Cover Story
This is What Equality Looks Like
Typically when two regular people marry, a bevy of news media doesn’t descend on the nuptials unless they call themselves paparazzi and they make stealthily hiding in bushes part of their professional skillset. However, last Friday, Oct. 17, if you happened to be a same-sex couple who walked out of the Pima County Courthouse in…
Terry Goddard: “Dark Money Tries To Deceive Voters”
Democrat Terry Goddard, who is facing Republican Michele Reagan in the race for Secretary of State, sent the Weekly the following opinion piece: The 60 Plus Association describes itself as a “non-partisan seniors advocacy group,” but like anything involving Dark Money, what they say is far from true. The 60 Plus Association, in fact, is…
An Ethan Orr Supporter Sticks Up for His Candidate
[Editor’s note: Obviously, our blogger David Safier isn’t a big fan of Ethan Orr and has made that point pretty well known on the Range heading up to the election. Orr supporter Demitri Downing asked to explain why he’s voting for Orr in response, so here’s his take on LD9.] A scorpion asks a duck…
Harry Potter’s Quite the Rap Cover Artist
It’s remarkable what Jimmy Fallon gets his guests to do and this time, it’s Daniel Radcliffe demonstrating his ability to speed-rap, skillfully taking on Blackalicious’ “Alphabet Aerobics.” The original, for comparison.
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Reports on Southside Presbyterian and Sanctuary History
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes’ report on the history of Tucson’s Sanctuary movement and the current work at Southside Presbyterian is a great portrait of our community.
Politico Names Barber-McSally Race One of The “Most Suspenseful House Races” of 2014
With Election Day less than a week away, Politico puts the Congressional District 2 race between Democratic incumbent Congressman Ron Barber and GOP challenger Martha McSally at the top of its list of the “five most suspenseful House races in the 2014 homestretch”: For most of the year, Barber has maintained a steady lead over…
Michele Reagan Doesn’t Appear Ready for Prime Time
State lawmaker Michele Reagan, the Republican candidate who is facing Democrat Terry Goddard in the race for Arizona secretary of state, had a disastrous appearance on Brahm Resnik’s Sunday Square Off a few days ago. You can watch the entire exchange after the jump, but her inability to answer Phoenix TV news reporter Brahm Resnik’s…
Double Release Day for Fort Lowell Records
Born out of a love of vinyl, Fort Lowell Records began releasing 7-inch singles by Tucson bands five years ago. Label boss James Tritten and his wife Tracy Shedd left Tucson after seven years last fall, but didn’t leave our music scene behind, with two 12-inch records from Tucson’s La Cerca and Naïm Amor part…
Gungor Might Be the Kind of Christian Music You Like
Gungor Considering I got my start writing about religious rock, it hurts my soul a bit that I don’t get to write that much about Christian rock on the Range, so get your angry commenting/emailing fingers warmed up! It’s time to talk about Gungor! But wait a minute before you start your screed, you might…
For Diane Douglas, It’s Always “I before E”: “Ideology before Education”
On a campaign flier, Diane Douglas lists “Pro-Life” as one of the five reasons she’s qualified to be our next Superintendent of Public Instruction. “Conservative Republican” also makes the list. The general rap on Douglas’ run for superintendent is that she’s a one issue candidate: Kill Common Core! But she hopes to do more than…
Papa John’s Fritos Chili Pizza a Sure Sign of Our Impending Doom
Thankfully, there are seemingly an infinite number of places to get pizza these days in Tucson, so other than seeing Mr. Papa John hanging out with Peyton Manning on TV now and then, I don’t have to think so much about that particular national pizza chain. However, with the announcement of their new limited availability…
Hey, Look It’s Paul Rudd! Oh, OK, Damn, No, Not Paul Rudd
Over the weekend, this video took over the internets showing some good Samaritans tackling a homophobic ass who started to attack a person at an airport gate. The video shows the whole mess taking place, and then the guy getting tackled to the ground. But wait, who is that in the anti-bigotry pile-up? Today, the…
Who Is This Grijalva Campaign Sign Thief?
One thing’s for certain in this video of a political sign thief—those are not Michael Hicks’ legs. I just don’t think his legs are that nice, right? Wear shorts at the next meeting, Mike, so we can figure this out. The video is of what is evidently the latest in campaign season political sign thief…
Gabby Airs New Ad Targeting Martha McSally
Americans for Responsible Solutions, the political action committee run by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly, is back in the Congressional District 2 race between Congressman Ron Barber and Republican challenger Martha McSally. The 30-second ad, entitled “Values,” looks at McSally’s previous statements during her close 2012 race against Barber, when she said she would “propose…
Cisco Cat Was a Friend of Mine …
Cisco Cat was a friend of mine The Cisco Cat was a friend of mine; He drink milk, while I just drank my wine Yes, good people at the Humane Society have sent us another photo of an adorable adoptable cat that you won’t look at without saying something like, “Awww,” or “Cuuuuute.” His name…
“Dear White People” Is Coming to the Loft and We’re Super Excited
While the movie-going situation here in Tucson does seem to get a bit better all the time, we’re still a little slow to get some movies, so while the big city folks have been raving about Dear White People for a few weeks, we’ve had to be patient. Thankfully, we only have to wait until…
The Koch Brothers-Funded Dark Money Campaign Against Terry Goddard
It calls itself the 60 Plus Association and describes itself as “a non-partisan, conservative leaning seniors organization.” In fact, it’s one of the Koch Brothers’ spider web of organizations with names that make them sound like a bunch of regular folks who’ve come together to fight for what makes America great — Americans for Prosperity,…
Well Narco News Called It: Big Media Boys React to Gary Webb Movie
Back in September we began sharing a series of posts from Narco News on their friend, the late journalist Gary Webb and the new movie about his career, released this month, “Kill the Messenger,” starring Jeremy Renner. Narco News founder Al Giordano, in his first essay about his friend and the movie, predicted that the…
My (Probably) Last Post About The LD-9 Race (But Don’t Hold Me To It)
Let’s boil the three-candidate race for the two Legislative District 9 House seats down to essentials. If you vote for Democrats Victoria Steele and Randy Friese, you’ll be represented by two solid progressive legislators. Randy Friese emphasizes education as his most important issue. Victoria Steele emphasizes mental health issues, along with a focus on “women’s…
Linkages PSA: Everyone Wants to Work and Have a Place They Belong
Knowing some of the challenges families with kids with special needs go through, here’s a new PSA for Linkages, an organization that makes employment a possibility for people of varying disabilities. In the heartfelt video, Tucsonan Maricela Martinez-Whitmore talks about her son, Bradley, and how wonderful it is for him to have a job he…
Oh, Poor Teabaggers: Sorry Mexicans Are So Scary
Wonkette has always had a good hard-on for our crazyland politics in Arizona, but a recent post calls out that journalistic train wreck called the Arizona Daily Independent. Wonkette wrote about the right-wing clamor from Maricopa County GOP chairman A.J. LaFaro, who has gotten a lot of attention thanks to a video of a Latino…
Sneak Peek: Dem Gov Candidate Fred DuVal Visits “Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel”
Here’s a special Friday night sneak peek of this Sunday’s “Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel.” Fred Duval, the Democratic candidate for governor, stops by the set to talk about why better schools are at the heart of his campaign, his support for marriage equality and his plans to have a DREAMer to lead the pledge…
This Week on “Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel”
On the second episode of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: A one-on-one interview with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal, followed by a conversation with Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lea Márquez Peterson and attorney Jeff Rogers about the hot races around the state, the latest on Gabby Giffords’ anti-gun-violence push, the politics…
Just When You Thought Crazyland Was Less Crazy: SB 1062 Part II?
So on Friday, Oct. 17, we had a little party, right? People got married in the breezeway between the Pima County administration building and the courthouse, and we have posters being made of U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick and we’re booking him now for next year’s pride parades. Put away the party hats folks,…
Oye, Google: What If Soy Milk Really Is Just Milk Introducing Itself in Spanish?
H/T to Latino Rebels for their reaction to Google’s launch of .SOY, a web domain for Latinos. I’m confused. I mean, since the reconquista already happened doesn’t that mean that ALL web domains are Latino? Well, yes and no. From Latino Rebels: The development of which I speak has to do with how Mountain View,…
Today in Things You Should Not Do: Deface National Parks With Your “Art”
http://www.modernhiker.com/2014/10/21/instagram-artist-defaces-national-parks/ It takes a particular type of arrogance to believe that the national parks of the Western United States would be improved by your crappy artwork, but hey, that’s apparently what was going through Casey Nocket’s head as she travelled through Yosemite, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Zion and elsewhere painting acrylic versions of stuff from…
Get to Know Your U of A Icecats Tonight, See Them Play This Weekend
Arizona Wildcat Hockey (they’re not the Icecats these days, thank you very much) have their first home games this Friday and Saturday night against the Liberty Flames at the newly-renovated TCC Arena, but first, as a kickoff faceoff to the season, they’re hosting a fanfest tonight at 6:30 p.m. It’s an opportunity to watch a…
Hey, We’re Hiring a Staff Writer!
The Tucson Weekly is hiring a staff writer and GOSH THAT COULD BE YOU. Basically, we need someone who can contribute content to the Weekly, print and online, across the wide variety of subject matter we cover here. Plus, we need someone who isn’t boring, who gets alt-weekly style. Someone who can write a well-researched…
Kick Off Halloween Week With a Movie at the Loft Friday
If you’re getting psyched for Halloween (AND WHO ISN’T?), the world of Tucson film has plenty to offer you this week. First off, I’m not sure how anyone could possibly pass up the opportunity to see Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth,” starring David Bowie and a magnificent leather jumpsuit/codpiece combo, as part of their on-going Late Night…
Grab a Beer, Celebrate Girl’s Pint Out, Do Some Good (All at Once!)
Tonight’s one year anniversary celebration for the Tucson branch of Girl’s Pint Out, a membership-free organization intended to promote craft beer among women, would be a worthwhile event on its own, especially considering they’ll be offering the group’s collaboration with 1055 Brewing – a delicious Apple Pie Saison. The fun kicks off at 5 p.m.…
Voices and Vision
Ahmed Gallab’s personal history is written in the different styles and sounds on “Mean Love.” Gallab, who records under the name Sinkane, summoned the percussive rhythms from his Sudanese childhood, the dreamy pop that calmed his alienated teen years in suburban Ohio, and various flavors of synth-heavy, dance-oriented rock from his stints playing in well-regarded…
Primer
WHO ARE THEY Arizona’s own Jimmy Eat World formed in 1993, releasing a pop-punk self-titled debut the year after. But it was Static Prevails, the next album from lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind, that set the template for the band’s trajectory over the next…
Proof of Evolution
At a GOP primary debate during her 2012 campaign against Congressman Ron Barber, Republican candidate Martha McSally was asked whether she supported gay marriage. Her opponent, Mark Koskiniemi, had just said he believed that marriage should be limited to one man and one woman. McSally stood up and flipped the order of gender, saying with…
Lace Curtains, “A Signed Piece of Paper”
After the collapse of the great garage-pop trio Harlem in 2011, the band’s two primary songwriters Curtis O’Mara and Michael Coomer (or Coomers, as he’s usually referred to) immediately began recording with new projects—Grape St. and Lace Curtains, respectively. Coomers’ contributions to Harlem had always been the more biting and witty than O’Mara’s, so it…
An Evening with Mark and Gabby
The tragedy that took place on Jan. 8, 2011 still resonates with most Tucsonans, and the story of former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords’ recovery aided by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, is one that many of us are familiar with and have seen the couple discuss on TV news shows. Here’s a chance to listen…
Brass Tax, I Am The Albatross, Hibris; Sky Bar, Saturday, Oct. 18
Tucson two-piece Hibris, who to the best of my knowledge don’t play live very often, offer an interesting premise: One electric guitar, looping in real time over itself into rhythms driving into each other at every angle like each car on a long train amplified, with explosive and syncopated drumming. But that sounds like every…
A Haunted Harvest Hootenanny at Borderlands Brewing
Watershed Manager Group is holding this here hootenanny and y’all are invited on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 8 a.m. to 12 midnight, at Borderlands Brewing Company, 119 E. Toole Ave. The brewery has a new beer garden to take in and DJ’s ST Frequency and Gus K will provide the dance entertainment. Wear a costume…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: What do Mexicans in the United States think of the violent drug cartel problem currently in Mexico? Do local Latinos cringe with disgust or fear when they hear another drug cartel story on the news … or do they feel a sense of disconnect because they are living in America now and it’s…
Thriller at La Paloma
Thriller dance record gathering It’s Halloween season, and that means it’s also time for a Thriller dance. In Tucson, it’s happening at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa, 3800 E. Sunrise Dr., on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 3 to 3:30 p.m. with Thrill the World, an attempt to break a Guinness World Record of…
Sitting Atop
Tucson has spoken, and it’s saying The Green Halo is the best of the best in medical marijuana dispensaries. Voted on by the general public in the Tucson Weekly’s annual “Best of Tucson,” The Green Halo, opened Jan. 1, 2013 as the second dispensary in Tucson and third in Arizona, has become a household name…
Want Some Funny Kondabolu?
Common Ground Alliance is bringing political comic Hari Kondabolu to the UA Student Union South Ballroom, Thursday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. The Brooklyn-based, Queens-raised comic, who the New York Times called “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today,” has a particular brand of humor that touches on race, immigrants and other sometimes…
Nine Questions
Alysa Volpe, Tucson born and Sahuarita raised, turns 40 in December and often reflects on how her hometown has changed over the years, admitting she likes this current phase. One of the first wave of Flam Chen performers in 1996, Volpe toured with Tucson’s Not Breathing and got to open for their shows in the…
Living Wage Workshop
A city-wide minimum wage increase happened in Seattle, and organizers in Tucson want to see it happen here. At a workshop with Derechos Humanos on Friday, Oct. 24, 6 p.m. at the Global Justice Center, Tucson fast-food workers and organizers who took part in the nationwide actions to raise minimum wage will help lead a…
Soundbites
EVER GREENER Considering I got my start writing about religious rock, it hurts my soul a bit that I don’t get to write that much about Christian rock in this space, so get your angry commenting/emailing fingers warmed up! It’s time to talk about Gungor! But wait a minute before you start your screed, you…
As Seen on TV
We know there are casualties of war beyond the dead and wounded. We see images on TV of crying women and children, stepping through the chaos of crumbling buildings and burned out cars and families carrying the dead and wounded on crude stretchers, wailing and lamenting their losses in a crowd of mourners. We see…
Fantastic Figures
Sunday a week ago, New York’s Museum of Modern Art in New York opened a sumptuous exhibition of Matisse’s late-life cut-outs. Five days later, not to be outdone, the Tucson Museum of Art unveiled “The Figure Examined,” which showcases not only work by Matisse, but paintings, sculptures and prints by some 70 other boldface artists…
Editor’s Note
While we were in the midst of Best of Tucson madness (thanks for your patience as we got that issue out to the streets, by the way), it wasn’t a great week for our alt-weekly peers. First, the Providence Phoenix – a paper whose parent publication, the Boston Phoenix, closed down in 2013—announced that it…
Working in a Coal Mine
Based on the real actions by gay activists to support striking miners in 1984 Great Britain, “Pride” is an enjoyable showcase for some fine actors, as well as a fun springboard for good British humor. Sporting a particularly awesome Morrissey haircut, Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer) is fronting a gay activist group in England that is…
Police Dispatch
PUGNACIOUS PISSER FOOTHILLS AREA SEPT. 20, 9:59 P.M. A man arrested for drunken fighting started to hallucinate and threatened to urinate, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report stated. Sheriff’s deputies responded to a north-side apartment complex, where a fight had occurred involving three males and two females, most or all of whom were apparently intoxicated.…
Fake Can Be Just as Good
In his award-winning book, “Hot Art,” Canadian journalist Joshua Knelman pulled back the veil on the multi-billion dollar world of art theft. Seemingly the stuff of capers like “The Thomas Crown Affair,” the reality may not be quite as glamorous, but it is certainly just as profitable: Art theft is one of the largest grey…
Foothills Fracas
The candidates for Legislative District 9 are happy to share their stories behind their decisions to run for public office. Democratic incumbent Victoria Steele spent her middle school years in Franklin, Penn., as a victim of bullies. She finally socked one in the face and spent her time in detention making campaign signs to run…
Cinema Showdown
I MOVE THE STARS FOR NO ONE If you’re getting psyched for Halloween (AND WHO ISN’T?), the world of Tucson film has plenty to offer you this week. First off, I’m not sure how anyone could possibly pass up the opportunity to see Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth,” starring David Bowie and a magnificent leather jumpsuit/codpiece combo,…
The Skinny
Cash Flood Spending in local congressional races breaks all previous records The money just keeps pouring into our Southern Arizona congressional races—as you’ve probably noticed if you’ve turned on your TV and seen the relentless barrage of advertising being run in the high-profile rematch between Congressman Ron Barber and GOP challenger Martha McSally. McSally, who…
Worth the Wait
When the Rincon Market experienced a huge fire last year, regular customers were bummed. What was even more disappointing was how long it took for this great neighborhood market and deli to reopen. Instead of the hoped for three or four months, the renovation took nearly a year. But then with a small amount of…
Danehy
I haven’t been this bummed out about an upcoming election since 1994 when Newt Gingrich hatched his Contract on America and created a stampede of knuckleheads, ne’er-do-wells and nincompoops into the House of Representatives. The fact that America’s Rube Population bought into the nonsense was sadly predictable. The only good thing about the election of…
Noshing Around
ROCCO THE VOTE Rocco’s Little Chicago Pizzeria (2707 E. Broadway Blvd.) is holding a cool little promotion introducing their Pizza of the Month. Rocco is accepting ideas for a pie, including toppings, crust style, preparation etc. Just stop by the joint and fill out an application. Winner gets some recognition and their pizza featured for…
Media Watch
NINTZEL LAUNCHES NEW POLITICAL ROUNDTABLE PROGRAM Tucson Weekly political columnist Jim Nintzel was a fixture on KUAT TV 6’s Friday Roundtable, the end-of-week version of Arizona Illustrated, at first as a regular guest on the Bill Buckmaster hosted program and then eventually as its host until Arizona Public Media management abandoned the format in June.…
Nine on the Line
Ken Foy moved to Tucson in 2003 and became the executive chef at Tucson Country Club. He has also worked as the executive chef at Lowe’s Island (now Trump National Golf Club), International and Dominion Valley CC in northern Virginia. He is currently chef at Dante’s Fire (located at 2526 E. Grant Road). Besides Dante’s…
Day Drinking … with Tucson Artist Melo Dominguez
For a love of all things lowbrow and dark places that offer cold beverages and respite from the bright, bright sun, we bring you Day Drinking. This is the first in a regular series, and lucky us, Tucson artist Melo Dominguez agreed to be our guinea pig. So last week, we grabbed some drinks at…
