MONDAY, MAY 12
TITANIC TAILPIPE TUSSLE OF '08: The Arizona House of Representatives passes a bill designed to block Gov. Janet Napolitano's push to have the Department of Environmental Quality set emission standards to battle greenhouse gasses. The House approves HB 2017 on a 36-22 vote and transmits the bill to Napolitano, who must either sign it or veto it. Wonder what she'll do?LET'S MAKE A DEAL: Trouble for former beauty queen and UA law student Kumari Fulbright, who stands accused of kidnapping and assaulting a former boyfriend on Dec. 8, 2007. One of Fulbright's alleged accomplices, Larry Hammond, enters a guilty plea to a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and agrees to testify against Fulbright, who tied up and bit her former BF before he managed to escape during a struggle over a handgun, according to police reports.
TUESDAY, MAY 13
PASTNER = PAST TENSE: That wide-eyed kid we've all watched grow up before our eyes is cleaning out his desk at McKale Center. Assistant Coach Josh Pastner is leaving the UA for an assistant-coaching gig in Memphis. Pastner's departure leaves Olson with exactly none of the coaches he had one year ago.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14
CASUALTY OF WAR: Staff Sgt. Victor M. Cota, a 33-year-old Tucsonan, dies from wounds suffered after his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, according to a Department of Defense release. Cota, 33, was a member of the Special Troops Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas.THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE TED: Democratic blogger Ted Prezelski, of Rum, Romanism and Rebellion, is tapped to be Arizona's official blogger at the Democratic National Convention. Prezelski, who has been to every convention since '92, promises to be on the floor with delegates "doing my normal thing of just making fun of everyone."
THURSDAY, MAY 15
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW: As if losing the Tucson Sidewinders, Chicago White Sox, Magic Carpet Golf and Josh Pastner isn't enough: The morning daily brings us the news that the De Anza Drive-In could be on its way out. While we haven't been there in a decade, The Range can still remember those misspent days of high school when we'd sneak in through the exit and sit down on the hard gravel just to see Dawn of the Dead or Escape From New York. Such magic memories!THE MAKEOVER CONTINUES: After weeks of sidestepping rumors, UA athletic officials made it official: We have a new assistant basketball coach (and perhaps a future fundraiser for the Athletic Department) in Mike Dunlap, who leaves the Denver Nuggets to join Coach Lute Olson's all-new, all-different coaching staff. Dunlap joins new assistant coach Russell Pennell, who was hired last week.
Olson, who praised Pennell's family values in an earlier statement, says in a statement about Dunlap: "He's a great coach and an even better family man, and I'm looking forward to working with him."
TITANIC TAILPIPE TUSSLE OF '08, CON'T: Gov. Napolitano vetoes the bill that would have limited her authority to set emission standards through the Department of Environmental Quality. Napolitano tells House Speaker Jim Weiers: "While the Legislature has a role in ensuring Arizonans have clean air to breathe, House Bill 2017 is micromanagement."
PUMP IT UP: We've got the lowest fuel prices in the nation! AAA of Arizona announces that Tucson average price of $3.457 per gallon of unleaded is as cheap as it gets in the whole USA! AAA spokeswoman Linda Gorman credits the low, low prices to retailers trying to dump the last of their winter blend before loading up on the more expensive summer blend, and a little extra fuel appearing on the market because Californians are actually conserving.
AAA Arizona also predicted that fewer Americans would travel for the Memorial Day weekend and released the results of an utterly unscientific online poll of 476 people about their summer holiday plans. Nearly two in five said they were postponing summer travel until fuel prices drop; about one in three said they had to change their travel plans; and about one in five said gas prices had no affect on their decision.
FRIDAY, MAY 16
SOME DAYS YOU WIN; SOME DAYS YOU LOSE; SOME DAYS IT RAINS: The UA softball team gets rained out when a storm rolls into Hempstead, N.Y., where the powerhouse ball club has traveled to play in the NCAA regional tournament.
SATURDAY, MAY 17
POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE: We wish the best of luck to the thousands of UA seniors who receive their degrees today, including former Tucson Weekly interns Kelli Hart and Laura Hassett, who are off to find all the adventure Scottsdale has to offer. So long, nuggets! We'll always have our in-depth dive-bar investigation ...
