Cover Stories
New Suds on the Block
Tucson’s big craft beer boom doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and all of the recent additions to the scene, whether it’s new bars or breweries, serve as proof.
Beer Love
Here in Tucson, February is a month of love, (alarmingly) warm weather and, most importantly, beer.
Join the Body Revolution for a Pop-Up Clothing Swap
Time to start clearing out your closet: the Body Revolution called, and it wants you to attend a Pop-Up Clothing Swap this weekend. Never been to a clothing swap? The basic idea is this: Go through your wardrobe and pull out the gently-used clothes you never wear these days—you know, the clothes you’re always surprised to…
Explore the World of Spanish Wine with Food Paired Event at Ermanos
Garnacha, Tempranillo and Rioja—these are just some of the many distinct varieties of wine that come from Spain. You don’t have to be a wine snob to appreciate the differences in terroir and grape varietals coming from the country, and now you can celebrate the diversity of Spain’s wineries at a special food-paired tasting event…
The Rialto Fundraises in Swingin’ Style
Tucsonans from the North to the South know the Rialto regularly hosts the best local and international performers, but on Saturday, Feb. 20, the historic venue will throw a colorful night of jazz, drinking, swing dancing and, most importantly, fundraising with their Stage Canteen: A Swingin’ 1940s USO Party. Dressed as a ’40s-wartime Bob Hope,…
Stories in the Garden Seeks to Talk Food in Tucson
Stories in the Garden is back to celebrate Tucson’s recent UNESCO designation as a Creative City of gastronomy. In light of that, you can join like-minded local food folks at UA Community Garden (1400 E. Mable St.) for an evening of poems and stories all about food culture. The event will feature both a potluck…
Afrikweer Presents Portraits and a Documentary to Increase Visibility of the Black LGBT Community
Afrikweer is the brainchild of Bev Tumelo and Javetta Laster. Initially conceived of as a photo project, it has grown into a uniting force for people of African descent in Tucson who identify somewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Tumelo and Laster met three years ago when Laster moved to Tucson from New York. Laster had…
Cinema Clips: Rams
Two Icelandic sheepherding brothers who haven’t spoken in four decades face tragedy when their neighboring herds become infected and must be slaughtered. Gummi (Sigurður Sigurjonsson) and Kiddi (Theódór Júlíusson) have developed a rivalry over the years, with Kiddi winning local “best sheep” competitions. A jealous Gummi reports that his brother’s sheep might be ill, and…
Let’s Not Congratulate South Dakota for Becoming First State to Pass ‘Bathroom Bill’ Discriminatory of Transgender Students
The South Dakota Legislature passed a bill Tuesday that would require students at public schools to use restrooms based on their “chromosomes and anatomy” at birth, meaning transgender youth would be prohibited from using a bathroom of the gender they identify with. If the governor signs the measure into law, South Dakota would become the…
Cinema Clips: Deadpool
After a false start with the character of Wade Wilson in 2009’s uneven yet unjustly maligned X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds gets another chance at superhero-albeit unorthodox superhero-stardom. This time he scores big in this twisted film from first time director Tim Miller. Deadpool establishes its weirdness with scathing opening credits that poke fun at…
Decoding Ducey-Speak on Education Funding
To prepare for my visit to the Bill Buckmaster Show Wednesday, I listened to Gov. Ducey talking with Buckmaster Tuesday, then listened a second time on the show’s website, taking notes. Here are some of the things Ducey said, along with what lies hidden an inch behind his words. Buckmaster asked Ducey about the upcoming vote…
New York Times Takes on Ongoing Attacks by UA Students Against Islamic Center of Tucson
The New York Times’ Fernanda Santos wrote today about the ongoing attacks by a group of UA students against the Islamic Center of Tucson. Santos begins her story with a Syrian refugee who, when leaving the mosque after Friday Prayer, had two cans of beer thrown toward her. On another night at the mosque, Ahmed…
Yes, Voter ID, aka Voter Suppression, Suppresses Votes.
Here are two new pieces of information about how ridiculous voter ID laws are, except as a way to suppress votes, and how effective they are in keeping the wrong kind of people Democrat-leaning minorities from voting. The first comes from the hyperactive and hyper-intense John Oliver, who on his first show back nails the voter…
Austin Counts Fuses Blues and Country on His New EP
With a new EP that marks his return to music, Austin Counts brings together several new songs to go along with one that’s been running through his head for years. Counts has been back with a blues-country hybrid style since the summer, playing a weekly gig at The Flycatcher (340 E. Sixth St.) on Monday…
Grijalva Endorses Steele in CD2 Dem Primary: “Victoria Represents Big Goals and Big Ideas”
Democrat Victoria Steele has landed the endorsement of Congressman Raul Grijalva in her quest for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally. At a press conference Tuesday morning, Grijalva praised Steele’s support for abortion rights, immigration reform, education, the Affordable Care Act and equal pay for women. “Victoria represents big goals and…
Dozens Protest Outside State Capitol Against ‘Anti-Immigration’ Bills
More than two dozen people protested outside the state Capitol on Monday morning against several “anti-immigration” bills, including one that could kill efforts to issue municipal IDs for undocumented immigrants. Advocates argue Senate Bill 1017, sponsored by state Sen. John Kavanagh, a Republican from Fountain Hills, would limit options to develop ID cards in cities…
Reilly, Tough Luck Club Announce Bar Programs Under New Management
In its first year open, Reilly Craft Pizza’s basement bar program, Tough Luck Club, gained a lot of attention locally and nationally with playful, inventive cocktails in its cavelike lounge atmosphere. The menu booklets threw industry standards for a loop by including every drink recipe on the menu and naming the cocktails cheeky jabs at…
McCain Says He’s Ready To Block an Obama Appointee to Supreme Court
Count Sen. John McCain among those who believe the U.S. Senate should block any nominee that President Barack Obama attempts to appoint the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died over the weekend in Texas. “The president can nominate who he wants to,” McCain said during an appearance today on Mike Broomhead’s…
Arizona Cocktail Week Wraps Up with State’s Top Bars on Romo Tonight Live
Celebrate the finale of Arizona Cocktail Week right here in Tucson for the first year ever when Romo Tonight Live will present AZCW’s Last Call. Featuring pop-up bars and craft drink samples from some of the state’s top cocktail bars, including Penca, PY Steakhouse, Sidecar and more from Tucson and Counter Intuitive, The Ostrich and…
Eli Needs a Home
I’m Eli! I am a two year old boy looking for a forever home. I am FeLV positive but, hey, that doesn’t mean I can’t be adopted! If you’re interested in an FeLV positive kitty but currently have cats don’t worry, Humane Society of Southern Arizona will test and vaccinate them at no cost to…
Arizona Republic Editorial Gets Most of the Way There on Increasing Education Funding
I almost loved the Sunday editorial in the Arizona Republic. Even with some reservations, I liked it a whole lot. Shorter version: Ducey, we’re not in a recession anymore. Stop budgeting like we are. Fund education and other state needs at reasonable levels. Here are a few key passages. Take off the recession-era glasses, Gov.…
Into the Mild: A New City, New Job, and New Overdose
Salvador, Brasil I’ve never touched a drug in my life. The only possible exception would be when we tried to make a delayed-fuse piccolo pete bomb by poking a hole in a cigarette, putting the fuse of the piccolo pete through the whole, then inhaling to try to light the cigarette. It didn’t work. Instead…
Zona Politics: Alt Fuels and Climate Change
February 14th, 2016 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo. On this week’s episode of Zona Politics: UA engineering professor Kimberly Ogden talks about making fuel from algae, carbon sequestration and other strategies to combat climate change ahead of her Feb. 29 talk in the UA College of Science spring lecture series. Then we…
New Marianne Dissard Compilation Revisits Tucson Albums
During her two decades in Tucson, the French-born chanteuse Marianne Dissard began a musical career that naturally brought her home country’s traditions into the already mixed pot of the local scene. Dissard’s studio albums—L’Entredeux, L’Abandon and The Cat. Not Me—found her collaborating with a who’s who of Tucson musicians, many of whom she’d take on tours in…
Valentines for Vets
Nearly 6,000 Valentine’s Day cards from local schools are going out to veterans around Southern Arizona today at places like the VA Hospital, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and local VFW halls. Congressman Raul Grijalva’s office coordinated the event with local elementary schools, churches and others.
TED Talk Day at the UA
The Innovate UA program is hosting the first ever TEDxUofALive event, a live-cast of the 2016 TED conference in Vancouver, Canada this week. The University of Arizona has been issued a licence to broadcast the live talks on Wednesday Feb. 17 across the UA campus. “What I have noticed about campus, and our culture in…
McSally Slips Off DC Dems’ Target List
U.S. Rep. Martha McSally got good news this week: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced its list of 31 targeted districts this year and McSally’s Congressional District 2 is not on it. On top of that, national forecaster Larry Sabato updated his list of competitive races and moved CD2 from “toss-up” to “leans Republican.” That’s…
Last Chance: Get Your Pulp Fiction On at TMA Before Sunday
This weekend is your last chance to check out the Tucson Museum of Art’s Western Heroes of Pulp Fiction: Dime Novel to Pulp Fiction show. If you’re someone who likes Western novels, pulp magazines or comic books, you’ll be dazzled by this show. And who knew that those old Western mags commissioned oil paintings for…
Casa Video Top 10
Celebrate something this weekend. Whether you’re in the mood for an erotic Valentine’s-themed circus, bringing a furry friend home, or simply enjoying the local beer scene, Tucson has you covered. Or, celebrate your own space by stocking up for a movie night at home. Here’s a list of Casa Video’s most sought after movies from the last…
Do A Deep House Downward Dog
Deep house yoga isn’t a term you hear every day. Actually, you’ve probably never heard that term. But if you really love chillwave and stretching, every Wednesday night at Movement Culture Spiritual Gangster Yoga hosts a “Deep House” class. The hour-long, high energy class mixes asana flows and the beats of DJ Elektra Tek to reduce…
Keep Shelters in Mind When Getting a Valentine’s Pup
Pets are an essential part of many people’s lives and every furry friend comes with a love story. Holidays like Christmas and Valentines Day are especially popular times for people to gift a pet. But before you go picking out a pup, it’s crucial to analyze your life conditions and situation. Is your life stable enough to…
Win Tickets to the Tucson Craft Beer Crawl
By now, you’re knee-deep in Beer Week preparation. You’ve read about the latest additions to the Tucson beer scene, you’ve mapped our your Beer Week itinerary—but have you picked up your tickets to the Tucson Craft Beer Crawl? Because you’re probably going to want to be there. Take it from Brenna Bailey’s round-up: CRAWL FOR…
Let’s Watch Calexico on the E-Town Hall Sessions
Tucson sonic ambassadors Calexico recently made several short episodes with Colorado’s E-Town Hall Sessions. You can watch them all here.
Win Yourself Some Tickets to Friday’s UA Basketball Game
It’s basketball time! Friday at 7 p.m. our own UA Wildcats will be taking on the UCLA Bruins—and you could be there! We’re giving away two pairs of tickets. We’ll get in touch with the winners by noon on Friday, so enter now—but only if you can pick up the tickets from our Northwest office between…
We’ve Got Gravitational Waves!
It’s a big day for physics as the existence of Albert Einstein’s long-predicted gravitational waves has been confirmed. The waves, first postulated by Einstein a century ago, are ripples in the fabric of space-time created by the collision of super-massive objects such as black holes. Gizmodo has a primer on why this is a BFD…
Stunning. Deadbeat Dads Want Kids to Say “Thank You”
So. Republicans yanked $30 million in JTED funds from last year’s budget, and now they’ve had second thoughts and want to restore the money. And by “second thoughts,” I mean the business community climbed on their backs for cutting one of the best educational programs in Arizona for creating skilled workers who can come out…
Poetic Justice @ UA
The University of Arizona Poetry Center will host a reading by world-class American poet Kimiko Hahn.
Jam and Gans
David Gans and Top Dead Center make their yearly “pilgrimage” to Boondocks Lounge.
Big-Wig Book Signing
Author and Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan will host a signing of his book, How Music Dies (or Lives): Field Recording and the Battle for Democracy in the Arts, at Antigone Books.
Night at the Museum
Experience in real life (kind of) what Ben Stiller did in the Night at the Museum franchise
Trans and Triumphant
On Nov. 8, 2013, Wynne Neilly sounded like a woman. Neilly spoke the date into a digital recorder and preserved the high-pitched voice.
Editor’s Note
You’ve watched the debates, right? Either to educate yourself on the candidates or for pure entertainment value, I hope you’ve taken in a few as the election season has progressed.
Death Becomes Us
Winding Road Theater Ensemble continues to impress with its dedication to produce at least one new play each season. It’s always a bit of a gamble, but it’s been one worth taking—at least for the audience.
Dust Devil
Grey pigeons fly low over the razor wire
Zero Feet from Stardom: Lisa Fischer
Despite having won a Grammy for her single “How Can I Ease the Pain,” Lisa Fischer has, until recently, been best known for her role as a backup singer.
So Long, Sugar Ray
As Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll was thanking many of his friends for their support late Friday afternoon, he told them that when he was growing up in Chicago, he always dreamed of being one of three things: A police officer, a priest or a politician.
Mixed Message: Dizzy Wright
“I’m still learning a lot about myself as an artist,”Dizzy Wright says.
Police Dispatch
A woman who habitually stole debris from the yard of a disfavored neighbor—and had even once made a veiled threat to “steal” his child and pet—finally drove him to call the authorities when she made her victim’s entire garbage can disappear.
B-Sides: Rareluth
There’s something special about the music that comes through from Louisiana.
Border Watchdogs
Every time Carlotta Wray goes to a doctor’s appointment or has to run errands outside the border community of Arivaca, she must drive through a Border Patrol checkpoint.
B-Sides: Hank Williams
Tucson’s very own celebration of country and western’s glory days is back at Exo Roast Co.
T Q&A
Tucson artist Beth Surdut has a new exhibit at the Tucson Botanical Gardens
B-Sides: Steff Koeppen
Grab your Valentine and head to Club Congress on Sunday, Feb. 14 for a full night of sunny, poppy jams presented solely by Arizona artists
The Skinny
Lawmakers move to restore funding to JTEDs, Looks like the A-10 will continue flying over Tucson skies for several years to come, Don’t miss your chance to weigh in on the White House hopefuls
Coen Goodness
A film that has virtually no plot, but gives Joel and Ethan Coen a chance to pay tribute to just about every kind of movie Hollywood was making in the ’40s and ’50s by adapting the styles of those films into their weirdo universe?
Right-Wing Rebel
Republican Kelli Ward stole one of John McCain’s favorite lines when she was telling a crowd last week why it’s time for Arizona’s senior senator to go.
Pleasure Activist
Wherever there is technology, there is some ingenious sexual use for it. Smartphones are no exception—hence, sexting.
Social Media Hates on Weed
At least a handful of medical marijuana dispensaries in Tucson realized their Facebook pages had been deleted on Thursday, Feb. 4.
Sensual Seduction
Hounding for an erotic, Valentine’s-themed circus meets performance art piece?
