Aug 1-7, 2013

Aug 1-7, 2013 / Vol. 30 / No. 24

Cover Story

Ballot Boxing

In the closing hours of this year’s legislative session, Republican lawmakers pushed through an overhaul of Arizona’s election laws. It wasn’t an easy lift. Parts of the legislation were contained in separate bills that had stalled earlier in the session before getting folded into House Bill 2305 as adjournment approached. HB 2305 died on the…

Chuck Bowden Remembers Jeff Smith

Courtesy PK Weis Jeff Smith at his Patagonia home Author Chuck Bowden shares some memories of journalist Jeff Smith, who passed away over the weekend: It’s September as I recall and I am in the newsroom of the Tucson Citizen when a sudden stillness smothers everything. There’s been a call—Jeff Smith on vacation has gone…

Brace Yourselves: There Are Now Amy’s Baking Company T-Shirts

In the continuing saga of the restaurant that apparently refuses to die, Amy’s Baking Company is now selling shirts for your purchasing “pleasure”—and they’re just as charming as Amy and Samy Bouzaglo are! amysbakingco.com Ugh. Apparently, someone over at ABC had the brilliant idea to take some of their famous sayings from their appearance on…

Tucson’s Soccer Infrastructure Renaissance Continues

The city has its modern streetcar, while Pima County has soccer. The main difference: the county’s ambitious new projects are actually getting put to use. Tomorrow marks the latest milestone in turning the region into a soccer mecca, as a groundbreaking ceremony is set for 6 p.m. at Brandi Fenton Park for a clubhouse that…

Want Some Padres Tickets?

Samantha Sais We have a stack of Padres tickets for the rest of the month, good seats even, that we can give away. Want a four pack? Just leave a comment with the night you’d like to go (from tomorrow night’s game to the game on Thursday, Aug. 29. Tomorrow morning, I’ll pull random winners…

You Probably Shouldn’t Mess With Stephen Colbert

The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Video Archive We mentioned last week that Daft Punk were scheduled to appear on the Colbert Report last night, but apparently that dream was thwarted by the president of MTV, who had been holding a surprise Daft Punk appearance at the Video Music Awards in his pocket…

Local Dogs Need Peanut Butter

Hey, kind Tucson folks: The Humane Society just ran out of creamy peanut butter and put the word out that donations are needed now. Why do they need peanut butter? They put in the kongs: The HSSA provides frozen peanut butter stuffed kongs as part of our dog enrichment program, and we have run out.…

Legendary Tucson Journalist Jeff Smith Dies

I blundered into the newspaper racket at a time when practically anybody with a pulse and a vocabulary in triple digits could get a job. I barely could type my name, never had taken a journalism course, but I was willing to work for $120 a week (pretax) as long as they let me write…

Local Alt-Weekly Editor to Appear on Jon Justice Tomorrow

So, this should be interesting: I’ve been invited to appear on the Jon Justice morning show tomorrow from 8 to 9, discussing my post earlier today about Ben Buehler-Garcia’s Tweetathon and the state of Tucson in general. Listen in on 104.1 FM or, if you have no other options, watch the simulcast on channel 58…

Impersonating a Jewish Man Is Apparently Racist to Hispanics Now

Democrat Fred DuVal, who is seeking to become governor of Arizona next year, had a weird early skirmish with the Arizona Republican Party this week. It all started with a relatively lame press release from AZ GOP Chairman Robert Graham, who said that he and a crew of fellow Republicans down at the office looked…

Reunion Time: Calling All Former Toros or Sidewinders Employees

August is apparently Memory Lane month for the Tucson Padres and local minor league baseball in general. First the T-Pads are turning their remaining Thirsty Thursdays (starting this week and running each Thursday through Aug. 29) into a Tucson Toros-themed night, complete with the team wearing 1990s-era Toros jerseys. Now, those locally operating the soon-to-be-headed-to-El-Paso…

Serial Grillers Is Opening a Non-Mobile Location

Serial Grillers, the horror-film themed cheesesteak and burger food truck, are set to open a brick-and-mortar location by the end of the month at 5737 E. Speedway Blvd. Somewhat similar to their existing food truck business, the new joint will be takeout and delivery only, but will offer a different menu than their mobile location,…

Sorry, Ben Buehler-Garcia: Tucson Just Wasn’t Ready for Your Twitterthon

Social media is a weird place for politicians in general (feel free to make your own Anthony Weiner joke here), but in 2013, a campaign would seem antiquated and irrelevant without some sort of Facebook/Twitter/whatever strategy, so inevitably there are missteps, goofs and miscalculations. The instantaneous nature of these media don’t exactly lend themselves well…

Arizona Is Still Not a Top Party School, Despite Its Best Efforts

So says the Princeton Review, which within its annual ‘Best Colleges’ report included a ranking of the top 20 party schools in America. Sadly, the University of Arizona did not return to the list for 2014, despite a number of high-profile and near-deadly raging keggers put on by Australian exchange students and recorded for posterity…

Sadness: CandyStrike Storefront to Close

If I could, I’d be down at CandyStrike every payday buying that last skirt I saw, or that skater dress I keep telling myself I really need. But in reality it’s been ages since I’ve been inside Elizabeth Albert’s Toole Avenue store because this summer my extra cash went to summer camp for my beautiful…

Free Culinary Training Coming Up

Caridad Community Kitchen – which is operated by the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona – is getting ready to offer another series of free culinary training sessions for people who meet specific low-income requirements. As highlighted in the video above, it’s a cool program that prepares people for culinary careers while feeding nutritious meals…

Dominick’s Real Italian Is Open

A new Italian restaurant called Dominick’s Real Italian is open for business at 8330 N. Thornydale Road, in Marana. Workers there tell us they opened for business last Friday. Check out the menu and get more information over here. No liquor yet but the license for that has been filed and they expect to be…

If You’re Somewhat Clever, You Can Try Some Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

There’s been a run of new food trucks popping up lately (Zany Beaver, a poutine van; Lucky Girl’s Asian-influenced burgers, and others) and Cheesy Rider, a grilled cheese themed truck, is set to open this month. It seems like there should have been a grilled cheese option long ago, but hey, better late than never,…

AZ Illustrated Politics: Debating AZ’s Election Law Changes

On Friday’s AZ Illustrated Politics, Attorney Jeff Rogers, Arizona Education Parent Network President Ann-Eve Pedersen and Marson Media CEO Barrett Marson debated the changes to Arizona’s election laws that were passed in the last legislative session. Activists with the Arizona Democratic Party, the Arizona Libertarian Party, and other groups are now gathering signatures to refer…

There Are Photos From the Underwear Party Online

The second annual Underwear Party apparently drew 1200 people in various states of undress to Club Congress on Saturday (around 900 attended last year, which means this event will eventually be Tucson’s best-attended public gathering by 2015). Now, whether you attended and are trying to remember what happened, or stayed home and want to voyeuristically…

Let’s Watch “Running Scared” This Weekend

It’s a new month (wait, when did that happen?), so there’s new stuff to stream on Netflix. This might not be interesting to you, as you could have a life and/or interests that involve leaving the house, but for someone of my social status, something new to watch is a biggish deal. There are some…

We Need to Do Something to Keep Brewer Away From Obama

We’ve been through this before and our governor managed to embarrass herself (and through some variation on the transitive property, the state of Arizona) in the process by wagging her finger and scolding the President of the United States as if she were a out-of-control second grade teacher. However, Jan Brewer is trying to put…

Watch Live Music From Lollapalooza This Weekend

As seems to be the standard these days, YouTube is streaming sets from Lollapalooza all weekend. While New Order and Hot Chip have been cruelly ignored on the schedule today, there are still (depending on when you read this, I guess) performances by Crystal Castles, Imagine Dragons, Queens of the Stone Age, Band of Horses,…

Daft Punk to Appear on The Colbert Report?

They haven’t really needed to, considering “Get Lucky” has spent the last few months challenging “Blurred Lines” as the song of the summer, but Daft Punk have done a minimal amount of promotion for their album Random Access Memories. SNL teaser commercials and promo videos with their collaborators, sure, but as far as I can…

Maker House Announces Their First Round of Classes

Maker House, the lucky bastards that took over the Bates Mansion downtown, have announced their first round of classes they’re going to offer in their five instructional spaces, and the list is a delightful mix of the immediately useful and delightfully strange. The complete list is online (a schedule is forthcoming, but at least you…

Hello Flo: Welcome to Camp Gyno

A few weeks ago we talked about the glory of the Period Store, an online business that brings cool care packages to your doorstep timed to your cycle. Inside are tampons and pads from foreign lands, and cookies and chocolate. But what about young women just about to get her monthly visitor for the first…

AZ Illustrated Politics: Debating AZ’s Election Law Changes

On tonight’s AZ Illustrated Politics, we’ve got a discussion about the changes in Arizona election law that were passed in the final hours of the legislation session. (For a lengthy look at what the changes mean, check out my cover story, Ballot Boxing, in this week’s TW.) On the panel: Marson Media CEO Barrett Marson,…

People on Twitter Are Really Excited for the Kid Cudi Concert

@ducidni Holy shit!!!! I got my tickets for your concert in Tucson. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck ily omg I'm not gay— Ali (@That1DudeAli) August 1, 2013 You may or may not know, but tickets went on sale yesterday for the Kid Cudi, Tyler the Creator, Logic show at AVA on September 5.…

Thursday Night Recommendation: Mark Stegeman at Odyssey

Yes, I have big love for Odyssey Storytelling and have presented a few stories there, albeit mostly sappy mom stuff about my son and another night right after the Jan. 8 tragedy. Plus, I plan to participate in the Dec. 5 evening appropriately titled, “Big Bad Words: The B*tch Show,” but here’s a somewhat tardy…

It’s IPA Day or Basically an Excuse to Drink on a Thursday

No idea how this came about, but today marks the third celebration of IPA Day. Maybe I shouldn’t ask too many questions and just enjoy the opportunity to grab a hopped up beverage later today. As an incomplete but hopefully somewhat helpful guide, here’s what Tap & Bottle and 1702 are scheduled to have on…

Pigs, Honey and an Iron Chef

Look out HoneyBaked Ham Company. Reigning Tucson Iron Chef Ryan Clark – executive chef at Lodge on the Desert – and local gardener, sommelier and bee-keeper Noel Patterson are teaming up for an event that takes pairing sweetness and swine to a whole new level: Ryan will be roasting a whole pig in a La…

How About Some Free Music from ANTI- Records?

ANTI- Records is an awesome label that has put out recordings by Wilco, Neko Case, DeVotchKa, Tom Waits and Tucson’s own Calexico, among many others. Now the folks at NoiseTrade are offering a free summer sampler of ANTI- artists that includes songs from Neko Case, Mavis Staples, Tom Waits and Keith Richards and Beth Orton,…

If You Love Tribute Bands, the Next Two Nights Are For You

I have a weird fascination with tribute bands…I used to see the Atomic Punks semi-regularly when I lived in LA, I make an effort to see Purple Reign when I’m in Las Vegas, and I’ve spent actual time plotting how to start a Totally Sincere Tribute to 90’s Adult Alternative Radio. It’s probably not a…

Arizona Football: We’re No. 42!

The 2013 college football season officially kicks off four weeks from today, when a handful of games (some good, mostly bad) are played on Thursday, Aug. 29. The following night, Arizona opens against Northern Arizona in a Friday night tilt that will introduce the populace (and whoever is watching on the Pac-12 Network) to a…

Grijalva and Barber Split on Student-Loan Vote

The House of Representatives voted to approve the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act yesterday with a 391-31 vote, sending the legislation to President Barack Obama’s desk for a signature. Reuters reports: The action followed months of partisan bickering, with Democrats and Republicans blaming each other for a politically embarrassing delay that had the potential to…

TQ&A

New Jersey native Tony Marotta pictures himself as One Heart Beat’s manager and promoter. The percussion group had been doing monthly gigs before Marotta joined four years ago and brought some organization into the mix. About 15 drummers make up the core of the group, and anyone is welcome to pick up a drum (or…

Brutality on BART

Writer/director Ryan Coogler has made one of the year’s best films with his bold feature-directing debut, Fruitvale Station. It tells the true story of Oscar Grant, the man shot to death by a cop on New Year’s Eve 2008 while riding the BART with his girlfriend and mother of his child. If you’ve seen the…

For the Kids

Kevin Johnson is in the pink of his passion these days. The founding artistic director of Arizona Onstage Productions is directing not one, but two musicals which will share the same space—the Cabaret Theatre at the Temple of Music and Art—for the next few weeks. The intimate musical Closer Than Ever will open Friday and…

True TV

Under the Dome Mondays (CBS): One of the best Stephen King adaptations to date, and they even worked in a reference to The Simpsons Movie. Under the Dome has shown a few signs of padding the story to fill 13 episodes (teen romance—phttt, who needs it?), but the tension ratchets up just enough every week…

World of Desolation

The faces bring it home, those wrenchingly crystalline expressions of circumstance, sometimes grim, sometimes defiant, but always profoundly human. Their images, and the trappings that surround them, unfurl the narrative of two neighboring countries that time and cynical politics have pulled ever farther apart. This distance—more emotional than geographic—lies at the heart of A World…

DVD Roundup

Amelia’s 25th On her 25th birthday, Amelia (Electra Avellan) realizes that she’s now too old to become a famous actress: “In Hollywood, 25 is the new dead.” Also starring Danny Trejo, Jennifer Tilly, Margaret Cho and other spry youngsters. (Breaking Glass) The Best of Fridays The cult 1980-82 late-night sketch series, finally on DVD! Well,…

Editor’s Note

This recommendation is a bit tardy, but if you haven’t read the New York Times Magazine article on the incredibly popular link-sharing site Reddit and its role in the misinformation that spread during the chase to find the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing, you should make an effort to do so. Sure, journalism about…

Sinful Surprises

With a name like Dante’s Fire, a restaurant takes the risk of being a bit too cute and kitschy. Adding the use of the deadly sins and various vices as menu sections can also be a bit over the top. But the device works at Dante’s Fire, thanks to smarts in the kitchen and behind…

Danehy

Let’s try this exercise: Close your eyes and visualize a Republican legislator. Be honest. You’re probably seeing a 40-something white guy, a little bit over the optimal weight for his height, with a suit that doesn’t quite fit right. And a flag pin in his lapel. There’s nothing wrong with that. Most Republican legislators are…

Noshing Around

Dragoon Brewing Is Getting Out There New Belgium Brewing is teaming up with the local folks at Dragoon. From the New Belgium Facebook Page: “We are excited to announce that we have teamed up with Tucson’s own Dragoon Brewing Co. to brew a small batch limited release collaboration beer! Join us as we brew at…

Serraglio

Last month, I wrote about the Arizona Daily Star’s switch to a Facebook-only platform for its online comment feature and took the paper to the woodshed for its failure to effectively monitor comments. This generated an interesting discussion on the Weekly’s comment thread about anonymity and responsibility in the context of online comments. Well, let’s…

The Natural

With music videos that play like serial adventure stories (complete with credits) and artwork that injects the faintly surreal into the naturalistic (like elephants and a ruined tower just past the shoreline of a large body of water), Ben Schneider’s move to Los Angeles from his native Michigan makes sense. Except the visual sensibility Schneider…

Media Watch

KGUN, KVOA IN DAMAGE CONTROL AFTER AIRING FALSE-SUICIDE STORY On the heels of the death of a 10-year-old boy struck by a Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy, television stations KGUN TV 9 and KVOA TV 4 reported another sad twist in the situation. The mother of the boy’s best friend said her son, distraught by what…

Soundbites

R.I.P. RIC EVARIAN We’re saddened to report that Ric Evarian, singer for local hardcore band American Deathtrip, passed away on Wednesday, July 24. Evarian, whose band spanned over two decades — the American Deathtrip performed regularly at the Downtown Performance Center — was a towering figure of the Tucson punk scene and will be missed…

Mailbag

Restaurants, Get Better! I hope the restaurateurs of Tucson are paying attention. Garnering trust and building a loyal following is vital to any healthy business, but none more so than who serves you your food. As a resident for thirty-three years, I have come to deeply appreciate and delight in Tucson’s eclectic cuisine options. But…

Tucson Goes to France

How do five acts from Tucson get invited to play at one of Europe’s most respected boutique world music festivals, the annual Festival Les Escales in Saint-Nazaire, on the French coast? And what does that say about the local music scene here in Tucson? The answer to that goes back to 2011—or as far as…

Police Dispatch

GOLDILOCKS WITH A BEARD WEST TUMACACORI DRIVE, GREEN VALLEY JULY 14, 12:30 A.M. A tidy and relatively respectful (but creepy) intruder played Goldilocks with the food and facilities of a trusting homeowner’s family, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. A deputy responded to a call from a home where the head of the…

Nine Questions

Since 1919, The Chicago Store has been a locally owned business in Tucson. Today Mark Levkowitz, the grandson of the original owners, keeps the business running with two locations; downtown at 130 at E. Congress St. and on the East side at 5646 E. Speedway Blvd. “It is my passion helping people fulfill their musical…

Sanchez Time

H.T. Sanchez has been on the job as Tucson Unified School District’s superintendent for a month, and as promised when he made his debut at a community forum in June before he was officially hired by the district’s governing board, he’s been doing a lot of listening. Sanchez says he wants more meetings like the…

Live

At this point, the most striking aspect of watching Freezing Hands play is that a mere six months since their first album was released, all the songs sound like standards. “Good Morning Takeout,” “Oh, Bird,” “Numbers for Sale,” et al. are already classics, however they’re performed. And on this occasion, Freezing Hands was shambolic and…

The Skinny

DREAM DEFERRED The DREAM Act kids were back in the news last week when nine undocumented people who had grown up in the United States but had been deported (or had self-deported themselves) crossed the border in Nogales. They were allowed across, but were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ended up…

Holding Holder Accountable

Wait … WTF? In a now-familiar scenario in the Great State up in The Northwest Corner of The Nation, federal agents last week swooped into a bunch of medical cannabis outlets and robbed the places blind. The agents pulled into the parking lots, leapt from their vehicles with guns drawn, and made sure no patients…

Rockin’ Shopping Center

In 2007, a consulting firm named Marketing Intelligence reached out to 477 Tucsonans via a web-based survey, to find out their thoughts on the importance of revitalizing downtown. Though only a small sample size compared to the greater population of Tucson, the participants who volunteered to take the survey were characterized as a sample of…

Ask a Mexican

Dear Mexican: I’m curious as to the meaning of the term “Viva la Raza” that I have often heard expressed by my friends and family. I know what it translates to, but I don’t know why we say it. I happen to be what some call a “half-breed,” and therein lies my dilemma. “Viva La…

Pedersen on Sports

Not all topics deserve thousands of words. Bill Simmons and his loquacious Grantland site would disagree, and do so at great length. There are plenty of great stories and items of note out there in the local, regional, national or international sports world that bear mention, but not necessarily a lot of mention. The same…

The Great Collision: Running in Circles

The Great Collision is Ryan David Green, best known as half of Tucson folk-pop duo Ryanhood. With his latest project, he fleshes out his straightforward melodies and introspective lyrics with arrangements bordering on the baroque, with layers of keyboards, vocals, and orchestral flourishes. Running in Circles is trad-rock in the vein of John Mayer and…

Carlos Arzate and the Kind Souls: Fly Away EP

Imagine you’re sitting around a desert campfire late at night listening to someone tell a Western-tinged story involving themes such as courage-manifesting, truth-seeking and hope. The narration is pleasantly raspy, grounded and inspiring. As the plot thickens, the voice builds and the arc at the final revelation carries you somewhere far beyond your cozy spot…

Pants-Off Paradise

On a Saturday night while walking around downtown, you may have noticed blowup dolls holding signs advertising the Second Annual Underwear Party hosted by Joe Pagac. Last year, more than 900 people attended the underwear party that Jared McKinley (or least his alter-ego Kitty Katt) started. McKinley brought Joe Pagac on as a partner to…

Boomtown Rat

It’s difficult to believe that in 2013 yet another biography of Wyatt Earp is needed to deconstruct the persistent myth of a violent man who, for a century, has symbolized vigilantism in the U.S. Even in the wake of fine and gritty Western movies and TV series—Tombstone (1993), Deadwood (’04-’06)—the notion persists that the Earp…

Mother Falcon: You Knew

On its second full-length album, this orchestral collective from Austin – the roster of which includes between 15 and 20 rotating members – plays a combination of baroque chamber music, indie rock and of-the-moment folk-pop. Skeptics initially might be tempted to scoff at the novelty of such a large group, but I find the group’s…

City Week

OUTDOORS New Dawn at an Old Landmark Sentinel Peak Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Sunset, Thursday, Aug. 1 1000 S. Sentinel Peak Park Road With August being Tucson’s birthday month, some residents have big plans to celebrate. Sentinel Peak, better known as “A” Mountain, has played numerous roles throughout the more than 4,000 years that the area has…

Summer Sentimentality

There are plenty of movies like The Way Way Back. Some have the same tone. Some have more or less the same story. In fact, this isn’t even the best coming-of-age indie flick of the summer (that would be Kings of Summer). So why is this film one to see? Sam Rockwell. Duncan (Liam James)…


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