Cover Story
Honoring Chelsie
Chelsie Raidiger, 22, took her own life almost a year ago by firing a handgun into her chest. Her parents, left with a list of unanswered questions, wish that they had known something was wrong. “I do look back now and wish I knew she was hurting. I would have come and gotten her out…
Downing Running As Independent?
Is Ted Downing running for the Arizona Senate seat as an Independent? Downing, a UA anthropology prof who served two terms as a Democrat in the house in midtown District 28, lost a bid for the Senate in 2006 when he challenged Paula Aboud in the Democratic primary. Downing wants a rematch with Aboud and…
SB 1070 Poll: 71% of Americans Believe New Immigration Law Will Lead to Hispanics Getting Hassled By The Man
The Economist shared some poll numbers regarding Arizona’s new immigration law last week along with a bit of analysis: In the 1990s a similar backlash occurred in response to a Californian law, Proposition 187, approved by ballot in 1994 but blocked by the courts before it could go into effect. Supported by Pete Wilson, the…
Sleeping Frog Farms Goes Big
The owners of Sleeping Frog Farms say they’ve purchased a 75-acre piece of property near Cascabel that they’re converting into an organic farm. It’s fun to ponder how much food Sleeping Frog Farms—which we wrote about last year—will be able to grow on that much land. They farm on about an acre up at 1801…
Tucson’s Everyday People: Lauren Bradford in Keeping up With the Gibbons
Katrina Arrington, in part two of the Zoo project, introduces us to Lauren Bradford. Bradford is a zookeeper at the Reid Park Zoo.
Paton Names Pima County Democratic Boss “Volunteer of the Day”
Republican Jonathan Paton, who is one of four GOP candidates pushing for the chance to take on Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, is naming Pima County Democratic Chairman Jeff Rogers his “volunteer of the day.” Rogers sent out a press release criticizing Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick for allowing Paton to have a fundraiser at Chase Field,…
City Council to Decide Pawn Tax Tuesday
Trading in a stack of Will Ferrell DVDs or pawning off the gold bracelet you got from ol’ what’s-his-name could cost you $3 if a pawn tax proposed by the Tucson Police Department is approved by the Tucson City Council at tomorrow’s meeting. Under current pawn law, such sales require that a slip is filled…
Sales-Tax Hike: UA Economists Vs. Goldwater, Again
A hat tip to David Safier of Blog for Arizona, who notes that UA economist Alberta Charney has responded to the nonsense that the Goldwater Institute is passing off as an economic analysis of the impact of proposed one-cent-per-dollar sales tax hike that voters will decide next Tuesday, May 18. To summarize: Charney, a senior…
SB 1070 Fallout: Cypress Hill Cancels Rialto Show
Citing Arizona’s new immigration law, Latin hip-hop band Cypress Hill has canceled a May 21 appearance at downtown’s Rialto Theatre to protest Arizona’s new immigration law. The band stated on its Web site: In a show of resistance to the criminalization of immigrant communities and in opposition to SB1070, recently signed into Arizona legislation, Cypress…
SB 1070 Fallout: Two Tucson Conventions Cancelled
I mentioned in this week’s story about SB 1070 that Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association reported that 19 meetings had been canceled, resulting in the loss of more than 15,000 room nights. The hoteliers estimate the economy took a $6 million hit. Now Cypress Hill has canceled a May 21 show at the Rialto Theatre…
Naked Protest: Code Pink vs. War
Members of Code Pink gathered Sunday at Hippie Hill in Sam Hughes Park for a revealing Mother’s Day protest against war. A second protest shot after the jump is most definitely NSFW.
SB 1070: Referendum Drive Abandoned
Two groups that wanted to put Arizona’s new immigration law up for a public vote have abandoned their efforts. Paul Davenport of the AP reports: The two proposed referendum drives challenging Arizona’s new sweeping law targeting illegal immigration are being abandoned, organizers said Monday. Andrew Chavez, a professional petition circulator involved in one of the…
U.S. AG Eric Holder: “Considering All Our Options” On AZ Immigration Law
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Memorial for Cele Peterson
A celebration of the life of Cele Peterson will be held from 5 to 8 p.m., Monday, May 10, at the UA Poetry Center, 1508 E. Helen St. The program will begin at 6:30. All are welcome. Her family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations are sent to Kids International Neighborhood (KIN), Box 150,…
Tucson’s Everyday People: Where the Wild Things Are
This is the start of another three-part series on a local favorite: the Reid Park Zoo! We start off behind the scenes with the administration in this project by Blair Kurland. We will have two more projects that follow two zookeepers in their day-to-day activities. Stay tuned!
Portland Cello Project at First-Ever Second Saturdays Downtown
The Portland Cello Project will be performing with local genius Howe Gelb at the Fox Theatre as part of the first-ever Second Saturdays Downtown, which should give you a reason to head to Congress Street this weekend for a big ol’ festival. Details here.
Coming Soon to Fourth Avenue: Tiki Tim’s Grill
The Hut, the tiki-themed bar at 305 N. Fourth Ave., will soon be home to a funky, island-themed restaurant that will operate out of a 1970s Airstream trailer. Tiki Tim’s Grill is still under construction, says owner, chef and builder Timothy Stevens, but should be up and running sometime this summer. Long-time patrons of the…
Announcing Another Tucson Weekly Condom Giveaway!
We’ve got another big box of endangered-species condoms to give away, courtesy of the Center for Biological Diversity. So how do you get your mitts on one of these snazzy collector’s items? It’s easy: Just sign up to be our friend on Facebook or register to follow us on Twitter. Then drop us an e-mail…
Howie Fischer on the Legislative Session
Howie Fischer talks about the recently wrapped legislative session with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air. Listen to it here. A funny moment: Gross wonders whether these bills that Gov. Jan Brewer had signed would have been vetoed by Democrat Janet Napolitano. Gross asks: “Is there a big shift going on in Arizona? A shift…
New Poll Numbers: McCain by 12 Over Hayworth. Goddard by 4 Over Brewer. GOP Loses Hispanic Vote
Research 2000 has new polling numbers in Arizona on the U.S. Senate and governor races, as well as approval numbers for SB 1070, Arizona’s new immigration bill. You can see the numbers for yourself here (and the favorable/unfavorable numbers are fascinating), but Daily Kos has some key takeaways, including the impact of SB 1070 on…
The ‘Tucson Weekly’: On Obama’s Reading List?
Here, in its entirety, is a a recent news release from Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The emphasis is ours. U.S. REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS CRITICIZES SLOW FEDERAL RESPONSE TO BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Congresswoman meets with Secretary Napolitano and her counterpart in Mexican cabinet WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today strongly criticized the slow federal response to…
Writer’s Block: Carlos Solorzano
Carlos Solorzano’s I Am His Mother has just been released in time for Mother’s Day. $12.99, available here. A summary, courtesy of the author: An ancient document has been unearthed in the city of Ephesus and archaeologists have confirmed that it appears to be a Christian document from the first century CE. Scholars have studied…
Tucson’s Everyday People: A ‘Freaky’ Visitor from the Big Apple
Find more videos like this on VII VISIONAIRES Joshua Morgan brings you a tale of a love story between “freaks” this week. John Shaw, from New York, performs his freak show all over the country, but is now joined by Alexandra “Lady Diabla” Kaminiski, 23, who is considered to be the youngest sword-swallower in the…
100 Stands for Lemonade
On Saturday, you may see some lemonade stands pop up around town. Here’s what they are all about: Stand with other Arizona children and parents to raise awareness of the crisis in K-12 education and to support Proposition 100. On May 8, 2010, be one of the 100 Stands for Education selling lemonade to support…
What’s Up With the ‘Tucson Weekly’ Boxes?
View Tucson Weekly’s Art Box Extravaganza! in a larger map If you’ve picked up our paper this week, you may have noticed it in a slightly different home than our ubiquitous red boxes. We’ve invited artists to redesign the drop boxes in any way they choose (one even came back with pink horns) as part…
Cele Peterson: 1909-2010
Tucson Weekly contributor Linda Ray, a longtime friend and associate of Cele Peterson, just let me know that the longtime Tucson booster and businesswoman passed away this morning. Cele was 101 years old. Mari Herreras had the great pleasure of talking to Cele for a piece we did last year in our 25th Anniversary Issue.…
Robert Wick: Brewer Needs to Veto HB 2617
Some thoughts on HB 2617 from Robert Wick, one of the owners of Wick Communications, the Tucson Weekly’s parent company: This is a very hard time to find environmental protection in Arizona, between a Legislature that cares little about it, and Gov. Jan Brewer, who has been signing almost anything that hits her desk that…
CD8: Republican Jesse Kelly Debuts TV Spot Supporting Arizona’s New Immigration Law
Republican Jesse Kelly, who hopes to unseat Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in November, unveils a new TV ad. Kelly is facing former state lawmaker Jonathan Paton, Brian Miller and Andy Goss in the August primary.
One Night Only: Margaret Regan Rocks Club Congress Thursday!
Tucson Weekly arts editor Margaret Regan will be performing one of the stories from her new book, The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona-Mexico Borderlands, with the Odyssey Storytellers tonight at Club Congress. From the press release: Odyssey Storytelling on Thursday, May 6 at 7 p.m., Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., $7…
Good Juju
We found Chris Black on the patio at Hotel Congress, using Sibelius software to compose music on his laptop, coffee and cigarettes within reach. His right wrist was armored temporarily in a brace, thanks to an extra-busy week of playing violin. “This is something new; I’ve never had this sort of strain before,” he admitted,…
Danehy
Here are some people who deserve, in the words of Frasier Crane, a good cuffing: • The member of the Jackson 5 who named his son Jermajesty. Yes, Jermajesty. Apparently, the name Pleasekickmyass was already taken. To be sorta fair, the dad’s name is Jermaine, so their names share the first four letters. However, when…
Good Citizens
Things have not always been peachy at the hulking warehouse on the corner of Sixth Street and Ninth Avenue. For more than a decade, the onetime home of Citizens Transfer and Storage has been filled in part by Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage—better known as BICAS. And for years, that warehouse has been managed by…
Live
The Sand Rubies’ 25th Anniversary, Van Christian, Silverbell
Messina
Dorothea Nobile blends easily into the crowd of patrons at a local coffeehouse. Despite her red hair and striking blue eyes, she’s just like everyone else, with a drink in hand and a cell phone by her side. Seven years ago at the former El Dorado Hospital, Nobile didn’t have the luxury of acting like…
The Fallout
Standing before a massive May Day crowd protesting Arizona’s new immigration law last Saturday, Congressman Raúl Grijalva blasted SB 1070 as “an affront to any value and principle of this nation.” “It violates civil rights,” Grijalva thundered. “It creates a second-class status for people under the law based on race. It violates the Constitution.” Critics…
Minus the Bear: Omni (Dangerbird)
If you’ve never heard Minus the Bear before, the track “Knights,” on 2007’s Planet of Ice, is a great place to start. On it, lead singer Jake Snider’s coo is sexy enough—he channels a pretty good decadent bad boy—and the discursive rhythmic scheme affords some fine drama. Omni, the band’s new album (and their first…
Guest Opinion
Change comes hard to Western water policy. The prior appropriation doctrine, interstate compacts, groundwater law, the “law of the river”—all of these seem set in stone in the minds of the region’s policymakers. Of course, the West’s rivers aren’t bound by such a static existence. Indeed, they are changing in fundamental ways, opening a wide…
Food Revolution
When you first meet Kim Fox, you may think that all she ever talks about are her 21 backyard egg-producing chickens and the greens she grows and sells to neighbors and local restaurants. However, Fox also talks passionately about … well, dirt and poop. Lots of poop. Fox says the only way to grow anything…
The Morning Benders: Big Echo (Rough Trade)
There’s never been a shortage of pop bands taking to the beach for fun and inspiration, and Berkeley, Calif.’s Morning Benders are following in the right footsteps. The band’s debut, Talking Through Tin Cans (+1 Records), drew on the sunny 1960s of the Beach Boys, while Big Echo, the band’s first record for Rough Trade,…
Mailbag
We Have No Choice but to Pass Prop 100; Prop 100: Just the Latest in a Long Line of ‘Education’ Taxes; Danehy’s Tea Party Column: Huh?; SB 1070 Isn’t About Race—but Perhaps We Should be Suspicious of Latinos
The Skinny
Gov. Jan Brewer pulls ahead of her Republican rivals. … Sen. John McCain’s support is collapsing. … Journalist John Dougherty wants to run for the U.S. Senate … and more!
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars: Rise and Shine (Cumbancha)
When this group first burst on the scene, it was difficult to figure out which was more compelling—their harrowing survival of Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war and their unlikely coming together in a refugee camp, or the infectious nature of their music. The All Stars are no longer a storybook novelty; they’re proving to be…
Police Dispatch
Tupac attack; if you can’t get clean, don’t be a housecleaner
Media Watch
‘Star’: Editing error leads to front-page correction
World of Food
I love San Francisco’s Chinatown, which has hundreds of little shops displaying fresh meat, fish, vegetables and other treats from the far corners of the globe. Although Tucson has no such area, we are fortunate to have Lee Lee Oriental Supermarket to help fill that void. Friends and family have talked about all of the…
T Q&A
Daniel Buckley was shooting video for the Tucson Citizen last year when he got the call that the last day for the paper had finally arrived. He shot video of the final press run and posted interviews with staff members about the paper’s final days. Buckley, who started writing for the paper in 1987, continues…
Weekly Wide Web
Most of the people talking about Arizona’s new immigration law haven’t read SB 1070. That’s what I discovered while talking to people at last week’s rally at Armory Park. (See Best of WWW.) One person admitted that all he knew about the new law was what he had heard on the news. Not knowing the…
Soundbites
Downtown Saturday Night Urban Block Party Second Saturdays Downtown; please release me; for more information …
Now Showing at Home
Uncertainty; Disgrace (Blu-ray); The Lovely Bones (Blu-ray); The Slammin’ Salmon (Blu-ray)
Bad Mussolini
My people, the Italians, are celebrated in cinema as the inventors of gangland-style executions and severed-horse-head brunches. Which is too bad, because the Italians have done much more in their 3,000-year history than simply make offers whose refusal was postulated as non-possible. Indeed, it was the Italians who invented a preventative against currency-borne disease through…
Wickedly Good
One of the murders in Shakespeare’s Hamlet has always puzzled me. King Claudius steals the throne from his brother by pouring poison into his ear as he sleeps. An ear simply doesn’t seem like a very effective route for poison. Unless, of course, you’re Iago, Shakepeare’s most chilling villain and the star of Othello, now…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Readers: All together, now: ¡A LA CHINGADA WITH ARIZONA’S SB 1070! For those of ustedes too occupied with the your Drinko por Cinco hangover, the initiative I mentioned (signed a couple of weeks ago into law by Arizona’s governor) gives immigration powers to Arizona’s police officers and sheriff’s deputies. Besides being the most blatant…
Feral Verse
Is it safe to say today’s poets are a joyless, cantankerous lot? I think so. However, in a world in which we are consistently bombarded with advertising images promising us enhanced joy, fun, health and money—if only we’d purchase certain products—perhaps adopting a joyless, cantankerous pose is the last rebellious option left to the modern…
What a Week …
I’ve been the editor of this here newspaper for almost 7 1/2 years, and I’ve received more feedback from readers on last week’s issue than any other. Most of that feedback came in the form of disagreement. Many folks on what most would consider to be the right-leaning side of the political spectrum took issue…
Table for One
The plate is not the only empty thing in the Invisible Theatre’s production of Michael Hollinger’s An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf. Although the production itself is quite well-done, Hollinger attempts to serve a feast but uses questionable recipes for dishes that don’t complement each other. We get a tasty snack, but…
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books best-sellers for the week
Timely Performance
When Yvonne Montoya set the date for her dance troupe’s inaugural concert, she had no way of knowing that all hell would break loose over immigration just before show time. The mission of her brand-new Safos Dance Theatre is to perform modern dance with a Latin twist, and to address issues important in the borderlands.…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
Nine Questions
Dan Shapiro
A Better Gift Than an Apple
At a time when budget cuts have wracked public education, Tucson Values Teachers is doing its part to show educators just how much they’re appreciated. On Friday, May 7, Tucson Values Teachers will hold Toast to Teachers, a block party coinciding with National Teacher Appreciation Week. “I think it is critical that we all work…
Noshing Around
Coming Soon: 47 Scott; Chef’s Garden for jaxKitchen; Mr. An Returns to the Northwest Side; Monkey Burger Opening Downtown
Top Ten in Music
Zia Records top sales for the week
Lackluster Dream
In the new A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger is no longer the Groucho Marx of slasher killers that he had become over the years. Gone are the one-liners before and after goofy killings. There’s an awful casting choice in the latest horror remake from Platinum Dunes (the production company that also did reboots…
City Week
“Bringing It All Back Home” benefit concert; Second Saturdays Downtown; Za Boom Ba; Same-Gender Marriage Discussion: Maggie Gallagher and the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy
Funky or Gentrified?
Many politicians and property owners forecast a promising future for downtown’s historic Warehouse Arts District. But not everyone shares that sentiment. “I’m not optimistic about the district,” reflects painter Joe Hatton, who has leased studio space in the old Citizens Transfer and Storage warehouse, on Sixth Street west of Stone Avenue, since 2006. “I’d really…
Support the Troops: Support Clean Energy
A new—and intense—political ad in the Tucson market links U.S. troops to the need for clean-energy legislation. It’s from Billion Dollars A Day; learn more here. The full text: We send $1 billion a day in oil money overseas — often to nations that don’t like America very much. Some of that money ends up…
The Frozen Dunes of Mars Revisited
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona The UA Lunar and Planetary Lab has released a particularly beautiful new batch of HiRISE photos of the Martian surface this week. See them here. Don’t forget: The LPL is having a picnic on Mount Lemmon on Saturday, May 22. Details on how to make your reservations before the May 14 deadline…
Writer’s Block: Naomi Benaron
Congratulations to local writer Naomi Benaron, who won the 2010 Bellwether Prize for Fiction. Details below. The 2010 winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction, the largest monetary prize for unpublished fiction in North America, is announced: Naomi Benaron of Tucson will claim the $25,000 award and publication with the Bellwether’s partner publisher, Algonquin Books…
Mother’s Day Specials
Here’s a list of Mother’s Day specials sent in by Tucson Originals, the alliance of independent and locally owned restaurants. Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 9. Two specials at other restaurants are also included. Find it after the jump. Acacia at St. Philip’s Plaza4340 N. Campbell Ave.Tucson, AZ 85718(520) 232-0101www.acaciatucson.comAcacia will serve a Mother’s Day…
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik on SB 1070: “No-Win Situation”
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik explains the problem with enforcing SB 1070 in today’s Wall Street Journal: The more fundamental problem with the law is its vague language. It requires law enforcement officials to demand papers from an individual when they have a “reasonable suspicion” that he is an illegal immigrant. The Preamble to the…
SB 1070: Will the GOP Lose Hispanics?
The National Journal tackles the politics of immigration. The takeaway: As Franklin D. Roosevelt moved to the left during his second term as president, one Southern Democrat declared, “The Roosevelt of 1938 does not appear to be related by blood or marriage to the Roosevelt of 1933.” The same could be said about John McCain…
