Democrat Bennett Bernal is planning to challenge her in the September primary. Provided he qualifies for the ballot, Bernal represents a credible threat to Uhlich,…
Bordering on Trouble
The Obama administration will soon be tackling the thorny immigration issue, reports The New York Times. The usual suspects are already lining up in opposition: Opponents of legalization legislation were incredulous at the idea that Mr. Obama would take on immigration when economic pain for Americans is so widespread. “It just doesn’t seem rational that…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: For as long as I can remember, Mexicans were known for doing three things: Drinking lots of cerveza, having lots of niños and saying, “¡Ay, caramba!” While I can vouch for the first two, I’ve never, ever personally heard a Mexican utter those famous two words. Is this an urban myth, or what?…
Mailbag
Tucsonans Will Miss Rio Nuevo If It Goes Away Jim Nintzel’s article gets to the dilemma facing the City Council regarding Rio Nuevo (“Give or Take,” Currents, March 26). In the past, the council has been accused of not having anything to show for Rio Nuevo. Yet when they take action to complete a project,…
Top Ten in Music
Toxic Ranch Records top sales for the week
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books best-sellers for the week
Diner Delights
I’ve driven by the Bread and Butter Café around 1,000 times—and that’s a conservative estimate. However, I never bothered to stop in until it came time to go a-reviewin’. Folks, do me a favor: You know that place you’ve always wondered about, but never stopped at, even though you’ve zoomed past it a bunch of…
Semi Strife
They’re 40-ton orphans of free trade, long slated to be barreling down a highway near you. But after years of political shell games on Capitol Hill, yet another push to unleash Mexican trucks across the United States has been quashed. In March, Congress killed a pilot program that edged toward finally fulfilling this key component…
Food Blues
Last year, Pat Connors and his staff at Pastiche Modern Eatery served food at 27 off-site events, mostly charity fundraisers. Not once, he says, did they get a visit from a Pima County Health Department inspector. But in March, during the Tucson Festival of Books at the UA, an inspector came calling with a list…
Powerful Women
Because our page count is tight, I often have to cram two reviews into the space of one. Usually, that’s not a problem, but this week, we have very strange bedfellows snuggled up together: a family-friendly romp at the Gaslight Theatre, and a strictly adult drama at Live Theatre Workshop. I’ll start with the family…
Cricket and Me
I met Cricket at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, where her forlorn face was nervously peering out at me from inside her wire cage. I slipped my fingers in, and she gave them a tentative sniff. “Don’t worry, girl,” I told her. “We’re gonna spring you.” I was at the Humane Society on that…
Media Watch
Kim Kelly is out; John C. Scott is in, and the new operations manager at KJLL AM 1330 has a lot of issues to deal with. From a programming perspective, KJLL’s syndicated lineup of Don Imus, Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz will remain intact, as will Dr. Laura’s show, but Scott is in the process…
The Skinny
UPDATE: WE’RE STILL BROKE More bad news on the state financial front: Overall February tax collections for the state were 33.4 percent below February 2008 collections—a staggering drop, but a bit deceptive, because the state’s formula for paycheck deductions follows the federal lead. Since Uncle Sam is deducting less from your paycheck as part of…
Gems Among the Schlock
Barbara Rogers is not ashamed of making beautiful paintings. She paints “to evoke the sublime, to reaffirm the existence of beauty and the critical importance of cherishing the earth,” she writes in a statement for her show at Azora Gallery. On a mini art tour of the foothills in gorgeous spring weather, I found the…
Spring Egg-cellence
Are they under that bush? Behind the chairs? Perhaps one is smack-dab in the middle of the pavilion! Of course, finding the eggs during the Tucson Botanical Gardens’ Spring Egg Hunt will prove to be a challenge for kids of all ages—and the egg hunt is only one aspect of what promises to be a…
Noshing Around
T6 Filling Station Jay Tolkoff has closed PJ’s Subs (4500 E. Speedway Blvd.) and opened the T6 Filling Station in the old Long Wong’s location at 2500 E. Sixth St. The place serves East Coast-style subs, says Tolkoff, and plans are underway to open a bar in the back in the very near future. Hours:…
Teen Feelings
I love movies. Well, not The Black Balloon. I thought it sucked. But in general. Still, I think there are a lot of people who would enjoy The Black Balloon. In fact, more than 1,400 voters on the Internet Movie Database have given it an average rating of 7.5 out of 10. Now, there are…
Remedial Punch
There’s something immensely charming about the raw pop-punk of the 2-year-old band the Vivian Girls. These three young women from Brooklyn pack a delicious remedial punch—primal bass and drums combine with a reverb-heavy ’50s-style guitar attack while their girl-group-inspired vocal harmonies are woven alluringly through short, sharp songs. Some critics have compared the Vivian Girls…
Lacking a Punch
Vin Diesel returns to the series that made him a big star with Fast and Furious, a tiresome speedy-car movie. Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster are also back for a sequel that kind of stinks, even though it is better than the previous two installments. Things have really deteriorated since the fun original.…
Catchy and Laid-Back
With a new album out on Sub Pop and a lengthy stretch of 49 shows this spring, Vetiver is garnering attention far beyond its San Francisco home, and transcending the freak-folk label the band has casually endured. But Andy Cabic, the band’s singer, songwriter and core since he began using the Vetiver name almost a…
Tucson Q&A
Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman is the author of Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency, a comprehensive investigation into the role that Dick Cheney played in the Bush administration. Gellman, who has worked in war zones around the world and covered the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, will speak at 7 p.m.,…
Live
Great Lake Swimmers, Kate Maki
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
Rhythm & Views
Like kittens playing in yarn, It Hugs Back, from Kent, England, revels in soft cuteness, causing any self-respecting male music writer to wonder (and perhaps worry) why he continues to spin the band’s debut full-length. Hilariously, the publicity notes cite the Lemonheads, Teenage Fanclub and My Bloody Valentine as touchstones, when, in fact, each of…
Danehy
Laurie Roberts writes a column for The Arizona Republic. She often finds under-the-radar stories that either tug at the heartstrings or jab a sharp stick in the jaundiced eye of bureaucracy. But she recently wrote a series of columns that made many of her readers angry, and left me, at the very least, bewildered. She…
Now Showing at Home
James Bond Blu-Ray: Volume Three MGM MOVIES SEE REVIEW SPECIAL FEATURES SEE REVIEW DVD GEEK FACTOR 6.5 (OUT OF 10) MGM has released a bunch of James Bond Blu-Ray packages, but this is the first one I got my hands on. The package includes Goldfinger, Moonraker and The World Is Not Enough, offering a sample…
Soundbites
THE NEW-MUSIC BOOM CONTINUES Here’s hoping you haven’t gotten your fill of local CD-release shows, because four more albums drop this week. The problem? The shows are all on the same night, Saturday, April 11. First, a reminder about the dual release party for Al Perry’s Jack Miller-produced The Three Track Session EP (covered last…
Fresh Stories
Having edited a few fiction anthologies myself, I know how difficult it is to “market” a story collection that doesn’t offer at least a few “famous” names: You’re introducing yet another collection of unknown writers into bookstores and the Internet. Chances are, though, that a recognizable literary talent is already dead—hence the cliché of great…
City Week
Working Within and Against the System Activism Workshop Series: “Using and Abusing the Law” 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 14 UA Student Union, Room 404, 1303 E. University Blvd. union.arizona.edu/socialjustice If you’re going to break the law, you’d better know your rights. Social Justice Programs, a UA organization aiming to raise social awareness on campus, is…
Rhythm & Views
It’s not pejorative to call Anni Rossi the next great freaky art chick. Like PJ Harvey, Ms. Rossi sat down to record her sophomore effort (re-imagining most of her EP Afton) with producer Steve Albini, and in doing so discovers untapped dimensions only hinted at by her early work. However, Rockwell doesn’t have the raw,…
Messina
As I write this, the newsroom is eerily quiet. The only noises I hear come from an occasional fax printing and a whirring desk fan. As I look around, I see piles of newspapers, black computer screens and empty chairs. Not a soul around. This could be a scene from a Stephen King movie, where…
Online Assistance
As I mentioned last week in this here space, we just launched a brand-new Web site, and we’re pretty darned happy about it. However, in order to make the site truly amazing, we could use your help, in the following areas: • Restaurant reviews. The new TucsonWeekly.com allows people to rate and comment on the…
Nine Questions
Terry Owen, aka Fish Karma, is a musician and comedian who first started performing at the UA’s Comedy Corner in the early ’80s. He is currently recording a new CD. What was the first concert you ever saw? Three Dog Night at the Compton Terrace Stage at Legend City in Phoenix. In those days, middle…
Guest Commentary
The flush toilet may be a hallmark of civilization, but how smart is it to flush away 40 percent of a household’s water? Sure, your excretions disappear at the push of a lever. Water gives an impression of cleanliness. But then there’s that orange ring. Contaminated mist released by every flush. Major clogs. Expensive plumbers.…
Police Dispatch
QUESTIONABLE OVERTURES FAR SOUTHWEST SIDE MARCH 9, 9:15 P.M. A single homeowner’s alleged friendly advances may have been taken the wrong way by a post office employee and more than one neighbor, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. Upon meeting with the reporting deputy, the reportee warned him that he had been drinking…
Rhythm & Views
After 2006’s The Crane Wife, it wouldn’t have been unfair to wonder if The Decemberists were capable of doing anything new within their chosen aesthetic: shambling ballads rife with Chaucerian wordplay and baroque instrumentation. It seemed like they’d have to integrate some new element in order to remain interesting. So, with The Hazards of Love,…
Bloodbath At City Hall
My take on the firing of City Manager Mike Hein is up on KUAT-TV’s Web site. Also on tonight’s show: Bill Buckmaster has fun with Democrat Vince Rabago and Republican John Munger on the monthly face-off. Vince doesn’t appear enthusiastic about defending the decision to give Hein the ax, while John decries, of all things,…
Don’t Fear the “Tweet”
I’ve never been much for the Twitter. Sure, when it first launched at SXSW Interactive in 2007, I followed the unofficial geek handbook and immediately created an account. Until a month ago, my only posting was “on the phone, testing Twitter.” I mean, who cares what anyone else is doing or thinking? At last year’s…
