Tucson Weekly

The Goldwater Institute was crowing earlier this week about winning a legal victory against the city of Tucson on behalf of developer Michael Goodman , the mini-dorm developer who, in the words of Goldwater press release, "buys run-down properties in the downtown area and near the University of Arizona, and replaces them with new housing that meets or exceeds zoning requirements and building ... Full Story »

The New York Times brings us this tidbit from this weekend's health-care debate in the U.S. House of Representatives: Representative John Shadegg, Republican of Arizona, held up the tiniest prop so far, a little girl called Maddie, 7 months old, whom he introduced as the daughter of a staff member. After saying he wished she were his grandchild, Mr. Shadegg apparently began channeling the infant ... Full Story »

They lack the body fat to make it through the winter, so they travel in small packs, sometimes three or four abreast, often blocking the shared paths and causing bigger animals to slow to a crawl. After a calorie-burning circuit, they prance about the cafe in special shoes, wrap-around shades and flamboyant spandex. The wind has eroded their faces into perma-scowls. Like preening birds, they ... Full Story »

The final City of Tucson election results: Democratic Councilwoman Karin Uhlich now leads Republican challenger Ben Bueher-Garcia by 195 votes. Republican Steve Kozachik now leads Democrat Nina Trasoff by 1,728 votes. Prop 400 is now losing by 927 votes. Uhlich has released a statement: I want to congratulate my two opponents, Ben Buehler-Garcia and Mary DeCamp, for running strong campaigns. I ... Full Story »

We bid goodbye to Star editorial page editor Ann Brown as she departs the morning daily and the Arizona Illustrated Friday Roundtable. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] Full Story »

Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor and Fire Chief Patrick Kelly stopped by the Friday Roundtable. We got them to confess to their photo-radar speeding violations! Watch it after the jump. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] Full Story »

Veterans Day is Wednesday, Nov. 11. Here's a sampling of discounts offered to veterans at some local and national establishments. Hats off to these organizations, and to all current and former members of the military, thank you for your service. Every day: -Sport Clips offers veterans and active-duty service men and women a 20 percent discount. On Veterans Day, all stores in Arizona will be ... Full Story »

We mentioned in The Skinny this week that the state-owned warehouse that's home to Solar Culture is set to go to auction on Tuesday: More than two decades ago, artist Steven Eye first opened the doors to an abandoned downtown produce warehouse on Toole Avenue that he had rented for the princely sum of $300 a month from the Arizona Department of Transportation. That warehouse, which had been ... Full Story »

The Weekly's token libertarian, Jonathan Hoffman, delivers this dispatch from the GOP celebration on election night: Mayor Bob Walkup showed up long enough to give a few interviews and leave. Though a Republican, Mayor Walkup is not very popular with members of the party. He did nothing for the Republican city council candidates, and when asked for an endorsement by Steve Kozachick, he refused ... Full Story »

The morning daily proclaims in a hard-hitting editorial, "Facebook Group is shortsighted, destructive": We're distressed and baffled by a destructive Facebook group that is opposing the planned 7,000-square-foot restaurant and bar at the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and East Congress Street, across from the Rialto Theatre block. Former state lawmaker Tom Prezelski's response on Facebook ... Full Story »

I was catching up with Colbert and noticed that he had high praise for the Arizona Legislature's plan to privatize the prison system. "Let's replace the long arm of the law with the invisible hand of the market!" The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c The Word - The Green Mile www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor U.S. Speedskating ... Full Story »

The Goldwater Institute has spoken on its lawsuit on behalf of developer Michael Goodman vs. the city of Tucson, calling Pima County Superior Court Judge Paul Tang's ruling a victory for Prop 207, the Private Property Rights Protection Act passed in 2006: "Arizona voters overwhelmingly embraced greater protection of private property rights," said Clint Bolick, director of the Goldwater Institute ... Full Story »

Arizona Illustrated host Bill Buckmaster invited me and radio ringmaster John C. Scott down to the studio to read the tea leaves from the city election. Watch it after the jump. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] Full Story »

The latest City of Tucson election results: Democratic Councilwoman Karin Uhlich now leads Republican challenger Ben Bueher-Garcia by 246 votes. That race remains tight, but Uhlich picked up a handful in the latest round. Republican Steve Kozachik now leads Democrat Nina Trasoff by 1,675 votes. Prop 400 is now losing by 783 votes. Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez has delivered 45,067 early ... Full Story »

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona Here's one I missed in all the election excitement: The HiRISE camera aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the Phoenix Mars Lander on the frosty northern plains of Mars. Lori Stiles of University Communications tells us: The HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured one image of the Phoenix lander on July 30, 2009, and the other on ... Full Story »

The latest City of Tucson election results: Republican Steve Kozachik now leads Democrat Nina Trasoff by 1,722 votes. The Black Swan looks unbeatable! Democratic Councilwoman Karin Uhlich now leads Republican challenger Ben Bueher-Garcia by 240 votes. That race keeps getting closer and closer. Prop 400 is now losing by 784 votes. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] Full Story »

Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez has done her usual efficient job of plowing through the piles of early ballots dropped off at the last minute by irresponsible voters who take forever to make up their minds. (We're sympathetic to the perspective that you ought to hang onto the ballots just in case something breaks at the end of the campaign, but it does slow returns.) To recap: Pima County ... Full Story »

UA-area developer Michael Goodman has prevailed in Pima County Superior Court in a legal fight with the city of Tucson over whether he could demolish existing houses and build mini-dorms. Details to follow. Here's more on Goodman's fight with the city and the neighborhoods. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] Full Story »

Rumors are starting to bubble up regarding the list of people who agreed to take the Arizona Daily Star 's buyout offer —and the biggest name on that list so far is Opinion page editor Ann Brown. Those taking the buyout will celebrate their last day of employment at the Star tomorrow, Nov. 6 John Schuster and I are trying to confirm this rumor—and that's all it is at this point—as well as ... Full Story »

Here's the latest out of Pima County Elections: An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 remaining ballots will be run through the machines beginning around 1 p.m. It's expected to take two or three hours and we should get some new results online sometime after 3 or 4 p.m. Stay tuned! [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ] Full Story »

Omar Tonsi Eldakar The water strider on the right, identified by the blue-red-white dot sequence, is a highly aggressive male who is trying to break up a mating pair. The male water strider with the white-yellow-blue dots is on top of a female who had green dots on her head. UA scientist Omar Tonsi Eldakar reveals that the female water strider is more attracted to geeks than jocks. Eldakar notes ... Full Story »

In this morning's Star , Rhonda explores the anti-incumbency mood that helped Republican Steve Kozachik to his apparent victory over incumbent Democrat Nina Trasoff and has helped Republican Ben Buehler-Garcia stay in the race against Democrat Karin Uhlich as the lingering votes are tallied in the next couple of days. We touched on that theme in the days leading up to the election here on The ... Full Story »

by Nick Smith As some of you have noticed, there is more to the Tucson Weekly than just the dead-tree version that you hold in your hands (or that you read using the hand-less method of laying it on a table). Our online presence extends from our Web site to a Flickr page (which displays photo galleries you won't see in print) to our blog (aka The Range) to our Twitter feed, which keeps you up to ... Full Story »

by Annie Holub In moments of cynicism, blasphemous notions pop into my head. One example: There should be a one-month hiatus on all new bands. However, should such a fascistic ban occur, projects like Monsters of Folk might not be born, and the world would be a much darker place. The artists behind Monsters of Folk are by no means new—it's Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike ... Full Story »

A film being made during this year's All Souls Procession looks at how people remember the dead along the border by Margaret Regan Music, says Joey Burns of Calexico, is "part of remembering the dead in daily life." Every time he picks up his old black-and-white accordion, he remembers his grandfather. "My mom's dad was a doctor, a German-American who played accordion," Burns says. "He gave me ... Full Story »