Cover Story
¡Salvador!
He has a paintbrush in one hand, and a guitar in the other. To Salvador Duran, these aren’t mutually exclusive tools; they’re one in the same. “I paint my music and sing my paintings,” Duran says in Spanish, the language he spoke during most of our conversations. Duran’s twin brother died when they were only…
Janos Wilder: “We Will Serve You the Flavors of the New American Melting Pot”
Janos Wilder has detailed the painstaking process of designing his new restaurant, Downtown Kitchen and Cocktails, on his blog, but there’s been little mention of the food it’ll serve—until recently. From the newest post on Wilder’s blog: I wrote the first menus three months ago. DOWNTOWN will serve the food of what America is today.…
The LD26 Debate Debate
Republican Senator Al Melvin State Senator Al Melvin, a Republican from Saddlebrooke, is catching some heat over his liberal use of the word “debate.” Melvin recently told the Weekly he would not debate his Democratic contender, Cheryl Cage, before the 2010 election because he is too busy. But in a statement on his website, the…
Update: Downtown Monkey Burger
Chef Matthew Stricker (aka Chef Mattie) from Monkey Burger says the restaurant’s downtown location is on track to open in mid-August. The new location is going in at the former Burger City spot at 47 N. Sixth Ave., right across the street from the Ronstadt Transit Center. Stricker said the building has been remodeled and…
New Giffords Ad Features Cochise County Rancher
Democrat Gabrielle Giffords debuts her new ad today in her bid for reelection to the CD8 spot in Congress. Guest starring in the ad is Cochise County rancher and environmentalist Warner Glenn.
Seattle Says No to ‘Bodies’
An alert reader, Travis, tipped us off to the fact that the city of Seattle has banned exhibits—like the Bodies display currently at the Rialto building—unless the exhibitor can prove it has the consent of the deceased or the families of the deceased. According to The Seattle Times: Seattle residents — from anatomy professors to…
Now Open: Empire Pizza and Pub
The brand-new Empire Pizza and Pub is open at 137 E. Congress St. On the menu: pizza (slices and whole pies), sandwiches, hot wings, salads and a couple of desserts. Order at the counter, and take a seat at one of the outdoor tables up front, or head to the back room where the bar…
Tucson’s Everyday People: Close Encounters with the Sixth Kind, with Eddie Gallego
Close Encounters with the Sixth Kind with Eddie GallegoBy Blair Kurland The vanishing cowboy pays a visit to the Old Town Artisans.
Team Hayworth Blasts McCain’s Ties to Convicted Ponzi Schemer
After noticing our earlier post on their candidate’s links to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramhoff, Team Hayworth suggested we note U.S. Sen. John McCain’s ties to fundraiser Scott Rothstein, who was sentenced to 50 years in prison last month for running a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Here’s the story from Jonathan J. Cooper, via HuffPo: A now-disbarred…
Hayworth on Crooked Candidates 2010
As if the relentless barrage of hit pieces from Sen. John McCain wasn’t bad enough for Republican J.D. Hayworth: Now Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has put the would-be U.S. senator on the list of Crooked Candidates 2010. Here’s what CREW says about him: Mr. Hayworth served in the U.S. House of Representatives…
Jan Brewer = Chuck Norris?
Gov. Jan Brewer has a new Facebook page: Jan Brewer Facts. Hat tip: Robert Mayer
CD8: Paton Endorsed By Arizona Right to Life
Former state lawmaker Jonathan Paton, one of four Republican candidates seeking to oust Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has been endorsed by Arizona Right to Life. “I’m honored that Arizona Right to Life has chosen me as the person they trust most to stand up in Congress for the values we hold so dear,” Paton said…
The McCain-Hayworth-Deakin Debate
U.S. Sen. John McCain and Republican challenger J.D. Hayworth spent a second night tearing each other apart, while Jim Deakin laughed at both of them and promised to dismantle everything from Medicare to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Martian Mantles
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona A new batch of photos from the UA’s HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available here. HiRISE team member Kelly Kolb tells us about the above shot: A northern mid-latitude scene consisting of craters, intercrater plains, and mantled material is visible in this HiRISE image. The mantled material seen here…
Pima County Library Unveils New Web Site
A Chicago Fox News affiliate recently delivered a particularly stupid story questioning whether libraries were a big waste of tax dollars: They eat up millions of your hard earned tax dollars. It’s money that could be used to keep your child’s school running. So with the internet and e-books, do we really need millions for…
LD28: Clean Elections Debate
The five Democrats seeking a House seat in midtown Tucson’s Legislative District 28 debated last week.
Missing Poll Tapes
Frequent commenter J.T. Waldron has this to say about the poll tapes from the RTA election: The Tucson Weekly has afforded me this opportunity to post on The Range about the missing RTA poll tapes. What are poll tapes and why do they matter? Poll tapes are receipts that are printed in each precinct at…
Shameless Self Promotion: ‘Weekly’ Takes Home Three Altweekly Awards
The Tucson Weekly won three awards in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies’ 2010 Altweekly Awards. The results were announced Friday, July 16, at the AAN annual convention. Weekly art director Adam Kurtz nabbed top honors in the editorial layout category (less than 50,000 circulation) for his print layout of “The Strange Saga of Geronimo’s Skull”…
Tucson’s Everyday People: Spiritual Confirmation with Eddie Gallego
Spiritual Confirmation with Eddie GallegoBy Blair Kurland This final piece of video gives proof, if you choose to believe it, to the existence of the unearthly visitors.
The GOP Senate Smackdown: McCain vs. Hayworth vs. Deakin
After watching Republicans John McCain, J.D. Hayworth and Jim Deakin go after each other in tonight’s GOP Senate debate, it’s almost hard to believe they’ll be back in the ring tomorrow here in Tucson. Remember, political junkies: The show airs at 7 p.m. on Channel 6, KUAT-TV. Here are the GOP Senate Debate Drinking Game…
Phoenix Shitheads
A Phoenix New Times blog post today finally answers this question: Why do bands play Tucson instead of Phoenix? “Why is this cool band that I really love playing that bumblefuck shithole down South when they could play our sprawling metropolis of interconnected stripmalls?” Read the shithead’s comments here.
Endorsing Across the Aisle: Former Marana Mayor Ora Mae Harn Endorses Cheryl Cage Over Sen. Al Melvin in LD26
Ora Mae Harn, a life-long Republican and “First Lady of Marana,” endorsed Democrat Cheryl Cage over Republican Senator Al Melvin this week in the Legislative District 26 Senate race. “I met with her and she seemed like a really warm, ambitious lady who maybe didn’t share all my philosophy or anything, but she seemed like…
Friday Roundtable: The Governor’s Race, The Congressional District 8 Race and McCain vs. Hayworth
The week in review, courtesy of the Arizona Illustrated Roundtable gang. Don’t forget: Bill Buckmaster will be moderating the McCain-Hayworth-Deakin Senate debate from 7 to 8 p.m. tomorrow night on Channel 6. (Tonight’s Phoenix debate can be seen here in Tucson on Channel 18.)
Friday Roundtable: CIty Manager Mike Letcher
City Manager Mike Letcher stops by Arizona Illustrated’s Friday Roundtable to talk about the downtown hotel plan, the upcoming sales-tax election and more.
Brewer Vs. Obama
How much has Gov. Jan Brewer’s stock risen since she signed SB 1070? Public Policy Polling now includes Brewer in hypothetical match-ups against President Barack Obama: With his approval numbers hitting new lows it’s no surprise that Barack Obama’s numbers in our monthly look ahead to the 2012 Presidential race are their worst ever this…
Saturday Night at the Rialto: The Swell Season
The Swell Season performs this Saturday at downtown’s Rialto Theatre. Tickets are still available for what’s sure to be one of the best shows of the year. Details here.
“Birdemic” and Joan Rivers at The Loft Cinema
Birdemic is playing at the Loft Cinema tonight and tomorrow. Check it out if you’re a fan of really, really bad movies. Details here. Also opening this weekend: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, the Joan Rivers biopic. James DiGiovanna tells you why you should see it here: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work follows…
Kromko: SB 1070 “Doing Good in More Ways Than One”
Here’s the recent Clean Elections debate between the eight Democrats running in Legislative District 27, which stretches west from the University of Arizona to Three Points. Candidates include former state lawmakers John Kromko and Sally Ann Gonzales, and Sami Hamed, John Bernal, Dustin Cox, Bob Gilby, Macario Saldate and Eric Bustamante. (For more on Bustamante’s…
A Free Calexico Concert Download
Music editor Steve Seigel tells us that Tucson’s own Calexico, in collaboration with CASH Music, is offering a free download of a live show in Nuremberg that includes “Roka,” “Crystal Frontier,” “Man Made Lake” and seven other tracks. Get it yourself here.
Writer’s Block: Tom Walker and Mary Walker
Tom Walker and Mary Walker recently published Contrary Creek (Wheatmark, $22.95, 324 pages). Summary (per site):For generations, members of the Cloud family have lived on Contrary Creek. Their remote, isolated ranch seems safe from the world. Even tv signals can’t reach into the deep canyon where they live. But strange things are happening in the…
Bloom Night Tonight at Tohono Chul Park
Tohono Chul Park celebrates Bloom Night 2010 tonight from 6 p.m. to midnight. Experience the sights and smells of the flowering peniocereus greggi, shop at the museum shop and greenhouse, enter a raffle to win a night-blooming cereus plant and learn some anthropomorphic stories at 7 and 9 p.m. Bloom Night is free for park…
Where’s Tucson Weekly?
View Tucson Weekly’s Art Box Extravaganza! in a larger map A couple of months ago, we told you about Tucson Weekly’s Art Box Extravaganza project where we ask local artists to decorate our red distribution boxes. Now, we’re up to 10 art boxes at various spots around town (we’ve conveniently plotted the location of each…
UA Scientists Play God, Create New Mosquito That Can’t Transmit Malaria
Daniel Stolte, science writer for UA Communications, tells us: For years, researchers worldwide have attempted to create genetically altered mosquitoes that cannot infect humans with malaria. Those efforts fell short because the mosquitoes still were capable of transmitting the disease-causing pathogen, only in lower numbers. Now for the first time, University of Arizona entomologists have…
CD8 Financials: Paton Raises $165K
Republican Jonathan Paton has struggled to raise funds for his District 8 congressional campaign over the last three months. Paton raised somewhere around $165,000 between April and June—a lackluster quarter, especially compared to the nearly $600,000 that Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords announced yesterday. Paton’s take is a big drop from the half-million dollars that he…
Freebies: Craigslist Weirdness
One can learn about humanity by reading craigslist, and I mean more than how much musicians love music jargon, or how lazy students can be these days (for example, one ad in the “writing gigs” section simply states: “home work – don’t care”). An even deeper insight into the state of humankind can be found…
Tucson’s Everyday People: The Ghosts Among Us by Eddie Gallego at the Old Town Artisans
The Ghosts Among UsBy Blair Kurland Many unearthly visitors populate the Old Town Artisans. Hear another snippet from storyteller Eddie Gallego.
Completely Casual
Chaco’s Café doesn’t feel like a restaurant located in metro Tucson; instead, it feels like a Mexican joint somewhere in small-town Arizona. The vibe is decidedly casual; all of the servers wear attire like T-shirts and jeans, and they banter like they’ve known each other for years. The tables are covered in red checkered vinyl…
The Skinny
Jonathan Paton collects a big mileage reimbursement from his campaign funds … Republican candidates throw in the towel before the primary … John McCain finally faces challenger J.D. Hayworth in televised debates this week … and more!
Noshing Around
Five Guys Burgers; Flavor of India; Garlic, Tomatoes and Basil; Peaches and Corn; World of Chocolate; Update: May’s Counter Chicken and Waffles
Tile Roofs and Borrowed Styles
Tucson’s most famous architect, Josias Joesler, can’t be entirely blamed for the sea of pink-tiled houses flowing out from Tucson in all directions. But he probably did more than anyone else to bring Spanish Colonial Revival building styles—and their tile roofs—to the Old Pueblo. Tucson’s homebuyers nowadays prize Joesler’s buildings for their old-time Tucson charm—for…
Police Dispatch
Wrong house; At lease he wore a sheet
It’s the Singer
Bettye LaVette’s first recording was released almost 50 years ago, when she was a teenager—but the now-revered blues and soul singer didn’t begin to enjoy widespread acclaim until the late 1990s. “I’ve never really taken anything for granted, because I never really had anything until recently. Now I have a little money and a little…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Most Mexicans I know (myself included) feel it’s disrespectful to keep old photos around of you and your exes. I’d never keep pictures of me and an ex around to try to push my new/current boyfriend’s buttons; I feel it’s a slap in the face. So, when a couple of old photos of…
Media Watch
KLPX hopes ‘Frank Show’ move revives ratings
Balancing Guatemala
In Third World countries like Guatemala, health care can be hard to come by. Enter the Tucson-based Guatemala Acupuncture and Medical Aid Project (GUAMAP), an organization that helps citizens of Guatemala by offering acupuncture and other aid. On Saturday, July 17, GUAMAP will be holding a special dinner that includes local desert cuisine along with…
The Ultimate Real-Guy
Rutherford, Minn., is a small town struggling with the recession—and the budget cuts, unemployment and crime that recession brings. This trifecta challenges the local police department, and in particular Capt. Jake Hines, taking the lead role for the ninth time in Elizabeth Gunn’s latest police procedural, The Ten-Mile Trials. Unfortunately, the book is dragged down…
Soundbites
A big Wednesday; Short takes;
Weekly Wide Web
It’s not what Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said; it’s how he said it. There’s a way of speaking that makes you simultaneously come off as inexperienced, whiny and out of touch with technology. Its computer equivalent is the Comic Sans font—that’s the font Gilbert used to pen a letter to fans on the Cavs…
City Week
“Flower Trouser,” part of Trash to Treasures: Recycled Art Show; The Dirty, by Brandon Shimmel; Ecstatic Dance’s “Sweat IT Out!”; Screening of The Endless Summer
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books best-sellers for the week ending July 9, 2010
Nine Questions
Jennie Grabel
Her Real Self
People criticize Joan Rivers a lot, and that’s probably, in part, because she’s a self-absorbed media whore who thinks fame is so important that she had her face reworked by Geppetto. But that criticism, while not entirely false, is somewhat misdirected. Actually, it’s shockingly accurate, but so what? I mean, what do you expect? Being…
Live
Monotonix, Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout
T Q&A
Elizabeth Davison is the director of the UA Campus Arboretum, a job she took after serving as the chair of a committee that met in 1999 to develop the idea that the campus could become an arboretum. Davison has been teaching horticulture classes at the UA since 1990, and she’s seen the campus change into…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week ending July 11, 2010
Kate Becker: Soft Revolution (Old Bisbee)
Kate Becker’s band plays some serious funk, but her voice is all about jazz and blues. The combination is beguiling—and it doesn’t hurt that Becker’s backing band regularly hits the sweet spot, playing R&B rhythms so subtly that it seems almost effortless. Becker is fully in charge of the proceedings, but credit for Soft Revolution…
Monster Mishmash
Director Nimród Antal tried hard, but his effort to boost the Predator franchise with a much-needed shot of adrenaline failed. While Predators is worlds better than Predator 2 and the excruciatingly bad Alien vs. Predator movies, the latest sequel features too much talk and not enough carnage. Produced by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) and based…
Delta Spirit: History From Below (Rounder)
Successfully combining garage and soul music requires an adhesive like the earthy passion found in Matt Vasquez’s vocals. Vasquez sings with a weathered versatility that allows him to switch from relaxed to intense like few others can. The frontman guides the band’s second album through stylistic shifts that expand on the easygoing tone of 2008’s…
Messina
I’m beginning to think Gov. Jan Brewer and the members of the Arizona Legislature were big fans of The Sopranos. They’ve whacked education, social services and even highway rest areas; this legislative family hasn’t been at all hospitable. Let’s look at the Arizona State Parks system. According to the Arizona State University Morrison Institute for…
Old-Fashioned Humor
Every theater company has its own flavor, which remains recognizable even as productions change. The flavor of the Comedy Playhouse comes through clearly in its current production, Marriage Margin Call—and patrons should be aware of what they’re biting into. For one thing, the Comedy Playhouse is not the place to go for plays with a…
Guest Commentary
Hi. I’m Robert Mac, and I’m about to motivate people to fix the immigration issue once and for all. See, I’m a motivational speaker, and I’m really good. Last week, I spoke to a group of people, and within five minutes, they were on their feet, motivated out of the building to do something more…
Danehy
When I first came here to go to college, a battle for Tucson’s soul was raging between the “Let’s grow like Phoenix” crowd and the “Let’s stay Tucson” enthusiasts. With people leaving the Rust Belt for the Sun Belt, a certain amount of growth was inevitable, but surely Tucsonans would never go the Phoenix route…
No Offense!
I’ve learned over the years that many people are easily offended. I think that some people even like to get offended. Here’s an e-mail that I received following last week’s Editor’s Note, in which I apologized for having a “blond moment”: I take offense with you referring to your mistake as a blond moment. Blond(e)…
Revolution Rock
Arizona musicians have formed a new organization that hopes to convince touring acts considering a boycott of Arizona over SB 1070—the controversial new immigration law that’s set to take effect at the end of the month—to instead come and help fight the law. The group, Artists for Action, includes Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino,…
Top Ten in Music
The 17th St. Guitar and World Music Store top sales for the week ending July 8, 2010
Mailbag
Thoughts on Martin Gardner and the Gulf Coast Tom Danehy (June 24) was obviously most influenced by Martin Gardner’s mathematical work, but I think it’s telling that Gardner told Skeptic magazine: “I’m not a creative mathematician in any sense. Oh, I’ve invented a few puzzles but they are very low level math. I get the…
Punches and Politics
When he’s on the campaign trail, legislative candidate Eric Carbajal Bustamante likes to boast about his experience in law enforcement. But Bustamante is tight-lipped about his experiences on the wrong side of the law. Court records show the 26-year-old Democratic candidate for House of Representatives in Legislative District 27 has had multiple criminal charges brought…
M.I.A.: /\/\/\Y/\ (N.E.E.T./XL/Interscope)
Arular and Kala were blinding-daylight records. They sizzled with energy and urbanity—the voices of the children running the streets, the frenzied throngs in market squares, the gathered percussive force of impromptu marching bands. Think about the prismatic Jamaican dance crews in the video for “Boyz,” or the dirty streets filled with chickens, urchins and bandana-wearing…
Open and Shut
Animals loll on handmade shelves and lounge among feline furniture at midtown’s Hermitage Cat Shelter. And on a warm morning in early July, there are few signs that this place was once a war zone of accusations, litigation and unfortunate euthanizations. Still, hints of that bitterness linger. (See “Resignation Blues,” The Skinny, Aug. 6, 2009,…
Now Showing at Home
A Single Man; Stones in Exile; The Last Station
Exuberance Abounds
As he leads a walking tour of downtown’s east end, Michael Keith certainly doesn’t keep his opinions to himself. His optimism and exuberance for the area extends even to his T-shirt. It proclaims of the nearby Ice House, a rare successful downtown residential project: “Living in Tucson Just Got Cooler.” Keith, CEO of the Downtown…
The Onion: More Americans Worried About Undocumented Immigrants Taking Favorite Spot on Couch
The Onion brings us new poll results on illegal immigration: LOS ANGELES—According to a Los Angeles Times survey published Tuesday, an increasing number of Americans believe undocumented immigrants pose a threat to their favored spot on the couch, with many expressing concern that illegal aliens are “actively plotting” to take their seat as early as…
Joe Mama’s Grill Adds Dinner Hours
Joe Mama’s Grill, which started serving breakfast and lunch nearly two months ago at 4230 N. Oracle Road, Suite 100, has added dinner hours. Owners Krista and Sean Kanter have worked up a new dinner menu that includes grilled ribeye served with blue-cheese butter or mushroom-and-red-wine sauce; grilled sesame-crusted ahi tuna served with wasabi aioli…
