Cover Story
The Rosenbergs’ Truth in Fiction
On the night Ethel is supposed to die, the air is too heavy to breathe. The humidity clings to my skin, my face wet with sweat, or maybe tears. It is hard to tell the difference.
Cinema Clips: Black Mass
Johnny Depp breaks his shit slump with a riveting performance as James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, the notorious Boston crime lord who also acted as informant to the FBI while killing people and destroying lives. Depp goes under some heavy makeup, including some gross teeth, to play the infamous brother of William “Billy” Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch) and…
Ducey’s Arizona: Jeff Spicoli and The Lego Movie meet The Stones meet Mark 16:15
Ducey’s PR people were running some new slogans up the Capitol flagpole to see if anyone saluted. They were trying out phrases on one another to see if anyone got chills (“I’m getting chills!”). They were tossing tag lines around at three martini lunches, or whatever ad men and women drink at lunch these days.…
Definite Maybe’s From Ducey’s School Finance Reform Council
Tuesday was the day Ducey’s Classrooms First Initiatives Council was scheduled to release its preliminary recommendations for changing Arizona’s school funding formula (Final recommendations are supposed to be presented December 22). The news out of the council is, there’s not much news, only wisps and smoke trails. The council made some general pronouncements, but if the…
Cinema Clips: The Reflektor Tapes
Admittedly, I was a huge Arcade Fire fan after hearing their breakthrough album, Funeral, and seeing their exuberant, festival-stealing performance at first Coachella in 2005. Since then, my enthusiasm waned a bit after seeing them too many times and listening to their subsequent mediocre albums, Neon Bible and The Suburbs. Their very good 2013 album,…
Migration Policy Institute: This is What Happens When U.S. Deports Undocumented Parents (It’s Bad)
The Obama administration has deported approximately 3.7 million undocumented people between 2009 and 2013 (one of the many reasons immigration advocates granted him the nickname “deporter in chief”). Of that number, it’s reported that probably half a million of them are parents. As a result, hundreds of thousands of U.S.-born children have either one or…
“The Current Language of Educational Reform . . . Tends to Approach Education as if History had Never Happened.”
It feels to me like we’re experiencing a renaissance of brilliant, talented black writers discussing racial issues in print. Maybe people have been writing like this all along but it hasn’t made the mainstream media. Or maybe it’s been in mainstream media all along and I haven’t been paying enough attention. Well, I’m paying attention…
Book Review: The Devil’s Pleasure Palace: the Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West
There is a way to tell if a book is a well written polemic by a conservative author. I call it “The C Clue.” If you look up a book on Amazon, you will see a horizontal bar graph. This graph depicts the relative numbers of the different star ratings. A conservative polemic will have…
TUSD Critics Blame District Leadership for Recent Fights, Lockdown at Palo Verde High School
Tucson Unified School District’s Palo Verde High School has been an eventful little monster these past few days: In the beginning of last week, six students were arrested for fighting in the school’s parking lot; and on Friday, there was a lock down over alleged sightings of a young man with a gun on site.…
Mass Incarceration of Immigrants is the Focus of a YWCA Discussion Tomorrow Night
Come learn about the mass incarceration of immigrants at the YWCA tomorrow night. This is the third event the YWCA is hosting as part of their ongoing talks on the country’s sentencing and prison system, and their effects on the community. Tucson-based immigration attorney Margo Cowan, Coalición de Derechos Humanos’ Isabel Garcia and Caroline Isaacs,…
Satin Needs a Home
Meeeow.. Hi I’m Satin! I’m 10 years old and was released to HSSA when my owner could no longer care for me. I get to be part of the Guardian Angel program which means no kennel for me! I’m looking for a new forever home where I can have my own space but still give…
Ducey’s School Finance Reform Council Will Announce Findings Tuesday
Tuesday is the day we hear how Gov. Ducey’s Classrooms First Initiative Council wants to change the way the current school funding is handed out. I have no inside information about what they’ll be presenting, but, at the risk of making a fool of myself, let me predict the nature of the group’s approach and proposals.…
Just In Case You Are One of the Nine People Who Hasn’t Seen Viola Davis’ Emmy Speech
I don’t usually refer to moments in entertainment award shows as “important.” This one was a big deal.
Did You Guys Catch Pizza Rat? (What the Hell)
This is equally interesting and gross—a combination that can potentially make this video one of those “break the Internet” type? It has close to 750 views at the moment, but websites like BuzzFeed and USA Today’s For The Win are spreading the word. Anyway, here you go: a rat dragging a slice of cheese pizza…
In Colorado, Marijuana Sales Are Generating More Revenue Than Alcohol
History was made in Colorado, guys: Tax revenue from marijuana sales was higher than revenue brought in by alcohol. The state raised about $70 million from weed in fiscal year 2014-2015, compared to the less than $42 million from alcohol sales, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. Last Wednesday, Colorado celebrated a “marijuana tax holiday,”…
Weekend Time
Walk Of No Shame with Amber Rose from Funny Or Die No shame this weekend, friends.
Zona Politics: City Council Debate Between Councilman Paul Cunningham and GOP Challenger Kelly Lawton
Zona Politics Eps.41 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo. On this week’s episode of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: The latest in our series of debates between the candidates for the Tucson City Council, co-sponsored by our media partners here at the Tucson Weekly, Tucson Local Media and KXCI-FM. This week, Ward 2…
The 2015 Tucson Greek Festival Celebrates Greece for Four Full Days of Food, Music and More
All next weekend, you have the opportunity to go Greek without any of the weird fraternity nonsense that phrase typically entails. Rather, the 39th annual Tucson Greek Festival is returning for four days of Greek food, dance, drinks, music and more. Although you can check out the full food menu for this year’s fest online,…
U.S. House Votes to Strip Planned Parenthood of Federal Funding
The fact that women’s health, women’s rights to have or not have children, women’s access to birth control, etc. continue to be a political issue discussed and sabotaged mostly by MEN who know absolutely nothing about what it’s like to be a woman is beyond my comprehension. With that said, the U.S. House just voted…
About Ahmed Mohamed’s Not-a-Bomb Clock and the School/Police Reaction
Ahmed Mohamed made national and probably international news when the 14 year old brought a homemade clock to his Dallas high school which some people thought might be a bomb, and when they realized it wasn’t, accused him of bringing a prank bomb to school. He was detained, questioned without being allowed to talk with his…
UPDATE: 2-Year Deal Between Teamsters, Sun Tran Cost $4.36M; Kozachik, Cunningham Demand Transparency
The two-year agreement that ended the 42-day Sun Tran bus strike cost $4.36 million, and it includes wage raises for all employees and complete health coverage, according to a media release from the Teamsters Local Union 104. The deal between the Teamsters and Professional Transit Management—the company that oversees Sun Tran—grants raises ranging from 30…
Center for American Progress: Latino Vote Has Great Potential for Major Political Power in 2016
It’s Hispanic Heritage month, and many of you out there are celebrating in some way all the contributions Hispanics, Latinos, Mexican-Americans, Colombian-Americans—the list is long—have brought to the U.S. This is also the time for presidential hopefuls to hustle, more than usual, for our vote, because it just turns out that we are a demographic…
Councilman Kozachik: I Hope 42-Day Strike Will Push for Reexamination of How City Funds, Manages Transit System
Dan Linhart—a bus driver with Sun Tran for 34 years—is happy to be back at work, and calls the end of the strike a good starting point for much-needed changes in the way the city of Tucson deals with transit services. He hopes the 42-day-old strike that ended Wednesday night is good enough reason to…
Win Steep Canyon Rangers Tickets for Saturday
Steep Canyon Rangers will be at the Rialto Theatre at 7 p.m. this Saturday. You know the deal: We have tickets, you want tickets. Throw your name in the running and we’ll contact the winner on Friday. Good luck! GRAMMY® Award-winning Steep Canyon Rangers unveil their highly anticipated ninth studio album, RADIO, a project that further…
Astronaut Scott Kelly Is Halfway Through His Year in Space
NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, twin brother of Tucsonan Mark Kelly (a retired astronaut and husband of Gabby Giffords), has made it through the first six months of his year in space. NASA notes: “I think the legacy of this mission will be based on the science of having us in space for a year,” remarked…
Marijuana Policy Project’s Legal Weed Ballot Measure Hits 75,000 Signatures
Things are looking good in the legal weed world, at least for the ballot measure being pushed by the Marijuana Policy Project, which has already gathered more than 75,000 signatures. They are one-third of the way into their goal of at least 230,000, according to an MPP press release. Their initiative—called the Campaign to Regulate…
I’m Really Enjoying Mother Jones’ Recap of Last Night’s Republican Debate: As You Imagined, Many Involve The Trump
If you missed the Republican debate Wednesday evening (I hope you didn’t—because A. We should all be informed on who wants to be our next president, even if you don’t plan on voting for’em; and B. One should not miss the opportunity to laugh uncontrollably and play drinking games every time Donald Trump makes a…
Venom’s Caretaker
On the back roads of Tucson’s far east side, the sounds of desert insects reverberate in the air. It’s the fringe area where Arizona’s second largest city fades into Saguaro National Park.
The Skinny
What exactly does the NRCC want from Congresswoman Martha McSally? Will Gov. Ducey be able to push through his proposal to bust the state schools trust? Councilman Paul Cunningham faces GOP challenger Kelly Lawton in a televised debate
Media Watch
In the basement of the Sinfonia building on Stone and Toole avenues, a dark structure encased by stone walls, cement flooring, steel beams and discarded furniture, a collection of a dozen or so people gather in a corner.
Danehy
So the kids on Tom’s team are in love with the Top 10 song “Marvin Gaye” by Charlie Puth (rhymes with truth), a lily-white soul singer from New Jersey.
The Final GLOW?
Up on a hill, outside Sharon Holnback’s 1880s ranchhouse, artist Kyle Hansen has landed an 8-foot-tall UFO that emits both sound and light.
Amalour Revival Lounge: Paradigm Shift
Hole-in-the-wall joints can be endearing haunts for regular dining out excursions and upscale restaurants seek to wow with exceptional service and inventive fare with luxe ingredients.
Más MAS
Summoning you downtown is a spectacle born to tell the story of how our community was betrayed in the name of American values. It happened in our state and in our city.
Brew-cson
Find out who makes the best beer in all the land at the 4th Annual Born & Brewed Festival.
No Schmaltz
Lily Tomlin moves right to the top of my 2015 Best Actress list with Grandma, a film that should put her in strong contention for an Oscar nomination nearly 40 years after she got a nom for her first movie role in Nashville.
Got to Glow
Have an outdoor adventure under the stars.
B-Sides: Wanda Junes
Get out of the house and get yourself a taste of some banjo pluckin’ folksy desert country.
Not about love
Catch a free screening of the award-winning documentary Dreamcatcher.
B-sides: Lila Downs
It’s hard not to fall for Lila Downs. Over the last two decades, her use of indigenous languages and traditional Mexican musical styling keeps the rich history of her home country alive through music, while adding modern touches and her own perspective.
Sunny Potluck
Ever thought you could cook an egg on the ground just because it was so hot outside?
Scratch the Surface: Tucson Hip Hop Summit
Tucson’s first Hip Hop Summit will present fans with more than 50 performers and panelists, showcasing a diverse and growing music scene while looking to a more cohesive future.
Poetry Progeny
Young wordsmiths assemble!
Editor’s Note
For Mari, cardboard boxes always symbolized a new adventure and a chance to start over again.
Building the Waul: Katterwaul
Are you looking to escape to a world of childlike whimsy? It’s easy—aim for the second star to the right, and go straight on ’til morning. Just know that Brittany Katter of Tucson’s Katterwaul has a few choice words for you should you choose the route less matured. After all, the band’s first full-length release,…
Dust Devil
That night … and … that night … and … so much to remember now.
News21: America’s Weed Rush
Jake Holmes’ property is hidden in the dense woods on a stretch of rolling hills in Monroe, Maine, where dirt roads seem to go nowhere and GPS devices are useless.
Police Dispatch
An extremely intoxicated man made a big spectacle in a tiny town when he entered a family restaurant and promptly passed out in his salad.
Pleasure Activist
Candida Royalle (Oct. 15, 1950 – Sept. 7, 2015) passed away this past week at the age of 64 after succumbing to ovarian cancer. Royalle is best known as an adult film actress, producer, and certified sexuality educator.
Police Dispatch
A strange, reclusive homeowner greatly disturbed his neighbors by yelling randomly, throwing rocks and even killing one neighbor’s pets.
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I’m tired of debating these pasty whitebreads that the Camino Real has had people back and forth across the border for over 500 years.
Degree Dilemma
C-FAIRR, the group challenging Pima’s cooperation with accreditation standards, is back again.
