Cover Story
25 Bills to Watch
Last week, the Arizona Legislature attended to some serious business: At long last, thanks to the passage of an emergency measure, Arizona can now celebrate Boys Scouts of America Day every year on Feb. 8. It just goes to show you that even though the state is teetering on the edge of financial collapse, state…
Lopez Pulls Plug on Mayor and Council Recall
No big surprise here: Burt Lopez has pulled the plug on the recall of Mayor Bob Walkup and City Council members Regina Romero and Karin Uhlich. We said it was in the works last week: Here’s what Mayer and Humphries really need to worry about: Will Lopez go down to City Hall and formally disband…
It’s Official: $63 Million for Urban Streetcar
Hey, we were right in our prediction of more than $60 million for the urban streetcar! Congressman Raul Grijalva just spilled the beans: Tucson is getting a staggering $63 million in federal stimulus money for the rail project that will connect downtown with the UA. The release: Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today said the newly…
Artistic Range: Kate Breakey at Etherton Gallery
“Spider II,” by Kate Breakey, is among the images now on display at Etherton Gallery, 135 N. Sixth Ave., through Feb. 27.
Supreme Court Leaves Clean Elections Alone—For Now
Howie reports: The U.S. Supreme Court won’t block the state from giving extra funds to publicly funded candidates to match big-spending privately financed foes – at least not yet. In a two-sentence order Tuesday, the justices rejected a request by the Goldwater Institute to immediately enforce last month’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver…
Farley Report: Private School Tuition Program Bill Creates “An Inability to Detect Fraud Until the Situation Escalates Out of Control and the Inability To Do Anything About The Fraud”
The latest bulletin from Rep. Steve Farley: Howdy, Friends O’Farley… Let’s imagine for a moment the scene in the underground bunker here at the Capitol where the far-right wingers who control this place are plotting their next moves. They haven’t balanced the budget yet. Times are still really hard. People are really getting angry at…
Urban Streetcar: More than $60 million?
We hear rumblings that Congressman Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, along with Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, will announce more than $60 million in stimulus dollars for downtown’s urban-streetcar system. That’s a huge win for the city of Tucson that will open up the floodgates for matching funds from the Regional Transportation Authority and make…
Sale of EVT to Explorer owner needs only judge’s approval
Randy Miller, the owner of the Oro Valley and Marana paper the Explorer, is poised to add another newspaper to his collection: the East Valley Tribune. An affiliate to Miller’s Thirteenth Street Media has reached a deal with the East Valley Tribune’s owner Freedom Communications to allow the Colorado-based company to take the Pulitzer Prize-winning…
Arizona’s Checkbook
Here’s a pretty depressing chart that pretty much sums up the miserable state of Arizona’s finances. You’ll find it at azcheckbook.com, a new site that tracks Arizona’s revenues and expenditures. It’s a treasure trove that lets you create your own graphs and pie charts to better understand where money is coming from and where it’s…
Big Cat!
Courtesy Sky Island Alliance The Sky Island Alliance is sharing snapshots of a northern jaguar in Sonora. Here’s the background from SIA’s Sergio Avila: Almost one year after Macho B’s tragic death in Arizona, Sky Island Alliance (SIA) released today its first photographs of a northern jaguar in the Mexican State of Sonora. Three years…
We Smell Urban Streetcar Money!
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Congressman Raul Grijalva have both sent out notices that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be celebrating the one-year anniversary of the passage of the stimulus plan at downtown’s historic train depot at 10 a.m. this Thursday with a big announcement about a project in Tucson. Given that Mayor Bob Walkup…
Blast From the Past: Manhole Counting in Pima County
Longtime Pima County watchers may recall the stink that arose when the county awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to count manholes in Pima County. The question came up again at today’s Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting, when Republicans Ray Carroll and Ann Day asked that a $500,000 contract related to the project be pulled from…
Picture This: Peppering the Town
KATRINA ARRINGTON Larry Green prepares chilies at the Fruit-Land Market. The store, located on North Sixth Avenue, has been open for 48 years.
Tavolino Moves to the Former VinTabla Location
Massimo Tenino, the owner of Tavolino Italian Restaurant at 7090 N. Oracle Road, is moving his well-reviewed restaurant to the former VinTabla location at 2890 E. Skyline Drive, just across the street from La Encantada. Tenino said yesterday that he’ll close the Oracle Road location when the move is complete, ending a six-year run at…
McCain Vs. Hayworth: The Big GOP Split
Former Congressman J.D. Hayworth formally launched his campaign against Arizona Sen. John McCain on yesterday, showing up in Tucson at the end of a long day of speeches around Arizona. Hayworth is not holding back in his punches against McCain, dismissing Arizona’s senior senator as too liberal for the state because he opposes drilling for…
Questioning Authority
Following President Barack Obama’s recent question-and-answer session with House Republicans, Sen. Jonathan Paton wants to force governors of Arizona to face questioning from state lawmakers. Although I’m sure it would create great copy and wonderful YouTube moments, it all sounds kinda gimmicky to me. Republicans are trying to do the same thing at the national…
Tonight: TUSD State of the District
Haven’t been to a TUSD School Board meeting all year? Redeem yourself by going to the State of the District meeting tonight (Feb. 15), 6 p.m. at Catalina Magnet High School Auditorium, 3645 E. Pima St. Superintendent Elizabeth Celania-Fagen and Chief Financial Officer Bonnie Betz will present 2010-2011 budget information. It’s a meeting for TUSD…
Picture This: Community Connection
JANICE BIANCAVILLA Maria Fallon paints a clay flower at Ben’s Bells, a non-profit organization in Tucson. The organization relies heavily on volunteers to help create the ceramic bells they hang around the city.
Torture: The GOP’s Default Position?
In the debate over the use of torture methods such as waterboarding during the Bush administration, a key defense was that the “enhanced interrogation techniques” were used in rare instances. But today, Republican J.D. Hayworth embraced torture methods against captured terrorist such as the underwear bomber in a broadside against Sen. John McCain as the…
A Little Love From L.A.
Hotel Congress, Salvador Duran and our pals in Calexico get some love from the L.A. Times: I ventured downstairs, and there he was, standing on a wooden crate in the lobby, forcefully strumming his guitar and belting out lyrics in a booming, operatic baritone that resonated through the bustling room. When I asked the desk…
CD8 GOP Debate: Brian Miller’s 11th Commandment Violation
Rhonda did her usual great job in summarizing last Thursday’s debate among the four Republicans seeking to unseat Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. At the end of the debate, many Republicans in the crowd were buzzing about Brian Miller’s closing statement, in which he hammered state Sen. Jonathan Paton for representing the “brand of big-government Republicans…
Craigslist Valentine’s?
In the interest of peace, harmony and making Arizona a better state, I offer you a sampling of some fresh Craigslist personal ads. It’s Arizona Statehood Day after all, and maybe, just maybe a little love connection is what some single Arizonans need right now. If not, then perhaps what our state lawmakers need to…
One-Hit Wonder Heaven
Lead singer of The Knack dead at 57 after a battle with cancer.
Hog Pit BBQ Is Smokin’ Good!
Combo Plate For Two: Ribs, pulled pork, chopped brisket and sausage A few months back, Adam Borowitz sang the praises of the Hog Pit Smokehouse Bar and Grill, a barbecue joint that opened not so long ago at 6910 E. Tanque Verde Road. Adam—who isn’t even much of a meat-eater—said that anyone entering the Hog…
Catch the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show Before They Leave on Sunday
NATHAN MITCHELL/EL INDEPENDIENTE Ashley Bruno plays a signing bowl as Bill Duran watches at Riverpark Inn Another one of the University of Arizona’s School of Journalism Student Media classes produces South Tucson’s bilingual monthly newspaper El Independiente. The first issue just came out, and you may pick up a copy from news stands around the…
What’s Another Billion-Dollar Hole In The Budget?
Paul Davenport of the AP brings us the news that the Joint Legislative Budget Committee staff has finally analyzed the impact of the Adams’ tax-cut package that passed the House: It adds nearly a billion dollars to the state’s structural deficit: A new report says a legislative proposal for phased-in general tax cuts and business…
Friday Roundtable: Nutty Bills @ Az Leg, Frank Antenori’s Wild Week & Pima County’s New Water Wars
Linda Valdez and I review the week with Arizona Illustrated anchor Bill Buckmaster, after the jump.
Friday Roundtable: Vic Williams Vs. Nancy Young Wright
Rep. Vic Williams explains why it’s a good idea to take away health-care coverage from hundreds of thousands of people while we raise their property taxes on their homes and cut taxes for Arizona’s wealthiest residents: It will spur economic activity! Rep. Nancy Young Wright counters that it’s a corporate bailout at the expense of…
Saguaro Ranch Do Si Do
The last time we brought you a little news on the continuing Saguaro Ranch saga, the Marana development’s neighbors had filed an amendment to a lawsuit against the town based on a deposition from the development’s former general manager. In his deposition, Denis Boaro alleges that Saguaro Ranch owner Stephen Phinny basically bought off the…
Stylish New Condoms To Help Save the Planet!
Starting on Valentine’s Day, the Center for Biological Diversity will launch an educational Web site (www.endangeredspeciescondoms.com) and will distribute 100,000 free Endangered Species Condoms throughout the country. The condoms feature six threatened or endangered species, orginal artwork and slogans such as, “Wrap with care, save the polar bear.” They report the human population is expected…
Election Integrity Deja Vu?
The last time Bill Risner went to court for a public-records lawsuit he filed on behalf of the Pima County Democratic Party, not only did he and his fellow Democrats win; the attorney also won almost $300,000 from Pima County in legal fees. Well, it looks like it could happen all over again with a…
Artistic Range: Masao Yamamoto At Etherton Gallery
“#1256,” a gelatin silver print by Masao Yamamoto, is among the images now on display at Etherton Gallery, 135 N. Sixth Ave., through Feb. 27.
UA Science: They Don’t Make Stars Like They Used To
A galactic mystery solved by UA astronomers? Daniel Stolte of University Communications tells us: Viewed through the Hubble Space Telescope at visible light (left), a galaxy does not reveal its full secret underlying star formation. Only when observed using a combination of radio emission and infrared wavelengths, the galaxy reveals a massive, rotating disc measuring…
Sierra Club Legislative Update: “Another Ugly Week at the Capitol”
The latest from Sierra Club legislative lobbyist Sandy Bahr: “Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?” ~Maurice Freehill February 12, 2010 Hi everyone! It was another ugly week at the Capitol as they voted out bill after bill that should be part of some comedy…
V-Day
Valentine’s Day is now obligatory in the Lower 48.
Big Crowd at CD8 GOP Debate
It’s a nearly full house at the 700-seat auditorium at Ironwood Hills HS for tonight’s CD8 debate between Jonathan Paton, Jesse Kelly, Brian Miller and Andy Goss. Overall, the crowd’s energy seems focused on beating Democrat Gabrielle Giffords
Go Buy Margaret Regan’s “The Death of Josseline”
As noted in this week’s issue, Tucson Weekly arts editor Margaret Regan will be making her debut on the book circuit this Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Patagonia Writers’ Round-Up. You can find her down there from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Patagonia Public Library. She’ll be doing her first reading and signing…
Sheriff Joe Says: Come Meet J.D. Hayworth!
Imagine my surprise just now when I picked up the phone and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was on the other line! At first I thought it was Max Cannon pulling another prank, but then I realized it was really was Sheriff Joe, or at least a robot version of him, inviting me to downtown’s…
Butts! Oh Dear…
Some people call it advertising and others call it soft-core porn, either way American Apparel hasn’t made best friends with feminists who’ve always questioned AA’s owner Dov Charney’s nasty, slimy approach to marketing his political feel-good T-shirts and such. Besides the ad images, Charney has been accused of sexual harassment by former employees. No shocker…
Differing Directions
John Travolta shows up with a shaved head and wild eyes in From Paris With Love, a mediocre film that, nevertheless, has some great moments—because Travolta, when in top form, can be a lot of fun. He co-stars as Charlie Wax, a one-man wrecking machine sent to Paris to help alleviate a situation through the…
Fiction of the Region
He wanted to die. He loaded the shotgun. Both barrels he loaded. This had to be a joke, both barrels he loaded. He was a man with a sense of humor. He was a joker. Couldn’t trust such a man, a joker in the deck. … His head was leaking. And you could smell it:…
Now Showing at Home
The Ladykillers (Blu-ray); Goodfellas: 20th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray); Zombieland (Blu-ray)
Food for the Seoul
I’m a Korean-food novice, but I’m always more than willing to try new things, especially new flavors. If 48 million people in South Korea are eating it, I can at least give it a shot—and I’m so glad that I did. Seoul Kitchen, located in the Crossroads Festival plaza at Grant and Swan roads, is…
The Skinny
Recalled?; H2-uh-oh; Ch-ch-ch-changes
Noshing Around
El Charro Café in Sahuarita; Jambalaya Feed; Mini’s Cupcakes; Boca Update; Noshing Twitters!
Media Watch
Steve Nunez returns to KGUN; KVOA: Medica Watch was incorrect about pay-to-play; Access Tucson furlough: round two; Citadel’s bankruptcy letter: double the fun!
Weekly Wide Web
What does an international game of Media Telephone look like? A lot like last week’s nonstory about Tiger Woods maybe, possibly returning to next week’s Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana. We all know why Woods is on a break, and we also know that the first tournament he decides to play in post-break will…
The Billion-Dollar Question
Gov. Jan Brewer finally got what she wanted last week: A sales-tax ballot question without any strings attached. It took 10 months of intense political battles, but a group of Republicans and Democrats finally joined forces to ask voters on May 18 to approve a temporary, one-cent-per-dollar increase. Arizona, which will face an estimated shortfall…
Police Dispatch
COWBOYS AND IDIOTS SOUTH CONTINENTAL ROAD JAN. 17, 11:51 A.M. A rural man spun a tale of an assault by a rope-swinging neighbor on a horse, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report stated. The reportee told deputies that earlier that afternoon, he and three friends had been going out for shooting practice when they passed…
Soundbites
HELP HAITIANS, UNLICENSED RADIO On the heels of a local benefit show a few weeks ago to raise funds for the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti comes another one this week. While the first show was organized by a local musician who happens to be the national co-coordinator of the Alliance for Global…
Two-Part Spanking
I think that maybe it’s a type of hypocrisy for someone who’s as agnostic as I am, singing this music,” says the Asylum Street Spankers’ Christina Marrs, with a trace of uncharacteristic equivocation. She’s speaking of the songs on the Spankers’ October 2009 gospel release, God’s Favorite Band. The album tackles perhaps the only genre…
Lost and Ignored
The detention complex in Eloy is a small city unto itself, a locked-down desert fortress with Phoenix shimmering to the northwest, and low-slung mountains rising to the east. Approximately 1,500 foreign detainees are held there, awaiting deportation for immigration violations that range from petty crimes to overstayed visas. Another 1,200 are housed in the massive…
Live
Marianne Dissard
Pride T Q&A
Han Nguyen and Ceil Melton
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I’ve been attracted to transgendered women since I was about 13. I’ve noticed, however, that most trannies are Hispanic. Now, before you say that this is ¡Ask a Mexican!, not ¡Ask a Hispanic!, I’ve also noticed that more than half of all Hispanic transsexuals are Mexican. What’s up with that? Is it a…
Nine Questions
James Few
Danehy
It is no secret that I’m a Catholic and that I attend Mass every week. Occasionally, I’ll go on Sunday, but it’s usually Saturday night, after I get done with the radio show, so that the holy water can cleanse me of any residual right-wing nonsense I may have picked up in that cramped radio…
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books best-sellers for the week
Hot Chip: One Life Stand (Astralwerks)
Despite the insipid title, Hot Chip’s latest is a playful, upbeat charmer. The greeting-card sentimentality of the album’s name—let’s turn that one-night stand into a lifetime affair—feels lifted out of one of Michael Novotny’s cloying monologues on Showtime’s long-running, grade-D homo-soap Queer as Folk. This fits, because, really, Hot Chip is a refined purveyor of…
Fees in Flux
Tucson Water customers, especially those outside of the city limits, won’t catch a break if the utility’s proposed financial plan is adopted by the City Council. At the same time, the development community would get a pass, albeit a tiny one. On Feb. 23, the City Council is scheduled to consider Tucson Water’s financial plan…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
The Album Leaf: A Chorus of Storytellers (Sub Pop)
With carefully controlled atmospherics and minimal vocals, The Album Leaf deals in calm, impressionistic beauty. Led by San Diego guitarist Jimmy LaValle, The Album Leaf resides in its own little Venn diagram segment that combines former tourmate and obvious influence Sigur Rós, electronica’s softer side and the pop-ambient hybrid of labelmate The Postal Service. A…
Messina
Local cookbook author Dyan Garris learned how to cook the old-fashioned way. She didn’t attend classes, follow recipes or read about cooking. Instead, she stood by her Greek grandmother’s side and watched. In so doing, she learned about an important ingredient in cooking: intuition. “My grandmother never measured a thing,” recalls Garris. “She was very…
Top Ten in Music
Zia Records top sales for the week
Undersea Poem: Undersea Poem (Six Degrees)
Every now and then, new music comes out of the blue and catches you totally by surprise. Such is the case with the self-titled debut CD by husband-and-wife duo Chris Root and Juju Stulbach, late of the bossa nova pop trio Mosquitos. This is the kind of record that begs descriptors like idyllic, pastoral, romantic…
Guest Opinion
On behalf of Tucson Electric Power, I’d like to clarify a few matters regarding a transmission-line project referenced in a recent Tucson Weekly article (“Inner-City Blues,” Jan. 28) about the Dunbar/Spring neighborhood. It’s unfortunate that TEP’s viewpoints weren’t included in the story, even though we provided them to another Weekly writer in advance of publication.…
They’re Back …
In grade school, whenever we studied “prehistory,” I would daydream about gigantic monsters covered in scales and horns, battling each other with brute force and deadly sharp teeth. The tyrannosaurus rex would knock over a stegosaurus with one sweep of his gigantic tail; the pterodactyl would tease the enormous beast by flying overhead, just out…
Never Enough
Rarely does a day go by without an e-mail complaint or Web site comment that, gosh darn it, the Tucson Weekly is not giving enough coverage to something of vital importance or utter coolness in the Tucson community. For example, one recent complaint came from a reader who was “absolutely shocked at the Weekly’s total…
City Week
Night Walk; Diane Schuur With the Jeff Daniel Band; Global Tapestry; Universe of Dreams with Neal Conan and Ensemble Galilei
First Chances
Donna McLaughlin says it would be wrong to describe her efforts to go back to school and get her GED in her mid-40s as a “second chance.” “The last few weeks, I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Everyone deserves a second chance.’ The thing is, I’ve learned that for most of us, getting a…
Comedy Duo
Oh, there’s nothing funnier than seeing someone in pain. If you don’t agree, try watching America’s Funniest Home Videos, or pretty much any viral video online: Watch some poor schlub fall off the back of a golf cart, and you can’t help but laugh. Of course, it’s not nearly as funny if you’re the schlub:…
Mailbag
Responsible Cattle Management Can Benefit the Environment Regarding “Bovine Blues,” Currents, Jan. 21: I want to thank all of the taxpayers of Pima County for voting for and paying into the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. I live in Amado—an area that I am happy Pima County has identified as worth preserving as open space. They…
Watch That Rice
In any given film scene, a director has to decide what to show, and what not to show. It’s not just a question of cutting out moments in time; the camera can only shoot from one angle, and its field of vision is only so wide. So the director’s job is to ask: What moments…
Alluring Texture
The painter Andy Burgess adores matchboxes. And ticket stubs and stamps and out-of-date money, like the lira and the escudo, currencies that expired with the euro. Burgess’ artistic mission is to make everybody else love these throwaways, too. He cuts them up into bits and re-assembles the colored cardboard and paper into jazzy collages. And…
Factory Justice?
The noise from rattling chains resonated on the second floor of the Evo A. DeConcini U.S. District Courthouse in Tucson. In the huge Special Proceedings Courtroom, 70 prisoners sat in shackles, taking up nearly every available seat on the defendants’ side of the room, filling the jury box and six rows of the gallery. “Just…
And Here We Thought Lawmakers Might Have Made Just a Little Progress
Rep. Frank Antenori, in between attempting to make life miserable for poor people who want state-subsidized health insurance and trying to make life more difficult for divorcing couples, has now figured out a way to screw up the May sales tax election: Howie explains: A maneuver by a Tucson lawmaker to force legislative approval of…
Worst Person in Arizona?
Rep. Frank Antenori isn’t busy enough balancing the budget? I thought only desperate politicians turn on the weak. Why not do something meaningful, like propose his fellow lawmakers give-up their salaries and health insurance during this economic meltdown and put it toward education? Oh yeah, that’s right. They’d probably want to send it to school…
Totalled Recall?
I wrote about the recall effort in this week’s Skinny. I also talked about it on tonight’s episode of Arizona Illustrated. You can watch the clip after the jump. Arizona Illustrated Christopher Conover also had a story on the recall tonight.
“Let’s Stay Together” Act Advances
Our first Blogislature update: HB 2650, which would lengthen the amount of time it takes to get a divorce from 60 days to six months, passed the House Health and Human Services Committee today. It’s heading to the full House. BTW: Legislature fans, feel free to submit additional ideas for bills you’d like us to…
Can The UA’s Lunar and Planetary Lab’s Drop A Robot Lab Onto An Asteroid and Come Back Home With Samples?
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona Now up for your viewing pleasure: A fresh batch of Mars images from the UA Lunar and Planetary Lab’s HiRISE camera Speaking of Mars: We ran into Peter Smith, the principal investigator of the LPL’s Phoenix Mars Mission, last week. He said they were still listening to see if their plucky robot…
Downing Launches State Senate Run Against Aboud
Democrat Ted Downing, who served two terms in the Arizona House of Representatives in District 28, wants to run for the state Senate seat now held by Sen. Paula Aboud. Downing, who lost a Senate race in the midtown district to Aboud in 2006, says his main goal in running is to pressure fellow candidates…
Preen Finds a New Home on Fourth Avenue
Aleksa Brown Preen owners Emilie Marchand and Erin Bradley have a new home on Fourth Avenue. A few weeks back, Lexi Brown told us the plight of the ladies who run Preen, a Congress Street boutique that was facing eviction to make room for Mr. An’s new downtown bar and restaurant. Here’s good news from…
Understanding The Arizona Economic Crisis
My friends at Arizona Public Media have put together a Web site to follow the state’s economic meltdown.You’ll find a list of budget bills and some great background, including a recent one-hour Arizona Illustrated special that looked at Arizona’s bleak financial picture, with UA economists Marshall Vest and Gerald Swanson. It’s a great discussion that…
Picture This: Krissy Sauter – A Wildcat for Chinese New Year
KRISSY SAUTER Incense coils hang ready at the Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong with HÃng BÄo, red lucky envelopes, carrying offerings or prayers for bygone ancestors. Krissy Sauter, from Claremont, Calif., is a graduate of the University of Arizona School of Journalism. Ever since graduation, Sauter has spent a majority of her time…
