I like infographics, mostly because it's easier for me to remember information when it's presented with pretty pictures, so this illustration discussing the medicinal marijuana industry was a welcome one. One fact from the report the infographic comes from:

Don’t Hold Out for Free Checking. That first buyer may come easily, but don’t assume the same goes for processing his credit card. National banks like Wells Fargo have turned away marijuana businesses, which are still considered illegal under federal law. That makes simple business processes like a checking account, corporate credit cards or a merchant services account costly, time-consuming challenges. Lucky for you, there are smaller, local banks eager to win business in a growing industry.

[Fast Company]

The Onion Reports: "Actual Expert Too Boring For TV"

Canton was brought in for a test interview based on a recent op-ed in the Boston Globe, in which he argued that increased reliance on nuclear power is "inevitable." When asked to address nuclear power's potentially disastrous consequences, however, Canton launched into a well-reasoned lecture that balanced modern energy demands against safety and environmental concerns.

"At MIT's Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, we see nuclear-power technology as the best option for the United States and the world to meet future energy needs without emitting carbon dioxide and other atmospheric pollutants," Canton said in the taped pre-interview, which has already been erased. "Other energy options include increased efficiency, renewables, and carbon sequestration. Actually, all of these options may be needed for a successful, non-stratified, growth-oriented national energy infrastructure."

Salters was not impressed.

"[Canton] went on like that for six... long... minutes," Salters said. "Fact after mind-numbing fact. Then he started spewing all these statistics about megawatts and the nation's current energy consumption and I don't know what, because my mind just shut off. I tried to lead him in the right direction. I told him to address the fears that the average citizen might have about nuclear power, but he still utterly failed to mention meltdowns, radiation, or mushroom clouds."

"I'm sure he knows what he's talking about," Salters added. "But we have a responsibility to educate and entertain our viewers. In the end, we had to go with someone else."

MSNBC chose Skip Hammond, former Arizona State football player, MBA holder, and author of Imprison The Sun: America's Coming Nuclear-Power Holocaust. Hammond is best known for his "atomic domino" theory of chained power-plant explosions and his signature lavender silk tie.

[The Onion]

Here's the JLBC's breakdown of the impact HB 2636, the flat-tax proposal that will be under consideration in the Senate Finance Committee today. (You can read the entire JLBC analysis here.)

“It does create winners and losers,” says Karen McLaughlin of the Children's Action Alliance. "And most of the middle class and the lower class would be the losers. They’d be paying more in taxes and those at the high end of the income scale would be paying less.”

The CAA has run its own analysis of the flat-tax proposal. Here’s the result:

Requires that computation begins with a taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income (FAGI) and the following adjustments:

a) add the amount in excess of $25,000 with respect to a FAGI election to expense certain depreciable business assets;

b) add the amount of depreciation allowance not previously added;

c) add the amount by which depreciation or amortization computed under the IRC exceeds the amount computed on the Arizona adjusted basis of the property with respect to tax credits taken for construction costs for qualified environmental technology facility, pollution control equipment, agricultural pollution control equipment or water conservation systems, respectively;

d) add any amount of agricultural water conservation expenses that were deducted pursuant to the IRC;

e) subtract interest income received on obligations of the United States deducted in the computation of FAGI;

f) subtract any amount included in FAGI relating to taxation of social security and railroad retirement benefits;

g) subtract the amount of allowable depreciation for property sold or otherwise disposed of under the IRC that has not already reduced Arizona taxable income in the current or prior taxable years;

h) subtract an amount equal to 1/5 of the allowable addition to an individual’s FAGI computation due to an election to expense certain depreciable business assets;

i) subtract unreimbursed employee trade or business expenses that are allowable as an itemized deduction on the taxpayer’s federal income tax return, subject to certain federal limitations governing miscellaneous itemized deductions and the disallowance of certain expenses, and not including any amount already subtracted in computing FAGI; and

j) subtract amounts that are allowable as an itemized deduction on the federal income tax return as damages from a judgment awarded to the taxpayer, but reduced by attorney fees and court costs.

Yeah, that makes everything easier. What the hell is wrong with these assclowns?

Yassi Jahanmir and Sara Habib from the Tucson Fringe Festival discuss how the event came to be and why Tucsonans should experience the edges of modern theatre.

Check out our City Week preview of the festival, and check back tomorrow morning on The Range for videos from the artists describing the work they'll be presenting.

I'm starting to get less depressed when out-of-state publications criticize Arizona's politics, more because I'm getting used to it than anything, but this featured essay in the Boston Review is remarkably fair, if incredibly tough:

A sense of solidarity led the Tea Party Patriots to Phoenix for their American Policy Summit in February. It’s “our opportunity to support the citizens of Arizona in their current political battles that carry so many national implications,” the organizers of the Summit said. Arizona’s capital, according to the Patriots, is “the great southwestern city, born from the ruins of a former civilization, now the rebirth place of American culture.”

Over the past year, a few signature events—the killing last March of border rancher Rob Krenz; the passage the following month of the immigration-control law SB 1070; and the January 2011 massacre in Tucson that killed six people and gravely wounded U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords—have focused national attention on the political and social tensions in Arizona. The state’s cast of political figures—from Senator John McCain to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio—has captured the media spotlight and won Arizona a rogue reputation.

But Arizona may not be such an outlier.

Certainly Arizona’s history and geography make it one of a kind. Still, comparable demographic and cultural strife is cropping up almost everywhere in America. Arizona’s budget woes, while much worse than most states’, are mirrored throughout the country in conflicts over government downsizing and taxes. Hatred, economic stress, and fears of border insecurity are playing out in unusually grand scale in Arizona, yet mostly reflect the sense of vulnerability and uncertainty about personal and national prospects that are felt throughout the country.

[HT: Blog for Arizona]

Maxim Dalton makes great posters and for the Quentin vs. Coen Show in New York City he created a series of (unfortunately) imaginary action figures for Tarantino's 1994 classic Pulp Fiction:

District officials say they believe the letter's allegations "were not accurate."

The Arizona Republic reports:

The district interviewed students and the teacher at Harold W. Smith Elementary School.

"The district believes that the statements made by Mr. Hill in regard to our students and school were not accurate," according to the release. "Students who were interviewed did not recall making or hearing any of the inflammatory statements attributed to them by Mr. Hill, and students also said they stood for the daily recital of the Pledge of Allegiance."

[AZ Republic]

Crafted, a shop that sells handmade crafts, recently opened in December of 2010 in the historic Charles O. Brown house at 40 W. Broadway.

On Sunday, March 27, Crafted will be having an event at the historic house in hopes of raising money to benefit the community programs of Arts Marketplace, and the renovation of the Charles O. Brown house's courtyard.

The event on Sunday includes seed planting for kids, paper flower making, stories, poems and music. There will also be a raffle and a silent auction. Additionally, at 12 p.m., there will be a tour of the historic house.

For more information, call 882-3988, or visit the Arts Marketplace website. Or, to learn more about Crafted, visit their website.

The 23rd Annual NamJam, a benefit car show, chili cook-off, and concert, is back again on Saturday, March 26 at Kino Sports Park, 2500 E. Ajo Way. The event benefits Vietnam vets, with all proceeds going toward transitional homeless Veterans shelters, their families, various Veteran programs and the community.

The car show and chili cook-off are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the concert portion beginning at 12 p.m. and continuing until 6 p.m.

There are a number of bands, a kids play area, military displays, prizes, and food and drink. Tickets are $5 and are available for purchase at Tucson area Catalina Marts or at the gate.

For more information, visit the event's website.

Here are some random impressions and memories from SXSW 2011. This thing is so big and multi-faceted that it’s really hard to get your head around more than a fraction of it. In addition to the live shows there are bunches of panel discussions, day parties, films, a trade-interactive show, a poster show and way way more. I’m focusing strictly on the highlights of the music I saw.