Cover Story
Our 2014 Endorsements
It’s easy to get cynical about all this political malarkey: The misleading campaign ads, the mudslinging mailers, the annoying robocalls. After a while, the BS becomes overwhelming and it’s easy to forget just how much is at stake and conclude your vote doesn’t mean anything. But as recent campaigns have shown—Congressman Ron Barber won election…
Who Wants Tickets to See Belanova at the Rialto?
We have a pair of tickets to give away to see Mexican synthpoppers Belanova at the Rialto on Tuesday, Oct. 21. We’ll draw a name on Monday the 20th at noon and email the lucky winner. All you have to do is go to our contest page and push a button (assuming you’re already a…
Do You Care About Doug Ducey’s Mob Family Tree?
Image courtesy of Shutterstock This isn’t a member of Ducey’s family, but it’s an amusing image. The Phoenix New Times has a story by Stephen Lemons and Lance Williams about Doug Ducey’s family, making a case that he’s left in his past a family with deep connections to organized crime in Ohio: But the all-American…
Your Best of Tucson Preview Is on KXCI Today
Want to get a preview of the winners from the 2014 Best of Tucson issue, hitting streets (late, please be patient) on Thursday? I’ll be on the Home Stretch with Cathy Rivers Wednesday night at 5 p.m. talking BOT, so if you’re dying to know the winner for a specific category, shout it out in…
Today in Local Beer News
First, the bad news: 1055 Brewing was embarking on a bold experiment, aiming to brew a beer entirely sourced within Arizona, but had to announce yesterday on Facebook that it didn’t pan out, describing the process as smelling like “a sweaty goat farm.” The good news: 1055 isn’t giving up, aiming to try again in…
6th Annual Multifaith Pride Service Tonight
All the recent marriage equality decisions and what could happen in the courts soon reversing Arizona anti-same sex marriage law, tonight 6th annual Multifaith Pride Service seems particularly important with the Rev. Debra Peevey, faith outreach director from Why Marriage Matters Arizona, as one of the speakers. The service, Weaving a Common Sacredness, is 7…
Let’s Take A Look At That Story About TUSD In The Star
I opened my paper this morning to find this screaming headline on the front page, top right hand column: Sanchez left financial experts frustrated. Sounds bad. Sounds really bad. I unfolded the paper, took a sip of coffee and began reading. I read the story once, paused to drink more coffee and clear my head,…
Brink Media’s Streetcar Film Is Super Delightful
Chumps & Gertie: A Streetcar Romance from Brink on Vimeo. The whole Modern Streetcar thing seems to be working out better than nearly anyone (other than Steve Farley, perhaps) expected and part of that seems to be the fact that our city has embraced the vehicle’s ability to make the corridor that it travels seems…
Let’s Listen to a Southwest Terror Fest Playlist
You have to applaud the hustle of the Southwest Terror Fest guys. They’ve consistently expanded their event, bringing in bigger and bigger acts and have worked incredibly hard to promote the shows on basically every media platform imaginable (there’s a Terror Fest Tumblr!). In a town that sometimes lacks ambition, their hustle is encouraging. Anyhow,…
Expect Fireworks At The TUSD Board Meeting
It promises to be a hot time in the ol’ district Tuesday night, at least for TUSD junkies. At the Tuesday night board meeting, the financial report for the 2013-14 school year will be presented. According to Mark Stegeman’s constituent newsletter, the cash reserves — the amount left over to give the district some room…
The New Pornographers bring ‘Brill Bruisers’ to the Rialto
Photo by Steven Dewall The New Pornographers start with classic pop, crank the energy, add some wallop and a few wild flourishes. That’s been the basic formula since the band’s 2000 debut “Mass Romantic,” but on the new, fantastic “Brill Bruisers,” The New Pornographers found themselves pushing the music to new heights. “This is the…
Orr Asks Fellow Lawmakers to Get Creative with Marijuana
Republican Rep. Ethan Orr probably couldn’t get marijuana/PTSD researcher Sue Sisley reinstated at the UA if he tried, but convincing his pot-paranoid fellow lawmakers to decriminalize marijuana to refill the state treasury? Well, a guy can try—after all it’s election season. Orr happens to be running for re-election for his District 9 seat. Orr is…
Did Republican Budget Cuts Hurt the Fight Against Ebola?
If you thought the Americans for Responsible Solutions “stalker” ad or the Wendy Davis wheelchair spot were tough, how about an ad accusing the Republican Party of helping the spread of Ebola via their cuts to the Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health and other government healthcare organizations? However, it’s not just a…
When Will the Star Get Rid of Mugshot Galleries?
Paul Berry, the Executive Director, News and Engagement at the Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader (and, full disclosure, a guy I’m Facebook friends with) wrote an editorial in his paper’s Sunday edition about why they’re dumping mugshot galleries: I’d been thinking lately about the mug shots and our role as the community newspaper. As I’ve said countless…
We Take Back Our Duval Endorsement; We’re W.D. Reyes Supporters Now
Yes, we endorsed Fred Duval in the governor’s race in this week’s issue and yes, we probably should make sure the ice cream guy doesn’t win, but if any media outlet in town should appreciate a quixotic, doomed and basically imaginary run for office, it would be the Tucson Weekly, home of Project White House,…
You Have One Chance to See ‘Harmontown’ at the Loft
Not that you don’t have enough to see in movie theaters in the next week or so (Skeleton Twins! Kill the Messenger! Gone Girl! The Loft Film Festival! Left Behind…well, maybe not that one), but if you want to see Harmontown, a documentary about Community creator Dan Harmon and the “concert” tour he embarked on…
Let’s Go See Poliça Tonight at Congress
Yes, I get it, it’s Monday and some of you have real jobs to go to tomorrow, but if you can duck in a bit late on a Tuesday morning, may I humbly suggest you see Poliça tonight? Here’s what I wrote in Soundbites this week: However, I am personally super excited for the opportunity…
Live On The Web Saturday: “PUBLIC Education Nation” From The Network For Public Education
PUBLIC EDUCATION NATION from Schoolhouse Live on Vimeo. The public face of progressive education these days is author and education historian Diane Ravitch (“The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education,” “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to Americas Public…
RIP Sean Collins, aka DJ Sean T
As you may have heard, Sean Collins, better known to all of Tucson as DJ Sean T, his ’80s Retro-Lution Mondays at Club Congress moniker, passed away yesterday afternoon. Sean suffered a heart attack in late May of this year and was currently on a what he referred to as a “new ticker list.” Sean…
Michael Hicks And Debe Campos-Fleenor: Bad Choices For TUSD
Here are three good reasons not to vote for Republicans Michael Hicks and Debe Campos-Fleenor for the TUSD board. First, the two candidates bring a conservative mindset to a district that needs to be progressive and forward-looking. Second, neither is a strong candidate. Hicks has shown himself to be marginally qualified at best, and Campos-Fleenor…
Friday Sign of the End Times: Deep Fried Tequila Shots
From Elite Daily Well, it’s really angel food cake soaked in tequila and then deep fried, but I’m still trying to figure out the science that somehow allows the alcohol to remain and now burn off in the hot oil According to this Elite Daily post, no actual nasty face produced when downing a shot…
There Are People Who Roleplay Working in an Office and Nothing Makes Sense Anymore
Image courtesy of Shutterstock I try not to fault people for how they spend their time…live your life, I say. However, the idea that people would want to use their fleeting moments here on earth pretending to work in an office seems, well, totally insane: You’re stuck at an office all day, deleting all-staff emails…
A Prom Body Tour of Tucson
Prom Body recently showed the weird world where the band’s from via Vice’s Noisey. And yes, eegee’s and Sonoran hot dogs star, as well as the boys giving some love to Topaz. From Noisey: Prom Body hails from the 520 Funhouse, a castle of cactus on the southern butt of Arizona. Sandwiched between the Mexican…
Your Questions Wanted for PCC Candidates Forum
In this week’s issue, we profile the two Pima Community College governing board candidates for District 1: Mark Hanna and Michael Duran. Now it’s time for you to ask the questions in preparation for two public forum planned this month: • Community Board Room (C-105) at the PCC District office, 4905 E. Broadway Blvd. on…
Key & Peele’s Take on “Family Matters” Is Spectacular
The new season of Key & Peele has brought a lot of joy into my life, but this sketch, which captures the absurdity of what the character Urkel did to Family Matters, might be the funniest thing to appear on TV this year. I’ll never forget you, Reginald VelJohnson.
Let’s Go See Jon Rauhouse Friday Night
While it hurts my soul a bit to suggest any activity Friday night that isn’t the Chromeo show at the Rialto, if 80’s-inspired R&B isn’t your thing, the inside/outside combo of free shows at Congress is a great option for the music-loving Tucsonan. Inside the club starting at 9 p.m., you can enjoy a tripleheader…
Here’s Your Chance to Get Back the Money Red Bull Stole From You
oneinchpunch / Shutterstock.com I’m a big fan of the payouts from consumer class action lawsuits. Naked Juice wasn’t entirely juice? Thanks for the $8! Rice Krispies wasn’t exactly the most nutritious breakfast? I’ll take $11 to repair my damaged trust in cereal. Now, Red Bull is the latest company that’s paying out a settlement to…
A Hologram Was the Musical Guest on Letterman Last Night, So Say Goodbye to Music Forever
The world of music can be a confusing place and it’s hard to even keep up with all the bands that are made up of actual people, now we have Hatsune Miku, who is portrayed by a hologram and is described by her (incredibly confusing) Wikipedia page as “a humanoid persona voiced by a singing…
Lambda Legal: A Real Time Update on Marriage Equality and the Courts
With so much going on regarding the various marriage equality cases, Lambda Legal issued an update today to get us on the same page, rather than speculating. Exciting times and with the flurry of court activity, it makes sense that we get ahead of ourselves. The LGBT legal advocacy organization is also live blogging updates…
Want a Say in the Future of the UA Museum of Art?
A series of town hall meetings on the direction and role of the UA Museum of Art begin on Tuesday, Oct. 21 for staff, faculty, students and the Tucson community. The meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. is for faculty and staff; for students the town hall is on Thursday,…
An Interview With Alec Moreno
I posted an interview I did with Ana Charavin a few days ago, and here’s an interview with Alec Moreno. I first heard both of them speak at an Education Accountability Session sponsored by the Pima County Interfaith Council and decided to invite them to the cable access program I host with Ann-Eve Pedersen, Education:…
Sandwiches on the Avenue
No, this is probably not the best guide in the gluten-free era, but there’s something particularly comforting about a good sandwich. Possibly because many of our first food memories involve the dish likely invented in Europe in the 18th century, possibly a peanut butter and jelly handed to us by our mother. Yes, the definition…
Noshing Around
IT’S SHAKIN’ UP AGAIN Tucson Originals partnered with Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) and are throwing their yearly culinary must attend event, World Margarita Championship. It’s going down Saturday, Oct. 18, 6 p.m. at Plaza Colonial (the southwest corner of Campbell and Skyline). For those who don’t know, it is an amazing evening…
Soundbites
OLD 45’S If you enjoy alt-country of the Old 97’s-esque variety, you’ll probably enjoy Portland’s Lone Madrone, who are playing Monterey Court on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. The band says they play “Foot-Stompin’ Acoustic Bliss” which makes me never want to hear their music again, but their 2011 album “A Safe Heart” reminds…
Nine on the Line
Coralie “Ghini” Satta is chef/owner of Ghini’s French Café at 1803 E .Prince Road. She opened her restaurant when she was 21 years old learning hands on, saying her “journey was fraught with mistakes but has been very memorable and pretty amazing.” After 22 years, she is still very hands on at the café, getting…
Chromeo Come Alive
Dave 1 (born David Macklovitch), the guitarist and lead vocalist for Montreal funk duo Chromeo, is ready to work on new material, even though their album “White Women” came out in May. “We’re going to start on a new album in December,” he said, “Why wait?” On the road for the band’s Frequent Flyer tour,…
Feelings of Loss and Freedom
“Wow! That was a long time ago” exclaims Kip Berman, the 35-year old frontman of shoegaze-influenced indie rockers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, when reminded of his bands ascent to underground popularity during the MySpace era. A lot has happened since then: Several releases from the Brooklyn-based band, including the 2011 noise-pop triumph…
Nine Questions
Kari Cadenhead, who moved to Tucson from Germany two years ago, worked as a tattoo artist for 10 years and now works as a sewing instructor. While getting ready to go to design school, Cadenhead runs Crafting Forward, a new organization that offers sewing lessons and supplies to low-income folks. Her favorite thing to do…
Primer
WHO IS HE? In a career that’s just passed the 50-year mark, Chris Smither has made his name at the intersection of folk and blues. Possessing talent and originality that should’ve propelled him to real stardom, Smither has instead stayed remarkably below the radar, releasing two dozen studio, live and compilation albums since 1970. Born…
Live
In the month since U2’s iTunes terrorist sneak-attack “Songs of Innocence” was released with a lead single about Joey Ramone, the slavish and misguided canonization of the late punk pioneer and his band—who hadn’t made a great record since 1977—has reached critical mass. The problem was that in the no-more-heroes ideology of punk, such idolatry…
Editor’s Note
There’s a funny phenomenon in the alt-weekly world. Example one: The “Ask a Mexican” column is written by Gustavo Arellano, who is also the editor of the OC Weekly. His column came in a few hours late this week (not a problem), but in the email, he apologized saying something like “‘Best of’ time here,…
Black One: “Rosemont”
Black One is currently exiled in Phoenix but the rapper is from Tucson. After the compelling, commercially-oriented 2013 effort “Block House,” Black One comes home for his new record “Rosemont,” ostensibly the soundtrack to a semi-autobiographical short story of the same name. Each song correlates to a particular chapter, with the clever and evocative period-correct…
Halloween Congress Style
The Conjuring with Kenneth Macabre and Miss Malanga returns to the Hotel Congress, kicking off a most excellent scary Halloween season on Thursday, Oct. 9, 7:30 and 9 p.m. and continuing on Thursdays through Oct. 30. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. There’s more with Nightmare on Congress Street on Saturday,…
Police Dispatch
JUST AN ORDINARY PENIS FOOTHILLS AREA SEPT. 3, 2:52 P.M. A housewife’s small, hairy, naked neighbor admitted to exposing himself in the hopes of attracting a female passerby, according to a PCSD report. The housewife told sheriff’s deputies that the past two afternoons, she’d been walking her kids home from school when she saw her…
Edibles on the Eastside
Ask any medical marijuana dispensary what sets them apart from the others, and you’ll likely get a number of varying examples. Ask Southern Arizona Integrated Therapies (SAIT) and you’ll get one that no other in Tucson—or in the entire state—can claim. “We were the first dispensary to open in Arizona,” says Susan Crownhart, operations manager.…
Halloween Congress Style
The Conjuring with Kenneth Macabre and Miss Malanga returns to the Hotel Congress, kicking off a most excellent scary Halloween season on Thursday, Oct. 9, 7:30 and 9 p.m. and continuing on Thursdays through Oct. 30. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. There’s more with Nightmare on Congress Street on Saturday,…
Creating a New Legacy
It’s an interesting time to run for a Pima Community College governing board seat with the college in the midst of working with the Higher Learning Commission to end its probation and past indiscretions of a former chancellor that still hang in the air. There’s been good news too, along with the successful hire of…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Why don’t Mexicans tip decently? I labor as a waitress in a local upscale steakhouse where, unfortunately, many Mexicans eat, and the lousy tips are starting to piss me off! Even blacks tip better! (Although, I gotta say, Mexicans are much easier to wait on. No constant requests for “So’ mo’ ranch dressin’.”)…
Before All Souls, There’s Día de los Muertos
There’s a reason why the All Souls Procession was scheduled the second Sunday of November rather than the first this year, and it’s a good reminder that before All Souls and the thousands who gather to walk downtown thinking of loss and memorial, there was Día de los Muertos. On Thursday, Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m.,…
The Skinny
Equality Issue Goddard uses gay couple in campaign ad against GOP opponent in Secretary of State’s race Democrat Terry Goddard took a slight detour on the campaign trail last week with an ad that criticized state Sen. Michele Reagan for voting for a bill that would have allowed discrimination against gays and lesbians. SB 1062,…
POP! (Purses On Purpose) at the YWCA and More
As part if its YW Speaks series, the organization continues its women and money series on Monday, Oct. 13, from 6 to 7 p.m. at 525 N. Bonita Ave. To help pay for all the good things the organization is doing for women and children, it has to raise money. POP! (Purses on Purpose) is…
Danehy
When the undefeated and by-golly-nationally ranked Arizona Wildcats take the field this Saturday against not-undefeated but also nationally ranked USC, they will almost certainly do so in front of a sell-out crowd. It’s been a looong time since that happened in a game that didn’t include Arizona State, but that’s what happens when you beat…
15 Beautiful Moons
From her porch on the far northwest side of Tucson, artist Kate Breakey can see Safford Peak. The mountain rises some 3,500 feet above the desert, jutting its hat-shaped summit into the sky. (It’s sometimes called Sombrero Peak.) Breakey has photographed the mountain’s drifting clouds and darkening storms, its sunsets and moonrises. Lately, it’s the…
Turn on the Juice and See What Shakes Loose
So it’s that time of year, and we are, from every direction, being reminded that ghouls and ghosts and hauntings are pretty much an everyday part of our lives. And that, oddly, some of these really scary things can be soothed, at least temporarily, by candy. A long time ago (1988), Tim Burton gave us…
Where Film and Music Get a Suntan
The Tucson Film and Music Festival started in 2005 with a screening of Michael Toubassi’s “High and Dry,” during the historic Club Congress 20th anniversary reunion, a perfect venue for a documentary about Tucson musicians and its early music scene. Ten years later, Toubassi continues to lead the festival and music continues to be the…
Disney and the Acceptably Entertaining, Family Friendly, Meets Your Low Expectations, Not Very Long Film
Some people take rec league softball very seriously, keeping battings stats over the course of a “career.” What they miss is obvious to everyone else: It’s just a game. And while it may be competitive at times, there’s still some new girl from sales playing first base because you have to put her somewhere; she…
Where Film and Music Get a Suntan
The Tucson Film and Music Festival started in 2005 with a screening of Michael Toubassi’s “High and Dry,” during the historic Club Congress 20th anniversary reunion, a perfect venue for a documentary about Tucson musicians and its early music scene. Ten years later, Toubassi continues to lead the festival and music continues to be the…
The Power of Paranoia
We get a nice reminder of what a great actor Viggo Mortensen is in “The Two Faces of January,” a fine piece of suspenseful filmmaking from writer-director Hossein Amini, the man who penned “Drive.” While vacationing in Athens, Greece in the early ’60s, Chester the investment broker and his wife Collette (Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst)…
Sure, We All Know What We Really Call It
From Friday Oct. 10 through Sunday, Oct. 12, Tucson Meet Yourself brings together more than 100,000 people to celebrate all the diverse cultures that call Tucson home, and it’s basically your job to figure out how to fit in a visit with that nice lady that dishes that great Hungarian soup, or take in some…
Cinema Showdown
If you haven’t already, you should head over to explodedviewgallery.org and check out their full fall schedule, since they have fascinating stuff showing at 197 E. Toole Ave. a couple times a week from screenings of Italian horror flicks to silent films scored by local musicians. Full credit goes to David Sherman, Rebecca Barten and…
Eat Your Vegetables
The food at Food for Ascension Café proves that a plant-based menu can actually be quite delicious and varied. At many places in town vegan and gluten-free options are few and far between. Here all items are vegan “unless noted as containing eggs” and the gluten free options are many. Ninety percent of the items…
Downtown Tucson Weekend Travel Restrictions for Tucson Meet Yourself & More
JAMES HUDSON It’s that time of year Tucson, when the weather is about to get perfect and every events planner decides to hold their annual celebrations on the same weekend. This year, that perfect storm of fun hits Downtown Tucson on the 2nd week of October, from Friday the 10th through the Sunday the 12th,…
Media Watch
CAN YOU HEAR KXCI NOW? If you live on Tucson’s northwest side, Marana, Oro Valley and points beyond, and you’ve wondered what the fuss is about with the Old Pueblo’s 30-year flirtation with community radio, now you too can enjoy the fun. KXCI 91.3 FM’s upgraded transmitter is online, and it has dramatically expanded the…
