Cover Story
Monsanto Mania
Behold the mirrored image of Monsanto Company, painted as both hero and villain depending on who’s wielding the paintbrush. Those who work for the multinational giant feel they’re the good guys, wearers of white hats—”delivering agricultural products that support farmers all around the world.”
Snag a Copy of Wight Lhite and American Monoxide’s Multimedia Split Record
As we pointed out in a past issue of TW, the lathe cut records coming from local label People in a Position to Know are pretty special. The lathe cutting process allows small bands to make limited run plexiglass records for a fraction of what vinyl production costs. This means both PIAPTK and local artists…
Anti-Marijuana Group: No Tax Revenue for Education is High Enough to Offset Dangers of Weed
Chairman of the anti-legal marijuana group Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, Seth Leibsohn, and a former state superintendent, Jaime Molera, aren’t glorifying the possible revenue legalizing weed would bring to Arizona’s education system. Earlier in the day, the Marijuana Policy Project, which leads one of a handful of initiatives seeking to legalize weed in the…
Racist Image Used in Vail District High School, Superintendent Downplays the Incident
This story, well reported by KVOA News, is disturbing on a number of levels. Let’s start with the facts. During a class lesson, Spanish teacher Kristen Maurer at Vail’s Empire High School used a picture of Obama, distorted to mimic the crassest of racist stereotypes. The picture shows Obama with gigantic lips, exaggeratedly big ears and…
Mole and Mezcal in the Spotlight for Special Reforma Cocina Dinner
If you don’t think mole deserves an entire meal dedicated to it, then you probably don’t know how varied mole can be, offering regional diversity by incorporating local ingredients and traditions. That, or you hate flavor. For everyone else, Reforma Cocina y Cantina is offering a unique dinner honoring both mole and mezcal—two of Mexico’s…
Marijuana Policy Project: Legal Weed in Arizona Could Raise More Than $40M Annually for Education
If the Marijuana Policy Project’s initiative to legalize weed in Arizona lands on the ballot and passes next year, the state’s education system could see a revenue of more than $40 million annually once the regulations are implemented, a press release from MPP says. As a sign of good faith, MPP presented the state with…
What’s the Future of Downtown’s Citizens Warehouse?
Long, long ago, the Arizona Department of Transportation bought a bunch of downtown warehouses along the railroad tracks with the intention of demolishing them—along with the El Presidio Neighborhood—for a highway that thankfully never happened. While the warehouses sat vacant, a bunch of artists started renting them out, creating an organic arts district. In more…
Gene Glass, ASU Professor Emeritus in Education from ASU: “Why I Am No Longer a Measurement Specialist”
Gene Glass, Emeritus Professor at ASU, Professor at University of Colorado Boulder and Fellow at the National Education Policy Center, wrote in a blog post Monday, Recently I asked my dean to switch my affiliation from the measurement program to the policy program. I am no longer comfortable being associated with the discipline of educational…
Trump Is Driving GOP Immigration Proposals
New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait suggests that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is forcing the party to address the issue of immigration in a way that will hurt the eventual GOP nominee’s chances in the 2016 general election: The worst-case scenario for Republicans is if Trump decides to run a third-party campaign. Even managing to get…
Tucson Blues Legend Stefan George Passes at 62
The Old Pueblo lost one of its most talented stalwart local musicians this week. Stefan George, a genre melding blues guitarist, passed just two months shy of his 63rd birthday. According to longtime friend, TW contributor and fellow musician, Jim Lipson, George’s impact on music will probably take years to really fully comprehend. “When people get…
Second Chance Job Fair Hopes to Help Convicted Criminals, Unemployed People Reintegrate into Labor Force
For those having a tough time reintegrating into the labor force—for instance, after doing jail or prison time—the city is hosting a “second chance” job fair tomorrow. Keep in mind, though, anyone who might benefit can also attend—not just people with a prior criminal conviction. The fair on Aug. 19 at the Tucson Convention Center’s…
Copying the Simpsons is the Only Reason to Buy an Avocado-Colored Refrigerator
You know the days when you’re watching the Simpsons, and you’re consumed by an overwhelming desire to redo a kitchen with corncob curtains and sky blue countertops? Well, the lady in this video gets you and has decided to make those dreams come true. What is the next renovation waiting to be inspired by a…
Dear Donald Trump, Deporting Every Single Undocumented Immigrant Might Cost U.S. Billions
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump unveiled over the weekend his genius proposal to deal with the 11 million people who live in the U.S. undocumented: deport them all! As much as I know there are many of you out there who’d give up a vital organ for this to come true (let’s have a contest…
Celebrating 95 Years of Women’s Suffrage
Election season is here and things are, well, ridiculous. But tonight, ladies, we’re going to take a night off from jamming to Donald Trump’s tweets and debating the merits of the Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigns. Tonight, we’re celebrating our say in who takes over the Oval Office. The 19th Amendment was ratified 95 years…
Tucson Is More Educated Than Phoenix, According to WalletHub Study
Alright, Tucson. It’s the moment you’ve eagerly awaited—that moment where a national study gives you the proof and validation that you knew just had to be coming. WalletHub, a consumer and finance information group, released a study recently that says Tucson is officially smarter than Phoenix. Well, maybe not smarter, exactly, but Tucson is more…
New Lips Video, Directed by Alex Italics, Gets Strange with Vintage Sci-Fi Aesthetic
The Lips-headed aliens are coming! Tucson filmmaker Alex Italics creates a vintage sci-fi look for the new music video from Lips, the latest project from once-and-soon-to-be-again Tucsonan Fen Ikner. With Ikner on drums and vocals and New Zealand-born Stephanie Brown on vocals and keyboards, Lips plays a catchy brand of synth pop. “Traces of Teddy”…
Pew: Voters Still Wants To Restrict Gun Buys—Or Do They?
Pew has released a survey that reveals voters still overwhelmingly support specific measure to make it more difficult to get a gun: Two years after the failure of Senate legislation to expand background checks on gun purchases, the public continues to overwhelmingly support making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background…
Celebrate the UA’s Latest NASA Mission with Bennuval
The UA is now just about a year away from the launch of OSIRIS-REx, the plucky space robot that will travel to the near-earth asteroid Bennu, orbit around it while taking photos and other measurements, and then swoop in to grab a sample and send it back to earth. Last week, the OSIRIS REx team…
Should Teachers With High Achieving Students Get Better Teacher Evaluations? (And What Is the National Council on Teacher Quality?)
The Star had a worthwhile idea for an education story. Two writers decided to look at how districts in the Tucson area handle teacher evaluations. The interactive map on the website and the chart in the newsprint version show that some districts are more generous than others in awarding high ratings to their teachers. Interesting. Definitely…
Salsa & Tequila Festival to Take Over La Encantada with Over 50 Participants
It’s time once again to join the Southern Arizona Arts and Culture Alliance for a full day of handmade salsas and inventive tequila cocktails. On Saturday, Aug. 22, more than 50 participants will provide food and drink to crowds at the La Encantada Shopping Center (2905 E. Skyline Dr.), competing for several different titles in…
Here’s How Trump Will Make Mexico Pay for the Border Fence
GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has finally revealed how he will make Mexico build the border wall for us. Slate’s Jordan Weissmann looks at The Donald’s plan: Number one on Trump’s to-do list? Build a border wall, and make Mexico pay for it. This is a scheme he has floated before—and Mexico’s President has said…
Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: Outer Space with Chris Impey and Beneath Ancient Lakes with Andrew Cohen
Zona Politics Eps.37 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo. This week on Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: We go into outer space with author Chris Impey and deep beneath ancient African lakes with Dr. Andrew Cohen. Impey, the deputy head of the UA Astronomy Department, stops by talk about his new book Beyond:…
Now, Here’s a Way For the Court To Go After Our Deadbeat Legislators
Fine the legislature! That’s what the Washington State Supreme Court is doing, issuing a $100,000 fine for every day the legislature ignores a court order on school funding. The decision was unanimous. Thursday’s order, signed by all nine justices of the high court, ordered that the fine start immediately, and be put into a dedicated…
Tucson Sun Tran Strikers: Day 9 in Images
I’ve been hanging out with the Sun Tran strikers at the Ronstadt Transit Center, listening to the reasons they’re so passionate about this protest. I met Kirk, who’s been a bus driver for six years, and he told me about the time he was stabbed twice in the chest while on the job. Across the street,…
UPDATED: TEP Says Farewell to Coal at Largest Local Power Plant to Primarily Rely on Natural Gas
Tucson Electric Power announced Thursday it had ended the use of coal at its largest local power plant. The utility company will now primarily rely on natural gas, a press release says. Per requests from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, TEP had until December 2017 to make the move, so they’re proud to be two…
Union Public House and Pueblo Vida Brewing Join Forces for Dinner
Whether it’s chef team-ups, kitchen takeovers or maker mash-ups, there’s nothing better than when two local joints collaborate on a special meal to offer tastes of what both do best, and Union Public House (4340 N. Campbell Ave.) and Pueblo Vida Brewing aim to do just that on Monday, August 17. While Union will take…
I know I Should Be More Concerned About This, But . . .
Ed Supe Diane Douglas is making headlines again in her continuing power struggle with the Arizona Board of Education. The Board represents the Ducey education agenda, and Douglas wants—it’s hard to know exactly what Douglas wants. Based on her tenure on the Peoria school board and her pronouncements during the campaign, it seems like she wants Arizona…
Tucson Crowd Protests John McCain’s Oak Flat Mess, Sponsorship of Border Security Bill
About 30 people gathered outside the Tucson Electric Power headquarters this morning to protest U.S. Sen. John McCain’s role in the Oak Flat giveaway to foreign mining company Resolution Copper. Some of the protesters also wanted to raise awareness on a bill McCain sponsors—SB 750—which would waive laws on all federal public land within 100…
Trumping America
The Trump Show that has replaced the GOP presidential primary shows no sign of abating, no matter what The Donald says or does. It’s reached the point that Slate’s Josh Voorhees has told the pundits to stop writing Trump’s obituary. Danny Vinik over at BRINK digs into the “Trumpification of America”: In Trumpville everything is…
Living with Oneself
Epstein says his one man show is actually about his life not as a scholar, but his growing up in a small town, the importance of playing sports for his family, his musings about how the world has changed and what we may have lost as a result. The title is a take on what…
Broadway Limbo
Over the last five years, Rick McGarrey has spent $600,000 fixing up his Broadway Boulevard property. He could have spent another quarter of a million dollars on his energy-efficient office spaces, but when he heard about the latest proposal for the Broadway widening project, he canceled all future renovations.
Get Wild
Tucsonans don’t need a big spark to light their fire for civic activity, but the Wild and Scenic Film Festival hopes to do just that by unfurling short nature documentaries to ignite your passion for eco-activism.
Police Dispatch
A recently divorced man came home to find that his ex had covered his kitchen in garbage—after brazenly writing him not just a warning but ostensibly a justification for this trash-and-dash transgression.
Intent on Ambiguity: Circuit des Yeux
“I just like the way it feels, the resonance,” said Haley Fohr, 26, in the perfectly unremarkable voice of a generic millennial. “You can feel your body vibrate when you’re singing through your headphones.”
Police Dispatch
A young, underage civilian tried to make a deputy provide multiple forms of ID even as he was being arrested for having a fake ID (and was quite plastered, having just reportedly requested fellatio from a bartender).
Intelligent Design: Rocky Votolato
Hospital Handshakes became the light at the end of a few tumultuous and dark years for Rocky Votolato.
The Science of Violence and Compassion
Is there any way to explain the unspeakable violence that struck Newtown, Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012, when 20 children and six adult staff members were murdered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School?
B-Sides: Ryan Chavira
Although local musician Ryan Chavira is known for getting his pop punk kicks as a member of Tucson’s fabulously coordinated quartet Prom Body, he’s also drawing attention with his ambient/noise solo project.
Letter to the Editor
Now is certainly time for all compassionate Arizonians to step up to the plate and lobby local and state lawmakers to pass Death with Dignity legislation.
Ask a Mexican!
Why are wages so low in Mexico? Why is Mexico such a violent country? 3. Why is Mexico so corrupt? 4. Why have the drug cartels taken over large swaths of Mexico? 5. Why can’t one drink the water in most towns in Mexico? 6. Why are there so few public libraries in Mexico?
Danehy
The history of Latin America after World War II basically consists of the United States having propped up an endless series of tinhorn fascist dictators (Somoza, Pinochet, Noriega, and on and on).
Pleasure Activist
Part 2 of Jessy Schmidt’s Anal August interview with Ally Booker.
Media Watch
Being cutting edge about the cutting edge nature of social media got KVOA reporter Marisa Mendelson cut out of her job at the local NBC affiliate.
Editor’s Note
Crazyland has to change and Tucson needs to be a city that isn’t just a nice affordable place to live because it notoriously pays its workers low wages. Perhaps a good union strike is actually what this city needs right now.
Dust Devil
You see them growing through the cracks on every corner. Invading our public spaces, they survive in spite of us, filling parks and streets
Nook: Waiting Game
While upscale spots tend to tout a few culinary buzzwords on their morning menus to jack up the price, simple, straightforward breakfast offerings are absolutely nothing to sneer at. Downtown’s more recent breakfast, brunch and lunch spot, Nook, seems to have found the middle ground between greasy diner and fancy brunch.
Queen Me
Chess is a game of wits, strategy and a favorite of the Wu Tang Clan. The game is far more than just something intellectuals do at the park, there are championships and, of course, champions.
Arts, Crafts and Glass
Just because the summer is coming to an end and our lives kick back in overdrive, it doesn’t mean we should let our creative energies fall to the wayside.
Cowboys and Gunslingers Say Thanks
There is plenty of room in this town for both of us, partner, but all good things come to an end.
WomanKraft Rummage Sale
To raise money for improvements to the center, they will host a rummage sale on Friday, Aug. 14 and Saturday, Aug. 15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bargains on art supplies, kitchenware, gifts, books and just about everything else you can think of will be on sale.
It’s your birthday, Presidio
The Presidio of Tucson is dated back 4,000 years, but is officially said to have originated Aug. 20, 1775. That makes this year Tucson’s 240th birthday.
Home to Roost
When Abigail Felber was growing up outside Nashville, Tennessee, her older sister joined the Junior Cotillion. “They learned etiquette rules, how to talk on the phone, which fork to use,” says Felber, a 26-year-old artist and new MFA grad from the UA. “They had a dance. They had to show they could do the waltz…
