Cover Stories
Welcome to Summer
Time to bust out your sun dresses.
Spirited Cinco
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers will be performing at Hotel Congress on Thursday, May 5, as part of Agave Heritage Week.
Summer Movie Guide
Every year, the summer movie season gets off to an earlier start. At the current rate, next year’s Summer Movie Season will kickoff somewhere around January of 1982.
Arizona Rosé Week Hits Good Oak Bar with Local Vintners and Plenty of the Pink Stuff
Arizona wines don’t get nearly the love they should. With new vintners popping up all the time, it’s pretty clear that vineyards can thrive in the Sonoran desert and elsewhere across the state. You can spend a whole week celebrating local wine over at Good Oak (316 E. Congress St.) when the bar presents Arizona…
Tucson Rapper Badio’s New Video “2nd Coming” Is Kind of a Masterpiece
With one record already under his belt, Tucson rapper and artist Badio is ramping up to release his sophomore album in fall 2016. But, you’ll want to check out his new video for the song “2nd Coming” before then. Shot in the sand dunes of Yuma by Thierry Nzeukou through their collective Les Gars, which…
Pop-Up Tucson Hosts Second Dining Event Highlighting Young Chefs in a Secret Location
Although the pop-up restaurant trend has firmly entrenched itself in the dining culture of other cities, the concept is still gaining traction here in Tucson with occasional events that offer a little something different than what you’d typically expect from local restaurants. One local up-and-coming chef is running with the idea, creating unique one-time events…
TUSD’s University High is Number One in Local National Merit Scholars! (and That Doesn’t Mean a Whole Lot)
My “Take it with a grain of salt” graphic is getting a workout lately. I used it when Glenn Hamer, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said education is a big winner in the state budget. I used it again with a report saying district schools have higher graduation rates than…
Win Tickets to See the Diamondbacks Play the Giants on Thursday
Sports pals, this one is for you: If you’re into baseball, making last minute plans and driving to Phoenix, we’ve got an opportunity you’re gonna love. The Diamondbacks are playing the San Fransisco Giants on Thursday, May 12 at 6:40 p.m. and you and a pal could be lucky enough to go. We’re giving…
The Still and Twisted Tandoor Join Forces with Indian Dinner and Cocktail Night
JAM Culinary Concepts, the parent company of both Vero Amore and Noble Hops, recently took well-loved former Indian food truck Twisted Tandoor under its wing, with promises of an eminent brick and mortar location. Though that restaurant is still projected to be a couple months out, you don’t have to wait to get anther taste…
Stop Wasting Time Mindlessly Browsing the Internet and Fill Out Your Best Of Tucson Ballot Already
Time’s almost up! I won’t waste your time with witty banter here because your Best Of Tucson ballot is due by the end of the day Sunday and we don’t accept late work in this class, buddy. Vote! Fill out at least 30 categories, support local business and (if you’re new) make sure you sign…
Let’s Watch Samantha Bee (and Caped Magician Patton Oswalt) Look Into Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Feelin’ pregnant? Monday’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee broadcast a report on “crisis pregnancy centers”—antiabortion clinics that often masquerade as abortion clinics and legitimate pregnancy centers. “A crisis pregnancy center is a fake abortion clinic,” Vicki Saporta of the National Abortion Federation says in the segment. “They want women to believe there are long-term negative…
Cinema Clips: High-Rise
Director Ben Wheatley, who made a couple of weird films with A Field in England and the brilliant horror-comedy Sightseers, gets even weirder with his latest, an adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s 1975 novel about warfare inside a high-rise building. Tom Hiddleston is Robert, a doctor who moves into the building to get a new start…
Harvest Wheat and Celebrate Tucson’s Agricultural Heritage at the Mission Garden’s San Ysidro Festival
By now it’s clear that food isn’t just about restaurants and dining out, but has grown to be a movement that focuses ever more on local farms and farmers and the traditions of food in any given region. After all, Tucson wouldn’t have won its illustrious UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation without the region’s rich…
Charter Schools Have Lower Graduation Rates Than District Schools (and That Doesn’t Mean a Thing)
The next time someone tells you charter schools are superior to district schools—because, “Look at BASIS!” “Look at Louisiana!” “Look at [fill in the blank]!”—and has FACTS and FIGURES to back it up, tell them charter schools have a significantly lower graduation rate than district schools, and hit them with some FACTS and FIGURES of…
Tucson Novelist Thinks Maybe It’s Time To Just Start Writing Porn
Over at Salon, Tucson novelist Lydia Millet offers a modest proposal about giving up on literary fiction and jumping into writing porn: So we’ve got the unmoving words on the page. That’s the first black mark against us. Second: do we get to the point? How soon? Here’s the answer: no. We don’t get to…
Midnight Needs a Home
Meow! I’m Midnight. I’m a 3 year playful boy and I need a home. I love attention from people and will run right up to you for pets on my head and scratches on my chin. I tested positive for FeLV, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t deserve a good home! If you’re interested…
Cinema Clips: The Man Who Knew Infinity
S. Ramanujan was one of the greatest scientific minds to ever roam the Earth. Writer-director Matthew Brown’s film chronicles the time he spent in London studying with G.H. Hardy and formulating some of his greatest mathematical breakthroughs. While there is no doubt Ramanujan’s contributions to society are massive, the movie about how he reached his…
You Only Have One Week to Vote in the First Round of Best of Tucson®
How could we be here already? The first round of Best of Tucson® voting closes at the end of next Sunday, May 15. Once the gates close on this ballot, our team of caffeinated pandas will comb through your answers and compile a ballot of finalists based on the top 5 nominees in each category. …
UPDATE: Former Pima County Supervisor Ann Day Killed in Car Crash
Update:Jarrad Barnes, 24, has been identified as the driver of vehicle that crossed the median and hit Ann Day’s car. At 8 p.m. the day of the accident, Barnes was released from the hospital and booked into the Pima County Jail for one count of manslaughter and driving under the influence. The investigation is ongoing. Original…
McSally Not Yet #ReadyForTrump
Democrats have been pressing Rep. Martha McSally (R-CD2) on whether she supports Donald Trump at the GOP’s presidential nominee. McSally has sidestepped the question, no doubt hoping like many Republicans (and especially GOP candidates) that Trump would falter before winning the nomination. But Trump essentially clinched the nomination this week amidst rumors that McSally would…
As Acacia Prepares to Shutter, Chef Albert Hall Looks to the Viability of Fine Dining in Tucson
Chicago’s Alinea went to a ticketed system, ditching the standard reservation system. Other James Beard award winners, like Chez Panisse in Berkeley, have done away with tipping. It seems no matter where you look, fine dining restaurateurs are tweaking the typical protocol in order to find a system that works across the board: a good quality…
Three Wells Distilling Creosote Gin, Prickly Pear and Agave Spirits Become Available Statewide
At the intersection of hyperlocal and small-batch craft distilling, Tucson’s Three Wells resides. Following Hamilton Distillers lead, Three Wells, which is led by distiller Matt Montgomery and Chris Dudding, became the second licensed distillery in Tucson—but the spirits maker is forging a unique identity by using place-specific ingredients to craft its wares. From the 50-percent…
KidsCare is Thrown a Lifeline
KidsCare is ailing, but help may be on the way. I posted yesterday that it only takes six Republicans to join together and hold a bill hostage, then make demands before they agree to vote for the bill. In this case, fourteen House Republicans joined Democrats and voted to insert language reviving KidsCare into an unrelated…
Casa Video Top 10
Your to-do list for this weekend: set yourself up with an icy drink, work out your summer survival plan and finish your Best of Tucson® ballot. When you’re all done with that, maybe settle into your couch for a movie or two. Here’s your Casa Video Top 10 for the week: 1. The Revenant 2. The…
Students’ Silver Screen Visions Come to Life This Weekend at the Fox
A handful of the UA’s School of Theatre Film & Television Bachelor of Fine Arts seniors will share their thesis films with the Tucson community in the Institute’s “I Dream in Widescreen” screening event this Saturday, May 7, at The Fox Theater. The event is the culmination of the entire BFA program, according to Lisanne…
Glenn Hamer: AZ Budget and a Dollar Will Buy Schools a Half Cup of Coffee
Glenn Hamer, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, had to talk about how wonderful Arizona’s just-passed, reprehensible budget is. After all, it probably has his fingerprints all over it. He wrote a column titled, Education a big winner in state budget. Um, what? To appreciate how devious and deceptive Hamer is…
Score Free Comic Books
Nerds, listen up.
Editor’s Note
Yes, we will always say that when it comes down to journalism awards, it’s best not to get too excited, but we enter every year any way and every year we happily celebrate.
Young Masters
Lara Haddad came to the United States from Syria four years ago for a visit. Her plan was to go back, but she’s never been able to return home.
Tucson Salvage
“I swear I’m like patches. Just patched up together.”
Police Dispatch
A healthy-eating hoodlum made some kind of artistic statement (whether wittingly or not) in the act of vandalizing a random family’s sedan.
T Q&A
Amy Cramer, an economics instructor at Pima Community College, has developed an educational curriculum focused on an unbiased and complete picture of economic issues facing the world today.
Police Dispatch
A woman’s believed her sexist neighbor had been harassing her by banging on her door daily (very early in the morning) after she’d challenged his oil-changing skills.
Dust Devil
Shaved head, framed in rings
The Skinny
World View has a great week, but Pima County still has to defend economic development deal against Goldwater Institute lawsuit
Beat Goes On: Jim Howell
Jim Howell remembers his first drum set, a Mickey Mouse & Friends kit picked out of the front window of the Chicago Store. Just four years old, Howell pounded on that kit for months until it was demolished.
B-Sides: Vox Urbana
Vox Urbana is performing live at Solar Culture Gallery.
Watch Old Films at La Placita
Enjoy a movie and Tucson’s balmy late spring evenings every Thursday this month of May at the “Cinema La Placita outdoor film series.”
B-Sides: B4Skin
We all know at this point that Cinco de Mayo isn’t, as it’s so often incorrectly referred to as, Mexico’s Independence Day, right?
Video Art at The Loft
Four Master of Fine Arts graduate and nine studio art undergraduate UA students will showcase their spring 2016 video art and experimental documentary projects in “VARIANCE.”
B-Sides: Susan
For the three ladies who comprise Susan, an L.A.-based band of the Burger Records persuasion, droning, harmonic vocals mix with lyrics like, “Fuck you, I hate you, I hope you die,” on a song titled “Pancake,” and somehow those three things go together.
Experiment at EXPLODED VIEW
EXPLODED VIEW gallery/microcinema will host their third annual local experimental media showcase on
Keep the Celebrity Cannabis Products Coming
Celebrity endorsements are common. We see and hear them daily. It is part of our culture and does bring some benefits to the consumer.
Median Alert
In a room full of concerned citizens looking to combat panhandling and vagrancy in Northwest Tucson, local homeless and veterans’ advocate Cliff Wade didn’t say too much during last Monday’s impromptu neighborhood meeting at Marion Donaldson Elementary School, though when he spoke, he commanded the attention of more than 200 people.
Songs of Note
The creative process is a mysterious thing.
Tiki Party Summer
Gaudy garnish, fresh fruit juice, exotic spices and a whole lot of booze make tiki cocktails flavorful, in-your-face little works of art that smell and taste just as good as they look.
Old Cat, New Tricks
After a few years on their TV show, the comedic duo Key and Peele come to the big screen with Keanu, a lively kidnapped cat comedy with a high body count.
Bigger Beast
About a month has passed since a group of “marginalized” UA students released their list of inclusion-related demands and protested President Ann Weaver Hart’s lack of diversity accountability on the steps of Old Main.
Empty Consumption: Ohioan
In 2011, O Ryne Warner left Portland for Tucson. The writing regarding his time there was on the wall. “My house burned down,” Warner says from his new place outside of Gate’s Pass in the Tucson Mountains. “I got hit by a car. I got married. Just like, all this bad shit.”
See You Later, Susan
Susan Stryker is passing on the torch as director of the UA’s Institute for LGBT Studies after five years in the position.
Learn How to Ask for a Raise, The Right Way
Learn how to pop the heated proposition to your boss at the YWCA of Southern Arizona on Wednesday.
