BANDE ANNONCE DU TOUR DE FRANCE 2009

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French shorts at the Loft Cinema tonight! Details here.

A new wine store called VinTabla Wine and Fine Spirits has opened in Suite 144 of Dove Mountain Center (12130 N. Dove Mountain Blvd, Marana).

The store specializes in low-production boutique wines, fine spirits, esoteric beer, cigars and artisan cheeses and meats, said Lucas Gutierrez, the sommelier in charge of the store. There's also a tasting room where customers can sample wines prior to purchase.

"It is going to be the most unique and esoteric example of wine in the area," Gutierrez said. "You will not find a finer wine selection in the Tucson area."

Master sommelier Laura Williamson—who is part owner of the store—will also play a part in the business. Williamson is one of only a handful of female master sommeliers in all of North America.

The store is currently open, but not fully stocked. Gutierrez said he plans on holding a grand opening in about a week.

Hours: Noon to 9 p.m., daily. Call 382-1190 for more information.

No big surprise here: Burt Lopez has pulled the plug on the recall of Mayor Bob Walkup and City Council members Regina Romero and Karin Uhlich.

We said it was in the works last week:

Here's what Mayer and Humphries really need to worry about: Will Lopez go down to City Hall and formally disband his political committee? If that happens, the Tea Party guys would have to start the recall all over again.

Looks like they might just end up as two more guys who are sorry they decided to do business with Bert Lopez.

Tucson is at the threshold of a new era—an era that will be defined by a business-friendly approach to our shared future.

Many people and events played a role in ushering in this new, welcoming attitude toward the city's business community. As a longtime resident of Tucson, I am proud to count myself among this group of concerned citizens.

In September of last year I hosted a gathering

Hey, we were right in our prediction of more than $60 million for the urban streetcar!

Congressman Raul Grijalva just spilled the beans: Tucson is getting a staggering $63 million in federal stimulus money for the rail project that will connect downtown with the UA.

The release:

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today said the newly announced $63 million grant from the Department of Transportation for Tucson’s planned light rail system will “help Tucson turn a major corner in its efforts to rejuvenate the economy, build a cleaner infrastructure, attract more tourism and provide public transportation along some of the busiest corridors in the city.”

The new funds, granted through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be combined with $87.7 million from the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) and a $4 million federal earmark championed by Rep. Grijalva to fund the rail project, one of only a handful nationwide.

“This is a big day for Tucson and a big day for Arizona,” Grijalva said. “There are few systems like this in the country, and Tucsonans are once again proud to be ahead of the curve.”

The first planned route would run from University

"Spider II,'' by Kate Breakey, is among the images now on display at Etherton Gallery, 135 N. Sixth Ave., through Feb. 27.

Howie reports:

The U.S. Supreme Court won't block the state from giving extra funds to publicly funded candidates to match big-spending privately financed foes - at least not yet.

In a two-sentence order Tuesday, the justices rejected a request by the Goldwater Institute to immediately enforce last month's ruling by U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver that the matching-funds provision of the Citizens Clean Elections Act is unconstitutional.

But they said that doesn't mean they won't eventually intercede. Goldwater attorney Nick Dranias was told to come back if the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals hasn't ruled by June 1.

The latest bulletin from Rep. Steve Farley:

Howdy, Friends O'Farley…

Let's imagine for a moment the scene in the underground bunker here at the Capitol where the far-right wingers who control this place are plotting their next moves. They haven't balanced the budget yet. Times are still really hard. People are really getting angry at how our state is heading for even worse trouble thanks to their lack of action on fixing our fiscal house. Some are worrying that after 44 years in power, the voters might finally turn against them.

What's their next move? Based on debate on the floor yesterday, the Republicans have decided to go for the tried-and-true strategy of using the power of government to attack someone else. This time, it's gay and lesbian people, along with single women of all kinds, and foster kids.

Apparently it wasn't enough for them to enshrine discrimination in the state constitution by banning loving couples from marriage. Warde Nichols (R-Gilbert) is pushing a bill (HB2148) to ban them from adopting kids, too.

While the intent of this bill is clearly discrimination against LGBT

We hear rumblings that Congressman Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, along with Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, will announce more than $60 million in stimulus dollars for downtown's urban-streetcar system. That's a huge win for the city of Tucson that will open up the floodgates for matching funds from the Regional Transportation Authority and make the rail system a reality.

The money is coming from the highly competitive TIGER grant program. The program had $1.5 billion to hand out, but drew $56.5 billion in requests, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Randy Miller, the owner of the Oro Valley and Marana paper the Explorer, is poised to add another newspaper to his collection: the East Valley Tribune.

An affiliate to Miller's Thirteenth Street Media has reached a deal with the East Valley Tribune's owner Freedom Communications to allow the Colorado-based company to take the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper out of bankruptcy. The final sale of the Phoenix-area newspaper hinges on a federal bankruptcy judge approving the $2.05 million sale.

From the Tribune:

Freedom, based in Irvine, Calif., has been reorganizing under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code since September.

Freedom asked in Tuesday's filing that any other bids be submitted by March 5. If additional qualifying bids are submitted, Freedom said it would conduct an auction on or before March 8 to determine the highest and best bid.

Freedom said in its filing that the businesses being sold are operating at a loss. A three-week delay for a formal court-supervised auction process would result in losses of at least $60,000 a week.

Pending court approval of the sale, Freedom said it will continue to publish and distribute its Valley publications - the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tribune, the Sun City Daily News-Sun, Ahwatukee Foothills News, Glendale/Peoria Today and Surprise Today. It will also operate its Arizona Interactive Media Group, which publishes the Clipper, a monthly direct mail product, and the EastValleyTribune.com, YourWestValley.com and Ahwatukee.com Web sites. All of those properties are included in the sale.

Current Tribune employees would be wise to remember what happened the last time Miller bought a newspaper.

Freedom has announced that the deal would result in a "substantial" number of existing associates who would keep their jobs. After the sale is finalized, associates will be given offer letters from 1013 Communications, and those associates who do not receive offers will be eligible for severance.