This week, staff writer Danyelle Khmara digs into the life of Branden Roth, a 24-year-old man who was killed in Pima County Jail last year. She tells you who Branden was: A kid who slipped up a few too many times and couldn't get it together. It's a tragic tale of how Roth ended up in a cell with a violent and mentally ill man on a morning when a guard called in sick and rounds were done a little slower.
Elsewhere in the book: Our favorite annual events just keep rolling around. On Monday night, the UA College of Science is kicking off the annual lecture series. This year, the big brains over in UA Vice President for Innovation Joaquin Ruiz's shop are digging into the intersection of humans, data and machines. At the risk of discovering I should have taken the red pill long ago, I'm gonna try to see a few of these talks, which fill Centennial Hall every year. This weekend also brings Dillinger Days at Hotel Congress (with a speakeasy this year!), Arizona Theatre Company is kicking off its run of Outside Mullingar at the Temple of Music and Art, and the Zoppé Family Circus is continuing its run at downtown's Mercado, on the west bank of the Santa Cruz. You can find details on all of this—and much more—in calendar editor Emily Dieckman's City Week.
Martha McSally is finally taking off on her long-scheduled flight to the U.S. Senate. I take a look at McSally's newfound affection for President Donald Trump in this week's Skinny.
Elsewhere in the book: Danyelle gets you caught up on the latest with the fight over what's next for the DACA kids (although who knows how that may have changed from time we go to press and you get the paper in your hands); Tom Danehy laughs at the notion that Doug Ducey is the education governor; music columnist Xavier Otero lets you know how you can catch the finale of the Tucson Jazz Fest and much more in this week's XOXO...; arts writer Margaret Regan tells you why you should check out the latest show on the borderlands at Tohono Chul Park's delightful gallery; film critic Bob Grimm advises you to see The Post; MMJ columnist Nick Meyers fills you in on the latest anti-weed legislation at the Arizona Legislature; Chow writer Mark Whittaker has a drink at Nancy's Boondocks...and, as always, there's plenty more in these pages.
Oh, and we know we have a little problem to solve with our crossword. We're working on it.
Thanks for reading and we'll see you next week!
— Jim Nintzel Executive Editor
