Hopefully, inside this issue somewhere is our 26th Best of Tucson section, complete with a glossy cover. Even before I worked here, I used to keep Best of Tucson® sections around the house for the year following its publication, as a guide to stuff I should try around town reminding me to get out of my favorite places rut. I'd like to think the fancier non-newsprint cover adds to the sense of "this is a thing worth keeping around," but since our BOTs going back years and years are all online, maybe that's not as necessary. Regardless, I'm psyched for the shiny cover, so hopefully you are as well.
One question I get asked (heck, one I asked myself during this busy time of year) is why we still have a regular issue on the week of Best Of. It might be some sort of masochistic streak that leads us to put together two issues at the same time once a year, but in reality, it's because we don't want to take a week off from the sort of news we put in each issue. Mari Herreras' story about Antigone Books taking on the Arizona Legislature, our coverage of the Loft Film Festival, Jim Nintzel's Skinny, Josh Levine's look at the Southwest Terror Fest: All of that stuff might have fallen through the cracks if we replaced our regular coverage with Best of Tucson® only. I hope, to some extent, that each issue is an extension of Best of Tucson®; a celebration of what's great about this area (with some challenges for the city to get a bit better).
Enjoy both issues this week and look for Best of Tucson® 2015 voting to kick off in April.
