Cover Story
Ticket to Nowhere
Long after sundown, a largely unseen world comes alive. It awakens outside downtown bars, where street kids linger for the knowing nod, the flash of fake intimacy, the cold cash of a transaction complete. And it pulses across the Internet’s bloodless connections, careening through pickup sites such as Adam4Adam.com, where the young and homeless offer…
Help Supply Tucson’s Teachers
It’s no secret that many teachers in the U.S. are severely underpaid. So it’s a shame when they have to spend money out of pocket to pay for supplies for their classrooms. However, Tucson Supplies Teachers, is striving to alleviate some of the financial burden for Southern Arizona teachers. The program is spearheaded by Tucson…
The Scented Leaf Is Open
The new tea shop The Scented Leaf is open in the spot formerly occupied by Red Velvet Cupcakery at 943 E. University Blvd., Suite 165, near the corner of Park and University. The place is owned by the people who ran the nearby Scented Leaf Fine Tea and Fragrances, which they closed earlier this year…
Shining Light on Arizonans for a Brighter Future
We can tell you a little more about Arizonans for a Brighter Future, a new mysterious non-profit that is getting involved in county politics. We reported on Arizonans for a Brighter Future in “Whose Bright Idea,” which appeared in last week’s print edition. The story explained that the non-profit’s backers were unwilling to reveal their…
In That We Stop to Appreciate So Called ‘Sour’ Beers
The people at Plaza Liquors say this is one of their finest “sour” beers. Sour beers aren’t actually sour, but I understand why they’re known as such. The beer has a tart flavor like a cider, but it’s different. It’s almost like the human tongue can’t figure out what to do so it files it…
This Week’s Tucson In Style Recap
Tucson is full of fashionable-quirky people. Here are a few we spotted this week as well as a few tips to boot. Speaking of boots…find out how to take them with you on a trip out of town. Not into boots and don’t want to wear (Tucson’s traditional summer footwear) sandals? Then wear some basic…
A New Shake Shop Is Opening Downtown
There are precious few details about the new shake shop expected to open Downtown this October, but here’s what I’ve got so far. It’s being opened by Kade Mislinski, the owner of bar and lounge Playground and the nearby HUB Restaurant and Ice Creamery and is expected to open on Saturday, Oct. 13. This is…
Dear Stegeman: An Open Letter from Freedom Summer and UNIDOS
On Monday, UNIDOS and Freedom Summer organizers sent out an open letter to Tucson Unified School District board member Mark Stegeman requesting his participation in a community forum in the next eight days and that, besides his recent resolution to unban the banned Mexican-American studies classroom books, he consider: “1. Recant your testimony to the…
This Might Possibly Be the Greatest Movie Promo Ever
Yes, I will go see Somebody Up There Likes Me. I don’t need to know what it’s about after seeing this 90 second promo. This is enough to convince me that the film is worth my time.
I Just Captured This Terrible Image and Now I Want to Cry For Humanity
Just like every other person on the internet, I thought that Alana, the chubby pageant kid featured with her coupon clipping mom on Toddlers & Tiaras, was a hoot, but now she’s getting her own show, titled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (sigh) which includes her peculiar family, something with mud and the opportunity to…
It’s Raining, Is It Enough for Your Pots?
Is it raining? We are having some nice monsoon rains and when we get enough, it feels great to turn off our irrigation system. However, when you have pots you need to think twice before you simply switch your system to off. To skip a day of water to your flower pots, you must receive…
You Should Go to Heroes & Villains Tomorrow
Of course, as a regular reader of the The Range, you’re familiar with Heroes & Villains, the current holder of the Best of Tucson title as Best Comic Book Store, via store employees Eric and Arnie’s semi-regular video feature Talking Comics. Tomorrow would be a great day for you to stop by the store, whether…
Tonight, Freedom Summer at the TUSD Meetings Continue: ‘This is What Community Looks Like’
You can expect another Freedom Summer action at the Tucson Unified School District special meeting, but this time with games, costumes and activities in front of the district’s administration building at 1010 E. 10th St. at 5:30 p.m. Freedom Summer and UNIDOS organizers are asking folks to come dressed as a favorite rebel fighter, past…
McSally vs. Koskiniemi: Arizona Public Media Political Forum
My colleagues at Arizona Public Media, Andrea Kelly and Christopher Conover, yesterday hosted a forum for Martha McSally and Mark Koskiniemi, the two Republicans running in Congressional District 2 Republican primary. Early voting in the primary starts next Thursday, Aug. 2, and Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 28, The winner of the GOP race will…
Thanks, AFSC: State Records Show Private Prisons Don’t Save Money
The good folks from the American Friends Service Committee posted today on their blog, Cell-Out AZ, documents they obtained that show the “state of Arizona deliberately circumvented and ultimately repealed a state law requiring private for-profit prison corporations to demonstrate cost savings in their bids on new prison contracts. These records reveal that the state…
McCain’s Criticism of Bachmann Not Well Received by One Tea Party Guy
I think we’ve largely given up on the Tea Party as an actual thing that people are into, but Wes Harris from the Original North Phoenix Tea Party (accept no substitutes, apparently) is still bringing the crazy, suggesting (well, more than just suggesting) that Sen. McCain should go ahead and die already, in response to…
Sales Tax Initiative Supporters Disappointed Bennett Appeals
The Prop 204 Quality Education and Jobs campaign sent out a press release in reaction to yesterday’s news that Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett filed an appeal of the Maricopa County Superior Court Judge’s decision to overturn Bennett’s rejection of the campaign’s petition: By filing an appeal, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett’s today…
Two Things Worth Reading Re: Sally Ride’s Posthumous Coming Out
In case you missed it, Sally Ride’s obituary mentioned that she was survived by “Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years,” declaring publicly for the first time that the incredibly private Ride was gay. Here are two items from the internet regarding that declaration. From Twitter: From Buzzfeed: Asked about those who would have opposed…
This Is the Cocktail Menu You Should Be Ordering From This Afternoon
I don’t recognize many of the ingredients on this new cocktail menu at Wilko, the restaurant right on the corner of Park and University, but that makes it all the more intriguing. These drinks and others are available for $2 off during happy hour, which happens from 3 to 7 p.m., every day. There’s more…
Here’s One Sentence That Made Me Really Sad About the Internet Today
I recognize the general hypocrisy of a guy who spends his day trying to build web traffic complaining about someone else’s formula (and it is a formula) to do so, but if Neetzan Zimmerman, of The Daily What and Gawker said this to a New York Times reporter with a straight face, I really have…
You Should Make Plans to See Tycho at Plush
Sure, September 3rd seems like a long time away, but when you have the chance to see two legitimately great indie acts at a venue the size of Plush, it’s worth planning ahead a bit. I have no idea who is the headliner between soothing electronic act Tycho and lo-fi anthem creators The Album Leaf…
Critter of the Week: Meet Petey
Petey – #709849 — 1.5 Years Old — Spaniel Mix — Male Petey is a remarkable survivor who was found in November as an emaciated stray with type 1 diabetes and a severely injured leg that had to be removed. Fortunately, he was delivered to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona and has recovered beautifully…
Can We Borrow Some Money to Go to an Obama Fundraiser?
I’m sure some readers believe we spend all day here at the Weekly offices plotting what we can do to help Barack Obama retain his gig in the White House, but that’s not really true. Mostly, to be honest, we talk about the foibles of local politicians, what restaurants we’ve been eating at, and 70’s…
Strange Literary Lunch Buddies Story of the Day
I have to admit, I’ve probably demonized Justice Antonin Scalia, partially because he seems like an insufferable jerk, but I don’t know, I tend to think I could get along with anyone who’s a David Foster Wallace fan. I feel so conflicted. Among the legacies of David Foster Wallace, the pioneering postmodernist who produced influential…
There’s A New Passion Pit Album
When I’ve listened to Passion Pit in the past it has often conjured up images of sunlight streaming through a silky curtain. Very specific, I know. So suffice it to say that their new album, Gossamer, is aptly named. This is the first full-length album that the band has released since Manners in 2009, and…
Mobile Delivery of News Continues to Grow in Popularity
As media consumption continually evolves, one paper is following the current and changing its format. The University of Texas at Arlington’s (UTA) student newspaper, The Shorthorn, was a daily newspaper for over 40 years. Now, the newspaper will make the most of technology by publishing daily on the paper’s website and taking advantage of mobile…
Here’s a Guide to When Wildcats Will Be Olympicing
Errol Anderson/Arizona Athletics Brigetta Barrett The Summer Olympics are right around the corner, if you hadn’t heard somehow from one of the million ads run lately promoting the games, but with so many sports and athletes, it can be a challenge deciding what to watch and when. Thankfully, the University of Arizona Athletic Department put…
Dear Loft Cinema: I Would Like to See This Irish Monster Movie
My series of posts asking the Loft Cinema to bring films I’m particularly interested in to town has had mixed results so far (YES: the Muppet film festival and Jiro Dreams of Sushi; NOT YET: the Replacements documentary), but where else can we count on for the weird and off-mainstream stuff to show in Tucson,…
Watch a Rising Starr
This is a truly local video by singer songwriter Tucsonan Sahara Starr. There’s lots of familiar shots including Hotel Congress, the Boneyard, Lupe’s Mexican Restaurant and many desert scenes. A rare video where you watch and say, “I’ve been there!” The video was filmed by Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli and assisted by Tucson’s Commotion Studios.
What Does a Harry Potter Party Look Like?
On Thursday evening hundreds of Harry Potter fans of all ages gathered at Hotel Congress for festivities inspired from the bestselling book series. The event was co-hosted by Bookmans, and some of the activities included wizard chess tutorials, a quidditch video game, face-painting and tea-leaf readings. The band, Harry and the Potters, performed two shows…
Russell Pearce Comments on the Aurora Shooting
You’d almost think his recall or possibly the fact that his former friend and cohort committed a mass murder in May might convince Russell Pearce to choose his words slightly more carefully, but nope, apparently the people of Aurora should have been prepared to fight off a shooter in tactical gear, armed with tear gas…
Political Roundtable: Immigration Politics, Abortion Politics, County Politics and Sheriff Joe’s Hunt for Obama Birth Certificate
Tonight on Arizona Illustrated’s Political Roundtable: Republican strategist Amilyn Gordon joins Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers and Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphries to talk about the latest legal twists for SB 1070, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s hunt for Obama’s birth certificate (and his ongoing racial-profiling lawsuit), the battle for abortion rights in Arizona,…
We Have More Tickets to Give Away! Seal! Earth, Wind & Fire!
Remember when we mentioned our Seal ticket giveaway? Well, thanks to the fine people at Casino Del Sol, we now have two additional pair of tickets to giveaway to that show and three pair of tickets to Earth, Wind & Fire, performing at AVA on July 31st. If you entered the Seal contest, no need…
An Amusing Video Essentially Explaining My Chick-fil-A Feelings
As a preview of his forthcoming Comedy Central show Kroll Show, comedian Nick Kroll put together an interesting take on the Chick-fil-A drama of late. Meanwhile, this weekend, I’m going to work on my own fried chicken sandwich recipe.
Thai Community Buffet This Weekend
The monthly community dinners that Buddhist temple Wat Buddhametta puts on are getting quite popular. The people who organize the event tell us last month’s attendance was up somewhere around 50 percent from previous months. Looks like word is starting to spread about the curry-heavy smorgasbord, which I think boasts some of the best Thai…
Recreating Sol LeWitt
Walking into the University of Arizona Museum of Art, the scratch of graphite on plaster whispered across the gallery, soon to be overpowered by the slam of hammer on nail. Ladders, scattered throughout the rooms, jutted out like aluminum stalagmites. Artists, balanced precariously, work away on masterpieces. In the exhibit, Sol LeWitt Days, local artists…
A New Bar Is Opening Where Knucklehead Alley Used To Be
A new place called Public Bar is going in here. It appears a new bar called Public Bar is setting up shop where the motorcycle shop Knucklehead Alley used to be at 63 E. Congress St. I noticed a liquor license application had been filed for the address the other day, so I headed down…
Someone Is Going to Get Fired at CelebBoutique.com
It’s hard to understand how this happened or whether the person running Celeb Boutique’s Twitter feed is making a wildly inappropriate joke (the winking emoticon makes it seem like they know what they’re doing), but either way, today isn’t the day. UPDATE: The company pulled the tweet and apologized.
I Hear You Like Infused Vodka
I find this chalkboard at Elliott’s on Congress at 135 E. Congress St. very impressive. I will be returning at my next earliest convenience to try these flavor-infused vodka cocktails. I hear the food is killer, too. That is all.
This Week in Tucson Bicycling
Pima County paved two roads that are sure to be incredibly popular with bicyclists. Check out videos of the new routes and read about some of the potentially dangerous issues. The first portion of the streetcar route opened this week and there isn’t much room for cyclists to safely ride. See what it looks like.…
A Macaroni-and-Cheese Restaurant Is Opening at Main Gate Square
The Fix is a new restaurant that’s going in at Main Gate Square The theme? Macaroni-and-cheese, and lots of it. There will be Alfredo mac-and-cheese, jalapeno-popper mac-and-cheese and a taco version. Varieties with bacon, bratwurst, various vegetables and other things will also be available. Also on the menu: Sandwiches – including one that is basically…
‘Chicano Sketches’ Reading is the Exorcism Tucson Needs
About three years ago, I stood in front of Teatro Carmen heading toward the main stage at what was the first Festival en el Barrio. With the marvel called the Tucson Convention Center behind me, I rushed to the stage as Calexico started their set with Salvador Duran and Sergio Mendoza, and all the other…
Joe Higgins Says He’s Not Behind Arizonans for a Brighter Future
Since our story on Arizonans for a Brighter Future’s bogus claims broke yesterday, we’ve heard from a variety of people with theories as to who might be behind the mysterious non-profit organization, whose backers fear the consequences of allowing their identities to become public. We’ve got a few weeks before we get any information back…
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” Tonight at Cinema La Placita
If you’re in the mood for an outdoor movie tonight, Raiders of the Lost Ark is playing at Cinema La Placita. As summer popcorn fun goes, it doesn’t get much better than that. It starts at 7:30 p.m. at downtown’s La Placita complex and will only set you back $3. (And the popcorn is free!).…
Thirsty Thursday: Padres Wrap Up Homestand
Jim Nintzel The Tucson Padres wrap up the current homestand tonight against the Reno Aces tonight. First pitch is 7:05 at Kino Stadium, but if you want to get there early for Thirsty Thursday’s cheap beer and soft drinks, the gates open at 6 p.m. Details on the ballgame here.
Connie the Elephant Has Died
San Diego Zoo Connie (center) and Shaba (left) The subject of a great deal of controversy last year, Connie, one of the two elephants sent to San Diego as part of the preparations for the new elephant exhibit at the Reid Park Zoo, was euthanized today. From the San Diego Zoo’s blog on Connie’s health:…
Are We Going to be Finding Nemo Again Soon?
In the past 17 years, Disney and Pixar have released films that go straight to the heart, beginning with Toy Story and concluding with the most recent, Brave. I’m excited about the long-awaited—12 years, to be exact—release of the Monsters, Inc. prequel coming out next year and I’m even more thrilled that Finding Nemo might…
Mmmmmm, Confiscated Booze …
Fans of bulk liquor at rock bottom prices, clear your schedule for Aug. 1 and make sure there’s enough gas in the pickup to get to Oro Valley. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s Civil Enforcement Division is holding an auction at a storage facility at 8710 N. Oracle Road where it will be selling off,…
Latino Decisions Poll: Obama Sets New Heights Among Hispanic Voters
There’s little argument that Arizona Republicans got a lot of short-term political gain out of SB 1070 and other exploitation of the immigration issue. But in the long term, it might just come back to haunt them. Check out this Latino Decisions poll, taken in the wake of the Supreme Court’s SB 1070 ruling and…
Debunking Arpaio’s Birther Nonsense
KGUN-9’s Marcelino Benito calls local Republicans to get reaction about Sheriff Joe’s latest birth-certificate nonsense: That’s exactly what 9OYS found when reporter Marcelino Benito tried getting answers from GOP leaders. Few called back and the ones that did skirted around the issue. Pima County Sheriff candidate Mark Napier tells 9OYS, “Joe is very tenacious, but…
Music and Art!
Some information for you: • Mark your calendars for the Tucson Area Music Awards concert and awards show on Wednesday, Sept. 5, at the Rialto Theatre. In recent years, we’ve published our special TAMMIES section—featuring the TAMMIES results, stories on the big winners, and a recap of the year in local music—in the issue that…
Guest Commentary
When people hear about Arizona these days, what we hear is increasingly disturbing. We hear about extreme anti-immigrant laws. Racial profiling. Mass detention centers where people are subjected to bizarre and humiliating punishments. Violent militias. Attacks on migrant families. Race-based book bans. But there is another side of Arizona. This is the state, after all,…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I was wondering about the Spanish going into Mexico and taking the gold and artifacts away from the Indians. Could the Mexican government ask for the gold back? What do you think? Raider of the Lost Chonis Why doesn’t Mexico’s president demand that all nations and/or entities return stolen artifacts taken from Mexico…
Danehy
Come this November, I’m going to have to make a decision that will have my guts in a knot. It will be a decision over which I will agonize from this day until then—100 days of going back and forth, worrying about whether I will make the right call, and wondering what the emotional baggage…
Top Ten in Music
1. Stefan George and Tom Walbank My Old Friend the Blues (self-released) 2. Sabra Faulk Acoustic Angel (self-released) 3. The Carnivaleros Happy Homestead (RootaVega) 4. Sabra Faulk 28 Churches 5 Bars (self-released) 5. New Riders of the Purple Sage 17 Pine Avenue (Woodstock) 6. Silver Thread Trio Trigger and Scythe (Prophette) 7. Ron Pandy Truth…
Weekly Wide Web
I cheer for most news-based websites in this town to succeed, even if they are competitors of ours. I tend to believe that the more informed people are, the better, and eventually, those informed people will be smart enough to frequently hit “refresh” on The Range, our daily dispatch. However, the catch is that these…
Downing
Urban washes are interesting places. So interesting, in fact, that a lot of people I know would never set foot in one. They’re worried, I suppose, about the various urban outcasts, including coyotes and javelina and teenagers and street people, who move along these older corridors that underlie the familiar asphalt grid. Occasionally, my dog…
Whose Bright Idea?
As members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors seek re-election, a shadowy nonprofit organization is making a demonstrably false claim about missing money in the county’s transportation budget. And at least one Republican candidate who is seeking to win a seat on the Board of Supervisors has been using the bogus allegation as a…
Geared Toward Employment
As wartime situations across the globe decrease, and the need for an overstocked U.S. military lessens, countless American soldiers are coming home. For those veterans who are also exiting the service, this means having to dive into the employment pool after years—and sometimes decades—of guaranteed work and pay. Some estimates put the number of vets…
Participation, Please
No matter how much time theater professionals spend diligently rehearsing a show, it’s often the unscripted moments—an improvised line, an unexpected response from the audience—that are the most memorable. Two newer Tucson theater events take that idea to heart, putting audience interaction at the center. Murder Mystery, a dinner-theater show at Hotel Congress, combines food,…
Nine Questions
Betsy Scarinzi divides her time between her role as a nurse/educator and her night gig as the frontwoman and songwriter for local alt-country rockers Silverbell. You can catch Silverbell next Saturday, July 28, at Plush. What was the first concert you attended? The Cars, Heartbeat City tour, 1984, Phoenix Coliseum. What are you listening to…
Crazy Collection
It was a dark and stormy day in Raleigh, N.C. No, wait, make that three dark and stormy days in Raleigh, N.C. When Terry Etherton and another photography dealer went to a Raleigh boathouse last year to retrieve photographs worth $3 million, they were stymied, first by a tornado, then by an earthquake, and finally…
The Skinny
The city swallows up a controversial corner at River and Craycroft … Would-be county supes speak out on the land grab … Who’s got the bucks (and who doesn’t) in Southern Arizona’s congressional races … and more!
Darkness in the Desert
Welcome to the Mojave Desert, a land of outcasts, a crucible of nightmares and the incinerator of dreams. It now has its own poet laureate in Deanne Stillman. Her latest book, Desert Reckoning: A Town Sheriff, a Mojave Hermit, and the Biggest Manhunt in Modern California History, is the most powerful and important writing about…
Media Watch
MIRANDA LEAPS FROM ‘MORNING BLEND’ TO CBS PRIMETIME Alex Miranda spent two years as the co-host of The Morning Blend, which is basically an interview show focusing on business owners who buy segment time to talk about their products and services on KGUN Channel 9 and KWBA Channel 58. It is one of the lowest-rated…
Top Ten in Books
1. Fifty Shades of Grey E.L. James, Vintage ($15.95) 2. Fifty Shades Darker: Book Two of the Fifty Shades Trilogy E.L. James, Vintage ($15.95) 3. Fifty Shades Freed: Book Three of the Fifty Shades Trilogy E.L. James, Vintage ($15.95) 4. The Fault in Our Stars John Green, Dutton ($17.99) 5. A Storm of Swords: A…
Live
How many standing ovations can fit into a single performance? “Hits” doesn’t begin to describe how beloved, and how absolutely essential, so many of Willie Nelson’s songs are to country music—and it all equates to fans leaping to their feet in applause about half the time. So when the grizzled, 79-year-old Red Headed Stranger stuffs…
Thoroughly Troubling
Kori Cioca recalls going through letters and postcards she received from her family during her time in the United States Coast Guard. Buried among them was the suicide note she never left. Kori was a victim of sexual harassment and then sexual abuse from a superior officer. One night late in 2005, her attacker broke…
Dark Skies
In more-innocent times, presumably unruffled by notions of light pollution, some thoughtful soul photographed a bulldozer paused in its task of carving a road up the side of Mount Hopkins, in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson. Leaning against that dozer, hardhat in hand, was pre-eminent astronomer and eventual observatory namesake Dr. Fred Lawrence…
Mailbag
Laws won’t make for equal pay; Shame on you, sex workers; Florida’s fine by one reader; What about other types of trash?; Bring back the bike racks!
Neil Young and Crazy Horse: Americana (Reprise)
Leave it to Neil Young to issue his take on classic American folk songs through a cranked-up amplifier. While contemporaries like Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn have hewed close to the folk tradition on new recordings of old standards—Bruce Springsteen got rowdy, but stayed acoustic—Young chose to put songs like “Oh Susannah” and “Clementine” in…
Top Ten in Movies
1. American Reunion Universal 2. 21 Jump Street Sony 3. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Warner Bros. 4. The Hunter Magnolia 5. Wanderlust Universal 6. The Artist Weinstein 7. Wrath of the Titans Warner Bros. 8. God Bless America Magnolia 9. Mirror Mirror Relativity 10. Jeff Who Lives at Home Paramount
Beach House: Bloom (Sub Pop)
The praise for Beach House’s stunning fourth album, Bloom, is nearly (and deservedly) unanimous, but the consensus adjectives surrounding the album—gauzy, spacey, dreamy—obscure its true aural feats: an unexpected fullness and muscularity. Devotion, the duo’s sophomore release, was fetching and lively, but its dawdling, anemic melodies fatigued; though follow-up Teen Dream had the accomplished sprawl…
Extinction, Please
The animated wooly mammoth (the voice of Ray Romano), saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) and sloth (John Leguizamo) take yet another lame journey in this fourth installment of the popular kiddie franchise. This time out, the animals must deal with the splitting of the continents, something that happened several hundred million years before these animals would…
Peaking Lights: Lucifer (Mexican Summer)
There are two kinds of summer albums: ones that capture the season’s exuberance and energy (see Twin Shadow’s latest, Confess), and those that personify its lilting idleness. Lucifer is the latter kind of record, one that would be perfectly paired with Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE or Beach House’s Bloom for midnight cocktails on sandy patios…
Now Showing at Home
The Flowers of War (Blu-ray); Margaret (Blu-ray); American Reunion (Blu-ray)
Food on the Mountain
One of the best parts of Tucson in the summertime isn’t even in Tucson. Escaping to cool Mount Lemmon is a beloved ritual for many desert-dwellers, and during my many years of summer getaways, I always looked forward to a slice of pie from the Mount Lemmon Café. The café closed in May 2009, but…
A Summer Laugh-Off!
Both up-and-coming comedians and standup veterans will have the chance to perform and be rated by a live audience during the Summer “Breakout” Showcase, starting next Thursday, July 26. For more than 20 years, Laffs Comedy Caffé has given comedians the opportunity to get onstage and try out material in a real standup setting. Mark…
Noshing Around
Zachary’s days are coming to a close; A new restaurant and one reimagined one; Tapas Fusion coming soon
City Week
Christmas in July; Laughing with/at lawyers; Cooking to fight cancer; Making art with toys
Chops Plus Heart
Kid guitar virtuosos are a dime a dozen these days. Through the magic of YouTube, you can watch 11-year-olds shredding on Van Halen’s “Eruption” or 5-year-olds playing “Folsom Prison Blues.” Most are simply well-trained savants. Then there’s 9-year-old blues guitarist, singer and occasional songwriter Roman Barten-Sherman, a brand-new Tucsonan. Purists might question his authenticity, for…
Police Dispatch
Conflict at the convenience store; Arguing, then going to sleep
TQ&A
At 83, Roger Allen feels like he’s reached the perfect time in his life—as he’s doing what he loves and what he’s studied since college. Allen, the founder of Desert Readers, joins other volunteer seniors to do dramatic readings and sing for audiences at nursing homes and assisted-living complexes. Allen said the peer-to-peer interaction allows…
Soundbites
Copper and Congress release their album; It’s time to dance!; and more!
Under Arrest
In an apparent attempt to enforce federal law, officers from Southern Arizona’s multi-agency Counter Narcotics Alliance recently closed out a two-month-long investigation into the Green Halo Caregiver Collective—and then proceeded to get all up in the collective’s shit in a rude and offensive way. They stormed the collective, near Interstate 10 and Prince Road, on…
Maricopa Judge Clears Way for Vote on Sales Tax
From the Quality Education and Jobs initiative folks today: JUDGE UPHOLDS VOTER RIGHTS’; OVERTURNS BENNETT’S PETITION REJECTION Following a hearing lasting approximately 20 minutes, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge today upheld the rights of Arizona voters, saying that Secretary of State Ken Bennett’s decision to reject 290,849 petition signatures to place the Quality Education…
GOP War in District 4: Challenger Collins Says Supervisor Ray Carroll Is “Too Comfortable in His Chair”
Republican Sean Collins lit into Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll at yesterday’s Pima County Republican Club luncheon. Sean Collins Collins, who hopes to unseat Carroll in the Aug. 28 GOP primary in District 4, had a long list of complaints about Pima County government in general and Carroll in particular. Among Collins’ gripes: Carroll had…
