Cover Story
Ally’s Follies
Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller looked utterly gobsmacked. A single word came out of her mouth: “What?” She sounded as if she could scarcely believe what she had just heard as she sat at the dais with her fellow supervisors during their Feb. 18 meeting. Miller had been momentarily stunned by a motion from Democratic…
Word Odyssey: I Fear I Have Phobia!
Image courtesy of Shutterstock “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself!” Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke those words in order to perk up the peeps during the depths of the depression. It’s a great line, but it’s not true. People have phobias. Lots of them, as it turns out. Last week’s Word Odyssey…
Word Odyssey: Tantalizing Words from Greek Myths
Image courtesy of Shutterstock To mark their victory over the Ottoman Empire that had ruled them for centuries, the Greeks celebrate March 25th as their Independence Day. In honor of their Independence Day, this week’s column will feed your inner nerd with English words that trace back to those wonderful Greek myths. What word should…
SXSW 2014: Pop, Dance and Nerdcore
Jim Nintzel MC Lars: Nerdcore Master I had a better first night than poor Casey Dewey: No travel hassles, easy check in and then it was off to races. Started out at the Fader Fort, where pretty girls carried trays of Blue Hawaiians for the guests and Charlie XCX kicked off the show with her…
Lady Gaga’s $2.1 Million Charity Only Donated $5K
Photo by JStone / Shutterstock.com Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation was designed “to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated,” according their website. A breakdown of BTWF’s 2012 tax report by Roger Friedman for Showbiz 411 reveals the foundations lack of grants to organizations and individuals…
March Radness: See What You Missed!
C. Elliott Sir Mix-A-Lot, Rialto Theatre, March Radness 2014 Tucson Weekly is among proud members of the Nuevo Gang of Four, including Stateside Presents, the Rialto Theatre and Club Congress, who brought Tucson the kickass Saturday night full of music billed as “March Radness” on Saturday, March 8. Sir Mix-A-Lot headlined the party at the…
SXSW 2014: Chromeo at Fader Fort
Jim Nintzel Chromeo: Great light show, great dance rock
Gov. Jan Brewer Won’t Seek Third Term
Jan Brewer has decided not to seek an additional term as governor of Arizona. Technically, the 69 year-old Republican was only elected once since she assumed the role when former Gov. Janet Napolitano agreed to serve as President Obama’s secretary of homeland security in 2009. “While I will no longer be governor after this year,…
Blog For Arizona Has A Great New Look
Yeah, I know. “You’re on The Range now.” “Be true to your blog.” Yadda yadda. Blog for Arizona is where I began blogging six years and 3,000 posts ago. Back then, it was basically founder Mike Bryan and me. Now it’s so deep with writers — twelve contributors — when I left, it was like…
SXSW 2014: Hurry Up and Wait
) Due to 12+ hours of traveling, traffic jams, hotel bungles and hotel shuttle snafus, by the time I got settled in Austin last night I wasn’t in any shape to join the throngs of people out on the street. Besides a few places I ducked into to down some Lone Stars, I wasn’t about…
Massive Explosion in East Harlem
WABC-TV has reported that there was an explosion around 9:30 a.m. causing two buildings to collapse on 116th Street and Park Avenue in Upper Manhattan on Wednesday. There have been 15 injured and two confirmed deaths, according to WABC-TV. Reportedly, over 200 firefighters responded to the scene. The cause of the explosion is unknown at…
SXSW Postcard: Sunset at Fader Fort
Jim Nintzel Fader Fort opening night: DJs, steak sliders and Blue Hawaiians
Jesse Colter Sings to the Animals
C. Elliott Jessi Colter at the Warden Oasis Museum, Saturday, March 8 Jessi Colter sang under a clear sky on a balmy spring evening as if it were the most natural thing in the world, notwithstanding the turbo-frost that slammed more northerly and easterly regions of the country. Of course she might have done that…
Obama on Zach Galifianakis’ ‘Between Two Ferns’
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: President Barack Obama from President Barack Obama You don’t have to like President Barack Obama, but you will love him after watching the latest episode of Zach Galifianakis’ and Funny or Die: Between Two Ferns. The comedy video site became the #1 referral for healthcare.gov hours after the video…
Female Storytellers at Plush this Wednesday
Photo courtesy of Female Storytellers. Female Storytellers Presents: I Fought The Law! The Female Storytellers are hosting their next event and benefit for No More Deaths at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 at Plush 340 E. Sixth St. The local raconteurs will recount their run-ins with the law. One of the performers is a…
Video: Star Wars Characters Dancing to Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ on Tatooine
) This Star Wars mashup with Pharrell’s Happy is so much fun that it even makes a Tusken Raider clap along. The Youtube video was created by a Tunisian Star Wars fan club, and it looks like they filmed on the actual set with movie authentic retro costumes. Click here to like their Facebook page.
Get Your Panties Ready, Tom Jones Is Coming to Tucson
Fresh off receiving the Morrissey Seal of Approval by opening two shows this summer with the preening former Smiths frontman, Welsh tight-pants-wearing/singer Tom Jones is coming to the Rialto Theatre on May 7. Over the course of his seemingly infinite career, Jones has taken on all of the genres of music, from Bacharach/David pop hits…
Celebrate our Dirty 30 at Danny’s Baboquivari this Wednesday
Some folks celebrate their Birthdays for one day or a week, but not us. You only turn 30 once, so we are going to party all year long. You’re all invited to our Endless Dive Bar Dirty 30 celebration from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 at Danny’s Baboquivari, 2910 East Fort Lowell Road.…
Aussie Thief Caught on Camera Wearing a Batman Mask and G-String
Holy g-string, Batman! Unfortunately, Australia didn’t get the hero they deserve. But they do get crazy criminals that wear little to no clothing. A South Wales news station reports that police caught and charged a 35-year-old man for sneaking into a thrift store and stealing a Batman cape and cowl. The near nude cape crusader…
Here’s a Slate Article Ready to Infuriate Tucsonans
With a run of positive pieces about Tucson in the media lately (seemingly all of which mention Hippie Gypsy, so ok), there had to be some balance provided by the universe, so today, we get an article in Slate by smart weatherguy Eric Holthaus remarking upon our impending drought-induced doom! Holthaus interviews Mayor Rothschild to…
Glitter Ball and Ziggy Stardust at The Loft Cinema
Kitty Quasar is back and his fun, fun laser gun is set to party. After a two year hiatus, party aliens Quasar and Andromeda Katz are hosting Glitter Ball at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. WAX 5,6,7 DJs are going to spin records and there will…
Buster Brown Needs a Home
The Humane Society of Southern Arizona presents Buster Brown, a 1 1/2-year-old Pit Bull MixReference No.: 756260 Do you like hugs? Buster Brown does! And he could sure use all the hugs you can muster. After surviving horrific abuse, Buster Brown serendipitously jumped into an HSSA employee’s car. Although he was bloody and battered, Buster…
Beck Is Coming to the Rialto (For Real This Time)
[We pulled this post awhile back due to some complications, but we’re happy to announce the Beck show is now officially absolutely back on. Yay!] Over the weekend, I was trying to think of what the biggest show the Rialto has hosted must be? Maroon 5 in 2004? The White Stripes in 2002? Last year’s…
Kickstarter Comics: ‘DOC UNKNOWN: Winter of the Damned’
Kickstarter comics have two black eyes at the moment thanks to John Campbell. Thankfully, creators like Fabian Rangel Jr. and Ryan Cody have a solid record and creative chops to back up their latest crowdfunding initiative to publish DOC UNKNOWN: Winter of the Damned. The duo are trying to raise and exceed their goal of…
Viral Video of the Day: ‘the ice-cream van!’
Sometimes oversharing moms deliver Youtube comedy gold. A reddit user found this video of two children eating their english meals (beans and toast) and freaking out when they hear the ice van coming rolling by the neighborhood. Both of the toddlers just topple over and one of them starts bawling his eyes out. I can’t…
‘Kenny vs. Spenny’ Fans Start Viral Campaign to Bring the Show to Netflix
They’re old, fat and still bickering with each other. Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice are trying to make a comeback and bring their crude antics to Netflix Canada. The show originally aired on Canadian television and had a brief run on Comedy Central in the states. The Canadian comedy duo are embarking on a limited…
Buy of the Day: Mr. Putin Plug
Courtesy of Political Sculptor. This butt plug was made in America. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, so what should he get if he doesn’t win? The Political Sculptor Fernando Sosa has made a Putin butt plug to bring attention to the Russian President’s actions: I originally made this…
SXSW 2014: Preview of ‘Jimi: All Is By My Side’
This one is for the folks that have real jobs and can’t afford to go to South by Southwest. John Ridley’s highly anticipated Jimi Hendrix biopic Jimi: All Is By My Side is expected to debut at SXSW on Wednesday, March 12. Unfortunately, there won’t be any songs written by Hendrix in the movie because…
I-10/Prince Road Interchange is Finally Open
The I-10 became less inconvenient this morning. The Arizona Department of Transportation was officially opened the reconstructed Prince Road traffic interchange on Monday at 5 a.m. Reportedly, the Prince Road interchange has been closed for over three years. From the press release: The new overpass, which was built 30 feet above ground level on the…
Carcosa or Bust: “Time … Is a Flat Circle”
Remember the days when the American tradition of Sunday evening television viewing was getting in your pajamas early, sinking your hands into that big bowl of popcorn your mom made and settling in for Wide World of Disney? What a country we had back then before Nixon tore it all apart. But I guess there’s…
19 Deaths and 67 Shootings Later: A Response to the Border Patrol Directives
In response to Friday’s Border Patrol announcement of new directives in dealing with rock throwers and use of force, on behalf of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, Border Action Network’s Juanita Molina released a statement essentially declaring that the agency’s change in rules is meaningless without the release of the PERF report issued by a…
Update on Richey School’s Future
In this week’s Tucson Weekly, a story examined the lack of communication between an ad hoc committee, the Tucson Unified School District administration and the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council on the future of Richey Early Learning Center. According to committee co-chair Ernette Leslie, who has been involved in the development of the school since Richey…
“Imagine Learning” Makes A Third Try At State-Wide No Bid Contract
Kudos to Howie Fischer for his article in Saturday’s Star, Education software law written by software vendor raises questions. It’s about a bill, HB2485, which would award a no-bid contract to a Utah company, Imagine Learning, to supply software to Arizona school districts for English Language Learners. It’s not officially no-bid, but as Fischer indicates,…
The Day Target Mixed-up Tucson with Louisville
Tomorrow is the big match-up between the Arizona Wildcats and Oregon Ducks at 2 p.m. on CBS, so don’t forget to go out and buy some UA furniture arrangements for your Gatos party. But you might want to wait for Target to get the right Wildcat gear first. A reddit user posted a picture from…
Sullivan on McCain: “Why Does Anyone Still Take Him Seriously?”
After Public Policy Polling releases a survey showing that Sen. John McCain is the least popular senator in the country, Andrew Sullivan unloads on Arizona’s senior senator: The buffoon from Arizona is one of the most frequent guests on cable news and on the Sunday morning talk shows. He was dead wrong about Iraq, Afghanistan…
FemArts at Steinfeld Warehouse this Weekend
Photo courtesy of FemArts. Eight local female artists will display their work from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight and Saturday, March 8 at the historic Steinfeld Warehouse Community Art Center, 101 W. Sixth Street. Each artist will occupy an entire space in the warehouse with their art. Each installation invites the viewer to become part…
Nominate Your Child Abuse Prevention Hero
The discovery this week of the skeletal remains of 3-year-old Roman Barreras demonstrates how high the stakes are in the the fight against child abuse. Aviva and other community agencies host the annual March for Children to promote child abuse prevention month and recognize those working to prevent abuse. This year’s march is on Sunday,…
NRCC Generic Attack Piece on U.S. Rep. Ron Barber Neglects His Actual Voting Record
In the wake of this week’s congressional hearings on whether the IRS targeted Tea Party political groups, the National Republican Congressional Committee sent out a flurry of attacks on Democratic members of Congress. The language in the email was identical, with names changed for individual members of Congress. For example, The Range got three separate…
The Week (At the Arizona Capitol) March 3-7
In the week after the drama over SB1062, the legislature turned back to the usual routine. The deadline to file bills has already passed, so now the committees in the House and Senate are in the process of going through the bills that have passed through the other. In that spirit the House has been…
March Radness Preview: YACHT
March Radness is tomorrow night (WHAT? SO SOON?), and we’re wrapping our previews (hopefully) giving you a taste of what to expect from the stellar lineup of bands. YACHT are an electro-synth-pop dance act, but there’s more to their music than that, as they have a philosophy that drives their music and lives (they wrote…
New Tool Album Coming?
It’s been eight years since Tool released 10,000, so is it about time they put out a new album? Tool guitarist Adam Jones might have accidently spilled the beans during a meet and greet in Portland and told a fan that the band has finished a new album and should debut later this year, according…
Superintendent of Public Instruction Candidate David Garcia Will Be In Tucson, Green Valley
It should come as no surprise to anyone who’s read my posts that John Huppenthal, our current Superintendent of Public Instruction, is not my idea of the kind of guy who should be holding that office. And it should be equally unsurprising that I support Dr. David Garcia who’s running against Huppenthal. This, however, isn’t…
Reflections on Huerta’s Visit and The City Council Vote for a Cesar Chavez Holiday
Sometimes it’s hard to forget about the past, and that’s exactly what I was thinking while sitting in the courtyard at the Tucson YWCA off Bonita Street during the Arizona Cesar E. Chavez Holiday Coalition’s Inaugural Dolores Huerta Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, March 4. While this was the first luncheon and award ceremony organized to…
Watch The Hard Noir ‘Sin City: Dame to Kill For’ Trailer
The Sin City: Dame to Kill For trailer makes you want to re-read the entire Sin City comic and revisit the first film. It’s going to be hard for directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller to follow up the first film, but luckily most of the original cast members agreed to reprise their roles nine…
Inside The Adult Swim Fun House
Photo by Henry Barajas Adult Swim Fun House Adult Swim is back in town. The late night cartoon network partnered with KFC and Ice Breakers Mints to give Tucson a two-day event from 5 to 10 p.m. starting today and Friday, March 7 at the 4th District Parking Lot (near Bumsteds) on 522 N. Fourth…
Cinema Showdown: Greeks vs. Persians and Linda Blair vs. Punks Edition
If you’re in the mood for greased up muscles and copious amounts of sword, shield and spear, today is your lucky day. This evening you can catch a 300 double feature at Cinemark El Con, 3601 E. Broadway Blvd., and at Cinemark Park Place, 5870 E. Broadway Blvd., at 5:45 p.m. It starts off with…
Sir Thomas Lester Needs a Home
The Humane Society of Southern Arizona presents Sir Thomas Lester Meow Meow, The First, a 4-year-old Siamese mixReference no: 774367 Meet the Honorable Sir Thomas Lester Meow Meow. This distinguished gentleman is feeling like royalty after being saved from a life of surviving on the streets. Now he has the chance to be pampered, safe…
Pro-Public School Crowd Gathers At NPE Conference
Over 400 people gathered at the Network for Public Education’s first annual conference held at the University of Texas, Austin. It had to be the first NPE conference because the organization is just a year old. Eight Tucson-area folks joined the other attendees, including Robin Hiller, NPE’s executive director (she also runs Tucson’s Voices for…
New Poll: McCain Least Popular Senator in US; Flake Not Much Better
A new survey from Public Policy Polling on everything from Sen. John McCain’s popularity to legalizing pot. The press release from PPP: -PPP’s newest Arizona poll finds that John McCain is unpopular with Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike and has now become the least popular Senator in the country. Only 30% of Arizonans approve of…
The Road To Tucson’s César E. Chávez Holiday
The mood was more celebratory than tense Tuesday when the city council voted 7-0 to create a César Chávez holiday. It was pretty much a done deal. But that doesn’t mean it was easy. I talked with Cam Juarez, chair of the Arizona César E. Chávez Holiday Coalition since 2013, to get the back story,…
March Radness Preview: Dott
March Radness is this Saturday, March 8 (get your tickets now!), so we’re going to give you a taste of what to expect from the stellar lineup of bands here on The Range between now and then. Dott are from Galway, Ireland, so since they came all this way, it would be rude not to…
Dems Take Aim at Tobin Over SB 1062
SB 1062—the so-called “religious conscience” bill that Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed last week—was remarkable unpopular. The legislation damaged Arizona’s reputation across the nation, had business interests worried that it would damage the economy, and was opposed by 66 percent of Arizona voters, according to survey by Public Policy Polling. So it’s no surprise that Democrats…
Word Odyssey: Talk About My G-G-Genders
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock International Women’s Day is coming up on March 8th, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to clear up a couple of common misconceptions about the origins of some gender words. Let’s begin with male and female. You might assume that female is derived from male, with “fe” being appended as…
Streets of Ire
As “Ally’s Follies” explains, four members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors recently shifted about $850,000 from Supervisor Ally Miller’s District 1 to Colossal Cave Road in Supervisor Ray Carroll’s District 4. Miller, a Republican who represents Oro Valley, Marana, Casas Adobes and the Catalina foothills, claimed her fellow supervisors took the money away…
Many Years, Multiple Lineups
For 20 years, the sound of Greyhound Soul has filled Tucson bars. At the center of constantly shifting lineups—from double drummers or double keys to a stripped-down three-piece—and ever-changing styles—from haunting blues to hard, pounding rock—there has always been the incomparable, raspy voice of singer-songwriter Joe Peña. And while Greyhound Soul’s songs have found audiences…
Still SWASS
Sure, if you’re asking for advice on what concert to see this weekend, two-times-platinum rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot would probably recommend you come see his performance on Saturday as part of March Radness. However, the second choice on his list would probably be the Sunday show by synthpop legend Gary Numan. More on that show in…
Down in Armory Park With Gary Numan
If you’ve never listened to Gary Numan beyond his decades-old synth-pop smash hit “Cars,” well, I feel bad for you, son. Numan sprouted from the U.K. punk rock scene in the late 1970s with his band Tubeway Army, cranking out art-damaged songs about drug addiction, comatose patients, male prostitution and, just for kicks, teenage masturbation.…
History’s Greatest Treasure Hunt
A popular series of art history lectures returns with “Censorship in Focus: Entarte Kunst/Degenerate Art.” UA professor Paul Ivey will also discuss the relevance of a recent discovery of art in Munich and the recent film The Monuments Men. Learn about cultural treasures that have been lost and others that are still languishing in private…
Soundbites
SWASS Remember how I’ve been warning you that this burg was going to be lousy with live music for the next couple months while we get the runoff from bands making their way to and from South by Southwest and Coachella? And remember how I told you that on slow music weeks leading up to…
A Party for Giants
Here’s your opportunity to party with giants while enjoying tasty treats from local vendors, craft brews from Maker House and performances by local artists, musicians and DJs. The event is a fundraiser for the supplies needed to construct the giant puppets produced by Tucson’s Living Folklore and seen at festivals and events such as Tucson’s…
Nine Questions
When the world wanted to shutter and boycott Arizona during the SB 1062 waiting-for-a-veto debacle, Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans of YACHT decided to stand with us in our darkest hour. On Wednesday, Feb. 26 the Los Angeles based band tweeted a bad ass baby blue image with white letters that read “FREE ARIZONA”…
Captured in Time
Danny Martin is rolling with the architectural changes and capturing the local scene with his drawings before it transforms. “Tucson’s landscape is changing rapidly,” Martin said. “I’m just trying to capture what makes this community so special to me. This project is just my way of documenting a place that I love.” Martin will be…
New Bums: Voices in a Rented Room
Going back to basics can be a radical move. Ben Chasny has spent the last 15 years churning out impressive avant (mostly) acoustic albums as Six Organs of Admittance (think of an indie and experimental John Fahey), while rocking out on the side with Comets on Fire and Rangda. For this new project, Chasny has…
Editor’s Note
On Sunday night, we launched the Best of Tucson® ballot for 2014, kicking off the process that leads up to our annual feast of lists and rankings on Oct. 2. Last year, I had just started as editor, so I didn’t mess with the ballot or the process much, but now that I’ve spent my…
Ernest Troost: O Love
It can be a tricky business when a singer/songwriter decides he or she needs to be produced and teams up with other musicians. Sometimes hot players, brought in as ringers, can overshadow both songwriter and song. Then there are cases when added instrumentation simply gets in the way. Regardless, the question that must always be…
Danehy
I was speaking to a high school AP history/civics class a couple of weeks ago, with one of the topics being my well-founded mistrust of power in general and corporate power in particular. (The kids had been assigned to read a couple of my columns in advance of my visit.) I mentioned that, since the…
Creative Adult: Psychic Mess
Make no mistake about it, Northern California’s Creative Adult are a punk rock band, but they’re playing with more than just three chords and attitude. After releasing an EP and a handful of singles in the past couple of years, the band headed to Montreal to record their debut album with Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s…
My Buddy Is No Daddy Dearest
Sandy Hackett’s dad never went to his baseball or basketball games. “He used to tell me that everybody would make a big fuss and take attention away from the game,” Hackett says. But there was a way-cool flip side to being the son of a famous comedian. “He’d take me into the locker rooms at…
Basically Legal
Last week, Alaska’s esteemed lieutenant governor, Mead Treadwell, ordered state officials to put a citizen initiative on the ballot for Aug. 19 to legalize marijuana in the State From Which Sarah Palin Can See Russia. Treadwell didn’t ask or advise those officials to add the measure to the ballot. He didn’t suggest it. He ordered…
Sandals and Swords
The big reason 300 made such an impact in 2007 was that nothing resembled it. Tougher and bloodier than most gladiator epics and introducing a signature look and highly stylized battle sequences, 300 was the come-out-of-nowhere success story of that year. It was directed by Zack Snyder, his follow-up to the equally surprising Dawn of…
Ask A Mexican!
Dear Mexican: My Dad says when he was a kid growing up in Downey, California, they used to open the local plunge (pool) to mexicanos and negritos on Thursdays only because the pool was cleaned once a week on Friday mornings. Is this an accurate account of racism in the 1940s or an exaggeration? Do…
Police Dispatch
TRAILER-PARK WATER WARS FOOTHILLS AREA FEB. 8, 6:01 P.M. A dispute involving a man and a neighbor who said he was only trying to help the man with his rainwater-harvesting efforts ended with the neighbor getting bashed on the head with an empty garbage can, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. Deputies who…
Messina
When envisioning a triathlon, most of us probably think about the Ironman races—a grueling 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and concluding with a 26.2-mile run. Only top athletes need apply. But there are triathlons of different lengths, for different age groups, for women, for children, and even some with mud and obstacle…
Media Watch
KFMA AND CALIENTE TO SWAP SIGNALS The Lotus Communications Group has had good ratings success with its three Tucson FM signals, but the company thinks there’s room for improvement with two of its stations. As a result, starting March 21, new-rock format KFMA 92.1/101.3 FM will broadcast at 102.1 FM. La Caliente KCMT FM will…
Tale of a Trek
Lydia Smith’s Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago is a sweet little movie about a group of people varying in age and personalities who take the 500-mile walk to Santiago de Compostela, with each having a profound experience. A few years back, director Emilio Estevez paid tribute to the pilgrimage with The Way, a…
The Skinny
SURVEY SAYS: DUVAL HAS SHOT IN GOV RACE Democrat Fred DuVal released a poll earlier this week showing that this year’s gubernatorial race is up for grabs. One takeaway: Hardly anyone knows who’s running for governor this year. Just 39 percent recognized Secretary of State Ken Bennett’s name, just 29 percent recognized Arizona Treasurer Doug…
True TV
Sirens Thursday, March 6 (USA) Series Debut: The network is touting Sirens—based on a British series of the same name—as an “edgy” and “unrestrained” comedy produced by Denis Leary, now moving from New York firefighters (Rescue Me) to Chicago EMTs. “Edgy” and “unrestrained” on USA is nowhere near what Leary got away with at FX,…
Rallying for Richey
In the eve before Tucson Unified School District’s strategic planning kick off on Tuesday, Feb. 25, more than a dozen people sat inside the Pascua Neighborhood Center in the Pascua Yaqui Village south of Grant Road and west of Oracle Road asking TUSD governing board member Cam Juarez if the Richey Early Learning Center would…
Now Showing at Home
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Victors Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) spark rebellion in the Districts, so President Snow (Donald Sutherland) devises a surprise, brutal Hunger Games All Stars to shut ’em up. So, kids watch this? (Lionsgate; March 7) Lloyd the Conqueror A community-college slacker (Evan Williams) enlists the help of a…
Pedersen on Sports
So this is how everyone else lives. Last weekend was full of promise, wasn’t it? We all had plans of some sort that involved enjoying our wonderful climate, while secretly (or outwardly, depending on our personalities) snickering at that thing called winter that most of the country suffers through at this time of year. Even…
A Puzzle of a Play
“I don’t think we don’t love each other.” And we’re there. Plunked down in the world of double negatives and false positives and inside out, and a hefty bit of time travel. It’s the world of Harold Pinter and Rogue Theatre and an awfully good production of Pinter’s 1978 play Betrayal. The play unfolds from…
Guest Commentary
I think it was Mark Twain who said, “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over.” But it was Wallace Stegner who said that the history of the American West was driven by aridity. I know it was Stegner, in fact, because I heard him say it a long time ago in Logan, Utah,…
Très Bien
Although Ghini’s could be considered one of my neighborhood restaurants, I don’t get there very often. Part of the reason is that getting a table can take a while, especially on weekends. Not being a big breakfast person (and Ghini’s specializes in breakfast), I just don’t have the patience for the wait. But Ghini’s has…
Noshing Around
Check Out Tucson’s Culinary Future Want to try something new? Have a meal at Ai Bistro, the student-run restaurant in the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Tucson, 5099 E. Grant Road. Ai Bistro is a fusion of cuisine preparation and education in a real-world setting. It offers an affordable three-course menu that…
March Radness Preview: Nite Jewel
March Radness is this Saturday, March 8 (get your tickets now!), so we’re going to give you a taste of what to expect from the stellar lineup of bands here on The Range between now and then. Nite Jewel, the musical nom-de-plume of Los Angeleno Ramona Gonzalez, sounds like the collision of 90’s R&B, Italian…
Common Core’s Long, Strange (And Ongoing) Trip
[UPDATE: After I wrote this post, SB1310 was voted down in the Senate, 18-12.] Is it possible Sen. Al Melvin and I agree about Common Core? Well, not exactly. That would just be wrong. Let’s say we share a common interest in halting its full implementation. Cap’n Al’s bill, SB1310, prohibiting Arizona’s use of the…
