I didn’t really anticipate landing in the editor’s chair here at the Tucson Weekly, but here I am, serving until someone comes along who can take the wheel and get me back on the streets.
Before we go any further, let me express my thanks to Mari Herreras, who departed this gig last week. Mari did an extraordinary job of juggling the many demands of not only the Tucson Weekly, but our many sister publications here at Tucson Local Media. I will surely miss having her steady hand running the show.
More thanks are due to the crew at UA Press, who are sharing an excerpt from a new book of dazzling photos from Lake Powell by Peter Goin, accompanied by essays by Peter Friederici. The book, A New Form of Beauty: Glen Canyon Beyond Climate Change, documents the disturbing changes that have come as the water level in Lake Powell has dropped during our most recent drought. It’s both a reminder of the damage that climate change will bring to future generations on our one-and-only planet and a gorgeous collection of photography that belongs on your bookshelf.
Elsewhere in our pages, longtime arts writer Margaret Regan shares a roundup of what’s happening in our local galleries this summer; Bob Grimm celebrates the Guardian of the Galaxy sequel that I found to be a total nerdgasm callback to my misspent youth reading comics, listening to pop music and watching Kurt Russell movies; Mark Whittaker lets us know what’s going on at Pastiche following the very sad passing of owner Pat Conners, much too young; columnist Tom Danehy remembers the fun he used to have on the radio with Jimmy Kimmel back in the day; and a double-length Skinny wonders why on earth the Pima County Republican Party is turning its back on cops, firefighters and the local business community.
Happy Mother’s Day, everyone. Hug your moms—I sure miss mine.
— Jim Nintzel, Interim Editor jim@tucsonlocalmedia.com
This article appears in May 11-17, 2017.
Um…”the disturbing changes that have come as the water level in Lake Powell has dropped during our most recent drought.” ???
FLASH! There wasn’t a Lake Powell until the construction of the dam. Dropping lake levels are more like Mother Nature trying to restore that part of northern AZ and southern UT to what had been there up until 50 or so years ago.
This sounds more like a “win” for the region, rather than a disaster.
Good luck, Jim!
Jim,
Your newspaper is dying because you are not interested in any opinion counter to Liberal, Left Wing.
Evidence? Recently you refused to print a carefully researched argument against Planned Parenthood.
We have known each other for decades and I wish you well, but you have created an intellectual desert that will not sustain itself. Pleasing the Left should not be your mission, but seems to be.
Bill
It simply follows the rule of college journalism. They promote government expansion at any cost and don’t do for yourself, wait until somebody does it for you. Add to that the global warming fraud still being run by old democrats, and you have a liberal wackadoo world.
Challenge your professors for evidence.
Jim,
I really enjoyed the Lake Powell article, and as a water scientist it makes me really happy to see that this is still “in the news,” as drought is sort of a “slow disaster.” Although it is slow, it is the killer of many a culture. Technology allows us to extend that slow death and even mitigate some of the disaster, but there will always be consequences to this.
It’s not that I don’t respect the “art” main stories the Weekly has been publishing of late, but I am happy to see something a little “harder” this month.
You’ll do a great job as interim editor!
Good Luck Jim!
I hope the paper finds a more appropriate course that both aligns with the community and pushes the community to engage with alternative perspectives. The Weekly used to be very good at towing that line and I hope it can return to those higher standards of journalism, better editing and a wider reach throughout the community!
Mari did an extraordinary job at fanning hate and censuring all opinion not of her own.
A proper Editor’s Note.
What a change from the “Dear Diary” entries.
Yay!!!
Dear Mr. Heusler: There is no such thing as a “carefully researched argument against planned parenthood.” Have you given thought to just standing on a street corner downtown and handing out copies? We need a replacement for Sweeney who passed away some years ago.