Cover Story
Jazz Hot!
The trope of a female jazz singer is often defined under one term: canary. The canary comes out in a flowing dress, belting out songs of love and loss with a band of musicians behind her. While that’s traditionally been the role of women in the genre, that idea no longer dominates the conversation regarding…
J.D. Souther Is Performing As Part of the Tucson Jazz Festival
J.D. Souther, who counts Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles as just a few of his many collaborators, will be performing on Saturday, Jan. 24, as part of the inaugural Tucson Jazz Festival that is now underway. Souther will be performing with the legendary Billy Childs at 8 p.m. at the Fox Theatre. Find a full…
New Bill Asks for Arizona Police Officers to Wear Body Cameras
Prompted by the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson and cops choking Eric Garner in Staten Island as he screamed “I can’t breathe,” Democratic state Rep. Reginald Bolding of Phoenix today filed a bill that would require police officers to wear body cameras. Arizona is no stranger to these events. Last year, police in…
Fight for GMO Labeling Makes a Comeback in the AZ Legislature
A group of Arizona lawmakers—two of them from the Tucson area—has introduced a bill that would force companies to label foods that have been entirely or partially genetically engineered. From HB 2462 authored by State Reps. Victoria Steele, Juan Mendez, Ken Clark, Richard Andrade, Diego Espinoza and Rosanna Gabaldón: If a food is required to be…
Diablo Burger is About to Become Even More Delicious
Diablo Burger, my favorite place to indulge in rosemary fries and a smokey burger, announced a partnership with The Screamery yesterday on Facebook. The Screamery, in case you’re new here, is an ice creamery on the eastside that pasteurizes on-site to make absolutely unbelievable ice cream. Save your calories for Feb. 1, the day the ice cream…
Dr. Word Asks: Ghoti Tacos, Anyone?
An article in today’s Star talks about a proposition to create an International English Spelling Congress to make the way we spell words more logical and consistent. The article mentions the letter string “ough,” which can be pronounced at least seven ways—as in the words “though,” “through,” “cough,” “rough,” “plough,” “ought” and “borough.” As an old…
Tucson Sculpture Fest Showcases International Artists in Downtown
While our neighbors up north are gearing up for tons of out-of-towners flooding in to watch some sportsball, down here we can keep it a little classier and head to the sixth annual Tucson Sculpture Festival’s opening night event on Saturday, Jan. 31. The event features over 75 local and international sculptors, including artists from…
Mexico in Season Seeks Support to Stay Open with Kickstarter Campaign
Mexico in Season has carved out a place in the hearts of Tucsonans looking for vegan Mexican cuisine in a fast, casual, and friendly atmosphere. However, now the family-owned restaurant, which is known for options like nopalitos and seitan fajitas, might be forced to shutter. Owner Priscilla Teran says community support wasn’t the issue for…
Let’s Watch Head Over Heart’s New Music Video by Alex Italics
2014 was a good year for Tucson filmmaker Alex Italics: His short film, Sheltered Love, won enough awards at festivals to fill the average bomb shelter; John Hodgman declared him the winner of a contest to make a music video for They Might Be Giants (watch it here); and on New Year’s Eve, he got…
Vets Removed from Arizona’s “Budget Balanced on the Backs of” List
Randy Metcalf/Tucson Local Media Doug Ducey at the 2015 State of the State Yesterday I wrote a post condemning Ducey’s decision to take money donated to help living post-9/11 veterans and use it to keep cemeteries for veterans running. My headline was, Vets Join Arizona’s “Budget Balanced on the Backs of” List. A line from the…
Local Musicians Vie for a Tiny Desk Concert Spot via YouTube
If you’re already a fan of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, you know the series of videos is a great place to discover up-and-coming talent in the music world among videos of stripped down performances from more established musicians. That’s probably why so many local artists have submitted YouTube videos to win their spot to record…
Obama’s State of the Union Address is Coming Up Later Today; VP Joe Biden Wants to Make It Pretty
This evening, President Obama will be giving his State of the Union address. He’s expected to discuss a very progressive tax plan, which would hike taxes for the folks with large salaries and give the middle-class tax breaks, celebrate the economy’s recovery post Great Recession, talk terror threats and foreign policies, among other goals he’s…
Beats & Bends Brings Yoga and Dance to the Roof of Playground
Playground’s rooftop area might have a space reserved in the bumping, grinding, and boozing weekend portion of your brain, but now the bar’s roof will be home to beats of a different kind— specifically of the West African variety. The bar, located at 278 E. Congress St., is presenting two classes on Tuesday nights to add…
Healthy, Culturally-Diverse Eats Invade Catalina High School This Week
TUSD’s Catalina High School and the district’s Food Services Department want you to come try some internationally-inspired food as the high school preps for the Healthier U.S. School Challenge: Smarter Lunches. About the challenge: It is a voluntary certification initiative recognizing those schools enrolled in Team Nutrition that have created healthier school environments through promotion…
The BBC has Popped Up in the Desert
Tucson, we have some visitors. BBC Pop Up is traveling around the US, introducing the world at large to different cultures and they’ve landed in the Old Pueblo. I want to love it. I mean, sure, in their first video they referred to Tucson as the “Wild West,” shot half the footage at the OK Corral…
Education Bills in the Lege (Which May or May Not See the Light of Day)
Courtesy of Shutterstock Many bills are written in the Arizona legislature, but few are chosen. And when Democrats write the bills, even fewer make the cut. With that in mind, here’s an incomplete list of bills relating to education which I hope will get a serious hearing, even though some of them are less than…
Downtown Kitchen’s Happy Hour Benefits Ben’s Bells on Jan. 22
This week you can keep Tucson kind and have some great eats all at once when Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails joins forces with Ben’s Bells for a special happy hour event. On Thursday, Jan. 22 from 4 until 6 p.m. you can enjoy food and drink specials including $2.50 craft brews, $5 glasses of wine,…
Celebrate King Day with a Free Movie at the Loft
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday celebration today, the Loft Cinema is presenting a free showing of Through a Lens Darkly, a documentary that, according to the Loft’s description, “traces the nearly 200-year struggle to counter demeaning and stereotyped images with positive and authentic ones, probing the recesses of American history by discovering…
Get Free Tickets to See March Fourth Marching Band at Rialto Theatre
Somewhere between a circus sideshow and a funky marching band, March Fourth blends visual art with music for a high energy, one-of-a-kind performance that will keep you dancing. The full band is stopping back through Tucson to play the Rialto Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 24 and we have a pair of free tickets to give…
ICE Responds to Abuse of Transgender Detainee Allegations
Last week, I wrote about the case of Nicoll Hernández-Polanco, a Guatemalan transgender woman who is detained in an all-male Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Florence. Mariposas Sin Fronteras, a Tucson LGBT/immigration advocacy group, and the Transgender Law Center wrote a letter denouncing the verbal, physical and sexual abuse Nicoll has endured while in custody.…
Larry Wilmore Bringing Extra Nightly-ness to Comedy Central Tonight
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows Larry Wilmore is taking over Stephen Colbert’s time slot on Comedy Central tonight with his new program, the Nightly Show. Wilmore, who you should recognize as the Daily Show’s Senior Black Correspondent, will be the only African-American host on late night TV. His show, which is premiering on…
TUSD’s Sanchez Responds to Ducey’s Budget
In response to Gov. Doug Ducey’s recently released state budget proposal with what seems like an estimate in $13.5 million in cuts in K-12 schools and$75 million from universities, Tucson Unified School District Superintendent H.T. Sanchez issued the follow statement: Tucson, AZ, January 16, 2015 — Despite claims that he supports public education, the budget…
Hoopleville’s David Kish Doing MLK Event Tomorrow
jazz-TW.pdf Yes, we love all our comics at Weekly World Central, but we have to admit we have special place in our hearts for Hoopleville’s David Kish and the beautiful artwork he produces outside his comic world—large and small cardboard artworks full of color, layers and, quite often, with a statement to remind us about…
AZ Dispensaries Sell More Medical Pot As Fewer People Are Able to Grow Their Own
Dispensary marijuana sales tripled from 2013 to last year, according to an end-of-year medical marijuana report published by the Arizona Health Services this week. In numbers from January 2014 to last month, there were close to 1.45 million individual sales among the reported 55,000 medical marijuana patients in the state, totaling 10 tons of marijuana.…
Peer Into “The Eyes of the Immigrant Woman Artist” at the YWCA’s New Exhibition
Explore vibrant Mexican landscapes and images of strong women through the work of Tucson-based artist Cristina Cardenas. A collection of some of Cardenas’ pieces is now on view at the YWCA Francis McClelland Community Center. Originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Cardenas’ work focuses on making a political statement through images of empowerment. You may recognize Cardenas’ style from her…
Misused Education Stats in the Star’s WaPo Editorial
It’s OK that I don’t agree with the Washington Post editorial in Friday’s Star, which says we should keep testing students in reading and math every year. I’ll even hold my nose and not complain when it says the testing regimen beginning with the No Child Left Behind law is “a civil rights achievement that…
Pretend “Everyday Is Like Sunday” with R Bar’s Weekend DJ Series
You might not be ready to let go of the weekend on Sunday, so go ahead and squeeze every last moment of good times and freedom out of the weekend by heading to R Bar for the very fun and very free “Everyday Is Like Sunday” DJ night. This week, DJ Badcop and DJ AlixP…
U.S. Supreme Court is Reviewing More Same-Sex Marriage Ban Challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court in April is going to hear arguments from four cases—coming from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee—challenging bans on same-sex marriage. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the high court is set to decide whether same-sex couples around the country have the constitutional right to wed. “Today’s announcement sets the stage…
Tucson Mountains Trail Hound: The McCain Loop Trails
Well, it’s a couple of weeks after the fact, but 2015 is here and it’s time to get back out and hike, stroll and meander around the desert in and around the Tucson Mountains again. Herein, a primer on possibly my favorite area around (if not exactly in) the Tucson Mountains, the McCain Loop in…
ACLU, Feds Settle Decade-Long Suit Against Wrongful Imprisonment of Muslim Man Post 9/11
The American Civil Liberties Union has settled a lawsuit against the U.S. government and its post 9/11 tactic to imprison Muslim men as material witnesses without any evidence or reason to hold them in the first place. Kansas native and U.S. citizen Abdullah al-Kidd, a former football player at the University of Idaho, was arrested…
Sneak Peek: “Zona Politics” Talks State of the State, McSally’s Immigration Vote & More
Zona Politics Eps.14 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo. On this week’s Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: Meet the new chairs of the local political parties! Pima County Democratic Party Chairwoman Cheryl Cage and Pima County Republican Party Chairman Bill Beard introduce themselves to Tucsonans, unpack Gov. Doug Ducey’s State of the State…
UA HiRISE Spots Missing Mars Lander
As The Range teased yesterday, the UA’s HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found the United Kingdom’s Beagle, a spacecraft that landed on Mars but was never heard from again. Daniel Stolte of the UA News Service has details: On Christmas Day 2003, a kitchen table-size lander descended onto the surface of the…
United Opt Out National Conference Starting Today in Florida
Image courtesy of shutterstock.com What if they gave a high stakes test and nobody came? That’s the question being asked by United Opt Out National as well a growing number of parents and educators around the country. The organization’s three day Standing Up For Action Conference begins today in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Standing Up For…
Has the UA’s HiRISE Camera Found a Missing Spacecraft on Mars?
We’ll know more tomorrow, but it looks like the UA’s HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter may have spotted a British spacecraft that crashed during its attempt to land on Mars in 2003. The Guardian reports: A British Mars lander that was lost on its way to the red planet more than a decade…
Ruin Your Enemies’ Day With an Envelope of Glitter
Do you happen to know the address of someone you hate? Do you happen to hate it when 22-year-olds stumble into surprisingly successful business ownership? Man, have I got the website for you. Mathew Carpenter started Ship Your Enemies Glitter to anonymously, kinda evilly ruin someone’s day in a really sparkly way. From the website:…
How a Gin Rickey Can Help Save Your Diet
Although I may or may not have eaten a donut for breakfast from La Estrella, you still might be on the straight and narrow righteous diet path—following through on those New Year’s resolutions. If you are, congrats, but even if you’re not, it can’t hurt to cut a few calories in your boozing regimen. When…
History of Goldwater Institute’s Very Bad Civics Survey
I should have caught this myself. When Governor Ducey said 96 percent of Arizona students can’t pass the civics test given to new citizens to justify a mandatory civics test for high school students, I should have remembered the discredited Goldwater Institute survey he got his figure from. But it took today’s AP article to…
Media Watch
Bill White leaves KQTH morning news, Rapp to step in Bill White’s tenure as program director for news/talk format KQTH 104.1 FM was short lived. White accepted a position with a radio station in Sacramento, bringing to a close a 17-month stopover in Tucson. But while short, it was eventful. In a market and business…
Brew Infusion
If there’s any doubt that the Old Pueblo is dedicated to craft beer, consider that several spots have taken to the relatively new trend of beer Randalling. By taking already brewed beer and infusing it with citrus, spices, chiles and more, inventive brewers and bartenders alike can add another layer of flavor to the brews…
The Never-Ending Scrutiny
It’s 8:50 a.m. on a Friday, and this Cholla Magnet High School classroom starts filling up with students’ chatter. Their professor, Corey Jones, greets each student one by one as they walk in—hand shakes, pats on the back. Before the school announcements, Jones asks his kids to arrange their desks in a circle; that’s the…
Quick Bites
TACO THE TOWN When you first walk into the brand new Street Taco and Beer Co. off Congress Street north of Church, you can’t ignore the similarity between the new locally owned joint and the national chain Chipotle. Even the menu is kind of similar—offering single street tacos with flour or corn tortillas for $2…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I go to Mexico frequently, as I live in Tucson. I kinda like Mexicans. Many Mexicans die in the Sonoran Desert in the Tucson border sector, trying to get to el otro lado. This is because your buddies at la migra in the L.A. sector have pushed them over this way. Instead of…
Soundbites
Tucson music fans may still be broke, and maybe a little tired, from year-end doings, but after a couple weeks and a first 2015 paycheck, we’re guessing the booty wants some shaking, some friends’ gathering instincts need renewing or it’s time to start making good on that resolution to meet new folks who share your…
The Skinny
Details To Follow Gov. Doug Ducey’s State of the State sounded good, but what are his actual plans? In his State of the State address, Gov. Doug Ducey promised a new approach to government: “These next few weeks, we could all use the fresh outlook of newcomers, not trapped in the old ways of thinking…
What the Old Pueblo Needs Now
Burt Bacharach has written so many hit songs that even performing just the biggest ones during a single show is a challenge. Since 1957, the legendary composer and songwriter has charted 73 top 40 hits in the United States, including some of the most memorable hits of the 1960s for artists like Dusty Springfield (“Wishin’…
Danehy
DEAR GOVERNOR DUCEY: We’re now nearly two weeks into what I fear will be your Reign of Error, but so far, so good. The sky hasn’t fallen; you haven’t eliminated all taxes and given the money to your rich friends; and you haven’t once used the word “wetback.” Well done, Sir, especially considering the threatening…
Dopey Doctrinal Skirmishes, Deep South Version
Mary, a disagreeable old cuss in sensible shoes, is a faithful Catholic who always has Father Murphy over for dinner on Thursdays and who never misses Mass on Sundays. Staying home from church would be unthinkable. After all, her fellow parishioners aren’t going to complain about themselves. That’s her job. Here’s a woman who long…
The Art of Waiting
Written in French by an Irishman, “Waiting for Godot” continues to chase its theatrical tail more than 60 years after it was first performed. The piece is right up The Rogue Theatre’s alley—they’ve never shied away from the challenges of a complicated piece—and they have mounted a very good production of Samuel Beckett’s ode to…
A Chance to Wear Flannel
Joe Pagac and Andy DePew’s Alpine Lodge Theme Party is back, Saturday, Jan. 17, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. It’s a birthday party that everyone can attend, but you better dress up as your favorite lumberjack, skier/snowboarder, polar bear, yeti, or lederhosen-wearing beer drinker. Go on the…
This Week in Craft Beer
We’ve all heard of pairing beer to foods, but what about to experiences? Whether the occasion involves porch lounging with a good book, midnight drinking with a few friends, campfire sipping with your better half, or beach bumming with the family, I’ve always felt that there is a beer tailored to life’s many leisurely moments.…
Happy Birthday Henry Gray
Help Henry Gray celebrate his 90th birthday on Friday, Jan. 16, at the Boondocks Lounge, 3306 N. First Ave. Gray is no rock ‘n’ roll wilting flower. The man has a European tour coming up soon. This all-star celebration, organized by KXCI’s The Blues Review’s Marty Kool with the Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation, features…
The Human Condition
You need space for the kind of work Michael Cajero has produced for his latest show, which debuts Sunday, Jan. 18, from 2 to 6:30 p.m. at the Process Museum, 8000 S. Kolb Road (northwest corner of I-10 and Kolb). This powerful show is, as described by Cajero, a depiction of the human condition, good…
Let’s Talk Art
The Tucson Pima Arts Council brings together art leaders, directors and administrators on Thursday, Jan. 15 with EmcArts top learn about a training opportunity for Art Leaders and Cultural Innovators (ALACI). Given the changing landscape of arts and culture in this country—particularly around how people engage in the arts and the growing desire for participatory…
Loose with the Truth
Time is a jagged line in “Foxcatcher” but the chronology of events is shoved into the background by their scandalous nature. The new film by director Bennett Miller (“Moneyball,” “Capote”) rocketed up the must-see lists after wowing the audiences at the Cannes Film Festival, but that hullabaloo has started to dissolve. Its slide may have…
Cinema Showdown
BIG SCREEN CHUTZPAH Kicking off this week of movie madness, the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival is celebrating its 24th year beginning on Thursday, Jan. 15. The ten-day movie event will have its opening night event at The Loft featuring the film “Little White Lie.” Filmmaker Lacey Schwartz will be at the screening of her…
American War Story
Chris Kyle is a legendary Navy SEAL, and Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of him in Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” is powerful and compelling. Eastwood’s film, as a whole, has plenty of problems, but Cooper rises above the patchy melodrama and overly slick segments to make the film worthwhile. Kyle was killed while the film was being…
Medication Home
Tucson medical marijuana users now have a home away from home where they can medicate and hang out. The 420 Social Club on Fourth Avenue has been open to all medical marijuana card holders since last month, and it’s the first to start functioning in the Old Pueblo, while a few already have been set…
Editor’s Note
It’s fair to say taking on the Tucson Weekly as managing editor has had its share of transitions—mostly those pesky holiday deadlines and crafting out a new vision for Tucson’s alternative newsweekly. That’s meant some staff changes. Before the end of the year we had a chance to introduce you to our new food and…
The Pleasure Activist
Are You Ever Embarrassed to Use Lube? While carrying out my usual sex toy research, I came across several articles on how to introduce sex toys and lube into your relationship. In all honesty, my first reaction was surprise. Yes, I am aware that sexuality in our society is still shrouded in secrecy, darkness, and…
Police Dispatch
Tiny Canine, Huge Commotion UA Area Dec. 30, 9: 14 a.m. A man accused of kidnaping a Chihuahua received chilling threats over social media, a University of Arizona Police Department report stated. UA officers met with a homeless man at the Main Library, where he was at the computers checking Facebook. He said some people…
Nine Questions
Kiki Nelson Tucson artist and photographer Kiki Nelson is a transplant to Tucson via Portland via California. The self-proclaimed “Happy Accident With Feet,” says she courts the organic moment, real people and connections, and the authentic experience. She says she loves Tucson because the people she’s met in this crazy little city have enriched her life.…
Darkness Visible
The 2014 election brought a flood of so-called “dark money” into Arizona campaigns. Close to $15 million was spent by groups whose donors remained anonymous as of Oct. 28, 2014, according to Arizona’s Politics blogger Mitch Martinson, who tracked the money behind campaigns throughout the year. The rise in dark-money spending is not unique to…
Who’s who and what’s what: A Guide To The Festival
Jazz takes over downtown Tucson this week with the inaugural HLS Properties Tucson Jazz Festival, bringing 12 days of music from Friday, Jan. 16 to Wednesday Jan. 28. If you’re working downtown on Monday, Jan. 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., be sure to catch the free downtown jazz fiesta, which fills the streets…
