Cover Story
Beyond the Border
Beyond the Border is a semester-long international and cross-cultural student reporting project developed by Dr. Celeste González de Bustamante, from the University of Arizona School of Journalism, and Prof. Yvonne Latty, from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. The project aimed to give undergraduate and graduate students hands-on journalism experience in…
Burgers and Beer: O’Hungry’s Is Open
O’Hungry’s Restaurant is open at 944 E. University Blvd. It’s the second location of a restaurant that started in San Diego’s Old Town District more than 30 years ago. The original location is one of the only places in San Diego that sells full yards of beer. Owner Stan Chu has told us numerous times…
Get Your Martian Calendar Today!
The science geek on your shopping list is gonna love this: The UA’s Lunar and Planetary Lab has assembled a dazzling 2011 calendar with luscious shots of Mars taken by the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A mere $15—and you’re supporting the space program! Details on ordering here. The HiRISE team has recently…
Kim Kardashian is Back on Twitter
In this week’s Weekly Wide Web column, I complained about the Keep a Child Alive social-media “killing” campaign, which had celebrities of various levels of importance dropping off of social media temporarily to raise money to fight AIDS. Obviously, that’s a worthy cause to raise money for, but it didn’t seem to me quite right…
What I’m Afraid of Today: A Ham-Carving Robot
I’m generally pro-technology, and I had no idea that ham-boning was such a troublesome process, but I would prefer this particular robot be built with some sort of permanent disabling switch. When the robots decide to take over, this one seems like it might be trouble.
Slate: AZ Transplant Decision “Is Doubly Wrong, Technically and Morally”
Slate’s Sally Satel looks at Arizona’s decision to cut off funding for organ transplants: The Arizona decision is doubly wrong, technically and morally. To regard transplantation as “optional” is a grievous medical error. When suitable patients receive organs, they can live meaningful and longer lives as parents, spouses, neighbors, and workers. Morally, it is troubling…
Grijalva: “Tax Breaks for Billionaires Don’t Create Jobs”
Congressman Raul Grijalva doesn’t like the deal cut on taxes by the Obama administration yesterday. The press release: Reps. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the incoming co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 112th Congress, released the following statement today in response to the recent tax cut deal negotiated at the…
Andrew Thomas Faces Ethics Charges for “Reckless” Abuse of Power
Feathered Bastard fills us on the ethics charges facing Andrew Thomas, the former Maricopa County attorney who lost his bid for AG: A “reckless, four-year campaign of corruption and power abuse.” That’s how retired Judge Charles E. Jones categorized the evidence against ex-County Attorney Andrew Thomas and his one-time hatchetwoman, former deputy County Attorney Lisa…
Tumblr Down for Most of the Day, Hipster World Crushed by Despair
This is what happens when the blogging platform of the moment goes down for more than half a day. I have to admit I was a little vexed to see Tumblr down this morning, since it’s a great home for both pop-culture blogging (the GQ Tumblr site is fun, although it’s not like you can…
AZ Legislature: Death by Budget Cut
The New York Times looks at how the Arizona Legislature has cut off funding for life-saving transplants: Even physicians with decades of experience telling patients that their lives are nearing an end are having difficulty discussing a potentially fatal condition that has arisen in Arizona: Death by budget cut. Effective at the beginning of October,…
The AAA Team Moving Here Doesn’t Want to Stay for Long
It looked for a little while like we might be able to hold on to the former Portland Beavers in the long term (as it stands, the club will definitely play here in 2011 and possibly in 2012), since their projected long-term home in Escondido, Calif., hasn’t actually been built yet. The city council there…
New Ethiopian Restaurant Opens Downtown
A new Ethiopian restaurant named Café Desta has opened at 758 S. Stone Ave, and we’ve already heard that the food here is as good—if not better—than that at Tucson’s other, highly regarded Ethiopian restaurant, Zemams Ethiopian Cuisine. Brooke and Telahoun Molla, who own Café Lalibela in Tempe, opened the restaurant about a week ago,…
TED Comes To Tucson
TED comes to Tucson tonight at the Rialto Theatre. Check out the details here. Find a treasure trove of TED talks here.
I’ll Say it for You: Six Minutes of Your Life You Can’t Get Back
I’ve said this for years: when you have the opportunity to hear the woman who played Laura Palmer on Twin Peaks and the guy who played Ray Pruitt on the original 90210 sing “Let it Be” as a digitally superimposed duet, you have to do it.
Grijalva: Censure Was Too Tough on Rangel
Congressman Raul Grijalva was one of only two Democrats in the Arizona congressional delegation to vote against censuring Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York. Rangel was facing a number of ethics charges related to his failure to pay income taxes and some fast-and-loose fundraising strategies. (You find details in The New York Times here.) Grijalva…
A Way to Kill Time and Falsely Incriminate Friends
From the person who brought you the Fakebook Quotes site, there’s now a website that helps you create fake iPhone chat conversations. While he’ll have to karmically answer for the friendships and relationships that end based on interactions via text that never happened, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make a few fake dialogues of your…
Please Send Us Your New Year’s Eve Event Information!
We’ve started putting our New Year’s Eve event guide together, and want to make sure your event is included. All information about concerts, dinners, parties and whatever else people do on New Year’s Eve should be submitted by Thursday, Dec. 16. So go ahead and put “New Year’s Eve” in the subject line, and send…
A Rio Nuevo Project That’s Actually Progressing
On Saturday, downtown’s Mission Gardens is getting a big boost in the form of some fruit trees with a little bit of history. Here’s the news release: The Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace and Tucson Councilor Regina Romero invite you to a kick-off event for the Spanish-Colonial Orchard and Vineyard grant project at the Mission Garden.…
Writer’s Block: William Killian
Local actor and author William Killian’s new book All the Faces I Have Been: An Actor’s Notebook has been published by Imago Press (146 pages, $11). In addition to being an author and actor, Killian has another identity as “The Free Throw Doc.” He works with teens around Tucson to improve their free-throwing ability in…
Queer and Present Danger: McCain’s Opposition to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c <td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'Gaypocalypse Now www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor The Daily Show on Facebook The Daily Show pwns McCain on his opposition to repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Meanwhile, Politifact determines McCain has done a “full flop” on…
Congratulations, Arizona: We’re the Worst State in America
Although the article is posted under “humor,” and the article’s just in GQ and not a more substantive publication, this still hurts a little bit. Of course it’s Arizona. The Grand Canyon State has always been famous for its giant holes, but only recently have they started standing up for themselves. And, fuck-a-doodle-doo, what a…
Tonight: ‘Rear Window’
It’s the second night of Hanukkah, which seems like as good a reason as any to see Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., at 7:30 p.m. This is a favorite. The way it opens: It’s a summer NYC heat wave and the camera pans over a neighborhood from…
‘Break the Zombie Spell’
Break the zombie spell? Oh, if only it felt possible.
Beyond the Border: Julio Bonilla, the Border-Crosser
Photographed by Samantha Sais/Beyond the BorderTranslation and Dubbing by Devlin Houser Julio Bonilla, an undocumented immigrant, now works in New York City, where he has found a new life for himself, his wife and his American-born daughter. Bonilla, 46, works at a Mexican food restaurant in a section of New York’s East Harlem that is…
Beyond the Border: Photographing the Borderlands
Photographed & Produced by Samantha Sais/Beyond the Border for Tucson Weekly Samantha Sais, UA School of Journalism student and Beyond the Border photographer, talks about her experience photographing two prominent figures in the immigration debate. First, she meets and photographs Glenn Spencer, the president of a citizen border patrol organization based out of Hereford. Spencer,…
Conference and Floricanto: Combating Hate, Censorship & Forbidden Curricula
If incoming Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal wants to take the next leg of the ethnic studies battle to the universities, then UA ethnic studies Prof. Roberto Rodriguez is preparing us with a conference that brings together academics, activists, poets and students from across the country. For more info and a conference schedule, visit…
Violence Loving Juggalos Give Something Back
I feel like Insane Clown Posse have given me so much this year, especially since they’ve moved into a number of media choices that don’t require me to actually listen to their music (other than “Miracles,” which is my jam). In what might be the most wildly profane request for donations ever, ICP promotional sidekick…
Secrets of Tucson Bartenders, Part III
This week, Kristian of Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails shows us how to make an Old Fashioned with a fig and clove infused Maker’s Mark.
Broken Promise
It’s been more than seven months since more than 600 former Pima County employees were told they’d be dropped from the county health-insurance plan that was part of their retirement benefits—but a small group of retirees think they can convince the county to reverse that decision. All they need is one vote. Mike Humphrey, who…
Van Gogh Rescue: From the Top of Your Lungs (Self-Released)
Some albums don’t immediately capture my attention, often because the band is working so hard to show off its collective chops or simply to sound fresh that the character of the final product becomes buried in ambition. Persistence pays off, though, when it comes to the relatively new Tucson band Van Gogh Rescue. The foursome…
That Christmas Classic
Ballet critic Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times is slogging across the country at this exact moment, trying to see as many Nutcrackers as possible. Alas, he has no plans to visit Tucson, but he’s already given a nod to the city’s most prominent productions. On Nov. 23, he wrote an Old Pueblo post…
The Extra Lens: Undercard (Merge)
Maybe the best moment on Undercard, the fantastic collaboration between John Darnielle (Mountain Goats) and Franklin Bruno (Nothing Painted Blue), comes halfway into the album. The song “How I Left the Ministry” balances jangly guitar arpeggios and buoyant atmospherics with Darnielle’s droll recounting of an affair. Although Darnielle wryly narrates the immediate remorse following a…
A Christmas Miracle
The Secret Santa—this year’s holiday extravaganza at the Gaslight Theatre—has a lot in common with Christmas itself: Grinches and Scrooges may find themselves in agony, but both the holiday and this production hold plenty of wide-eyed delight for the young at heart. The Secret Santa would never be labeled “the greatest story ever told.” It…
Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series Vol. 9—The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964 (Columbia)
In the first official release of Bob Dylan’s legendary publishing demos (47 songs, 15 of which have never before been released), it’s stunning to see how early the talent, the power and even Dylan’s chameleon-like instincts for transformation were in evidence. Despite the fact that they’re obviously first takes, the majority of these songs sound…
A Green Christmas
Oisín Mac Diarmada was racing by train across Ireland to Dublin one evening last week. His nation was in economic freefall, and he’d just learned via iPhone that “our prime minister just announced the dissolution of Parliament.” “Without a doubt, it will be a harder Christmas this year,” he said by phone in his heavy…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: This güero downloaded Arizona’s SB 1070, did a search on the document for “Mexicans,” and did not come up with a single hit. What’s up with that? So, since you are such an acknowledged expert at pointing out Mexican-hating here in the American Southwest (your words, not mine), I thought that I would…
Downtown’s Demise
Even though Tucson’s metropolitan region has topped a million souls, and Rio Nuevo has drenched the city with a veritable flood of redevelopment dollars, on most days, Tucson’s central business district exudes about as much vitality as a valley-fever patient. While it’s had some promising gains, downtown has also witnessed a long and embarrassing parade…
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books’ bestsellers for the week ending Nov. 26, 2010
This Week in Crazy
Welcome to another mind-blowing edition of This Week in Crazy! • Last week, a woman called and left me a message—sadly, without a name or a phone number to use to call her back—and ranted that we shouldn’t be complaining that state Sen. Al Melvin called us a leftist newspaper. (See “Al Melvin Doesn’t Want…
A Girl and a Gun
Jean-Luc Godard once famously quipped, “All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl.” Fifty years after the release of his era-defining Breathless, that is no less true, and his film—freshly restored and back in theaters—glimmers with as much audacity and novelty as it must have in 1960. Simply put, Breathless is…
Danehy
I have a few things to get off my chest: • I was speaking at a high school the other day about being a writer, and after knockin’ ’em dead with my tried-and-true routine consisting of ghetto flashbacks and writing tips that are sure to infuriate the teacher who invited me in the first place,…
Hairy Situations
Yet another animated classic comes to us courtesy of Disney with Tangled, their stunning, funny and magical take on the story of Rapunzel. This film has everything one hopes for in a great Disney movie, including captivating and memorable characters (both human and animal), incredible artistic craftsmanship and even some songs that you might be…
Messina
Minutes after arriving at his new assignment with a Navy SEAL unit in April 1983, Yeoman John W. Quinn was ordered to line up for physical training (PT) exercises. In the warm California sun, he did pushups, jumping jacks, flutter kicks and other calisthenics. While this may sound ordinary, Quinn was no ordinary sailor. Quinn…
Now Showing at Home
The Winning Season; Avatar: Three-Disc Extended Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray); The Night of the Hunter (Blu-ray)
Guest Commentary
TUSD’s ethnic-studies programs are in serious trouble. It doesn’t matter that they seem to work—that students’ attendance and test scores improve, and they do better in college. Superintendent of Public Instruction-elect John Huppenthal, whose hatred of ethnic studies was one of his campaign platforms, says it must be stopped, because it teaches Hispanic kids—let’s be…
Playing It Safe
I understand the attraction of The Cheesecake Factory. I really do. The menu is so huge that even the pickiest eater can find something to like here: The glossy, spiral-bound menu is 22 pages big, offering salads and lunch specials and pizzas and steaks and breakfasts and burgers and pastas and etc. It’s so big,…
Economic Melting Pot
NEW YORK — A stroll down Roosevelt Avenue up to 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, N.Y., is like walking into the world at large. An Indian sari shop here, a Bangladeshi market there; across the street, an Argentinean steakhouse. A table covered with glittering, iridescent Indian-style scarves and shawls sits outside of a shop on…
Mailbag
Melvin’s Anti-’Weekly’ Fit Upset at Least One Constituent I was one of the people in the coffee shop when the incident described in The Skinny between Sen. Al Melvin and the owner happened (“Al Melvin Doesn’t Want You to Read This,” The Skinny, Nov. 25). I was so glad to see this covered in your…
Noshing Around
HUB Restaurant and Creamery; Takamatsu Update; Drink Wine for Hunger; Tamale Time
Finding Sanctuary
NEW YORK — A small kettle of coffee spiced with sugar and cinnamon steeps atop a gas griddle nestled carefully in a shopping cart. Yazmín Ortega, wearing a houndstooth coat, an apron and a baseball cap, adeptly flips a corn tortilla. She fills the taco with guisado, adds a dollop of red salsa and, with…
Police Dispatch
You’ve got the wrong guy; Smoke break
Higher Level of Expression
Legendary British musician John McLaughlin is revered by many as one of the speediest, most inventive and most fluid players in jazz, fusion or world music. Though his chosen instrument may be guitar, McLaughlin’s two primary inspirational heroes were horn players: trumpeter Miles Davis and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. It’s only coincidence that McLaughlin plays…
An Undocumented Existence
NEW YORK—Julio Bonilla lives and works in East Harlem, N.Y., as a busboy and deliveryman for Pipo’s II Mexican Restaurant. Bonilla, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, has joined the thousands of Mexicans who now call East Harlem home, making the Puerto Rican-dominated neighborhood into what is now known as “Little Mexico.” In the last 20…
Weekly Wide Web
Kim Kardashian Kills the Internet; The week on The Range; Comment of the week; Best of WWW; and more!
Soundbites
The best Cover-Up ever?; Two very different shows, one great venue; Short takes; On the bandwagon
No Papers, No Future
Erika Toledo Ruiz, 19, relaxes on a comfortable couch with her little sister, Gloria. While their dad naps after his midnight shift at McDonald’s, a big flat-screen TV entertains the girls with blaring American cartoons. Gloria plays with the leftovers of a McFlurry as Erika gets ready to pick up her mom from her diner…
$10 Million Question
As our great recession unfolded, Congress and the Obama administration hammered together the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Among programs created by this sweeping legislation was one funneling some $50 billion to the states through the U.S. Department of Education. While the lion’s share of that money was mandated for education, a percentage…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week ending Nov. 28, 2010
On Patrol
HEREFORD, ARIZ.—Glenn Spencer is the president and founder of the American Border Patrol. His organization, an immigration-watchdog group, has been in operation for seven years. On the afternoon of Oct. 15, Spencer took a reporter and me on a tour of the border fence that runs along his property. This is the section that he…
The Skinny
Political activist Shaun McClusky can help pay the salary of a cop—if he pays his $18K fine from the city of Tucson … Why don’t Republicans at the Arizona Legislature just scrap health insurance for the poor? … Clean Elections is headed for its day in the Supreme Court … and more!
Top Ten in Music
Zia Records’ top sales for the week ending Nov. 28, 2010
Transportation and Art!
The ideal of government programs built to strengthen communities and help those in need may be noble, but let’s face it: Considering the recent slaughtering of budgets, who wants to rely on government alone to strengthen our communities? In fact, government is the very thing that has splintered Arizona and created a negative image that…
On Track
Concerns about negative impacts on the Fourth Avenue Street Fair caused by implementation of the modern streetcar system seem to be fading—just as this year’s winter Street Fair kicks off on Friday, Dec. 10. “We’re working on the issues (with the city of Tucson),” says John Sedwick, executive director of the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association…
Nine Questions
Mitch Bateman
City Week
TEDxTucson: Innovating Our Green Economy; Sixth Annual Tamal and Heritage Festival; Rand Carlson: Mixed Media;
Media Watch
A podcast delivers Tucson’s best sports-guest lineup
Live
A CD release is a big moment for any band. For Logan Greene and the Bricks, Saturday evening was a celebration of this important milestone, as well as a testament to Logan Greene’s gratitude for his fans, fellow musicians and music supporters. Kaia Chesney opened to an abundant early crowd with bandmate Tyler Moss, both…
T Q&A
David Flores
The Strange Story of Pinal County Deputy Louie Puroll Just Got Stranger
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has placed Deputy Louie Puroll, who made headlines after saying that he was shot by drug smugglers, on administrative leave after Phoenix New Times reporter Paul Rubin writes about an interview that included Puroll mentioning that one of his friends offered to kill Rubin, who has been expressing skepticism about…
Artistic Range: Rand Carlson at Temple Gallery
“But Wait, There’s More,” by Rand Carlson, whose tin work will be on display at the Temple Gallery at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave., through Jan. 18. Carlson will be on hand for an opening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 on Friday, Dec. 3.
Writer’s Block: Kathleen G. McKay
Local author Kathleen G. McKay’s book, Perceptions Through the Mist, contains McKay’s poetry and photographs by Barbara Ries. Locale of photos are Arizona, California, New Mexico, Ireland and Taiwan. The book may be purchased at barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com and xlibris.com. Xlibris copies are on glossy paper. Author statement: All my life, I have been fascinated by…
Kyl: Cut Taxes for Wealthy or GOP Will Block Everything
Talking Points Memo reports that Sen. Jon Kyl now wants $700 billion in tax cuts for America’s richest households or Democrats can forget about getting anything accomplished, including the New START treaty: Republicans say no Senate business until tax cuts are extended and the government is funded — presumably on terms favorable to the GOP.…
