Cross Currents

The Border Patrol Will Never Stop The Flow Of Humanity Across Our Southern Border.

• By Jeff Smith
• There is no way the desperate drive of these people for a better life is going to be denied.

Mailbag

Mat Rats

• By James DiGiovanna
• Great local pro-wrestling is more than just a battle of words and wits. There are also the costumes.

The Skinny

Dire Rates

Pima County's Proposed Tax Increase Will Hit Business -- And Some Homeowners -- Hard.

• By Chris Limberis
• Pima County supervisors are flirting with a 15 percent property tax increase that they hope not many voters will notice when tax bills arrive just after Labor Day.

Underdog's Day

Presidential Contender Bill Bradley Visits Tucson.

• By Jim Nintzel
• During a press conference with his three supporters, Bradley sidestepped an opportunity to talk specifics.

City Week

Cheap Thrills

A Fine Ness

Social Distortion's Mike Ness Headlines The Annual Independence Day Jamboree At Club Congress.

• By Stephen Seigel
• Ness is out on the road these days with a newly assembled band, playing a couple of Social Distortion songs per show, but mainly keepin' it real by playing most of his new album, "Cheating At Solitaire."

Soundbites

• By Stephen Seigel
• Club Congress' Fourth of July bash brings Mike Ness, The Reverend Horton Heat, Deke Dickerson and The Ecco-fonics, and more to town; Cortex Bomb at the Plaza Pub; and Fourth Avenue's Fourth on Fourth celebration.

Small World

Davis Dominguez Gallery Stages Its Annual Show Of Compact Creations.

• By Margaret Regan
• The idea at Davis Dominguez is to give a snapshot of Southern Arizona's variety of artistic styles, each distilled into its tiny essence.

Not Dead Yet

A Struggling Local Theatre Troupe Stages 'The Cemetery Club.'

• By Dave Irwin
• "The Cemetery Club" remains a delightful comedy at heart.

Saucy Talk

The Lowdown On Tucson's Finest Barbecue Joints.

• By Rebecca Cook
• Barbecue is as individual and varied as DNA.

By Dawn's Early Light

Morning Is No Time To Be Awake.

• By Tom Danehy
• Mornings suck. And pre-mornings suck geometrically.

Tohono Titan

UA Prof Ofelia Zepeda Wins A Prestigious MacArthur Foundation Award.

• By Margaret Regan
• The MacArthur Foundation praised Zepeda for her unusual cluster of activities on behalf of native languages.

Option Overload

Mako Yoshikawa's Debut Novel Suffers An Identity Crisis.

• By Randall Holdridge
• Tedium and confusion finally outweigh "One Hundred and One Ways' " other merits.

Rad Dad

Adam Sandler's New Flick Is Actually Funny -- For The First Hour Or So.

• By James DiGiovanna
• Sandler manages to rattle off quite a few good one-liners, the pleasure of which was only partially diminished by the string of pee, vomit and spit jokes. Shockingly, there were no poop jokes.

Satanic Majesty

• By Jim Nintzel
• The way it goes for high school teachers these days is you generally don't want to chitchat with kids you've given a D, particularly strapping lads who work for an organization to whom you owe money for narcotics.

Greetings From Big Timber

The Sounds Of Freedom Ring In Big Sky Country.

• By Jeff Smith
• They let kids do like God and Thomas Jefferson intended, up in this part of the country. They set up roadside stands in the early summertime and sell firecrackers by the boatload.

My Chat With Charlton

Talking Guns With The NRA's Main Man

• By Tom Danehy
• Charlton Heston lets his work speak for him.