Meanwhile, We’re Stuck Covering the Payday Loan Initiative
Elsewhere on the outer space/robot/science beat: Denver voters get to decide whether to create a Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission–and the campaign includes a new film of a space alien! The Rocky Mountain News reports: A video that purportedly shows a living, breathing space alien will be shown to the news media Friday in Denver. Jeff Peckman,…
A Whole Freakin’ New Issue!
It’s online and ready for you to devour! Feel free to comment here on its comments. And here’s this week’s YouTube Ask a Mexican!
One Big Crater
The Phoenix Mars Lander team released new photos this morning, including this expanded version of the photo of the Phoenix during its descent state. We showed you the close-up yesterday; this one, featuring an enormous crater, is the long view. You can see the Phoenix in the inset. NASA also announced that the Mars Reconnaissance…
Trial Date Set for Rumsey in Jose Rincon’s Death
When the Tucson Weekly first talked with the parents of Jose Rincon, the 14-year-old who died in January while riding his bicycle with a friend, Jose and Adriana Rincon said they would work to remind the court and Glenda Rumsey–the woman accused of killing their son–that he was loved by many and would not be…
Painted Hills Melee Goes to Court
Heads-up from Friends of Painted Hills: They need your support tomorrow when Judge Xavier Chon-Lopez hears a cross-motion for a summary judgment filed by developers of a proposed project–still making its way through Pima County Developmental Services–that could put 260 houses on 286 acres on the Painted Hills. The hearing takes place in Room 774…
Mars Lander: Parachute Pic
The big news from the Phoenix Mars Mission today: The UA’s Lunar and Planetary Lab’s HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter managed to snap a photo of the Phoenix as it descended to the planet’s surface. It’s the first time one spacecraft has snapped a photo of another spacecraft landing on another planet. Dr.…
We’re on Mars!
The Phoenix Mars Lander has touched down on the surface of Mars. Confirmation of the successful landing came right on time at 4:53 p.m. this afternoon. A crowd at the UA Lunar and Planetary Lab’s off-campus Phoenix mission headquarters cheered as the words “Touchdown signal detected” were transmitted via a feed from the Jet Propulsion…
Bond Delay
Pima County is one step closer to delaying a ballot proposal to ask voters to approve the sale of $900 million in general-obligation bonds for a variety of projects, including open space and parks. The county’s bond committee met this morning and voted to advise the Board of Supervisors to scrap the idea of holding…
Mo’ Mars
Here’s another short NASA film with some way-cool animation of the Entry, Descent and Landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander that’s set to touch down on Sunday, May 25. Our friends over at KUAT-TV are airing Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice tonight at 9 p.m. (It will also air at 7 p.m. and 10…
Media Watch
Daily Newspapers Just Aren’t Worth What They Used to Be …
Nine Questions
Larry Mac
Mars or Bust!
The UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory’s Phoenix Mars Lander is set to land this weekend
Live
Metallica at KFMA Day, Pima County Fairgrounds, Friday, May 16
Waste Not?
Despite opposition, Davis-Monthan refuses to concede that a trash-incineration plan is dead
Rhythm & Views
The new disc by Tucson’s Amy Rude is not a casual listen. The melodies are ethereal rather than catchy; the arrangements are moody rather than driving. The lyrics are poetic and engrossing, but they require you to listen and think. It’s not just the words themselves, but the way Rude delivers them, that raise goose…
The Range
A recap of last week’s news
Thirty Years Is Enough?
Catch the legendary Dickies while you still can
Tortolita Showdown
Neighbors and Saguaro Ranch officials fight over the fate of two roads
Top Ten in Music
Toxic Ranch Records top sales for the week
Remembering the Dead
An old downtown Tucson cemetery is at the center of an archaeological project
Complex Ambiguities
The varied works of three artists at Etherton all demonstrate elliptical narratives
T Q&A
Tucson Q&A with Renee Angle
Rhythm & Views
Billy Bragg’s first new record in six years has a perfectly apt title. Mr. Love and Justice himself has been composing and performing songs about matters of heart and governance for more than 25 years. Bragg has never been the most protean of musicians, and this album breaks no new ground. What it does do…
Police Dispatch
Living Loud West Orange Grove Road, April 27, 1:18 p.m. An apartment-dwelling woman evaded arrest after neighbors reported her odd, noisy habits, said a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. A sheriff’s deputy met with the subject’s downstairs neighbor, who complained that the woman was always slamming things around, stomping across her residence and pounding on…
Rhythm & Views
“Charles Manson and the government are a lot alike,” shrieks Hemlock’s Chad Smith on “Red Sky Revolution.” “Behind the scenes, they are the masterminds.” With America sinking into an abyss of war and recession, Las Vegas’ Hemlock offers aggressive, eardrum-mashing solace of the highest order. Hemlock’s is a massive death-metal sound flecked with bits of…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
Stimulus Package
An academic publisher collects Joanna Frueh’s charged performance pieces
Danehy
It’s one of the seven signs: Tom and PETA see eye to eye
Pick of the Week
Alley Flicks
Emotional Devastation
LTW’s ‘Sweet Eros’ proves to be disturbing and disquieting
Tuttle
When it comes to selecting judges, Arizona is a great example for the rest of the country
Now Showing at Home
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Top Ten in Books
Mostly Books best-sellers for the week
Guest Commentary
Should KUAZ be in the business of “enhancing” the images of companies like Rosemont Copper?
Imperfect Gem
‘Flawless’ features one of Michael Caine’s best performances; sadly, it also features Demi Moore
Keeping It Simple
Toni’s Family Restaurant draws a crowd thanks to its fast, friendly service and cheap eats
¡Ask a Mexican!
Why did the Mexican comedian Cantinflas never catch on in Hollywood?
City Week
Our top picks of what to do and where to do it for the week.
Noshing Around
New: Ristorante Italia Italia opened last week, becoming the latest restaurant in the locally owned Metro Restaurants group. Jon Wirtis is the general manager and chef, hailing from Portland, Ore. He brings experience from Le Cordon Bleu’s training at the Western Culinary Institute, and from McCormick and Schmick’s. Featuring a multi-regional Italian menu, Italia features…
It’s Called Bigotry
A note from the editor.
The Incredible Indy
Indiana Jones is back and as exciting as ever in ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’
Mailbag
Howls of outrage and squeals of delight from our astonished fans.
Collective Wisdom
Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s don’t believe in the separation of band life and personal life
The Skinny
DUDE, WHERE’S MY BUDGET? These are slow days up at the Arizona Legislature, as a small group of lawmakers wrestle over the budget, and all the rest wander about, casting the occasional vote on legislation and hitting up lobbyists for their next meal. From what we hear, the big holdup with budget negotiations comes from…
Soundbites
MUSICIANS GIVE … AND GIVE … AND GIVE Schoolhouse Rock and De La Soul have both reminded us in the past that three is the magic number, and that seems to be true lately regarding Tucson music. Last week, we told you about three local CD-release parties; this week, Tucson musicians seem to be in…
More on Mars
If this week’s cover story on the Phoenix Mars Lander has piqued your interest in Sunday’s landing, you can learn a whole lot more here at the mission’s Web site. Here’s a slick–and short–documentary on the “seven minutes of terror” that that the UA space scientists will experience as the Phoenix enters the Martian atmosphere…
