Cover Story
Trumpcare Is Dead
The Republican push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act collapsed this week, leaving the future of Obamacare up in the air once again.
Laughing Stock: Just Think What He Could Have Done With an iPhone
Tom Clark’s persona evokes an overgrown Dennis the Menace, with a head full of cowlicks, a rascally demeanor and an instinct for the laughs lurking in the commonplace. If he were in middle school today, his blog and you-tube feed might have millions of followers. Instead, his early improvised sketches and “radio shows,” recorded on…
You Better Get Those Best of Tucson Ballots in Soon
Where do the days go? It might feel like the monsoons just got here but, somehow, we’re approaching the end of July. When this month comes to a close, so too will your chance to vote in Best of Tucson. Go vote!
Quick Bites: Northern Spain Wine Dinner
If your heart is longing to take a trip to Spain but your wallet isn’t quite ready to make the leap, you can eat and drink your way through the northern Spanish country from the comfort of Maynards Market. A specially prepared, four course menu is accompanied by an array of sommelier-selected wines. By the…
Tucson Writer wins ‘Author of the Year’ Award
Tucson author Shannon Baker was named the 2017 Author of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers on July 15. This makes Baker a two-time recipient, having been named the 2014 Author of the Year as well. Baker, author of the Nora Abbott mystery series and Stripped Bare, the first book in the Kate Fox…
Quick Bites: HarvestFest & Grape Stomp 2017
Just about an hour south of Tucson lies Sonoita Vineyards, Arizona’s first commercial vineyard and producer of 10,000 gallons of wine a year. The winery’s annual event to celebrate the harvest features wine tasting, as well as wine and food pairings. To help work off the tastings, patrons can do some grape stomping, as well…
Laughing Stock: Something for Everybody
Hot! Hot! HOT! Formerly a featured performer in Black Cherry Burlesque, Lola Torch has um, lit out on her own and, um, bumped things up a notch. Her new project, the Tucson Libertine League, promises, “Like the libertines of old, our shows celebrate freedom from limitations and restraint, honoring sensuality.” The League debuts with a…
Quick Bites: Sandwich Smackdown
Rincon Market hosts this the Summer Slugfest: Sandwiches, a competition between some of Tucson’s top family-owned sandwich restaurants. Patrons, armed with five different sandwich samples and one craft beer, cast their votes to crown one sandwich supreme. The winning competitor receives a cash donation to a charity of its choosing. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.…
The Weekly List: 15 Things To Do In Tucson In The Next 10 Days
Your weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo Family Friendly Family Funday at the Farmers Market. Bring the kids to this carnival-meets-farmers-market event presented by Trail Dust Town and Heirloom Farmers Market. More than 20 food vendors will be on site, and the carnival portion of Trail Dust Town will be open for…
Quick Bites: Exo’s 5th Birthday Party
The coffee shop and roaster is rolling five years of being open, the halfway point of summer and Linda Ronstadt’s 70th birthday into one big celebration. The all-day event will offer coffee cocktails, Exo’s signature “Old Pueblo Opry” event and twilight movies during which you can sober up and simmer down from your coffee cocktail.…
Quick Bites: Main Gate Square Culinary Challenge
Free food! And we’re not talking stale donuts or bags of chips. Samples of signature dishes from Main Gate Square eateries include everything from gourmet mac and cheese to loose leaf tea to high-end sushi. As at the Rincon Market slugfest, attendees cast votes for the winner of the People’s Choice Award, but at this…
Tour Diaries! XIXA Day 13: Italian Thieves! XIXA Tour Van Busted Into, Gear Ripped Off.
Day 13 Thirteen. That unlucky number. I never believed that, until today. While we slept (late), thieves went shopping in our Mercedes Sprinter. It didn’t help that the vehicle has a logo that screams, “Look! All-You-Can-Steal band gear inside!” We were just enjoying our days off in Turin, Italy. That’s when we were notified by…
Jogger Plans Half-Day Run To Support No More Deaths
Ultra runner Jerry Schuster calls himself a glutton for punishment: Standard 26.2-mile marathons just aren’t long enough for him. On Saturday, July 29, he’ll be doing a 12-hour run starting at 8 a.m. in order to raise money and awareness for No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization that works to reduce the deaths and suffering…
A Few Thoughts On the Mexican American Studies Trial
The Mexican American Studies trial is over. Judge Tashima’s decision could come in a few days or a few weeks, though from what I’ve heard, we might have to wait until the end of August. The defense of the MAS program can win in four ways. The judge can rule that the anti-MAS legislation, HB…
McCain Returns to Senate To Push Mystery GOP Healthcare Bill Forward
On Tuesday, Sen. John McCain returned to the Senate floor to cast his vote in a pivotal moment for the Affordable Care Act. Following surgery to treat a blood clot discovered in his brain, McCain was diagnosed with a deadly form of brain cancer at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix earlier last week. With…
BASIS Connives to Maintain Its Elite Charter School Status in Baton Rouge
Arizona has no restrictions on the makeup of a charter school’s student body, so if a school happens to attract lots of upper income families, that’s fine. Not so in Louisiana. If a school district is the chartering agent, the law says the student body has to have a similar percentage of “at risk” students…
Tour Diaries! XIXA Days 10 – 12: On the Road From Switzerland to Italy. Also, Fetching Slovenian Checkpoint Guards!
Day 10-12 We drove from Thun, Switzerland to Turin (Torino), Italy, to play another cool festival. There are only a few border checkpoints left in Europe. Somehow, I always wind up talking to the guards at those checkpoints. In Slovenia, the guards who stopped us looked like Sophia Loren, in the ’60s. (faints) I forgot…
Head Back East with the Kingfisher’s Summer Road Trip Menu
Kingfisher is piling Tucson residents into the family station wagon for its 24th annual Kingfisher Road Trip, which features signature food and drinks from different U.S. regions. Today kicks off the fourth leg of the road trip, which takes guests “Back East” on a culinary journey that runs through Aug. 3. If your Southwest sensibilities…
Cinema Clips: Killing Ground
Writer-director Damien Power manages to tell a nightmarish, horrific story in a way that eschews exploitation and gratuitous violence, while still being somewhat violent and really, really scary. A young couple (Harriet Dyer and Ian Meadows) goes on a camping trip in a remote Australian location. They notice other campers nearby when setting up their…
Bear Needs a Home
Hi, I’m Bear! I am a 2-year-old Shepherd mix looking for a fur-ever home! I am a very large boy who is looking for a home that can keep up with me! I have a lot of energy and would do best in an active home. I would love to meet any kids or dogs…
Tour Diaries! XIXA Day 9: Show Rocks, Then Laundry Day in The Swiss Alps.
Day 9 … I think? Day off in Thun, Switzerland. Last night we played an amazing festival in Thun (sounds like “toon”). The show was certainly one for the books. And we most certainly rocked. Today, we had a great day off at a very nice hotel right on the shores of the Thunersee “(tuner…
Tour Diaries: XIXA Day 8: ‘Gabe Heard and Saw Me Reset My Knee From Across the Room.’
Day 8 Limitations of the human body and the Road. Touring, although adventurous and fun, can be hard on the human vessel. In any “normal” daily routine, one hopes not to fall ill from any number of things. Out here, it’s important to stay as healthy as possible. To start, you’re far from home. Add…
A Few Thoughts on the New AzMERIT Scores
We’ve been given a first look at the new AzMERIT results from the tests students took in spring. They haven’t been broken down in granular detail, but we know how students scored at each grade level in math and language arts. The numbers look reasonably good. Basically, they’re a little better than they were the…
HoCo Fest Labor Day Weekend Schedule Unveiled Today
Make your reservations now: Hotel Congress today released the schedule for the annual HOCO Fest running Wednesday through Sunday over Labor Day weekend. With a lineup of nearly 60 bands, the festival offers everything from local favorites to what are sure to be some diamonds in the rough. HOCO Fest offers not only music, but…
Tour Diaries! XIXA Day 7: Memories of Dylan and Meeting Former Czech President Václav Havel at Gunpoint. Also, Sold Out Show!
Day 7: Ostrava, Czech Republic to Nürenberg, Germany. We played the Colours of Ostrava Festival last night to a packed house full of people of all ages. For me, this was one of those moments when I was glad I became a musician and not a pilot. The first time I came to the Czech…
In The Flesh: DJ Shadow and Mophono at The Rialto—Masterful Visuals and Sonic History Lessons
DJ Shadow with Mophono Rialto Theatre July 19 Appealing to the psychedelic purple chakra and the primal red root at once, Mophono and DJ Shadow took us on a rollercoaster of the mind, through moody, soul-deep bass, melodic jazz and classic hiphop. All the elements were masterful—the cuts, the breaks, the scratching and the samples. Two…
Tour Diaries! XIXA in Fun, Fun, Fun on the Autobahn. Detained!
Day 6 (or so): July 19. Day off (not really). Travel Day. Today’s adventure takes us from Offenbach, Germany to Ostrava, Czech Republic. In order to do that, we had to drive the Autobahn.(11+ hours) Contrary to popular belief, the Autobahn isn’t a free-fire zone, where one can act like Mario Andretti and just haul…
Mobile Ministration
Not only is the food from Nations Creations beautiful, but also how it started in the first place is just plain gorgeous.
Police Dispatch
A minor poop dispute became a full-blown feces feud
Ask a Mexican!
In 1990, some of my Mexican friends told me it cost $500 to come from Mexico with a coyote. Recently, a friend from Tamazunchale told me it now costs $2,500. How much of this money, paid to the coyotes, go to Border Patrol Employees?
Vintage Vinyl
Side A is a moody, riff-driven garage classic, while the B-side is an uptempo rocker, both topped with memorable, melodic vocals.
Indie Screen
It’s a big week at Tucson’s best indie theatre as the Loft Cinema reopens its main auditorium with brand-new seats!
Homeless Program Working
HWP program expanded from two days a week to three, accommodating more participants across the program.
Crop Circles
Arizona’s pot circle is getting smaller and smaller, but with bigger blunts all around.
Editor’s Note
The latest health care legislation has fallen into a coma, the debut of our new cinema column, and following the escapades of local band XIXA on their world tour.
Bedside Manner
This film is an amazing beast in its own rom-com category. Let’s just call it a rom-coma comedy.
Rock Ain’t Dead … Yet
It’s taken Modern Chemistry half a decade to go from the basements around Rutgers University to one of the biggest post-punk package tours of the year.
Flow Job
The Pima County Board of Supervisors put state environmental regulators and Hudbay Minerals on notice.
Saguaro Bounty
Trying to survive off what the desert provides in the way of edibles can be a feast or famine situation, so it’s important to take advantage of seasonal good times.
Police Dispatch
A night prowler ripped up a huge mass of fresh blooms
Fun and Games and More
It’s a jubilant explosion of color, the very definition of a “visual delight,” with bands of pastel yellows and pinks and greens sailing across the canvas like confetti.
Know Your Product
Blackberry Smoke makes sweet, sexy country rock, cocksure and smart.
Danehy
Death has been busy lately. I’d like him to take a holiday, but it’s unlikely.
An Annual Affair
Live Theatre Workshop cracks open an old chestnut with their current production, Same Time, Next Year
A Stone’s Throw Away
Recently, I found an old box of cassette tapes—things even I couldn’t destroy.
