Cover Story
Listening to Tucson
It’s 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and downtown Tucson—minus the men and women in business suits and office casual—is awake despite the empty streets. But today, it’s not about the sights. This is a sound walk with Glenn Weyant. The only goal is to pay attention to every sound from corner to corner, alley…
Del Dia
Suzana Davila sits across the table from me. It’s about 11 a.m. on a Thursday and we each have a blank notebook in front of us. While you can guess what mine is for, Davila is actually making the night’s dinner menu for Café Poca Cosa on hers. It starts the same way each day:…
Tucson Mountains Trail Hound: the Scenic/Passey/Packrat loop
For this edition of the Trail Hound we head north, to the outermost boundary of Saguaro National Park, to small but densely packed series of trails on the edge of Marana. Featured Trails: the Scenic, Packrat and Passey Loop trails Approximate drive from downtown to trailhead: 25-30 mins. Approximate length of trail (roundtrip): 1 1/2…
Free Show Alert! Kim & The Created, Katterwaul and Daycones at Congress on Friday
What are you doing on Friday? Well, it better not involve paying cover at a club or you’re gonna feel like a real schmuck for missing what will likely be a totally rad show at Club Congress that’s also totally free. Kim House might seem like another in the long list of lo-fi trippy weirdo…
Will We See Even More Outrageous Cuts to Higher Education in This Ducey-GOP Budget Deal?
Late last night, the Arizona Capitol Times wrote that Gov. Doug Ducey and the Republican leadership in the state House and Senate had reached a budget deal that will make even deeper cuts to universities and some community colleges’ funding. Earlier this year, Ducey proposed to take $75 million in total from the three public…
Say Hello to the Parking Meters on Fourth Avenue
As of this afternoon, commuters and shoppers could park for free on the west side of Fourth Avenue, but certain patches of the east side of the street have brand new parking meters that are fully functional and taking coins, cards and app-based payments. Just like downtown, these meters are set at $1 per hour…
What Best of Tucson Categories Do We Need?
Now, don’t get too excited—we’re just beginning to talk about 2015’s Best of Tucson here in the newsroom. Voting is still awhile away and we haven’t settled on a theme. We are, however, giving our list of categories a critical look and we thought you might have some opinions. What categories do we need to…
The Problem With Linking Common Core Standards With High Stakes Testing
Arizona’s high stakes testing opt out bill, HB2246, made it through two committees. Republicans in the committees voted for it while Democrats either voted No or were absent during the vote. I understand the Democrats’ concern, since killing Common Core is a cause célèbre for the far right, and one of their strategies is to throw…
TUSD Won’t Lose 10% of Funds Over Culturally Relevant Classes For Now; Diane Douglas Will Continue to Monitor the District
At a press conference in Phoenix this afternoon, Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas, with Tucson Unified School District Superintendent H.T. Sanchez by her side, announced that, for now, TUSD is not losing 10 percent of its monthly state aid, or $14 million, over allegations the district was in violation of the state’s anti-Mexican American…
Dig on Some Beat Poetry at Exploded View
Hey, hep cats. Exploded View is hosting a night of Beat-era film and poetry and the whole shebang should be a real kick. The event is set to explore the hip scenes in both North Beach and Greenwich Village of the era both on the screen and in person. The “Can You Dig It, Man?”…
Zona Politics: Immigration Issues, Education Bills, Transportation & More
Zona Politics Eps.19 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo. On the latest episode of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: Pima County Democratic Party Chairwoman Cheryl Cage and Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lea Marquez Peterson talk about the immigration mess in Washington, the latest education, abortion and gun bills at…
Border Patrol Agents Are Allowed to Check People’s Immigration Status on Buses, Trains But It’s Still Racial Profiling
Yes, Border Patrol agents are very much allowed to roam a bus or train station and check people’s IDs and immigration status, even if the location isn’t an official checkpoint or border. As long as the place is within 100 miles of the border, it’s game, which I did not know until I posted something…
Tempest DuJour Appears on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Has a Bad Day (Spoilers & NSFW)
RuPaul’s Drag Race returned last night and Tucson tuned in to root for our favorite local drag queen, Tempest DuJour. Sadly, RuPaul didn’t see what we see and Tempest was the first contestant made to Sashay Away. Today, she released a response to her elimination. It’s NSFW, unless your boss is cool with masturbating bananas. You’re…
Is Your Band Playing SXSW This Year? Let us know!
The Tucson Weekly is headed to the SXSW Music conference later this month and we’re looking to find all of the Tucsonans playing around Austin that week. Is your band playing a big fancy showcase? Are you playing a low key coffee shop? What about your cousin’s neighbor’s backyard? Cool. We want to go and…
Business Majors Are a Brain Drain. And You Can Take That One to the Bank.
The NY Times has an interesting article in its Business section discussing a recent paper that concludes, a big, booming financial/banking sector results in a drop in national productivity. When times are good and money is flowing in, the authors contend, banks prefer to lend to collateral-rich areas like real estate and construction. But these…
LGBTQI Clinic Celebrates Official Opening on Thursday & State Rep. Victoria Steele Will Be There
In the beginning of the year, I wrote about Living Out Loud, the first clinic and wellness center primarily focused on LGBTQI people to open in Tucson. The clinic, a child of CODAC Behavioral Health Services, has functioned since December, but will celebrate its official opening this week. The event will feature a tour of…
Nook Is Now Open Downtown for Breakfast and Lunch
Nook opened today at 1 E. Congress St. and I really couldn’t wait to get in and give it a taste. Stopping in for lunch, the new spot was bustling with diners, which kept the staff busy but seemingly not overwhelmed. With breakfast and brunch menus, an espresso bar with EXO Roast coffee, freshly baked…
Border Patrol Checking People’s Immigration Status at Greyhound Bus Station
A small group of Scholarships A-Z (an advocacy group mostly made up of undocumented students) members headed back to Tucson last night after attending a retreat with the Arizona Dream Act Coalition in Phoenix this weekend. When they reached the Greyhound Bus Station on Congress Street, they were pretty unhappy to see Border Patrol agents…
Maker House to Close in April
Matt Rios of Maker House says the past two years of renovating and running the community space has involved 60 to 80 hours of work a week for him, but the journey has been rewarding. Despite all of that work, the team has announced that on April 11, the venue, restaurant, coffee shop and bar…
Will Forte’s ‘Last Man On Earth’ is Set in Tucson
Will Forte’s new Fox television show “The Last Man on Earth” premiered last night with two episodes, including one titled “Alive in Tucson.” That’s right, folks: in a beautiful alternate universe Will Forte is running around in his underwear, blowing up cars and drinking out of inflatable pools somewhere off Oracle. The show tells…
Homeland Security Still Funded for This Week but Budget Battle Continues
It’s something of a miracle that the nation’s Homeland Security Department can still turn on the lights this week. OK, that’s an overstatement, because most of the staff would remain at work even if congressional dysfunction had caused a shutdown of Homeland Security because the work is considered vital. But it would have led to…
National Week of Action Puts More Pressure on ICE to Release Transgender Woman from All-Male Immigration Detention
Efforts pressuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release Nicoll Hernández-Polanco, a transgender woman and Guatemala native, from an all-male immigration detention facility in Florence have officially gone national. Tucson’s Mariposas Sin Fronteras, Phoenix-based Arizona Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, Oakland’s Transgender Law Center, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement from the LA area (and many other LGBT and immigration…
Check Out the New Breakfast Menu at Renee’s Organic Oven
It’s official: Renee’s Organic Oven is open for breakfast. Owner Renee Kreager announced that her small, locally-focused restaurant is expanding its hours on the weekdays to include breakfast from 8 until 10:45 a.m., and she gave us the menu. “I was just looking to open it up to people who say they can’t normally make…
Democrats Need to Man and Woman Up on Education and Taxes
It’s worth sitting up and taking notice when a poll says almost two-thirds of Arizonans support a tax increase—especially when 50 percent of Republicans are on board. Nearly two-thirds of Arizonans, including more than 50 percent of Republicans, would be willing to pay an additional $200 in state taxes annually to better fund K-12 education,…
The Dish at Rum Runner to Close, Re-Open as Tasting Room
Owner Tom Smith is the first to say that he’s not the same 37-year-old he was when The Dish started dishing out plates of upscale fare in 1997. Now nearly 20 years later, Smith says its time to say goodbye to The Dish as we know it. On March 14, The Dish will serve its…
It’s Not all About the Cowboys: Women Make Their Mark on Rodeo
Cowgirl Rachel Dice gives a barely perceptible nod. The gate swings open. Dice and her horse Katie shoot forward, angling to the right where a barrel waits amid dry mounds of dirt. Rider and mare slow as they approach the barrel, leaning their bodies into the curve. Dice’s white shirt billows in the lashing wind.…
Forever Our Friend: Nimoy Dead at 83
Leonard Nimoy died today. Damn: Most widely known for his performance as half-human, half-Vulcan science officer Spock on the classic sci-fi TV show “Star Trek” and its many subsequent film and videogame incarnations, Nimoy was also a successful director, helming “Star Trek” pics “The Search for Spock” and “The Voyage Home,” as well as non-“Star…
You’re Going to Want to Follow us on Instagram
Ten Fifty-Five's collaboration saison with Agustin Kitchen is now at Tap & Bottle. A photo posted by Tucson Weekly (@tucsonweekly) on Feb 20, 2015 at 12:09pm PST So, when I was getting started this job, Mari had just taken over as editor. She and I sat down and talked about all of the things we…
Mamma Llama Empanadas Are Back, Partner with Tucson Tamale
Phoenix might have their llama drama, but down here in Tucson we have Mamma Llama back again. About two years ago, Mamma Llama Empanadas closed the door to their brick-and-mortar operation off of Craycroft and Grant roads. Vicki Sims and Kris Masalsky, the duo behind Mamma Llama, recently decided to license their empanadas to Todd…
Catch ChamberLab’s Orchestral Performance of ‘The General’ Saturday
Last year, Tucson favorite ChamberLab set a live orchestra to Buster Keaton’s classic Civil War silent film “The General.” This weekend, the show is getting a rare second run. Chris Black, who got ChamberLab started, says this was the show everyone was devastated to have missed. “We did it right on Easter weekend, or around…
Homeland Security Moving Closer To Shutdown
The Department of Homeland Security is moving closer to a shutdown, meaning Southern Arizona Border Patrol agents and other DHS employees will be expected to work for vouchers or be furloughed. Talking Points Memo reports: House Republican leaders are refusing to support legislation that funds the Department of Homeland Security without imposing immigration policy restrictions,…
Goodness Juice Bar Serves Up a Surprisingly Well-Balanced Cocktail
I walked into Goodness Juice Bar near the UA campus with some preconceived notions. “Surely,” I thought in a flurry of booze hauteur, “a juice bar can’t possibly be making good cocktails.” After all, half of their drinks are made with flavored vodkas. For someone who doesn’t judge a dive bar by its slummy digs,…
Support Camp Born This Way By Dancing at La Cocina
It’s time to get up and get out of your house because the Coming Out Queer Dance Party is going down again at La Cocina this Friday and this time its benefitting Camp Born This Way. For the do-gooders out there, Camp Born This Way will get donations from the event which will help to keep…
Parents of Slain Journalist James Foley Speak at the UA Tonight
John and Diane Foley—the parents of James Foley, an inspiring freelance journalist who was murdered by members of ISIS in Syria on Aug. 19, 2014—will participate this evening in a discussion at the University of Arizona about what it is like for journalists to face a world that seems to be getting more and more…
Diane Douglas & Doug Ducey May Be Able to Be Friends Again: This Bill Clarifies Who Runs the Board of Ed
Things seem to be going well between Gov. Doug Ducey and Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas, especially now that legislation clarifying who can fire people in the state’s Board of Education is underway. State Sen. Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City collaborated with Ducey and Douglas on the language, which would be added as…
The Skinny
Border Order A federal judge has blocked Obama’s executive actions on immigration as a shutdown of Homeland Security looms A federal judge in Texas last week stopped the Obama Administration’s plan to move forward with new programs designed to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation. U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen of Brownsville ruled in favor…
The Pleasure Activist
You might have heard of Kegel exercises. You might have even seen devices designed to strengthen Kegel muscles. If you are anything like I was many years ago, you might have glanced right past these explanations and devices because they didn’t seem to pertain to you. Or because it had the word “exercise” in it, you were instantly…
Danehy
Brad Hemphill is one of my very best friends in coaching. (And before you roll your eyes and say, “Oh no, another article about high-school sports,” perhaps if you could find something that makes you as happy as coaching makes me, you wouldn’t be so damn negative. Just a thought. Besides, this isn’t about me.)…
Jam Land
The Brothers Gow are a jam band that stews together rock, funk, jazz and reggae and more. It all fits because of the connection the band members have built up over the years, practicing relentlessly, touring regularly and keeping everything democratic. “None of us are actually brothers, but we’re just like brothers,” says Kyle Merrill,…
Chop Shop
There’s no pretty way to slaughter and butcher an animal, but there is a way to do it as humanely as possible. That’s the way that Sam Garcia and his team of students and workers at the UA Animal Sciences department seek to go. Every Friday, Garcia and a crew of about five to six…
Quick Bites
FRYBREAD FROM HEAVEN Manna from Heaven is open and slinging up frybread, burritos, dorado tacos and more in Barrio Hollywood. The small stand is clean, modest and very welcoming, with about 10 seats inside and several more seats on the detached back patio. The menu lists frybread options including plain ($3), honey and powdered sugar…
The Best Show. 100% Female.
Hosted by and at the Tucson Improv Movement, 329 E. 7th St., “The Best Show. Period,” features an all female cast, which is sadly risqué in the comedy world. The show boldly rejects the stereotype that women aren’t funny and instead is awesomely produced and performed exclusively by women. On Saturday, Feb. 28 at 9…
Hip Hop Helps
“The Elements” is an event centered on enjoying the culture of hip hop while also helping out youth in need (for more on the show, go to our music section). Hip hop is a creative outlet and source of refuge for many youth today facing modern struggles. On Saturday, Feb. 28 from 7 to 11…
Grand Finale to Black History Month
It’s the last call to celebrate Black History Month, and the Barbea Williams Performing Company is putting on a dance performance to bring the month to a close. Titled “Courage—Steppin’ Outta Fear,” this three-part act show will celebrate dance, drama, culture and the spoken word. The group will perform three separate times—at 7:30 p.m. on…
Can We Get An Encore
Chamberlab is putting on a rare second performance of their beloved musical arrangement set to Buster Keaton’s classic Civil War silent film “The General”. On Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m., the 11-piece chamber orchestra will play in the pit of the historic Fox Theater, located at 17 W. Congress St. Audience members that demand…
Editor’s Note
I’m not big on comparing generations. It’s never made much sense to me that those before us like to tell younger generations that they don’t know what sacrifice is like or younger generations who think their era’s problems are the greatest any generation has faced. Unless we’re talking WWII, I think we need to stop…
Community Water Dialogue
This event will shed light on local work dedicated to ensuring a sustainable water future for our region and draw parallels to how it fits into the bigger picture of proper water management in the West. From 9 to 11 a.m. at the Watershed Management Group’s Living Lab, 1137 N. Dodge Blvd., on March 5,…
Dust Devils
I never knowed anyone figuring Jesus approves turning on juice at Florence Prison. Criminals boil for a couple of hours, splashing pimples on the concrete. What the hell good does that do? I dare you—go up there and see if you vomit. But when you get back to Tucson don’t expect me and the kids to…
Hibernian Happenings
Accordionist Fiona Black of the band The Outside Track is not from Ireland but from Scotland, in the far northern reaches of the island, past Inverness. From the time she was a “wee child,” she said, she danced the traditional dances of the Highlands. The back-to-tradition “Fèisean movement” was re-introducing the old music to young…
Police Dispatch
Accordion to Her … UA Area Jan. 22, 10:45 a.m. A University of Arizona coed received an unwelcome accordion “serenade” from a male peer, a UA Police Department report stated. According to the female student, she’d met the subject about three semesters ago in a class, and he asked her name. Then, she said, he found…
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
The modern city of Tucson got its start in 1775 when a red-headed Irishman picked this spot along the river for a Spanish presidio. The native First Farmers preceded the Spanish and Irish by, oh, 3,800 years, but the early appearance of Hugh O’Connor, known by the Spanish as Hugo Oconor, helps Tucson lay claim…
Moving Along
Despite a temporary block of President Barack Obama’s 2014 immigration action, volunteers arrived at a weekly educational clinic at Pueblo High Magnet School last Thursday evening with an important message for more than 100 people seeking relief: Don’t be discouraged and proceed with your plans to apply. This soothed Mexico native Jazmin Huguez, a mother…
Hollywood Crazy
Director David Cronenberg (“The Fly,” “Scanners”) takes a blowtorch to Hollywood’s face with “Maps to the Stars,” a scabrous, scary and darkly funny satire about movie stars, their agents, and their crazy kids. Not since David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” has Hollywood gotten such a severe, and entertaining, skewering. The two films have more than Hollywood…
Smoke and Mirrors
Smokers who work for Pima County got a break from higher insurance rates this year—but they could be facing steeper co-pays in the future. The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday, Feb. 17, to increase insurance rates for tobacco users, but said the increased fees would be waived as long as workers took…
B-Sides
HARDCORE REVISITED Remember about 10 years ago when everyone went to hardcore shows and thrashed around like maniacs? Well, it’s time to bring those days back again when one of the screamo genre’s favorite acts, Senses Fail, plays The Rock for their 10th anniversary tour. Before they take the stage to play their 2004 release…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: As I’ve been doing a lot more business in the city of Santa Ana (one of the most-Mexican cities in the U.S.), I’ve realized that a shitload of Mexicans are the Fox News-type conservative, yacking out the same kind of shit you hear at a Glenn Beck conference except for immigration (probably because…
Hip Hop Community
If you’ve succumbed to the hype around the new FOX series, “Empire,” you may find the family drama intriguing, especially when gorgeous, but perennially some variation of bitch-faced Cookie Lyon (played by Taraji P. Henson) is slinging her inimitable shade. The story line fits a prevailing stereotype (Lookin’ at you, Fergie) of the rap and…
Media Watch
ASU student newspaper navigates all-digital terrain The unraveling of the traditional newspaper model has been a refrain played more often than a Katy Perry song in heavy top-40 rotation. Print is dying, or at the very least gradually fading away, and newspapers are trying to figure out how to bridge the gap financially in the…
Pot for the Citizens
Keep an eye out in the beginning of March for the final draft of a citizens’ initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in 2016. The Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project and Safer Arizona have been in intense talks about the language in the measure, in the works since the end of October. Throughout the process, wishes and…
