Cover Story
Yolanda in Limbo
Adapted excerpt from “Detained and Deported: Stories of Immigrant Families Under Fire” by Margaret Regan, published March 10, 2015, by Beacon Press. Read a Q&A with the author here. © 2015 by Margaret Regan Note: Yolanda’s last name and the names of her family members have been changed for their privacy and protection. This story…
Sanctuary Case: Rosa Robles Loreto’s Oldest Son is Heading to DC to Fight for His Mom
Southside Presbyterian Church’s Rev. Alison Harrington is headed to D.C. with Rosa Robles Loreto’s oldest son, Gerardo Jr. Robles Loreto has been living in sanctuary at Southside for seven months to avoid deportation. Harrington and Gerardo are there to meet with Immigration and Customs Enforcement representatives, Congress men and women and immigration advocacy groups. ICE…
SXSW Postcard: Future Islands at Clive Bar
Jim Nintzel With the fire marshals keeping a tight lid on the door, the crowd was thick at Clive Bar for Future Islands’ performance on Tuesday, March 17.
Activists Continue to Fight for Release of Transgender Asylum Seeker Nicoll Hernández-Polanco
Earlier this month, I wrote about Nicoll Hernández-Polanco, a transgender woman from Guatemala who has been held in an all-male immigration detention center since October. While in custody, she says she has experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as brutal as she did in her native country, and later in Mexico. Despite protests, letters, and most-recently…
The Arizona International Film Festival Is Back for Its 24th Year
The Arizona International Film Festival announced its 2015 dates, promising an over two-week-long celebration of film along the streetcar line. From April 9 until 26, the event will screen films at The Screening Room and more with opening night festivities at Rialto Theatre. If the event is anything like last year’s, attendees can expect over…
SXSW Snapshot: Mew at Fader Fort
Jim Nintzel Longtime SXSW institution Fader Fort debuted last night with performances by Mew and Passion Pit as well as a generous spread that included potent Jack Mules, hamburgers, sausages and Korean tacos.
Check Out the First T-Town Sessions Video Featuring The Mission Creeps
The T-Town Sessions just released their first locally-made music video. This video features The Mission Creeps and was recorded at St. Cecilia Studios. For more information on the project, you can read TW’s interview with Abril Castillo, but, otherwise, enjoy the first video in a series of high-quality local music videos produced by Castillo and…
So This Is Why Conservatives Hate Federal Education Spending
If you’re one of those people who go all out for “states rights,” you should make sure the states get it right. In general, poor students come to school with greater educational deficits than children from more affluent families. They tend to come from homes where the adults have less education, the home has fewer…
TW Goes SXSW: Day 1 or Take It Easy … Well, Kind Of
By the time my car mate and I got to Fredericksburg, I was done being in the car. 15 hours of overnight driving—switching off listening to the “Bossypants” audiobook and then Rumours and then this Smash Mouth song she likes to listen to on the road only half-ironically—had taken its toll. Our eyes were red…
SXSW Snapshot
Postcard from Austin: Old-school soul artist Charles Bradley knocked it out of the park last night—as he always does—before a packed house at the Clive Bar.
Operation Streamline Immigration Activists Acquitted of All But Two Charges
The immigration rights activists who blocked two buses carrying roughly 70 undocumented men and women to Operation Streamline proceedings two years ago have been acquitted of all but two charges. It was relieving to hear the good news, but the 12 defendants in court— Gabriel Schivone, Maryada Vallet, Alexandra Nicole Sabo, Angelica Moreno Loreto, Charles…
Judging People by Their Internet Browser Just Got Harder: Microsoft Kills Internet Explorer
I was going to write something following a eulogy theme, but I don’t think anyone is sad to see this one go. From the Verge: While Microsoft has dropped hints that the Internet Explorer brand is going away, the software maker has now confirmed that it will use a new name for its upcoming browser…
We’ve Got Some Tweedy Tickets For You
Hey there, Tweedy fans. We’ve got a pair of tickets to see the father/son duo next week and we want you to have them. The show is Wednesday, March 25 at the Rialto. You’ve got until the end of the day Thursday to enter—we’ll contact the winner in the morning on Friday. If you’re not…
Attorney for Immigration Activists in Operation Streamline Trial Asks Judge to Dismiss Charges
It is day two of the trial against a group of immigration activists who blocked two prison buses on their way to Operation Streamline proceedings in October 2013. Their lawyer, Margo Cowan, has filed a motion to dismiss because she argues the state does not have enough evidence to support any of them. The defendants,…
Tucson, You’re a Cheap Date
Remember a month or so ago when we found out we were so romantic? Well, good news everyone! We’re also a cheap date. Coupons Daily—a world leader in romance and date planning, I’m sure—compiled a list of the 10 Cheapest Cities for Dating and we came in at #5. because it’s not crazy expensive to…
Booze Cupcakes are the Way to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
I’m not much of a holiday lady. I don’t decorate for Christmas or Halloween, I don’t watch the fireworks on July 4 and I am wearing exactly zero green things today*. And while I do love it when drinking is encouraged, there’s no way I’m cramming myself into a bar tonight. That sounds crowded and…
Char’s Thai Slotted to Re-Open Today
UPDATE: Char’s Thai employee Paul Yohn says that unfortunately due to a delay on the new tile they’re installing, the restaurant will remain closed until at least March 27. Thai food junkies in Tucson have likely had a rough couple of weeks. That’s because one of the most beloved spots for pad thai and tom…
Activists on Trial for Protesting Operation Streamline; Let’s Not Forget About What Undocumented Immigrants Face in the Process
The trial against a group of immigration rights activists—who accomplished shutting down the Operation Streamline proceedings for a day two years ago—began this morning. As the group attempts to defend their actions in court for the next couple of days, they and their attorney Margo Cowan, don’t want any attention to be taken off Streamline…
Grab Some Free Music: NPR’s Austin 100 Highlights SXSW Bands
The music portion of South By Southwest gets underway this week and Heather Hoch and I will be bringing regular updates from the music festival as time and sobriety allows. In the meantime, though, you can listen to some of the best bands that will be there thanks to NPR’s annual Austin 100 list, which…
Maynard’s Happy Hour Is a Delicious Deal with Mussels and Cocktails
If you’re looking for an upscale dining experience on the cheap, Maynard’s happy hour menu is the way to go. Served Monday through Saturday from 4 until 6 p.m., the downtown spot offers up deals on pizza, poutine, mussels and more from the kitchen and cocktails, beer and wine from the bar. You can order…
See Romeo and Juliet at Half Price
Good news, theater fans! Arizona Theatre Company is offering our readers a 50 percent discount on tickets for their remaining Romeo and Juliet shows. You can get your tickets online or by calling the box office at 622-2823. TWEEKLY is the promocode. An overview of the production from Arizona Theatre Company: ATC’s first ever production of…
Check Out the Line-Up for the Blenman-Elm Porchfest
Porchfest is hitting the homes of the Blenman-Elm neighborhood on Sunday, March 29 and the line-up of bands was just announced. Some of the many scheduled acts include Cadillac Mountain, Celeste Amadee, The Shameless Fits, Sonoroan Sound Society and Louise Le Hir, who will be releasing a new album next month. (Stay tuned to TW…
Gabby Giffords: “I’m Getting Better … Better, Stronger, Tougher””
CBS Sunday Morning looks at Gabby’s ongoing recovery and her frustration with her struggle to find the words she wants to say. As they say: Gabby Giffords continues to inspire.
The Frat Boys on the Bus: A Look Into the Future
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson wrote a column which appeared in the Star last week, Fraternity boys and the long shadow of racism. We’ve seen plenty of coverage of the vile song the Sigma Alpha Epsilon frat boys from University of Oklahoma sang on the bus—racial exclusion and lynching to the tune of “When you’re happy…
March for Education
A hundred people, mainly students from Tucson High, PCC and UA, marched from Tucson High, held a rally at UA, then made a circle around the Festival of Books holding signs and chanting slogans, to a warm, receptive audience.
The DOJ Report on the Ferguson Police Department: Findings About Student-Police Interactions
The Department of Justice’s Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department has a few passages about the way the police department deals with juveniles, which I’m copying here. The first passage is about an incident on the street that, honestly, makes me shudder (Imagine if they were your kids), and second is about the way the resource…
Zona Politics: State Budget, Downtown Homeless, Giffords vs. NRA & More
zona3-12 4final from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo. On this week’s Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: Pima County Republican Party Chair Bill Beard and Pima County Democratic Party Chair Cheryl Cage talk about the impacts of the state budget, the job performance of the Tucson City Council (with Beard promising a slate of…
8 Minutes to Burn Releases New Album at The Hut
8M2B fans, listen up! The local band is playing The Hut, located at 305 N. Fourth Ave., on Saturday, March 14 (Pi Day!!) to promote the release of their new album, “Gravitate.” It’s not just about the music, though, for this event, as the night will feature both food and craft vendors to offer up…
Coffee, Tiki and Flips Found on Scott & Co.’s New Cocktail Menu
Scott & Co. is debuting a new cocktail menu next week and a sneak peak showed a focus on bright, exotic flavors, bitter liqueurs and an egg white or two. Overall, the menu seemed well-suited for spring and summer drinking, with most options being shaken, light and juicy drinks that range in price from $10…
El Tambó in the Spring: Go Listen to Some Cumbia Outdoors at Hotel Congress Tonight
It seems like not too long ago we celebrated El Tambó’s second birthday. Well, maybe because it wasn’t that long ago, it was last month. But hell, it’s spring now and these evenings are perfect for outdoors dancing, especially if it involves delightful cumbia. Like he’s done so many times in the past, Logan Phillips,…
TUSD Students Are Not Taking Budget Cuts to Education Calmly: We’re Turning 18 Soon & Not Voting for You Ducey
A few hundred students packed the Tucson High Magnet School auditorium earlier this afternoon for a forum to discuss the effects the state’s $30 million budget cut to joint technical education districts will have at the school and the entire Tucson Unified School District. Leroy Aaron Fisher, a junior at Tucson High, says the cuts…
St. Patrick’s Parade to Take Over Armory Park Streets
This Sunday you can start your St. Patrick’s celebrating a couple days early when the 28th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival hits the streets of Armory Park with a “Peace, Love, Shamrocks” theme. Beginning at 10 a.m., attendees can watch live music, step dancers and other entertainment, including a game area for children. Food…
Pima Community College Raises Tuition, Other Fees to Cope with Zero State Funding
For lack of any state funding, tuition for in-state students at Pima Community College is increasing by 7 percent for the 2015-16 school year. The board made their decision at Wednesday’s afternoon meeting. Starting July 1, residents will pay $5 more per credit hour (from $70.50 to $75.50) and non-residents $23 more (from $329 to…
Veggie-Centric Urban Fresh Is Closing Downtown
Downtown’s top spot to eat vegan is soon going to leave the scene soon. Kathy Iannacone, owner of Urban Fresh, says she’s been telling her customers as much as possible about the restaurant’s imminent closing to ease the blow. “We’ve been telling our regular customers because we don’t want to be a shock when they…
Let’s Watch the New Calexico Video
Here’s the first video from Calexico’s upcoming album Edge of the Sun, which drops April 14. “Falling From the Sky” is another great Calexico song but you also get a peek inside downtown Tucson’s legendary Wavelab Studios, where the band recorded the new album with engineers Craig Schumacher and Chris Schultz. The video was directed…
Filmmaker Barbara Kopple at the Loft Screening of “Hot Type: 150 Years of The Nation” Sunday
The magazine The Nation was founded 150 years ago “by anti-slavery abolitionists four months after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.” Its birthday celebration is touching down in Tucson for the Festival of Books this weekend. More information about The Nation’s writers’ events here. Sunday at 7 p.m., the Loft will be screening the regional premier of…
Discworld Super Author Terry Pratchett Dies at 66
Devastating news for literature lovers: Terry Pratchett died. Pratchett, king of footnotes, suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease for almost 10 years. Pratchett wrote more than 70 books during his life—but good luck finding any at Bookman’s today. There’s a lot that could be said about what Pratchett gave the world, but I’ll let his Twitter account have…
It’s Started: Gawker Kicks Off (Most Recent) National Criticism of Our Education Funding
Well, technically Inside Higher Ed and Slate started it. Still, Gawker is not an education publication and they don’t really cover politics—This marks a crossing from “a challenge for the state” to (well, to steal a word from the article) lunacy. Our state is once again making decisions so questionable, nonArizonans think it’s hilarious. From the Gawker article…
March for Education Starts at Tucson High Saturday, 9:30 a.m.
People wanting to take a visible stand for Arizona education are gathering at Tucson High (400 North 2nd Ave.) Saturday, March 14, 9:30 a.m., to march to the Festival of Books on the UA campus, less than a mile away. The march will be followed by a rally and passing out literature to Festival of…
B-Sides
TOUCHY FEELY L.A.’S Feels are hitting the road like so many bands are right now to festival hop through SXSW and more and their tour is taking them right to The Flycatcher, located at 340 E. Sixth St., on Thursday, March 12. The part pop, but mostly punk quartet is as good for dancing as…
Be Seeing You George
George Hanson is dashing, down to earth, impeccable—articulate and genuine even when answering questions of excruciating ambiguity. And here’s how much cooler he is than you: He’s been not only Leonard Bernstein’s assistant, but also orchestra conductor for R.E.M.’s “Automatic for the People.” Hanson announced in 2011 that the TSO’s 2014-15 season would be his…
Showing Us
Summer Cannibals play amp-cranked rock music that straddles the line between punk snarl and pop hooks. It’s a sound that’s directly in line with the proud Pacific Northwest tradition of bands like Sleater-Kinney and The Thermals and while singer-songwriter-guitarist Jessica Boudreaux says discovering a love for those bands helped point her in the right direction,…
Trouble in Pot Paradise
Language allowing people to grow recreational marijuana at their homes was completely scratched from a new draft of the citizens’ initiative we might see on the 2016 ballot, making the months-long collaboration between Safer Arizona and the Marijuana Policy Project a bit rusty in recent days. Up until this draft, dated Feb. 25, cultivation rights…
Pleasure Activist
Nine Questions- Sexuality Edition! The Pleasure Activist is proud to present its very own version of the Weekly’s “nine questions” series. This is where we interview various sex-positive individuals around town in an effort to celebrate diverse sexual identities and experiences (and through this, perhaps, have some of our own experiences validated) and also have…
Danehy
Since it’s only going to happen once in my lifetime (and, I assume, most o’ y’all’s, as well), I must take some time to note the momentous occasion that will occur in a couple days. This Saturday, it won’t be Pi Day, it will be Once-In-A-Century Pi Day. Every March 14th is Pi Day, a…
Editor’s Note
Tucson Weekly contributor Margaret Regan has now published two books on the undocumented immigrant experience of our border region. Of course we’re proud of her accomplishments, and prouder that she continues to contribute to the Weekly’s Arts and Culture section every week. This week’s cover story is an excerpt of her latest book “Detained and…
Dust Devils
Bicycling on The Loop With my nine year-old Her hair flying The smell of creosote After a desert rain. The fragrance unlike Any other on earth Wafting into our nostrils And deeper into our souls. On our way west Toward the Santa Cruz A planned stop for water To listen for the train And to…
Raw Red Deal
The Soviet Union’s hockey players were portrayed by the media as villains who needed to be vanquished in the final year of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. America was feeling a little tired and put upon, the Cold War was in full swing, and somebody needed to get their ass kicked. Who better than those nasty Russian…
Heard on the Range
Pima Community College Gets Off Probation, March 9 Just as the Higher learning Commission will keep a watchful eye on our community college, so must we. Let’s not forget that three of the five PCC Governing Board members who are responsible for PCC being placed on probation are still on the board. Fortunately, there are…
Bored at Barrio
The truth is that walking past Barrio, located at Fifth Avenue and Broadway, on a near daily basis kind of gave me a panic attack. I know the spot is run by a mother-daughter team and is the only place for Native American fare downtown so I was rooting for it from the get go…
Police Dispatch
“Bazinga!” (Part I) UA Area Feb. 12, 3:23 p.m. An intoxicated young man wearing a “Big Bang Theory” T-shirt, according to a UA Police Department report, essentially robbed a young woman at “garden-tool-point.” The victim told UA officers that she’d been waiting for her father—a UA professor—on a bench in a courtyard on the UA campus…
Quick Bites
EAT A BOOK If you’re a serious food lover, chances are you have a small stockpile of food-related reading materials collected already. Well, it’s time to add some more to the pile because the Tucson Festival of Books is happening next weekend and is presenting a full schedule of food-centric events on March 14 and…
Unclear Resolution
It’s been two months since a notice of noncompliance to Tucson Unified School District put Andrew Walanski’s English from an African-American perspective course under a difficult spotlight. After several announced and unannounced classroom visits from Arizona Department of Education representatives, the Cholla High Magnet School educator still doesn’t know what the state dislikes about his…
Vespas in Verona
It’s been a long time coming. In the approximately 300 productions staged by Arizona Theatre Company over their several decades of existence, the group has never produced the classic and ever popular “Romeo and Juliet” by the old bard himself, William Shakespeare. As of March 2015, consider it done. And they’ve done an intriguing and…
The Skinny
Slash and Burn Gov. Ducey and state lawmakers push through budget that hammers higher ed, safety net programs Gov. Doug Ducey, Senate President Andy Biggs and House Speaker David Gowan did a remarkable thing last week: They drove a budget through the Legislature in just a few short days. In fact, the speedy pace was…
Chomsky’s Back
In honor of the Tucson Festival of Books, famed and distinguished intellectual Noam Chomsky will be making an appearance at UA’s Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd., on Sunday, March 15 from 4 to 5 p.m. (doors open at 3). The dean of UA’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences will introduce the renowned linguist…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: So there I was, sitting in Spanish class, like the good half-frog/half wop (i.e., “frop”) that I am, when I observe the Spanish teacher write the word “esposas” up on the board. Imagine my shock/horror when the teacher told us “esposas” has two meanings: “wives” and “handcuffs”! PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS A COINCIDENCE! —Fropito…
Literature Gets Sexy
Dubbed the unofficial after party for the Tucson Festival of the Books, Cyberspunk is similarly dedicated to promoting literature, albeit with an adult twist. On Saturday, March 14, at 8 p.m., Book Club Burlesque will host a literary extravaganza at Maker House, 283 N. Stone Ave. The celebration is themed after “Neuromancer,” a science fiction…
Media Watch
Aggressive digital presence at forefront of looming Scripps takeover On Wednesday, March 11, employees of the Journal media groups voted on the sale of its company to Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps, which then plans to split the print and electronic media entities into separate ventures. These things are generally formalities, and as such representatives from Scripps…
Music For Change
Non-profit organization HOPE, Inc. is hoping to introduce a new program incorporating music therapy into rehabilitation treatment for youth (ages 14 to 22) with behavioral health and substance abuse issues. On Saturday March 14 at 6:30 p.m. they’re putting on a concert at Armory Park Center, 220 S. Fifth Ave., featuring local musicians Amy Mendoza,…
Pragmatic St. Patty’s Day (Pre) Parties
Who needs to wait until Tuesday, March 17, to celebrate America’s wannabe Irish appreciation? Not Hotel Congress (and neither should you). They’ll be hosting festivities for four days in a row, starting on Saturday, March 14, at 9 p.m. at 311 E. Congress St. Joe Pagac, renowned local artist best known for his murals, will…
Local and Oregonian Bands
If you’re looking for a hip, intimate show that welcomes all age groups, head over to Skrappy’s Tucson Youth Collective, 191 E. Toole Ave., on Saturday, March 14, from 8 to 11 p.m. Local bands Sun Bones and Katterwaul will be joined by fellow indie groups Summer Cannibals and Grandparents. Sun Bones, Katterwaul, and Grandparents…
