Cover Story
Local Heroes 2012
Susan Canty The Amphi Clothing Bank helps hundreds of families each semester It’s midmorning on a Tuesday at the Amphi Clothing Bank, but the activity level is just this side of Black Friday. Young mothers are walking between the racks of meticulously arranged and clearly labeled clothing, picking out a coat here and a pair…
Jesse Kelly Finally Wins Something!
Jesse Kelly, the failed Republican candidate who pretended to care about Southern Arizona and then got out of here as fast as he could after losing two races for Congress, wasn’t just an arrogant jerk when it came to dealing with the local media. He was also pretty bad with the national guys, if this…
The ‘Out in the Desert’ Film Festival Launch Party is Jan. 4
The launch party for the LGBT film festival, Out in the Desert, is Friday, Jan. 4 at the Fluxx Studio and Gallery, 414 E. 9th St., 7 p.m. Festival tickets and passes will be available at the party. An artist reception for the festival is Friday, Jan. 11, 7 p.m., and it officially opens Wednesday,…
The National Gun Death Rate is Two-Thirds That of Arizona’s
Last week, Slate published this short news item, looking at how firearm deaths have begun to outpace motor vehicle deaths in ten states, including Arizona. Using data from 2009, Washington, D.C.’s Violence Policy Center released a report in May that shows Arizona had 856 gun-related deaths to 809 vehicle-related deaths that year. This led me…
More Police in Schools Often Means More Students in the Juvenile Justice System
Barely two weeks since the shooting in Connecticut, and without surprise, we’re no longer any closer to resolving our differences on assault weapons and why the NRA exists in its current incarnation. But according to the Justice Policy Institute, any strategy to avoid future tragedies of this magnitude, going the route of putting cops or…
So Many Heroes, So Little Time
Before our annual Heroes issue goes the way of time, and our Year in Review hits stands this week, I was thinking about heroes I didn’t get a chance to write about. Once a year we think about a group or person we want to include in the issue, and it made sense to focus…
The Café Poca Cosa Patio is Now Open
I have received word that Cafe Poca Cosa’s patio, which we reported on here, is open ahead of schedule. Seems it all came together quickly, and there’s even a space heater in place for your comfort. Check it out for lunch or dinner at 110 E. Pennigton St.; you can call ahead at 622-6400.
Joe Schmo Returns, Giving You Exactly One Reason to Watch Spike
The Not So Real Reality Show – Joe Schmo Is ComingGet More: The Not So Real Reality Show – Joe Schmo Is Coming Although the show has seemingly been wiped off the pop culture map (there are very few clips on YouTube and episodes aren’t available on any of the streaming services to my knowledge),…
Celebrate Christmas ‘Round Our Yule Log
Feel the warmth! Feel the coziness! Merry Christmas, Weekly Rangers—even if you don’t happen to celebrate this particular holiday, we hope that you’ll spend some quality time with your friends, family and loved ones. Feel free to grab some coffee or hot chocolate, gather ’round our yule log GIF and chat in the comments with…
Mexicans Account for More Than 5 Percent of Pima’s Tax Revenue and Officials Want More
This is traditionally the time of year when news outlets, facing slow news days (aside from the occasional terrifying mass shooting, of course), throw together trend stories about holiday shopping. The Los Angeles Times isn’t immune to this trend—though they went the extra 480-some-odd miles for this one, venturing to check out the consumer relationship…
Check Out Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ in Bossa Nova Style
I’ve heard that the band performing this version of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” was performing at a wedding, which (were it true) would make this video 100% better, particularly if it were done without the wedding party’s knowledge. In any case, this is a pretty quality version of the Metallica standard, and it makes me long…
Louisana Woman Wins Right In Court To Tell Her Neighbors To F—k Off Via Christmas Display
A woman in Louisiana, with assistance from the ACLU, has won the right to keep her Christmas display up: A string of multicolored lights arranged to look like a hand giving her neighbors the finger. From the Associated Press, via SFGate.com: Sarah Childs was in a dispute with some of her neighbors in Denham Springs,…
If Things Are Slow Here Today, It’s Not Because We’re Sloshed On Eggnog
Maybe on a holiday rum punch, but certainly not ‘nog. As alluded to in the headline, we’re going to be taking it easy today and tomorrow, enjoying time with our family and friends. We’ll be back, full-force on Wednesday.
David Gregory At Least Tried With the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre
Guess what? Wayne LaPierre made his first public appearance since Friday’s total debacle of a press conference and yeah, he’s not going to give an inch on any sort of gun control or restrictions. Meet the Press’ David Gregory actually seemed irritated by LaPierre’s stubbornness, getting into it with the NRA head over regulating high-capacity…
Shots Fired in the Tucson Mall Parking Lot, Apparently
Heard gunshots while I was outside the tucson mall… You serious?— John Chang (@2_Changz_) December 22, 2012 No details yet, but word is that gunshots were heard in the Tucson Mall parking lot tonight. It appears initially that no one was hurt. The stretch of Oracle from Grant up to the mall hasn’t been terribly…
Political Roundtable: 2012 In Review
This week on Arizona Public Media’s Political Roundtable: Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik, Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphries, Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers and GOP strategist Sam Stone looked back on the big federal and state stories of 2012, including Gabby Giffords’ resignation, the two races Ron Barber won to take over…
The TUSD Vortex: A School-Closure Bloodletting
Walking into Catalina Magnet High School last night, one thing was obvious at the special meeting to decide the fate of 14 Tucson Unified School District schools — and no, it wasn’t a change of heart. Noticeable was the smaller number of parents, teachers, community activists and children present at all past special meetings and…
Heavenly Sights: The Best Space Photos of the Year
Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona Slate’s Phil Plait rounds up 21 stunning photos of the universe from 2012. The UA’s space team has a connection to several of them, including the above image taken atop Mount Lemmon: For sheer beauty, there is little in the sky to match a magnificent open-armed spiral galaxy. This…
The End-Times Playlist: The World Ends Today, So Let’s Set the Mood
The world probably isn’t ending today (though there are still a few hours left, so let’s not count our chickens quite yet), but just in case, let’s listen to some apocalyptic music anyway. Let’s just get the obvious one out of the way at the beginning: But who’s better to take us into the apocalypse…
Getting the Lead Out: Center for Biological Diversity Takes On the NRA
The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity challenges the NRA in a full-page ad in The New York Times that ran today today to bring attention to its campaign to ban lead in bullets.
The NRA Wants to Arm Every School. How Do They Propose We Pay For That?
The National Rifle Association held their press conference in response to last week’s shooting at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary school today, where NRA vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre voiced his organization’s desire to put guns in every school in the country. Really. I won’t touch on about his complaints about movies and video games…
Blink 182’s Tom DeLonge Talks Aliens
Why yes, that is Tom DeLonge, of Blink 182 and Angels & Airwaves fame, talking about UFOs. No, I don’t understand it. This video is from Spacing Out, a space-focused web series that has roots in Tempe, and is part of the OpenMinds.tv video collective (whose website appears to be down as of this writing,…
Political Roundtable Tonight: End of the World Edition
Provided the world is still around this evening, be sure to tune into Arizona Public Media’s Political Roundtable. The usual gang of suspects—Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers, Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphries, Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik and political strategist Sam Stone—run through the big federal and state stories of 2012 and…
Sullivan: GOP “Is Unfit for Government”
As the fiscal cliff nears, Andrew Sullivan unloads on the modern GOP: Between the humiliating and chaotic collapse of Speaker Boehner’s already ludicrously extreme Plan B and Wayne La Pierre’s deranged proposal to put government agents in schools with guns, the Republican slide into total epistemic closure and political marginalization has now become a free-fall.…
Why Yes Malcolm Mooney, We Are Waiting For The Streetcar
I finally got around to listening to the AMAZING Can compilation that came out earlier this year, and a particular song struck me as particularly relevant to Tucson. Listen for yourself, and listen to it LOUD.
Does Jaguar Photo Doom Rosemont Mine?
Automatic wildlife cameras snapped this photo of a male jaguar on a nightly walk in the Santa Rita Mountains on Oct 25. That photo of a jaguar released yesterday creates trouble for Rosemont Copper, which is pushing to build a massive open-pit mine in the Santa Rita Mountains, where the big cat was sighted. Under…
Christmas and Christmas Eve Dining: Part Deux
Yesterday, he had a list of various options for noshing on Christmas Eve. Here are some places going all out to serve you after the presents are all opened and the wrapping paper is piled high. Also, I know most of the various resorts are providing some food service so giving them a call is…
U.S. Rep. Ron Barber on Fiscal-Cliff Follies: “My Constituents Are Fed Up With This Nonsense and So Am I”
Congressman Ron Barber fired off a press release blasting House leaders for leaving Washington yesterday without resolving the fiscal-cliff showdown following the spectacular failure of House Speaker John Boehner’s “Plan B”: U.S. Rep. Ron Barber today criticized leaders of the House of Representatives for leaving the Capitol for the holidays without addressing the impending fiscal…
This Week in Tucson Bicycling
Ever wanted to go camping by bike? Don’t have enough time for a bike tour? My daughter and I leave today for our first S24O. Find out what that is and why it takes very little time. In an effort to reduce their environmental impact, Saguaro National Park has eliminated their vending machines and installed…
Jaguar Spotted in Santa Rita Mountains
Automatic wildlife cameras snapped this photo of a male jaguar on a nightly walk in the Santa Rita Mountains on Oct 25. The UA Communications bureau reports that an adult male jaguar has been spotted in the Santa Rita Mountains by robot cameras: An adult male jaguar and an adult male ocelot have been photographed…
The Insane Clown Posse Apparently Reviews Movie Trailers Now
Apparently, some geniuses at FUSE TV decided it would be a great idea to have Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J, the MCs of Insane Clown Posse, go Mystery Science Theater 3000 on, well, anything put in front of them. Astoundingly, it isn’t the worst thing I’ve watched on YouTube (that “honor” goes to the…
Tom Goes to the Chair: A Celebration of ‘Sherlock’
I just got horrible news. I’ve learned that I will have to wait until the end of 2013 to find out how Sherlock Holmes (SPOILERS!) survived the leap from that tall building at the end of the last season. And, to be sure, I’m talking about the magnificent BBC series, Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch in…
The Funniest Line From a Story About Justin Bieber and a Hamster
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock Not the hamster in question From TMZ and presented without context for hilarity’s sake: The moment that hamster was handed off to a screaming girl in a harsh, frenzied environment was likely the moment it gazed at the short path to its doom.
Let’s Laugh at Bad Workout Advice Via the Guys at BroScience
BroScienceLife is a YouTube channel that’s apparently being brought to the world by Mike & Gian Comedy, who I have never heard of before but will start following now because this is 100% MAGIC.
Study Suggests Human Hands Were Made to Fight
According to a study out of the University of Utah and published by the Journal of Experimental Biology, human hands evolved over time to be just as useful in conflict as they are in use of tools. In other words, they were made equally well to build and destroy. From The Telegraph: “The role aggression…
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dining
Do you have guests in town and need to entertain? Maybe you just aren’t the cooking type. Either way, you are in luck! There are a few places willing to stay open and help you out. Here is a list of a few restaurants open Christmas Eve. If you know of others feel free to…
Cosmic Census
When UA professor Brant Robertson was an MIT Hubble fellow a few years ago, he was part of a team that came up with a plan to direct the Hubble Space Telescope to peer into a portion of space known as the Ultra Deep Field. Earlier this year, Robertson and his crew got a chance…
Anniversary in the Air
Nathan Dryden, one of the best aerial dancers Tucson has ever produced, returns to town this weekend to fly through the air in ZUZI’s 15th Anniversary Solstice Gala Performance. He’ll dance an aerial solo, “The Birds in Dreams Are Souls,” which he choreographed in 2007. Dryden will also do a dance on the ground, “Pros…
What Now, Obama?
As the presidential election was unfolding, and it started to look like an Obama victory, cannabis advocates across the nation started wondering what the Choomer in Chief would do about the drug. It was looking like voters would make it legal for recreational use in Colorado and Washington and maybe Oregon, too. President Obama had…
Confusion Contusion
You know that saying that’s meant to question our perceptions of reality, “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” That’s kind of how it felt after a Tucson Unified School District governing board meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 11. On the agenda was…
A Shepherds’ Tale
A common image of the writer is that of a lonely figure who scribbles an original work of art in solitary genius. But when it comes to theater, this could not be further from the truth: The making of plays is all about community and collaboration. Nothing illustrates this more vividly than Borderlands’ annual A…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Many of my friends think I’m loco for playing with my dad the way I do. See, mi padre is now retired and living in Mexico, and is very worried that I am now 30 and not married yet, so he wants me to go back to where he lives to try and…
Celebrating Small Towns
Esperanza women raise goats for goat cheese, beets for borscht, chickens for green eggs, and red and green chiles for enchiladas and burritos. They ride horses and are supported by fields of chiles and alfalfa. They throw regular craft parties where they and their girlfriends quilt, crochet and knit things to raise funds for a…
Weekly Wide Web
Last Friday, we learned that 26 people were murdered at the hands of a madman at a Connecticut elementary school. Twenty of them were children; most were as young as 6 years old. By the time you read this, the news cycle will have already rolled along—politicians and talking heads will be discussing the potential…
Top Ten in Books
1. Flight Behavior: A Novel Barbara Kingsolver, HarperCollins ($28.99) 2. Life of Pi Yann Martel, Mariner ($15.95) 3. Mousetrontaut Mark Kelly, Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman ($16.99) 4. The Fault in Our Stars John Green, Dutton ($17.99) 5. The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien, Ballantine ($8.99) 6. The Third Wheel: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book…
Police Dispatch
Whispering sweet nothings to a Foothills resort … sometimes, a brick is just a brick … a female feels fightingly feisty on a field trip
Jazz Through the Lens of a Master
View The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith, 1957-1965 at Univeristy of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography now through March 2013.
Sort-of Sequel, Stellar Cast
Nepotism pays off in a big way as Leslie Mann stars in husband Judd Apatow’s hilarious This Is 40, reprising her role of Debbie from Apatow’s Knocked Up. Also returning are Paul Rudd as Debbie’s husband, Pete; Maude and Iris Apatow (Mann and Apatow’s kids) as Pete and Debbie’s daughters; and Jason Segel as, well,…
Media Watch
A few years ago, I was sitting across from liberal talk show host Ed Schultz at a local restaurant. It was part of a station promotion for KJLL AM 1330. During our conversation, Schultz lamented the difficulty of getting liberal talk on good radio signals. The gist of his argument is a familiar liberal-talk spiel.…
Dark Tales
The unmistakable snap of the latex gloves could mean only one thing. Discovered riding home on her bike well after she should have arrived home, Barbara (Nina Hoss) must be hiding something. That’s what the men in the blue Mercedes think. So they take her inside, toss her house looking for whatever, and commence the…
City Week
A tour of Evergreen Cemetery … watch Santa go up on the housetop (click click click) … Tucson Jazz Institute’s Winter Concert … Celebrate the Earth’s new birthday!
Top Ten in Cinema
1. Ted Universal 2. The Bourne Legacy Universal 3. The Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros. 4. Men in Black 3 Sony 5. Lawless Starz/Anchor Bay 6. Ice Age: Continental Drift 20th Century Fox 7. Beasts of the Southern Wild Fox Searchlight 8. Hope Springs Sony 9. The Odd Life of Timothy Green Disney 10. ParaNorman…
Top Ten in Music
1. Ted (DVD) Universal 2. The Game Jesus Piece (Geffen) 3. The Dark Knight Rises (DVD) Warner Bros. 4. Bruno Mars Unorthodox Jukebox (Atlantic) 5. Led Zeppelin Celebration Day (Atlantic) 6. The Bourne Legacy (DVD) Universal 7. Green Day Tre (Reprise) 8. Mumford and Sons Babel (Glass Note) 9. Metallica (DVD) Quebec Magnetic (Blackened) 10.…
Now Showing at Home
Spike Lee’s return to Brooklyn … Men In Black 3 long wait produced a great film (and great Blu-ray) … The Bourn Legacy release is average, film and features alike
T Q&A
Sitting on the floor of the studio at Movement Shala, 435 E. Ninth St., Alok Appadurai describes how he and his life partner, Jade Beall, started Fed by Threads, a store that sells sustainable, made-in-the-U.S.A. clothing, with sales helping to support emergency meals for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and a nationwide hunger-relief…
#SoHoStillNeedsAFilter
It seems like my Twitter feed goes through phases where, for weeks at a time, it’s constantly bombarded with Instagram pictures of food, shot with smartphones and appropriate photography-ruining filters applied. Generally it’s a mix of pictures of homemade dishes and shots from appropriately hipster-chic locally owned restaurants around town, boasting über-local ingredients, delicate preparations…
Editor’s Note
My first experience at a “real” newspaper came in 1996, when I spent the summer between my junior and senior years of college as an intern at my hometown alternative newsweekly, the Reno News & Review. The News & Review back then was only a couple of years old—it was so new, in fact, that…
The Skinny
Fighting over guns in the wake of Newtown … Rest (Big) Easy: Karin Uhlich isn’t opening a restaurant in New Orleans
Noshing Around
UrbanFresh opens its doors for lunch and learning … Fro-yo opens next to Magpie’s on Fourth Ave.—eventually … a Deli/Grocery to come on Fourth Ave. … Delectables is offering breakfast
Danehy
A couple of weekends ago, my basketball team was down in Cochise County for a tournament. Between games, I took the team to Bisbee to walk around and see the sights. Plastered on a wall were posters announcing the End of the World Party featuring Buzz and the Soul Senders that will be held at…
A.R. Kane: Complete Singles Collection (One Little Indian)
This great, now-overlooked shoegaze duo from the late 1980s and early ’90s released only three proper studio albums, but lots of EPs and 12-inch singles fill out their impressive body of work, the depth and breadth of which is demonstrated in this two-disc, 33-track package. Alex Ayuli and Rudi Tambala comprised A.R. Kane, and their…
Making the Band
With recordings by his project the Resonars, Matt Rendon has established a reputation for uncannily re-creating the vintage sound of 1960s-era psychedelic pop and garage rock. Even more amazing, he has played every instrumental part and sung every vocal part on each of the Resonars’ six albums, including the forthcoming Crummy Desert Sound. Rendon also…
Serraglio
Winter holidays do weird things to my brain. I veer wildly between tearfully hugging Christmas trees and wishing that Santa would take a year off and drive the malls into bankruptcy. I know I’m not the only person who experiences ambivalence during this time of mandatory joy. After all, there’s no real timeout anymore, no…
The Nutcracking Continues
Four weeks into Nutcracker season, Tucson still has two productions to go. And they’re scheduled all weekend long, so true fans of the Christmas ballet—fondly known at Nutters—can go to both. Ballet Tucson is dancing five shows at Centennial Hall Friday night through late Sunday afternoon. Dancing in the Streets Arizona is over at the…
Soundbites
December means it’s Benefits Season in Tucson … Thanks to those who propped up the Great Cover-Up … and more!
Guest Commentary
On the day after Election Day, Bob Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, the coal-mining company that owned the mine in Utah in which six miners and three rescuers were killed in a collapse in 2007, laid off 163 workers. The reason? President Obama’s “War on Coal.” This year, domestic coal production is expected to be…
Big Boi: Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors (Def Jam)
Even without the large and eclectic stable of special guests, Big Boi’s second solo album would sound like a musical collage, an ever-shifting hybrid of hip-hop, dance and rock styles. Helming this colorful journey, Big Boi sounds confident and creatively energized as both rapper and mad genius. Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors is bookended by…
Nine Questions
Kade Mislinski moved to Tucson when he was 6, and he graduated from the UA in 1997. He was once a member of the local jazz-funk band Interlocking Grip and DJ’d at mostly now-defunct clubs around town, including the Airport Lounge, the Velvet Tea Garden, Heart-Five and Club Congress. These days, he’s the co-owner, with…
Donation Denied
It’s another hungry morning at the Casa Maria Free Kitchen on East 26th Street, where Brian Flagg watches groups of men lumbering along the sidewalk. Some clutch brown bags; others have already torn the bags open, gnawing quietly on bologna and cheese sandwiches. This Catholic-affiliated kitchen, managed for years by Flagg, is hardly an opulent…
Ke$ha: Warrior (RCA)
Ke$ha is about pleasure, often consequence-free, certainly debauched. While Lady Gaga annoys with her didactic streak, condescending to tell us all how to feel about myriad social issues, Ke$ha is refreshingly devoid of social context. We suffered through three decades of Madonna so that we could have someone like Ke$ha—a raging id who gender-fucks without…
Live
RIALTO THEATRE Saturday, Dec. 15 At the end of it all, it’s impossible to know where to begin, even when covering just a single night of The Great Cover-Up. And that’s part of the thrill. My “holy shit this is awesome” meter spiked repeatedly throughout the night, from the early Wolf Larsen set of gorgeously…
George Takei Does a Reading of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ Somehow Makes Book Seem Less Ridiculous
If there are better ways to spend a minute and a half on YouTube than listening to George Takei reading smutty literature, I’d like to hear them. But until then, I’ll keep alternating between this and Gilbert Gottfried’s enlightening narration of E.L. James’s ode to rough sex.
In the Wake of Sandy Hook, Americans Have Lost Their Damn Minds
Gawker posted a couple of strange stories today within two hours of each other, both tangentially related to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary last Friday. The first was a shootout over a misunderstanding while two people talked about the killings in Newtown, Conn.: According to the Associated Press, a patron at the All…
More Fun Than FarmVille
Mr. Smith is now available to the masses via your friend and mine – Facebook. So look for me there, where I will link to stories about studies about medical marijuana and ridiculous outpourings of inane imbeciles. It’s more fun than FarmVille and more interesting than that guy you don’t really remember from high school.…
