Cover Stories
The Curtain is Rising
So the wreaths are put away as are the menorahs, and everything you have now is less of everything you had, and is tidy and tucked away in those ubiquitous storage boxes every store in Tucson is hawking.
Sold Pueblo Visions
Michael Cajero has never been an artist of muted views.
Dance Away
After opera singer Bernard Bermudez’s lush baritone vocals stole the show at a Ballet Tucson concert last year, he got a repeat invitation.
Cinema Clips: Split
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan has finally made his first good movie since Signs (2002) with Split, a down-to-the-basics, creepy thriller propelled by excellent performances from James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch). The film reminds us that Shyamalan can be quite the capable director (and writer) when he isn’t getting too carried away. Taylor-Joy plays…
Cinema Clips: Elle
Paul Verhoeven, who never really recovered from the delicious calamity that was Showgirls (although Starship Troopers was pretty good), tries his hand again at a female empowerment movie (Yes, Showgirls was supposed to be a female empowerment movie) and he fails miserably. Isabelle Huppert labors away as Michele, owner of a company that makes terrible…
The Weekly List: 22 Things To Do in Tucson in the Next 10 Days
Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo. Pick of the Week: The Gem Show International Gem and Jewelry Show Tucson: It’s that time of the year again: White tents are popping up all over town and Tucson’s tourism season is in full swing. The best treasure hunt ever takes place right here…
Do the Math: Teachers Solve the Problem
I recently came across an ABC News video by Eliza Murphy of a fifth grade English teacher in North Carolina who completes personalized handshakes with each of his students before they enter his classroom. The teacher, Barry White Jr., and his obvious connection to his students prompted me to consider how influential of a role teachers…
Rally ‘Round the Refugees
A community rally in support of refugee resettlement is happening this Saturday, Feb. 4, from 2 to 3 p.m. at El Presidio Park, 160 W. Alameda St. City Council member Steve Kozachik and various faith leaders will speak at the event, in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban entry of refugees and…
Casa Video Top 10
When going to school or working full time (or both at the same time—why did I decide to do both?), time can go by painfully quickly. Like, how is it February all ready? What do you mean it’s 75 degrees outside? How is The Girl on the Train out on DVD already—didn’t it open in theaters…
Get Educated: Trump’s Immigration and Refugee Executive Order
President Trump’s recent immigration and refugee executive order has sparked passionate discussions on both sides of the spectrum of human rights and freedom of religion versus national security safeguards. Whether you want to support or reject this executive order, it’s important to be informed on what exactly this order states, and the implications of those…
Tucson’s ‘Resist Trump’ Participants Make a Statement
1,200 people. That’s the number the police department says attended Tucson’s “Resist Trump” rally in front of Senator McCain’s office Tuesday evening. That follows 15,000 at the Tucson Women’s March the day after the Inauguration, and a few other gatherings in between. I’ve participated in a number of street-side demonstrations, but this is the first…
Betsy, Go To the Principal’s Office, and Take Your F Paper With You!
Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, performed terribly at her confirmation hearings. She was poorly prepared, sometimes giving rambling answers without responding to the question, other times giving answers so wrong, it’s clear she has made no serious attempt to learn about testing, curriculum or federal education law. And now it turns out, she…
Scented Leaf Tea House and Lounge Adding Location Downtown
Everyone’s favorite tea place at the UA is opening a second location in Downtown Tucson and believe me, it’s going to be a hit. Scented Leaf Tea House and Lounge will be located between the store fronts of Diablo Burger and the former Proper restaurant at 308 E. Congress Street. Since their original location on…
So What Do Southern AZ Members of Congress Have To Say About Trump’s Exec Order?
President Donald Trump created uproar both around the globe with his temporary halt to refugee programs and travel bans on visitors from seven predominantly Muslim nations. Trump ordered a 120-day halt to allowing any refugees to enter the United States and barred any citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen from entering…
Poe Needs a Home
Hi, remember me? I’m Poe! I’m a pretty 1 year old girl and I need a home! I’m the kind of dog that loooooooves squeaky toys and play time. I’m looking for a home where I can get ample exercise and play time and would do great in a home with another dog. Don’t forget…
Ducey Bullshit Reveals His Education Budget Agenda
What Governor Ducey said isn’t a lie, exactly. It’s classic bullshit, and it tells you all you need to know about the most important part of his education budget agenda. It’s in an article about how Arizona teachers’ low salaries make them low hanging fruit for recruiters from nearby states where salaries are higher and…
Cinema Clips: The Comedian
Robert De Niro delivers a good performance in a film that doesn’t match his prowess from director Taylor Hackford. De Niro plays Jackie Burke, an aging stand up comedian dealing with a TV sitcom past he isn’t all too proud of. Straight up, De Niro does a nice job playing a Don Rickles-type, old school…
Redbubble Is Your New Best Friend
A phone case with an intergalactic kitten. A coffee mug with enough turquoise cactuses that it practically screams “Tucson.” Laptop case stickers with quotes from your favorite sitcom or Netflix binge. Even products with the campaign logos of whatever political statement you want to make. It’s all on Redbubble, and once you peruse their site, you’ll…
Reality Check: Some K-12 and University Funding Numbers
These state education funding numbers bear repeating, again and again and again, lest we forget that funding for K-12 schools and universities in Arizona plummeted after 2009. Two stories in Friday’s Star—both by Howard Fischer, one including the Star’s Yoohyun Jung—remind us of that important fact. Lest we forget. [Unsolicited MSM plug: Support your local mainstream media.…
In The Flesh: The Cloud Walls and Charlie Stout at Tap & Bottle, Thursday, Jan. 26
Joe Novelli, Chris Kallini, Geoffrey Hidalgo, Charlie Stout, The Cloud Walls
Our Last Day in D.C.
On our last day in DC, we visited the National American Indian Museum, the Air and Space Museum, and the Lincoln Monument. We tried to go to the African American Museum of History and Culture, but it seems impossible to get tickets. At the National Indian Museum, we saw beautiful art and read about the…
The Weekly List: 18 Things To Do In Tucson In The Next 10 Days
Your Weekly guide to saying busy in the Old Pueblo. Weekly Pick: Rethinking Reality Rethinking Reality: The UA College of Science’s Spring Lecture Series will explore the strange world of physics this year with the theme of “Rethinking Reality.” The first of five lectures features UA physics prof Keith R. Dienes, who will lay the groundwork…
Win Tickets to see Atrophy at The Rock
Quick Atrophy backstory: These metal doomsdayers rose out of Tucson in the mid to late ’80s and their brand of mind-altering thrash was wholly ignored in the local press. Well, screw the press because like any music that truly matters, the kids understood it. Atrophy’s blend of fist-jacking melodies, hardcore dirge, and speedy Judas Priest-ish…
Big City Mayors, Governors Make a Statement
Trump went after “sanctuary cities” with an executive order threatening to take away federal funds if they refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in deporting undocumented immigrants. Mayors in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and New York, among others, came right back at him, along with some governors. And they may have…
Noise Annoys
As we enter officially into the death throes of the 2010s, the trail of musical carnage we leave behind is such that, if this were a real life war, the losses and casualties would be too great to understand the original aim of the conflict.
Reluctant Brilliance
Bright, late afternoon light beams in through the wide windows, illuminating the orders of food on the pass line.
Monster Territory
The key to M. Night Shyamalan’s recent success seems to be putting a severe limit on the amount of money he’s allowed to throw around.
Take The Highway
There was a time after he’d moved from Tucson to Houston that Rich Hopkins thought of recruiting a new band, under the name My Way Or The Highway.
Know Your Product: Pop Evil
North Muskegon, Michigan ain’t exactly the hippest rock ‘n’ roll town in the world, or even that state.
Vintage Vinyl Tucson
“Scandal” b/w “Send-Di” by King Rock and the Knights, Zoom Records ZR-003, 1959 Same, Zoom Records ZR-005 1966
Parental Guidance
When my mother caught my little brother smoking pot in the basement—proof that I’d failed to educate him on the clandestine tactics of smoking in your parents’ house—she broke down in tears.
Editor’s Note
Mari thinks about how lucky she is to have such a unique 15-year-old who brings her joy everyday.
Dust Devil
Needles sharp.
Culture Control
State Rep. Bob Thorpe, a Flagstaff Republican, has introduced three education-related bills at the Arizona Legislature that target social justice courses, and DREAMers and have spurred activists springing into action.
Police Dispatch
A couple of women made themselves quite at home in a stranger’s storage unit—even fashioning a (very crude) “restroom” for themselves there.
Police Dispatch
Hostility among honey vendors escalated into a small-scale (OK, very small-scale) turf war.
The Skinny
Team Ducey hosts a public budget presentation in Tucson, but doesn’t do much outreach to let folks know it’s happening
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Recently at the local Northgate market, I saw a man wearing a T-shirt that said “MEXICAN” followed by a clarification: “NOT Latino: Latinos are Anglo Europeans from Italy. NOT Hispanic: Hispanics are Anglo Europeans from Spain.”
Tucson Salvage
A sharp pop cracked inside the main cabin and the Boeing 737 tilted left—bump-thump—but quickly swung back into its path, and dozing heads bounced gently along.
