Cover Story
Borderlands Banquet: Sonoran Restaurant Week returns with renewed importance
As if it wasn’t difficult enough to choose between all the great places to eat across town, for this year’s Sonoran Restaurant Week, Tucson is just showing off. Sonoran Restaurant Week is a 10-day celebration of our local food culture, giving participating restaurants the opportunity to cook up special dishes highlighting the unique foods and…
Arizona domestic violence shelters filling up again as abusers return to work
PHOENIX – Some households have suffered serious threats to their health that went beyond COVID-19 over the past 18 months: domestic violence. Arizona has the fifth-highest rate of domestic violence in the country, according to the World Population Review, and throughout the pandemic, domestic violence calls and fatalities in metro Phoenix continued to rise. According…
Arizona communities prepare for arrival of Afghan refugees
[image-1] State officials, Arizona refugee resettlement agencies and community groups are preparing for the arrival in the coming weeks of thousands of people evacuated last month from Afghanistan. The International Rescue Committee in Phoenix, a refugee resettlement agency, welcomed 18 Afghan evacuees on Aug. 29. They were among the tens of thousands of people who…
Voter ‘canvass’ features big allegations, zero evidence, outright falsehoods
Nestled against the foothills of Estrella Mountain Regional Park, a nearly 3,000-square-foot house sits on an allegedly vacant lot. According to a report issued by conservative activists who have spent much of the past year since the election knocking on doors across Maricopa County and asking people about their voting history, the address in Goodyear…
Guest opinion: Pandemic polarization is bringing out the worst in some parents
In the not-so-distant past, adults were expected to set the example for children. Be role models. Demonstrate respectful behavior. Follow the Golden Rule. But today, we are unquestionably failing our kids in this regard, especially as it relates to adult behavior toward school officials. Recently, a Tucson father, armed with “law enforcement-grade” zip ties, threatened…
Global Arts Showcase: Mes de la Cultura
Join Arizona Public Media and the Pima County Public Library in celebration of the rich Mexican-American and Latinx cultural heritage of Southern Arizona during Mes de la Cultura! Enjoy a virtual celebration of Mexican-American and LatinX art, music, and dance with performances by Mariachi Estrellas de Tucson, Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos, and Ballet Folklórico Tapatío.…
Does controversial partnership between Barstool Sports, Arizona Bowl suggest attempt at image change?
PHOENIX – The surprise announcement of a partnership between the Arizona Bowl and Barstool Sports sheds light on the divisiveness triggered by the media company, but also its increasing attempts to change its image. On July 27, Barstool Sports and the Arizona Bowl, based in Tucson, announced a partnership that includes naming rights for the…
Flu vaccine will be even more important this year, county health officials say
Health officials urged people to get the flu vaccine in response to unexpectedly high cases of seasonal illness. Pima County has two “mu variant” COVID cases and 150 influenza cases, said County Public Health Director Dr. Theresa Cullen at a press conference on Wednesday. Cullen said “mu” has been deemed a “variant of interest” by the…
Tucson Salvage: Take What You Need, Leave What You Don’t
Paul Hernandez rolls up in a late-model truck, steps out and pulls several packages of brand-new changing pads and a plastic lawn bag filled with barely used nightgowns into the airy store. He is greeted by store manager Debbie and tells her he has a few donations. Hernandez is running-back big, a snow-white Fu Manchu…
Editor’s Note: Eat, Drink and Be Merry—Safely
Not all of our local restaurateurs managed to survive the pandemic. Some of our favorite joints have closed down and others are getting back on their feet. So it’s nice to see the return of Sonoran Restaurant Week, which highlights 50 of our local independent eateries. Each one has crafted a special menu, typically featuring…
City Week: Weekly Picks
Looped. If you’ve heard of Tallulah Bankhead, you might know her as a glamorous, scandalous, OG bad girl from the golden age of Hollywood. Or you might know her from the infamous story about the time it took her EIGHT HOURS—eight inebriated hours—to record a single line of dialogue for her final film. It wasn’t…
Yeah, But Is It Art? Fascinating documentary explores whether a damaged painting is a lost work by Leonardo da Vinci
Is the Salvator Mundi, a painting discovered in a severely damaged and painted-over state, then painstakingly restored, really a lost work of the great Leonardo da Vinci? A $450 million dollar bid by a Saudi Arabian prince would certainly like to think it is. “Rediscovered” back in 2005, it was purchased for near nothing by…
Social Justice: ADHS makes changes to equity application rules for dispensary ownership
As the December deadline to apply for 26 coveted social equity cannabis dispensary licenses approaches, the Arizona Department of Health Services recently revised criteria for ownership, bringing a rare round of praise for the department’s efforts. Social equity advocates such as Arizona NORML and a coalition of stakeholders have been critical of ADHS and previous…
Vaxed, masked, and ready to rock… Adelante!
Mark your calendars… Friday, Sept. 10 Born Marco Cardenas in Nogales, Mexico, this Phoenix-based rapper’s smooth R&B infused Latino hip-hop owes a debt of gratitude to Roger Troutman (of Zapp) and his trademark use of the talk box. In 1997, as a member of Nastyboy Klick, Cardenas’ worked with his idol. Their single “Down for…
Reaction Remedy: UA prof exploring promising new COVID treatment — to slow body’s over-response to bug
University of Arizona professor Dr. Floyd Chilton is on the precipice of finding a new treatment for patients suffering from severe COVID-19 symptoms that commonly lead to death. Chilton is the senior author of a recently published study correlating the sPLA2-IIA enzyme to COVID severity and death. sPLA2-IIA is a protective enzyme that typically protects…
Desert Downpours: 2021 ranks among top three rainiest monsoons on record
It seems the clouds heard our wishes. After record-breaking heat and pitiful rainfall last summer, this year’s monsoon is making up for lost time—and then some. According to the National Weather Service, 2021 already ranks as the third rainiest monsoon ever recorded, and with most of September remaining, forecasters say there’s even a chance this…
