Cover Story
A Pedicone Education
More than two years ago, the Tucson Weekly interviewed Elizabeth Celania-Fagen as she started her new position as the superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District. At the time, outgoing superintendent Roger Pfeuffer was being lambasted by critics for what they called a bloated administrative budget, a severe lack of transparency and mistrust. Toward the…
Another Man Is Dead After Trying to Defend Our ‘Safe’ Borderlands
Word has come from the Peck Canyon Corridor of another deadly shooting in Arizona’s borderlands. This latest episode took the life of Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry. Details are sketchy as of now, but it appears Terry came upon a group of presumed smugglers at Peck Wells, which is part of Peck Canyon, when…
Robb: Balance Budget Before Cutting Taxes
In last week’s Skinny column, I make the modest suggestion that state lawmakers spend less time trying to reduce future revenues via tax cuts, seeing as there are giant deficits in Arizona’s budget future. Bob Robb of the Arizona Republic makes a similar point: Now, despite all the perpetual hand-wringing, there’s nothing fundamentally flawed about…
Get Your Christmas Sing-Along On-Along
Those good folks at the All Together Theatre, who do amazing family and children’s theater productions at Live Theatre Workshop (5317 E. Speedway Blvd.), have a family show you don’t want to miss. A Christmas Sing-A-Long features Richard and Amanda Gremel and is directed by Michael Martinez (all fantastic LTW performers and youth-theater instructors) with…
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
The Tucson chapter of SWOP (Sex Workers Outreach Project) will recognize the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers on Friday, Dec. 17, at the El Tiradito Shrine, 420 S. Main Ave., at 5:30 p.m.. From SWOP: This event was created to call attention to hate crimes committed against sex workers all over the…
That Guy Jesse Eisenberg Played in that Movie is Time’s Person of the Year
Beating out the Tea Party, Julian Assange, Hamid Karzai and the Chilean miners, Mark Zuckerberg is Time’s Person of the Year. It’s a little difficult to disagree with Time—after all, it’s a far better choice than 2006’s “You” or the year they picked a Planet of the Year (guess who won? Earth!)—but parts of the…
Border Patrol Agent Killed in Peck Canyon; Arrests Made
A U.S. Border Patrol agent was shot and killed last night in Peck Canyon—the very area Leo W. Banks chronicled in his story three weeks ago, “Smugglers’ Paradise.” Four people have been arrested, and a manhunt is on for a fifth suspect, according to the Nogales International (which, like the Tucson Weekly, is owned by…
New Thai and Chinese Food Downtown
A restaurant called Rice House is the newest addition to the downtown dining scene, where nary a week passes without news of another restaurant opening. Rice House serves standard Thai and Chinese food at 54 W. Congress St. It is owned by longtime Tucson restaurateur Jun Ting Lei. We haven’t been down to check it…
One of Life’s Toughest Choices: Video Game Consoles
Photograph courtesy of Microsoft A lot has changed since the introduction of Xbox 360 in 2005 kick-started the “next” generation of home consoles. Microsoft and Sony came out swinging with two powerhouse machines capable of full high-definition graphics, extended online and media capabilities—with a price tag to match. Nintendo turned its back on traditional consoles…
CD8: Campaign 2012 Is Underway
Well, that wasn’t much of a break from negative campaign ads. Politico reports that Crossroads GPS is already targeting Democrat Gabrielle Giffords: Crossroads GPS—the conservative group that carpet-bombed Democrats with a wave of attack ads during the 2010 midterm election—is about to launch its first offensive of the 2012 election cycle. The organization is rolling…
Glassman’s New Ambition
When political pollster Stuart Rothenberg handed out his “End of the Year Awards,” he named Tucson’s own Rodney Glassman as a nominee in the “I’m Betting You Haven’t Seen the Last of Them” category alongside the likes of Delaware GOP Senate nominee Christine “I’m Not a Witch” McDonnell. That’s a safe bet. Glassman, who gave…
Spencer Gifts Must Be Different Now Than I Remember It
I’m not in the mall often, but when I walk past Spencer Gifts these days, I’m usually just amazed by how much Twilight stuff they can jam into a window—but apparently there’s a darker side to the store that I just wasn’t aware of, if a location in Illinois is any indication: About $22,000 in…
Phil Collins Made Palatable by Seashell Radio
I was a little stunned by how much I enjoyed Seashell Radio’s take on the Phil Collins catalog at the Great Cover-Up on Saturday night. Not because of Seashell Radio, who get better every time I see them, but because I really dislike Phil Collins. Thankfully, they did a great job of picking tracks from…
Catch Up on the Year in Movies Via a Six-Minute YouTube Video
Today’s announcement of the Golden Globe nominees reminds me how far behind I am on seeing movies this year. After all, I’m still trying to get around to seeing The Social Network, much to my own personal disappointment, and I’m not entirely sure if The King’s Speech has even screened in town yet. Not that…
Congratulations, Kon Tiki: You’re Ahead of the Curve
A blog at the food website Epicurious has speculated on what food trends will be big in 2011—and fortunately for Scorpion-selling stalwart Kon Tiki, tiki-bar cocktails made the list: What’s old is new again, not just in fashion but also in cocktails. Polynesian-style drinks, those multi-ingredient fruit juice and rum concoctions adorned with flowers and…
Espionage Act: How the Government Can Engage in Serious Aggression Against the People of the United States
With all the back and forth regarding Wikileaks and Julian Assange’s London arrest, Naomi Wolf gets to the heart of the issue with a Huffington Post piece that you can read here. This is far from a feverish projection: if you study the history of closing societies, as I have, you see that every closing…
Beads of Courage on CBS
We interviewed Tucsonan Jean Baruch, founder of Beads of Courage, in January 2009. Baruch’s work to help kids with serious illnesses was featured recently on the CBS morning show. The piece even includes Tucson glass artist and Beads of Courage supporter Margaret Zinser working at the torch.
Cover-Up Sensation: Calexico Does Flaming Lips
Thank you, Cover-Up. Saturday’s finale was particularly fantastic on the floor of the Rialto Theatre, especially the view of Calexico’s Joey Burns channeling Flaming Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne—wig, suit and all. But this backstage video view is great, too. Check out the Powhaus action onstage and, of course, John Convertino drumming his heart out.
Picture This: Musical Statues on Fourth Avenue
JOSH MORGAN Street performers ‘blah’ through Christmas songs for donations. Musical “statues” perform at the Fourth Avenue Winter Street Fair Saturday, Dec. 11. The fair will go on until tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. JOSH MORGAN Golden female “statues” take over for the afternoon shift.
‘Stop Prison Privatization in Arizona’
The American Friends Service Committee, which recently held several public hearings to address private prisons in Arizona, are having a group meeting for anyone interested in the organization’s work to stop prison privatization in our state. The meeting is tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the AFSC office, 103 N. Park Ave., Suite…
Miller Elected GOP County Chair
Brian Miller, an Air Force reserve A-10 pilot, was elected chairman of the Pima County Republican Party earlier today. Miller, who made his political debut with an unsuccessful campaign for the GOP nomination in Congressional District 8, hails from the Ron Paul wing of the party—in general, he’s a get-the-government-out-of-our-lives kind of guy who opposes…
Friday Roundtable: Mayor Bob Walkup
Mayor Bob Walkup stops by for the penultimate Friday Roundtable to discuss Rio Nuevo, downtown hotel possibilities and more.
Benefit for Boondocks Bouncer Gavin Franklin’s Family
Here’s an announcement from Boondocks Lounge: The world has lost a wonderful man. Gavin Franklin, our Boondocks Lounge bouncer, passed away last week. Of course, he was much more than just a bouncer, he was a beloved son, husband, father of three beautiful children, and our dear friend. He will be missed a great deal!…
Got Holiday Shopping to Do? Support Local Authors
Tucson Weekly arts editor Margaret Regan will be signing the new paperback version of her book, The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands, at the Arizona Historical Society’s 35th Annual Holiday Bookfair this weekend. She and two dozen other local authors (Tom Miller, Bernard L. Fontana, Lydia Otero, etc.) will be offering…
Will Someone Please Save Us?
Seriously, Sen. Pearce, don’t you think there’s just a little too much levity going around right now when it comes to Arizona, your friendships with neo-Nazis and the private prison industry, and laws that just make our economy only sink more in the desert-rat hole you and your “lawmaking” friends have created?
The Great Cover Up Rolls On
Listen, you made a mistake by not going to the Great Cover-Up last night (unless you did go, then you’re off the hook). These things happen, but you can make it up by going to the remaining two shows—at Club Congress tonight, and the Rialto tomorrow. Saturday’s show features Calexico as a closer, so that’s…
Miguel and Kitty Kat Live on Access Tucson
Celebrating Community Media at Access Tucson from Tim O’Grady on Vimeo. Miguel Ortega, who has proven emcee cred thanks to the Fiesta Grande Steet Fair, and Powhaus’ Jared “Kitty Kat” McKinley are co-hosting the Access Tucson TV Telethon live onWednesday, Dec. 15, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. There is an encore show on Dec. 16…
This Week on TucsonWeeklyTV.com: Coffee With Oliver Ray at Cafe Aqui
Oliver Ray, head roaster at Cafe Aqui on Sixth Avenue, cares about coffee a lot and shows us some of the process of roasting the beans at their new location.
Young Mothers Album-Release Show Tonight; Free Music Right Now
Tough choices tonight musically: The Great Cover-Up moves from the Rialto to Club Congress for a night (look for tonight’s schedule on the blog later), but there’s also the Young Mothers record-release show at Sky Bar. These guys are, for my money, one of the two or three best bands in town and are following…
The Great Cover Up Begins Tonight
Clearly we’ve written quite a bit about The Great Cover Up, but that’s because it’s awesome, and you should go. The Tucson Weekly is all over this thing as a sponsor and is connected to some of the organizers in one way or another, but tonight, you get an extra dose of the Weekly, with…
GOP Inside Baseball: Bruce Ash Wants To Replace Randy Pullen
Unless you’re a political junkie, you’re probably wondering: “Who wants to replace who?” Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash of Tucson wants the job of outgoing Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen. Pullen’s reign has been marked by ongoing battles with the congressional delegation—particularly Kyl and McCain, who declined to raise funds for the party. It’s…
Prepare to Have Your Cash Cab Dreams Crushed
I don’t know what this says about me, but running across the AV Club Chicago headline “Cash Cab Is Totally Fake” was the most distressing thing I’ve seen on the Internet in some time (and there’s a lot on the internet you can’t unsee): The A.V. Club hates to be the bearer of bad news,…
Obama-GOP Plan Maybe Not So Scuttled
The Obama administration’s tax cut/unemployment extension/stealth stimulus might not be as dead as Congressman Raul Grijalva wants it to be. Talking Points Memo brings us a statement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: In the Caucus today, House Democrats supported a resolution to reject the Senate Republican tax provisions as currently written. We will continue discussions…
Tamales, Anyone?
City Councilmember Regina Romero and the Ward 1 staff host their second annual Tamale Festival at 4 p.m., today, Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Mercado San Agustin at 100 S. Avenida del Convento, near West Congress Street, just west of Interstate 10. Categories for judging at this year’s event include sweet, meat and unique, according…
Dems Scuttle Tax Deal
House Democrats have rejected the tax/unemployment benefits/stealth stimulus deal worked out by the Obama administration and Republicans earlier this week. A press release from Congressman Raul Grijlava, who evidently believes he’ll be able to craft a better deal once he’s in the House minority: The House Democratic Caucus moments ago rejected by voice vote the…
Border Film Festival at the Loft
This Saturday, Dec. 11, the Border Film Festival—including a panel discussion—takes place at the Loft, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (3233 E. Speedway Blvd). This festival is free and sponsored by Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, Sky Island Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, and No More Deaths. From the festival…
Noshing Around
New: Café Aqui; The Great Bean-Tasting; Wines and Vines; Noshing Notes
Sinking Ship
Without going too deeply into the history of the Chronicles of Narnia movie series, it is necessary to point out that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader represents the franchise at a crossroads, and examine why, three films in, the seemingly can’t-miss money machine has reached such a low point. Decades ago, when C.S. Lewis’…
Music Geeks, Unite!
Tucson jazz fans with a taste for the avant-garde will enjoy the special holiday gift of seeing and hearing the Brooklyn-based “supergroup” Endangered Blood when it plays Solar Culture Gallery on Monday, Dec. 13. Music geeks like me will be drooling at the combined experience of the players in Endangered Blood, which recently released its…
Circus of Crap
It’s the holiday season, and that usually means movie studios are throwing their best films at us in an effort to be considered for year-end accolades. Knowing this, it is more than surprising that somebody decided to splatter the cinematic crap that is The Warrior’s Way onto a bunch of screens at this time of…
The Skinny
State lawmakers want to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and the sick … And then they want to give away more tax dollars to corporations … Congressman Raúl Grijalva sticks up for Charlie Rangel … and more!
Soundbites
Covers, covers everywhere!; Have some fun with young mothers; Live on record; Short takes; On the bandwagon
Police Dispatch
Please, mom?; Displaced, needs job placement
Top Ten in Music
The 17th Street Guitar and World Music Store’s top sales for the week ending Dec. 3, 2010
Weekly Wide Web
Facebook Hates Alex Zendejas; The week on The Range; Comment of the week; Best of WWW; and more!
Get Us Your Info!
A few things that you should know, gosh darn it: • If you’re involved with some sort of New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day event—a musical event, a special dinner, anything—and you think there’s a chance that we don’t yet know about it, then drop what you are doing right now. Seriously. Drop it. DROP IT!…
AHCCCS Denied
Emily Lori Cameron is in a race against time. The former nurse, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, believes her best shot at avoiding a future in which she is blind and confined to a wheelchair is an experimental stem-cell transplant. But if she can’t get it soon, it may be too late to do any…
Danehy
Ever since I wrote a column about that feel-icky documentary about America’s new charter-school fetish, Waiting for “Superman,” I’ve received lots of e-mails from people who are pissed off enough to complain, but—not surprising—not necessarily pissed off enough to do something about it. Here’s a sample: Your defense of American schools is ridiculous. We should…
Nine Questions
Robert Blum
Media Watch
Morgan’s exit, overall’s return lead list of TV-news changes KMXZ raises $131k in food drive; Operations manager to depart
Downing
I ran across an article in The New York Times last week about a movie set in Arizona that’s in trouble—six months before its release. Cowboys and Aliens is a big period film scheduled to come out next summer. The problem is that it’s an action-drama, and the first showings of the trailer had audiences…
Live
The Loft Cinema’s First Friday Shorts event is one of the most consistently interesting evenings of entertainment around these parts—even when the short films playing on the Loft’s big screen are awful. In fact, things tend to be a lot more fun when the films are awful. Here’s how the 5 1/2-year-old event works: Anybody…
Bus-Yard Blues
Distrust and confusion surround a proposed Catalina Foothills School District bus facility—and the school board may or may not vote on the controversial issue at its Dec. 14 meeting. “I apologize for the district’s process,” CFSD governing board member Carole Siegler told a group of 35 people attending a Catalina Foothills Association (CFA) meeting last…
Mailbag
Giffords should disregard the deficit-reduction proposal; DREAM Act piece only covers part of the amnesty story; a modest open letter to Jan Brewer
Robert Wyatt/Gilad Atzmon/Ros Stephen: For the Ghosts Within (Domino)
Initial descriptions of For the Ghosts Within focused on the fact that revered British art-rock musician, singer and composer Robert Wyatt was taking on jazz standards, a move that sounded intriguing enough. But that simple label doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of this daring, adventurous album, a collaboration among Wyatt, saxophonist/composer Atzmon and violinist/composer…
Victims of the ‘Boycott’
Tom Philabaum’s gallery shimmers with elegant vases, translucent baubles and other delicate examples of fine glass art. Such work has made the downtown business a must-see for Tucson visitors, and has cemented its worldwide reputation for exquisite craftsmanship. Indeed, a good share of that global audience was slated to arrive here this spring, for an…
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)
It seems abundantly clear that Kanye West is an ass. It is also amply clear, with the release of his gnarly, brilliant My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, that no one in hip-hop has mastered the role of the self-hating villain as well as West. In one of the album’s most ingenious moments, we see a…
Visual Overload
The goal of the eccentric costumes, whimsical performances and bizarre sets in Cirque Dreams Illumination is to fish out the images, emotions and sensations from the clouded waters of dreams—and bring them to life. The show, which arrives at Centennial Hall this weekend, includes everything that a circus-type extravaganza should have, including acrobats, jugglers, contortionists…
Dual Recognition
In 1979, Ann Lane Hedlund, now the respected curator for tapestry at the Arizona State Museum, was working on the Navajo Nation. A grad student doing field work, she was studying Navajo blankets and rugs, and the weavers who made them. On the remote reservation, she was about as far from the East Coast art…
Winelord: Winelord III (Bloat)
My latest musical crush is on the all-female punk trio Winelord, although I’ve yet to even lay eyes upon them. But I have played the group’s full-length debut LP (yes, vinyl!) about a dozen times since getting it last week, and I still can’t get enough. It’s a killer record, among my favorite Tucson albums…
City Week
Expedition, by Camden Hardy; Second Saturdays Downtown; Double Vision: Julie Chen and Clifton Meador; Tucson Arizona Mass Choir
Thrifty Giving
Have you noticed that old is the new “new”? Many of the latest trends (knitting, burlesque, Americana music, bicycles, even handlebar mustaches) reach into the past—perhaps in search of something unique and authentic that defies blah, generic modernity. That very same blah, generic modernity is polluting our holidays with shiny new toys off a corporate…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Why can Aeromexico fly through any kind of weather to get to and from the United States, whereas domestic airlines cancel two days of flights due to any little ice sprinkle or heavy wind? For two consecutive winters, I’ve had flights—from Chicago to Houston to Leon, Guanajuato, on Continental Airlines, then Chicago to…
TQ&A
Marlene Schiller
Gifts for Your TV
I always like getting movies as gifts. The way I see it, getting something like Iron Man 2 on Blu-ray is huge, because that movie cost hundreds of millions to make—and it’s all packed onto that little disc. If you get me a pair of shoes that cost $150 … well, they only cost something…
Made for You and Me
If you know anybody out there who harbors skepticism about the power of words and music to please, to help interpret the most brutal of life’s blows, and to draw folks together by exploding the illusion of our differences, kindly escort them to the Temple of Music and Art, where Arizona Theatre Company has mounted…
Terrific Tech
The news is all over the lamestream media: An international team of investigative journalists has infiltrated Santa’s Workshop. They exposed elven hordes working 16-hour days in sweaty, converted bomb shelters under Santa’s petulant, avaricious younger brother, Dick Claus—with only two 10-minute breaks per day and watery hot chocolate to sustain them. A Frontline special is…
‘Blackbird’ Sings
What makes a person go to the theater to see a drama? I am a firm believer that we go to the theater to have a good time. But Blackbird, onstage now at Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, is not exactly what you would call a fun show. Instead, it’s compelling and disturbing. The drama is…
True Grit
Western scribe Johnny D. Boggs has never shied away from violence. His two most recent novels, Killstraight and Soldier’s Farewell, are streaked with gore and clouded in gunsmoke. But the first-person protagonists who power each of those narratives are young men who imbue the telling of their tales with (dwindling) innocence. In essence, Boggs’ celebrated…
Now Showing at Home
I’m Still Here (Blu-ray); Inception (Blu-ray); Fantasia (Four-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray + DVD)
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week ending Dec. 5, 2010
Buon Appetito
Amarsi Ristorante is one of those places where I wish the company would spring for more than just two visits. The menu, though not overly huge, has so many tempting offerings that it was difficult to choose the right items to describe what’s happening at this Oro Valley spot. The claim to fame here is…
Top Ten in Books
Mostly Books’ best-sellers for the week ending Dec. 3, 2010
Cactus Drive-In: What’s Next?
Charlie Spillar, who’s leading the charge for a new Tucson drive-in theater, sent out an update recently on the October brainstroming meeting, and what the next steps and possibilities are for the Cactus Drive-In project. Want to get involved or have ideas on property locations and potential investors? E-mail Spillar at project@cactusdriveintheater.com. At the “brainstorming…
Sex by Surprise? No, Just Another Attack on Democracy
On Monday, AlterNet posted “The 9 Weirdest Things About the WikiLeaks Story,” which you can read right here. The most interesting fact on the list: The charges that WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange face in Sweden have changed from rape to something called “sex by surprise.” At first it sounds like a fraternity drink served at Dirtbags,…
Bert Lopez Threatens To Shutter Lousy Downtown Hotel
Bert Lopez is taking his game of chicken a step further with the city of Tucson: If he doesn’t get a major taxpayer bailout, he’s closing his run-down downtown hotel. O’Dell has details here. We’re inclined to let him shut the doors, despite the potential damage to attracting conventions to the TCC.
Writer’s Block: D.R. Wise
Oro Valley author D.R. Wise’s book The Dreamzappers has been awarded its second national award in 2010. Earlier this year, The Dreamzappers was named the best gift book by the National Indie Excellence Awards. Now, USA Book News named it a finalist in the same category in its 2010 Best Books Awards competition. Book Summary…
Creative Drinking: Mr. Head’s Art Gallery and Bar Is Open
The combination art gallery and bar known as Mr. Head’s Art Gallery and Bar is open and ready to fulfill your artistic and alcoholic desires at 509 N. Fourth Ave. Hours are noon to 2 a.m. The place is the brainchild of Micah Blatt, who owns the custom glass-art shop Fathead Glass at 513 N.…
Tonight: One-17 Productions at the Loft
Last week, we ran a TQ&A with David Flores. It focused on the fact that he and his Ryan Bloom, Roman Arriola, Thomas Dylan DiMaggio and Steve Kundrat make films together. Their production company, One-17 Productions, will screen their shorts tonight at the Loft, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Check them out.
Hot Flash Havoc at the Fox Theatre
Heidi Houston’s new film Hot Flash Havoc will be screened at the Fox Theatre on Tuesday, Dec. 14. After the film, the co-producers and their team of medical experts will host an informative discussion on menopause, and other related topics. Tickets are $20, and doors open at 5:30 p.m. Visit www.hotflashhavoc.com for tickets and info.…
